Friday, November 6, 2009

CPK Knows Customer Service

On a whim, Shrek and I decided to eat out last night which is something we've been cutting back on with Christmas right around the corner. (And that nasty car service payment.) We happened to be at the mall doing a little scouting out of the presents we are considering for our families and friends (and maybe each other ;) ) and ended up at California Pizza Kitchen (CPK). Not one of my top choices, but one of the top choices if I'm ravenous and at the mall. I'd also been hankering for their Apple Crisp a la mode (pictured below) which I had every intention of devouring that evening.

Shrek ordered a cup of soup ($4) for himself along with a Garlic Chicken Pizza ($14) and Waldorf Chicken Salad ($13) to share with me. We also decided to splurge on a bottle of Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio ($30) after they served us a free tasting. With the aforementioned Apple Crisp ($7), we were looking at a $68 tab before taxes and tip. As it turned out, however, the restaurant had no chilled bottles available when we put our order in. This was slightly annoying since they'd offered every table a free sample to, I'm assuming, push sales of that particular wine, but whatever. Saved us $30! Only, later the Manager appeared with our Garlic Chicken Pizza in hand...slightly burnt.

The Manager began by apologizing (again) for not having the chilled bottle of wine available and then for burning our pizza. He ended by explaining that although they were busy making another pizza for us, we could also have the burned one (maybe one slice wasn't salvageable out of 8) and that he'd be removing it from our tab. Additionally, he wanted to offer us dessert on the house. After all that, our tab ended up being $25 for a cup of soup, large salad, two pizzas, and 2 desserts. Sweet! 

CPK's Apple Crisp and Chocolate Souffle, both served "a la Haagen Daz"

After being so well taken care of, we decided to tip as if we'd received and been billed everything we originally ordered. After all (or as far we know), it wasn't our server's fault that the wine wasn't chilled and our pizza got burnt. With such tip-top service, we are more likely to go back sooner, though not too soon... I've got more than an entire leftover pizza in my fridge!

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About MindyKnows

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I'm a girl constantly on the hunt for top quality, stellar customer service, and fun when it comes to shopping and eating out. The more affordable, the better. Though, you will quickly see that indulging in handbags - Hello, Louis! - and food - Hello, Foodie! - is a weakness of mine. Yes, posts will primarily pertain to the Bay Area as this is where I currently call "Home." However, I am no stranger to travel so visit often to read up on my finds and to chime in on your faves!

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