From my experience eating at different Mayaguez restaurants, based on comparable quality of food, pricing, and atmosphere,may I would have to recommend Longhorn Steakhouse.
I just got back from Chili's at the Mayaguez Mall location, West Coast of Puerto Rico. It was not a great experience. Here is why:
- The waitress was unusually good. She kept on top of things... even if drinks, food, and check were brought out more than a little slow. However, by comparison to most servers in Puerto Rico, she was exceptional and, granted, she does still has to deal with the bottlenecks created by the rest of restaurant staff. I'll give her a passing grade, since I won't blame the major delays on her. So this is actually a positive factor to note before getting into the bad stuff.
- We were charged just under $8 for a house salad, to be *added* to our entree. I asked for a large. Unless something was badly communicated, Chili's has downsized its large salad size. But really, should a basic "house salad" cost $8 to add on to an entree that you're already paying $15-20 for? I think not. Chili's seems to disagree, as per its menu pricing. Aside: Is that $8 salad upgrade actually on the menu?
- I generally like Chili's food. I have no problem saying that. But tonight the food was definitely sub-par. We had excessively greasy Chicken Crispers, ultimately deemed to be inedible by my 14 year old, and scheduled for consumption by our dogs. Expensive dog food! My Grilled Shrimp Alfredo had runny sauce that did not taste great. Edible, but just not as expected. I could not figure out what was not right. The shrimp were good, but 6 little mini-shrimp do not make for much of a protein component nor justify an approximately $15 price tag when dropped on top of some cheap pasta. Our 6 & 7 year olds split a rack of ribs. They had no issues with them, although they looked a little dry to me and made me wince to know I paid $18+ for them.
- So the final evaluation is that after tip, our bill exceeded $100 for 2 adults, a 14 year old, and a 6 & 7 year old splitting a rack of ribs. The drink prices and $8 house salads added to entree really add up!
From my experience eating at different Mayaguez restaurants, based on comparable quality of food, pricing, and atmosphere, I would have to recommend Longhorn Steakhouse. Note that I did not say "Service". If you want good service, the only place in town I know that you can expect that is the Mayaguez Resort & Casino.
However, compared with Chili's, the Longhorn, in my opinion, has better quality food, much better sides, and far more relaxed/comfortable dining environment, offers complimentary bread with the meal, rocks with their ribs, has larger drink glasses to keep you going before a re-fill is needed, has ample parking space (Chili's does not, despite being at the mall), etc.
So, with comparable pricing, Longhorn should be the hands down winner from my perspective, in terms of value for your money and ranking in the aforementioned areas.
I would like to hear your opinion as well. Please let us know.
Now this review is on the Internet, and will start ranking for searches for Chili's Mayaguez soon. So I also welcome General Manager, José Serrano to provide feedback on my experience and opinion here with a public response.
Attention Jose:
If I could list some top priority changes from my perspective to improve the value you provide to your customers and keep them coming back, they would be (a) adjust prices on add-ons such as salads or shrimp with steak by reducing it at least a few dollars, and (b) work with your team or head office franchise management to work on methods of accelerating all aspects of the dining experience. Ultimately, being a restaurant manager, you know you want to keep closing out your tables and moving new customers into those resources. Not doing so loses you money... a lot of it. And the customers don't want to wait. Therefore, it's a lose-lose situation to be slow. I'm not going to single you out on speed, since that is pretty much a foregone conclusion that speed of service in Puerto Rico is beyond lacking.
Let's do some quick Math...
Keep this mind as well: After this experience, I am not planning on returning to your restaurant. I promise. I have a family of 5 and eat out at least once a week. WIth a positive outlook on Chili's, I would expect to visit your location at least 1 time per month, spending about $100. That is $1200 a year in gross revenue to your restaurant. Now multiply that by the # of other people you are turning away due to any of the issues I have highlighted. Lost sales really adds up.
You are in a great position. You have limited competition in Mayaguez itself, still devoid of many major franchises. And the problems you have are easily identifiable and fixable. Please identify and fix them.
The Insider
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