The Boathouse

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hooker771

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Jun 21, 2006
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574
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<div>From: Johnson, Craig J
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 1:08 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Restaurant Experience


To whom it may concern.
I wanted to inform you an incredibly unsatisfactorily experience I had with your restaurant. On Saturday June 20, I attempted to take my father to the Boathouse for a Father's Day dinner along with my wife, my 3 year old and my 1 month old daughter. My Father was in from out of state and I wanted to bring him to a dinner he would enjoy as he loves seafood. In order to make the experience enjoyable for everyone, we stopped at McDonalds prior to arriving at the restaurant in order to get my daughter some food that she would be willing to eat. My daughter can be a particularly picky eater at times and we wanted to make sure that she would be happy and there would be something she would be willing to eat.
When I arrived at the restaurant, it was noticeably not crowded yet I had to wait for almost 10 minutes while the multiple hostesses tried to determine where I could be seated. Keep in mind that it was probably close to 100 degrees out and that I have a one month old child. I finally was brought to my seat after this wait and was in the process of being seated, when a female employee whom I might assume was the manager came over to me and informed me that would could not bring me daughters food into the restaurant as it was against the "Health Code" for such to be done. I attempted to explain the situation to her and was basically put on deaf ears and repeatedly told that it was a health code issue and that my only choice was to leave and go elsewhere. I was never offered any sort of other alternative. So therefore despite the fact that I went out of my way to go to your restaurant, I had to then load 2 kids back into the car in the 100 degree heat and drive to another restaurant.
After this experience, I contacted the State of Tennessee to see if this was in fact a violation and received the following email back:


-----Original Message-----
From: Lori LeMaster
To: CATSUK96
Sent: Thu, Jun 25, 2009 11:38 am
Subject: Re: Question
</div><div>Can you tell me if you are allowed by the health code to bring food into another restaurant. For example, can I bring in McDonalds prepared food into another restaurant if it is still packaged or is it a health Violation?
Thank You
Craig Johnson
</div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080" size="2" /><font face="Arial" color="#000080" size="2" /><font face="Arial" color="#000080" size="2" />
Mr. Johnson,
It is not a violation of the food service establishment rules & regulations to bring food into a restaurant from another restaurant. However, some restaurants choose to implement their own policies restricting foods from other establishments.
Thank you,


Lori LeMaster
Environmental Health Program Manager
Tn Department of Health
General Environmental Health
425 5th Avenue North , 3rd floor
Nashville , TN 37247
(615) 741-8531
(615) 741-8510 fax


As you can, See what I was told by your Employee was completely incorrect that it was an issue with the "Health Code" and may have only been a policy of your restaurant. If this is the case, it should have been explained to me as such, and I would think that any reasonable person would be willing to work with a customer in this regard. I had thought that the Boathouse and it partner restaurants were family friendly type establishments and would understand how difficult it can be at times to have children, but apparently, I misunderstood and it is your desire not to have customers with children.
Based on this treatment, I have elected not to continue to eat at any of your establishments and will be sure to also relay my experience to others, especially those with children. I also wanted to make sure that you understood that you have employees that are using the health code to enforce rules of your establishment that are not part of the health code.
I would appreciate this if this could be shared with the Owners/Manager in Charge or your establishment so he is aware of this experience and hopefully no future customers are treated as poorly as I was.
Have a pleasant Day.
Craig Johnson
</div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080" size="2">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></div><div>From: lawton Haygood [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 1:34 PM
To: Johnson, Craig J
Subject: RE: Restaurant Experience
Mr. Johnson,


You really should check with your Pediatrician, concerning a 3 year old having that much control over her nutritional program.


Lawton Haygood
General Partner
Boathouse

<font face="Arial" color="#000080" size="2">------------------------------------------------------------------------</font>
</div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">From: Johnson, Craig J [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 1:41 PM
To: lawton Haygood
Subject: RE: Restaurant Experience


Wow, Thanks for the caring response. I am in awe that someone who is the General Partner of a restaurant would be that smart assed to a customer. My daughter is not in control of her nutritional program by any means, I was just trying to let her have a treat and have something that she wanted to eat that evening and in turn let us have a pleasant night out as a family. I apologize that my family is that much of a burden to you and your company.. I thought it would be important to get some feedback from a customer's experience, but apparently, it is not something that you care too much about.
Craig Johnson</font>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080" size="2" /></div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080" size="2" /></div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">From: lawton Haygood [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 1:52 PM
To: Johnson, Craig J
Subject: RE: Restaurant Experience
You go to McDonalds to get a happy meal, then to a restaurant, then back in a hot car and go to another restaurant, but the 3 year old is not in charge? You need to really think about that.</font>

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080" size="2" /></div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080" size="2" /></div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080" size="2">
<font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">From: Johnson, Craig J
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 1:57 PM
To: ' lawton Haygood'
Subject: RE: Restaurant Experience
Thanks for the parenting advice. You are unbelievable and I will be sure to share this level of caring that you display with as much people as possible. I quickly drove through a drive through while my baby slept and got my daughter some food. It is pretty rude of you to insinuate that I was a bad parent for doing this, but based on the consistent response you and your co-workers care to display, I can see that it is more of a practice. I wish that I was as perfect a parent as you must have been. Perhaps if I only checked with you, prior to coming to the restaurant, I could have been better.


