On Nov. 4, a few of my good friends and I went to Turtle Jack’s on Upper James St. in Hamilton for dinner. I was seriously looking forward to meeting them, considering we haven’t seen each other for a couple of years, and we decided on Turtle Jack’s because of its reputation as a well-established chain restaurant.
The service we received from our waitress was great, and the food was also good. What wasn’t so good, however, was what occurred towards the end of our meal, and further, how the restaurant staff handled the situation.
My friend noticed a mouse running through the restaurant. Yes, you did read that correctly. She pointed it out to myself and my other friends, and we watched the little guy scurrying about, trying to find a hiding place amidst the booths and tables. A different waitress heard my friend say that there was a mouse, and this same friend watched this particular server exchange a brief whisper with the manager on duty that evening. The server came over to us, exclaiming that she had just seen the mouse come through the doors from outside, however we realized this wasn’t the case, and rather, her manager told her to tell us this in an attempt to suggest that this Turtle Jack’s location doesn’t have rodents running rampant throughout the facility.
This particular Turtle Jack’s location has two sets of pretty heavy doors at its front entrance. Unless this mouse was bionic and had super-human strength, I have a pretty hard time understanding how exactly it managed to come through not one, but two doors.
I suggested using something to trap the mouse to the server who didn’t wait on our table, and she headed into the kitchen to find something to use. Personally, I have no issue with mice, so I simply caught it in my hands and put it back outside to prevent it from potentially venturing into the kitchen.
My friends and I were absolutely floored that the manager didn’t come over to our table to acknowledge the situation, nor did she thank me for taking the poor little guy outside for them. I’m not saying she had to, but my friends and I watched the manager turn and walk the other way upon realizing there was a mouse in the restaurant rather than professionally recognizing and handling the situation.
I was hopeful that perhaps I would get a free meal or coffee at least, but instead had a mere $3 taken off of my bill.
I’m not normally one to write scathing reviews about businesses or companies, but the way this situation was handled at this Turtle Jack’s was seriously unbelievable. If you’re planning on going there for a meal, maybe consider going elsewhere.
UPDATE: Since this occurred, a manager from the restaurant reached out to me via email to discuss and rectify the situation. This manager was incredibly professional, helpful and courteous regarding the situation, and after interacting with this particular manager, I can say that the incident has been dealt with more than adequately.
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