Avanti's Ristorante - N. Knoxville — Restaurant in Peoria

Avanti's just lost a regular customer today. I normally place an order and pick it up myself. We ordered delivery for the first time today (Feb 8, 2019) at 8:25 PM, We were told that the delivery will take 45 minutes. Since I didn't get an order after 1 hour, i called them again and I was told that the order was on it's way - well it finally arrived at 9:45 PM (1 hour 20 minutes later) - but this didn't bother me too much because we were hungry and we were relieved that the food was finally here. Anyway, I paid the delivery guy and took the food inside. I opened the package and noticed that the soup was missing and the salad dressing was also missing. I called immediately and my call was disconnected. I tried again - same result - I tried for 4 more times and same result. I waited for 20 more minutes and called again. A lady called Stacey picked up the call and I started the call by saying that I have a complaint - but since she was so used to saying "Thank you for calling Avanti's on Knoxville. Is this pick-up or delivery" that she couldn't understand when I used words that are other than "carry-out" or "delivery" and she asked me to hold .....just a few seconds later the call was disconnected again. I called again and when she picked it up, I started by saying "Do not disconnect me " and she said " why do you think someone disconnected your call - did you just assume that" I said that I have proof that you this happened (I had the call on speaker phone and everyone in the house witnessed the call and we are smart t enough to understand the difference between an intentional hang-up & a technical glitch), Then she started asking me what was wrong with the order as she packed it herself. Remember - she mentioned that she couldn't understand me when I said I have a complaint - this tells you that she did understand me completely. I mentioned that the soup and salad dressing were missing and she insisted that she packed it herself. I asked her to connect me to the manager. The manager picked up the phone and asked what was wrong with the order and I explained again. He offered to have the salad dressing and soup delivered again - by this time, it was 10:20 PM and I said it was too late for that, he immediately offered a credit for the next order. I clearly told him I am not calling or credit - I wanted him to be aware of the operation at his restaurant and he said goodnight and hung up abruptly. I was expecting a genuine apology and an assurance that this won't be repeated in the future. Sorry Avanti's, a soup and salad dressing and a bad attitude costed you a customer. You are in the hospitality business and you should...

My husband and I had our wedding on June 17th, 2021. We had our wedding at Trailside Event Center who recommended Avanti's as a caterer for us. My husband & I both enjoy Avanti's food and were pleased with the pricing. We had our taste testing with a man named Joe. At the taste testing we decided to do spaghetti, alfredo, some appetizers, and beverages. We were also told that they offer paper plates and plasticware due to COVID and just to make things easy. We agreed and stated we would like to have those items so we do not have to worry about them. Joe passed us along to a man named Alyx. Somewhere communication was lost and on the wedding day the caterer was late and I had guests and family and even venue management asking where they were, didn't have beverages(lemonade, water, tea), plates, or plasticware at all. The venue management ran all over trying to find plates & plasticware. We had to offer a $300 tab for soda and water so our guests could have free drinks. The day after the wedding I reached out to Alyx and stated my disappointment and frustration in a nice way. I expressed that the venue themselves were also very frustrated, upset & disappointed. When I didn't hear back from Alyx for 4 days I forwarded the email to Joe. Still have not heard from Alyx. In Joe's email he stated that Alyx told him those things were not on the invoice and he had said that he asked me about them which he did not. I made notes on our original taste testing menu that we wanted the beverages and plasticware. I also made notes on everything Alyx and I spoke about over the phone. I also asked my mother-in-law to confirm that we called her immediately after the testing and stated that beverages, plates and plasticware are going to be provided. Joe stated in a later email that he "spoke with the owner of Avanti's" and that they said that there was nothing they could do. I am extremely disappointed in the lack of professionalism, the lying, the unwillingness to make things correct and the lack of proper communication on their end. I would NOT recommend Avanti's as a caterer unless you want to possibly deal with what we did. While it's not expensive that does not make it okay to have handled the situation they way it was handled. Had we known Avanti's was going to turn out this way we would have chosen...

We ate there last Sunday. Well, perhaps instead I need to say we tried to eat there last Sunday. Three of us arrived a tad before 1pm (we had a play to go to at 2:30pm) and were seated. The waitress eventually made it to our table and we order promptly telling her about our plans and she said 'no problem'. Terrible service and food finally arrived at 2pm....the same time our pre-dinner salad showed up as well. Of course the orders were wrong and instead of sending it back to be corrected we simply asked for takeout containers and for the bill to be corrected accordingly. 2:10 the bill comes back to the table still not corrected and this time actually had drinks on the bill that we never had, nor did we ever order them. I took the bill up to be paid figuring they'd be able to get it corrected. I explained to the redhead at the cash register the problems with the bill.....and it was at this point that the waitress came up beside me and chewed on me that I should never have expected service that quickly and should not have shown up with future plans. I was aghast that she'd confront me like that and the young ladies at the desk apologized all over the place for her behavior. The bill showed up and I didn't have time to really look it over but there was a big slash through the 'tip for service' line... and I made a point of telling the redhead that. She understood completely. I don't know the waitresses name but if you go there I hope you don't get her for your table. Good enough food but I'd never have her for a waitress ever again if I...