Bye bye Bob and the Birth of a Grudge

Bye bye Bob
How close to closing time is it still okay to walk into a restaurant?

It will be a long time before we go to Bob Evans again… at least to the one near our house.
There’s a lesson in customer service here.
Up until now, we liked going to Bob’s. The comfort food that they serve would have been welcome after a couple of long days at the (home) office for my wife and me.
We pulled into the nearly empty parking lot at 8:45. The place closes at 9:00.
As we walked toward the door, we saw some interesting things:
– The outside lights went off
– The manager stood by the door and began playing with his keys
– The staff assembled behind the counter, all eyes toward the door as we walked in, to overthrow our dinner plans.

Upenders Assemble!

We walked in and the manager, who had been standing near the door, grimaced and walked away.
I asked my wife, loudly: So, do you want to eat here?
She replied, loudly: Absolutely not.

As we walked toward the door, I commented (again, loudly): The sign says you’re open ’til 9:00, not 8:45.

The manager called after us to stay, that he would seat us.
We declined, noting that his entire assembled staff was still staring at us.

I didn’t want to eat any food that they would prepare.

Has this ever happened to you, as a customer or as a retailer?

What do you think?