The folks who work at Trattoria Amici in Glendale, CA are, no doubt, trying to pull themselves out of a deep depression after learning that Chef H. and his wife are never going back to the restaurant. Be strong, Trattoria Amici staff, because when one door closes another one opens. Well, in this case, when one entitled asshole customer leaves, another one will certainly show up in its place, just like a weed in a garden or a grey hair that is plucked daily.
It seems that Chef’s wife went to the restaurant 39 minutes before it was open in order to buy a gift card. His wife, having a brain the size of a scuppernong seed, didn’t see anything wrong with showing up before the official opening hours and proceeded to knock on the glass door to get the attention of the hostess. The hostess was basically all, “Umm, we’re closed” and probably went right back to eating her bacon, egg and cheese on a roll while drawing out the seating chart for the day. Undeterred, Chef’s wife started waving her wallet and money around as if that would make the hostess decide to open the restaurant early. It didn’t, so Chef’s wife had to go to another restaurant to buy the $100 gift card that must have been the most important gift in the history of gift giving.
Chef is angry. Chef is displeased. Chef leaves a 1-star review on Yelp.
Okay, look, Chef. Your wife needed to pull out her smart phone and Google the restaurant to see what the hours were before she showed up all willy nilly expecting them to cater to her needs. The restaurant was closed. It’s not like your wife got there a couple of minutes before opening time; it was thirty fucking nine minutes early. No one would show up to the bank 39 minutes before it was open and expect a teller to run over to unlock the door just so they could deposit a check, but it’s okay to think a restaurant will do that? No, that’s not how it works.
Trattoria Amici is open every day from 11:30 AM to 10:00 PM. That means they are open 73 1/2 hours a week. Are you trying to tell me that your wife couldn’t find time in those 73+ hours to run her errand? She had to go there when they were closed and then you have the gall to leave a bad review because your wife has poor time management skills? That’s not a lack of customer service on their part, it’s a lack of respect on yours. How about give the restaurant some credit for respecting their employees enough by not expecting them to deal with customers until their advertised opening hours? The hostess wasn’t being disrespectful to your wife. Quite the contrary, your wife was being disrespectful to the hostess by ignoring the posted hours and expecting preferential treatment.
You say the whole thing is “pretty sad” and I tend to agree with you: it is “pretty sad” that some customers think they are more important than anyone else and even sadder to leave a 1-star review when it’s clearly not the restaurant’s issue. Wake up, Chef and get your wife a smart phone.
Read Chef H.‘s review of Trattoria Amici on Yelp
Greg Lanchester
Yelp is the usual bully. After two weeks all of your positive reviews (and mine) have been erased.
Monika Liedl
Earlier I responded basically why not let them in…. after reading some of the posts, I understand some concerns…. it would’ve never occurred to me that it’d be an unsafe situation…. or that registers arent’ open yet…. it’s something we’ve never had to be concerned about…. And arent. We live in a different world here, and I’ve decided I’m not going to let anyone know where it is…… I like feeling safe in my community! 🙂
Greg Lanchester
AH-AH I checked him out too. Too bad there’s no way to let him know what an imbecile he is on yelp… Or to help out the poor restaurant management that probably had to bow in front of this joke of a person. Not to mention the poor staff that will be in trouble. What a jerk.
Christina Davies
I kinda stalked this douchebag on yelp (no I am not a Yelper, don’t even have an account) and he is just a jerk to everybody UNLESS they are a VEGETARIAN restaurant…Even car dealerships cannot escape his “professional” opinion…LMAO
Christina Davie
Oh and he now goes by Chef “Rockstar Chef” H. and his profile is a kitty cat LMAO. I normally don’t troll anyone but I am doing laundry and bored so there ya go 🙂 Have a great week y’all 🙂 .
Alex Engelbert
Also I’m sure his wife looked like an INSANE person waving a wallet and money around. The hostess probably thought she was a crazy person trying to rob them or a homeless crack head pandering for change.
Jennifer Cushman
Another’s lack of planning should not constitute my emergency. One of my favorite sayings
Dawn
With recent robberies in my area there is no way I’m opening up for someone before opening time! And if I don’t have the key to the register I wouldn’t be able to do anything anyway! I’m not risking my life for a gift card
Mary
I live in Glendale. Trattoria Amici is fantastic. And I bet I know exactly who Chef H is in profile: One of the thousands of particular douchebags who live in Glendale who drive their BMWs like maniacs while living in ill-gotten Section 8 housing.
