by Dr. Naman 02/06/2009 With a dinner party of 17 people on February 6th,2009 a filet mignon that was ordered medium came out very rare. The waiter was notified and he brought it back to the kitchen. It was brought back out almost as rare. I mean red in the middle, not even pink. I informed him that he needed to comp this one meal as everyone else was more than half finished. After speaking with someone in authority, the waiter came back, reached across the table with his arm in my wife's face as she was eating, and said "if we are going to comp the meal then I am taking it". Rude and ill mannered for such a supposed upscale restaurant. When the bill came, I noticed that the $1.99 salad bar that was a extra charge with a meal, was changed to an $8.99 salad bar. I called the waiter over again and he said that since we were not being charged for the meal, the restaurant was charging the $8.99 for the salad. I asked him to correct this with the manager, whom I had already spoken with aside, and he came back and tried to hand me 4 crumpled one dollar bills. Where the $4.00 figure came from I can't imagine. I told him to keep the $4.00 and give me the bill. I paid the bill and left.. How ignorant can someone be to create a situation like this over a mistake made twice by the kitchen when there is a tab of around $500.00? And we are all repeat customers!!! This was probably our 7th visit to Austin's with this size crowd. I will never go back and will encourage everyone else in the party to find another restaurant that is more polite and friendly. What is even more astounding is that the manager was informed early in the meal and somehow decided to try and get a few dollars more. And what did they do with the filet they so rudely grabbed? I am in my 60's and have eaten in quite a few restaurants. My prime rib was great and so were the other meals. But the ignorance, rudeness, and lack of manners of the waitstaff (just this one fellow) and management (she was defensive and tried to argue) is unbelievable. It is probably one of the top five worst experiences in a restaurant that I have had. When a mistake is made, it is how you respond that matters. A simple apology or offer of a free desert or coffee is what would have happened in most restaurants, which would have changed the whole situation from ugly to friendly. The waiter was very young and just needed more training. The manager also needs more training in customer relations and speaking to the public.

When I mention going to Austin's for dinner or lunch my family gets real excited. We have been dining at Austins for a over the last several years. I am really glad that one has been opened up in Greensboro. I did go one night but there was a long wait and we were hungry so we had to settle for something quick at Wendy's on High Point Road it was nothing like Austins but I had to make the best of it. My favorite food to eat there is pork chops with a loaded potato with a salad and the crossiants are out of sight. Even though the prices are a little high I try to visit during lunch hours where we can dine off of the lunch specials. My children love to eat the hamburgers and they also love the salads and the delicious bread. This year I am in charge of picking the place where we will be having our Christmas Dinner at and of course I picked Austins.

Good food - good service.