Stone's Public House — Restaurant in Ashland

I've never felt so appalled by an experience as a customer that I felt the need to spend my free time on a weekend writing a review, but the owners of Stone's need to know that one of their managers is confrontational and scary. I'll give a little backstory. Before heading to Stone's, we called ahead for a patio table and showed up a little before our time. When we arrived, we were told it would be about 5 more minutes and we were given a pager. We ordered 1 beer and 1 soda water from the bar for $10 while we waited. About 15 minutes later, I checked with the host stand to make sure she didn't forget about us and, at first, the hostess said "I'm so sorry..." then she trailed off while looking at the computer with confusion and said that it would be an additional 20-30 more minutes for a patio table and went into how she "doesn't know how long people will sit". It was clear that she had made some sort of error and forgot to page us when it was our turn and she decided mid-sentence to cover up her mistake instead of being honest. She was young and people make mistakes. No big deal, but there's no reason a 5 minute estimated wait should ever turn into a 45 minute estimated wait. I asked to speak to a manager because I thought, maybe, he could sort it out. When he arrived he didn't introduce himself. I calmly explained the aforementioned events and he went into a similar spiel about how "it's tough because it's a nice night and everyone wants to sit on the patio". I could see that the conversation was going nowhere so I calmly said that "we are going to leave". He continued to talk over me and I (calmly) repeated "we're leaving" and walked away. As I was walking to get my wife from the bar, he loudly said "So I guess the conversation is over??", clearly trying to impress on other people nearby that he had somehow just been slighted. I had to walk past him again to leave and I was tempted to say to him "I worked in restaurants for 5 years and none of this makes sense" but I bit my tongue and he said in an extra smug tone "Ya!" like he had somehow just won some sort of epic battle. As we were getting into our cars, we saw that the manager had walked all the way to the other end of the restaurant and out the back door and was staring us down as we got into our cars in between typing something in his phone. My wife and I got a really creepy vibe. Maybe this guy was just having a really bad day and we caught his wrath? Maybe he wasn't being a creeper in the parking lot but was just going out there to blow off steam? However, I had a lingering feeling for the rest of the night that I had walked away from a confrontation and the confrontation tried to follow me. This happened on 6/8/18 and the manager was wearing a teal/blue shirt. I'm sure there are security cameras in the host area, so hopefully the owners will see the footage and at least be able to see his body language if not hear the audio as well (as well as him staring us down in the parking lot). I'm not a confrontational person. I haven't punched anyone since second grade. I know that if someone doesn't treat you right, you just walk away instead of getting sucked into it. Luckily our night was rescued by going to another local establishment where the customer service was amazing. We never really loved Stone's anyways. It was OK on occasion if you weren't really hungry because the high food prices aren't justified for what they are. Looks like our business will be going to the other great establishments in the area instead! I won't say which ones because this manager in question might try to track us...

Dear Manager Stone Public House,

I am writing to express my disappointment with a recent experience I had at your restaurant Stone Public House on 7/17/2024 @ 2:00 pm. I had lunch with three guests, and while the food was excellent, the service left a lot to be desired due to an unfortunate incident after we finished our lunch involving our waitress, Hanna. Due to a miscalculation on my part, I inadvertently left a tip that was lower than intended. As my party and I were leaving the parking lot, Hanna was standing there with the receipt in hand and an angry expression on her face. When I asked if there was an issue, she responded aggressively, questioning her service quality and stating that I had left her only $13 instead of the $50 amount she expected. I attempted to rectify the situation by checking the receipt, but Hanna's hostile demeanor made the interaction uncomfortable. She said: I don't want anything. She repeatedly asserted that I owed her almost $50, which I found to be inappropriate and unprofessional. I responded by clarifying that I did not owe her anything. A tip, while customary, is not legally required and is left to the discretion of the customer based on the service received. I deeply regret this exchange, as it overshadowed an otherwise enjoyable lunching experience. I usually tip between 15% and 20% based on the level of service, and this situation was an unfortunate misunderstanding. However, Hanna’s approach was aggressive and made me reconsider leaving any additional tip. I urge your management to address this matter with your staff. While I understand that service workers rely on tips for their income, it is essential for employees to approach such situations with professionalism and respect. Customers should not feel obligated or pressured to compensate for inadequate wages provided by employers. I have been a loyal patron of your restaurant, always enjoying the excellent food and recommending it to others. However, this experience has left a negative impression, and I am hesitant to return. I hope you will take appropriate action to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the...

We have lived in Ashland for 30 years, and come here every year 3 or 4 times. Last wkend was a big disappointment. Mostly all really good (food, drinks atmosphere, table service), but reception/hostess was really short and rude to us. Very bad attitude - no eye contact, not friendly at all. We don't need that when we are trying to have a nice relaxing dinner out. Customers should be greeted professionally, and feel like she is TRYING to find us a table, not like we inconvenienced her and we only have 45 minutes to eat before she needs to turn the table around.

When we left an hour later after spending $160+, half the tables in the dining room were still empty, and there were 5 or 6 tables still open in the bar area. Also - as mentioned above our table service was fantastic. Great waiter! The only downside here is that the waiter brings a small portable credit card machine to the table, and you need to add in the tip while the server stands over your shoulder... It defaults to 18% tip, and also offers 22% and 25% (I believe it was). With dinner-out prices as high as they are, I am now usually a 15% tipper (unless service is super good), and I literally had to have our server help me (we laughed about it because I am a high-tech manager, good with all software) to maneuver thru the software so I could give a 15% tip. That process is wayyy broken. A waiter should not stand over the shoulder of a patron while they rate their service. We will NOT be coming back to Stones anytime soon. They have some issues they need to work out. I am sure plenty of other patrons feel the same way. You can do better at many other local...