Wookie Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 Deleted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil in mexico Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 We had a bad experience there the last time I don't know if were going back' before it was a good place now ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumofabit Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 Chicken is not bashful with its odor warnings when it is bad. No way would I eat any chicken that smelled strange or off. Neither would I pay for a spoiled chicken burrito. Why would the server get docked for inedible food. I think it was to garner sympathy if that what was in fact said as the OP admits having a communication failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wookie Posted August 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 Deleted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 This is not the first time a recalcitrant owner has told a customer that the waiter would be docked. There are recent examples on this very board. I've seen plenty of Luke's postings, and he is not a whiner. This is a complete failure of "Restaurant Service 101". Do it right or get out, I say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajijiccharlie Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 Well, today at Lake Taco is a very good example of why I usually don't complain if I am not happy with my meal. I ordered a chicken burrito and the first bite of chicken was all I could get down. It tasted the way it smelled which was terrible. I called the waiter over and asked her if I could please have an egg/ham/cheese croissant as I could not eat the burrito. I told her the chicken tasted bad. She wanted to know if I wanted to take it home ..... I told her no. She continued to stand there so I told her not to worry about the burrito that I would pay for it but I would like to order the croissant please. She says o.k. and leaves. The next thing I know there is a man at our table asking what the problem was. I repeated everything to him and he took the burrito away. Then came the manager wanting to know the problem. I repeated again. He told me that the burrito was fine and that the meat was fine and that he couldn't replace it for me. I told him 3 times that I was willing to pay for the burrito even though I could not eat it .... finally, it took my husband raising his voice a little more than I would have liked asking the manager if he understood that we WILL PAY FOR THE BURRITO. At which point the manager told us that if we didn't pay for it he would have it taken out of his pay by the owner. Again, I looked at him, repeated that we would pay for it but could I please have the croissant. He said yes and left. I did get the croissant, it was good, we did pay for the burrito and I for one, will sit while my husband has his fix of fish tacos next time. I will never eat there again and I hope we can find fish tacos somewhere else so my husband doesn't have to go there either! This is too bad because this has been a "go to" place for us. The very idea of having to go through 3 people and then being told the "owner" will take it out of their pay! I don't know the owner but I would really like to have his ear! I do not think that Lake Taco is open this week. I think they are on vacation. Are you really sure you were at Lake Taco today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wookie Posted August 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 Deleted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Berca Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 Spotty service and mediocre at its best. Never have understood its success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 We go to Lake Taco often. Always have friendly prompt service and find the food very fresh. I am very surprised at the managements reaction, they always seem to go out of their way to please the customer. The woman that works there speaks perfect English. Don't understand their reaction but I will mention it to them the next time I go. I would like hear their side of the story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sm1mex Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 Last time I was there a burrito "special" was 89 pesos. too expensive. Not going back. A friend of mine and wife ordered 2 items from the regular menu and 2 soft drinks. Bill was 200 pesos, for a taco place?? Too expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonhill Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 We also tried Lake Taco yesterday, the same day as the OP, and yes they were open. We were asked for our drink order, which is normal, and they brought our two beers already opened. The waiter then told us the stove was broken and nothing could be fried. Unfortunately we were wanting fish and chips. Any other time I could have found something else to order, but for various medical reasons my doctor has warned me about any restaurant vegetables (cabbage, cilantro, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa) until my system has cleared up the horrendous bug I've had recently. Given the fact I was craving fish and chips anyway, we decided to go elsewhere but still had two already opened beers, which we of course drank and paid for, but I mentioned to the waiter that he tell people about the fryer situation BEFORE they order drinks. He was not very polite about it and didn't understand why I was making the suggestion. We have noticed the service and the food portions both diminishing over the past year or so, I think we have enough other choices here and can cross them off our list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xena Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 This makes me sad. I remember when Lake Taco first opened and how quickly word-of-mouth spread about this great restaurant. Over the years it continued to succeed. More recently that same word-of-mouth is shifting and not in a good way. I hope they wake up over there before it is too late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gringal Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 One thing about "word of mouth". It is the best advertising......either negative or positive, for a restaurant. The situation described on here will keep me away, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyfull Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 Lori, is the woman who speaks good English is off on Mondays. Her husband Carlos and she manage Lake Taco. No one else there speaks very good English. Had Lori been