Review: Il Giardino (stay far far away!!!)

[gkAeris]

beware its more of a rant...

Location: Corner of 17th ave and 4st
Name: Il Giardino

ok, so this is my 2nd visit to the resturant and i must say the 1st visit was nothing to write about. But this 2nd one is a must.

Food: 1.5/5 nothing spectular, or even close to it, i ordered the lasange it was bad, you get better lasange at the freezer section of the grocery store. my co workers got a meat ball sandwhich with soup (but a salad came with it he didn't even want to complain cause he felt the hostility already) he didn't like it, same with the "fresh" fish of the day, very dry. etc etc you get the point

Service 0/5 So we get there for a company lunch, and i thought since i have an entertainment book coupon in which i'm entitled for a buy one get one free entree. So as i order my meal i kindly let the server Dorothy know, in which she snarls "only one per table". we made a reservation for 15 people, but 21 people showed up, so the late comers sat in a table next to us. a few minutes passed by and Dorothy said that table beside us is reserved and moved the late group to a far table and placed a "reserved" sign on the table next to us. I placed my bag on an empty chair on the table next to us and moved it close to me, in which the server yet again responded rudly stating that the chair and table is reserved and she can't have me putting my bag on that chair? this is lunch time it was not very busy there were chairs and tables EVERYWHERE! she was plain rude, she seriously couldn't have moved the "reserved" table to the table where she sat our late comers??? so as we are done and she cleared our plates, the "reserved" table came in and sat down. Must have been friends of hers/owners cause they got all her attention. we asked her numerous times to get a take out container for my co worker, and she always comes out of the kitchen with nothing but food or drinks for the reserved table. I ask another waiter for a container he said he will send our waitress. Finally i flag her down ask her nicely for a take out container, and the bill and give her my entertainment card. She snaps back and says that the "guy at the far table is paying" and she refused to take the entertainment card and enter the discount since i'm not paying for it? (it was really her attitude and customer service)

so for the first time in my life, i decide to write an email to the company [email protected] stating my experience with my phone number, in which i get a call back from the server Dorothy who informs me that she is ALSO the GM there and that she read my email and if i'm going to complain about BS (shes been there for 10 years and there is alot of regulars), then she doesn't need customers like me? I seriously was being nice, "thank you for taking the time to call me back" i said and she bitches me out??? wow i was writing to complain about the lack of CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

anyways i'm floored so i thought i'll write a review and if you have alot of time (as many beyonders do) and feel the same about the resturant (or if your just bored), and feel free to pop Dorothy ilgiardino@telus.net
an email stating you read this review and you won't go to the resturant.

i won't be returning to that resturant




update**

so i just came back from a lunch @ il giardino, the owner called me and apologized and explained that Dorthy has had numerous compliants and he finally let her go, mike (the owner) then asked me to come bakc to give il giardino a try.

so i asked all my co workers to come back with me, and this time the service was what i expected, and get this, we actually got to sit all together this time! wow lol but in all seriousness, i really appreicate the gesture mike did and that he called me back and told me we are valued clientels.

so i guess in conclusion, spoons helped me get in touch with the owner, the owner fired the bitch i gave il giardin another go and we are all a big happy family. lol

[adidas]

Not surprising.

In the thousands of times that ive been on 17th, i havent once seen a person walk in or out of that place.

Never has this place been suggested, when ive scoured google and forums for a restaurant.

[Guillermo]

Haha, wow. Some people just don't get it (customer service).

[max_boost]

Wow the experience was so bad and I sense how pissed you are as I was reading it that I actually found it quite funny. Sorry Gail lol

[NoMoreG35]

And you posted this on Facebook... Nice~ Should put the link to this post onto Facebook too.

[NoMoreG35]

Haha maybe email her the link to this post too
Edit: and google map, urbanspoon, etc. etc.

[LongCity]

Damn, was gonna go there in the near future, too. Girlf has a coupon that gets you $80 worth of food for $40.

