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Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: Schpark
Date: April 07, 2006 11:32AM
[www.twincities.com]

I had refused to go there anymore years ago when the Caesar salad I ordered came with iceberg lettuce and "Caesar" dressing. It's hard to believe they are still in business.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: incognegro
Date: April 07, 2006 11:35AM
the last time i ate at a Red Lobster, i swore i never would again. the food was awful.


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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: 3d
Date: April 07, 2006 11:42AM
I have never heard of a restaurant taking personal checks.

She has no credit card, $34.77 in her pocket, no debit card. Just a checkbook. And she goes out for dinner with the kids without checking the policy first. What a fool.

This doesn't excuse the manager's behavior. But then again... this entire article seems a bit "one-sided".

*EDIT*
I've only eaten Red Lobster food once. As take-out. I was dating a girl who was waitressing there. And she brought me some food after her shift. It was pretty bad. I told her to not worry about bringing me anything next time. It was awful. What a waste of a lobster.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2006 11:45AM by 3d.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: papercup
Date: April 07, 2006 11:42AM
You know Taco Bell stopped offering black olives, too.

Bastards. All of em.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: spacescape
Date: April 07, 2006 11:47AM
papercup Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You know Taco Bell stopped offering black olives,
> too.
>
> Bastards. All of em.

WHAT? I DIDN'T NOTICE... But, your right, I didn't see any on my Taco Swill for a while.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: SteveO
Date: April 07, 2006 11:48AM
IMHO, this story and the way the manager reacted (badly) shows the new cruelty that has overtaken us all since, oh, about the year 2000. It's now okay to be an @#$%&hole, to take whatever you want from whomever you want and to be mean and unapologetic about it along the way. Graciousness and civility are quickly disappearing from our culture. It is up to us as individuals to always try very hard to take the high road...otherwise the fabric of our society will continue to unravel.

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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: Lux Interior
Date: April 07, 2006 11:54AM
Fortunately for Guild, a group in a nearby booth, who couldn't help but overhear the fuss, offered to help. Mike Leasure of Oakdale offered to pay Guild's bill in exchange for her check; she gratefully accepted.

"The manager, he was way out of control in our opinion," Leasure said. "We asked him to step over to our table after she had left, and we told him that was uncalled for."

The then-apologetic manager gave Leasure a free meal along with free desserts for everyone at the table.

So, he went through all this fuss to extract $35 from the woman, then gives the other booth a free meal? I imagine this genius is in the unemployment line now.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: incognegro
Date: April 07, 2006 12:01PM
it's not the policy which is bad, it's the way the manager unprofessionally handled the problem. the article points out that the woman was at fault.

the manager was being a robot, not a human. any robot can be programmed to say "no checks!" a human figures out a way to solve the problem with thought & heart.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: Gutenberg
Date: April 07, 2006 12:02PM
I think it's sad that millions of Red Lobster customers think that seafood is supposed to smell and taste vaguely of ammonia.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: papercup
Date: April 07, 2006 12:03PM
I'm sure if you squeezed the kids hard enough, a few "hush puppies" would pop out...
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: pRON aHOLIC
Date: April 07, 2006 12:09PM
papercup Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You know Taco Bell stopped offering black olives,
> too.
>
> Bastards. All of em.


Uh.... those weren't olives.


-------------------------------------------------------

Join team 38910 folding! [folding.stanford.edu] multi cpu-[calxalot.homeip.net]
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: michaelb
Date: April 07, 2006 12:15PM
There may be a bit of a cultural shift here too. I never carry my checkbook and would never write a check in a restaurant, but here in the "country" many people do not use or believe in credit cards, and would use cash or a personal check for everything. I have been out to eat with a group and most everyone in the group wrote a separate check for their portion. I have written a personal check for a used car at dealer, and walked out with the car. Before I got my ATM at a country bank (this was over 10 years ago now), I had to make an appointment with the manager who took me outside to show me how to use it.

St. Paul is sort of the big city in Minn, but it is not that far from what is pretty rural and small town countryside too (I don't live in Minn but have driven through Minn/St.Paul).

