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How Stoney’s Restaurant ruined our Valentine’s Day
It began with the closing of Decatur’s, “Tom’s Grill”. My Wife and I enjoyed the quiet, secluded little atmosphere and their great steaks. We had been wondering what to do this year and figured we’d do something new.
I had heard Stoney’s had great steaks and we figured the small town appeal might be what we were looking for to replace Tom’s. On February 11th, I called Stoney’s Restaurant in Dalton City to inquire about reservations. I spoke to a man named, “Tom”. Ironic how we were looking to replace a “Tom” and found another “Tom”. I told him how I was from Decatur and heard they had great food; what was it going to take to get a reservation for Valentine’s Day. Tom said the best he could do was a 7:30 P.M. table for two; which we agreed to.
Valentine’s Day came and we both got home from work and cleaned up. We ordered the kids a couple pizzas and we made way to Dalton City around 6:40 P.M... Granted, I had never been there before, so I gave myself plenty of time to get there and look around.
We arrived in front of Stoney’s at 7:05 P.M. and sat in the truck for a few minutes. The parked cars up and down the street gave indication that the place must be really busy, but we really weren’t seeing a lot of people coming in or out. 7:15 P.M. came and we decided to head in for our romantic evening dinner on a day that is important to us.
We entered the restaurant and found around a dozen or so couples already waiting to be seated. We checked in with the Hostess, informed her we were early and had a 7:30 P.M. reservation. She highlighted our name on her roster and told us to feel free to wait in the bar area while they prep our table.
We went to the bar area, sat down and began to soak in the atmosphere. It was dimly lit and had that small town, ski lodge type décor. We thought Stoney’s could be our new place to get out and away to have a nice dinner.
A waitress approached us and asked if we would like any drinks while we waited. We said sure and she promptly served us. As she came back with the drinks, she said, “$10.75 Please”. At other establishments I have done this in, they just add it to our evening bill, so I was a little confused. I pulled out my wallet and let her go swipe my card and figured, oh well, no big deal.
As we sat there with our drinks, we began to hear chatter from other patrons. As we began to pay attention to what was happening around us, we found it to be 8:00 P.M. very quickly. The Hostess was just then seating people who had 7:00 P.M. reservations. My Wife and I looked at each other and instantly felt the dread and the feeling of, “Oh my goodness…they are running THAT behind”.
Seats had started clearing out a bit in the waiting area, so we moved closer to the Hostess station. We sat there just a couple minutes as we listened to the two Hostesses talk about how they have bumped people around. My Wife and I looked at each other again, and being just a few feet away, I asked the Hostess if we had been skipped over. She asked our name and looked at her chart, just to look up at us and said, “Yes”. She looked as if she felt really horrible and apologized to us. She said she’d get us a table right away.
We were sat at a tucked away little nook at 8:05 P.M. and were promptly greeted by our waiter. He took our drink order as we looked over the menu. He was back in just a couple minutes with our drinks and he took our order for two steak dinners.
As we sat there still soaking in the atmosphere, we could see people sitting without food in front of them. We had seen couples who were seated around the time of our initial reservation whom hadn’t received their food yet. In an attempt not to get further upset and give Stoney’s the benefit of doubt, we sat there.
At 8:45 P.M. our waiter stopped by and apologized for the delay. He said he would check on our meals and come right back. I have to say, I really felt sorry for this guy. He couldn’t have been a day over twenty-one and he was working his tail off. He came back to the table in just a couple minutes and said it was coming up, shouldn’t be much longer. I politely told him of how we got bumped and that our reservation was at 7:30 P.M. He said we’d see our meals in ten to twenty minutes. After he left our table, the manager had walked by and got stopped by a gentleman who was upset at his service. They had a long wait as we did and their steaks were not cooked as ordered. The manager just had a flakey sort of attitude and tried to talk his way out of a confrontation. He couldn’t just apologize and let the guy vent.
9:10 P.M. came and the table next to us received their order; an order that was incomplete. Their waitress said the rest was coming right out. At 9:15 P.M., they had not received the rest of their order.
