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The Bard & Banker | Victoria | Government St. @ Fort St.


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#121 Ms. B. Havin

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Posted 03 October 2008 - 10:13 PM

Deteriorating service is a real theme these days, not just at the B&B it seems.

I got snippy service at a coffee shop recently and thought it was just me. But then I overheard the ppl at the table next to me complaining about "service in this town going to the dogs," and what crappy service they just had.

Last weekend I was at the Bay, and the sales people were talking with a couple of sympathetic customers about how understaffed they were.

It seems that the sole guy in the men's department was abandoned by the other workers that day, so the store assigned people from other, slow-moving departments to help him out.

The conversation he and the other staff member were having with the customers was how lately, they can't rely on staff at all. There were several stories about people being hired, then going off on their lunch breaks and not returning at all. They just walked away from the job ...'cause they could, 'cause they decided they didn't really like it after all.

It was a gorgeous day that Sunday, and the reason the men's dept was understaffed (along with other depts in the store) is because too many on-duty staff "called in sick." Isn't that a coincidence?

The staffer and the customers then talked about "the nasty nineties," when people didn't have jobs and the unemployment rate was up, and people who did have jobs were happy to have them and showed some work ethic.

Yeah, well, what with the credit crunch / financial meltdown, maybe those "nasties" will return soon enough...?
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#122 julienne

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Posted 04 October 2008 - 11:50 AM

It's exhausting to think about but I think we need to start complaining and demanding better service.
I also think that companies have to start hiring the middle aged workforce. They're more experienced and have a strong work ethic.
Do you think that's a sweeping generalization?

#123 Mike K.

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Posted 04 October 2008 - 01:52 PM

Best way to demand better service to pay your bill down to the penny.

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#124 spanky123

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Posted 04 October 2008 - 04:18 PM

It's exhausting to think about but I think we need to start complaining and demanding better service.
I also think that companies have to start hiring the middle aged workforce. They're more experienced and have a strong work ethic.
Do you think that's a sweeping generalization?


The Bay is very good at hiring older staff who have returned to the workforce.

There is a perception amoungst many of the 20 somethings that jobs are unlimited and they can simply move from one to another as they see fit demanding their own terms as they go. The media has helped fuel this with countless articles on the aging baby boomers and the need to service their needs.

Well guess what. The baby boomers are working longer and harder now that their savings are being wiped out by the stock market collapse while the unemployment rate in the US reaches 7 year highs.

I have already heard one local developer state that he was happy things were slowing down because it gave him an opportunity to tell several of his workers where to stuff their hammers!

I think that some people may be in for a rude awakening.

#125 julienne

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Posted 05 October 2008 - 07:30 PM

Great post Spanky. Interesting times.
I've had great service at the Bay even though sometimes it's difficult to find where the service staff are hiding.
Was at the Bard for lunch today. The service is so uneven and lately the food has been as well.
First of off, I don't want a server to be my best friend, so hence, when I'm entertaining guests, I don't want to know that the server "just woke up" nor do I want to know that she can't answer the questions about the menu because she " doesn't work here very often."
While the newbie service staff are to blame, I also think that management has to accept responsibility for the service problem too.

I can't stand it anymore. I've been a lover of dining out all my life but this last year in Victoria I have come to hate it.

#126 Caramia

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Posted 05 October 2008 - 10:58 PM

Donate to the youth hospitality training program at the Taj Mahal building! When it is up and running at full capacity it will have the capacity to train 80 youth over a year in an industrial kitchen, with all the right certificates, and mentors from the hospitality industry.

I bet the quality of service will go up!
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#127 Coreyburger

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Posted 06 October 2008 - 12:54 AM

The Bay is very good at hiring older staff who have returned to the workforce.

There is a perception amoungst many of the 20 somethings that jobs are unlimited and they can simply move from one to another as they see fit demanding their own terms as they go. The media has helped fuel this with countless articles on the aging baby boomers and the need to service their needs.

Well guess what. The baby boomers are working longer and harder now that their savings are being wiped out by the stock market collapse while the unemployment rate in the US reaches 7 year highs.

I have already heard one local developer state that he was happy things were slowing down because it gave him an opportunity to tell several of his workers where to stuff their hammers!

