Cleveland Park restaurant refused service because we had a child

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why did this get moved? Although it involves a restaurant, I still think being turned down by a restaurant for having a child in tow is very much a subject of relevance for general parenting.

It seems as OP's experience had nothing to do with her child and everything to do with trying to change a reservation last minute and how the owner handled the situation. NO service because she had a child is bogus as there are many children that eat at the restaurant. It definitely belongs in restaurants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did this get moved? Although it involves a restaurant, I still think being turned down by a restaurant for having a child in tow is very much a subject of relevance for general parenting.

It seems as OP's experience had nothing to do with her child and everything to do with trying to change a reservation last minute and how the owner handled the situation. NO service because she had a child is bogus as there are many children that eat at the restaurant. It definitely belongs in restaurants.

Disagree. How hard is it to pull up a high chair? Or tell OP she had to eat with todler on lap? OP clearly said and feels that she was discriminated against because she had a child along. So now we're going to move threads because a poster doesn't take OP on her word? Just sayin'... Lots of threads have relevance in one or more forums, but I would prefer to see them in general parenting because most posters do not check the other forums, other than off topic.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:
Disagree. How hard is it to pull up a high chair? Or tell OP she had to eat with todler on lap? OP clearly said and feels that she was discriminated against because she had a child along. So now we're going to move threads because a poster doesn't take OP on her word? Just sayin'... Lots of threads have relevance in one or more forums, but I would prefer to see them in general parenting because most posters do not check the other forums, other than off topic.

"A poster" didn't make a decision to move the thread. I made the decision. So, disagree with me if you wish, but I came pretty close to removing the thread altogether. Multiple posters have said that they have been to Dino's with children and didn't have an issue. So clearly, the restaurant doesn't discriminate against children. Whatever issue the original poster has with the restaurant owner has nothing to do with parenting. The owner may well be the biggest jerk in DC -- but as reviews on other sites suggest -- he has been a jerk more often than not to people without children.

[Anonymous]

Jeff, not trying to antagonize you, I was just making what I think is a valid point. Isn't that the part in dispute, whether or not this was about her having kids? the OPs original post says he refused to seat them when she showed up with an infant, even though she had communicated earlier that she needed a high chair. Then owner comes on and says "that's not true." So are you just taking his word for it because other posters who showed up with kids didn't have a similar problem?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Jeff, not trying to antagonize you, I was just making what I think is a valid point. Isn't that the part in dispute, whether or not this was about her having kids? the OPs original post says he refused to seat them when she showed up with an infant, even though she had communicated earlier that she needed a high chair. Then owner comes on and says "that's not true." So are you just taking his word for it because other posters who showed up with kids didn't have a similar problem?

Just about every detail is in dispute and I am not taking either the original poster's or the owner's word for anything. There are multiple people supporting the owner's position that his restaurant does not discriminate against children. Similarly, there are a number of reports on other sites of people without children being treated poorly. So, I think that the preponderance of the evidence suggests that the owner has a bad temper, but does not discriminate against children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did this get moved? Although it involves a restaurant, I still think being turned down by a restaurant for having a child in tow is very much a subject of relevance for general parenting.

It seems as OP's experience had nothing to do with her child and everything to do with trying to change a reservation last minute and how the owner handled the situation. NO service because she had a child is bogus as there are many children that eat at the restaurant. It definitely belongs in restaurants.

Disagree. How hard is it to pull up a high chair? Or tell OP she had to eat with todler on lap? OP clearly said and feels that she was discriminated against because she had a child along. So now we're going to move threads because a poster doesn't take OP on her word? Just sayin'... Lots of threads have relevance in one or more forums, but I would prefer to see them in general parenting because most posters do not check the other forums, other than off topic.

A high chair takes up the same amount of space as an extra chair. If OP made the reservation for 5, assuming the high chair wouldn't count, then it was her mistake. They reserved a 5 seater table with no space for a 6th seat. Whether that was a high chair or a regular chair. The issue is how the owner handled the situation. Apparently, very poorly. This is a customer service issue, that has nothing to do with parenting.

Also, how do know most posters don't check the other forums? Is it the same way that I know most posters only use the Recent Topics link? And your preference for the placement of topics is kind of funny. Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of General Parenting? It would just be the "Post here Cause it's a Popular Forum" forum.

[Anonymous]

Here's my guess as to what happened. The OP called to make reservations, asked for 5 seatings, and asked if they could have a high chair. It didn't occur to the OP to include the child and make a reservation for 6 seatings as the infant would not need a full place setting. The person taking the reservation made a reservation for 5 and told the OP a high chair was no problem and didn't think to ask whether the infant was part of the five or whether they needed six. Customer service 101 would be, thank you for your reservation, just to confirm you have 4 adults and one child with a highchair. Simple, the OP then would have said no we have 5 adult and one child and the staff could have booked a table for 6.

We've eaten at many places that are not cramped where when you have a highchair they just pull it up next to you and you do not need to be seated at a larger table. A highchair does not require a full place setting but in a very cramped place they may not have the space to add one in without going to a larger table. The OP shouldn't have been expected to know this. The staff at Dino's should be aware that they have limited space and should have asked about the number. This probably isn't the first time they have some issue with adding in an extra high chair unless they are hardly ever busy. Part of managing a restaurant is knowing your clientele, the limitations of your establishment and taking extra care to make it work and avoid problems. The owner/manager does set the stage for this so based on the other reviews maybe its not surprising they dropped the ball.

