Didn't Even Get to the Appetizers
My brother and I were in the South Park area last week and had to stop in at the mall, a place I enjoy as much as root canal. Since it was lunch time we decided that the shortest distance between hunger and satiation was a straight line and headed toward The Cheesecake Factory. Upon entering we were met by a gaggle of smiling hostesses, one of whom promptly led us to a comfortable booth, seated us and placed menus on the table. Opening the menu, I was discouraged to see that every other page consisted of advertising.While sitting through commercials when watching television or listening to the radio is not my favorite activity, I realize that the commercials are paying for the programming. I'm far less inclined to put up with it when I'm paying for the product myself. I discussed the ad-laden bill of fare with my brother and he agreed that it was an extremely obnoxious practice.
The waiter, showed up and seemed a bit surprised when I told him that I thought the advertising was completely inappropriate. He asked for our drink orders and I asked for an iced tea. He replied that the tea was a Mango-Something or other and was that OK? "No." I replied. While I'm sure that some people enjoy fruit-teas, you should always offer an iced tea that's brewed from, well, TEA!!!
Noting my growing displeasure with the Cheesecake Factory, my brother laughed and asked if I would like to leave in a huff. I thought that was a fine idea, slapped a couple of dollars down as a tip to the waiter, who I'm sure was relieved to see me go, and exited the Cheesecake Factory never to return.
Cheesecake Factory, for an obnoxious ad-laden menu and for the lack of real iced tea I award you a 3 out of a possible 10 score. Those 3 points were earned by your friendly staff. Lose the advertising.
