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Maria's Mexican Bistro — Brooklynian

Maria's Mexican Bistro

gooner
gooner
edited November -1 in Park Slope

Subject: Maria's Mexican Bistro

This is going to be a bit long. I appologize in advance.

I would like to tell you about an experience I had at Maria's Mexican Bistro (corner of 4th and Union) recently, and would like to hear what you think (and, more to the point, whether I am out of my mind).

My wife and I went to Maria's several weeks ago, and had horrible service. The waiter was very curt, didn't tell us about the specials, didn't bring us our guacamole for the longest time, and kept scowling every time I wanted my water refilled. this was exacerbated by the fact that he was very nice, helpful, and joking with the people at the table next to us.

It made me feel quite weird at the time, but given the food is so good, we decided to go back again last Friday. Again, we got horrible service. Every table got chips and salsa, and they finally brought it to us after we had to ask twice. Our guacamole came out, literally 3 minutes before our meal. And when my meal did come out, my dish was the wrong one. When I told them it was not what I ordered, the waitress made a face at me, she argued for a minute or two, then picked up the plate, and stomped off.

When the bill came, I did what I do every time I have very poor service: I gave a $1 tip, and then wrote, on the receipt the reasons why I gave a poor tip. Today, I checked my credit card statement online, and I saw that they charged me more than what I had on my receipt. The waiter, I am assuming, gave himself a 20% tip.

My questions are several:

1) Could they be racist (I NEVER play the race card, but when something happens to you, and only you, repeatedly, you have to wonder, right?)

2) How should I approach the restaurant regarding this?

3) Have others also found the service there poor?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Comments

  • veggiequeen
    veggiequeen
    I've never been there, but:

    1) Call your credit card company and challenge the charge (having your copy of the receipt will help).
    2) Don't ever go there again
  • bigguy
    bigguy
    Sorry you had to deal with that. I like the concept of the $1 tip and an explanation of why - more constructive than many approaches. I'd be pissed about the self-tipping. Not exactly legal either.
  • hellodarling
    hellodarling
    I've only been there once and am never going back. I also had horrible service; I'd heard it was great Mexican food and was intrigued. Maybe I'm biased because I've grown up on Tex-Mex, but... it was bad. Waiter mumbled and was also curt, drinks (non-alcoholic) took forever, and dinner took an hour before it came out! This was after sitting for 20 minutes with an empty glass before going up to the waiter and asking for another. Dinner was cold (not lukewarm. Cold) and the waiter rolled his eyes when I asked him to take it back and at least warm it up. This, and for the quality, it was way overpriced.

    I'm not sure if it's a race issue or just crappy service--I'm a white yuppie, that seems to be a popular demographic in the Slope *shrug*
  • anonymous
    anonymous
    Go there quite often and the service can be awful as far as getting things timely. We have also gotten undercooked food before (clams in the dish were not even open!). The waiters are usually curteous and will correct any wrongs without any complaints.
  • anonymous
    anonymous
    I am pretty low key about service but my friends and I found the service there particularly horrible--to the point where I haven't been back. I waited on tables many years when I was an artist and so I bend over backwards to understand why service could be lousy. But the service seems to be either overly pushy or non-existent there.

    As someone who waited on tables, I just couldn't leave a $1/tip. I am not saying you aren't justified, but waiters' only pay is tips (the hourly is $3.85/hour with no benefits). Whether the service is good or not, they are lugging your food out and being taxed on the presumption that you left a 15% tip on the total of your bill. It is a really terrible system because we as customers think of the tip as a kind of gift for good service and waitstaff see the tip as their wage. I don't mean to be preachy but I believe service has to be pretty egregious to not pay someone (I figure there are days at work when I am less then 100% but I have been paid anyway).

    But it is illegal to add a tip and I would definitely call the management. I think the restaurant can get a fine for this as well as the employee being fired.
  • anonymous
    anonymous
    Would definitely call the credit card company and dispute the charge. ASAP.

    As for being racist, I'm just curious why you would think that. You don't say what race you are, but did they do or say anything to imply it had to do with you or your race personally?

