So I check yelp all the time, obvs, but like I said before stuff about it bugs me. What do you think (if you care) about people posting gripes about people not bringing them their check when it is an establishment in which you are supposed to go up to the counter and pick up your bill? To me, this seem akin to complaining that there is no table service at Bernardo. There just ain't so it will do you no good to sit there all day and wait for a server to come take your order. For instance, at Pho Bac Hoa Viet, they will drop off the check at your table (maybe you have to ask sometimes) but you're supposed to go the cash register to pay. This is just a quirk of certain places and it bothers me when people complain about it because you basically just have to watch and figure it out what to do if you're not familiar with the policy. And some places don't even drop off your check, you're just supposed to make the entire transaction at the front when you're done. This isn't a shortcoming, it's just the way it is. The reviews of Pho Bac are what mostly brought this up for me. Every time I've gone in there I get courteous service, my food is served almost instantly, I eat it say "this food is good" to myself or others around me, and then walk up to the front and pay. This is all I expect and it's all that I get.
Speaking of Vietnamese food, everyone who has eaten at Andy Nguyen knows that it is often slow and you shouldn't go there if you have any kind of time limit. I still love the food so I accept this and plan accordingly. However, the other night the portion size of the item I usually order (the awakening of faith rice noodle bowl) was randomly quite a bit smaller! GW confirmed she had experienced this with some soup she got there recently. I hope this is not a trend! Oh Andy when will you ever get it together?
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I think you aught not defend poor service nor judge those that don't like poor service. Some of these people are surely assholes who get treated poorly cause they're rude fools, however it seems that the majority of comenters say the same thing: bad service. You don't care about bad service,I don't care about bad service, unless I don't get my coffee cup filled at breakfast then I get peeved,but most people consider the service and the servers as part of what they're paying for.Rude is rude, and it doesn't matter if it's the staff or the customer who are being rude it's improper behavior(sic) in either case.
i'm sitting in a laundromat in arcata with absolutely nothing to do except wait...so i'll chime in on the yelpoversy (yelptroversy?)
too many people base too much of their review on stupid things like service, presentation, parking, waiting time, cleanliness, etc.
i think yelping has led to some kind of yelp syndrome in some people. looking too hard for good or bad things instead of just relaxing. like thinking...oh this appetizer is five stars, but wait the bread brings the place down to four, they better make up for it with the entree, oh the entree is good, i wonder if i'm going to give it four or five stars when i get home....oh but the dessert was just ok and the server looked at me funny...maybe four stars.
reviewing places is cool. there are probably like two things i like better than reading a restaurant review (NHL '94 on sega genesis and puppies). and i yelp stuff...but i'm the kind of yelp person who just says that i liked a place and then i usually list the things i ordered. i'm not very informative i guess. or at least i rarely am.
but a lot of people have great reviews on there and i can trust them and they are funny or they are really good reviews about the food. lisa d and north carolina camille are good examples of reviewers who i like and trust.
i guess i just don't care about the service at a place. as long as the food is good then i'm good. i generally think that 99% of people don't know what they are talking about...myself included like 99.9% of the time. i guess the whole thing with yelp is finding the 1% of the people whose reviews you can trust and then just ignore the rest of the 99%. i think that goes for almost everything. ignore 99% and pay attention to 1%.
if any of this is incoherent it is because i have slowly been going mad over the past two weeks.
-greg
It's one thing when you get "bad service" at a place like Pho Bac. Quite another if you're at some chi chi $100 per person place. I agree -- if you're there for a bowl of noodles and nobody comes around to take your debit card, no big deal, but when you're paying up the yin yang for dinner, part of what you're paying for is service. Good service can make a meal, bad service can ruin it, but I don't think Becky was apologizing for "bad service." Seems like she was just saying, basically, know what you're getting into before you go, and don't expect to have a napkin put in your lap at the pho joint.
Even though I used to be very pro-yelp (although that pro is certainly waning), I agree with you 100%. If you are dining at a nice establishment with plates over $15 or $20, of course you should expect good service and have a right to be upset if the service is lacking. However, if you are paying $6 for a bowl of pho, I dont think it really matters how they greet you as long as the pho is hot and screamin. I mean, a hand job would be nice and all but... And I think the people at the hoa viet are nice enough. I think a lot people confuse language problems with being rude as many of the ladies there dont speak english too well. Just my 2 cents.
hey armeniac-
that's not what i was talking about. my question is-is it fair to complain about no one bringing you your check if it's the restaurant policy to not bring your check, but thanks for the lecture.
