(March 30, 2017) Things are getting better, but a few key things remain that the staff and management could do to improve at Mumford’s Landing.
That was the leading topic of discussion when members of the Ocean Pines Association Clubs Advisory Committee met last Thursday in the community center.
Committee member Donna Hickey said she asked for several such “tweaks” to be placed on the meeting agenda.
For one, she said marketing could do a better job. Promotional materials for a recent mystery-themed dinner, for instance, were released less than a week before the event, she said. Information on a Saint Patrick’s Day buffet was also publicized with less than a week’s notice.
Hickey and other members of the committee raved about improvements to the quality of the food, but said more attention could be paid to training staff. It’s not unusual for diners to wait for 30 minutes or more for subsequent drink orders, she said, and rarely, if ever, are guests approached by wait staff for dessert orders.
“To me it’s common sense,” she said. “Why wouldn’t you [ask about] dessert?”
Some of the pricing is also confusing, she said. An inexpensive salad can become a $20 meal by adding grilled chicken, and Hickey said guests in her party had been charged $3 for bread on several occasions.
Committee member Gary Miller said the only complaint that he’d heard is the food was “too damned expensive.” Sunset Grille, for instance, offered regular specials that were much more enticing.
Still, there were bright spots.
“The food has improved, I think,” committee member Audrey Wahl said. “I think we have come a long way with the food and if we can continue to do that – that would be wonderful.”
Board Vice President Dave Stevens, also the liaison to the committee, said he would take those suggestions to the other directors.
“I think the real point is to get this up to a level where you can make some broader statements,” he said. “Training may be happening, but it isn’t obvious. I think that’s what you all said.
“The pricing is unattractive and it doesn’t make sense,” Stevens added. “It’s a generic, recurring problem or issue … and the advisory committee is doing what it’s supposed to, it’s advising the board and bringing these issues to [the board’s] attention.”
Miller reiterated that it was often the small things that were hurting the experience of repeat customers – things like charging extra money on the rare occurrence someone asks for an extra roll.
“That just pisses people off,” he said. “If somebody had just said, ‘Sure, I’ll go get one’ and brought it out, then that guy’s experience has gone from mediocre to good … that’s the difference and that’s what we’ve been fighting since the place opened.”
Hickey said the issues were basically “stupid, little tiny things.”
“But they’re big when you add them all up and it gives a negative feeling,” she said.
That was the leading topic of discussion when members of the Ocean Pines Association Clubs Advisory Committee met last Thursday in the community center.
Committee member Donna Hickey said she asked for several such “tweaks” to be placed on the meeting agenda.
For one, she said marketing could do a better job. Promotional materials for a recent mystery-themed dinner, for instance, were released less than a week before the event, she said. Information on a Saint Patrick’s Day buffet was also publicized with less than a week’s notice.
Hickey and other members of the committee raved about improvements to the quality of the food, but said more attention could be paid to training staff. It’s not unusual for diners to wait for 30 minutes or more for subsequent drink orders, she said, and rarely, if ever, are guests approached by wait staff for dessert orders.
“To me it’s common sense,” she said. “Why wouldn’t you [ask about] dessert?”
Some of the pricing is also confusing, she said. An inexpensive salad can become a $20 meal by adding grilled chicken, and Hickey said guests in her party had been charged $3 for bread on several occasions.
Committee member Gary Miller said the only complaint that he’d heard is the food was “too damned expensive.” Sunset Grille, for instance, offered regular specials that were much more enticing.
Still, there were bright spots.
“The food has improved, I think,” committee member Audrey Wahl said. “I think we have come a long way with the food and if we can continue to do that – that would be wonderful.”
Board Vice President Dave Stevens, also the liaison to the committee, said he would take those suggestions to the other directors.
“I think the real point is to get this up to a level where you can make some broader statements,” he said. “Training may be happening, but it isn’t obvious. I think that’s what you all said.
“The pricing is unattractive and it doesn’t make sense,” Stevens added. “It’s a generic, recurring problem or issue … and the advisory committee is doing what it’s supposed to, it’s advising the board and bringing these issues to [the board’s] attention.”
Miller reiterated that it was often the small things that were hurting the experience of repeat customers – things like charging extra money on the rare occurrence someone asks for an extra roll.
“That just pisses people off,” he said. “If somebody had just said, ‘Sure, I’ll go get one’ and brought it out, then that guy’s experience has gone from mediocre to good … that’s the difference and that’s what we’ve been fighting since the place opened.”
Hickey said the issues were basically “stupid, little tiny things.”
“But they’re big when you add them all up and it gives a negative feeling,” she said.