[kvg]

I will avoid that joint.
P.S. Did you mean lasagna?

[NoMoreG35]

Obviously not everyone speaks Italian

[autumnrain]

well I guess your not the only one who felt their "customer service"

---

i got this from the urban spoon:

Shady business practices
by BRchick (35 reviews)
October 10, 2009 - Doesn't like it
I was there last night with three of my girlfriends. I would've never thought of dining there, but one of my friends was a long-time diner there and recommended this place for great Italian food, and plus I had the Entertainment coupon (2 for 1 dinner entree) so I said why not?Prices were definitely on the steep side, but that's not why I am writing this review. Mind you, the food was great. However, the problem started when the bill came.Actually, let me go back a bit there. They had a discounted menu which you cannot use with conjunction with the Entertainment coupon, which I fully respect. However, EVERYONE at the table had to order from the regular prce menu in order for ME to use the coupon, and the waitress refused to split the bill for us just because we sat at the same table. Fine. So my two friends, the long-time Il Giardino diners decided to order only a starter salad because they weren't hungry, while my other friend and I were the ones who ordered a full entree. Now, from a customer's perspective, wouldn't you think the coupon should apply to us? When the bill came, the waitress took one of the starter salads off as an entree. We questioned her why, and she said because no one ordered an appetizer, the starter salad automatically became an entree. What kind of BS is that? Since when does a starter, $5 dollar salad qualify for an entree? Had my friend ordered a garlic toast instead, would that also be an entree? We found the whole practice unreasonable, so we talked to the manager, which only confirmed why they did this. However, note that this was NOT explained to us while we were ordering. We already found the no-splitting bill a huge inconvenience. Since they would not buldge, we made them change the entire bill back to the discounted menu pricing. Although that didn't save anything, we had to make a point.And never in my life had I left a nickel for a tip. Sure, from the business perspective they were trying to make more money, but I don't agree with how they handled with the coupon.So friends, if you want to use this coupon, make sure you're only a party of 2! However, I will not go back ever again, and this restaurant just lost 2 long time diners of theirs (plus 2 new ones).
5 people recommend this review Recommend

[JRSC00LUDE]

Originally posted by LongCity
Damn, was gonna go there in the near future, too. Girlf has a coupon that gets you $80 worth of food for $40.

You'd likely have to spend about $250.00 to actually get 80 dollars "worth" of food at a dump like that.

[bignerd]

I just remember eating there years ago for a friends birthday party and there was an issue with the gratuity the restaurant had added to the bill, it was a big bill and they added a large gratuity to it for the group-normally understandable but the service sucked back then too... maybe the same server if she has been there for 10 years.

[Graham_A_M]

Wow I've ate there about 6 times, and have nothing but praise for it, mind you I've never had her as a server though.

All the dishes we had were great, with excellent service.

[kvg]

if you have ate there and
vote it down on here

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/15/19074...orante-Calgary

[msommers]

I wonder if there is an connection with shitty service and coupons

[cancer man]

I don't think they will be around for much longer.
I don't know what happened but in the last year or so they have gone to shit.Desperate people with shit atitudes and terrible cooking is a recipe for failure.
We changed our Christmas Venue to a diffirent place this year.
La trattoria on Edmonton trail.(Anybody try that place out yet?)

[Afrodeziak]

lol I got a kick out of this one.



Don't waste your time or money
by Calgarian99 (1 review)
July 02, 2010
Just came from there, where I ate on the patio. I was forgotten for nearly 30 minutes, and although I would have liked a glass of wine halfway through my (rather bland) meal, no one came to check on me. The one glass of house red that I did get, was $9.00 (steep for a house) - I was never given a wine menu - and they charged me an additional $1.95 for the lemon wedge I asked for. When I mentioned to the waitress when I went inside to get my bill, that I had considered calling the restaurant from the patio to order that second glass of wine, she said I should have done just that, and that others had done it before. I will NEVER go back there again.

