With my cousin, I went to see
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on Jan 1st... loved the movie.. movies like this one make me want to read. Aside from video game magazines and celebrity magazines, I don't read a whole lot. Not because I don't want to, I just fall asleep after reading a few pages of any book. I have to really focus when I am reading 'cause my mind always wanders when I read something that reminds me of something else and then I loose track of what I was reading. then I have to start all over.
Amistead Maupin's novels are the only ones that I can read and re-read without putting them down. :)
After the movie, we picked up Aaron and went to dinner. We went to an Applebee's on Baseline by 24th st. Their address is 2180 E. Baseline Road, Phoenix, AZ 85042.
Now I am listing their location, address found on their site, not so you can go to it, but so that you don't. So sure it was New Year's Day so those working on that day may not have wanted to be working, but it is no excuse to start slacking off. It was not packed, but obviously low on staff so we waited for a couple minutes while they cleaned a table to sit us down. Once we were seated, we browsed through their menu,sticky with food residue, as we waited for our waiter. It took a while before our waiter came by to introduce himself, Mark, and ask for out order.
We ordered our drinks, as I was not ready to order food just yet. I couldn't decide what I wanted. Another long wait and our drinks made it. Jerry and Aaron ordered and I asked for more time. He came by a few minutes later and I placed my order. Our appetizer was brought to us by a waitress, obviously not our waiter, and I asked her for individual plates(for the appetizer), extra lemons(they had given me a joke for lemon slice for my iced tea), and extra napkins. She brought them right away. Aaron and Jerry's orders came out. Jerry's was just fine. Aaron's looked like it had been siting for a bit, I'm sure it was so that they both came out at the same time since they were ordered at the same time. My order came a few minutes later.
So we were eating, chatting and then this fat woman comes and stands by our table and comments on Aaron's tea, "letting your tea get dark" or something like that, in an unpleasant sarcastic like tone, he had ordered hot tea. We were like, who the hell is this bitch. She then asks us how our meals were. We said fine. Then she left. We assumed after she left that she was the manager. Her approach wasn't very managerial like.
After we were done eating our check arrives, I decide to pay with my card. Mark takes my card and the check. He comes back a few minutes later, dropping off the receipts to be signed. So as I review the receipt I notice the amount is not what the original receipt said, and my card was not brought back.
I first figured he had given me the wrong receipts, but then I see that the last four of the card used for that were the ones on my card. I was like hell no motherfucker you did not just keep my card and charge me for someone else's food check.
So I get up to try and find a manager. I head towards the kitchen with receipts on hand. As I was going to enter the kitchen, and there is Mark, so I tell him you charged me for someone else's check and kept my card. He reaches for his shirt pocket and out comes his Applebee's card along with my card. As soon as i see it I aggressively take it out of his hand and demand to speak to his manager. He starts walking off in the opposite direction. Not sure what he said, but he was not apologetic, did not direct me towards a manager, nor did he try to explain what happened. So I head back towards our table. Aaron and Jerry assumed it was done. I said no we are waiting for the manager.
The manager, jackpot is was the fat woman that had come by earlier, walking several step behind Mark. I head towards the manager, explained what happened. She apologized and wanted my card to fix it. I was like hell no. So I said I'll go with you to see what you are doing. So she voided the other charge. I asked her for a void receipt. She said she could not give me one, so I asked her to sign and initial the original receipt, so I could keep it as reference/evidence that it was voided. She then processed the amount for my table. I signed it leaving no tip. She kept apologizing and asking me if there was anything else she could do. Obviously she was hinting at me asking to have the meal comped, but I am not that kind of person. The kitchen did nothing wrong, however if she had offered to comp the meal I probably would have accepted. She kept saying that it was an honest error. I didn't buy that. I can understand an honest error if he had given me my card with the wrong receipt, but he kept my card in his shirt pocket. That's a fucking different story.
So anyways, I may suggest to you that you do not go to this Applebee's, but if you do go beware of waiter Mark. He may be keeping cards "in and honest error" kind of way. Who knows how many cards he kept that night.
Now I am just watching my account every day to make sure the void goes through. Not going to go to that Applebee's location again. Let's hope this is a fluke and not the beginning of what my dining experiences will be this year.
Hope everyone's first movie and dinner experience in 2009 is a good one!!! :)
