Canoe last night.....

canoe · 04-23-2010, 02:27 PM

Good Afternoon,

I can agree with some of what everyone has posted. You are exactly right, there is no way we can fix something if we don't know about it. I will be the first to admit that you can get a tough piece of meat. I can tell you with 100% confidence that we buy all of our steaks from the same manufacturer and purveyor every week. I unfortunately have no control over mother nature and that works for seafood also. I would have and will have no problem replacing a meal if it was cooked incorrectly, over seasoned or tough. It actually benefits a restaurant to know these things, how else are we to remedy the problem and or stop that happening to another customer. I know people just deal with it ,and then post they are never coming back, I don't think that's the answer. I have had bad or improperly cooked meals at restaurants, I return if I know it's not the norm for them. I politely mention it to a manager or owner because i don't want it to affect their other guest, a common courtesy I guess, hoping it does not affect their business. I would hope people have the same courtesy towards us.

As for the service part of it, reservations definitely help but its a tough call this time of year, one Tuesday you can do 45 covers and the next Tuesday do 105, which was the case, sorry for the long wait time, my apologies. Is the solution to limit seating, yes to a point. Try telling a customer at the front desk there will be a 15 or 20 minute wait when you have empty tables, 8 out of 10 times that doesn't go over well. The customers that understand the business are ok, but then there are others who just get nasty. Its a fine line to walk and I think we do it very well. I am not going to blow smoke and tell you we are the best, everyone has room to improve, to error is human to forgive is divine, I wish that worked in this industry, especially when we would do our best to make every customer happy. Thank you everyone for there input, I will be sharing all of these posts with the staff and management to better serve you.

Scott Ouellette

VitaBene · 04-23-2010, 02:43 PM

Thank you for your reply Scott. Keep up the good work!

Lakesrider · 04-23-2010, 06:04 PM

Thanks as well Scott. Your reply shows that you read the forum and care about it's readers opinions. A lot of people would just ignore it and keep on going.
I still love the Canoe. The drinks there are always perfect. Seriously I have never had a poorly poured drink at the Canoe....

Rattlesnake Guy · 04-23-2010, 09:17 PM

Scott,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. Full disclosure, the Canoe is one of our favorites.

I was thinking about your dilemma of the "curse" of too much business on a given night. Nothing can sour some of us more than a brutally slow experience when we are not in the mood for one. I was thinking about the common experience we have all had when we are told there is an hour wait for a table. When I hear that, I make an educated decision of weather to wait or bail. No hard feelings, I just don't want to make that big of an investment at that time. It cuts the wait for the folks behind me as well. I suspect the line reaches some kind of equilibrium where people are willing to wait a given number of minutes.

To my point, I wonder if their is any practical way to give me a chance to make a decision on the current meal cycle time as well. Is their a certain number of guest that a waiter or the kitchen gets to where your experience tells you that this is going to start being an issue for some customers? Is their a way to give me the option to make the investment in time or choose another option? I can imagine that it is a tough choice to discourage business but I would certainly be even more loyal to someone being honest with me.

Just thinking out loud. We are glad you care.

Lucky1 · 04-23-2010, 11:55 PM

If the food is good and we have no place we have to be in a period of time, waiting is not a problem. But that is just this opinion. How about putting out small dishes with cheese and crackers or other inexpensive food baskets with rolls or bread sticks or something interesting? Nice people sometimes seem to get irritated when they are hungry thus having something there might help to make the wait more tolerable. Just offering a suggestion. Good luck. Going to be a great summer for all at our wonderful lake I hope.

jetskier · 04-24-2010, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canoe

Good Afternoon,

I can agree with some of what everyone has posted. You are exactly right, there is no way we can fix something if we don't know about it. I will be the first to admit that you can get a tough piece of meat. I can tell you with 100% confidence that we buy all of our steaks from the same manufacturer and purveyor every week. I unfortunately have no control over mother nature and that works for seafood also. I would have and will have no problem replacing a meal if it was cooked incorrectly, over seasoned or tough. It actually benefits a restaurant to know these things, how else are we to remedy the problem and or stop that happening to another customer. I know people just deal with it ,and then post they are never coming back, I don't think that's the answer. I have had bad or improperly cooked meals at restaurants, I return if I know it's not the norm for them. I politely mention it to a manager or owner because i don't want it to affect their other guest, a common courtesy I guess, hoping it does not affect their business. I would hope people have the same courtesy towards us.

