Lehman's Supper Club — Restaurant in Rice Lake

I was new in town got a job there in the janitorial Department worked a few days in October haven't heard from them about a paycheck since so I stopped in to check on it and Trudy Lehman being the Trudy Lehman she is came out with all my paperwork so she had my address she knew my employee number and it should be pretty cut-and-dry process you see when I punch your NEC when I punch out I was there from 8 to 12:30 a.m. the first night of training the rest was on the time clock doesn't seem too hard but they sure weren't going to send my check so I stopped in and she came out with my paperwork and was very rude will be with you shortly the restaurant is the staff of a restaurant can offer Clues as well as staff members seem unhappy or distracted or making a lot of mistakes there's a good chance something has gone wrong on a management-level take a look around and see if you can spot the manager is not helping the staff by caring dishes two tables and talking with customers personally or is the boss 4 rating the staff and watching Things Fall Apart and this is me expressing myself getting stuck in the middle of workplace drama isn't just uncomfortable for you terrible food with over 15 years experience in the restaurant Biz from hostessing serving bartending and even cutting up pounds of veggies for salads and pizzas I have seen enough to know within 5 minutes of stepping into a restaurant weather that place is being run well what are some signs that you are in a bad restaurant absent hosted the door dirty conditions in an indifferent staff can all into a less-than-stellar dining experience nobody greets you at the door it's one thing if the hostess is simply seating another table and you only have to wait a moment before she greets you it's quite another thing when you stand and wait for a lengthy. Of time without being greeted when you arrive at a restaurant you get ignored there's a rule of thumb in the restaurant industry that says a table should be greeted with in 60 seconds of being seated your server might be completely bog down and unable to get your drink order or tell you the specials in that time but it only takes a moment to greet a table and let them know you'll be with them in a few minutes the place is deserted you were seated at the best table by the window on a rainy Tuesday night score he were seated at the best table by the window at 8 p.m. on a Saturday without a reservation the menus or table setting are dirty there's no excuse for presenting a table of guests with dirty menus or table settings Menus can get dirty pretty easily especially at restaurants that offer bread baskets or the worst offender chips and salsa tables aren't being cleared do you really want to sit next to a pile of someone else's dirty dishes I sure don't it doesn't make a difference if customers are waiting for that table or not I want to see a bus person swoop in on that table within a minute of the party leaving the staff seem miserable or distracted everyone in the service industry has suffered through their fair share of shifts when they just weren't in the mood to give you service with a smile but those of us seasoned in the industry know how to fake it til we make it or how to rely on our co-workers to give us a hand and get us through the shift the kitchen or server makes more than one mistake we are human and we all make mistakes now and then so one minor Mistake by your server or the kitchen is nothing to get all worked up about consistent errors though or errors that are not quickly and pleasantly corrected that's a big clue that you are in a terrible restaurant drinks take forever sometimes you need to just to cut the server and bartender some slack the bar can get slammed during a busy shift and drinks may not come out in time to greet you before you get your first appetizers the bathroom is poorly kept this one really drives me crazy I have worked in enough restaurants to know that the way they keep their bathrooms is a pretty good indication of the way they keep their kitchen watch out for Flowery menu...

Disappointing wedding anniversary celebration:

I had made a surprise reservation for my wife and I to celebrate our 12th anniversary at Lehman's. We had been there before and really enjoyed it. The staff member who took my phone reservation asked if we were celebrating anything special. I mentioned that it was our 12th anniversary. When we arrived and were seated, another couple was celebrating their anniversary and they were sung to by some of the staff. I anticipated the staff doing the same for us. They didn't, but they did sing for others in the bar area, we noticed. Why did the person ask if it was going to go unnoticed?

We ordered drinks while deciding on what food to order. The waiter came back and apologized for the delay in our drink order as he didn't log the order in properly and the bartender wouldn't make it because he wasn't charging enough. Not sure why we needed to know that. Not sure what pricing had to do with making our drinks.

