Etiquette Tuesday: Reservations, yes?
©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood
Good service is hard to find. I am finding it especially difficult on the H Street NE corridor. Every time I visit the neighborhood with a few exceptions, I leave feeling like I was one step away from the silverware being thrown at me. The most recent mishap was at TruOrleans when a friend made phone reservations for a party of 20+ for a lunchtime going away celebration. The restaurant never called to tell this friend that they would not be operating for lunch on this day and a slight panic attack set in as the thought of 20 guests arriving to a closed restaurant became a reality. Yours truly sprinted into damage control mode and scanned my memory Rolodex of H Street restaurants that boast lunch service.
Boundary Road not only came to mind, but came to the rescue. The manager was extremely accommodating and the staff offered the prompt lunchtime service that is much appreciated by working Washingtonians. The lesson here is that good service includes not only what you do while I am patronizing your restaurant but what you do when I have not even made it through the front door. If reservations are not going to be honored, then why offer them? Even better, why offer a lunch menu if you are planning on accommodating on certain days and not others?? In a neighborhood that is up and coming, good service is a healthy way to begin a relationship. Having to cab it over to a neighborhood where my reservations are cancelled without any prior notice is no bueno.
Category: Etiquette Tuesday
About the Author (Author Profile)
Johnna French is a Harlem NY native with deep roots in Panama, Washington, DC and North Carolina. All four places have heavily influenced her life and the foods she loves today. After graduating Howard University School of Law and beginning her life as a young professional in the city she was led to start Johnna Knows Good Food in November 2007 to keep family, friends and colleagues updated on where to go and what to eat while dining in the nation’s capitol. French, who still practices law, leads a team of three writers to cover the ever expanding Washington, DC food scene. French has been featured in print and television, appearing in Washingtonian Magazine and is a regular contributor to various local TV affiliates including WUSA 9, FOX 5 DC and WJLA (ABC Affiliate) News Channel 8. During the 2016-2017 football season, Johnna aired on Comcast Sports Mid-Atlantic (CSN) show, Redskins Life, as the weekly tailgate host. Johnna is currently a regular contributor to the FOX Baltimore Weekend morning show.Subscribe
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