Waiting Games

Last night, Scott and I decided to enjoy our newfound freedom (i.e. having Friday nights off together) by going out to eat and to a movie. We hadn't had a "date night" in a while, and I was looking forward to it. We left the house around 5:40pm to head to our favorite restaurant, the Texas Roadhouse. Well, I decided to call ahead in case there was a wait. There was. A 50-60 minute wait. So we got our name on the list, and then arrived there about 10-15 minutes later.

Once we arrived, we checked in and asked how long the wait would be at that point. They told us about 40 minutes. So, we said we'd be back - we were just going to go to the stores in the plaza. We were back within 25 minutes, and then we sat down to wait. We waited, and we waited, and we waited some more. Many tables were called - 5 people, 2 people, 4 people, 7 people. I started getting a little annoyed when it had far exceeded the 60 minutes we were originally told. I thought, what's the point of calling ahead? You don't get in any faster. Finally, after the numbers had gone past ours by quite a bit, I told Scott I was going up to find out what was going on.

Well, I went up and managed to get by the throng of people standing directly in front of the counter, and asked where we were at on the list. That's when they told us - our number had already been called - several times. I asked how long ago it was called - she said 25 or 30 minutes ago! I was so perplexed because we had been told 40 minutes and we were only gone for 25, so they must have called us during the 25 minutes that we were gone. I wish that they would tell you "20-40 minutes" if it's going to be WAY less than 40! Urgh.

Anyway, they acted like it was our fault, which is why I was annoyed. But, they did give us the next available table, which is the only reason I did not walk out of there. I love the restaurant - the food is delicious and the service is usually good. I'd just have to say that they need to get a little more organized about their call ahead and waiting list because it's frustrating to be told one thing and to have an entirely different thing happen...

Oh, and by the way, because of that little fiasco, we missed our movie and ended up just going home.