Mr. Crisp:

As a rule, The Austin Chronicle does not print complaints about specific businesses. If you have a complaint about a particular business, we recommend that you take your complaint directly to that establishment's management.

Sincerely,

Lee Nichols
The Austin Chronicle

This is a copy of the letter that was send to the Austin Chronicle:

Service MIA (Missing In Action) in Austin?

As a former resident of Austin recently relocated from San Francisco, I was dismayed at the level of service experienced recently at the Kerbey Lane Cafe.

The infraction occurred on Saturday morning, October 17, 1999 at the South Austin location of the Kerbey Lane Cafe. My roommate and I arrived shortly after 11:00am and were seated on the patio. We were seated and told that a waiter would be by shortly to take our order.

Approximately fifteen minutes later, a couple sat behind us and was instructed by the waiter to leave the menus closed when they were ready to order. Our menus were already closed, as we were ready to order. We waited patiently for half an hour with our menus closed while the male/female couple behind us ordered just minutes after closing their menus. We then decided to leave and go elsewhere.

I was very disappointed since remembering my last trip to this same restaurant and the wonderful service I had received then. I find this "new" level of service appalling.

Has Austin got lost in the rush to compete with larger cities such as New York, LA, or San Francisco? Because we are an up and coming city, does the level of service have to go down? The very service that attracts many people to move to Texas?

I sincerely hope that the management and ownership of Kerbey Lane Cafe reevaluates how service is conducted in their establishment in order to preserve the level of service that has made Texas famous.

A phone call later that same day to the Kerbey Lane Cafe yielded no return calls from any member of the management staff. I am writing the Austin Chronicle so they may educate other consumers.

James Crisp
ja m e sc r is p@int erga te.com

Verdict: The Austin Chronicle is not the independent it once was. It does not serve the people. It is afraid to expose the level of service on the decline. But, it is more than happy to give business the "Best Of Austin" in any category even if it isn't really the "Best Of Austin."

Please support the human condition by not patronizing the Kerbey Lane Cafe or reading the Austin Chronicle.

This page was last updated on Thursday, 16 March 2006

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