CL Johnson
LEASED BMW’s at that. Or Ghetto Bentleys (Chrysler 300s, the biggest POS next to the PT Cruiser)…
Kim
Does anyone know where chef h or his wife work? I’d love to show up before they open…
Rachel
At the restaurant I work in; If you open the door before or after hours to allow ANYONE INSIDE ( Including co-workers) you are fired! Your endangering everyone in the establishment. No exceptions. Even employees entering the building before hours are let in the back door and ONLY let in by the highest ranking MANAGER in the building. They are the only ones who possess a key to do so.
Alexander Knight
It’s clear that the blogger and anyone and everyone who’s written replies here has never, and will never own a restaurant, or any business of their own. If you think, even for one fucking second, that this sort of treatment of any customer would fly in my establishment you’d best start packing. The restaurant industry is, like so many other industries, one where EVERY customer matters. It’s a game of inches. Every $1 spent matters. Turning down ANY customer willing to hand you their money, regardless of policy, is an absolutely absurd concept. Perhaps it was a shortsighted management decision, perhaps it was a bitchy employee, whatever the case – not having a till ready and in the drawer is no excuse. A $100 Gift card, paid for in cash, as as good as gold to your business. Not only that, but you KNOW which till is going to be assigned to that station, math isn’t that fucking difficult. Sorry, but the server, the management, and whomever allowed this idiocy to occur would be fired in my restaurant. There’s clearly a massive culture issue if this sort of thing is happening. The customer, willing to part with their money in exchange for no services rendered is the best kind of customer to have. How long does it take you to call a manager over, have them swipe a gift card, toss the money in the safe and throw an IOU (memo as to where the $100 went) in the empty drawer and call it a day. Get over yourselves!
YouDumbFuk
It’s obvious you’ve never managed or owned a business. Thats not how it works, you dumbass.
LOL.
Greg Lanchester
I think Chef H. was very supportive of the poor wife, disappointed from the unfair treatment and should be celebrated from us, yelpers.
Amici’s evil no-door-open-before-stated-times should be taken as an example to burn them on the public square for such heretic statement they’re making. We should go at a closing time with torches and our white and red pointy hood, maybe plant a burning Y in front of the restaurant.
And all of you should post 1 stars review in order to have Amici’s owner fire all the staff involved in the incident.
C’mon we can do it together, as YELPERS we are powerful!!!
Signed, the YYY club
Ben
I’m curious to know what business you own where you expect your employees to open at any time despite posted hours to help an unknown person who is waving her arms maniacally and could be under the influence of something or simply maladjusted.
I have worked in retail and serving most of my life, both for family run businesses and corporate businesses. Corporate businesses, where the customer is ALWAYS right, even when they are not, would NEVER allow an employee to take care of a guest outside normal business hours due to liability issues. If the customer knows the hours, why would they choose to go BEFORE the place is open!
If you went to a McDonalds drive through before they were open, you would have to wait until they are open. They are NOT ALLOWED to take care of you before listed hours. That’s why they have LISTED hours.
As for the cultural issue, you are right. The cultural issue is that people like you don’t see people in customer service and hospitality as people, but as your paid servant.
Get bent.
yadirayosoy
YESSS. BEST RESPONS. I enjoy this industry and it has its good moments and it’s bad moments, but people like you who try to step up and got shot down have no business speaking out because I agree you have no concept there are policies put in place procedures put in place and things put out there so that customers or guests whatever you’d like to call them are aware accommodations are always being met and never being turned down but again it’s for the safety of the employees.
Morgan
Alexander Knight, you have clearly never worked in a restaurant that has been held up at gunpoint for doing this exact thing. I will under no circumstances open the door prior to business hours to risk my life for your financial gain. Yes I understand this is the worst case scenario, but who are you to tell me you know that person outside isn’t dangerous. Everyone thought the Vegas killer was totally normal. Look how that worked out. GOOD DAY.
The Prozac Queen
Thank you, Morgan! It must be nice to live in a place where your restaurant can open the door to a wildly-waving person you don’t know and *not* be concerned for your safety…especially nearly an hour before opening. Then again, us employees are dispensable and they can always find someone else. 🙁
Paul
Thank you from saving me from having to type all of that. As a former owner I agree 100%.
Youcantbeserious
I don’t believe for a second that you manage, own, or have even worked in the restaurant industry. In my state, there are LAWS that prohibit patrons of ANY KIND before opening hours and after closing hours (6am-2am). And under NO CIRCUMSTANCE will I risk my job, my record, OR MY LIFE, because some arrogant asshole thinks the rules don’t apply to them. Grow the fuck up.
Mary
Yet you don’t seem to name your business or location. Pics or it didn’t happen, bud. Please tellus who and where you are so I never make the mistake of patronizing someone who treats employees like shit.
