Saturday, January 30, 2010
Businesses I am not happy with
1) American Airlines
Right now I am sitting at DFW's gate B39 waiting for a flight to Waco. The flight is supposed to leave in three minutes, but we don't have a plane to board. This has been the deal with service to Waco for some time now, especially since they switched from jets to America's Worst Plane, The "Super"-ATR. Recently, fewer people seem to be flying out of Waco, and right now that looks like a smart choice-- it seems that every trip I take, at least one of the flights involving Waco is late or canceled, and there seems to be no sign from the airline that they are going to do anything to address the reliability problem.
At some point, this is bad for the city of Waco. Reliable air service matters, and right now we have a problem.
2) Restaurant 1424 in Waco, Texas
A few months ago, I went with two others to 1424 for a little celebration dinner. We ordered a bottle of wine and an appetizer, and began our celebration. The good spirits (so to speak) lasted only until the waiter opened the bottle of wine. It was immediately clear that there was something wrong. The wine was a dark caramel color, and it smelled bad. I tasted it, and told the waiter it had turned. He seemed surprised, and left for a minute to talk to the owner and then came back and told me "it should be good." He then poured us some, but it was just undrinkable, so I had to push him to bring us another bottle, which he did reluctantly. The new bottle also was brackish (it was the same label and vintage). Again, he seemed very reluctant to take it back despite how obvious the problem was, and the owner seemed grumpy about it. Finally, we got a different kind of wine.
If you own a restaurant and serve wine, you should train your servers, or at least yourself, to recognize wine that has turned. And you absolutely should not fight with customers who have a problem with a white wine so bad that it has turned murky.
Future celebrations will not be held at 1424.
So.... what business are you unhappy with?
Comments:
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As I have written on this blog before, the only redeemable thing about American Airlines is Bill who runs the Waco operation. He is incredibly helpful and goes above and beyond what is required.
As far as 1424... that stinks (as much as the wine did)!
As far as 1424... that stinks (as much as the wine did)!
# posted by 
: 2:51 PM
: 2:51 PM
Oh wow, let's see...
Besides all my problems with airlines and air travel in general, here are my others:
1) Mi Tequila (Mexican place in Waco, on Valley Mills): we ate there with a large group of people from lawschool. The food tasted ok (granted, we had been drinking) but ended with one of our party getting sick in the parking lot, and more than one more having stomach cramps. Not OK.
2) Pizza Hut: every single time we order from them, they get lost. On more than one occasion, we've had to give them directions over the phone or go out into the parking lot to meet them. We always order from the same one, and it's not like the place is hard to find, so I don't know what the problem is. Also, their "natural" pizza is AWFUL. It tastes like ketchup spread on cardboard. I know there are good, all natural pizzas out there (ie: Pizza Kitchen or HEB brand frozen organic pizzas), so that's unacceptable.
3)Diamond Backs: we've only been there once, for a friend's birthday. We'll never be back. It took over forty five minutes to get ONE drink. We ordered another, and then cancelled it b/c it was taking so long and the place was so crowded I was getting claustrophobic (not to mention bumped into by waitstaff who never said excuse me). The whole thing was an overpriced nightmare.
Besides all my problems with airlines and air travel in general, here are my others:
1) Mi Tequila (Mexican place in Waco, on Valley Mills): we ate there with a large group of people from lawschool. The food tasted ok (granted, we had been drinking) but ended with one of our party getting sick in the parking lot, and more than one more having stomach cramps. Not OK.
2) Pizza Hut: every single time we order from them, they get lost. On more than one occasion, we've had to give them directions over the phone or go out into the parking lot to meet them. We always order from the same one, and it's not like the place is hard to find, so I don't know what the problem is. Also, their "natural" pizza is AWFUL. It tastes like ketchup spread on cardboard. I know there are good, all natural pizzas out there (ie: Pizza Kitchen or HEB brand frozen organic pizzas), so that's unacceptable.
3)Diamond Backs: we've only been there once, for a friend's birthday. We'll never be back. It took over forty five minutes to get ONE drink. We ordered another, and then cancelled it b/c it was taking so long and the place was so crowded I was getting claustrophobic (not to mention bumped into by waitstaff who never said excuse me). The whole thing was an overpriced nightmare.