I think that some people may be in for a rude awakening.


I seriously doubt it. Have you looked at the demographics? I have, and it is scary.

#128 Zimquats

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Posted 06 October 2008 - 06:46 AM

Hmmm...I go to the Bard at least once every two weeks, and I've never had any problem with the service, or the food (except one thing that I didn't like, but that was likely more because I simply didn't like what I ordered).

I'm certainly not implying that your experiences weren't bad, just that mine weren't bad, which I think also needs to be said...

#129 julienne

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Posted 06 October 2008 - 07:50 AM

Donate to the youth hospitality training program at the Taj Mahal building! When it is up and running at full capacity it will have the capacity to train 80 youth over a year in an industrial kitchen, with all the right certificates, and mentors from the hospitality industry.

I bet the quality of service will go up!



An excellent point and a hopeful solution.

#130 ptolomeus

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Posted 26 October 2008 - 09:04 PM

Went there on Friday, I can´t complain about the service neither the food ... or the live music :)

#131 Pyroteknik

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Posted 18 January 2009 - 10:06 AM

I was at the Bard and Banker last night for dinner with friends out of town, and I was rather embarrassed with the food service I received. The bartender was great with the drink service, but our server failed to bring cutlery with the food, did not serve the food with condiments, and brought our main courses shortly after our appetisers were served. She was very unresponsive and hardly there for us at all, and the place wasn't even that busy yet. The poor bartender had to attend to our needs for cutlery and condiments!

I'm normally passive regarding the occasional "bad night" at restaruants, but unfortunately I will think of the many other great places Victoria has to go to first before i consider this pub again.

#132 ZGsta

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Posted 24 February 2009 - 01:30 PM

I think this place has such a great interior and layout and the food is pretty good, but it's a shame that the service isn't better.
I wonder if the owner has clued into this since I've heard nothing but complaints about the service here, but I've always had great service at the Irish Times.

#133 Sparky

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Posted 06 September 2009 - 09:44 PM

My wife and I attended this evening for a beer after our dinner at the "Bon Rouge"
This pub is fantastic. We did not eat however, but the chap beside us at the bar said that his pizza was the best. The band flared up in the elevated platform and was delightful. For those of us that are old enough to remember when the only choices were the Red Lion, Tally Ho, Ingraham, or Colony will appreciate the care that has gone into the detail of this facility.

#134 hotdoglegz

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Posted 08 September 2009 - 12:49 PM

They have a new executive chef. I can't remember his name but he was previously at the Rosemeade at the Old English Inn (prior to that he was at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas).

#135 Bob Fugger

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Posted 08 September 2009 - 03:40 PM

They have a new executive chef. I can't remember his name but he was previously at the Rosemeade at the Old English Inn (prior to that he was at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas).


Wow, didn't take long for the original chef to book it. Anyone have any idea why the original exec chef left, or was his tenure merely transitional? They've only really been open a year or so.

#136 julienne

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Posted 09 September 2009 - 06:49 AM

They have a new executive chef. I can't remember his name but he was previously at the Rosemeade at the Old English Inn (prior to that he was at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas).


Richard Luttman. This should be interesting.

#137 Mike K.

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Posted 09 September 2009 - 09:09 AM

Wow, didn't take long for the original chef to book it. Anyone have any idea why the original exec chef left, or was his tenure merely transitional? They've only really been open a year or so.


The food was bland so I assume management received flack over high prices and mediocre offerings.

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#138 Lover Fighter

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Posted 20 December 2009 - 02:11 PM

When did they move the stage from above the bar to ground level? I haven't been there in awhile, but I was there a couple nights ago and I like this set-up better. The sound system, however, was sub-par and the band didn't seem too impressed with it.

#139 JustJoy

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Posted 27 May 2010 - 12:52 PM

I went to the Bard when visiting Victoria.. also went to the Irish Times, and the Times wins hands down. The Bard was over-priced, which I can live with if it was great... but the service? Beyond lousy. Indifferent service, overpriced and not memorable. The Times? Beyond fantastic. I'll go back there in a heartbeat!

#140 pontcanna

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Posted 05 June 2010 - 12:20 PM

Interesting. Same owners, same beer, theoretically same hiring practices at Irish and "Tard and Wanker".

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