Chili's Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Houston

The service was abominable. We were there at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 12, and the restaurant was almost deserted. We had some time to kill before a nearby birthday party, and just wanted to have a quick drink. There was no host or hostess. We seated ourselves at the bar. The bartender was talking to a woman to our left and the end of the bar, and who was eating. He ignored us for about 5 minutes while he continued his conversation with her. Then he walked past us without a word, and asked two guys at the other end of the bar if they needed anything. There were no other persons there. He then took a beer to one of the guys, and then left the bar entirely, again without speaking to us. He came back, put some glasses in the fridge, and then continued to ignore us. My wife asked, "Can we get a drink?" He said, "OK, what can I get you?" She asked for a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and I asked for a glass of Chardonnay. He fumbled around at the back of the bar, rearranged some bottles, and eventually found two wine glasses. He came back and asked me, "Cabernet, right?" I said, "No, Chardonnay." He then fumbled around in the fridge and then left the bar again. Eventually, he returned and said he didn't have any Sauvignon Blanc after all. By that time, we had used up our time and we just left. If this idiot had acknowledged us at the beginning, and if he had any idea of his inventory, he could have made a sale and earned a nice tip. We are originally from Dallas, and have been Chili's patrons since the beginning, but we'll...

Well. We were kind and patient. Our waitress was pleasant when she did come to the table BUT...

20 minutes before anyone came to our table to take a drink order...and then it wasnt our waitress, it was one of the MOD's (plaid shirt).

40 minutes to get our drinks, again, brought by MOD.

40 minutes before waitress came to take our appetizer order.

1 hour and 30 minutes before we flagged someone down to take our dinner order.

Sat with empty drinks for an hour.

Asked for a manager...a different MOD came (tall, thin, red shirt). I told him all of this, and his response was he didnt understand if our waitress was pleasant, what was the problem. LACK OF SERVICE. I asked that he take percentage off of our bill at least to compensate for tip. He gave me a 10% Senior discount...so I tipped 10%, which was generous considering. He seemed shocked that there was a service issue...and offered no apology.

#1- If managers are compensating for bad service with 10% Senior discounts the owner/corporate are probably unaware that many comps are being done for issues at this location, because they are being covered up by Senior discounts.

#2- If this manager was so unaware that there was a service issue happening in his store, you may need some manager training on customer service at this location...just sayin.

#3 - Take your customer service seriously, establishments go under for this exact reason. There are thousands of places to chose from in Houston.

...and yes I will be calling the Guest...

I haven't visited a Chili's in year's and now I remember why. Our server Alexis made our experience here horrible. Both me and my husband work in the hospitality business, so we have an understanding of how it is. Since she came to "greet" us she had a dry attitude. Okay I thought maybe she's having a bad day, someone was rude to her, etc. But as I sat watching her interact with the rest of her tables she had a more cheerful attitude towards everyone else. The food came out fast and hot. The drinks came a few minutes after the food, I understand sometimes bar is busy. Drinks were well balanced and good. She finally came to ask if we were okah after we almost finished eating. My husband orders a beer, I still had half of my drink left. By the time I finish my drink I want another one but she doesn't stop by to check but I'm also thinking his beer isn't here yet and we have to leave because we have a movie to catch. I finally get her attention and ask if we can cancel the beer since we have to leave and it's taken awhile by this point. She's confused and asked if we order from her? My husband replies yes. She calls on the headset to ask about the beer, and then tells us it's already coming. Excuse me but if I want to cancel something I should be able to! Again I understand she doesn't have control over how busy the bar is but it was her attitude in how she handled it. Overall very disappointing to remember why we don't frequent this restaurant anymore and probably won't...