about two weeks ago, two tables were seated inside and two outside. a friend and i were seated, collectively four girls were at host station and behind the counter, and we waited 16 minutes to be asked if we wanted something to drink - 16 minutes to even be approached with a very light seating load. i'd looked at the time when we sat particularly because i wanted to note how long it took. when finally helped, the reason we were given was simply "nobody has this section" when another group was seated two tables away. about ten of the 16 minutes, one server was comfortably seated at the end of the bar area and fiddling with her phone; looked up at us several times seeing that nobody had helped us, yet remained seated, on her phone. a seemingly vacant apology was all that was offered, no discount or restitution whatsoever. funny enough, my friend and i both noticed and commented on the fact that it appeared the servers had discussion concerning us being seated without service at around the 8 or 10 minute mark. no action was taken.
i returned this morning, was hastily given a menu and waited several minutes for a coffee. while placing my order, i finished my request for one item, the server asked "what side?". i said, "what?" as i had never been given options with the same order before. she shook her head, rolled her eyes, said "never mind", grabbed the menu and quickly walked away to the computer. i hadn't finished ordering. she made eye contact with me twice, kept attending other tables, and i had to get up to tell her i hadn't finished ordering. she returned, saying it was an "honest mistake, it happens". i canceled my order, paid for my coffee, and she said "hope your day gets better" upon return with my change, practically dropping it onto the table before quickly attending the next group that waited half the time i had for a coffee. my day was fine as any other until i was treated like a general inconvenience to your schedule.
i've been coming to this restaurant quite regularly since the move to its current location and have likely spent thousands of dollars attempting to enjoy a local, small establishment that offers creative fare. under old ownership, the kitchen couldn't seem to get their act together, especially when busy. every time we voiced a minor issue, discounts were applied or the food was taken back for correction, sometimes both - a reasonable solution to an understandable hospitality service mistake. it seemed they were trying to keep their clientele and wanted to do their jobs well. the kitchen seems to have tightened up considerably, but the serving staff at pow now seems generally indifferent to customer concern and uninterested in presenting any kind of quality image of the establishment. when a regular customer has to leave a table to get the attention of a server to correct a mistake after clearly being seen twice (especially with current covid scenario), it's quite obvious that the service staff is merely showing up. the best servers i've had through the years at pow never stayed long, and a likely common denominator might have been low standards and performance by fellow staff. i'm a former food service employee; i know well what expectations are reasonable.
i've been rather patient. after [in the last few months] repeatedly being seated at dirty tables with food under the table around my feet, looking like children threw half their meal on the ground, finding empty ketchup bottles at the table and no sugar in the holders for my coffee multiple times, i've drawn the line at general disinterest in helping customers as displayed by your staff. i will not be returning to your restaurant, and i will not recommend it to anyone looking for reasonably expected attention to both diners and their meals. i had high hopes for the new management, as they were likely aware of the issues experienced in the past. after multiple overlooks of many less serious concerns, pow has proven that general mediocrity is where they want their image to remain. two stars might be generous.