Ruby Tuesday — Restaurant in Springfield

This was the worst experience I have ever had in a restaurant. We went to this restaurant the week before and had an amazing waitress, the salad bar was so under stocked it was hard to make a salad - hardly any salad, no olives, very little ham, no cheese, no mushrooms, no broccoli salad, no pasta salad, only a few croutons and that is just what I can remember today. I told my husband today maybe they were just having a bad day that day and I wanted to go back as the actual meal was good and it was my birthday. When we arrived we walked in right behind a family. A man whom I can assume was the manager was running around taking several orders of food to tables, stocking the salad bar, took more food to a table, and finally came over and asked who was here first, took that family to a table. Then he took out more food to tables, brought out salad dressing to the salad bar so he could fill up some cups to take to a table with their food, then looked at us and said he would be with us soon, my husband replied we have already been waiting a long time and his response was I know we are busy. I think the correct response should have been we do not have enough staff on right now. As we were still waiting I noticed several employees showing up. Then we finally get seated, and our waitress comes over and takes our order and tells us we can go ahead to the salad bar. So I go make my salad (salad bar was a little better stocked then the week before but still several items were empty - eggs, peppers, cheese, croutons) come back to the table still no drinks or silverware so I track down someone who had to go into the kitchen to get silverware. My husband then goes makes his salad, eats it all and still NO DRINKS. I finally get my pop and she said she has to go to the bar to get his beer. He goes and makes another plate of salad and still no beer. So I go to the bar and get it myself (another waitress had to bring it with me), and as I am finishing my salad I notice some of the lettuce is slimy old, then we get our food and the waitress never checks on us again until my husband is almost all done with his food. If the waitress would have checked sooner I would have asked to have my steak cooked a little longer and warm up my mashed potatoes as they were cold, and asked for my fried shrimp. She asked if everything tasted good and my husband told her that I was not happy with my food, I love a medium rare steak but my steak was so raw I could not eat it, I asked for fried shrimp and got grilled shrimp and my husbands grilled zucchini was so slimy he could not eat it. She asked if I wanted to talk to someone (a manager I assume) I said no just take the meal away and do not charge me for it. I need to add that there were a few other customers complaining about their food/orders also. She brings my check and did not remove my meal, she came back for payment and my husband told her so she took the ticket back and then brought out the corrected one. I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO THIS RESTAURANT...

I hate to even do this because I love Ruby Tuesdays, and I do plan on coming back to this location in the future. However, there's some things that I ran into that I felt needed to be shared for the betterment of the establishment not to be rude. When I arrived, I was greeted almost immediately, and I was sat. Everything was great. The host was the bartender and a waiter? He was a very busy man, to say the least. They were not super busy. The tables were less than half sat. It seemed adequately staffed, and the environment was quiet. The establishment was pretty clean. There were definitely some employees working harder than others. A couple of them ran their butts off, and a couple were walking side beside every time I saw them. Possibly a trainer and new employee? Idk. It's not my point. Just an FYI All was well until I went to the salad bar. Every plate I picked up had food grit on them. I know this because I could scratch it off. 😔 I went through about 4 plates before one of your hard-working waitresses noticed and apologized and said she would get news ones right away. To which, I thanked her. She handled it very well!! As I was standing there, attempting to find a plate that was clean, another waitress walking by, stopped, and said, "Are you touching all the plates?" Like i was gross, instead of asking if there was an issue or if everything was ok. Now, at this point, I'm already trying to be patient. However, that was just rude. My appetite is gone. My patience left the building with it, as did my willingness to spend more money. I paid, tipped, and got a box for my plate. I had planned to order a peach tea while there and a mango for the road but didn't bother. The next bit is also just an FYI. I heard another waitress tell every table she sat about a dessert you all have. While telling them about the desert, she would say, "I suggest only getting one and sharing, if you get it, because they're huge. I ordered one and couldn't finish it." Mind you, this is directly after being sat. None of these tables even had drinks or food yet, and she's already encouraging them to buy less. I would have a training session with your employees on helping each other if they're not currently busy. Also on customer care and the business practice of sales and up-selling. I had nothing to do the rest of the day. I was not in a hurry, and I enjoy spending money and appreciate great service. My bill was less than 12, and I could have been 20 or more had my experience been better. I still tipped generously, as my server was great, but seamed he was doing a lot, while some were not. I hope this is helpful ! The...

Synopsis: place needs some improvements before I think it meets Ruby Tuesday's standards.

Review: Upon arrival the door was locked and two other groups were waiting outside trying to figure out if this location was open or not.

After entering we were greeted by a lovely hostess who doubled as our server. My only criticism about being seated is that we were seated next to others. COVID Delta is a major thing here in Springfield right now and this concerned me, but I'm vaccinated so I figured I'd not mention anything.

After submitting our order we looked at the tableware. Soap scum build up on all of it. We wanted to ask for others, but could tell that this would be a fruitless effort. We found the plates and cups to be "clean" but have the same issue as well.

Upon receiving our food we noticed everything was on the overcooked end of things. The breaded chicken was dry and hard to swallow, the shrimp was rubbery, and the steak was overcooked twice, and smothered in a butter sauce (as if to make up for something?).

My group and I did enjoy how the food tasted, but these issues made it something not to overlook. The server was very sympathetic to the situation, but the manager seemed to treat the situation as if there were no problems but rather our expectations of the restaurant. Offering a free desert rather than some other solution. We refused the additional food because part of the complaint was the food itself.

Ultimately we were presented a percentage off and we welcomed it. I never write reviews because I honestly understand people are human and mistakes happen. In this case I felt it necessary to make the company aware and let anyone who reads reviews know what they could expect if nothing is fixed.

I will fully admit this was my first time going to Ruby Tuesday's, but the atmosphere and the dress code leads someone to believe this restaurant holds itself to a certain standard and we didn't feel we got that standard here.

Thank you...