Goodbye Toronto, hello NYC!
Well I’m on my way to New York City. Today’s agenda includes hanging out at Niagara Falls, and the catching a plane from Buffalo-NYC. The past few days in Toronto have been busy, but amazing. This was the first trip to Toronto that I actually had time to explore the city. Torontonians – you have an amazing city! I can’t wait to come back again.
Here are some notables from the Toronto portion of my vacation:
Blue Jays vs. Astros
After being a Jays fan for nearly 18 years, this was my first time seeing a game (well, 3 games) at SkyDome. It was awesome. The Jays, unfortunately, lost the series 1-2. I also wasn’t able to catch Pat Hentgen. But after the last game of the series yesterday, we talked to one of the field staff members for the Blue Jays, who told us how to get our best shot at meeting Hentgen in a few days when we’re at the Yankees game. And, on another positive note, we saw Bautista hit two home runs in one game.
UnMarketing by Scott Stratten
I love Twitter, and I think it is a remarkable tool. So when Scott Stratten (@unmarketing) tweeted that there were 2 signed copies of his book UnMarketing
MoRoCo
After dinner one night, Ginger took Asian Pear and I to a lounge called MoRoCo. Apparently they are famous for having amazing desserts. The place is tucked in a little corner, super super cute, and just seemed like it had a good vibe to it. It’s not a cheap place to dine (combined, we spent almost $50 on dessert alone!), but seemed like a good place to check out since I’m rarely in Toronto. We were seated outside on their patio, and our dessert came pretty quickly. It was presented nicely, and everything tasted great. I was already envisioning coming back again the next time I was in town. But that’s when everything fell apart.
The waitress cleared away our dishes without asking if we wanted anything else. She didn’t even ask if we were done eating. Then, she dumped the bill on our table and came back to check if we had paid it at least 3 times in the next 10 minutes – huffing away each time she saw we hadn’t touched the bill yet. Then, she came back and told us that there was a 30 minute limit for sitting on the patio, and that they needed our table for a reservation that was coming in. There were at least 5 other empty tables on the patio, and countless others inside. There were also other parties who had been there far longer than us that were just hanging out, and had ordered less than us. If there was actually a reservation coming in that specifically wanted our table, she could at least have offered to seat us in one of the other empty tables. Because really, in a LOUNGE, I expect to be able to LOUNGE for more than 30 minutes. Especially after dropping $50 on dessert. You can buy a $2 tea and sit in Starbucks all day and night if you want to, and they’d never kick you out. Just sayin’!
And then when we did finally look at the bill, she charged us an automatic gratuity of 18.5%! Not cool.
I don’t often complain about service in dining establishments, but this was just horrible. Especially as a visitor to the city, I would never go back again, nor would I recommend it to anyone either. I can see kicking us out if it was super busy and they needed to seat other people. But considering the entire restaurant was probably 25% full, I think that’s ridiculous. And it was also kind of embarrassing basically being told to leave like that. I don’t usually care what other people think of me, but it really bothered me that the waitress was so obvious with the fact that she thought we were second class customers, and that you knew she couldn’t wait to get rid of us. And yeah, maybe we just had bad luck and the waitress was having a horrible day or whatever … but that’s no excuse. When she is working, she is representing the restaurant. So instead of leaving the restaurant feeling happy and positive with my dining experience, I left feeling slightly mortified, angry, and confused.
Tour of Toronto
A friend I met on Twitter (@jasontsang) took me on an amazing tour of Toronto one morning. If you’re in the GTA and not already following him on Twitter, I’d strongly suggest you start. Super helpful, friendly, and knows the city like the back of his hand. I got to see places I had never seen (or even known about), and it really made me appreciate Toronto that much more. I really like the vibe that Toronto has, the architecture is amazing, and if it weren’t for the fact that the weather here is crazy (too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter), or that it’s so far away from family, I’d really strongly consider moving here in the future.