As for the service part of it, reservations definitely help but its a tough call this time of year, one Tuesday you can do 45 covers and the next Tuesday do 105, which was the case, sorry for the long wait time, my apologies. Is the solution to limit seating, yes to a point. Try telling a customer at the front desk there will be a 15 or 20 minute wait when you have empty tables, 8 out of 10 times that doesn't go over well. The customers that understand the business are ok, but then there are others who just get nasty. Its a fine line to walk and I think we do it very well. I am not going to blow smoke and tell you we are the best, everyone has room to improve, to error is human to forgive is divine, I wish that worked in this industry, especially when we would do our best to make every customer happy. Thank you everyone for there input, I will be sharing all of these posts with the staff and management to better serve you.

Scott Ouellette

So, why don't you answer the email sent via your web site? I sent you two emails discussing bad experiences and received no response. A truly customer oriented business would make a point of responding to such input.

Jetskier

jack1706 · 04-24-2010, 07:23 PM

How is it that reservations definitely help? I don't get it.... if I call then head over - reservation for two.. how will this help a restaurant ? Still seems like they say. wait a minute for this or that..
Then again.. you can walk in & they say "do you have a reservation?' I say no..only 2 of us & they act like I made a terrible mistake by not calling ahead & set a bad tone for the night.... Go figure !!!

twoplustwo · 04-25-2010, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jack1706

How is it that reservations definitely help? I don't get it.... if I call then head over - reservation for two.. how will this help a restaurant ? Still seems like they say. wait a minute for this or that..
Then again.. you can walk in & they say "do you have a reservation?' I say no..only 2 of us & they act like I made a terrible mistake by not calling ahead & set a bad tone for the night.... Go figure !!!

Calling then heading over isn't a reservation, it's a warning. A day or more in advance gives a restaurant time to properly staff for the night.

Parties of 2 won't knock a night over, but several of 4, 6, 8, or more without reservations can throw everyone from the hostess to the servers to the kitchen staff out of wack while they try to deal with 10-15 parties of 2-4.

PennyPenny · 04-24-2010, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jetskier

So, why don't you answer the email sent via your web site? I sent you two emails discussing bad experiences and received no response. A truly customer oriented business would make a point of responding to such input.

Jetskier

Perhaps he didn't have time to read the e-mail to the business? Not everyone reads their mail everyday.

VtSteve · 04-24-2010, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PennyPenny

Perhaps he didn't have time to read the e-mail to the business? Not everyone reads their mail everyday.

Very true. But it shows he does read this forum far more often than his email. No?

Lucky1 · 04-25-2010, 12:08 AM

Why not go and talk this out? On our way to meet friends tonight we drove by Canoe some time between 6:30 and 7:00 PM and there was not a single space in the parking lot at Canoe. Talking is so much better than email as things can get confused in emails. Or call on the telephone?

jetskier · 04-25-2010, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PennyPenny

Perhaps he didn't have time to read the e-mail to the business? Not everyone reads their mail everyday.

I sent two emails via the Canoe website. The first was roughly a couple of months ago followed up by a second about 6 weeks ago. I think that enough days have gone by to expect a response. Since I sent an email and a followup, a response was an expected courtesy.

I would have preferred to direct my dissatisfaction in private...but that is difficult to do when there is no response. Since this is now a forum topic, the dialog is public...not my original intent.

Jetskier

NoBozo · 04-25-2010, 12:48 PM

Over the years talking to wait persons in better than average restaurants, the ideal number of tables for one person to serve seems to be Four..with Five tables being a stretch. Of course if one of the tables has a party of 10, then that changes things quite a bit.

I would think the Host/Hostess would be the one to assign tables to each waitstaff..depending on the table size and the experience of the person serving.

BTW: Anyone calling himself a Chef, should be able to pick up a piece of raw meat and Immediately KNOW if it is... or will be tough. A good Chef also has the Skill and Experience to take a "poor" piece of meat and make it quite edible.

NB

Disclaimer: I have never owned, managed, or worked in a restaurant. I am just an paying observer.

canoe · 04-25-2010, 05:33 PM

I actually respond to 90% of all the emails into the restaurant, the rest go to the specific department. Through our website I have countless emails with no return email address that I cannot respond to. I will gladly answer your email, in fact here is my personal email if you like. scott@magicfoodsnh.com, feel free to email me anytime. I don't do alot of posting on the forum, I feel this is not a place for business owners to post but to respond to areas like above, my own personal opinion..