Red Lobster does suck. Well worth the trip to Maine instead.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: 3d
Date: April 07, 2006 12:23PM
This reminds me of the time i went out drinking with some friends years ago. We were at the bar and this one guy (visibly drunk) was settling up his check with the bartender. He was at the bar before we arrived. And was slamming down drinks. The guy realizes he forgot his wallet. No cash. No credit card/debit card. No ID. The bartender makes him empty out his pockets at the bar. He only had a Metrocard, keys and gum on him.

You should've seen the spectacle the bartender and bouncer made of this poor drunk dude. No one offered to pay for HIS check. They took his keys, metrocard, and even his GUM. And threw him out.

Would anyone here have offered to pay $50 for this drunk guy's tab?
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: Grateful11
Date: April 07, 2006 12:41PM
Haven't ate there in at least 30 years. Too many good local
seafood places for less money and better food.


Grateful11
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: Mactel
Date: April 07, 2006 12:49PM
"I'm sure if you squeezed the kids hard enough, a few "hush puppies" would pop out..."

ok. That made me laugh.

I've eaten at Red Lobster once in ten years when a friend wanted to go to get the all you can eat shrimp. I can't say it tasted very good. It is Flava Flav's favorite restaurant though.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: incognegro
Date: April 07, 2006 01:11PM
"Would anyone here have offered to pay $50 for this drunk guy's tab?"


a bit different from a mom out to dinner with her kids for $38, which sounds kind of low - did she make them drink water? ;)


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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: Zoidberg
Date: April 07, 2006 01:24PM
I was always stunned that a Red Lobster was able to successfully open in New Orleans (home of damn good seafood), never mind that it was in the suburbs. I went there a few times with out-of-town clients who wanted some "normal" seafood. Go figure.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: Guitarman
Date: April 07, 2006 01:24PM
she could have left one of her kids until she could phone in her card number.


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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: 3d
Date: April 07, 2006 01:24PM
incognegro Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Would anyone here have offered to pay $50 for
> this drunk guy's tab?"
>
>
> a bit different from a mom out to dinner with her
> kids for $38, which sounds kind of low - did she
> make them drink water?
>


Yeah,, i noticed that too. $38 for one adult and 3 children? Red Lobster is cheap as far as seafood places go... but it's not DIRT cheap. I have a hard time believing everything in the story. I'm sure the writer embellished some of it for dramatic effect. What a coincidental calamity of events which led to this mother being in the situation she was in... If we take out the manager's insane behavior, the biggest fool of the story is the mother.

Hey, if the drunk guy was instead a drunk gal. Would you THEN consider offering to pay the $50 tab? I bet you would also offer her a ride home! haha
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: rz
Date: April 07, 2006 01:49PM
yeah, the manager was an idiot, but as stated above: What restaurants take checks? I eat out a lot and have never seen anyone write a check for a meal.

One time something similar happened to me, and the restaurant was happy to let me leave my (cheap) watch there so I could run back to my hotel to get my wallet. Of course, the bill only around $10.

Also, I wouldn't call Red Lobster the best seafood around, but I get the distinct impression that some of you will jump on any bandwagon to "dis" a place to make yourself feel "above" everyone. I've had decent seafood there. Not the best everytime, but some of you make it out to sound like they serve swill there. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give it about a 7. And I've been to several "little seafood places" in New England that were absolutely horrible.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: NewtonMP2100
Date: April 07, 2006 01:56PM
I agree. . .Red Lobster isn't THAT bad (but then I liked school lunches too) still I don't eat there and expect gourmet seafood. . .I take it for what it is. . .(the all you can eat crab legs were great. ..but they discontinued them cause they were loosing money sad smiley )

just like Domino's/Pizza Hut isn't real pizza. . .


same holds true for most "chain" restaurants (though some are better than others). ..

No fair comparing it to "real" food. . .NON?








_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2006 01:57PM by NewtonMP2100.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: Guitarman
Date: April 07, 2006 01:59PM
I've been a "regular" at some places and when I was short or didn't have it. i'd let them know in advance and they usually let me pay them back next time i was there. this is of course with places that took only cash.


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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: 3d
Date: April 07, 2006 02:08PM
rz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Also, I wouldn't call Red Lobster the best seafood
> around, but I get the distinct impression that
> some of you will jump on any bandwagon to "dis" a
> place to make yourself feel "above" everyone.


IMO, the food is pretty bad when you take the prices into account. If I was gonna spend $75 for a meal (for two) and drinks and tip RedLobster would be at the very bottom of the list.

