Wild Onion - rudeness.

Henry Ford III

I used this place regularly until a few weeks ago. It's quirky and different. Decent food too. Real U.S. feel to it.

The service is a little sassy and in your face which is ok as it's an American run joint. Ruth is a likeable lady.

Anyhow some toast was sent back by one of the lads recently as it wasn't toasted, and the grumpy bloke (her partner Bob the cook) roared "for **** sake" followed by "asshole" very loudly. He threw it in the bin.

It was really embarrassing and we paid the bill vowing never to return.

This type of abusive reaction is unwelcome and unwarranted.

yankinlk

Haven't been there in a while - but I love that place. You description is spot on. Maybe old bob was having a bad day?

the way that place is setup the cook has no where to hide - the kitchen area isnt seperated by any partition or door.

imagine what cursing you are missing in a regular resturant? at least you can be sure he didnt spit in your food!

Raiser

....way to treat a paying [formerly keen] customer......Will pass on the crap business ethos, poor socialisation of the prop. and give the place a miss - thanks for the warning OP

hobie

where abouts is it? .....

Delphi91

hobie wrote:

where abouts is it? .....

Top of William Street, turn down towards the Round House. At the Round House, keep left, heading for the Market. It's just there on the left hand side.

ninty9er

In your face is more the word, something like that really wouldn't put me off considering you get so much on your plate and it's not a pile a ****e either

Liam Byrne

Maybe the guy has been watching too much Gordon Ramsey.....?

bazz26

It could have been worse.

The chef could have done a similar thing to what happened in the movie "Road Trip". Where the skinny guy in the diner sends back his French toast only for the fat chef to stick it down the back of his pants for five minutes before giving it back to him. You know then scene.

ellenmelon

toootally not defending what he said, but having worked in a place where most of the food preparation was done in full view of customers, we often had to grit our teeth when something small like what you described happens..and then somedays you just want to spit (not literally!!!!) (and sometimes do), not cause of what has happened, its just the straw that broke the camels back so to speak. often when we get pissed off, its that that one thing we have to cook again screws up the flow you have going when you're trying to do two or three things at once. its not personal, just makes you want to go "aaaaaaaaaaaargh i hate working with food!" lol.
i wouldnt totally give up on the place..maybe a letter or phonecall to them (there is no need to say who you are, they'll be happy for the feedback) and then try again in a couple of months.
if you've ever worked in the food industry you'd understand where im coming from...

hobie

Top of William Street, turn down towards the Round House. At the Round House, keep left, heading for the Market. It's just there on the left hand side.

O-Key-Doke .....

I must pop in for a coffee and a Dunkin Doughnut ....

4tothefloor

Henry Ford III wrote:

I used this place regularly until a few weeks ago. It's quirky and different. Decent food too. Real U.S. feel to it.

The service is a little sassy and in your face which is ok as it's an American run joint. Ruth is a likeable lady.

Anyhow some toast was sent back by one of the lads recently as it wasn't toasted, and the grumpy bloke (her partner Bob the cook) roared "for **** sake" followed by "asshole" very loudly. He threw it in the bin.

It was really embarrassing and we paid the bill vowing never to return.

This type of abusive reaction is unwelcome and unwarranted.

Oh boo hoo, I suppose you've never had a bad day at work and are politically correct and mannerly at ALL times? :rolleyes:

bucks73

Thats no excuse to curse in front of a customer. If it was me that was called "asshole" I wouldnt even have paid.

I dont have much of a problem with the "f*ck sake" as everyone can have a bad day but actually calling a customer "asshole" is too much. I know if I called a customer of mine that, I would be out the door.

Henry Ford III

Anyone can have a bad day I agree but abusing the customer loudly and within earshot of all was terrible.

I used to be a regular there, but not any more.

Henry Ford III

Anyone can have a bad day I agree but abusing the customer loudly and within earshot of all was terrible.

I used to be a regular there, but not any more.

ellenmelon

just wanted to say also, that so far no one else has said "thats happened to me" so maybe your experience is a one off? (the limerick city board isnt indicative of limerick as a whole, but there would usually be someone here that could relate to a post.) so give other people a chance to form their own opinions of the place. there are FAR worse places in limerick for customer service where bad customer service is the norm. wild onion is somewhere that has good food and is value for money and in my opinion limerick is somewhat lacking in that regard.

Liam Byrne

Henry Ford III wrote:

Anyone can have a bad day I agree but abusing the customer loudly and within earshot of all was terrible.