[Spoons]

Dorothy, which apparently in turn will be the one reading this email as you are the GM?

Dorothy, I am not normally a rude person, nor do I like to use offensive language, but are you out of your god damn mind? I've read a review on your restaurant, and it is absolutely mind boggling that you are still in business with you as management. I have worked in over 10 restaurants, from fine dining to big restaurant chains. Any other place with that attitude and you would get fired faster than you can snap your fingers.

From the review all I got was that you are a snotty bitch who doesn't know how to serve. You've worked there for 10 years? Start acting like you have 10 years serving experience then and do it right. I WILL NOT BE EATING AT YOUR ESTABLISHMENT. I haven't even been there, but I won't even bother. I know many people, including large company contacts downtown. I refer a lot of people to different restaurants, and I can tell you it will be my soul effort to make sure that many people do not come to your establishment. I'm sure you have heard of Lea Williams-Doherty from CTV, a business reporter. Through my best friend, I will be getting in contact with her shortly. I don't think a public review on your business practice would be good, but heck maybe not too many people watch CTV anymore....

This isn't your first bad review. From the Internet, I can show you numerous amounts of horrible reviews, they stack up.

You probably added a tip to their bill for yourself as it was a large group, in which you did not deserve a single penny.

Russ

PS: Go fuck yourself.



That was my email. I'm not even kidding about knowing Lea Williams-Doherty. I will be calling her tomorrow.

[A790]

Originally posted by Spoons
Dorothy, which apparently in turn will be the one reading this email as you are the GM?

Dorothy, I am not normally a rude person, nor do I like to use offensive language, but are you out of your god damn mind? I've read a review on your restaurant, and it is absolutely mind boggling that you are still in business with you as management. I have worked in over 10 restaurants, from fine dining to big restaurant chains. Any other place with that attitude and you would get fired faster than you can snap your fingers.

From the review all I got was that you are a snotty bitch who doesn't know how to serve. You've worked there for 10 years? Start acting like you have 10 years serving experience then and do it right. I WILL NOT BE EATING AT YOUR ESTABLISHMENT. I haven't even been there, but I won't even bother. I know many people, including large company contacts downtown. I refer a lot of people to different restaurants, and I can tell you it will be my soul effort to make sure that many people do not come to your establishment. I'm sure you have heard of Lea Williams-Doherty from CTV, a business reporter. Through my best friend, I will be getting in contact with her shortly. I don't think a public review on your business practice would be good, but heck maybe not too many people watch CTV anymore....

This isn't your first bad review. From the Internet, I can show you numerous amounts of horrible reviews, they stack up.

You probably added a tip to their bill for yourself as it was a large group, in which you did not deserve a single penny.

Russ

PS: Go fuck yourself.



That was my email. I'm not even kidding about knowing Lea Williams-Doherty. I will be calling her tomorrow.

Dude, although I can understand your intentions, there are so many reasons why she won't even pay attention to your e-mail that it's ridiculous.

There are ways that effectively communicate a message without sounding condescending. Regardless of your feelings toward her, what you've done is e-mailed her something that I'd be surprised if she actually read through the whole thing.

Adding "go fuck yourself" at the end destroys any merit your e-mail would have had.

Just a thought.

[Spoons]

Originally posted by A790

Dude, although I can understand your intentions, there are so many reasons why she won't even pay attention to your e-mail that it's ridiculous.

There are ways that effectively communicate a message without sounding condescending. Regardless of your feelings toward her, what you've done is e-mailed her something that I'd be surprised if she actually read through the whole thing.

Adding "go fuck yourself" at the end destroys any merit your e-mail would have had.

Just a thought.

I don't really care. Do half my posts on Beyond get read by people? I can say with certainty, no. Do I still post? Yep.

Never the less I recieved an email back from Mike Ciccaglione. He seems to be concerned, probably scared of my threat with CTV.

gkAeris, do you want to PM your email. I will forward it to him to ensure your put in touch with the right people.