MONIQUE sent a message to Eugene Lee – President and Chief Executive Officer of Darden Restaurants, Inc. – Email Address that said:
Hi my name is Monique. I truly hate having to communicate with you on the subject of a poor experience at one of your Longhorn Restaurants located at 2110 E Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL 33612. I have been visiting Longhorn for many years. However, the experience I had on Tuesday July 23,20616 around 9:30 pm was was horrific, degrading and down right unacceptable of a restaurant I hold at such high regards. There were issues from beginning to end. Initially I had a $5 off coupon for 2 entrees. The waiter came to the table, we ordered our waters and I showed him the coupon on my cell phone, then went to the restroom. My friend (Derrick) stayed at the table with the waiter and my phone. When I returned, the waiter came back and said so what appetizer do you want? I said, no it's not for a free appetizer, it's actually for $5 two dinner entrees. Instead of him saying, oh I'm sorry let me see the coupon again and clarify it and move on, he elected to tell me that the coupon clearly says a free appetizer. I looked at the coupon again as perhaps I was mistaken. Only to find that I was right about the coupon. He never apologized for the unsolicited debate, he just proceeded to take our order. Secondly, I only order 1 of 2 things when I come there, considering I'm not a beef eater. I always get either the chicken fingers with a SWEET POTATO (by which I eat all of, skin included) and salad/spinach or broccoli with cheese or the brown butter fish and shrimp with a SWEET POTATO and salad/spinach or broccoli with cheese. Considering I've been getting the same thing for years, I'd like to consider myself a professional of if nothing else, those 2 dishes. So on this particular night, I ordered the chicken fingers, a sweet potato and broccoli with American cheese. After waiting forever, the food finally comes out. At first sight, the chicken fingers were perfect and piping hot. The sweet potato appeared to be very mushy as the butter wouldn't even melt and the broccoli was a little overcooked. At that time I was starving and decided not to say anything. I figured I would just take a few bites, go home heat up everything else then eat. I took a bite of the broccoli first and the cheese was melted but it was soft. I then ate the skin from the sweet potato and it had a scorched taste to it. So I looked inside and the edged of the skin were completely scorched on all sides and the potato had the consistency of baby food. During that time, the waiter came by to see how everything was. While still fine with the chicken fingers and the broccoli, I showed him the potato. Instead of the same waiter AGAIN empathizing with the situation, he continues to debate with me. He said, "Well it looks perfect to me. That's how I eat them." I told him how I get that ALL the time and that I'd never had it that way. He said well what do you want me to do? I said well for starters you can stop debating with me and bring out a new potato. At no time did I ask for a manager, I just wanted to eat my food that I'd ordered. After a few minutes, the manager comes out with a new potato. There was no cinnamon or butter on it. So I asked him about that and he said he would bring it out. I asked him to wait let me check the potato to see if it was right first. Low and behold, the SECOND potato that the MANAGER brought out WAS JUST AS BURNT as the first. When I pointed that out to him, instead of him apologizing and getting it fixed, he too begins to debate and justify. His explanation to me was that no two potatoes are alike in size and texture, as he pointed to my friend's REGULAR baked potato. I let him know that while that may be true, its not supposed t be burnt. During that discussion, the same waiter walks up once again to the table, NOW all smiles and hospitable, asking if the potato was better. I told him I was talking to the manager at that point so there was nothing else to say to him.
