5/18 Famous Dave's Horror Story

7:00pm (Park Closing): We head to Famous Dave's for dinner. This is normally my son's bedtime. (Having my son up late is entirely our fault, but if he's up an hour-hour and half extra, it's no big deal). We are pleasently greated and seated quickly. Our waiter Shea, introduces himself and takes drink orders. Everything seems to be going well. Shea brings us our drink and we order dinner.

7:30: I notice that the couple at a table next to us are throwing a fit, a manager (whose name I forget, we'll call him manager A) is running damage control. I wonder what is wrong.

8:00: Manager A in a hustle bring the people near us their food, in disgust, they send it back annoucing they don't have time to eat and want their food to go. Manager A returns promptly with styrofoam boxes in a bag. Manager A is now running damage control on several tables, which leads our party to relise that we have been there for an hour with no food. We flag down Manager A and ask if there is a problem. He apologises and tells us that the kitchen staff is new, and promises to do anything he can to keep us happy, he sends Shea out with more drinks, and cornbread, the cornbread is good, but the baby is getting very cranky. I give the baby cornbread to shut him up, he's is quite while he crumbles cornbread onto the floor, but this only buys me about 10 minutes.

8:30: We're trying to be patient, we understand that it is opening week, and there are bugs to be worked out, but at this point we've been told several times that our food, "will be right out" but we still have no food. We consider leaving, but "we'd just have to start over somewhere else." Shea nearly has an emotional breakdown at our table, we try to cheer him up. Manager A informs us that this is worst night he's ever had at Cedar Point. Then the crowning jewel of the evening: Danny the head manager at the time enters the dining room and starts bellowing some comnay cheer, "HEYA FAMOUS DAVE'S!!! WHO LIKES RIBS!???!?? LEMME GET A...." at this point he's cutting of by my father who says, "You need to go run the kitchen dumbass!" People clap. This stupid cheer has crushed any amount of positive he had left, but manager A tells us our food is coming out "right now"

9:00 "Right now" has lasted 30 minutes and we still have no food. My party is too exhausted at this point to make a decision, so I decide that even if the food came out right that second it would be morally irresponsible to eat and pay for it under such circumstances, besides, I've completely lost my appitite. Me and my father just want to walk out, but my step-mother insists my father tell someone, so he steps into the kitchen and say, "Don't bother bringing our food out, we're leaving" and one of the kitchen staff responds with a saracstic, "well thanks for coming!!!" and the rest of the kitchen staff laughs. My father replies, "I know this is just stupid summer job for you kids, but this is my families vacation" to which cheerleader Danny responds, "You need to leave now before I call the cops!!!" to which my father responds, "<explitive> do it you sorry sack of <explitive>!" And leaves, on the way out, the hostess reads off the standard, "Thank you for coming to Famous Dave's we hope you've enjoyed our service and that you'll return." My father loses his mind, much screaming and cussing ensues. I can not blame him, this was an entirely unacceptable situation. I've seen restuarants go to hell before, but I've NEVER seen the staff mock it's customers when it did.

It's safe to say I will never eat at Famous Dave's on any future visit, but more than that... we really enjoyed Lighthouse Point, but I don't think I'll stay on Peninsulla again, because after this I don't trust resort restaraunts and stay on the Peninsulla makes it too inconvienient to go out and get something in town.

I know some of you work at Famous Dave's, and our waiter and one of the managers on duty where doing all they could under the circumstances, so there are certainly good people working there... my advice to you is fnd another job, you are too good to work in a job where you are so poorly supported, being early season can explain things being slow, but it can not explain in incredibly horrid attitudes displayed by management and the kitchen staff.

My advice to rest of you: avoid this hell-hole like the plague, eat at the Burger King on 250, I've never had such amazing service from a fast food place. Also there's a family place in town called Berardi's that's excellent, cheap, has good variety, and good service.

If you're staying at LHP, take some burgers and dogs, a bag of charcoal and some lighter fluid. We always cook our own, and it saves us a lot of money.

I can't believe the managers attitude though (not manager A, but Danny). That is completely unacceptable. However, going off on the girl out front, who more than likely does not realize what's going on in the dining room and kitchen is a little much. I know your dad was stretched thin, but she didn't deserve the be the one to take it.

True... though he actaully didn't go off at her because he was already through the door, he more just yell that the air, and scared some other customers who where approching.

Ahh, ok.

Send an email to CP's food service, or give them a call. Let them know the situation, and that it was COMPLETELY unacceptable the way it was handled by Management.

I have my own food horror story associated with a Cedar Point visit. It probably happened in October 2004, maybe closing weekend. I was heading back home towards Cincinnati, and stopped at this new Taco Bell/Long John Silver's on (Rt. 250) Milan Rd., just north of Rt. 2. The drive-thru line was really long, so I decided to go inside to buy some food. That didn't help, because the dining room was FULL! Undeterred, I ordered some food, and got my self-service drink filled. I also noticed more and more of the guests were getting pretty impatient (myself included). Also, some of the crew was threatening to walk off. So a bit later, I ask for the manager to cancel my order and give me my money back, which he happily does (and lets me keep my drink also.)

I keep driving south for some decent places, and notice some of the McDonald's are real busy, and finally settle on the Burger King I think in the Milan/Norwalk area. They proved to be real slow too, but eventually I am finally able to feed myself.

I've eaten at the CP Famous Dave's last season before CoasterMania, and found it to be a friendly, tasty, and great experience. I can only hope that the problem there last weekend is corrected quickly...

