We like 7 West Cafe on 7 Charles St. W. because its open 24 hours. We don't like 7 West Cafe because of its inconsistent service. We've been there multiple times now (four times in the last month) with two brunches and two dinners. Two of two, the service was seamless, the other two, annoyingly slow and cleans up our dishes with our food still in it without asking us if we were done or not. Should we go back or not? If its the only restaurant in the area that's open, yes. If you are craving for quick service and may not be sure if you're going to get the efficient server or not, then no.
What we don't like with restaurants is that there has to be quality control not only with food but also with the service. It's a whole package. If the owners don't see the value in having good customer service or too busy because of the many other activities needed to run a restaurant? Then maybe its time to outsource that training (hire us if you are unsure and we'll train them ourselves - we have the expertise actually).
Case study: Order two brunch items, clock it. In two occasions there were exactly five tables that were occupied accounting for 15 people on one occasion and 13 people today. Same orders by the way. The first time it took approximately 15 minutes. Today 27 minutes. Many factors account for slowness so what's the expectation of the client? The server to come by and say "your food is coming" or "sorry for the delay." Saying nothing would mean annoyance to the client.
Case study: Two dinner orders in two occasions. This time we just don't clock it, we actually also test for consistency in service to all other clients within the hearing distance - we sat in the middle near the fire place to get a good view and hear as much as we can. In the first occasion, the orders were taken in the same order as the arrival of the clients. The other night, it was chaos. People who were waiting longer were not always provided service as expected so there was a lot of side negative comments from the clients.
Inconsistently results in an Upgrade Something rating from us.
