[Tim]

After my family's disappointing visit to Swingbellys on 12-27 I sent the owner this email -

My name is Tim Miller. I believe we've spoken about your restaurant before. I've been a major fan since you were out on the beach. I live in Japan and haven't been in MC for 18 months. My family and I had dinner at Swingbellys on Sunday, 12/27 - and it pains me to say this, but it was horrible. Though our server was okay do you really pay your waitresses to sit at tables and read books? The entire wait staff gave off a serious "who cares?" vibe. There were only a couple of tables with customers that night - in retrospect no surprise - and our food took forever. I ordered the Belly Burger - medium. It was served raw and cold. Out of the 11 people at our table two people liked what they were served. Everyone else was disappointed. After years of frequenting your establishment this was a big drag. Swingbellys was the only evening spot I really cared about going to during my visit - I'm now sorry we didn't go somewhere else. But sorry too that one of those things about my hometown I always want to depend on when I come home changed so drastically for the worse. The biggest disappointment, of course, was the food. But that business about the waitresses sitting at empty tables with their noses buried in paperbacks? Really bad. I'll be back in MC again - maybe not until next Christmas, but I'd like to give Swingbellys another shot. I'd like you to tell my why I should, if in fact you think I should.

___________________________________________________

Today I received the following response -

Tim,

Thanks for contacting me yet again regarding my restaurant. I personally remember your visit on 12-27 as I was the one who cooked your food. I have been cooking for nearly 30 years and I can say with confidence that your burger was cooked to the best of my ability. A medium burger is cooked pink throughout, and our burgers are never frozen, they are hand pattied and cooked to order. Your party also ordered dinners that evening which is why the food took longer than the standard "15 minute burgers". It's unfortunate that your complaints were not voiced that evening as they ALL would have been addressed and rectified. Since your visit 18 months ago, I have served 180,896 customers with minimal complaints. It pains me that I was not given the opportunity to correct the issues that evening.

Sincerely,
Mark Werner
Owner
SwingBelly's Restaurant
__________________________________

So now it's not HIS fault for serving crappy food, it's MY fault because I didn't complain. And he's seriously trying to defend a burger served cold?

Unbelievable.

Sorry - that should be "my" in the title.

[Dave]

Edited the title for ya.

I can see why you might not be satisfied with that response -- I'm frankly surprised there isn't any kind of "I'm sorry" in there. I mean, back when I worked several customer contact type jobs, I had no problem saying "I'm sorry your experience with XYZ Corp. hasn't been a pleasant one for you" even when I was thinking something else entirely.

[Southsider2k12]

Having dealt with Mark before, he isn't saying it is your fault, he is saying he wishes he could have fixed it that night. The emphasis you are getting out of it is in the wrong place. He is telling you why it came out cold, not that it was your fault. Trust me, he would have fixed things on the spot.

[Tim]

Having dealt with Mark before, he isn't saying it is your fault, he is saying he wishes he could have fixed it that night. The emphasis you are getting out of it is in the wrong place. He is telling you why it came out cold, not that it was your fault. Trust me, he would have fixed things on the spot.

I respectfully disagree. While he may very well have fixed things on the spot you know what happens when you send food back in a restaurant - you wait while eveyone else eats, then they wait while you eat. Plus, I clearly stated I was writing as a FAN of Swingbellys - his apology-less caustic response was unappreciated.

[Southsider2k12]

I respectfully disagree. While he may very well have fixed things on the spot you know what happens when you send food back in a restaurant - you wait while eveyone else eats, then they wait while you eat. Plus, I clearly stated I was writing as a FAN of Swingbellys - his apology-less caustic response was unappreciated.

He is a very matter of a fact guy. I dealt with him for years when I worked at Pott Park when I was in high school. There is a reason he usually stays in the kitchen.

[Tim]

He is a very matter of a fact guy.

Obviously.

[ChickenCityRoller]

SWINGGUTS. I can count on one hand how many times I've been there in my life and four of those fingers date back to Stop 2 days.
180,000 customers in 18 months? I call bullshit. THat's over 330 covers 7 days a week.

[Tim]

The more I read that POS letter the more it pisses me off.

Time for the Anvil Chorus.

[Tim]

SWINGGUTS. I can count on one hand how many times I've been there in my life and four of those fingers date back to Stop 2 days.
180,000 customers in 18 months? I call bullshit. THat's over 330 covers 7 days a week.

Ha! I just caught that. 335 customers a day EVERY day for 18 months. Hmm - he must've had a 500-customer day to make up for the 8 people that were there when we walked in.

