"Joe
Thought maybe you could bring this to the attention of some of your viewers.
Tonight, my wife and my inlaws went to dinner at Old West Steakhouse on Beaglin Park Dr. in Salisbury. We had three children with us as well. The kids all had chicken tender meals, which were fine and tasty. However all 4 adults ordered the "Old West Special" sirloin steaks. When our food arrived, we all noticed a foul odor coming from the food. My inlaws began cutting their steaks and took a bite and the steaks did not taste right to them. My wife and i both cut our steaks and the odor was horrible. The meat was obviously bad when it was cooked. Our food was sent back and the waitress explained, that they buy those steaks in packages and the package may have had a hole in it and went bad.
The manager/owner then came out after our food was sent back and asked if he could give us prime rib instead of steak, with the kids already eating, we all agreed that was fine. He then proceeded to tell me, how the steaks are aged for 25 days before being cooked (which is completely different than what the waitress said). I know steak and i know that the steaks were bad before being cooked. He pretty much laughed in our face as i told him they were bad and he knew it. At the same time a few friends of ours were in there and they said there steaks were not good either.
The prime rib was delivered and was "ok", not what either of us wanted, but it beat going somewhere else. When our check was borught to our table, it was for full price. My wife asked if we should get some sort of deduction for our inconvenience. When the waitress went to ask the manager/owner, he came out and very rudely told us, he give us a product in exchange for the bad steaks.He also told us that the steaks we ordered were not good steaks anyway. He never once apologized and i told him i would never be back to his restraunt, and that i would make sure people know he is serving bad food. He was the most arogant individual i have met, as he laughed at us and acted as if he did not care.
I have ate there numerous times in the past and enjoyed their steaks, however after tonight..I will never be back."
47 comments:
I ate there several years ago and right beside our booth was a bucket of cleaning stuff and a mop. It left little desire to eat and have the aroma of "lestoil" coming towards our food. I thought it was pretty tacky to have that sitting near where all the people were eating. The rugs were also pretty scrungy so after that, decided it was not where I wanted to have dinner and pay high prices to go along with it.
The place just did not look clean!
Is it still owned by the young George L. Ralph?
I really like most of their food but that owner is something.
Sorry you had such a bad experience. Old West is probably one of my favorite restaurants in salisbury.I eat out approximatley 100-150 nights a year because my job takes me on the road.No restaurant is immune to tainted food as well as your own kitchen. I've had similar experiences throughout the years at all different kinds of restaurants from local diners to 5 star. the way in which this matter however is unexcusable. I know Martine the owner and he is probably one of the nicest business owners I know and would not have behaved like this himself,nor would he tolerate this behavior from any of his employees. You relly need to go bring this to his attention and I'm sure he will make this right.
9:17 No
I've eaten there once and I never liked their food...its tooo pricy, and crappy service...
I love Old West Steakhouse!
Sorry you did not have the great experience I ALWAYS have at this restaurant.
The Old West Steak House is one of the better resturants in Salibury. I have been going there since Martine open it. The food is good. Yes I have had some meals that were not good.However, Joe or Martine always tried to make a bad thing good. Sounds like you wanted four free meals.
Scott
For a great steak /service go to Texas Road House best deal in town.
I love Old West too...I've eaten there probably 100 times in the last 4 years. Great food and almost always good service. I really like to support local restaurants and I think they are one of the best. Martine, the owner, is great as is Joe who is the manager..sorry you had a bad experience, I think it was a fluke.
Why is good customer service so hard to find? If a restaurant's signature food is steak and they serve some that are spoiled, you owuld think that they would do everything they could to make it right so that the customer would want to come back, even in light of a meal that started off badly. The customer was inconvenienced and something should have been done to mitigate that. Hopefully, if this was not the owner, he will get word of this and contact the dissatisfied customre. If that happens, I hape that the resolution will be posted in order to give the restaurant a fair shake. I had something similar happen years ago with spoiled pork medallions at Goin Nuts. It was handled very badly by the staff, and while it is one of my favorite restaurants, it was years before I had a desire to go back bacause of the arrogant attitude of the staff and chef. Spoiled food is spoiled food.
