Outback Steakhouse — Restaurant in Maryland

Two visits to Outback.. Two somewhat different experiences.. Why?? Two different bartenders.. Let me explain..

I'm in town for business and though I try to avoid national chains while traveling, I had Dine Rewards to burn and I don't like letting those expire..

Enter my first visit to this OB location yesterday afternoon.. I stopped in a little past 4p and was greeted by Emi at the bar.. After I asked how many of the roughly 10-12 folks around the bar might be regulars, Emi responded, "About 4½," and we were on our way to a great dialogue for the remainder of my stay..

She introduced herself, put a name card on the bar with my name on the backside, and used my first name throughout my stay and had a fantastic barside manner..

I ordered the Mozzarella Boomerangs appetizer and a pair of Down Under Margaritas and all of that was fantastic, too..

Enter my second visit in as many evenings.. I stopped by today, a bit later, around 6p, to celebrate National Filet Mignon Day, and sat at the bar again.. This time, a fellow with the initials JD was working.. I only know this after seeing his name on the check at the end..

No conversation, no barside manner or chat, just the bare minimum of seeing what I wanted to eat or drink, checking in at the end, and settling up my check.. The difference in human interactions was distinct..

Regardless, my salad, 6oz Victoria's Filet, and loaded mashed potatoes were on point and delivered to the bar with the excellence I've come to expect from the Outback brand..

Did Emi spoil me and leave everyone else in a lurch?? Perhaps.. But JD needs to interact with folks a little more.. It enhances the customer experience and in many cases directly results in higher tips.. Maybe he was having a bad day, I'll never know..

That said, this Outback location delivered menu items on two consecutive nights exactly as they are advertised and as I ordered.. I'm walking away calling...

Really bad experience at Outback in California Md this evening . What started out as a nice after Valentines dinner , ended terribly . Our server charged my debit card twice ,for two different amounts ,which I discovered myself thankfully before leaving the restaurant. She brought my receipt claiming I owed part of the bill in cash and my card would only allow her to charge part of the bill. I pulled my bank info up on my phone since I knew that was impossible only to find, she charged me twice . When she came back I asked her about charging my card twice on top of wanting part of the bill that supposedly didn’t go through in cash . She told me “ somehow your bill plus another servers customers bill were charged to your card . How is that even possible ? Unless she’s trying to steal money from me ? You can’t accidentally charge someone twice for there bill and another customers . The manager came out , denying that my server tried stealing from me. The manager claims somehow the other customers bill was picked up by satellite and charged to my card at the same time my bill was going through. As if you don’t have to insert a chip card twice to put in two separate charges . She then preceded to take twenty dollars off the bill , which wasn’t good enough. If your server charges you twice , your food should be free . That’s a huge mistake ! One that I wouldn’t of caught until after leaving if I hadn’t of been smart enough to check my bank account on my phone before leaving Outback! Needless to say , Outback in California Md has forever lost any business from me . I’ll be going to Prince Frederick ! Beware , they are stealing at this Outback ! After you catch them they still think you should pay the bill !!!! Worst experience ever !!! I’ve been to a ton of restaurants, never once been stolen from or accidentally charged for my bill plus...

My family of 3 went in for dinner on Mother's Day. The waitress said she'd be back with bread 3 different times and didn't until after asked directly for it while taking our order.

The bloomin onion was burnt.

After we ordered 2 sirloins with lobster Mac and cheese, the manager came out to say that there wasn't any lobster mac and cheese left and pushed until we said a different side we would want. When I pointed out the price difference, he said he would take care of it.

My 14 year old said she felt pressured to just say something after he left and was upset that she wasn't getting any lobster, so I asked the waitress when she came to check on us if we could get a lobster tail because she was really looking forward to the lobster part of the Mac and cheese and she said it wouldn't be a problem.

When the meal came out, there were 2 lobster tails delivered. I figured that they were making up for the inconvenience, but I was wrong because when the check came out, we were charged full price ($13+) for two lobster tails. Not even the add-on price! And everything on the bill was full price!

When my fiance asked to talk to the manager about the check, he stated that the lobster in the lobster Mac and cheese is imitation, and that's why we didn't get any discount. I did not see this information anywhere online or on the menu as I would not have ordered imitation lobster for restaurant pricing.

Not to mention that no one bussed any of the extra dishes from our table the entire night, despite waitstaff literally sitting down at tables and the bar talking to each other.

This is not the first time I've had my order messed up at this restaurant, but this is the first time that no one even tried to make it right. I don't recommend this...