This is a complaint so if you don't want to hear it, please ignore but if you want to be informed, then read. Tell your friends. This concerns: Atwater's Restaurant and Bar 111 SW Fifth Ave Portland, OR 97204 503-275-3600 Here's my story... As a visitor to the city, I was shocked by the cold treatment, and INDIFFERENCE, that the establishment displayed. I work in customer support at a technical company and the lack of service at Atwater's is appalling. On Saturday, Oct 18, I brought a visiting friend to dine at Atwaters. We had a 9:30 appointment but arrived 10 minutes late. The hostess at the table checks us off and states that everything would be fine, and that she will have a table for us in a few minutes. The few minutes changed into 20 minutes. In the meantime, the other host, Dean Vacheresse, was running around seating other guests. I finally approached him and indicated that we have waited a long time. Dean looks baffled that we were "waiting," and claimed there was no other hostess and that he HAS NOT SEEN US. Now, this is an outright lie when, THROUGHOUT the 20 minutes, Dean REPEATEDLY made eye contact with us. He claims that we were way past the wait time, when I pointedly reminded him that we were there and that the hostess didn't seat us. He simply says that there's no space and just stood there, expecting us to leave with that simple statement. I was surprised by the brushoff so I stated again that this was unacceptable. I think he could have cared less! When my date started to get angry, he disappears and was able to locate a table in the bar area. We sit and when the waitress notices that my friend doesn't have her ID. She disappears to talk with Dean. We get no reply for 10 minutes and when Dean comes by, he has some people trailing him, ready to grab the table, while he "escorts" us out. He tries to pass us off to a different restaurant. At that point, I request his card and directly tells him that I will file a complaint with his management. Dean casually hands me his business card and once again gives me his wide-eyed, calm, devil-may-care look. We left. By then, all the other good potential dining spots were unavailable and a fun Saturday nite was all but ruined by this experience. If this gets resolved, I will be sure to notify you all, as I want to sincerely believe that hospitality isn't like that. But, from his general attitude and Dean being the "Assistant general Manager," I highly doubt it. I just hope that my story will discourage you from patronizing a "high upscale" restaurant which deems to treat customers selectively. I stand by my word. Sonny Wong work # 503-264-3588 [email removed]
Portland, OR