Ruby Tuesday — Restaurant in Lincoln

The food was great! Drinks were great! We're driving through Lincoln like we do every year, headed to Illinois. We always stay overnight here. Tonight (6-29-17) we decided to eat at Ruby Tuesday. Our server was Dakota. Before we were even all sat down in our booth he pounced asking for drinks. It was myself, my husband and our two teenage sons. My husband just asked for water because he hadn't even looked at the drink menu. There was no mention of specials for drinks or food, he just wanted to get drinks out of the way. He brings our drinks, spills my sons pop on in the table (It just splashed over the top) and didn't wipe it up. He said he'd be back to get out order. 11 minutes passes and he comes back. We order and my husband wanted an alcoholic drink so he ordered that as well. I ordered my food asking for a side of ranch when I did. My husband's drink comes and as he's walking towards us he gets quadruple sat. A six top and three two tops. Seeing this he kind of slides my husband's drink towards him, doesn't say a word and starts to walk away. I had to speak a little loudly to get him to turn around so I could order a margarita on in the rocks with salt. My drink comes, no salt. I didn't say anything because I knew he just got tables and it wasn't a big deal. He brings our food and as he's passing it out tells me he just noticed that the kitchen forgot my ranch and he'd be right back, no biggie. My burger was really hot, so were my fries. I figure he'll be back quick with my ranch so I can eat the fries while they're hot. He starts taking the 6 tops order so I started in on my burger instead while I waited. He goes and brings 6 tops drinks, no ranch. He brings 2 top their salads, no ranch. He gets 2 top a drink, no ranch. He didn't ask if everything was ok. Never even looked at us until his newer tables had all been taken care of. By this time I'm almost done with my burger, my husband is completely done and our kids are almost done. He doesn't come to clear my husband's empty dish but to ask if we're ready for our check. I said no, I was still waiting on my ranch. He tries to blame the kitchen again and leaves to get it and doesn't take any dirty dishes with him. I'd love Dakota to know that I'm a server. If you spill some of a drink, wipe it up. It might also be helpful if you out put down some drink napkins. If you're the one delivering my food that I also ordered from you, don't blame the kitchen for forgetting something you should have noticed when you loaded it up to bring it out. If you're in the weeds just being sat 12 people you should ask for some help. Walking away from a table that has dirty dishes on it is rude. Before you deliver the check you should probably #1 make sure all food has been delivered, #2 check to see if everything is ok and #3 offer a dessert. That drink you almost didn't let me order and the desserts you never offered make your check go up, therefore that should make your tip go up. I'm picky about my service when I go out to eat but I'm not difficult. I can see when someone gets sat like that and is trying to get caught up, I've been there. However, the things I mentioned are the most important to me that a server can do. Server 101 if you will. In his case they were also the difference between the $10.33 he got on our $72.67 bill and the $27.33 he could...

We were not pleased with the experience.

We have both worked in the service industry at different points in our lives and we understand what wait staff deals with, but our waiter's behavior was unacceptable; he was clearly irritated he had to serve us, and it was that obvious. Down to the eyerolls, and we aimed to be easy people so we wouldn't be the reason for that.

Atmosphere wise, other staff also looked irritated to be there, but it wasn't really busy at all in general, so we were confused as to why things weren't running smoothly in general. There were several pissed off customers leaving and we saw yellow flags but still wanted to give Ruby Tuesday's a shot, because this was our first time coming here.

The waiter failed to introduce himself, so we don't even know what his name is. He sat us at a table and he was fine in regard to drinks. I asked for food recommendations and he recommended a few, and he was also okay in that regard.

We ordered drinks and appetizer, and I partook in the salad bar. Salad bar was good for a basic setup. We ordered the sweet tea and the berry RubyRita, which were both awesome. The quesadillas were great, but we wished portions were bigger.

Waiter walked past our table several times with empty drinks at the end of the table, and he only had 3 tables/booths in his section. An older couple across from us clearly were irritated because they were also being neglected by the same waiter, trying to get their bill. We only got asked once, after 30 min, if we wanted refills/asked if we were doing okay.

Wait time for food was not bad, but I think that is only because someone else brought our food out and not our waiter. The expediter(?) was nice and courteous. I ordered the bourbon honey salmon/zucchini/rice pilaf, and everything tasted delicious. Hubby ordered the Philly sandwich, which he liked as well.

The only complaint, foodwise, is that our portions were really small, so we were glad we got the salad bar and appetizer to supplement.

The waiter finally came back for drinks after ≈30 min, and we asked for carrot cake to go and our bill. The carrot cake was good, but it was $9 for one slice so pay attention to your prices.

There were just two of us, two meals, 1 appetizer, 1 salad bar, 2 sweet teas, 1 RubyRita, and our bill was $80 before tip. Holy $#!+, expensive. The waiter was suddenly nice at the end, and hung around for us to pay the bill on the reader and to put in tip, and we paid tip proportional to the level of service we received, which was basically neglectful.

Do better,...

We drove all the way across town on a Friday night only to be gravely disappointed. Our host was nice enough and seated us right away. A plus! Upon being seated, I noticed the decor was the same as it was 15 years ago and the place had an old dirty smelling odor that was likely in the furnishings and carpet. Solution? Do some upgrades to refresh the restaurant. As we were being seated, I noticed there were only older people dining - no younger couples or families. Solution? Modernize to make a more welcoming and attractive establishment. Our waiter came by and took our order promptly but it was clear that no one spent any time training him to be cordial and welcoming. Solution? Spend time training and ensure management observes and corrects server bad habits promptly. We ordered and made our way to the salad bar. There were lots of selections and things were pretty fresh and clean. A plus when so many other things were lacking attention. The Mr. ordered a steak for us to share but it lacked flavor and was fat and loaded with gristle. Solution? Preseason the meat before cooking and ensure great cuts of meat are used. We tried to add salt only to find that the salt shakers on our table and two others had wet salt in them, as if someone filled wet salt shakers. I finally found a dry salt shaker 3 tables away. I told our host and she quickly went to find new salt shakers. Solution? Better management and training to ensure quality control. As we were finishing our meal, the impersonal waiter threw a wadded up receipt on our table. He didn't ask how our meal was. Nothing. Solution? Training. While the Mr. was paying the bill, I decided to use the restroom. Big mistake. The Mr. had already warned me that the mens room was bad. Anyway, the floors in the ladies room were gross, with black mold around the bases of all three toilets. One of the toilets was out of order. I wonder how long? The walls were equally as dirty. It smelled sour. When I looked up there were no covers on the florescent light fixtures and the wallpaper was peeling off the wall. Under the sink was more grossness that had clearly been there a long time. Solution? Deep clean with fresh water and chlorox to ensure mold is removed and grout and tiles are brought back to a clean state. The entire time I was there I kept wondering if anyone learned anything from Covid a few years back. Cleanliness, friendliness and great food keep people coming back. I found very little of any of this at this restaurant. But it's all correctable, should management care to...