LongHorn Steakhouse

To whom it may concern: My family and I frequent, not only Longhorn Steakhouse; but many of the Darden Family restaurants; and our 2 favorites are Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and Capital Grille. Not that it matters but I also own shares of Darden in my investment portfolio: and I have for more than 20 years. I would like to share the following experience that occurred on my Daughter's Birthday. I took my daughter and 6 other family members out for a casual dining experience at the Longhorn located in Homestead, Florida. Our initial experience from greeting to the path to our table was very friendly and inviting, as always. We love the quality of the food and the consistency that we have experienced over the years. We requested seating for a party of 8, with 1 of the 8 being my 20-month-old granddaughter, they initially tried to place us at a table for 6 and put the highchair in the aisle way on one end of the table and a chair on the other end. This placed my granddaughter and my 15-year-old grandson directly in the passthrough for the servers and guests, that not only put granddaughter at risk; but it also interfered with clear passage for guests which would have created a fire hazard and/or trample hazard. As I realized the table could not possibly accommodate us, I noticed there was an empty table adjacent to us, I mentioned to one of the servers that we were going to push the tables together; and the server seemed fine with it. I noticed the server then went to the front to make sure the hostess was aware; in retrospect, I should have gone to the front and personally let the hostess know myself. The manager Ana Porras was at the hostess station and did not like the fact that we pushed the tables together without checking first; and I noticed as she approached that her demeanor from when she greeted us, to this moment in time, had changed significantly. She told us that we could not push the tables together as there were 2 different servers for the 2 tables. I said no problem, we will split our party and put the 4 teenagers at 1 table and the adults with my 20 month old granddaughter at the adjacent table. She then said we still could not do this; and I inquired as to why, as it made zero sense. She rambled on that the tables were too close together and the server could not accommodate us. So we moved the tables apart and she begrudgingly accepted our compromise — I was very tempted halfway through this ordeal to go to the recently built Outback Steakhouse, which is 2 minutes away; and I will most likely do so in the future. Of all the occurrences and unfortunate beginnings to what was supposed to be celebratory, the thing that bothered me the most, is the same server (Glindy — who was great by the way) ended up serving both tables — so the manager's initial excuse of why we could not put the tables together, was contrived to say the least; or more specifically, she was being difficult for the sake of being difficult. In closing, I believe the guest experience from start to fruition should always be consistent, pleasant and accommodating. To rescue the evening, we moved on very quickly and we had a beautiful time at your establishment and the food was excellent — One suggestion, please upscale your wine list. That said, as the initial beginning to our experience did not sit well with my daughter or me, we may not consider this establishment as a place to dine in the future. I have attached a copy of my receipt from dinner; I have taken many family members, friends and colleagues out to dine at your Homestead location, as it is close to my home. The receipt that I have attached is very typical of how I spend and how I tip. Perhaps a phone call to both me and my daughter apologizing for her (Ana Porras) failure to create a welcoming environment, would go a long way to resolving this to our satisfaction. NOTE: the apology should come from Ana Porras not Tamilia (the Managing Partner — who is always very nice). Jim Tuttle [protected]