there things may have been different. I am sure they were all stressed with the fryer being broken. I believe the restaurant is actually owned by the people who own Interlago Plaza. I know Lori well and will speak to her about what some people are saying. Hopefully she will have an understanding attitude and have an explanation and make necessary changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecoons Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 I hope so too. We've been there several times and never been disappointed. I hope it hasn't gone downhill like so many other places that started out great and ended up not so great before closing. The restaurant business is super tough in this area, I've never seen so many eateries in a similar amount of space. The only way to succeed is to be consistent, offer good value, treat the customer like the lifeblood of the business, and serve good eats. Somewhere along the way this place has started to develop issues with attitude, service, consistency and food. It is a script we've all seen far too often in this town. I'd remind her, Joyfull, that this town has a heckuva grapevine and too many reports like the ones showing up here for the first time in my recollection can put the kiss of death on their business in short order. Here's hoping the issues are addressed and the place gets back on an even keel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyfull Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 I stopped by Lake Taco late this afternoon. The entire staff was there. I discussed what was said on the board and they understood. I was told the 3 people involved on Monday were Claudia, Marcelo (Luke's waiter) and Carlos who is the manager. Lori spoke to each person individually while I was there and each of them told the same story, remembering the situation well. Luke ordered a Chimichunga, not a burrito. The fryer was not working in the morning, but fine in the afternoon. When it arrived she spoke to Claudia even though Marcelo was her waiter, which is not a problem. Claudia said she told her it was not what she expected and asked for the Croissant sandwich and said she would pay for the Chimichunga, she told Marcelo the same thing. Carlos came over to ask what the problem was and at that time she told him the chicken was bad. I do know for a fact that Lake Taco is very careful about freshness and has everything in containers has dates on them. Past date food gets thrown out. Lori assured me that if anyone gets something they consider is bad food they have no problem giving them something else and would not charge for the 1st item. She said the owner Alejandro Hernandez is a wonderful boss and very fair. He would NOT take the cost out of anyone's pay. However, if you order something and just don't happen to like it that is another story. Maybe Luke didn't understand that a Chimichunga is actually a fried burrito with sauce on it. Anyways, Lake Taco aims to please and and I do believe they try hard. Maybe this was just a miscommunication. I go there at least once a week and have never had a bad meal. They were all very welcoming to my comments as I am sure they will be to anyone else's. I do suggest treating them with the respect and friendliness they deserve. They all work very hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 So according to this report, it's pretty hazy as to whether the staff acknowledged that the chicken was bad, and instead Luke was wrong because she ordered a chimichanga and not a burrito. No one admits to saying the waiter would be docked, and no one refused Luke's offer to pay for the bad chicken meal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wookie Posted August 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 Deleted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adolphsj Posted August 5, 2015 Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 We eat there five times a month or more, know all the permanent staff and love Marcelo and Lori. Have seen and been with people returning their food without problems. Sounds like the broken fryer and at least one mix up contributed to what happened. We also eat there because meals like the grilled fish with salad taste great and are healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexy Posted August 5, 2015 Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 Sounds like Luke reported it the way it happened, even if she misremembered that it was a chimichunga. Whatever it was, it smelled bad and she said so. Things went downhill from there when a person calling himself the manager said his pay would be docked if Luke didn't pay for her original order. What amazes me is that Luke had the stomach to enjoy her second choice for a meal, that croissant, after such an unpleasant and stupid table-side discussion with staff members. Joyful's report isn't all that encouraging, considering that at least one of the staff members involved lied. Lexy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbviajero Posted August 5, 2015 Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 "Chimichunga"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHILLIN Posted August 5, 2015 Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 If it twere beef - it would be the "Cowabunga". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Berca Posted August 5, 2015 Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 Easier just to ask to have your burrito deep fried in grease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guiness Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 These kind of postings/reports are great except they can do such damage to so many wonderful establishments. I personally have been a regular customer of Lake Taco since they opened and have come to know the owners pretty well. We have always enjoyed fresh, quality meals without exception. Cannot comment on the OP'S personal experience but I do know know that Lake Taco take "freshness and " seriously. We love Lake Taco and can always count on the quality of the food and the care that is evident in their open kitchen prepartion. Just had to chime in , in defense of Lake Taco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 This is a place for shared experiences, good and bad. There are thousands who live here who have never looked at this board. The chances of any establishment rising or falling because of comments here are equally poor. If they were better, there are some places here that would be packed all the time. I give you one pizza restaurant, for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.