Piper's In the Park — Restaurant in Durham

Well this was one of the worst customer service experiences I've had in recent memory. I arrived at Piper's with a friend shortly before 11:30AM on a Wednesday to have lunch. The place was mostly empty when we arrived, but given its proximity to RTP, and IBM in particular, we guessed it was going to get pretty busy. My friend ordered before me and was served promptly. A few customers that came in after us received their meals, and I was still waiting on mine - maybe fifteen minutes or so after my friend had received his meal. The owner approached another table and I overheard her explaing (somewhat disrespectfully) that she had made a mistake, and that my order had been given to another customer - who did not want his order, after he himself had waited a while.

I was unwilling to wait for the kitchen to remake my order, or force my friend to wait for them to make it and me to eat it, so I asked for a refund, and that's where things started to escalate to the point of comedy. The owner, Piper I guess?, was incensed by the request and told me, angrily, "I'm doing the best I can with just a few people and all these customers." (I looked around to take stock of a still mostly empty restaurant - and I found the excuse funny enough to smile at that). She explained that she was going to "take care of this right now" and stormed back behind the counter. A few minutes later she returned with cash, which she slapped onto the table in front of me with a comment along the lines of "You can go to McDonalds or whatever. You only waited 15 minutes for your food. Don't ever come back in here." She doesn't need to worry about that; though I made sure to explain what had happened to another colleague that had arrived while I was waiting for my friend to finish his lunch.

So the owner is pretty disrespectful and didn't seem all that keen on taking responsibility for her mistake. Maybe she just had a bad day - maybe she should let her staff handle the customer facing side of her business. Not sure what the food is like, but my friend's sandwich looked pretty good. I had paid with a credit card and left a tip of three dollars more than what was returned to me, but I'll consider it money well spent to watch a temper trantrum as entertaining as this one. It's a good place to go if you're looking for a (somewhat stressful) laugh, but I'd avoid it if you're looking for...

Words can not express the atmosphere of this establishment. As soon as I walked in, the delicious scents of the cooked foods comingling made my mouth water. (I was getting full, just sniffing the air!!) The lady who got my order was delightful, I mean truly. The other patrons in the joint were all having a jovial time, obviously enjoying their experience as well as the food. The bathroom was clean and artsy. The paintings of dogs on the main wall in the dining area were fun to look at, done by an amazing artist, no doubt. The food was scrumptious. I had a fish sandwich. It came with a salad. If you haven't tried thier Ranch dressing, you'd better. Yummy. There was a crispy, delicious pickle slice included, and I don't know when I had a pickle last, but I sure...

Everything I have eaten from here is absolutely delicious. Sandwiches, sides, soups, desserts… all so good! Today I got the honey walnut chicken salad sandwich. I was worried the honey mustard sauce might be a bit too much, but as soon as I took a bite I knew it was just the right amount. I love their soups especially the chipotle seafood chowder, black bean, and zucchini Parmesan (some of their soups sell out fast so make sure to come in before the lunch rush!). I tried the egg salad and pasta salad today and enjoyed both. I usually get banana pudding for dessert but today I tried the chocolate peanut butter pie and it was so creamy. Their menu offers something for everyone and they have daily specials which is even better. If I could eat here for lunch...