...particularly when they're by no means at fault.......I mean, the OP wasn't the one who was meant to toast the bread, was he/she ?

hobie

I rem a family story about a famous helicopter manufacturer's Executive Restaurant and a rare steak .....

the steak was sent back ..... not rare enough ......

head chef picked up a fresh steak .... threw it on the floor .... picked it up and turned it over and threw it on the floor again ..... :cool:

into a hot pan ..... 2 seconds each side (not a second more) ..... :rolleyes:

back out to the eager patron ......

A little later a report came back to the kitchen ..... the steak was delicious !!!!

There's a solution to every problem .....

old boy

ive tried it a few times, not 2 bad, overpriced tho

Jumpy

Henry Ford III wrote:

I used this place regularly until a few weeks ago. It's quirky and different. Decent food too. Real U.S. feel to it.

The service is a little sassy and in your face which is ok as it's an American run joint. Ruth is a likeable lady.

Anyhow some toast was sent back by one of the lads recently as it wasn't toasted, and the grumpy bloke (her partner Bob the cook) roared "for **** sake" followed by "asshole" very loudly. He threw it in the bin.

It was really embarrassing and we paid the bill vowing never to return.

This type of abusive reaction is unwelcome and unwarranted.

Far too nice man. No way should you be expected to pay after that.

Raiser

Well their Website is at:

http://www.wildonioncafe.com/menu1.htm

At the end of the page Bob and Ruth make the following suggestion "If you'd like to send an Email to Bob or Ruth, go ahead now."

The email address is

eat@wildonioncafe.com

I have drafted one but am unsure as to whether or not to send it in ????



Dear Bob and Ruth,

I am writing this mail to compliment you on your Restaurant, I especially like the flags displayed outside and the high standard of your tasteful furnishings within.

Your menu seems varied and interesting not to mention very tempting. I must ask however; being the civilised and quiet type of individual that I am - If I should visit your establishment and have the temerity to voice an opinion that is at variance with that of the management, will I be verbally abused before being handed the bill as has been suggested here? : http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055048036


Yours Sincerely,

Fussy Paddy

Disclaimer: As far as I am concerned all suggestions regarding the conduct, or any actions (verbal or otherwise) of the management of this establishment are merely unconfirmed and anecdotal hearsay - I do not intend on any contribution of mine in this thread to reflect unfavourably upon these individuals in any respect.

Jumpy

Send away. If he still paid up then they havent learnt their lesson.
Might be a bit of a cold shock to see others opinions on this type of ****e.
They are American FFS, they of all people should be aware the downsides of bad customer service, keeping people happy in restaurants is almost like a religion over there.

ellenmelon

people are saying "you shouldnt have had to pay after what happened!" correct me if im wrong, but i dont think the OP complained at the time because he was embarrassed. in my experience, if you dont want to pay after a bad experienc, you go to the cashier/head waiter/supervisor/whatever and say so. and say that because you were unhappy you dont want to pay and by not paying that will make up somehow for the bad experience.
he didnt complain (he came on here to, but what does it really achieve?) so he paid..

as for the email raiser...i dunno. i wouldnt mind some sort of email being sent, i just dont think linking to boards is the best idea at the moment? what with the other legal stuff going on..better to be safe than sorry?

Henry Ford III

For what it's worth I would have been quite comfortable to have walked out and not paid, but the guy who was verbally abused reckoned he'd not lower himself to their level.

If the owners didn't realise something was dramatically wrong, then tough luck.

I reckon they've lost business as a result of their appaling manners, but perhaps they just don't mind/care?

Either way it's no big deal.

chrislimerick

hi i spoke to some one who works there and told that person about this thread
they smiled and found it funny and said if you go there you would know its his sense of humour and was sure he did not mean it to be offensive

talkingclock

someone should customers made aware of the fact that it is just merrily if the chef is calling them an "a55hole" after a complaint...

bazz26

chrislimerick wrote:

hi i spoke to some one who works there and told that person about this thread
they smiled and found it funny and said if you go there you would know its his sense of humour and was sure he did not mean it to be offensive

Not sure how a customer hearing the chef calling them an "asshole" after making a complaint could be interpreted as anything other than offensive.

Sounds like they are trying to back track to me.

Henry Ford III

chrislimerick wrote:

hi i spoke to some one who works there and told that person about this thread
they smiled and found it funny and said if you go there you would know its his sense of humour and was sure he did not mean it to be offensive

Oh I see. How silly of me

p.s. I was a regular there.

grasscutter

I would just like my 2 cents on this.

I have been going in the Wild Onion for 4-5 years and feel the food produced by Bob and his crew is some of the best you could find on a lunchtime menu in Limerick city. The menu is well priced (<10 euro for most things), freshly prepared and the portions you get are massive. The odd time I have had cause to complain they have always been courteous and listened to what I have suggested. Ruth has a unique style about serving but that just adds to the magic of the place and she always welcomes you the minute you walk through the door. Compare this to when you go into other places were you are lucky to get 2 words out of the staff.