    Every race is entitled to the same crappy service.
  • friendlypitbull
    friendlypitbull
    I have to say, I used to think Maria's was the best - service wasnt great but not bad and food was amazing, BUT the last time I went (post-expansion) I was very, very disappointed. Bad service, bad food, bad atmosphere.
    I hope I am wrong but like many restaurants, I think Maria's just got to big for its britches.
  • anonymous
    anonymous
    I used to wait tables and I want to mention that waitperson have little, if any, control on how and when you get your food. The kitchen controls that. I know that people need a target to direct their anger at and that it's usually the waitperson who get's it in the form of a bad tip.

    That being said, there's no excuse for surly service or anything that the waiter can control. And it's definitely wrong to change someone's tip regardless of the amount. So I agree that you should call the credit card company and challenge the amount.

    I've also never given less than 15% regardless of how bad a place is, but that's because I know that the government assumes waitpeople got 15% and taxes them accordingly. So to tip $1 is like taking money out of their surly pockets! :D
  • tuckpendleton
    tuckpendleton
    Having been a waiter, I agree that the waiter cannot control when your food arrives. However, the waiter still needs to be on top of your order enough to realize that your food is taking too long, and should be checking with the kitchen, and updating the table. Even if you bold-faced lie ("we had a mix-up in the kitchen, we're getting your order ASAP") you're still talking to the table and not pretending like the problem (and the customer) doesn't exist.

    There also seems to be an epidemic of waiters not writing down orders, which leads to screw-ups, or just plain forgetting your order. When I have a waiter that doesn't write down the order, and food comes back late or wrong, my first instinct is that the waiter screwed up, not the kitchen.

    That being said, a $1 tip is pretty harsh. Tipping 10% will also put your point across. You should also speak to the manager. And of course, never go there again.

    For Maria's in particular, I agree with the above -- the food is fantastic, the service is terrible. The three times I ate dinner there were all late meals, 10:30pm or later -- yet the place was overrun with young children, parents who wouldn't discipline them, and a staff who wouldn't intervene despite the negative effect on the rest of the diners.

    (This isn't meant to start a rant on kids in restaurants...just indicative of their overall lack of service and commitment to their customers.)

    It's sad because their food is very good...but I won't ever be going back.

    And regardless of your tip, them tacking on 20% is stealing. You should absolutely follow through on this, and please let us know how it goes! Good luck.
  • idlewild
    idlewild
    You shouldn't have tipped at all. Call the CC company and tell them under no circumstance did you leave 20%. Having worked in a service industry I can understand why you were brought the wrong meal, but only if the place was very busy and frantic. However, there is no excuse for the waitress arguing with you about the wrong meal or bringing you the chips and guacamole so late. If you don't leave a tip and the waiter/waitress feels strongly they were did wrong my guess is they would have asked you what happened. That the tip was forged (especially after you told them why you left a low tip) shows that they have nothing but contempt for customer service and especially for their employer.
  • username: *
    username: *
    I have been to Maria's many times, and haven't had it that bad. I do think some employees are unable or unwilling to speak English clearly, but that maybe isn't what you are getting at.

    ...I am posting because this has to be the 10th story of phantom tipping that I have heard since moving here. Most recently, a friend had close to 30 percent added to a bill -- and she tipped 20 already. This is something I never experienced before.
  • anonymous
    anonymous
    Just pay in cash...

    I rarely use a credit card in a restaurant. I never have the patience to match up my receipts against the bill.

    In any place, please contact the CC-bank. They should know how to handle this.

    Good luck.
  • raw
    raw
    I'm disturbed. Maybe you look like someone he hates? I don't know what the waiter's problem is, but if you're spending your hard-earned money on good service, the waiter better do his damn job. I've waited on tables myself and know how stressful the job can be, but still his behavior is unacceptable. If this happened to me twice, I would not return and I might contact the owner by phone and snail mail.
  • raw
    raw

    Subject: Re: Maria's Mexican Bistro

    gooner wrote:
    It made me feel quite weird at the time, but given the food is so good, we decided to go back again last Friday.
    Poppycock! You can get better food at Taco Bell. A bad-mannered waiter's obnoxious smirk sours any meal.
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