Lack luster service at Mia Bella Trattoria Houston TX

Hi Xxxxxx,

I was just in your restaurant at 2006 Lexington St. and the service was to say the least lack lustre. We had a party of 8 for a birthday celebratory lunch. Here are some items of concern:
1). The restaurant was very empty but the service level was not there as it took a while for our orders to be taken and yet another while for the orders to arrive. One of my friends mentioned later that her entree was not hot enough.
2). We only received one helping of bread and was never asked if we needed any more which would have been welcome since our wait for the meal was so long.
3). The waiter never asked if everything was O.K. after bring the meal or if we needed anything additional.
4). One of my friends ordered the crab cakes thinking it was a meal, but it turned out to just be one cake. I think the waiter should have mentioned that this was the case seeing that everyone else was ordering full lunches
5). At the end, one of my party even got up and re-filled the glass of one of our friends as it was empty. Another friend also wanted a refill on his ice tea, but no one was available.
6). I had the French fries and it was just not good; the fries were overcooked and were just too thin.

I think I saw only one other table that was there and then they left and one other arrived and sat in our area. I think there may have been one or two other occupied tables in the entire place.

Oh and the bill had 18% forced gratuity on it as well. We would have welcomed the opportunity to tip for the service level received, but that was not an option.

Just thought you should know how I felt about the level of service we received.

Houston, TX: Randalls Grocery Store - Initial Response

I got this response from Randalls:

Re: Safeway Customer Comment [#XXXXXXX]‏

From:	web.comments (web.comments@safeway.com)
Sent:	Wed 7/15/09 3:38 AM
To:

Dear Mr. XXXXXXXX:

Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding the unpleasant experience you had at your local Randalls store.

You expressed your concern regarding the use of your credit card at the store as well as the fees for the use of ATM. We are sorry to hear that we are not meeting your expectations. Communication with our customers like you enables our continued improvement.

You also commented on the quality of the paper bags at the store. Thank you for taking the time to bring this matter to our attention. We regret the inconvenience this may have caused. We appreciate hearing feedback on all of these subjects, and will use this information in our efforts to improve operations.

You further expressed your concern regarding the quality of customer service provided by our associates at the checkstand including the bagger. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced. It is not our intention to upset our valued customers, but to provide them with excellent customer service.

Your comments are important to us and have been forwarded to the Accounting and the Retail Operations Department as well as the Store Manager for further review. We appreciate your patience in this matter.

If you would like to discuss this further, please reply to this email or call our toll free number at 1-877-723-3929 and reference contact I.D. XXXXXXXX. One of our associates will be happy to assist you.

We appreciate your business and look forward to seeing you soon. Thank you for shopping at Randalls.


Sincerely,

XXXXXXX XXXXX

Customer Service Center

Houston, TX: Randalls Grocery Store autoresponse

Here is the auto response from Randalls. I don't know why they think I need a link to their specials? Let's see what gives with their response.

Re: Safeway Customer Comment [#2534097]‏

From:	web.comments (web.comments@safeway.com)
Sent:	Mon 7/13/09 10:30 PM
To:

Thank you. We have received your email submitted through www.Safeway.com and we appreciate your comments. Our staff is available to respond via email, 7AM to 10PM (MST) Monday through Friday. We will research and reply as quickly as possible.
You can now view our weekly advertised specials online! Simply click on the following link and enter your Zip code:
http://www.safeway.com/weeklyspecials
Thank you again for writing. It is always a pleasure to serve you at Safeway.
Customer Service Safeway Inc.

Houston, TX: Randalls Grocery Store - 2nd incident

Here is my note to Randalls after their bagger pissed me off today when I asked for double paper bags. I use double paper bags as I walk home from the grocery store and the bags hold the grocery better and I prefer paper over plastic.

Today, I went to your store in my neighborhood and a bagger gave me a lecture on recycling and proceed to pack all my items in one double paper bag.

He then put the bread in a plastic bag. I don't need to be lectured by your staff about recycling. I pay your store for groceries and expect to get the bags I need to take my grocery home. So I had to walk home with a very heavy bag walking carefully just in case the bags decide to tear. I'll have you know the paper handles have busted before on my way home.

This is really ridiculous and I don't expect to be treated this way when I patronize your store. If this continues, I will go to the Kroger which is just as convenient as the Randalls. I don't think it is too much to get the bags I require when I patronize your store. Already my groceries are more and more expensive each week. The least your store can do is to give me the type of bags I require when I visit your store.

I appreciate your looking into this matter and making the appropriate changes. The courtesy of an e-mail response is requested.

Houston, TX: Randalls Grocery Store

I went to the neighborhood Randalls today and here are two things that ticked me off:

1). I can no longer use my bank card for cash transactions at your counter. I am told to use the ATM for cash then come back to the counter. Using this ATM cost me money so this is not a good thing. Why was this instituted and when will it be changed? The store manager was no where to be found so I could make a complaint.

2). Last week I shopped as usual and requested double paper bags as usual. The cashier advised that my bags cannot be doubled. He then proceeded to make it difficult for me to complete my transaction by mouthing off about not being allowed to double bag. I then told him that I'm not allowed to pay for these groceries threatening to leave them behind. He finally double bagged reluctantly.

If they keep this up I will have to write them a letter.

Houston, TX: Murphy's Deli

I went to a local lunch place today and ordered a chicken Caesar salad. It was prepared nicely with hot chicken and some cheese although had to wait a few minutes since there were only two workers.

At the cashier, he asked what I wanted to drink and I advised that it was some water. He proceeded to charge me $0.31 cents. I asked why and he said it was for the cup. What! I complained and he took off the charge. The audacity to charge me for a cup of water, good grief!

Citibank strikes once more :-(

I saw this today from Citibank:

As of November 7, 2008, there are several change that impact Citibank's two overdraft protection services: Safety Checking and Checking Plus^® (variable rate):

• Citibank will charge an Overdraft Protection Transfer Fee of $10 each day we cover overdrafts by transferring money from your Checking Plus® account, your Checking Plus^® (variable rate) account, or your Safety Check contributing account. The Overdraft Protection Transfer Fee will be charged to the checking account that receives the transfer. This fee is waived for Citigold^®, Citi Private Bank, International Personal Banking, and Global Executive Banking customers
• Both Safety Check and Checking Plus^® will transfer the amount needed to cover your overdraft plus any applicable fees. The amount transferred is rounded up to the nearest $100, so you have extra protection if other overdrafts occur. If you don't need the extra coverage, just transfer the funds from checking back to your Checking Plus line of credit or to your savings or money market account.

This is so crazy! Why would they charge me a transfer fee? And to make it worst, it will be by day!

So when they move up to the nearest $100, you will have to pay the interest on that money if you forget to move it back.

With all the fees that Citi has charged me over the years, you would think they would be in better financial state?

By the way, I never saw this notice prior to Nov. 7!