A little over 2 years ago I made a post about HuHot… and how they sucked. Not the food. It is brilliant. It is tasty, wonderful, DIY goodness. I LOVE the food at HuHot.

But the service still sucks. It is Horrible. Slow. Sloppy. Bad.

Here is what I said 2 years ago:

Bad.

I should clarify. The SERVICE at HuHot sucks. I love the food, but I do damn near all of the work, so I SHOULD love it. I get the bowl, pick the meat and noodles, grab the veggies and mix the sauce. What do they do? Take entirely to long to put it on the “grill” and push it around for a while. Only to hand me back my plate without so much as an “enjoy your meal”.

Yup. Service at HuHot sucks. Seriously, every time we go to HuHot we think this. Well, HuHot. I’m done with you. I’m breaking off this on again/off again relationship. I’m sick of waiting 10 minutes for my soda refill(especially since I used entirely too much Kung Pao…Yow!). What is so god forsakenly hard about bringing me a bowl of rice and keeping my god damn soda full? I can get better service from Dairy Queen. I’m sorry, but your food is NOT so good that it makes up for exceptionally crappy service. To make matters worse, this visit was at 2:30 in the afternoon. There were a measly 21 people in the restraunt. There were no less than 7 employees present. 3:1 ratio and you still can’t do your job?

I don’t get it. So… I’m done with you. I’m done with your crappy servers who can’t figure out that their job is sooooo simple. Greet me. Ask if I have been here before. Ask if I’d like to try an over priced appetizer. Bring me rice. Bring me soda. Keep soda full. Bring me Check. Cash in. That is IT! You might wonder why you never get tips? Well… this is why.

Goodbye, HuHot. I hate you.

kthxbai.

Well after the BS conversation I had with the owner of HuHot, I said I’d never give them another chance. BTW, this is the BS convorsation I had with the owner:

Thanks for getting back to me.  My name is Brendan and I am one of the owners of the HuHot’s in Sioux Falls.  I tried to contact you last week but I think I had a bad email address for you so I signed up for Twitter to make contact with you.  I would like to apologize for the lack of service you received.  We obviously do not spend the time, effort and money on training so we can make the mistakes we made.  I have addressed this with the GM of the stores and the District Manager.   I would also like to thank you for giving us 5 chances. 

 I do have a question for you though.  Did you on any of your visits ask to speak with one of the 3 salaried managers in the store?  On your post you said you were in the store around 2:30 in the afternoon.  There would have been two managers in the building at that time and either of them is more than capable of handling you issues….If notified.    I think to come out and post for all to see “HuHot Sucks” is a little unfair not to mention the aggressive tone it takes.  Maybe your server wasn’t any good or preoccupied but as a guest of any restaurant you have an issue with, you should take it up with a manager while in the store.  Give us a chance to make it better.  We are not perfect.  We serve thousands and thousands of people a week in Sioux Falls and we do make mistakes from time to time.  If we are as terrible as you make us out to be we would be out of business.  I’m not sure what your post was suppose to accomplish other than get my attention (and it did) but that could have been done by letting a manager know you were upset with your service or by contacting us directly on our website.  If that would have happened our response would have been much quicker.

Again, thanks for getting back to me and for letting us know about your visits,

Brendan

and my response:

I don’t appreciate your defensive tone. As a customer it isn’t my job to find someone to make the situation better. As a restaurateur it is your job to provide the service I pay for. We have since visited HuHot in Sioux Falls ONE last time and the service was the same. At the Store on Arrowhead parkway, Our server Justin took upwards of 7 minutes to refill a drink, even after I asked for it almost right after running empty. He walked by 3 more times before I stopped him and asked again. There were 3 other customers in the store at this time. It is not my job as a customer to make you provide good service. It is your job to get me to come back. Good food is why people come back, I’ve never met someone who said service was spectacular.

SO make it 6 times we’ve tried. 6 times. I’ve been to HuHot locations elsewhere and had great success, but never again will you get my nearly 30 dollars for me to sit and wait, and wait, and wait for your servers to do their jobs. I suggest YOU speak with your managers and make it very clear to them that they are costing YOU money by not ensuring that your servers take care of their customers.

I should have clarified, “HuHot’s SERVICE sucks.”  The food is excellent. I feel rather aggressive about spending 30 bucks and not even getting something so simple as a refill. If you can’t train your servers to do that maybe you should invest in larger glasses.

Then I guess we have come to an understanding….And I assure you that your experiences are the exceptions and not the norm.  Thanks for one last visit and I will speak with the manager of the store in East Sious Falls about your server.

Thanks,

 Brendan