Nolan J.
Yelp
The location is great. The beer is great. The staff? Not so much!
When we were visiting for the first time, our server was the dark haired, somewhat endomorphic guy in the hipster glasses... with that hipster "too cool to be nice to anybody" attitude. This review will be concentrating on the service offered by this one particular waitron, on the evening of Friday, September 2, 2016 ... and since I did not get his name, I will call him "Guy".
My Beloved and I started our first visit here with a round at the taproom, then moved across the way to the Wurst house. When we walked up to the bar in the Wurst House, there were two other parties in front of us."Guy" was working the bar, and never made eye contact with any of us. He just barked "Who's NEXT??" as his only acknowledgement of our presence.
We got our beers, placed our food order, and took seat outside to enjoy the view on a late summer Friday evening. The ambiance is delightful, tucked under the scenic St Johns Bridge as it is... perfect for lingering all evening.
My Beloved and I, sharing an interest in local history, were intrigued by the building itself. It's a MASSIVE warehouse/manufacturing type building, currently used as mixed-use creative space. But it showed signs of having been added onto over the years in a carefully thought-out manner, like it had grown with *intent*. We wanted to know more.
When "Guy" brought our food order a few minutes later, we attempted to engage him on the question, "We're really intrigued by this building, tucked down here under the bridge. Do you happen to know it's original use?"
For an experienced server, this is a HUGE invitation to create some serious customer goodwill and make regulars out of first-timers. So what was "Guy"'s response?
"Hmphf..." as the plate hits the table in front of us, "It's ALWAYS been mixed use space" he grumps out condescendingly, just before he wheels and marches back inside to the bar.
My beloved stared at me and said "Wow....". I replied with "I know. The food may be German, but the waiter is clearly French. Parisian, in fact."
Now, I don't expect wait staff to be architectural or historical experts, but if you think back to exemplary customer service experiences at, say, a McMenamins, the wait staff can at least interact conversationally when you show an interest in their establishment, filling you in on what the DO know about the history of the building, or other tidbits. You know, build some RAPPORT.... I'd have been fine with "Guy" saying, "you know, I just don't know what the building's history is...that's an interesting question." or other civil response.
SO, I did the 21st Century thing - I did a little internet research before we left. Turns out the building is the original corporate location for COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR. For any Portland residents, this is an item worth note. The building is historically significant! So not only was "Guy"'s information off-putting and condescending, but it was flat-out WRONG.
We didn't linger. In fact, we left feeling glum from our experience. "Guy" left us feeling unwelcome at a place that, quite simply, has a lot going for it if it caters to its strengths and figures out how to get people to linger. . Instead, we left and finished our date night at the Skyline Tavern, where they've clearly figured out the value of friendly, personable customer experiences.
Just to be clear, "Guy" didn't single us out for such treatment - he treated EVERYBODY to the same anti-social service. Such a shame, he totally squandered a chance to make regulars out of us.
To the Owners: let's face it, the Wurst house is in an inconvenient location. The view is worth it, but you don't just "happen by" this location - you have to go there with intent. If your service sucks, and customers don't feel special from their experience, then 1) on their first visit they'll leave sooner and buy the next round somewhere else, instead of lingering. And 2) the next time they go out, they'll just stop someplace closer to home. Crappy, brusque service delivered with an attitude of disdain is, quite simply, NOT what customers are looking for. To play to your strengths, you need service that makes customers decide to stay all evening.
If the Wurst house wants to avoid becoming the "Worst" House, the attitude on the wait staff needs to be adjusted. And FAST.
To be fair, the staff in the Taproom down below, on the same night, were FANTASTIC. Somebody PLEASE assign "Guy" to the kitchen and move the taproom ladies upstairs. Seriously.
