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Old 18 Nov 19, 03:14 PM  
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#1
ellie666
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CheeseCake Factory - Mall of M!

WOW - what a let down:

We haven't visited this particular branch since 2011 but have visited others a couple of years ago and up to this visit have always been very happy and indeed very much looked forward to our visit.
Wow what a difference this time.
We chose here because of our previous experiences and as it was my birthday.
The queue was less than 20 minutes and we were sat down then within a few minutes the waitress arrived to take our drinks order.
This turned up within a few minutes and our main order was taken.
5 mins later a glass of water was given to my wife with the comment that she may want to water her drink down as other customers said it was very sweet. My wife chose this opportunity to change it as it was indeed very sweet.
15 minutes later the complimentary bread arrived followed by our appetizers 2 mins later and then the change of drink and my refill.
Literally 3 mins later our mains arrived and they seemed genuinely put out when we refused them as we were still eating our appetizers!
A comment to our waitress ended with the reply, "oh well we'll make sure it's under the hot lamp, if it over cooks there I'm sure we'll change it. "
When it arrived, my wife's being a pasta dish were asked for a spoon, only to be given a teaspoon.
That was the last we saw of the waitress for 20 minutes.
We eventually asked for a doggy bag and a cheesecake to go along with the bill.
The bill arrived promptly, 5 mins later she was back for payment which i advised i would make once we received our cheesecakes.
That came, we checked everything was there ok, paid and left promptly. Never to return.
My wife mentioned to methat she'd seem other waiters bring out birthday cakes (i had my birthday Disney badge on which Ravello had no problem noticing that morning or ihop the next day) but we'd not even received a mention.
Clearly time has not been kind to this place and finally a favourite of ours is no more.
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Old 18 Nov 19, 03:45 PM  
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boltyboy
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Every place has their off days and the waitress/waiter can make that experience good or bad. I wouldn't let one bad experience put me off from going unless I ended up with food poisoning.
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Old 18 Nov 19, 03:48 PM  
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ellie666
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the menu changes and the price increases since we started going were the nail in the coffins for us.

besides so many more choices elsewhere now.
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Old 18 Nov 19, 04:42 PM  
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DonnaD
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I personally have never understood the raves for it. We had a good meal at the one in Fort Lauderdale last year but previous experiences have been very disappointing. Our first visit in Texas they served my husband raw halibut. I find the huge menu ridiculous and annoying.

As has been mentioned on here before though, if you want a gap between appetizers and main courses in a big family style restaurant in Florida just ask. Ordering drinks and appetizers first and then the main course when they come out will do the trick. The kitchens don't work the same as in Europe. They don't hold off cooking the main courses if you order an appetizer and many Americans treat them more as a side. The portions in Cheesecake Factory are so huge I expect many order starters AS their main course as well.
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Old 18 Nov 19, 09:44 PM  
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prugone
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Maybe it's a case of being over busy all the time (being Orlando) and standards slipping as a result. We tried the Cheesecake Factory in Sarasota this year and it looked a pretty new Mall area. The service and food was excellent, we got there for an early lunch so had a table straight away but by the time we left it was pretty full with what I perceived to be locals. One tip, get your cheesecake at the counter AFTER you've paid your meal bill, it's slightly cheaper and doesn't increase your tip!
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Old 19 Nov 19, 12:46 PM  
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That certainly does sound like a bad experience. Getting a main whilst still working on a starter is a particular bug bear of mine.

But I don’t think it is a case of time not being kind, I think it was a poor service day. We went to same one in February and it was one of the dining highlights.
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Old 19 Nov 19, 01:31 PM  
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Geordie Al
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Originally Posted by DonnaD View Post
As has been mentioned on here before though, if you want a gap between appetizers and main courses in a big family style restaurant in Florida just ask. Ordering drinks and appetizers first and then the main course when they come out will do the trick. The kitchens don't work the same as in Europe. They don't hold off cooking the main courses if you order an appetizer and many Americans treat them more as a side. The portions in Cheesecake Factory are so huge I expect many order starters AS their main course as well.
I think this is a very important thing to remember when being in the USA. As the saying goes 'When in Rome..'.
Another thing to remember if an American gets poor service, boy do you know about it, on the whole us Brits tend to accept it. Again 'When in Rome..'
The OP also states that the fact that the Menu has changed and the prices have increased since 2011 was another nail in the coffin. I'm not defending a bad service day but please show me a restaurant that serves exactly the same food at exactly the same prices from 8 years ago
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Old 19 Nov 19, 03:11 PM  
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ellie666
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I personally 1st went in 2006 and have since been to branches multiple times in Vegas, Hawaii, LA & Orlando.

The biggest difference on this one is that up until this week it has had a monopoly.
We've been here at least a dozen times between 2006 & 2011 and often on multiple occasions on the same holiday.
We went to Vegas (Henderson) in 2017 and the service was fantastic, this was just a complete joke from start to end.
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Old 19 Nov 19, 04:16 PM  
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Geordie Al
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Originally Posted by ellie666 View Post
I personally 1st went in 2006 and have since been to branches multiple times in Vegas, Hawaii, LA & Orlando.

The biggest difference on this one is that up until this week it has had a monopoly.
We've been here at least a dozen times between 2006 & 2011 and often on multiple occasions on the same holiday.
We went to Vegas (Henderson) in 2017 and the service was fantastic, this was just a complete joke from start to end.
I get that but can I ask a question in two parts. Bearing in mind the service you received did you A) Ask for a Manager and B) Did you leave a tip?
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Old 20 Nov 19, 01:55 PM  
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ellie666
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Originally Posted by Geordie Al View Post
I get that but can I ask a question in two parts. Bearing in mind the service you received did you A) Ask for a Manager and B) Did you leave a tip?
tbh the service was bad by US standards but still above what we get back here, so no we didn't call a manager and our tip was minimal
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Disneyworld - 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2019
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