I love Old West I eat there about twice a week and I never have had a problem with the food or the service. Joe and Martine are some of the nicest people I know. I think it had to be a fluke they have always gone above and beyond to make my family feel welcomed and to eat good food. I much rather go there then give my hard earned money to a chain any day.
Let me ask you about your approach in how you brought it to their attention. Were you combative or did you explain in a nice manner. I've been in customer service for 30 plus years and beleive me the way you approach something has a huge impact on how you're received.
There bacon cheesburgers are awesome, and at $8 a good bargain. Joe usually waits on me - when he does he takes good care of the table. I cringe a bit when somebody else waits on me, though.
I agree that the place is a little dingy. But in this economy (you can already see stock is building up in the back), you are probably not going to get a remodel in the near future.
If you liked them before, consider going back in a few months before you lose out on what is usually a good place to eat.
Texas Roadhouse is OK, but it's not local and almost everything is (literally) coated in bacon grease. And the "fall off the bone" ribs are way over cooked. But they do cut their own steaks!
Generally Old West has great food; HOWEVER, I can guarantee the the "manager" that came to talk to you was named Joe. A guy named Martin (pronounced Mar-teen) owns the joint. Martin would never (I hope) come out and be rude to a customer-he is a very nice man and runs a good shop. Joe, on the other hand, is a pompas a$$hole! He is a manager, but also serves tables. He works 6 days a week and constantly takes tables from other employees, which really limits the money making potential of the other young servers. If he doesn't like a server, he puts them in the worst table section in the restaurant and does everything he can to take their tables and their money. How do I know this? I used to work there! I quit because of Joe, and I went out in style! I had 4 tables on a friday night-I served all 4 tables their food and drinks, came back to make sure that they were ok and delivered their check. I literally said "Here's your check, I am quitting right now, but just pay for your meal and don't worry about tipping. If you need any help, please ask Joe but don't expect good service. I'm sorry and I hope you enjoy your meal because the food is truly delicious"
As for this food issue-ABSOLUTELY none of the meat at Old West is "aged." Their prime rib is cut from a whole slab of prime rib, their ribeye is too. Their sirloins and NY strips are packaged from sysco. Maybe if it is bad it can be called "aged" but not the "aged" that you want to eat. Their food is fresh 99.9% of the time! This event constitutes that 0.1%
Now I don't want to trash the place, THEIR FOOD IS VERY EXCELLENT! Old West is the ONLY place in Salisbury that I will order a steak from (I feel that only I can cook my steak the way I like it)-I'm very picky! I'm simply here to say that mistakes DO happen, but just because one happens doesn't mean that the restaurant deserves complete bashing. People eat there all the time and have an excellent dinner-a bad one is bound to come sooner or later.
Joe,the "manager," on the other hand is bad for business there! He is rude, he is inconsiderate to other employees and apparently can handle a situtation with customers! Joe, if you read this, SCREW YOU!
Disclaimer - all Joe references in this post are the manager Joe from Old West and not Joe Albero. lol
I know everybody bashes Brew River on this site but I had the ribeye the other night, it left me wanting more...
At Goin Nuts, we approached it very nicely. It was a large group of friends going out for a nice meal and we were a little embarassed to have to address it at all, but anyone with good sense knows not to eat pork that doesn't smell or taste right. We quietly called the waitress over and explained the situation. We asked if we could order something else in place of the pork. She had to check with the chef. The chef came storming out and berated us for not "appreciating" the pork. We finally shared food with the rest of the diners at our table and called it a night. We didn't take our complaint any further, but I didn't go back for a very long time. We did leave the waitress a decent tip since the problem was not her fault.
Old west is good. Sounds like the only bad meat was sitting at the table not on the table
Good enough for me. Since I read it here, it must be the truth. I'll never eat there again. Thanks for the warning!