Not to change the direction of this dicusssion, but is the law school a business in Waco? I have some not so smiley faces on the administration of that business...
# posted by : 3:44 PM
: 3:44 PM
K&S Properties is the worst business in Waco. I wouldn't live in one of their properties again if they gave me free rent for a year.
I've had delays of some sort every time I've flown into or out of Waco (Continental or American)...
try Killeen...it is more of a drive I guess (depending upon where you live - I live south of Waco), but they still have the jets there and there's still the free parking...plus, when I flew out of there this summer, the security guy was nice and actually helped me load my stuff into the bins for the scanner (a rare experience)...also, every time I check rates, Killeen is way cheeper
try Killeen...it is more of a drive I guess (depending upon where you live - I live south of Waco), but they still have the jets there and there's still the free parking...plus, when I flew out of there this summer, the security guy was nice and actually helped me load my stuff into the bins for the scanner (a rare experience)...also, every time I check rates, Killeen is way cheeper
Brothers Management is also awful. I've twice had to threaten legal action against them. It seems all the big apartment management companies in Waco have horrible reputations. I've been burned by more restaurants in Waco than I can count, but the treatment I've received from Miller Mazda in having my car serviced wins the "Waco Business Of The Year" award, and I don't mean that as a compliment. I'd rather drive to Dallas to have my Mazda serviced than take it back to those crooks. I honestly feel that they knowingly and intentionally stole my money.
Prof. Osler, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts, as a resident and of course as WOTY, on service generally in Waco. I've found it to be abysmal nearly across the board, and I'm not one of those anti-Waco students. In fact, I've immensely enjoyed my time in Waco with the exception of horrible service at almost all restaurants and the near impossibility of getting a service provider to actually do what they say they will. Some students refer to it as the "Waco disease," and at this point I'm convinced there is some kind of latent character of the town that leads to this condition. Your airport and 1424 stories are par for the course in my book. So my question is, do you think there's something in the water, and if so, what is it?
Prof. Osler, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts, as a resident and of course as WOTY, on service generally in Waco. I've found it to be abysmal nearly across the board, and I'm not one of those anti-Waco students. In fact, I've immensely enjoyed my time in Waco with the exception of horrible service at almost all restaurants and the near impossibility of getting a service provider to actually do what they say they will. Some students refer to it as the "Waco disease," and at this point I'm convinced there is some kind of latent character of the town that leads to this condition. Your airport and 1424 stories are par for the course in my book. So my question is, do you think there's something in the water, and if so, what is it?
# posted by : 5:09 PM
: 5:09 PM
Austin--
I haven't had across-the-board bad service experiences. Why is it that, say, George's seems to get it right? Ninfa's, too-- great service there. I think the difference is that some places pay attention to it.
I haven't had across-the-board bad service experiences. Why is it that, say, George's seems to get it right? Ninfa's, too-- great service there. I think the difference is that some places pay attention to it.
Austin, of course there's something in the water. It's the worst water I've ever tasted. It defeats all filtration efforts I've tried, and I just love the film on top of my coffee...
It comes as little surprise to me that your flight was late or cancelled getting back into Waco. The only time I've taken that flight, they consolidated our flight into a later one without so much as an announcement. Just recently, I heard a tale of that flight being cancelled, and AA "offering" a bus back to Waco. The person went with the bus option only to for it to take another 4+ hours to get back to Waco from Dallas.
I'd also like to second Justin on K&S Properties.
I think the only reason the extent of K&S Properties' incompetence/dishonesty is not known is because the primary victims are undergraduates. That said, erroneous late notices and fees and forfeited security deposits are not typically a primary concern (it certainly wasn't for me when I was an undergraduate). Law students appear to be the only ones who want to fight to keep them honest.
I cannot personally speak to Brothers Management, but it is also my understanding that they have been repeat offenders.
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I'd also like to second Justin on K&S Properties.
I think the only reason the extent of K&S Properties' incompetence/dishonesty is not known is because the primary victims are undergraduates. That said, erroneous late notices and fees and forfeited security deposits are not typically a primary concern (it certainly wasn't for me when I was an undergraduate). Law students appear to be the only ones who want to fight to keep them honest.
I cannot personally speak to Brothers Management, but it is also my understanding that they have been repeat offenders.
# posted by : 8:43 AM
: 8:43 AM << Home