As for calling myself a chef. You can have a pretty good idea of the quality of meat or sefood by the look, smell and the feel, but tell you how it is going to eat after you cook it, impossible. I would never use a poor peice of meat or take a bad peice of meat or fish and MAKE it better, that is the sign of a real chef..

NoBozo · 04-25-2010, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canoe

Through our website I have countless emails with no return email address that I cannot respond to.
..

..Every email I get has a return email address indicating where it came from

NO..?? Maybe you need to address your Website Designer to find out why you can't SEE the email addresses. NB

jetskier · 04-26-2010, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canoe

I actually respond to 90% of all the emails into the restaurant, the rest go to the specific department. Through our website I have countless emails with no return email address that I cannot respond to. I will gladly answer your email, in fact here is my personal email if you like. scott@magicfoodsnh.com, feel free to email me anytime. I don't do alot of posting on the forum, I feel this is not a place for business owners to post but to respond to areas like above, my own personal opinion..

As for calling myself a chef. You can have a pretty good idea of the quality of meat or sefood by the look, smell and the feel, but tell you how it is going to eat after you cook it, impossible. I would never use a poor peice of meat or take a bad peice of meat or fish and MAKE it better, that is the sign of a real chef..

My emails had the return address (both of them) inserted in the email field as requested on the web page form. I sent two of them just to make sure that you received them. You can send me a private email on the forum and I will give you my address so you can dig them out. I am not going to write a third email at this point. I sent you two as a courtesy.

Jetskier

kechefs · 04-25-2010, 10:19 PM

No Bozo, as someone who has never worked, owned or managed a restaurant you seem like the last person who should tell a chef what they should or should not be able to do. Just because you have eaten at restaurants does not qualify you to pretend to know how to run one.

04-25-2010, 12:08 AM	#11
Lucky1 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Moultonborough and FL Posts: 459 Thanks: 318 Thanked 123 Times in 53 Posts	Why not go and talk this out? On our way to meet friends tonight we drove by Canoe some time between 6:30 and 7:00 PM and there was not a single space in the parking lot at Canoe. Talking is so much better than email as things can get confused in emails. Or call on the telephone? Last edited by Lucky1; 04-25-2010 at 12:09 AM. Reason: added

04-23-2010, 02:27 PM	#1
canoe Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 21 Thanks: 12 Thanked 20 Times in 4 Posts	Good Afternoon, I can agree with some of what everyone has posted. You are exactly right, there is no way we can fix something if we don't know about it. I will be the first to admit that you can get a tough piece of meat. I can tell you with 100% confidence that we buy all of our steaks from the same manufacturer and purveyor every week. I unfortunately have no control over mother nature and that works for seafood also. I would have and will have no problem replacing a meal if it was cooked incorrectly, over seasoned or tough. It actually benefits a restaurant to know these things, how else are we to remedy the problem and or stop that happening to another customer. I know people just deal with it ,and then post they are never coming back, I don't think that's the answer. I have had bad or improperly cooked meals at restaurants, I return if I know it's not the norm for them. I politely mention it to a manager or owner because i don't want it to affect their other guest, a common courtesy I guess, hoping it does not affect their business. I would hope people have the same courtesy towards us. As for the service part of it, reservations definitely help but its a tough call this time of year, one Tuesday you can do 45 covers and the next Tuesday do 105, which was the case, sorry for the long wait time, my apologies. Is the solution to limit seating, yes to a point. Try telling a customer at the front desk there will be a 15 or 20 minute wait when you have empty tables, 8 out of 10 times that doesn't go over well. The customers that understand the business are ok, but then there are others who just get nasty. Its a fine line to walk and I think we do it very well. I am not going to blow smoke and tell you we are the best, everyone has room to improve, to error is human to forgive is divine, I wish that worked in this industry, especially when we would do our best to make every customer happy. Thank you everyone for there input, I will be sharing all of these posts with the staff and management to better serve you. Scott Ouellette

The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to canoe For This Useful Post:
Gatto Nero (04-24-2010), Lakesrider (04-23-2010), Lucky1 (04-23-2010), secondcurve (04-25-2010), Sunbeam lodge (04-26-2010), trfour (04-23-2010)

04-23-2010, 02:43 PM	#2
VitaBene Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 3,612 Thanks: 1,660 Thanked 1,650 Times in 853 Posts	Thank you for your reply Scott. Keep up the good work!