46 Responses to “Goodbye Toronto, hello NYC!”
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Glad you had a great time in our little city! I've been to MoRoCo too, just for the dessert, and I wasn't overly enthused with the quality or quantity of the food, especially for the cost. They do have these amazing super soft blankets inside that are great during the winter, though. Too bad the poor service spoiled your experience.
Krystal,
You really need to write to the manager of the restaurant. They have a "contact us" link on their webpage so you need to "contact" them and let them know your experience. Name your server and the date and time that you were there (when you have all those details it's hard not to take you seriously).
I have done this before – managers need to know why their business is dropping off. I also always send praise when I've had exceptional service.
Good idea Pamela. I will do that for sure. I'm also interested in how they react to reading this blog post, and hearing the negative review via Twitter.
I agree that you need to tell a manager. Call them. A lot of restaurants don't handle their own social media and/or aren't very good with it and they will miss your negative comment! Having worked in the restaurant industry for nearly a decade, it sounds like your server's shift was over and she wanted to leave and couldn't without getting your check to run her reports. It's not acceptable at all, I'm just telling you my theory. I hated it when co-workers did that.
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Seriously, WTF. I live in the Toronto area, and that's one restaurant that I won't be going to.
I'm glad you are having fun.
On one hand, I sympathize with waitresses annoyed by people "camping" at their table, but she has no right to be rude. In certain types of establishments, it should be expected. She is way out of line!!!
Hope NYC is just as fun!
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I hope you enjoy NYC!! Weatherwise, it will be up to 80 degrees but we are expecting rain/thunderstorms for the next few days.
It's funny that you say that about Toronto weather. I recently visited Vancouver for the first time, and the dealbreaker for me was that the weathe was rainy all the time. Also, many Torontonians take a sort of pride and pleasure in having all four distinct seasons, which includes the quite hot and the quite cold.
You know, I get that a lot too. I have a friend from Toronto who moved out to west for a few years, and he couldn't take the gloomy, rainy weather. I guess you're just comfortable and used to what you know. After living in Michigan for a few years during University, I knew that I couldn't take the hot and cold seasons. Plus the humidity!? Oh my word!
That is really embarrassing abt the restaurant experience in Yorkville but I can't say I am surprised (as a GTA'er). That village in Toronto is outrageously snobbish. I was there Saturday night to have a drink with my friends at Amber and it was out of control. I basically hate that entire village as people in Yorkville think they are better than everyone else in Toronto. Glad to hear the rest of your visit in the city was good though. Toronto is actually very amazing.
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That's what I've heard, that Yorkville is ridiculously snobby. As a visitor of Toronto who doesn't know what areas are more upscale than others, I am just so extremely disappointed in the way I was treated. I feel like everybody should be treated equally. Sure, I might not dress very upscale, but I wouldn't be dining at a place like that if I couldn't afford to. Oh well. I will just make sure to never go there again.
Hope you get to meet Pat Hentgen! We should go down to a Mariner's game when the Jays are in town.
You should definitely move to Toronto!!!! Yes yes yes!!!
Unfortunately Yorkville is the watering hole for the well-to-do, but in some ways that makes it fun to visit. That's a shame about the service, but there are SO many marvelous places to wine and dine here in the city that the positive experiences generally outweigh the negative.
I will DEFINITELY catch you next time you're hear … we have some planning to do!
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Hey! hopefully you didn't get caught in the storm yesterday. Great post!
I've been to MoRoCo too and it's a bit over-rated, but its in Yorkville, so it's a bit expected. It's never full either, in the two times I've been there. And yes you should complain — did you remember the server's name?? lol.
Anyway, hope that didn't turn you off too much about Toronto — it's really great here, I've lived here for most of my life, and I've not seen all the great things it has to offer.
The 18.5% gratuity would have put me over the edge. I would have asked to speak to a manager before I paid any portion of the bill. Morocco will definitely see a hit in potential customers because of this post. I don't even think it's about being rude… it's about doing your job. The rest of us would never get away with the equivalent at our jobs.
