Went to the El Rodeo on Westgate St. in Durham last night. First time I've been to an El Rodeo in years since being at State.

Place looked nice and the food was fantastic. But the service SUCKS FUCKING BALLS! They had 3-5 waiters for about 10 tables at about 5:30 Sat. evening, and they couldn't be bothered to come by the table ever. They only refilled the cups one time, when they brought the food out. We asked 2-3 different waiters we needed refills and more chips/salsa, and nothing ever showed up. The last one just snickered when my wife asked him and was just a smarmy douchebag. It was so bad she (a part-time waitress/manager at a restaurant) said to leave NO tip and left a note on the receipt explaining why.

I will never go back there because of the shitty service, and if anybody knows of a website/e-mail address for the chain, I would love to let them know the restaurant and food was excellent but the horrible service of Ramon and the other shithead waiters made it the worst experience at a restaurant I have had in years.

3/23/2008 4:56:41 PM

Cosmic Cantina in Durham > *

3/23/2008 4:57:12 PM

Wait till those bastards read this post! They will definitely rethink their customer service practices!

3/23/2008 4:57:53 PM

Quote :

"It was so bad she (a part-time waitress/manager at a restaurant) said to leave NO tip and left a note on the receipt explaining why."

you sure it wasnt just cause she's white trash?

3/23/2008 4:59:18 PM

jsdfghjk

[Edited on March 23, 2008 at 4:59 PM. Reason : sdfghj]

3/23/2008 4:59:39 PM

the el rodeo in carborro is pretty solid.


one time the broad working there gave me a free drink and nacho's because i was so attractive.

3/23/2008 5:00:33 PM

Quote :

"if a bunch of people say that the service is shitty and you'll be miserable if you go there eventually people will stop going there."

Your theory is disproven by every establishment on Hillsborough street

3/23/2008 5:00:54 PM

^^Hey Travis, thanks, asshole. I'm sure my wife going to school fulltime and us having two kids means that if she is just working part-time at a restaurant she is white trash. Fuck you.

And thanks Judge, thats why I asked if there was a website for the chain. I know they aren't fucking cruising TWW for reviews. But I also know a lot of folks used to love the restaurant on Hillsborough St.

3/23/2008 5:01:56 PM

I LOVE EL RODEO

3/23/2008 5:04:02 PM

email address? they don't spend money on computers, that shit is getting western unioned back home.

3/23/2008 5:04:41 PM

I USED TO LOVE EL RODEO

3/23/2008 5:04:49 PM

hey dont get mad just cause one of my observations happens to be about someone close to you. its not about the waiting tables, its about the waiting tables and not tipping. it says that you're either an asshole, or you can't afford to eat out.

sorry

3/23/2008 5:04:56 PM

isnt the point of tipping to get good service?

3/23/2008 5:05:58 PM

lol at jackleg

if you give shitty service, you get no tip

if you give good service, you hope you get a good tip

it all comes down to the people who voluntarily leave money for the service

[Edited on March 23, 2008 at 5:11 PM. Reason : *good]

3/23/2008 5:10:31 PM

3/23/2008 5:19:23 PM

lol at jackleg calling someone else white trash

3/23/2008 5:21:48 PM

haha

3/23/2008 5:22:56 PM

haha, says the guy posing with the runner-ups from the miss morehead city pageant

3/23/2008 5:24:59 PM

La Rancharitas at Crabtree Mall. Cheaper, Better food, better service.

3/23/2008 5:32:14 PM

Cosmic Cantina > *

3/23/2008 5:35:30 PM

The point of mentioning her is that my "white trash" wife is usually the most sympathetic to wait staff and always makes sure they are taken care of when we go out to eat. I tip good at the restaurants I go to, esp. the mexican restaurants I frequent, and always get great service. But its really shitty when even she, the waiter/waitress apologist, says fuck this the service is terrible.

[Edited on March 23, 2008 at 5:49 PM. Reason : ]

3/23/2008 5:49:01 PM

ive always found servers and bartenders to be a lot more critical of other servers and bartenders

and i waited tables for quite a while during school and stuff. so i know a lot of servers, and have a lot of personal experiences.

while servers will talk shit about the service they get, they're usually the first to go back to the table and tip extra when they notice that no one else did.

maybe im just an extra nice tipper, i dont know. my last tip was 5 bucks on 2. then again the girl gave me a spoon to go use to cook some heroin!!1

3/23/2008 5:52:10 PM

I'm the exact opposite of a critical server/bartender.

I'm always making excuses for the bartender/server. If its taking forever the for the food to get out...I always blame it on the kitchen instead of the possibility of someone not putting the order in. If they're having trouble refilling drinks or checking in on the table, then I say that the server has too many tables and it's not their fault and I just give them a break (give a whole "been there, i know how it is" saying).

And I tip ridiculously high...but most of the servers/bartenders return the favor at my bar...and if they don't, I just know the feeling of a good tip, and I like to reciprocate that feeling.

Even when I get horrible service, I still tip at least 15%, usually 20%.

3/23/2008 6:07:26 PM

Yeah 15-20% is my minimum tip. I used to deliver chinese food back in the day and know how hard waiters work... so yea, it's worth an extra few bucks to me.

3/23/2008 6:08:26 PM

the only time i ever really feel bad for people is when i eat a late lunch, and i know there are only 2 servers on (closers from lunch), and they each have 8 tables.

but i still dont feel that bad cause i know they're pulling down 100 bucks cash from a 5 hour shift

3/23/2008 6:09:17 PM