My wife ordered the Sunday chicken special and I ordered the seafood platter. The waiter asked me if I'd been to Lehman's before . . . (yes) . . . because "that is a lot of food and that most people share that platter". I am sure there was a better way to phrase that comment so as not to insult a guest, but that was the way he said it. He then came back to ask how I wanted my seafood platter . . . no options. The kind way would be to list the offerings and ask which I would like, as I obviously had not ordered it before.

The food was good, although the scallops were a bit over cooked and greasy.

When the waiter brought our salads to the table, he noticed we were still enjoying our soup. He said he'd be right back to grab those bowls. He asked if I'd like another drink and I said yes. He came back in about 15 minutes (not right back) to say "didn't I grab that drink order?" . . . No, you didn't. He cleared the dirty plates and prepared us for the main course which he brought out in about 10 minutes. He did ask if the crackers were soggy as another guest mentioned that to him.

The waiter mentioned to my wife that if she would like more of any of the sides just let him know. He then proceeded not to show up at our table for 40 minutes. He never came back to ask if our food was good, did we need anything else, etc. When he did show up, my wife told him she would have wanted more sides about 20 minutes earlier . . . he apologized. He also asked which sides she wanted . . . she was done eating a long time ago. We just wanted her dessert so we could leave. He asked what she wanted for dessert. How would she know? She shouldn't have had to ask for a list. Now, we had overheard another staff member waiting on a neighboring table that they were out of cheesecake but our waiter was unaware of this and offered us cheesecake. Good thing we ordered the grasshopper pie. Good stuff there.

It just keeps getting more interesting though. He brought out our bill and the numbers didn't match the menu pricing. The staff member at the checkout did fix this.

We know everyone can have a bad day now and again but we think our waiter was set up to fail that night. He was covering tables in the lounge and the dining room. You can't be attentive to your guests if you are in two different rooms. The waiter apologized over and over, and yet...

First of all, the only time I write reviews is if the experience was exceptional or exceptionally bad. Unfortunately, the latter applies to my experience at Lehman's. My wife and I rarely have an opportunity to enjoy a nice dinner out due to other obligations.

We purchased a house on Rice Lake about 3 1/2 years ago and finally decided to try Lehman's. We made a reservation for 7:45 and arrived about 10 minutes early. We were seated right away. Our waitress approached our table with a few seconds and took our drink order. She returned with our drinks and took our food order. So far, so good. Our soup arrived quickly and the red pepper and sausage soup was delicious. My wife liked the French onion soup as well. A few minutes after we finished our soups, we got our salad which was fresh and good. During our salad my wife ordered another drink. Once we were done with our salads we didn't see the waitress for several minutes. Another waitress filled our water without a word and moved on. I went to the mens room and when I returned the salad plates were gone and my wife had the drink she had asked for. We thought the waitress must be busy and gave her the benefit of the doubt.

A couple that was seated 45 min after us received their entree while we sat with empty drinks and an empty table. The only employee we saw was a young man who asked if he could take the cracker tray. After 40 mins we decided to leave. We approached the front where the young lady at the desk thanked us for coming. This was one of the employees who walked past our table several times without a word. At this point I shared my disappointment with the lack of service. She directed me to a young man who said he would check on our meal. I opted not to have him do that since I did not want to pay for an expensive steak that had likely been sitting under the heat lamps for over half an hour. We were still hungry and it was well after 9 pm at this point so we decided on Culvers. The food that we received at Lehmans was good but I can't comment on our steaks because they never arrived.

I read some of the poor reviews and they all had the same issue. Poor service. Someone at the restaurant responded by thanking them for bringing the issue to their attention. Obviously that's where it stopped because they have not corrected the issue. I can only assume they provide better service to the regulars since that is what others have stated. My wife and I will eventually call Rice Lake home but we will never step foot in Lehmans again. I have no doubt they'll be fine without our business but I know I'll be better off not giving them my...