1 /5 Paige Bergren: I just want to start by saying that my family and I love Samurai Sushi, it’s honestly one of the only two restaurants I go to here in town. I’d usually rate it a solid 7–10 out of 10 every time we’ve been here.
This time, though, the Crazy Girl Roll we ordered was undercooked. I called the restaurant politely to ask if they could remake it, and they agreed. I then asked if I could get a small complimentary item since I had to drive back to fix an order they undercooked, they said no. Okay, no big deal.
When I went back down there, I told the waitress why I was there, and she asked for the old roll, which I still had because I wanted to compare the two. I asked her to bring the old one back afterward so I could take a side-by-side photo. She was very polite and professional, she hadn’t been there when I picked up the original order.
While she was talking to the cook, Sal, I noticed he was already watching me as soon as I walked in. I saw her explaining that I just wanted the old roll back to take a photo, and he kind of waved her off, pointed her toward the new order, and kept my old one with him. So I walked over, and he immediately asked, in a rude and confrontational tone, “What’s wrong with the food?” I calmly told him it was undercooked and that I just wanted to take a picture. He kept arguing with me even though I stayed calm. When I finished the picture and went to grab my new order, he started taking apart the old roll right in front of me saying, “Look, what do you mean it’s not cooked?” and wouldn’t stop. I finally asked for his name and left.
I went back the next day (October 11) and spoke with Maria, who unfortunately was not helpful at all. I asked if the owner was in, she said no. I asked if she could provide the owner’s contact information, she said she didn’t know. I asked who the manager on staff was, she said no one. I asked who the general manager was, she said she didn’t know. I asked when the owners would be in again, she said she didn’t know. I asked if I could speak to someone who did know, and she said nobody there did. I left my contact information for the owner anyway.
Normally, I don’t go out of my way to stir things up, but if I were the owner of this restaurant, I’d want to know how my staff especially a manager, behaved toward a customer in front of other staff and guests around 6 PM on a Friday night, right at the sushi bar near the pickup order area.
I’m writing this in hopes that the owner sees it. I’m not looking for anything free or any kind of compensation, I just want to bring awareness to how this situation was handled, because my family and I truly enjoy this restaurant and were even planning to celebrate here soon.
Owner, if you see this — I left all my contact information with Maria around 12 PM on October 11.