We began to finally give in to our gut feelings and said, “Enough is enough”. We got up from our table and made way to the Hostess station. I asked her if the manager was available and I wished to speak to him. She went and informed him of my request and she said it would be a couple minutes as he was “on the computer”. A few minutes had past and the gentleman we witnessed earlier came up to us. His demeanor was less than desirable as he appeared really shocked at what I had to say. I explained the story as I have here. He was less than sympathetic as it seemed he had already heard the story over and over throughout the evening. He seemed more concerned with asking very specific questions related to time. For Reading this you get a complete set of Apes cards..just be the first to post Hey I want those cards and you get em. I was confused how he wanted to talk semantics about it taking two minutes to get from point A to point B. It seemed as though he was more concerned about making calculations in his head about how much money he just lost on two steak dinners than he was about why he was losing business. He persisted in his delusion that he could make things right. He did offer to go check on our meals, but no matter how many times I tried to explain it, he just did not understand that the evening was over; we were leaving and we were telling him why. He made no apology; he made no excuses, he made no offer for us to come back and set things right. He persisted with his delusion that he just didn’t understand why we were upset and seeing this man had no sense of reason, we turned our backs and walked out.
Upon exiting Stoney’s, another couple was outside. They could tell by the looks on our faces, and our body language, that things were not right. They made a comment like, “You guys too, huh?” We gave a brief description of our first and last visit to Stoney’s Restaurant. They waited an hour longer than we did, and when they received their meals, the food was cold. They too complained, and received the same, non-understanding attitude from the management. They also said it was their first time too and it would be their last.
With a sickening feeling in both of our stomachs, we made our way home. During that twenty-some minute drive back home to Decatur, we still didn’t understand how a day that was supposed to be romantic; turned out so bad.
We got home and found the kids already in bed. We ventured to the kitchen to see if any of that pizza we ordered three hours ago was left. There were some odds and ends left over, so there we sat; Ten o’clock at night on Valentine’s Day, eating micro-waved Dominos Pizza.
Thanks Stoney’s for a day we’ll never forget.
It began with the closing of Decatur’s, “Tom’s Grill”. My Wife and I enjoyed the quiet, secluded little atmosphere and their great steaks. We had been wondering what to do this year and figured we’d do something new.
I had heard Stoney’s had great steaks and we figured the small town appeal might be what we were looking for to replace Tom’s. On February 11th, I called Stoney’s Restaurant in Dalton City to inquire about reservations. I spoke to a man named, “Tom”. Ironic how we were looking to replace a “Tom” and found another “Tom”. I told him how I was from Decatur and heard they had great food; what was it going to take to get a reservation for Valentine’s Day. Tom said the best he could do was a 7:30 P.M. table for two; which we agreed to.
Valentine’s Day came and we both got home from work and cleaned up. We ordered the kids a couple pizzas and we made way to Dalton City around 6:40 P.M... Granted, I had never been there before, so I gave myself plenty of time to get there and look around.
We arrived in front of Stoney’s at 7:05 P.M. and sat in the truck for a few minutes. The parked cars up and down the street gave indication that the place must be really busy, but we really weren’t seeing a lot of people coming in or out. 7:15 P.M. came and we decided to head in for our romantic evening dinner on a day that is important to us.
We entered the restaurant and found around a dozen or so couples already waiting to be seated. We checked in with the Hostess, informed her we were early and had a 7:30 P.M. reservation. She highlighted our name on her roster and told us to feel free to wait in the bar area while they prep our table.
We went to the bar area, sat down and began to soak in the atmosphere. It was dimly lit and had that small town, ski lodge type décor. We thought Stoney’s could be our new place to get out and away to have a nice dinner.
A waitress approached us and asked if we would like any drinks while we waited. We said sure and she promptly served us. As she came back with the drinks, she said, “$10.75 Please”. At other establishments I have done this in, they just add it to our evening bill, so I was a little confused. I pulled out my wallet and let her go swipe my card and figured, oh well, no big deal.
