Amadeus Cafe — Restaurant in Ontario

Just read the owner's response to a negative review just a few entries below

"Amadeus Cafe (Owner) 4 days ago I think Zach did an amazing job today considering most of his shift support called in sick. Not much you can do about that. As for your order you chose a large Caesar salad and got a small which you were charged for accordingly ? Not sure what kind of compensation you were hoping for ? My advice ... if you ever visit a German restaurant in the future.... Live on the edge and try something a little different. You might even like it. Have a great rest to your weekend. I know Zach will, he deserves it after the day he had. Prost 🍻"

What the actual deep fried BLEEP is this kind of response?!??

Based on my own professional experience in the field of public/customer relations, this response is a textbook, 100% perfect example of how NOT to handle a customer complaint.

Rude. Unkind. Mocking. Abusive.

My jaw is on the floor at the sheer and utter lack of self-awareness and cruelty of the response.

Whether the owner thinks Zach did an amazing job or not is freaking irrelevant to the fact the customer did not receive good service. The owner was not helpless. Closing a section of the restaurant or informing customers of a staff shortage prior to seating were options.

The problem here is not the price the customer was charged but rather that there was not enough food in the restaurant to fill their order.

Not having enough food, again, is the fault of the restaurant.

Reasonable compensation would have been a discount on the price of the salad, or a drink (or two) offered free (especially since it was simply pop), or a gift certificate in a certain amount to be used later, or the offer of a free desert (for example).

However, I am rather damn certain the customer did not expect "compensation" in the form of being publicly chastised in this manner.

The owner here is way out of line, and out waaaaaaay over their skis.

Based on this reply, this owner should apologize and offer this customer a full refund (at a minimum).

RE: "My advice ... if you ever visit a German restaurant in the future.... Live on the edge and try something a little different. You might even like it."

This is an absolutely insulting response.

For one, why would the customer take advice for someone incapable of taking criticism?

Reading the owner chastising the customer for "not ordering adventurously enough" has me agog and aghast.

Perhaps the customer was there with friends/family as it was an event weekend but is not particularly fond of German food or there were dietary restrictions at play, so they ordered that which on the menu was most palatable to them?

But again, mocking the customer, in a public forum for their order is something I HAVE NEVER SEEN.

The question here is not: "Owner, what were you thinking??!?", but rather: "Owner... WERE you thinking??!".

This is downright abusive.

RE: "Have a great rest to your weekend. "

Clearly, by the tone and attacking nature of the reply, this wish is insincere and likely passive-aggressive. It only makes me hope the rest of the owner's weekend was as pleasant as is their response.

RE: "I know Zach will, he deserves it after the day he had."

No offence to Zach, but this is the least of the customer's concerns or considerations.

That said, I hope Zach will be receiving some additional compensation, or better yet a raise, for the effort he gave that day, since the owner is allegedly so impressed by it.

Many people coming to this site will see this review and instantly rule out this establishment.

I have eaten at this restaurant several times over the past decade and typically the experience is decent, but now, knowing how far the owner is willing to go to humiliate customers in public, Amadeus has lost me as a customer.

Not only that, but henceforth, I will be discouraging friends and family from eating there if ever they are entertaining the...

AMADEUS HITS A WRONG NOTE! Very disappointing experience. I had a reservation which was confirmed by the Restauranteur. Prior to my time for arrival, I was contacted by the Restaurant and asked to move my reservation an hour later. I agreed. The Restaurant confirmed the revised time. Upon arrival on the revised time to the minute, I could see the Restaurant was very busy. There is no vestibule or foyer after the front door so we were necessarily standing beside several occupied tables. There was no Maître d’ Hotel or Reception person. Several wait staff moved about serving the tables less than two feet adjacent to me as my party waited. No one acknowledged our presence. I felt as if I was invisible as several Servers passed in front of me and beside me oblivious to my existence. After standing there for eleven minutes ( actual time not estimated) trying not to be intrusive on the diners sitting at tables beside me, a woman approached us and started to tell us we had to go outside because we were blocking the door. I told her we had a reservation and we were waiting for a table. The woman turned and walked away without saying a word. She returned four minutes later, asked us our name and then she told us to walk to the back of the Restaurant, turn right at a hallway and turn left into a dining room where we could find a table. We followed her instructions and seated ourselves. It seemed unusual to all of us that she did not lead us to the table. We waited another ten minutes for a Server to bring menus to our table. The Server was friendly and polite. One person in our group order potato pancakes from the menu and others asked for Rostii also from the menu. A few minutes later, the Server returned and told us the Restaurant was “out of potatoes “ we were asked to make alternate choices from the menu. Three people in our party asked for one or another of the several chicken schnitzels on the menu and another asked for Rouladen which is supposed to be a beef dish. Once again a few minutes later, our Server apologized that the Restaurant was “out of chicken” and also “ out of beef”. After a discussion among ourselves for a few minutes we decided not to play deal or no deal with the menu and we decided to leave without ordering for a third time. The Server was embarrassed and apologetic. Clearly, she was not to blame for anything, but whoever pretends to own or manage this restaurant has a lot to learn about staffing the front end, particularly when the space is so small and he needs to learn the basics of managing stock inventory since he was unable to provide at least four different plates featured on his menu. Potatoes chicken and beef are not subject to seasonal availability. I do not know whether the food is any good or not, but I will not be returning...

The owner (the woman ) doesn’t have any respect to the customer , customer asks for no bacon in the Cesar salad and there it is bacon , she goes can’t you put the bacon aside and eat it ?? Well we no , she has allergies,never brought the salad back with no bacon .., i asked no carrots instead i want red cabbage , we asked for refill they it’s extra we sure np , they never brought, we asked separate bill , they never did they did manually, and give wrong to total to me and the other person!! Worst experience ever!! I wouldn’t recommend!! Customer service by the owner is big fat zero !! Specially you are travelling, and your friend recommends you to go there !! And experiencing this…

Welll if you want to have your worst day of your life by closing your restaurant, i can post the video and call the Ontario health board….the way you talked to us and the salad picture that was still full ! By all means it will be very bad !! You are a such a liar !! You weren’t fixing anything you were putting the chairs in their places and you didn’t wanted to hear us !! And after that i called the restaurant … asking for the manager and yet you said yes this is the owner, and i asked very nicely if is it possible to come to the back at the patio… you hang up on me !!! Very respectful to the customer!! Shame on you !! We weren’t expecting anything but respect!! You have no respect ,i have a business too i know how to deal with customers!! Apparently you don’t, that why on dinner time your whole restaurant was empty and in the patio was only 3 tables of twos!! It wasn’t even busy to make a mistake but wait not only one mistake but so many mistakes!!! the waitress takes the order written on a paper !! There is no way for her to make mistakes… only the kitchen will make mistakes .. i can go on and on … posting the video!!! But you know what … specially when you came back to fix the light of the patio … the light fell and broke on the ground while we were still sitting beside it everywhere was glass !! I didn’t even complain for that because while ppl sitting, you decided to fix that and not thinking about customers sitting around they might get hurt if the light bulb breaks, and yet when it broke , i was kind enough that i said you should get the solar lights from Costco because it’s on sale and the lightbulbs are not glass and it’s LED , you said I DON’T i want to talk to you or argue !! After all that you being bad to us i still thought about you...