[Ang]

I've only been there twice. The first time wasn't that great and the second time was only for our first meet & greet.

I also noticed that he didn't mention anything about the wait-staff sitting around reading books.

I'm with Tim & Dave on this issue. So what if the guy is "matter of fact." He still could've started out with, "I'm sorry...." That letter would have ticked me off as well. Nothing like pouring salt in a wound, huh?

[Tim]

I've only been there twice. The first time wasn't that great and the second time was only for our first meet & greet.

I also noticed that he didn't mention anything about the wait-staff sitting around reading books.

I'm with Tim & Dave on this issue. So what if the guy is "matter of fact." He still could've started out with, "I'm sorry...." That letter would have ticked me off as well. Nothing like pouring salt in a wound, huh?

My plan is to have each of my family members describe the crappy "meal" they were served. Since Werner doesn't want to discuss it the Anvil Chorus seems the way to go. And again, I'm telling the guy I LOVE Swinbellys and would rather go there than ANYWHER IN MICHIGAN CITY and he blows me off like this?

[ChickenCityRoller]

Yeah, I mean if your average meal is 12 bucks, that's grossing 1.5 Mil a year. Pretty good for a burger joint! I guess people must walk there because I've never seen that many cars there. At a 30% profit margin, that's 500,000 to go in the bank, you'd think he'd hire someone else to cook the burgers but you gotta respect the work ethic!

[eric.hanke]

Living in Michigan City my entire life I have never eaten at Swingbellys. The place has always given me a snobbish vibe. Reading the discussion I can see why.

The owner should have started his e-mail with an apology. The customer is always right.

I guess if the food and service were all THAT someone I know would have recommended that I eat there and scolded me for never trying the place.

Looks like my "south of 20 rule" stays into effect.

[Michelle]

What's with the "yet again" in his message? Had you contacted him about this before?

I don't blame you for being irritated. That's a poor response. I can sort of understand where he's coming from--restaurant folks prefer to address issues at the time--but that e-mail is no way to rectify things. It doesn't sound like he cares to have your business in the future; otherwise he would have been a little more conciliatory or at least not have dismissed your complaints out of hand.

Maybe he knew you were discussing your experience here and didn't like it. But there's no controlling the message these days, what with the internets and all.

[Tim]

Living in Michigan City my entire life I have never eaten at Swingbellys. The place has always given me a snobbish vibe. Reading the discussion I can see why.

How did it give you that vibe if you've never eaten there? Just curious. I've always loved the place - and will probably give it one more shot because when their burgers are good, they're FANTASTIC. Nut this jerk's response really pissed me off and I'm not quite done with him yet.

On a side note, I would have very much liked to meet you at the MNG!

[Tim]

What's with the "yet again" in his message? Had you contacted him about this before?

I don't blame you for being irritated. That's a poor response. I can sort of understand where he's coming from--restaurant folks prefer to address issues at the time--but that e-mail is no way to rectify things. It doesn't sound like he cares to have your business in the future; otherwise he would have been a little more conciliatory or at least not have dismissed your complaints out of hand.

Maybe he knew you were discussing your experience here and didn't like it. But there's no controlling the message these days, what with the internets and all.

Yes - I contacted him ONCE before when my party got seated in the back room. It was freezing and the waitresses didn't know we were there. The food that time, however, was fabulous.

So his "yet again" was just him being a dick about it.

[ChickenCityRoller]

Living in Michigan City my entire life I have never eaten at Swingbellys. The place has always given me a snobbish vibe. Reading the discussion I can see why.

Looks like my "south of 20 rule" stays into effect.

I never got a snobbish vibe, I just didn't go there very often because I didn't like it.



As far as your "south of 20 rule" goes, I realized I have a similar one without knowing it but it's the exact opposite. When I think of "south of 20" box stores and franchised food comes to mind.

[Homey]

Swingbelly's was great, when it was at stop 2. Broke my heart when it moved. I remember walking over and grabbing a sandwich then walk it off down the beach...good ol' days
We ate at the new location a few times, mostly in the summer to sit outside, but the food wasn't as good. Don't know why, but something changed.

[Dave]

We ate at the new location a few times, mostly in the summer to sit outside....

This is the primary reason I like Swingers. I'm not aware of anyplace else for miles where you can get a meal and look out at the lake.

Are there any other restaurants with a lake view between Chicago and Grand Haven?

[Homey]

There should be...or should I say, I wish there was.

Remember Red Lantern Inn in Beverly Shores?