The manager could have handled the situation politely. He could have apologized and pointed out that for walkway or fire exit reasons he couldn't add a highchair to the table they had booked. He could have apologized that he did not point out when they made the reservation that his restaurant was small and highchairs count as an additional seat. He could have let the OP know she could hold the child on her lap. He could have also comped a dessert or coffee afterwards and made more money than losing a table of 5, a future customer, and many people reading this blog. Its sounds as if he was just angry that he was going to lose a table on a profitable night and yelled at the OP making no sense whatsoever. The behavior that the OP described does seem in line with the other reviews and experiences of other diners at different times.

I find the post from the owner that someone called and refused to leave their name extremely implausible. This just really sounds like a bad lie. Why would someone refuse to give their name? Not a smart response IMO. In reading the other reviews the OP is much more believable than this owner. If she hadn't read the reviews about his strange behavior and he only went on about kicking her out because she had a child, I wouldn't blame her for thinking that she was refused service for having a child with her.

OP I agree you should send out to the CL park listserv and update other restaurant review sites. There are other good restaurants out there that are better managed. No one wants to waste time and money eating somewhere if its up to chance whether the manager ruins your night.

One saying in customer service is that for every person who comes forward and complains there are 10 others who have experienced something similar and just walked away never to return again. If there are this many reviews out there of this guy ruining people's meals then are probably many more who didn't take the time to write in but just walked away.

[Anonymous]

PP, I disagree. If we can believe the owner, OP booked on Open Table. The initial reservation was not made by phone and so Dino staff had no opportunity to correct OP´s mistaken assumption that adding a high chair would cause no problem. By not giving her name on the phone, OP did not risk losing her spot. I also doubt the owner would be upset about losing a table on a busy night. He could easily find a replacement. I would not give the owner any customer service awards but his explanation sounds more plausible than hers. She tried to convince us that this was a case of anti-child discrimination but, as Jeff pointed out, that is clearly not the case.

[Anonymous]

"PP, I disagree. If we can believe the owner, OP booked on Open Table. The initial reservation was not made by phone and so Dino staff had no opportunity to correct OP´s mistaken assumption that adding a high chair would cause no problem. By not giving her name on the phone, OP did not risk losing her spot. I also doubt the owner would be upset about losing a table on a busy night. He could easily find a replacement. I would not give the owner any customer service awards but his explanation sounds more plausible than hers. She tried to convince us that this was a case of anti-child discrimination but, as Jeff pointed out, that is clearly not the case. "

I disagree. The OP said she made reservations and asked about a highchair meaning she spoke to someone. Besides why believe the owner who has a reputation for being off and assume she made a reservation in Open Table. Even is she did book through Open Table and call about the highchair someone should have mentioned a high chair takes an additional full seat. Its pretty unlikely that anyone would take their family and child out of they knew beforehand they would not be accomodated or seated. I do think the owner would be upset about losing a table of 5. Its unlikely that a walk in party of five would materialize at exactly the right time to take the table and finish by the time the next group is booked.

If someone was swearing at me for wanting a highchair and bringing my child I would also have assumed it was because I had a child.

[Anonymous]

Totally agree with PP. Also agree with the PP who suggested that the owner probably screamed at OP and at someone else who made a reservation on Open Table. How could OP have asked a computer for a highchair? How could she not have given her name on the phone when she described the interior of the restaurant? I think that the owner had 2 unhappy tables that night. I don't get why everyone wants to bash the OP when the owner clearly seems unstable and unreliable.

[Anonymous]

Who the f*ck cares! This thread has become pathetic. And arguing with Jeff over which forum this belongs in???? Get a life!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who the f*ck cares! This thread has become pathetic. And arguing with Jeff over which forum this belongs in???? Get a life!!!

Tee hee. If it is so pathetic, why swear at it and spend time responding? Maybe you should take your own advice, sweetie!

[Anonymous]

FWIW, just wanted to add that we did "kid's restaurant week" at Dino and had a great time, and I would always include my kid in the table count-- at the very least I'd say something like "3 adults and a highchair" or in person I might say "3 1/2". I wouldn't assume that a highchair could be added to a table of 5.

[Anonymous]

I don't really care where this is posted but whatever happened to customer service? What about 'the customer is always right'? Obviously the customer isn't always right but a good business person strives to provide what is called 'good will' in the service business. Whenever a business owner takes the opinion that he is doing a favor to anyone by letting them pay him money for his services, he will probably fail in the long run if not the short. And that's in a healthy economy. The restaurant business is one of the riskiest out there-you're lucky if you make back you're opening costs in your first year of business, staff is tempermental (especially chefs), food trends and what are considered hot spots change literally from day to day and I don't care if the food is the best in the city-if you don't treat people right, you're just shortening your shelf life. Who gives a good goddamn about how the reservations where made (and even if it is a moot point, I don't buy for one minute that anyone would call about a reservation and refuse to give their name), the owner should have figured out a way to accomodate the party if not at the moment, then sometime in the future. There is simply no excuse for shouting or using profanity towards a customer unless maybe they're your ex-wife (tee hee). If I owned ANY type of business, I certainly wouldn't behave in any manner that would leave me exposed to the type of criticism that this owner has-and apparently has on more than one occasion-just not smart.

[Anonymous]

Easy fix don't like the service and you've made it known to the owner and they do nothing, don't spend your money there. If you like it, keep going back.