McKendrick's Steak House — Restaurant in Dunwoody

(I sent the below email to the manager Carol. It bounced back and so I called for an updated address to find she has sadly passed away. The following phone call was so wildly rude and unprofessional I have to just share this email publicly)

Hi Carol,

I’ve been dining with you since the 90’s when I was just a little kid. In the past ~30 years McKendricks has been the place my family has celebrated special occasions, where I meet my Mom for lunches and it was one of the last meals I shared with my grandfather before he passed away. I remember your smiling face at the hostess stand when we would arrive and when I’d leave taking one too many Andes chocolates. Despite the dozens of fond memories, I’m not sure I will ever be back after my experience yesterday.

I met my Mom for a belated birthday lunch around 12:15. Our server was Jeff. He’s been our server countless times, but asked if we’d ever dined with you before. I told him we had and that he had regularly been our server. My mom ordered first, the heirloom tomato salad and the fish sandwich with a side of mayo for the fries. I ordered second, a McKendricks house salad (my favorite salad in the world) and also a fish sandwich. Jeff started laughing out loud. I asked what part of the order was comical and he muttered “it’s just a lot of food for 2 people”…..WHAT! I looked around the empty restaurant with literally one other table at prime lunch time and was flabbergasted that someone who works on gratuity would shame a table for over ordering. It was so unbelievably rude and judgmental I almost got up and asked to speak to a manager on the spot. In addition to Jeff and his off putting personality we noticed the lunch menu continues to shrink, and even the bread service has been discontinued. The heirloom tomatoes weren’t ripe, and appeared to have been cut by someone who had held a knife for the first time earlier that day. The ratio of tomatoes to burrata was comical. But not as funny as two gluttonous women being crazy enough to both order a salad prior to their sandwiches. Despite the obvious birthday gifts there was no “happy birthday” from Jeff. At the end of the meal my mom was putting her leftovers in a box and Jeff was in such a hurry to clear the table he removed the mayo before she could add it to her to go container. (Getting in between my mom and a mayo dip for her fries is risky business!). There was absolutely a “don’t let the door hit you” vibe as we were settling up.

I have never patronized an establishment so consistently and for so many years and seen such a dramatic shift of quality and experience. I’m writing to you directly because I don’t believe in roasting people with online reviews without bringing the issues to your attention first. My goal is to be constructive with this...

I recently celebrated my daughter's 27th birthday at McKendrick's Steakhouse, and I must say it was a complete letdown compared to our previous positive experience. My wife and I had chosen this restaurant to commemorate our wedding anniversary, and based on that experience, we had high expectations. Unfortunately, this visit turned out to be a disaster. From the moment we entered, it was evident that the General Manager (Carolyn Conway), was more interested in tending to a party than paying attention to the other guests in the restaurant. Our party ordered a ribeye steak, medium, with crab meat Oscar topping, along with four shareable sides. However, when the food arrived, it was clear that our expectations were not met. The ribeye steak was not cooked to the temperature we requested, and to add insult to injury, half of the steak was nothing but fat. Additionally, they forgot to include the crab meat Oscar topping, which was a major disappointment. When we brought these issues to the waiter's attention, instead of rectifying the situation, they flat-out refused to provide us with another steak. In an attempt to salvage my daughter's celebration, I ordered another entrée. The waiter informed the General Manager (Carolyn Conway) and the Manager (Rain Holton) about the problems we encountered. Shockingly, their solution was to offer us credit for two drinks we liked, completely disregarding the fact that our main course was unsatisfactory. Manager Rain Holton frequently approached our table without genuinely attempting to resolve the issues we raised. Meanwhile, General Manager Carolyn Conway remained passive, observing our dissatisfaction without taking any intervention. Despite purposefully passing by our table multiple times, she never inquired about our well-being or acknowledged any potential problems. In one instance, during Rain's visit, he audaciously suggested that we had initially expressed satisfaction to our waiter and later changed our stance. This disregard for our concerns was highly frustrating. As a project executive for a Fortune 500 company who frequently takes clients to dinner in the metro Atlanta area, I am appalled by the lack of customer service exhibited at McKendrick's Steakhouse. I strongly advise against choosing this establishment and recommend exploring other steak houses in the Atlanta area where they understand the fundamentals of customer service in fine dining. In conclusion, the management at McKendrick's Steakhouse needs serious training on handling customer service issues and ensuring a positive experience for their patrons. This experience has left a lasting negative impression, and I will be exploring alternative dining options...

BEWARE the McKendrick's RIP-OFF. I had lunch there for the first and last time yesterday. In addition to ordering the large filet, I asked the waiter if they had any lobsters because none were on the menu. After checking, he said they had some half pounders and a one pounder and I ordered the one pounder knowing that a one pound lobster is mostly shell and not much meat. When I received the bill, the charge for just the one pound lobster was $100.00 and this was at lunch, not dinner! I asked the waiter if that was a mistake and he said no, so I asked to see the manager. She reaffirmed that was the price and when I asked her why the waiter didn't warn me of the outrageous overcharge before I ordered it, she said he didn't because some patrons get offended by a heads up because they think it implies that the patron might not be able to afford it. A desperate response and pure nonsense because I don't know anyone, regardless of how wealthy they might be, who would be offended by a waiter alerting them to a $100.00 cost for a one pound lobster at lunch. On that theory, I'm not sure why McKendrick’s has any prices at all on their menu because everything is expensive or why in almost every other restaurant, the waiter announces the price of any special items being offered that day without any prompting or inquiry by the patron, regardless of their net worth. I then asked to see the chef who very matter of factly said that was the price and he was off. Not once did anyone offer an apology. I looked at McKendrick's menu online and saw that on their dinner menu, they have a lobster appetizer for $17.95 and they have lobster tails (plural) for $59.95, almost half as much as the $100.00 one pounder at lunch. Apparently, at dinner, the restaurant is not concerned that they will offend any of their patrons by letting them know the cost of lobster by printing the price on the menu or maybe they figure that $59.95 for lobster tails (plural) at dinner isn’t quite the rip-off of $100.00 for a single one pounder at lunch. The good news is that McKendrick's may not be running this scam for much longer. My experience has been that when a restaurant resorts to this sort of desperation, it’s usually because it’s going under and trying anything to stay afloat. My advice would be...