LongHorn Steakhouse — Restaurant in Mount Pleasant

We were a group of five sitting at a bar-area table of Mt. Pleasant, SC LongHorn last evening. We were celebrating our Grandfather's 87th birthday and he requested that we go to LongHorn. Our Grandfather, our mother, and our family friend arrived around 4:00pm and ordered appetizers and drinks. We joined them around 5:15pm and ordered a round of drinks. We stayed and chatted through two more rounds of drinks, leaving just before 9:00pm. We were one of just a few tables, all of which were spread around the restaurant, and had a wonderful time until we tried to order a final round of drinks. At that time, the manager let us know that we were "not welcome to order anything else" and asked us to leave. As someone who has never been asked to leave any place of business, I honestly thought it was a joke. We tried to clarify with the manager (who had been serving us, alongside a member his waitstaff), and he said we had been "over served" and were "too loud." I take issue with this on a number of levels. The first of which being that he was serving us. I think he should be trained well enough to know TIPS laws here, and have the ability to gauge what "over serving" means. As someone who worked in the restaurant industry for many years, I can tell you that one drink per hour (or longer) does not constitute over serving, especially when I declined his offer for an "XL pour". Would I only have been allowed one drink then? And as for noise level, I have a very quiet voice and people often have a hard time hearing me. That said, it is possible that we collectively were speaking too loud. To this I question why were were never asked to quiet down, and cannot imagine who we were bothering without any tables seated in our vicinity. My biggest issue is his lack of interest in righting his wrong. Can you imagine how embarrassing it is to escort your 87-year-old grandfather out of an almost empty restaurant that he chose to go to for his birthday? He laughed it off saying that he was proud to have been kicked out of a restaurant for the first time in 87 years, but there is absolutely no reason for this to have been a point of reasoning. One member of our group is the executive chef at a local restaurant here in Mt. Pleasant and has made a point to share our experience with his fellow restaurateurs. In less than 24 hours, his Facebook post about our experience has already had 76 likes and 3 shares. We are a town of foodies and localites, and corporate dining is at the bottom of the list for most people in this town. For this reason, customer service and consistency are key to keeping chain restaurants relevant on our local restaurant scene. Several of us live in neighborhoods virtually across the street from Mt. Pleasant Town Center, and are are native to Mt. Pleasant. The fact that we now feel unwelcome in a neighborhood dining establishment is not something that bodes well with such a tight-knit community, in such a local-centric town. This was my first experience at LongHorn and I now understand, clearly, that we are...

As an entrance of steakhouse I stood at the table to be see it for about four minutes waiting on a host. As I stood at the host desk to gentlemen whom I assume to be managers based upon the way that they were dressed and their ability to just walk behind the bar past me just looked and kept going (so maybe it is normal for a customer to be standing at the host desk without a hose waiting to be seated). The whole walked me around the entire room (literally) in order to find the seat. When she sat me she told me that my server would be Tasha and that she would be with me shortly. Tasha being about six steps away from my table says to the host I’m not taking him or any more tables because it’s almost time for me to go. Please note that Tosha was taking the order of a table who walked in minutes before I did.

Finally the saving Grace of the restaurant appears (Bobby) my new server starts with a joke to brake the ice and proceeds to put on a clinic on the guest experience. He knew the menu without looking at it He attempted to up-sale me multiple times without sounding pushy He got back to the table and immediately noticed that the add in that I requested were not on the plate and handles it with the kitchen The food was good with the exception of the cold double fried fries (this is when you let previously cooked french fries sit then flash fry (refry) then before they are served.

There’s was a manager doing table touches and completely slipped my table (same gentlemen that passed me while I was waiting to be seated). He got the table before and after me but maybe a single dinner is not worth as much (beats me).

Notes I was paid and check closed before Tasha’s other table (I’m pretty easy). Bobby found out that I was on vacation that made recommendations in places to see before I depart. Looks may be deceiving (I may or may not have tipped over 60% of my total bill because my server was better than my food). I believe in the guest experience and thankfully my server did also else this would have easily been a 1 star visit. Survey given less than an hour after returning to the hotel room. Ask for Bobby, you won’t be...

I joined my husband at the bar this evening at LongHorn. He arrived before me and ordered my entree which was the lamb, sweet potato and veggie medley. Upon my arrival, I sent the potato back, bc I did not want it dressed w/all the adt'l toppings. No, he did not mk that request when ordering as he did not know that I wanted it plain. When the bartender, Brandy, returned it to the kitchen, the cook, Joe, became loud and belligerent, cussing and questioning why I wanted it that way??? My husband and I, along w/anyone else sitting in the immediate bar area, could hear his rant from the kitchen! He continued to go on and on regarding my choice to change my potato. It was the most UNPROFESSIONAL and RUDE exchange regarding something so simple. One would have thought that he used his personal money to buy the potato, sugar and marshmellow and surely that is why he was so vested in simply sending out the item I wanted. Joe continued to escalate and FINALLY, the person claiming to be a manager realized that perhaps she should intervene and speak w/him abt proper etiquette in the kitchen. He responded to her w/more expletives, saying, "Hell no. I'm not going to apologize!" The manager there at the time, Shannon, obviously does not have the respect of her staff nor proper training on how to handle customer interactions effectively. She offered multiple empty apologies and after restating that more than 15 times it's meaningfulness was lost! Shannon should not be a manager at a fast food joint and especially not this establishment nor anywhere else. Perhaps my ill treatment will aid the next customer in being treated better! I wish I had been with my friend who is a "secret shopper"! I had not been here in at least 5 years and I WILL NOT be returning. Both this and Burger King(Town Centre) need to be CLOSED and vacated so another more customer oriented establishment can...