‘What a beautiful idea…Restaurant Week.’
That’s the comment made in the car tonight on the thirty minute drive downtown. Scores of restaurants offer special deals to diners and it is a real win-win.
That is unless you make reservations at LUCA on 7th. avenue..
You see, they have a big problem with their systems.
When my wife called to make a reservation, the young man could have been easily trained in advance to inform any caller that they would need to present proof of vaccination for Covid.
Such a simple, customer friendly idea.
But no, this step was overlooked and tonight when the five of us checked in it turned into a kerfuffle. In layman’s terms, synonyms include a mess, a disorganized klusterf..k..
The group was greeted by a woman who also could have been easily trained to be cordial and welcoming. She was neither.
We, never before and never again customers were, in her view, an intrusion.
Four of the five of us were successful using a phone system to verify vaccinations. The fifth had trouble with the system…it timed out and would not allow another attempt for sixty minutes. The young, poorly trained lady really didn’t care a whit.
I swear that her name tag read…AMBIVALENCE.
The monotone, uncaring response had also turned off another prospective diner standing nearby.
So…what started out as a beautiful idea turned into a pitiful mess. We exited and went to Zane’s Italian Bistro in The Tech Center. We had a wonderful time superbly attended to by their well trained and extremely hospitable team.
If you’re receiving this as a part of my newsletter, just know that you can save time, gasoline, and brain cells by avoiding this inhospitable restaurant named LUCA.
Painted on the north exterior wall of the restaurant are the capital letters WTF.
That’s what the five of us and the other frustrated woman are thinking tonight.
The picture accompanying this piece is where we were prohibited from entering.
Zane’s was such a breath of fresh air to soften the disappointment of this misadventure downtown.
** Rumor has it that their drink menu includes one called Ambivalence.
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