Erin Hanratty
Nope. I own a restaurant. I’ve worked for 30+ years in restaurants. Absolutely NO to someone waving CASH waaaaaay before opening. If you can’t get it through your head that the safety of my employees is soooooo much MORE important than a lousy 100 dollars, then you certainly shouldn’t be in the restaurant business.
John miller
Hey I’m sorry Mr. Alexander Knight, you are absolutely correct in saying that it was not very hard to do any number of those things however I think you missed the whole point of “customer entitlement”. Chef H. And his wife feel entitled to basically do what they want because they have those magic green bills we all call money. If I was a high class paying guest in your restaurant would I be able to get away with taking a shit on your floor? I mean the customer is alway right. Think before you take the side of people who have little to no respect for other human beings.
KueenB
You must be the most reprehensible s.o.b. to work for on the face of the earth! I hope everyone of your employees walks out on you and you have the customers, whose asses you’d wipe with your tongue for pocket change, visit your establishment! Restaraunts need a good staff and rules or it’s a fast food restaraunt with asshats like chef h
Amanda
See in a lot of businesses, clearly not yours, we would get written up for what is considered a Cash handling error. IOU s don’t fly in established establishments.
April
I think you’re full of shit. And I hope, with every fiber of my being, that if your restaurant is robbed because your employee was forced to open the door to someone waiving money at them (because the all mighty dollar is more important than the people who run your business) that they sue you for intentionally creating policies that put them in danger.
Alex Engelbert
No. Clearly YOU have never owned a business. Establishments have hours of operation for a reason. They weren’t ready for customers. You can’t run into a supermarket 40 minutes before they’re open because you decided it’s time to buy groceries. The same goes with restaurants and bars.
Mary
I’m guessing the average term of employment at your establishment does NOT surpass six months. I’ve worked somewhere with a boss like you. Now that I work for someone that has my back, oddly enough, I make 3x what I used to.
Part of running a successful restaurant is drawing people in, but it’s also important to push some people out. I worked at a “yes” restaurant. Every asshole was catered to. Eventually we were overrun with them, and nice people didn’t want to come in anymore. The money became shit and all of the good servers left.
Now I work somewhere we can have a little sass, and I live on two shifts a week with plenty of money to throw around. Quality over quantity=a greater quantity of quality. Stop abusing your staff you nightmare.
Lacie
THIS. People who refuse to abide by something as basic as a business’s hours of operation are not the people you want as customers. They’re not the people who are going to help you build a thriving business. They’re just entitled assholes and everyone – owner, staff, and normal pleasant customers who only do business with businesses that are actually OPEN — is better off without them.
Aly
Wow, you sound like a wonderful business owner. NOT. My restaurant runs on an SUS system. We cannot open our till or ACTIVATE gift cards until a specific time before opening. So your logic here doesn’t really apply to all restaurants and how they operate. If I can’t activate a gift card until after we are open, hmmmm, then I probably shouldn’t sell one, hey??
C.G
Oh, I see.. So regardless of policy if a child walked in with money (paying customer) and wanted to get drunk?… Nevermind.. you’re an idiot..
Jon
You fucking moron. No this isn’t the case. The hostess might be on break like we do at our restaurant! Meaning they couldn’t do it if they wanted to. The Gm doesn’t show until an hour after opening. It could be a safety issue. You are a dumb motherfucker
Erin
Have you ever worked in a restaurant or do you just “own” one? I work in one, people try coming in early all the time wanting service before we are remotely ready to serve people. It puts us as employees behind, so when we are supposed to be open we aren’t ready. Maybe I am just sick of the service industry, we constantly stop prepping to open because customers can’t or won’t read our hours posted on one of three signs near the entrance. Our bosses/management do nothing to help open when we are behind, we usually get our asses handed to us instead of assistance from management. I say if you as a boss/owner/manager want to let people in before your hours of operation you do it. Not rely on your staff to stop their work, take then time it takes to wring up a gift card, cash a person out, sort out where the money should be since you aren’t open, and then resume opening.
The hostess could have done things differently, but the customer should show some respect not only to the business’s hours but to staff employed in customer service. We are servers, not servants.
Crystal
I agree and I’m just a little old bartender/server I would hell yes open the doors for a hundred dollar GC … out job is to make the business money my ex boss and probably current boss would be livid if I didn’t make that easy 100 sale
Monika Liedl
Don’t think I’d go as far as firing someone for being that thoughtless, but at least give them a stern talking to. though you are correct…. A sale is a sale.