If RedLobster slashed their prices in half, then the food would be GREAT! ..for the price.

Everyone has an opinion, why take it personally?
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: raz
Date: April 07, 2006 02:10PM
rz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> yeah, the manager was an idiot, but as stated
> above: What restaurants take checks? I eat out a
> lot and have never seen anyone write a check for a
> meal.
>

'Never' is a bit much.

My Grandfather would take the entire clan out for dinner on his birthday, and always paid by check. He lived in NYC for 40 years and died in 1981. I don't think he ever carried a credit card.


--------------

Embarassing myself on the Internet since 1978.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: karsen
Date: April 07, 2006 02:40PM
Red Lobster is not that bad. As mentioned above the all-you-can-eat crab legs was a heck of a good deal. I miss it.

In comparison we ate at a local restaurant called "Monstah Lobstah" for our anniversary. They hype up the fact that they fly in fresh lobster from Maine daily. The dinner was horrible and the bill was 3 times what we would have spent at Red Lobster.The point is that you can get a bad meal anywhere.

I don't think what the manager did was wrong. I think the article makes it sound worse than it probably was, or they wouldn't have a story and we wouldn't be visiting their site.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: tronnei
Date: April 07, 2006 04:21PM
A couple of weeks ago I took my family to a Minneapolis neighborhood "hole-in-the-wall" tavern for some burgers and fries. After we placed the food order I realized they didn’t accept credit/debit cards, and I didn’t have enough cash on me to pay the bill. They accepted my check no problem.

The "no checks" policy here in Minnesota is a relatively new phenomenon. A couple of years ago McDonalds stopped taking checks and people here went nuts, so the policy was rescinded for a while.

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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: bruceko
Date: April 07, 2006 04:39PM
Went to a Dead Lobster once. I wasn't bad but at the same time it wasn't very good. There are lots of places in our area that will give you a much better seafood dinner for about the same price.
Dead Lobster is another part of the conspiricy to homoginize America.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: Baby Tats
Date: April 07, 2006 05:54PM
They call this lobster now at Red Lobster. It is more closely related to a hermit crab than a lobster.


[en.wikipedia.org]

BT
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: Guitarman
Date: April 07, 2006 06:00PM
You want Lobster? GO to the Lobster Box on City Island.


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Duh!
Posted by: wickedsteve
Date: April 07, 2006 06:40PM
Wah freakin' wah. Red Lobster doesn't accept checks, customer doesn't accept responsibility. If you go into a restaurant you should make sure you can pay before ordering. Only a fool would pull out a check book to pay for a meal these days.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: chas_m
Date: April 07, 2006 06:42PM
I've eaten at Red Lobster, and I agree that *as a seafood restaurant* their food isn't that good and overpriced for what you get.

Their cheddar biscuits though .... omg ... and they're free!

Let's put it this way: I eat there everytime someone gives me a gift card.

You want good seafood, REALLY good seafood, you have to live in a coastal area, preferably a part of town populated by the fishermen, and get things really fresh. Pensacola, for example, has many fine seafood places. RL is to seafood what Olive Garden is to real italian, if you get my drift and I think you do.



chas_m




[crawlingfromtheusa.blogspot.com] <-- Moving to Canada blog
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: incognegro
Date: April 08, 2006 10:46PM
i'm sorry if it sounds over-dramatic... but RL is THAT BAD. deep fried crapola. if you've ever eaten real, fresh seafood, you'll know what i mean.

it's garbage, plain & simple. i'd rather eat Taco Bell.
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Re: Red Lobster..don't do it
Posted by: rz
Date: April 10, 2006 01:00PM
chas_m Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
RL is to seafood what Olive
> Garden is to real italian, if you get my drift and
> I think you do.
>
I'm sure you realize that RL and OG are the same company (Darden).



incognegro Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>i'm sorry if it sounds over-dramatic... but RL is THAT BAD. deep fried crapola. if you've ever eaten real, fresh seafood, you'll know what i mean.


Um, very little of RL's food is deep fried.

And 3d wrote: If I was gonna spend $75 for a meal (for two) and drinks and tip RedLobster would be at the very bottom of the list.

$75? At Red Lobster? You must order a LOT of drinks. The most expensive item on the menu is around $20.
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