Hawkeye
New Member
So Dye Tie and I (the rhymes ) decide that we are going to grab a bite to eat last Friday (June 18th) and ended up a Solomons Pier. I hadn't been there in a number a years but Dye Tie told me it was very nice to sit out back on the deck and have a bite and a glass of wine. Well, we check in with the hostess and she askes where we would like to sit....inside or on the deck. She states that it would be 15-20 minutes, we decide we will wait and she hands us a buzzer device to let us know when our table is ready. It is important to note that she was well aware that we were there to have dinner and not simply going out back to have a drink at the bar as people were walking back there to the bar without checking in with the hostess (this is very important later).
So we wait a few minutes and our buzzer goes off. We check with the hostess and she escorts us back to the deck area. Evidently (I don't remember so I am using Dye Tie's memory), the deck used to be completely open with tables all around that the bar in the center of the deck. The center of the deck in now enclosed with the exception of the edges which have tables spaced around the deck rail all along the outer edge. As we walk to a large, round white table (first on the left for those who are familar), the hostess has to shoo away a number of semi-anebriated people who spoke with an English accent. We sat at two of the high bar stools surrounding the table and settled in for what we had hoped would be a nice dinner with a glass or two of wine. Our server showed up relatively quickly with menus and we requested a wine list. She returned promptly and we both order a glass of Bancroft wine. As we talked, we noticed that the crowd of Brits ebbed and flowed across the bar and would close on our table, realize that they were crowding us and excuse themselves and move away. As Dye Tie and I talked, one of the British ladies asked if one of our bar stools was being used. I was not so we both said no, thinking that she wanted to pull it over to her crowd and have a seat as opposed to standing up. The next thing we knew, she sat what appeared to be a 8 to 10 year old boy in the table and set him up with what appeared to be either an Ipod or an I-Touch and headphones. She then proceeded to set her camera and purse on the table, basically making herself at home. As Dye Tie and I watched, what appeared to be her husband walked over with a menu and she and her husband stood looking a the menu, talking to a server appearing to be ready to order. So the question is "At what point do you say something and what is the best way to handle this situation"?
I decided to handle this situation as follows. The server brought us our glasses of wine in a plastic cup (some how, a plastic cup doesn't make it feel like $7.00 a glass wine). I pointed to the couple and asked if she could inquire what their intentions were and to inform them that the table they were sitting at was occupied by someone else. She went over and whispered to the couple that they were encrouching on our dinner and the lady promptly packed up and moved. The husband however, wanting to have the final word apparently, decided that he was going to have a word with me. He asked if his wife had asked if it was OK to use the chair? I replied in the affirmative but then informed him that no inquiries were made as to the use of the table or ultimately dining with us. He then replied, rather abrasively that he was of the opinion that I should have asked them directly to move and not get the hostess involved. I replied that, based on his current response, that it probably would not have gone as well as it did and that I was not interested in discussing the matter with him any further. Rather than disengage however, he decided that he would press the point and move around the table and get in my immediate space and continue to question why I would ask him to leave our table. At this point, we decided that further conversation with this individual was pointless and, since the hostess and restaurant staff were not interested in intervening, it was best to leave.
In my opinion, the service and hospitality at Solomons Pier is below average at best ranking a close second to the Burger King on Great Mills Rd. They are very proud of their product, which is evident by the prices on their menu and beverage list, but the prices do not match the service or the atmosphere. Additionally, I would not recommend asking or waiting to be seated out on the deck unless you're ready for some dinner table roulett as you can not be sure if you will be enjoying a nice bay breeze or battling it out with a rude Brit with Napoleon complex. Suffice to say, I will never patronize this establishment again. I hope that anyone else who decides to try the Solomon's Pier has better luck than we did on June 18th.
So we wait a few minutes and our buzzer goes off. We check with the hostess and she escorts us back to the deck area. Evidently (I don't remember so I am using Dye Tie's memory), the deck used to be completely open with tables all around that the bar in the center of the deck. The center of the deck in now enclosed with the exception of the edges which have tables spaced around the deck rail all along the outer edge. As we walk to a large, round white table (first on the left for those who are familar), the hostess has to shoo away a number of semi-anebriated people who spoke with an English accent. We sat at two of the high bar stools surrounding the table and settled in for what we had hoped would be a nice dinner with a glass or two of wine. Our server showed up relatively quickly with menus and we requested a wine list. She returned promptly and we both order a glass of Bancroft wine. As we talked, we noticed that the crowd of Brits ebbed and flowed across the bar and would close on our table, realize that they were crowding us and excuse themselves and move away. As Dye Tie and I talked, one of the British ladies asked if one of our bar stools was being used. I was not so we both said no, thinking that she wanted to pull it over to her crowd and have a seat as opposed to standing up. The next thing we knew, she sat what appeared to be a 8 to 10 year old boy in the table and set him up with what appeared to be either an Ipod or an I-Touch and headphones. She then proceeded to set her camera and purse on the table, basically making herself at home. As Dye Tie and I watched, what appeared to be her husband walked over with a menu and she and her husband stood looking a the menu, talking to a server appearing to be ready to order. So the question is "At what point do you say something and what is the best way to handle this situation"?
I decided to handle this situation as follows. The server brought us our glasses of wine in a plastic cup (some how, a plastic cup doesn't make it feel like $7.00 a glass wine). I pointed to the couple and asked if she could inquire what their intentions were and to inform them that the table they were sitting at was occupied by someone else. She went over and whispered to the couple that they were encrouching on our dinner and the lady promptly packed up and moved. The husband however, wanting to have the final word apparently, decided that he was going to have a word with me. He asked if his wife had asked if it was OK to use the chair? I replied in the affirmative but then informed him that no inquiries were made as to the use of the table or ultimately dining with us. He then replied, rather abrasively that he was of the opinion that I should have asked them directly to move and not get the hostess involved. I replied that, based on his current response, that it probably would not have gone as well as it did and that I was not interested in discussing the matter with him any further. Rather than disengage however, he decided that he would press the point and move around the table and get in my immediate space and continue to question why I would ask him to leave our table. At this point, we decided that further conversation with this individual was pointless and, since the hostess and restaurant staff were not interested in intervening, it was best to leave.
In my opinion, the service and hospitality at Solomons Pier is below average at best ranking a close second to the Burger King on Great Mills Rd. They are very proud of their product, which is evident by the prices on their menu and beverage list, but the prices do not match the service or the atmosphere. Additionally, I would not recommend asking or waiting to be seated out on the deck unless you're ready for some dinner table roulett as you can not be sure if you will be enjoying a nice bay breeze or battling it out with a rude Brit with Napoleon complex. Suffice to say, I will never patronize this establishment again. I hope that anyone else who decides to try the Solomon's Pier has better luck than we did on June 18th.