Chili's Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Lisbon

For over a decade I have very much enjoyed the Chili's Grill & Bar in Lisbon, CT. There was once an excellent bartender named Rich who worked there for years and served patrons in the bar area with an impeccable level of professionalism and friendliness. Trust me when I say his absence is felt of late. The past two or three times I've gone there I have had a very outgoing but overwhelmed bartender who works very hard to take care of customers at the bar. But the fact that she is overwhelmed there is clearly a symptom of poor management and customer service standards. I encountered that ineptitude this evening when as a long time Rewards member, which is typically a seamless process to take advantage of, the bartender ended up dealing with a problem putting through a specific reward and consulted with the manager. He came out several minutes later rather irritable and said he understood I "had a problem with the bill-" we had simply been having a problem with the promotion registering properly as I had JUST ORDERED! He insisted on seeing the QR code on my phone and remarked that I "hadn't selected it." I informed him that I had in the app and that his bartender had entered everything into the tabletop kiosk. He continued in this condescending tone with me and I told him to cancel the entire order as I had no further interest in dining there. I had mentioned already to the bartender that I had a trying day moving and was in some pain and simply wanted to relax and get something to eat. I even said I would overpay just to put the thing to rest and be left to eat in peace. While I was certainly losing my cool, the manager was actively baiting me and I agreed to leave when he said my "bill was paid." His arrogance has cost Chili's of Lisbon a longtime and generally a very congenial and happy customer. (I am the nicest guy in the world until someone gives me reason not to be. Then I turn into someone I'd rather not be when provoked).

Update: I am very peacefully and politely enjoying a meal at a competing restaurant without incident or complaint. It's simple- be competent and treat customers well and you will have loyal customers. Chili's of Lisbon has some things to learn from the less popular but well-run chain restaurant across the street (no wonder such fine former employees have moved on from this overrated microwaved-food...

We don't get out much. Service started out okay. Food was pretty good. About halfway through our meal server no longer visited our table. We asked for to go boxes. We got those. Loaded up our stuff to go. Sat around and waited. Waited.. waited. Server asked us if we were cash or charge. We said card. Then we waited. And waited. Hey. We'd like to give you some money. Oh. You do that on your own using this little machine here. Well, If we had known that we would have done it ourselves and hi-tailed it out of there but maybe it's something they should explain. Anyway. Tuesday night. Only a couple of other people in the place. Quiet. Decent food. Terrible service. The place actually offers a veterans discount but we didn't even bother to ask because we didn't want to wait for our server to figure it out.

**Update, May 2, 2023

Reached out via link as requested. Heard back pretty quickly with the following request, "We would like to obtain additional details so we may better address the issues at the restaurant. At your earliest convenience, please reply to this email with the CHECK # from your receipt. This number can be found at the very top of your receipt. In lieu of this number, you may provide the last four digits of the debit/credit card, if one was used."

I responded the same day, April 22, "Hello. I am not sure how to provide the requested information as I was not given a receipt - One was not provided to us by our server or from the tabletop check out machine - and I do not have the last four of the debit card number used by my date.

We ate at approximately 8pm on Tues, April 18. Our server's name was Paige.

Thank you for your interest."

No one answered.

I emailed again on April 29. No response.

I emailed again on May 1....

We recently went to Chilli’s this past Saturday night. Prior to that we had gone there about 6 months before. Upon both occasions, we had food and service that exceeded our expectations. Our server for our first dining experience was with Rhett- he was outstanding offering me, my husband and our 2 year old daughter such an enjoyable time. He was extremely friendly, knowledgeable of the menu, catered to every need for our young child, and did it all with a smile on his face. You could tell he was actually happy to be helping us and genuinely wanted to engage with us. After we left we couldn’t stop talking about now wonderful it was to have him as our waiter. He was the reason we were wanting to return for another dining experience! I cannot remember the name of our second server but his first name started with a D- he was just as wonderful and so pleasant to have as our server. He was always smiling, joking around with us and was super attentive to our daughter since he has two young children himself. He was always checking on us, making sure we were content. This place has offered the best dining experiences we have had in years! Including upscale restaurants as well. We are in awe of this Chillis! On our way out the door the manager even gave us a coupon for a free kids meal. Safe to say we will...