On the subject of the undercooked toast my guess is you were probably less than courteous asking for the toast to be replaced. I bet if I asked Bob about it he would probably give a completely different version of events. In 4 or 5 years I have never heard Bob loose the head over anything.

Get over it and stop sl*gging them off on an internet board.

talkingclock

You know the chef by his name. how impartial is your view?

ellenmelon

talkingclock wrote:

You know the chef by his name. how impartial is your view?

it wouldnt be that hard to find out his name..in fact its mentioned on this thread and i think they have a website?

sioda

Everyone who eats in there knows Bob by name. I still adore the place. Defo one of the best eateries in town

vkid

sioda wrote:

Everyone who eats in there knows Bob by name. I still adore the place. Defo one of the best eateries in town

I wouldnt go that far. To me its a greasy spoon that sells large portions of American type food and only opens for a few hours every day. Add to that the strange way of dealing with customers....(i really don't want to have my breakfast with strangers for example..)
Have had far fresher and tastier food in other places..but each to their own I suppose.

Unique - yes...
Best - not even close

grasscutter

pasta- coleslaw.......... greasy!!!!!

So what would be your recommendation then for a decent lunchtime meal round by the cornmarket?

sioda

Greasy spoon no way. To me a greasy spoon is Golden Grill O Connell grill. I dont see any bridgestone plaques in those.

vkid

well maybe greasy spoon might be a bit strong but wouldnt consider it to be very good food. My opinion. For lunch Id go for Sage cafe or Azur on O'Connel Street,

talkingclock

sioda, ellenmelon: granted. but still sounds to me like someone is defending a mate...

grasscutter

I would just like to add that it's not that we are friends but that i have had many an enjoyable lunch there.

Henry Ford III

grasscutter wrote:

I would just like my 2 cents on this.

I have been going in the Wild Onion for 4-5 years and feel the food produced by Bob and his crew is some of the best you could find on a lunchtime menu in Limerick city. The menu is well priced (<10 euro for most things), freshly prepared and the portions you get are massive. The odd time I have had cause to complain they have always been courteous and listened to what I have suggested. Ruth has a unique style about serving but that just adds to the magic of the place and she always welcomes you the minute you walk through the door. Compare this to when you go into other places were you are lucky to get 2 words out of the staff.

On the subject of the undercooked toast my guess is you were probably less than courteous asking for the toast to be replaced. I bet if I asked Bob about it he would probably give a completely different version of events. In 4 or 5 years I have never heard Bob loose the head over anything.

Get over it and stop sl*gging them off on an internet board.

Sorry but you weren't there. Your guess at what happened is therefore valueless.

My post is accurate in every detail.

I too had been going there for a few years.

I'm not slagging anyone off, just giving an accurate account of something that really happened.

Zoney

Surely if you feel aggrieved you should ask for an apology (probably write or email). Probably best to keep your letter simple and point out that it was embarrassing. It would be so for most people I am sure, imagine if you had invited friends or family there for the first time and this happened - I would certainly find it very awkward, regular or not. It may have been embarrassing, but it's only fair to accept it as a momentary outburst of frustration. You should wait and see do you get a response before coming here mouthing off.

As some others have pointed out, it's a decent establishment with friendly service and good food at a good price (may not be to all tastes but many people like it and it has the awards to boot).

bucks73

He has every right to come on here and telling others what happened. TBH I think what happened is way out of order.

If you bought a pair of jeans and went back to the shop to change them and the assistant called you the same thing, I can guarantee you that person would get the sack. If a member of his staff did the same thing Im sure he would be showing them the door. Why is it different for him?

Just because some people on here think this guy is ok and that its all part of the "athmosphere" does not make it all right.

What would have happened if there had been a local journo or restaurant critic in there at the same time? (Long shot I know). A lot more people would know about it thats for sure and the idiot would be feeling it where it hurts. His pocket.

Arathorn

Hey no publicity is bad publicity, never even heard of the place and kinda curious now,who knows maybe it was his sense of humour, the OP should have shot back with "you call yourself a chef? you cant even toast bread you big fat smelly bollix" he would have loved that with his personality and all.

Raiser

Zoney wrote:

Surely if you feel aggrieved you should ask for an apology (probably write or email). Probably best to keep your letter simple and point out that it was embarrassing. It would be so for most people I am sure, imagine if you had invited friends or family there for the first time and this happened - I would certainly find it very awkward, regular or not. It may have been embarrassing, but it's only fair to accept it as a momentary outburst of frustration. You should wait and see do you get a response before coming here mouthing off.