And I've certainly warmed up to yelp, too. It's very entertaining. I hate that anti-msg guy, though. He mostly just reviews chains and bases his reviews on whether or not they cook with msg.
oh yeah, I got sidetracked defending the hoa viet. Imo, I guess its valid to complain about a service/feature that you dont like or agree with. However if this is the basis of your review, well, thats retarded.
I just look at yelp as the pitchforkmedia.com of the local restaurant scene. Most reviews are shit, but it's interesting to see what other people think of some restaurants I already go to, and once in a while, after wading through a bunch of garbage reviews, I see some place that looks interesting enough that I might check it out
It's probably been around a year since I've eaten at Pho Bac Hoa Viet but I don't think I've ever encountered the surliness in the waitstaff that's been mentioned in all the recent Yelp reviews.
Maybe the customers are misinterpreting a language or cultural barrier. Maybe they truly don't like whitey. But then again, China made war on Vietnam too (more times than the US), and I still get good service there.
I guess I'll just have to go there to verify if the waitstaff truly has gone surly. Beef stew noodles with lots of Sriracha!!!
Love,
President, Sacramento Appreciation Society of San Francisco
I've always been a great lecturer, it's true. Ever read Phadeus? That was me! Of course it's not fair to gripe at having to pay at the counter,if the policy is to not bring the bill to the table than no big woop.Paying at the counter is quiker and easier anyway and any gripes about that are silly. I guess I was just 'expanding the dialouge' if that is in fact what I was doing rather than just writing a lecture which I will give on Dec 7th @ city college to be entitled: I Don't Really Mind Filling Up My Cwn Coffee At The Waffle House. xoxo
dammit... just lost my post.
Here's a summmary:
1) I love Pho Bac. Cant eat there anymore cuz I gave up meat. Has anyone every asked if they could make their pho broth w/o beef? I asked once (they wouldnt) but that was two years ago.
2) Andy Nguyens = good. Service = unpredictable. I've been there when its packed and gotten food in 5min. On two occasions i've had the waitress FORGET about my food when it's been empty inside. I'll also agree that the portion size varies from small to adequate.
"I guess I was just 'expanding the dialouge' if that is in fact what I was doing rather than just writing a lecture which I will give on Dec 7th @ city college to be entitled: I Don't Really Mind Filling Up My Cwn Coffee At The Waffle House"
I won't be able to attend, but is it possible to obtain a transcript of this lecture?
Pho Bac is the best restaurant in Sac. The end.
heckamax
Ummm...you definitely cannot make Pho broth without meat bones. I've seen my mom make it in many different variations and all entail beef or pork bones. You cannot get that flavour without.
About Pho, it's a south sac chain, and it varies from location to location. If you really want to complain about surly service go to the one on Stockton blvd. Besides the stangeness of getting Heinekin served to you with a glass of ice, if someone with you doesn't speak Vietnamese, you are definitely at bottom of the serving list. At least I can remember enough of it to order my meal with my mom, and they bring out the traditional accompaniments that non-speakers don't get.
It's even the case at the Broadway location. When I go there with a friend from midtown, there's different treatment, but not as severe as the Stockton one. If I go there with my mom, I'm still the embarassing son that can't hold a conversation in Vietnamese, but we still get "different" treatment.
I don't know. You go to an ethnic restaurant, things and people are different. Deal with it. Just be lucky you don't have to go to a restaurant in Berlin where waitresses get paid better and don't work for tips. I'm sure you can imagine what kind of service you'll receive.
hey, larry r. just tipped me to a pho joint called bamboo on madison ave that stays open until 3 a.m. on the weekends. he said it was really good too.
homzee
pho bac aka bamboo 5060 madison ave
thur. fri. sat. open until 3:00 am
across the st. from the sticky whicket bar
that's a sticky wicket!
hey becka...sorry hecka if your still look'n to review late night eats spots omf told me about this place called the silver skillet. its in the 49er truck station and is open 24h a day everyday. i haven't been yet but it sounds cool.
homz
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