04-23-2010, 06:04 PM	#3
Lakesrider Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 2,129 Thanks: 380 Thanked 1,016 Times in 345 Posts	Thanks as well Scott. Your reply shows that you read the forum and care about it's readers opinions. A lot of people would just ignore it and keep on going. I still love the Canoe. The drinks there are always perfect. Seriously I have never had a poorly poured drink at the Canoe....

04-23-2010, 09:17 PM	#4
Rattlesnake Guy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 1,254 Thanks: 423 Thanked 366 Times in 175 Posts	Scott, Thank you for your thoughtful reply. Full disclosure, the Canoe is one of our favorites. I was thinking about your dilemma of the "curse" of too much business on a given night. Nothing can sour some of us more than a brutally slow experience when we are not in the mood for one. I was thinking about the common experience we have all had when we are told there is an hour wait for a table. When I hear that, I make an educated decision of weather to wait or bail. No hard feelings, I just don't want to make that big of an investment at that time. It cuts the wait for the folks behind me as well. I suspect the line reaches some kind of equilibrium where people are willing to wait a given number of minutes. To my point, I wonder if their is any practical way to give me a chance to make a decision on the current meal cycle time as well. Is their a certain number of guest that a waiter or the kitchen gets to where your experience tells you that this is going to start being an issue for some customers? Is their a way to give me the option to make the investment in time or choose another option? I can imagine that it is a tough choice to discourage business but I would certainly be even more loyal to someone being honest with me. Just thinking out loud. We are glad you care.

04-23-2010, 11:55 PM	#5
Lucky1 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Moultonborough and FL Posts: 459 Thanks: 318 Thanked 123 Times in 53 Posts	If the food is good and we have no place we have to be in a period of time, waiting is not a problem. But that is just this opinion. How about putting out small dishes with cheese and crackers or other inexpensive food baskets with rolls or bread sticks or something interesting? Nice people sometimes seem to get irritated when they are hungry thus having something there might help to make the wait more tolerable. Just offering a suggestion. Good luck. Going to be a great summer for all at our wonderful lake I hope.

The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to jetskier For This Useful Post:
Irish mist (04-25-2010), WakeboardMom (06-04-2010)

04-24-2010, 07:23 PM	#7
jack1706 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Ft.Laud.,Fl & Winter Harbor Posts: 150 Thanks: 40 Thanked 19 Times in 17 Posts	How is it that reservations definitely help? I don't get it.... if I call then head over - reservation for two.. how will this help a restaurant ? Still seems like they say. wait a minute for this or that.. Then again.. you can walk in & they say "do you have a reservation?' I say no..only 2 of us & they act like I made a terrible mistake by not calling ahead & set a bad tone for the night.... Go figure !!!

04-25-2010, 12:48 PM	#13
NoBozo Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Portsmouth. RI Posts: 2,231 Thanks: 400 Thanked 460 Times in 308 Posts	Over the years talking to wait persons in better than average restaurants, the ideal number of tables for one person to serve seems to be Four..with Five tables being a stretch. Of course if one of the tables has a party of 10, then that changes things quite a bit. I would think the Host/Hostess would be the one to assign tables to each waitstaff..depending on the table size and the experience of the person serving. BTW: Anyone calling himself a Chef, should be able to pick up a piece of raw meat and Immediately KNOW if it is... or will be tough. A good Chef also has the Skill and Experience to take a "poor" piece of meat and make it quite edible. NB Disclaimer: I have never owned, managed, or worked in a restaurant. I am just an paying observer.

04-25-2010, 05:33 PM	#14
canoe Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 21 Thanks: 12 Thanked 20 Times in 4 Posts	I actually respond to 90% of all the emails into the restaurant, the rest go to the specific department. Through our website I have countless emails with no return email address that I cannot respond to. I will gladly answer your email, in fact here is my personal email if you like. scott@magicfoodsnh.com, feel free to email me anytime. I don't do alot of posting on the forum, I feel this is not a place for business owners to post but to respond to areas like above, my own personal opinion.. As for calling myself a chef. You can have a pretty good idea of the quality of meat or sefood by the look, smell and the feel, but tell you how it is going to eat after you cook it, impossible. I would never use a poor peice of meat or take a bad peice of meat or fish and MAKE it better, that is the sign of a real chef..

04-25-2010, 10:19 PM	#17
kechefs Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 10 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	No Bozo, as someone who has never worked, owned or managed a restaurant you seem like the last person who should tell a chef what they should or should not be able to do. Just because you have eaten at restaurants does not qualify you to pretend to know how to run one.

The Following User Says Thank You to kechefs For This Useful Post:
Jmo77011 (04-28-2010)