Il Forno — Restaurant in Santa Monica

The Delivery Driver Saga: You Seriously Can’t Make This Stuff Up!” Hey food lovers — buckle up, because this one’s straight out of The Twilight Zone: Restaurant Edition. So, I eat out a lot. Like… “I should probably get a loyalty card from Restaurants” a lot. I’ve seen my fair share of restaurant chaos — wild managers, confused waiters, and customers who think “well-done” means “crispy fossil.” But this story? This one deserves its own Netflix documentary. 🎬 I’m out with a friend, enjoying dinner, when a poor delivery driver walks in. He’s just trying to pick up an order. Simple task, right? WRONG. He politely asks four different staff members — “Hey, where do I pick up this order?” And they all… ignore him. Like, full-on “You’re invisible” mode. 🫥 I half expected someone to walk right through him like a ghost. Then he tries one more waiter who’s glued to his cell phone texting. Driver: “Excuse me, can you help me?” Waiters Guy: …typing noises continue Five minutes later, without looking up — “Wait here, someone will come.” Sure, buddy. I’ll just grow a beard while I wait. 🧔‍♂️ So, I start timing it. Because why not? ⏱️ 13 minutes go by. THIRTEEN. Finally, the “manager” appears — walking out like he just landed a rocket at NASA. 🚀 Does he greet the driver? Nope. Does he say hello? Nope. Does he say can i help you? Nope. Nothing ignores him. He helps a random lady who just walked in. The driver, still polite: “Sir, I’ve been here for a very long time — I just need to pick up an order, I’m running late.” Manager: “I don’t care. I didn’t see you, so you can wait… or leave.” 😐 Driver: “Why are you being rude? I just need the order.” Manager: “Because you’re rude.” Ah yes — 🤦‍♂️ Reverse psychology, genius-level stuff right there. Straight from crazy land Management School. 🎓 Driver: “Can I please have the order?” Manager: “Get out. I’m not giving it to you. Cancel it. Send a different driver ”

Driver (looking tired but still polite): “Sir, please — I can’t just cancel it. The app won’t let me. If I do, I lose a point — and it takes, like, a hundred deliveries to earn that back! For what? For being on time?”

He pauses, trying to stay calm: “So I lose 45 minutes because you delayed and were rude? That’s not fair.”

Driver: “Man, I’m just trying to survive out here. We get paid so little… can you please just give me the order?”

And the manager? Still standing there like a brick wall of arrogance & narcissism . 😐

Manager: “I don’t care. I guess that's not my problem Leave.”

Bravo, sir. Excellent customer service. Academy Award performance for arrogance rude and narcissism .Here’s the thing:

Delivery drivers (represent customers speaking for their customers ) are the bread and butter 🥖🧈 of restaurants. They keep food moving, customers happy, and your reputation alive. If this guy’s the manager — fire him yesterday. If he’s the owner — congratulations, you’re your own worst Yelp review. ⭐ you’re sabotaging your own business with your “I’m-the-boss” narcissistic attitude.

As for me? That place is officially off my list. 🚫 Because no meal tastes good when it’s served with a side of narcissism, ego, disrespect and deeming a delivery...

I came here with a group of 12 for my cousin's birthday party. Her husband had made reservations and when we arrived they seemed to have misplaced it. 30 minutes later we sat.

Another 30 minutes go by and we finally are able to order drinks. Another 20 and we get to order food. An hour goes by and we finally get our food, except for one in our party. The manager came by and told her that her food was taken to another table and they're working on replacing. He then walked off and took great care of what appeared to be a few sets of regulars.

There was a family of four seated next to us that were served their meals and finished with them before we even got ours and they came in an hour after we did.

Most everyone in our party was done with our meals by the time the missing meal showed up. We expressed our disappointment and didn't get much. At the end, they gave 10% off the late meal and 4 free desserts for the table. I've seen meals comped in this situation quite a bit but never such a trivial amount.

To top it off, the food was completely underwhelming. I had the bouillabaisse and it was incredibly bland and didn't have the fresh taste that I'm accustomed to at this price point. Others were relatively satisfied with their meals but not blown away. It was quite mediocre for the price and the atrocious service made it ridiculously sub-par.

Fortunately, my cousin had a great time as this was a surprise party after an earlier surprise activity. She was excited that we were all there for her.

Sure, we were a large party on a Saturday night, but we had reservations and every table around us received much more attention and there were quite a few parties of 4 and 6. We saw our sarcastic server about 3 times and the manager twice (once at our beckoning).

It appears if you aren't a regular, they don't want you to come here - especially not with a large party. There are PLENTY of other great restaurants in the area, don't waste...

Today I ordered pasta del Vecchio over the phone. When I picked it up, they told me that if I was going to pay cash, it was $9, otherwise it would cost me $26. When I asked why, they explained to me that it costs $9 only when paying cash because it belongs to a different menu. I asked why the person who took my order didn't mention that. I've been told that he cannot know whether the customer is aware of this special price or not, and he's too busy to remind the customers of such a thing.

Furthermore, I've been also informed that it is my responsibility to be aware of this type of price. I would have laughed at such a bizarre request if I wasn't too frustrated with the treatment. I don't believe it is the customer's responsibility to know your menu rules by heart, among all the other more important things that a person goes through in their lives.

You're there to make sure your customers have a pleasant experience. Mine was not. Seriously, I don't think is asking too much for the person who picks up the phone to spend two words reminding the customer how things work in your restaurant. I find this quite disappointing, and frankly, dangerously close to being a sketchy move.

I've been your customer for several years. I've spread the word about your place and brought other customers every time I could. Well, this is how you lose a customer. Maybe you should put a note on the menu so next time the person who picks up the phone maybe will think twice about properly informing the very people who make your business...