poor customer service. after many years of patronage and loving this place, we now vow never to return. thanks to an unprofessional, defensive, and customer-blaming staff, we're not going back. foster's capitalizes on a laid back, southern culture vibe but the minute you have a problem, the bean-counter attitude prevails and the customer loses.
our first experience here was when we moved to the area. lovely, southern inspired salads and meals that we were smitten with. we took advantage of the "family dinners" with the birth of our first daughter and again with the birth of our son. most of the dinners were delicious; to be fair there was an occasional bomb. that said we liked enough to continue ordering.
the first issue arose about two years ago when we purchased as a gift a week long family dinner for a friend who'd just had a baby. everything was verbally confirmed by phone. but when our friends arrived at the store to pick up their "gift" they were forced to pay! when i called to complain, i got a we're sorry, give us your credit card again so we can fix it. thats it. so fine, a snafu.
fast forward to this christmas--my husband and i are stuck at home with 2 sick kids. we order the holiday dinner special. my husband goes to the store, picks up the order and asks whether the dressing was included? the guy handing it to him actually looks into the bag and reassures him, "yes, it's in there."
lo and behold, on christmas day we get ready to sit down to our christmas dinner and there are entrees for 2, salad, bread, sweet and sour chicken, shrimp fra diavolo ... another mixup but this time a major letdown because it was our christmas dinner!
so i call the next day to explain the issue, hoping to get some kind of "we're really sorry so here is a token of our apology". the manager i spoke with (truda) told me they would refund our money and figure out what they could do to make it up to us. but about an hour afterwards, she called me back because our order form, which my husband signed at the store, said "family dinner" on it. so now, according to truda, it's our fault because we didn't trust the person at the store who reassured us that we had the holiday meal. we shouldn't have signed the credit card receipt! furthermore, truda tells me if i want any reparation from fosters, i am welcome to speak to the guy who took my order.
so, instead of taking responsibility for their mixup, they force customers into a personal confrontation with the person who messed up their order. and instead of owning up to a clear mistake, they hide behind a signed receipt.
people who order family or holiday meals are probably doing it because their lives a pretty hectic. i know mine is. and as indignant as i am about foster's mishandling of our order and their rudeness to a long-time customer and fan, i have too many other things to do than bicker with folks on the phone. and thankfully, i also have better dining options in durham from which to choose, too.