As we sat there with our drinks, we began to hear chatter from other patrons. As we began to pay attention to what was happening around us, we found it to be 8:00 P.M. very quickly. The Hostess was just then seating people who had 7:00 P.M. reservations. My Wife and I looked at each other and instantly felt the dread and the feeling of, “Oh my goodness…they are running THAT behind”.
Seats had started clearing out a bit in the waiting area, so we moved closer to the Hostess station. We sat there just a couple minutes as we listened to the two Hostesses talk about how they have bumped people around. My Wife and I looked at each other again, and being just a few feet away, I asked the Hostess if we had been skipped over. She asked our name and looked at her chart, just to look up at us and said, “Yes”. She looked as if she felt really horrible and apologized to us. She said she’d get us a table right away.
We were sat at a tucked away little nook at 8:05 P.M. and were promptly greeted by our waiter. He took our drink order as we looked over the menu. He was back in just a couple minutes with our drinks and he took our order for two steak dinners.
As we sat there still soaking in the atmosphere, we could see people sitting without food in front of them. We had seen couples who were seated around the time of our initial reservation whom hadn’t received their food yet. In an attempt not to get further upset and give Stoney’s the benefit of doubt, we sat there.
At 8:45 P.M. our waiter stopped by and apologized for the delay. He said he would check on our meals and come right back. I have to say, I really felt sorry for this guy. He couldn’t have been a day over twenty-one and he was working his tail off. He came back to the table in just a couple minutes and said it was coming up, shouldn’t be much longer. I politely told him of how we got bumped and that our reservation was at 7:30 P.M. He said we’d see our meals in ten to twenty minutes. After he left our table, the manager had walked by and got stopped by a gentleman who was upset at his service. They had a long wait as we did and their steaks were not cooked as ordered. The manager just had a flakey sort of attitude and tried to talk his way out of a confrontation. He couldn’t just apologize and let the guy vent.
9:10 P.M. came and the table next to us received their order; an order that was incomplete. Their waitress said the rest was coming right out. At 9:15 P.M., they had not received the rest of their order.
We began to finally give in to our gut feelings and said, “Enough is enough”. We got up from our table and made way to the Hostess station. I asked her if the manager was available and I wished to speak to him. She went and informed him of my request and she said it would be a couple minutes as he was “on the computer”. A few minutes had past and the gentleman we witnessed earlier came up to us. His demeanor was less than desirable as he appeared really shocked at what I had to say. I explained the story as I have here. He was less than sympathetic as it seemed he had already heard the story over and over throughout the evening. He seemed more concerned with asking very specific questions related to time. For Reading this you get a complete set of Apes cards..just be the first to post Hey I want those cards and you get em. I was confused how he wanted to talk semantics about it taking two minutes to get from point A to point B. It seemed as though he was more concerned about making calculations in his head about how much money he just lost on two steak dinners than he was about why he was losing business. He persisted in his delusion that he could make things right. He did offer to go check on our meals, but no matter how many times I tried to explain it, he just did not understand that the evening was over; we were leaving and we were telling him why. He made no apology; he made no excuses, he made no offer for us to come back and set things right. He persisted with his delusion that he just didn’t understand why we were upset and seeing this man had no sense of reason, we turned our backs and walked out.
Upon exiting Stoney’s, another couple was outside. They could tell by the looks on our faces, and our body language, that things were not right. They made a comment like, “You guys too, huh?” We gave a brief description of our first and last visit to Stoney’s Restaurant. They waited an hour longer than we did, and when they received their meals, the food was cold. They too complained, and received the same, non-understanding attitude from the management. They also said it was their first time too and it would be their last.
With a sickening feeling in both of our stomachs, we made our way home. During that twenty-some minute drive back home to Decatur, we still didn’t understand how a day that was supposed to be romantic; turned out so bad.
We got home and found the kids already in bed. We ventured to the kitchen to see if any of that pizza we ordered three hours ago was left. There were some odds and ends left over, so there we sat; Ten o’clock at night on Valentine’s Day, eating micro-waved Dominos Pizza.
Thanks Stoney’s for a day we’ll never forget.
British by birth....English by the grace of God. 
Yes Jamie...it is big isn't it....
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