Customer service on the eastern shore???? I've never had so many incorrect take out orders and horrible servers anywhere else I've lived. In case you didnt know, there isnt a very high standard here. You might as well get used to it because its everywhere around here. Expect it to be bad and you will be pleasantly surprised when it isnt. There is alot of lazy "bad" seeds that populate this area, for the ppl here that actually take pride in their work we are forced to take up the slack. The truth hurts!!
i love oldwest we go for the cheese fries they are the best!!
I have known Martin and Joe for many years. I consider both to be upstanding men who will go out of their way to make things right. I love Old West - one person's bad experience will not turn me off.
ROAD HOUSE!!!! I ate (or Regirgitated afterwards) at the old west once and it wasnt good at all the food was very overpriced, I have been in the back and a septic tank is cleaner than that puke palace. Service ah ok same anywhere else, but they need to be more competitive twords other steakhouses in the area or they really will be a ghost town!!!
As 1:27 points out, any restaurant can serve tainted food. While I do not go out much, I did go to Old West a couple of weeks ago and had a wonderful meal and service. I much prefer the quiet atmosphere there to that of Texas Roadhouse. If the problem was Joe, then you need to address "Martine" about it; while I don't know him, enough of those who posted do know him and have nothing but praise for him. And I guess I shouldn't say this, but I have credibility problems with someone who says "I haven't ate" rather than eaten.
My mom always said if you don't have something nice to say don't say anything at all. This is to the other A!!HOLES who have nothing better to do than talk about someone else. Look in your own closet because its going to bite YOU IN THE A!!. I hope it does tomorrow and everyone puts it on this blog. Martine, keep up the good work, great service and thank you for everything you do in our community.
Well we are taking Dad to Ocean City for dinner on Father's Day. After reading these comments, we all know the best place to eat is HOME!!! I think I will get that cook book out tonight and make that suggestion to my family. No need to spend money in OC for a pricey dinner. Maybe they will pay me to cook at home~~ LOL
My mom always said if you don't have something nice to say don't say anything at all. This is to the other A!!HOLES who have nothing better to do than talk about someone else. Look in your own closet because its going to bite YOU IN THE A!!. I hope it does tomorrow and everyone puts it on this blog. Martine, keep up the good work, great service and thank you for everything you do in our community.
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First thing you learn in marketing and business class is that 75% of people who have a bad experience will tell someone, but only 10 % who have a good experience will tell someone. We need to hear more about good experience you have had with customers service, not just restaurants but all places.
JIM
just so everyone is aware, it was martin that dealt with the table that origionated this post it was not joe. as for the disgruntled former employee, you obviously had a problem with a particular person and you took this opportunity to attack them. so be it, your exit was not as "stylish" as you claim it was. get over it.
just so everyone is aware, it was martin that dealt with the table that origionated this post it was not joe. as for the disgruntled former employee, you obviously had a problem with a particular person and you took this opportunity to attack them. so be it, your exit was not as "stylish" as you claim it was. get over it.
my family used 2 love oldwest...but my sister used 2 waitress there n told me how dirty the kitchen was and about their roach problem..never been back since!
Hey guys, its Joe. For the record, I work seven days a week, not six. I've been at Old West over 9 years now and alot of people request me. If that makes me a pompous a$$, well then so be it. They just want good service and if you couldnt give it to them, I guess they asked for me. I don't have to take tables from anyone. I didnt handle the situation noted in the origional post but I felt I should at least address the ramblings of a former disgruntled employee who obviously was not a good server in the first place. She says she went out in style, and I'm sure she believes that, unfortunately no one remembers this happening so who knows. For everyone who had my back in these comments, thanks and see you soon. Joe G
I know everyone wants to support local restaurants but if one of them cares this little about the customers they deserve to fade away into obscurity and fail.Gordon Ramsey would have a field day in this area.I am not defending anyone because theres alot of bad customers too.No-tipping,complaining coinstantly and with hellion kids,i know cuz I always get seated next to those people when I go out!Restaurants that serve spoiled food could kill someone and they should be on their knees trying to win the people they try to poison over,not alienating them and running them out.Think they know yet that they have been blogged!?
dont go to jimmys in town the catered the harvard custom emmployee app thing .Wow moldy cups moldy bread rude ppl
The owner must be related to Mark Chew,Bay Hundred resturant in Tilghman Island. You're pretty much gonna get a meal that is spoiled!!! Stay Away!!!