As some others have pointed out, it's a decent establishment with friendly service and good food at a good price (may not be to all tastes but many people like it and it has the awards to boot).

Nah - cussin' Chef man guy was well out of order.

- Thanks are due to the OP - who has saved lots us from having to experience this crap themselves.

Theres plenty of establishments that don't fcuk their patrons out of it before charging them €'s..........

klong

Slightly OT, but whats happening to Javas?

Henry Ford III

Zoney wrote:

Surely if you feel aggrieved you should ask for an apology (probably write or email). Probably best to keep your letter simple and point out that it was embarrassing. It would be so for most people I am sure, imagine if you had invited friends or family there for the first time and this happened - I would certainly find it very awkward, regular or not. It may have been embarrassing, but it's only fair to accept it as a momentary outburst of frustration. You should wait and see do you get a response before coming here mouthing off.

As some others have pointed out, it's a decent establishment with friendly service and good food at a good price (may not be to all tastes but many people like it and it has the awards to boot).

I don't feel aggrieved tbh. I don't wish to contact them nor go back there either. I was merely pointing out that one of the owners had been rude in the extreme. Please read the original post.

The management and staff had plenty of opportunity to apologise at the time. They chose not to. Their loss.

As I said earlier, it's a good place with decent and different food.

The issue was that the chef abused good and regular customers. I feel I'm quite entitled to point this out here.

Trouble

This place is ok but management and staff should look into customer service training. Once I was in there and a really old man came in and asked for a ham sandwich and a cup of tea. The waitress told him that ham sandwiches are not on the menu (very rudely) and to choose something off the menu. I was a bit shocked, surely the kitchen would have the capacity to russel up 2 slices of bread and a bit of ham for a elderly man. He left really confused looking. Another time my parents in law were in limerick and they went there for breakfast. They asked for 'irish breakfasts' and were basically told 'For gods sake will you read the menu, we don't do irish breakfasts'

Needless to say they left the place without ordering cause they felt the staff were so rude, so I don't think that the OP was the 1st to experience ther rudeness.

Doodlebug

I think the OP did us all a service by posting here.

The internet is a great leveller for customer opinions. If more people posted their experiences (i.e. on the Consumer Issues forum, etc.) businesses would be much more careful of how they treat their customers. Anyone can have a bad day - but if your livelihood depends on being professional, its not too much to ask to keep a lid on it.

After the comments by the OP (and Trouble) I will take my custom elsewhere.

old boy

ive done that 12 months ago dat ole american guy would win a prize for rudeness, smoking outside the both both of them,coming in with the smell of tobacco of them, they would not make a plain sambo because they would not be able to charge enough for it,

goingpostal

I agree 100% with Henry Ford 111. My experiences of that place closely mirror his. I stopped going in there because of the rude and ignorant service. Some may call it sassy and American style service, but i prefer to be able to go into a place, sit down, mind my own business, eat my meal, pay and leave. That is not too much to ask and most other restaurants manage that not too difficult feat. I used to be a regular at the Wild Onion, great food, lots of it, good value. I stopped going in there because Ruth was consistently rude to me, I tried to ignore her and mind my own business, but she would let me be. She would make smart remarks to me in front of other customers like "Need help with any big words?" while i would be reading the paper. I would be tracing the line i was reading with my finger, because I sometimes have trouble with my vision, but that doesn't give her the right to call me illiterate. Illiteracy isn't a funny subject anyway. The other customers seemed as embarrassed as me. She also found out which job i work at, so she started making smart unfunny comments about my profession. There were too many other niggly little incidents that happened for me to bother listing here, but eventually i decided that i couldn't be bothered with the aggravation any more. I know two other guys who have boycotted the place too for similar reasons (although one of them went back again, coz he is a hungry b**tard).

vkid

its funny, but if this happened in the States people would jus not stand for it in the least so to use that as an excuse for them is just wrong. People expect an exceptionally high standard of service in the ol USA and usually get it as Americans are not shy of complaining when they service/food is anyway below par..

yankinlk

Funny that. I was always told it was the yanks that had no sense of humour and couldnt take a slaggin.

Last time i checked you needed a reservation to be assured a seat in that place at lunchtime - i assume thats still the case.

Jumpy

yankinlk wrote:

Funny that. I was always told it was the yanks that had no sense of humour and couldnt take a slaggin.

Last time i checked you needed a reservation to be assured a seat in that place at lunchtime - i assume thats still the case.

Its always been empty whever I have walked past it at that time.