My Apologies.

Craig Johnson </font>
</font></div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080" size="2">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080" size="2" /></div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080" size="2" /></div><div>From: Johnson, Craig J
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 2:28 PM
Subject: FW: Restaurant Experience
In case you need parenting advice, Lawton at the Boathouse is your guy.


Craig Johnson</div>
 
wow.....that is about all I can say. I would be kicked out of a lot of places if this were true. I am diabetic, and drink Coke Zero. I often bring Coke Zero in with me if the place I am eating at doesn't have it. Not one place has said a thing, and many of them have said they would work on putting in Coke Zero. Unreal.
 
I debated about whether or not to post this. I am glad you did. If thats the way they treat customers then they obviously have too much business and need to lose some.
 
I'm glad someone posted it. I checked and Haygood also owns the Canyon Grill in Trenton. Sometimes folks let success go to their heads. Many an arrogant company has bit the dust because of the attitude toward customers. Look at Circuit City.
 
Thats what I dont get Terry. The Canyon grill is one of the best run, best fine-dining places around...then you have the Boathouse....makes no sense!?!?!
 
You need to get in touch with headquarters, not the manager, that can change daily, let headquarters know about your experience, I would think that they will see things differently. Email chattanooganoogan.com and put your story in the opinion collumn, let everyone who reads the online paper know about your non-dining experience, the restaurant will get the message fast.
 
SpurHunter - 6/26/2009 4:28 PM

Thats what I dont get Terry. The Canyon grill is one of the best run, best fine-dining places around...then you have the Boathouse....makes no sense!?!?!


I agree, but I noticed that he is a partner. It could be that that each partner runs a different place and the food reflects that. Lawton may be good at cooking but he needs to rethink customer service. Regardless I can't imagine how embarassed Craig must have been. To go to the trouble of taking your DAD to a place like that and then being treated that rude is ridiculous.
 
Doc1 - 6/26/2009 4:32 PM

You need to get in touch with headquarters, not the manager, that can change daily, let headquarters know about your experience, I would think that they will see things differently.


Doc he is headquarters. He is one of the partners and head chef. Maybe dropping him a line and letting him know that 5000 fishermen are viewing his rude emails might make him change his tune.
 
Go back and re-read my editited post, I added another tidbit that will get most people in chattanooga's interest.
 
It's probably a good thing that they turned him away. He could have been poisoned by their oysters. The Boathouse seems to be good at doing that...
 
The Boathouse sucks and it's easily the most kid-UNfriendly eatery in Chattanooga. In fact, they don't even offer a children's menu. We had a horrible experience there last year with my son and some family from out of town (how ironic). I'd post all of this on the Chattanoogan as suggested and let the public see what azzholes they are.
 
I got sick from their oysters! Don't stop your assault untill they get punished cause they deserve it. Print those emails out and put them on cars in their parking lot.. that'll get some attention.
 
Thanks for posting this, I will add them and their affiliate restaurants to my "never eat at agian list" As I have my own stories from that place. Did you happen to get the persons or managers name who was seating you?
 
This is kinda off subject, this is Jeff's fiance. This evening, my father, brother, and I were on the boat. We decided to go to the Boathouse for dinner. We sat at the bar, because you don't have to wait on a table. There were 2 young "yuppie" guys sitting next to us. One asked for a rum and coke to go before he left. My dad, being the jokester he is, said to the guy "I'm a state trooper, and I'm gonna have to smell your coke." The guy said "I have herpes" while he was sipping it), then passed it on, and said, "sure, smell it." Even though my dad was just giving him a hard time, I kept thinking how crazy this was that the bartender obviously gave him a drink "to go drive home." So, when we were finished eating, I was gonna throw her. I said..."I need a drink to go. A...uhh...Mojito." She said, "I can't make that to go." I called her out on the previous guy, and she responded with, "He's a regular." Does that mean a "regular" has more authority to drink and drive? I was just enjoying a day out on the boat. Not that I really wanted the drink, but wouldn't it have made more sense to make the girl that was on the boat a "drink to go" than the "yuppy that was a regular?" Maybe it doesn't make sense to you, but I also believe that the Boathouse needs to re-think their reasoning. I work for a living. I work with the public every day, and you have to treat everyone with the same respect. No matter if they're "Regulars" or not. Being a regular doesn't change the laws last time I checked. :)
 
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