I had a similar experience at Famous Dave's a few years ago. We waited, and waited, and waited for our food. But, the staff was not beligerent (nor was I) and the food did eventually come.

It becomes a matter of how you handle it. First, they should not sit an entire restaurant if they can't keep up. I've been plenty of places where they keep tables empty until the kitchen catches up.

Second, they need to be honest about how long it is going to take. There is NOTHING worse than someone saying "it will be right out" over and over again.

Third, they should offer compensation for the wait. I believe in my circumstance they offered to take the appetizers (and maybe the desserts) off the bill.

And, perhaps most importantly, they should apologize. That often gets overlooked in customer service these days. But, for me anyway, I do think more positively about a place when they admit their shortcomings and apologize.

The part about them being a new staff and things being slow does not surprise me. The treatment was unacceptable.

The same thing was happening to a slightly lesser degree on Opening Weekend at Fridays on the Beach. I was in there on Sunday night, and I saw several tables complaining about the service. The managers were running to and fro offering apologies and promising to "get it right out".

I, too, have had great service at both Fridays and Famous Daves, so I hope this is just a temporary early season glitch.

I agree, we went to Fridays at Breakers on Tuesday the 15th. Absolutley horrible service.

We walked in to a empty dining room and thought, cool it wont be too bad with the kids and baby in the stroller.

It took about 20 minutes to get us a table out of the 30 empty ones. the server didn't even bother to come to our table for aleast 15mins.

I took it in stride because I know how it can be at a new job with the learning curve and all.

After taking our order we waited about 20 mins for the food. The boys are starting to get hungary and whining a bit so we ask the manager how much longer it will be. Any minute now he says.

10 mins later the server brings us our food. ALL WRONG!!!

What the wife, her friend and myself are brought we said oh well we'll take it. The boys however really wanted the mac and cheese plate. So we told her to take back the grilled cheese she brought out and get the mac and cheese. It took 20 mins longer!

After all is said and done we weren't offered any kind of apology or discount.

We will not be back again!

^ - in that case, I won't leave until I've spoken to a manager. He'll become un-busy really quick if he's trying to avoid it. And in that case, I'd have gone to the food service office and spoken to someone there. That is absolutely unacceptable.

Yay for chains at CP!! :)

Its not just the chains... there have been complaints with the park vendors as well. I know I had a "undercooked fry" issue this year already, and several others have had complaints as well.

I'll have to agree with both Cable and Josh M..

Closing day last year we ate and Famous Dave's and it took FOREVER to get our food. Not only that but they were out of french fries. Well, supposedly out of fries.

Three of the four of us wanted fries but they were "out" so one person ordered the apples instead and myself and Josh ordered the onion straws. After taking a ridiculous amount of time to bring our food they miraculously came up with some fries. Without even asking they replaced the onion straws with fries but left Jen with apples. I'll never eat there again.

The day before OD this year, same day as Josh M., we went to Friday's in Breakers to get some cocktails. She took our order and brought the girl's non-alcoholic beverages in about 3 minutes. I ordered a Captain Morgan and ginger ale and Josh ordered a long island iced tea. If it didn't take a 30 minutes to get these drinks it didn't take 2. What's worse is that it took so long for the drinks that the appetizers we ordered came out before our drinks did.

Yeah, not eating there again either.

The biggest problem with the sitdown restaurants (Friday's, Famous Daves) is that when you have a new employee at a regular place, they are surrounded by experience.

At CP, its a blob of inexperience with no one to shape it. I don't know if the park pulls in cooks and hostess and wait-staff from other restaurants of the chains to train people, but they should. And they should be kept on for the first few weeks of the season, so that the summer help can get experience with someone there to correct the mistakes.

Loopy, I actually went the night after opening day (Sunday, May 13th). I purposefully avoided it on Friday and Saturday night for fear of slow service, and waiting for a table.

I went on Sunday, got a table right away, but had to wait forever for food... and drinks for that matter. My Long Island, was made in the wrong glass... and it took like 10 minutes just to put it in the larger glass... (all 10.00 worth)

Oh you did say that, didn't you?

Yeah, Josh's long island was in the wrong glass too but he didn't say anything. My Capt. and ginger ale was OK, once I got it.

I wouldn't have said anything, but he had already charged me for an "Ultimate" and it was in a small puny glass. I wasn't about to pay the higher price for a smaller glass.

I went to the dipping dots stand by the mind midway train station on the tuesday as well. the server looked like she was either still drunk from the night before or stoned out of her mind. took the cash gave me the wrong change( in my favor but I gave it back because I'm nice like that) but then she just stands there and says did you need something else. Umm... the ice cream?

Wow... thats rough. With all the complaints the food service department has been receiving on here (more than any other department), I hope they have either taken notice of this forum, or a lot of the people who have complained on here, have complained in person. This really is unacceptable.

I ate at Game Day Grille last week and I thought the service was lacking a little. The thing that got me was I ordered the burger and chips (fries I believe are like a dollar more). When I got my burger it had fries that I did not order. So I told the waitress and she said oh, i'm sorry I will bring you some chips. Well when the bill came, it had the fries on it, and I was upset, but didn't say anything because I, along with my girlfriend ate them.

Overall I thought it was a nice place to eat, kind of expensive, but nice.

Everyone accuses me of having overly high expectations. But, I think you guys are starting to do the same. If you go anywhere that just opens, the service is going to suck. They're overly busy and the staff has little to no experience.

That's why my trips to CP are always mid to late season. I went once early in the season, had awful service, and have never gone back during that time since.