Not a "better place to eat"

Tonight we went back to the Max & Erma's on Virginia Beach Blvd for the first time in about three years. And I don't think I will ever be going back.

When we first moved to Virginia Beach, we spent a lot of time in the area of Pembroke Mall. This was mostly because we didn't know the area, and there were things to do up that way. One of the restaurants we thought were good at that time was Max & Erma's. It wasn't overly complicated. It had a decent menu. It wasn't a bad place to bring the kids. But the feeling didn't last.

Over a period of a couple of visits, we couldn't help but notice a steady decline in the quality of the service. The place was always clean and I can't think of a problem with the wait staff, but other things were problems. Most of the problems we were having were that it was taking longer and longer for the orders to come out. And parts of orders were starting to be forgotten. And with small kids, that was starting to be a serious issue. I couldn't help but notice that not only was I waiting a long time for food to arrive, but I was also waiting so long for the check and then my card that Natalie started taking the boys out to the car while I would sit there alone for 20 minutes or so at a time.

Eventually, I just decided we were never going to go there again. And that was three years ago.

(This isn't the only restaurant I feel this way about and the story is almost the same for those, too.)

Tonight, Natalie really wanted to go give Max & Erma's another try. She had a coupon. She was tired after doing a whole day's work at school and then straightening up the garage so we could fit a "new" freezer we had acquired. I decided that maybe three years was long enough, and maybe Max & Erma's would be better now.

I expected the worst, but hoped for the best. I was left disappointed.

I sent an update to the social networking sites I when we put the order in for our meals. Nothing complicated. The kids ordered kid food-a cheeseburger and corn dogs. Natalie ordered a burger and I ordered a really simple chicken dish. I didn't think it was anything all that complicated. Not at all.

All the while I was pinging along on my phone. Jake was finishing his homework. Sam was playing on his DS. Natalie and I were talking. And then it started to feel like it was taking a long time. The place really wasn't that busy.

According to my Plurk timeline, we placed our order at 18:40. The waiter, Will (who was really doing a good job) apologized at 19:20 about the food being late. That really got my attention. At least that was an improvement over the last time I was there. That time they didn't even bother to talk to us between ordering and delivery (and I lost track of time with my tempter). Will did a good job.

The food did arrive at 19:25.

Did I mention that it was a kid's cheeseburger, corndog bites, adult burger and a easy chicken dish? The whole thing should have taken less than 10 minutes to cook. We hadn't ordered any starters when we sat down, because we were worried that was what killed the pacing the last time we were there (and the cookie order just completely screwed that night 3 years ago).

At the point that the food arrived, I was looking at my feed on Twitter. 43 minutes.

Yes, 43 minutes.

I asked the waiter if there was a problem in the kitchen. I didn't actually expect him to say yes.

I filled the manager in on the fact that we had a series of bad experiences at that location three years ago. And that this visit was really their last chance at convincing me that the Max & Erma's brand was worth attention, time or business.

We did get an explanation about what the problem was in the kitchen. It was the kid's cheeseburger. Seems that earlier in the week the kitchen had run out of kid sized hamburger patties. While waiting for the order, the kitchen had been hand modifying adult hamburgers to fit the kid's buns. Seems the cook tonight didn't know that, and the manager had to cook Jake's burger himself because no one in the kitchen could understand what they had been doing all week (and I assume all night).

I thanked the manager (I'm sorry I don't remember his name. He was very nice, understanding and I would say professional). And I explained to him that this was exactly the same kind of problem we saw with the restaurant three years ago, and I didn't think I was ever going to go back.

We ended up skipping desert (made up to the boys at Cold Stone Creamery). We did get 25% knocked off the bill, and coupons for free stuff there for another trip. Natalie took the coupons. I don't think I will ever be going back to that location. I may be soured on the brand enough that I don't think I will be setting foot in another Max & Erma's for a good long time.

I did tip the waiter, Will, on the full amount of the check. He worked really hard and it seems caused a bit of a problem in the kitchen trying to get us our food. I appreciated the effort.

I also appreciated what the manager was trying to do.

Max & Erma's-I don't care what your website says. You're not "a better place to eat."