Wixom Station — Restaurant in Wixom

First and last visit tonight. We had a rough day and wanted to make up for it by having a nice meal out, and unfortunately our visit ended up being the cherry on top of an already stressful day.

The beer I wanted was not in stock. No problem! Server suggested an alternative that was supposed to be very similar, but after the first sip it was nowhere near what I was expecting; not similar at all. But I can get over that. We ordered steak tips in zip sauce, and when they came out it was very clear that the kitchen has no idea what a zip sauce is. Instead of a creamy consistency, it was oil and butter with leftover burnt meat chunks from the skillet mixed in. It was charred tasting and we had to send it back after making a polite attempt at eating it. While the plate was still full and my boyfriend was attempting to eat it, the busser came out of nowhere and asked if he could take the plate from him. It was very odd. I ordered the NY Steak Sandwich and not only did it not come with any of this supposed "zip sauce" (the server admitted that she forgot it) but the mashed potatoes were scraped from the bottom of the third pan and had some crusty parts and the flavor was just not good; they tasted quite old. After all this, we felt bad even complaining because we are restaurant industry professionals and that's not our style. But the server offered to remove the steak tips and beer from our bill and we thanked her. She did not return after dropping off the check. The busser finally came and grabbed our card and the server brought it back. When we left, we saw that the entire staff was sitting in the bar area eating and hanging out.

Our biggest concern is that every response to a negative review on this site is a manager asking why the guest did not bring their issues to the attention of management. As a restaurant manager myself, I know that a manager's job is to be making rounds and talking to guests and not relying on staff to come running to them in order to know what is going on in their restaurant. We did not see a single manager on the floor the entire time we were there. While it is totally unreasonable to expect a manager to be multiple places at once and know every detail 100% of the time, it's even more unreasonable to sit and wait for problems to find you rather than doing your job and being present in the restaurant. Almost every review response is management flipping things around on the guest and blaming their negative experience on the fact that the guest didn't seek a manager out on their own. Not only that, but a server should know that any and all issues with a table need to be brought to the attention of management immediately. It really seems like this place has potential, but the issues lie with poor training and poor and unprofessional management practices.

By the way, no need for a "response from the owner" on this review as I already know it's going to say something like, "We're sorry about your bad experience, but did you bring it to the attention of a manager?" (Maybe we would have if there was a single manager in sight, FYI) and it'll heavily imply that we're bad guests and your restaurant is top notch with zero room for...

I have been living in the Novi/Wixom area for almost 6 years. I order from Wixom Station often, however this will be my last time. Also, as someone who has worked for Door Dash I very much understand the process.

I ordered the Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad and the Grilled Salmon Dinner through Door Dash. Again previous orders I have ordered from door dash and received napkins and plastic ware from the restaurant.

I opened my food first and noticed The Salmon Dinner had a table spoon of rice. I order this all the time and have never had this happen before. I called to talk with the restaurant and spoke to a man who just stated “ oh well, you have to call door dash. I understand it’s a 3rd party but there needed to be some accountability for the mishap that took place in the kitchen.

Shortly after as my mother began eating her food . My mother ordered the Grilled Chicken Cobb salad and there was no chicken in the salad at all. Not on the side or anything. My mother then called and explained the situation with both of our orders. The The hostess Kate answered the phone the placed her on hold.

The same man I had spoken too now came to the phone and explains to my mother again that we have to go through door dash to do a re-delivery or a full refund through door dash.

My mother attempted to explain that it was not about getting the refund but again taking accountability that the food was prepared in their kitchen and she wanted what she ordered. She was then placed on hold. Once he came back to the phone he began to attempt explaining to my Mother how the refund process Takes place.

My mom tried talking and explaining that ordering/canceling from door dash was not the issue. However he continued to speak over her as she tried to talk. He then stated “well you should have just ordered online or from our website.” He also told her “they put it in the bag.” Door Dash does not package food.

My mother is a 68 year old woman and he was extremely disrespectful toward her. I understand the process of a “3rd party” however, this does not take away from extremely poor customer service.

My mother called @ 7:06 pm on Saturday September 17th. whoever the gentleman was stated the he was the manger working there that evening.

Again, I will not be patronizing this...

This is a great restaurant...don't get me wrong. But after a recent experience, I thought it was important to take note. I am just wondering how the owner feels about their management team turning away paying customers, an hour & a half before closing? You close at 9, but they closed your restaurant at 7:30. We even asked if we could just grab drinks, noticing that there were newly sat customers on the patio with menus in their hands, but the answer was no. We drove 25 minutes to the restaurant, because that is how much we like it! Yes...a call may have been a good idea, however, the restaurant was listed as open until 9pm! And the answer for why was because it was Father's Day, and they were closing early...ummm, no you aren't. We watched you sit those people on the patio, as we were diving into the parking lot.

After over a year of small businesses suffering through this pandemic, and restaurants only just recently coming out of their 25% capacity limitation, this just makes absolutely no sense. Because of what happened we didn't want to take any chances and called the next restaurant, now 25 minutes back in the direction of home, and they guaranteed me that they were not only serving drinks...but were serving food as well, until 15 minutes before close. That, is how you run a successful business that keeps the customers coming back.

Stacie (General Manager of the restaurant), I just want to clarify that in your response to my post, you stated that you were understaffed and tired from working all day, but the staff that was working said they were closing because it was Father's Day. They never mentioned being understaffed or overworked. We told the bartender since the kitchen was closed we'd just like to get a drink. It doesn't take a whole lotta effort to pull on a tap. The Bigalora however, (which is located in Royal Oak approx 25 minutes from you) closed at 9:00pm as well and they had employees who had worked a double as well.... yet we got sat at 8:00, had dinner, dessert and two ciders -all by 9:00pm. Some restaurant owners and supervisors make customer service a...