Looks like them mounts are double parked!
I'm sick of hearing about supporting local businesses etc. I've had worse luck locally than any chain or mail order service. From wrong food orders to getting the wrong auto parts several times from local auto dealers to the unprofessional attitude that I've experienced. I'll support the businesses that are willing to help me. If they are local, great, but if not that's their loss. All those h*ll bent on supporting local businesses have fun wasting your time and hard earned money.
I like Old West as well and we had a the same experience as this gentleman did. The Manager laughed in our faces like we were crazy. We did not take another dish as he had offered, we just wanted to get out of there. We will never go back.
Half you people most likely dont even know what part of the animal the differant steaks come from.
Citygoer-
GO BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Old West is one of the few (and I do mean very few) restaurants in Salisbury where you can get a good meal for a good price and have it served with outstanding service.
Martine has a first class operation.
Sondra Bozman Daisey
I love Old West Steakhouse. I am shocked by this article. I don't doubt its truth, but I am shocked. I have never had a bad experience there. Joe and Martin are excellent people in my opinion, and for the record.
Thanks for posting this.
A long time Old West Customer
I am not surprised at this. I know 4 people that worked there at one time or another. In fact, one of the people quit on their 2nd day because the kitchen was so nasty and disgusting. All 4 people told me on separate occasions that they didn't know how that place passed a health inspection. Maybe they are paying off someone in the health department? I will never eat there again.
For the record~ We ate home tonight. Cook chicken on the barbee tater salad fresh tomatores and a great cake with a wonderful bottle of wine. No problems and saved a bunch of $$$ . Thanks all for the heads up. From now on, I plan to have more family gatherings and eat at home and save some money. If the locally owned restaurants can't be pleasant they need to close their doors. Also for the record, we have been in business in Salisbury for 30 years (not food( but we sure would never treat our customers that way or we would be gone by now. MOTTO: THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT still lives on.
Father's Day and I just got home from eating at the Old West Steakhouse. Got the 16 oz. prime rib (my usual) medium rare, and it couldn't have been any better. Had the cheese fries for an appetizer and they were great (ate too many). I've NEVER had a bad meal there, but some have been better than others. I've always found it a friendly place to eat, with reasonable prices, and consistently good. If one wants to talk about overpriced food, Outback recently raised their price on the prime rib while, AT THE SAME TIME, reduced the portion size. Double whammy! I prefer the Old West over either of the other two steakhouse chains in Salisbury. In the original complaint, if you read between the lines, that four people would ALL get spoiled meat, it is so improbable that it makes one wonder what the real purpose of their complaint was....free meals maybe? And when they didn't get them, they decided to go public. I'm sure the Old West doesn't want people like that back. If it happened like the complaintant said, and it was me, then I just wouldn't ever go back. He didn't get "free food" so he is angry. Would he have posted his rant if he had gotten free prime rib, when he ordered a cheaper cut? I think that's his real "beef" with the place.
So Anon 12:42 I guess you dont mind wasting your time and money. Business is business. If you have consistently bad service at a local business yet still frequent them, who is the fool? There are far to many apologists locally here. Insist on accountability and things will change, do nothing and the standard is lowered.
It is quite obvious from some of these post that these post are from friends of the owners. I would think the health dept. would be there when they open their doors today if the accusations are true! Otherwise, we will have to make our own decisions as to give them another chance to "clean up their act"..
Citygoer-
GO BACK!!!!!!!!!!
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