Daisy May is amazing but service needs help
Daisy May's BBQ. I am not sure how to proceed with this post because as you can see from the pictures, half a pig is a big deal. No joke, three times last week I just sat in my seat and said silently, "There will be pig!" And then last Saturday came, and when they brought out Rosa, my entire body shook with excitement. Half of a pig. Just think about that for a second. They went out, found a little piglet and then roasted it, then HACKED IT IN HALF! How fierce. I have had good bbq before, but this was on another level. However, while the meal was splendid, things took a turn for the awkward at the very end when Daisy May decided to be mathematically retarded.
The way it works at Daisy May's is if you call in advance to get half a pig, they will reserve up to six seats for you. If you want more people to show up, then they will charge you $35 dollars per extra head. Our group reserved for ten people, and they sat us at a twelve top. The issue was that one person could not make it therefore we had only nine show up. Here is where it gets tricky because Daisy May decided to charge us for that extra tenth person even though we did not take up that seat.
They had their story wrong because the same woman offered two different excuses as to why they just had to charge us the tenth seat.
1. We already charged your card, and there is nothing we can do. When you reserve a table we pre-authorize the number in case you do not show up.
2. When you reserve a seat, we have to charge you for it because we cannot give that seat to someone else.
Where do I start? Her first excuse made it sound like they had their sights set on charging us for ten individuals no matter what. After a civil discussion, she backtracked and said she could cancel the credit card charge, and we could pay in cash but the bill would stand as is. Let me get this straight, after a discussion you CAN wipe out the charge and we can pay in cash? What did you just say five minutes ago?
Five minutes later she tells us that if we reserve a seat then they cannot give the seat away to someone else, thus we have to be charged. Maybe it is just me, but sometimes when you lie, you just come up with more excuses as you go along.
The problem with the second excuse? If we have eight people sit at a twelve top, you could not possibly accept a reservation for six more people for half a pig. And walk-ins could be seated as such because we did not use the seat. Does someone want to help me try to figure the math out? Twelve minus eight equals?? Maybe my inner abacus is off but I am getting FOUR. If Daisy May could not stuff another ressy at the end of the table, how did my friends and I thwart any potential business?
All of my friends loved the entire meal, and it was such a good time to sit around with good people and eat great food. The pig was spectacular, and the sticky ribs were also a hit. But we all left Daisy May's with an empty feeling despite being stuffed. Sure, they scored a $500+ tab on us that night, but they lost what could have been nine super happy repeat customers.
Daisy May BBQ
623 11th Ave.
New York, NY 10036
212-977-1500
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Thats one expensive little piggy =x Ouch at the service. With that price tag and service, thats a no-no to me.
Kumi
March 6, 2008 1:04 pm
(Gah, wish there was an edit button. Sorry for double post.)
Forgot to mention, since when was food charged by amount of people/seats than the actual food itself? >_>
Kumi
March 6, 2008 1:07 pm
Oooh oh ! Too violent for me :$
Deli
March 6, 2008 7:18 pm
Oh wow danny, that looks scary!! And shiny...
hehehe
Tea
March 6, 2008 8:15 pm
can you feel my jealousy from there?
Jonathan
March 6, 2008 9:19 pm
have mercy on that pig! did u save me a piece? $500? kinda steep but 8 ppl $50 a head and gratuity on top of that? Nice pig, i'm drooling.
You know that thing about charging ahead of time ... i went throught the same ordeal when i went rafting. I reserved for and paid for 18 ppl but only 16 showed. The nice thing was they actually gave me a credit voucher for 2 ppl on my next visit. The voucher is good for a year so They should have done that for u son! =)
steve
March 6, 2008 11:52 pm
Kumi,
For the half pig, they really need some advance notice, which is why they ask you to reserve seats. But we already had more than enough people to cover the seats. They were not very prudent with us, that is for sure.
Deli,
It was so good though!
Tea,
Not that scary actually, it was actually really cool, and yes shiny!
Jonathan,
How is the 'cue scene in Chicago?
Steve,
Yea it is kind of steep but how often do you get to experience a pig like that? See, from your story I get the impression that the people you delt with were smarter about it. They did not piss the customer off and they open an avenue for return customers.
Danny
March 7, 2008 10:04 am
Wow, that pig looks amazing! It's a shame about the crappy maths.
Agnes
March 9, 2008 10:01 pm
May be someone from IRS should talk to her regarding the charge.
chicago
March 11, 2008 2:18 pm
Agnes,
That pig *was* amazing! and yea, crappy math suck. boooooo
Chicago,
Yea that is what I am talking about. They skim 10 percent off the top!
Danny
March 12, 2008 9:53 am