We don’t open for business till 11 am, many times customers come in early….. we explain we’re not open yet, though come in, have a cup of coffee, sit relax and when the kitchen is ready, I’ll take your order….. There are limits…. like if we’re still setting up, vacuuming etc.
Customers feel like they’re being taken care of…. they remember that.
Nicholas C
Wouldn’t want to work for an asshole like you, and yes, I am an owner, have been a manager and never would I expect a staff member to open a locked door for somebody waving st them. Safety and a security. Where is your restaurant? Certainly not New Zuork or another large city.
Patti ondish
Ah..
bull shit with your business owner comments ???.
I worked in the biz for the the last 35 years ,my family owning a restaurant included..
1. Managers don’t always open,A trusted employee
Does,
2. Most of the time gift certificates are locked on the office,
3. Maybe there wasn’t enough money in the till,
I could go on .. The chef’s wife especially being a chef’s wife knows better right from the get go!!
No excuse!!?? doors open @11:30..
Sue
So do you balance your drawers before or after they show up? Wait, are your drawers ready for transactions 39 minutes before you open? Can your books take the extra transaction that wasn’t expected? Probably not, also considering the way you want to throw it in the safe with an IOU (great business practice, moron).
You clearly have no respect for the safety and well-being of your employees, and your willingness to place the almighty dollar above them tells me all I need to know about you. LOL
Carl
Wow, you must be a blast at parties. Let’s just say the manager wasn’t in, the gift cards were locked in the safe and they couldn’t do anything for them. It’s happened to me when someone would walk in before we were open. Boss late, still hung over and had to cab it in because the interlock device was still detecting booze on their breath. Eat a bag of dicks.
Brian P
Policies like not opening the door before open
and after close are for SAFETY reasons. So ignoring policy, is to ignore one’s safety. So $100
is more important than your employee’s safety? Interesting. Competitive market it is, but restaurant owner/operator and managers must understand priorities. Safety ranks above $$$. It’s not HARD to take the lady’s money while opening up the doors early, but it is UNSAFE. Because when opening the doors, before and after close, become habit…. well there are plenty of horror stories you can read about on-line. And it is a bit easier to read about than experience it… speaking from experience btw. Protect your employees! A simple explanation with an apology/accomodation (yelp response) might help Chef get the picture. Some rules aren’t safe to break/bend… if you are a capable owner, you understand which ones. Best of luck and success to all! And be safe!
Don't TryToSoundSmart
Obviously you like having people walk all over you. In any restaurant establishment (unless special circumstance such as local and regulars) will not open almost 40 minutes early for any reason. Till needs to be counted, safe needs to be counted (if yours has one), side work that takes a certain amount of time. Regardless, the customers knew what time the place opened and still went while it was closed. Do you go to a restaurant almost an hour after they close, and expect the one person there working/cleaning to serve you. Your response is absurd and ridiculous, and any business you might ever own would be sure to fail. In fact, you would be losing profit doing something like this.
Fuck
@Alexander Knight you are stupid dumbfuck.
Maria
Most people have said everything I was going to say……but I do need to add one more thing. The other restaurant that “graciously accommodated her” was probably ALREADY OPEN!! SMH IDIOTS. this is why I read 1 star rating before figuring them into my decision.
James
Something people need to realize is it’s not just a matter of oh we are closed I don’t want to help you yet, they probably didn’t have a till counted and ready yet to even make that sale yet if your that early.
Carlye
Not to mention the fact that the money for the day was probably not counted, so there was no drawer for the hostess or the bar or wherever they would need to do that transaction. The damn POS system may not have even been turned on. And what makes this bitch think that a hostess can even do a transaction for a gift card? If this guy is a chef, he and his dumb wife should know how that not everyone employed at a restaurant is able to perform every job in the restaurant.
malissa
Sad thing is the hostess probably got in trouble and the staff probably got told that if it ever happened again they should open the doors. That’s what would happen where I work.
Mike
Your work sucks.
Anonymous
It even says they knew the restaurant wasn’t open yet amd went there anyway. Why are people so fucking stupid?
Robert McGrory
They’re not necessarily stupid…just arrogant
Heather
First off , it is policy not to open the restaurant for the safety of its employees for fear off being shot to death by crazy ass in individuals maybe like the one waving crazy at the front door 45 minutes before the restaurant hours begin . Hell no !! Secondly- go the fuck to Mc Donald’s bitch !!!!!
Rebecca
Exactly. If the hostess had gone back to tell the manager someone was banging on the front door they would have been told “No. We cannot open the door”. That is policy. If that womans husband was really a chef he would know that.