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Hey! I am from Toronto and was happy to read your post about MoRoCo (never heard of the place before). I was totally planning to visit while reading your good review…until your note about the service. Thanks for saving me time. I won't be visiting MoRoCo now. :)
Hope you enjoy New York. Was there recently and LOVED it! Things may be a little pricey, but the food and service was amazing at:
Bistro Milano (http://www.bistromilanonyc.com)
The Russian Tea Room (http://www.russiantearoomnyc.com/subindex.php?p=home)
Serendipity – watch out for long lineups though!
Don't be shy about voicing a complaint with an 18% automatic gratuity – especially if it's not shown on the menu beforehand.
I don't know when tipping became an obligation, but it really isn't! Especially when you're dropping that kind of coin with horrible service – tips are for those who deserve them and earn them by going above and beyond.
Dear Ginger, Krystal & Asian Pear,
I am writing letter to you all to make a formal apology for your experiences last Saturday May 21st on the Patio. I have investigated this situation in-depth. Your Arrival time to our Patio was at 7:50 pm in the evening. Your billing time was clocked at 8:50 pm. The lady that was serving you that night has been terminated for her action and bad service and bad communications to all three of you that evening. I have read both your blogs and see discrepancies in both of your stories making Moroco Chocolat look bad.
I feel it wasn’t necessary to go as far as both of your blogs did. I am the General Manager of the establishment and I am on site a good 95% of the time ( as I was that evening) and I handle all customer complaints on site and make sure they are dealt with immediately doing Moroco Chocolat’s best to keeping the customer happy and having a good experience. At no point did anyone ask to speak with me from your table
“I am writing letter to you all to make a formal apology for your experiences last Saturday May 21st on the Patio.”
Only if you ended your comment there.
“I feel it wasn’t necessary to go as far as both of your blogs did. I am the General Manager of the establishment and I am on site a good 95% of the time ( as I was that evening) and I handle all customer complaints on site and make sure they are dealt with immediately doing Moroco Chocolat’s best to keeping the customer happy and having a good experience. At no point did anyone ask to speak with me from your table”
So one has to ask to speak to the manager to be happy and have a good experience? That is not how it works pal. This is a public blog and Krystal has EVERY right to voice her opinions. Are you new at managing restaurants? Do you not know that in your industry very few people will tell you how crappy your staff, service and food is? NO! They will tell all of their friends and never go back.
“Moroco is a restaurant, lounge, boutique, and patio. This concept was not easily created but easy to misconstrue.”
Sounds like Moroco’s concept should have been easily created and hard to misconstrue. I would think you would have more business and less headaches.
“Unfortunately it is not my battle that I have an overhead to cover but it is my battle that I have a Restaurant to operate.”
Sir, it is your battle indeed. You operate the restaurant to make profit to cover your overhead. You are not operating a business out of the kindness of your own heart. Let me further more state that I will NEVER EVER spend a penny at your business. Not that it has anything to do with Krystal, but knowing that you are not in the business of serving your customers. If your policies are that damn confusing which, in turn, provide a lousy experience for your customer, change them. Don’t make excuses for them.
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According to your bill, you ordered 2 frozen hot chocolates, 1 sip and 3 macarons. Your bill was approximately $40.00. You (Krystal) stated in your blog(s) that you had “plates” of dessert removed, and in Ginger’s blog it was stated that you had beverages and macarons. It clearly states on our menu that with no dinner or meals during priority peak times that there is a 30 minute table time. This is a policy not a law written in stone. If you had not ordered food and the restaurant did not have your table reserved for dinner after you, an exception or understanding would have been present.
In both of your blogs you referred to us as a “lounge” where people are supposed to eat and drink. Moroco is a restaurant, lounge, boutique, and patio. This concept was not easily created but easy to misconstrue. Moroco has spent years educating people that we are not a Dimitri’s or high end Starbucks. Being in one of the most expensive areas in Toronto, costs of consumer products will definitely be higher than eating on Sherbourne Ave. Unfortunately it is not my battle that I have an overhead to cover but it is my battle that I have a Restaurant to operate.
Ginger, in your blog I can see that you have copy and pasted a no longer served menu to your blog, the current menu clearly states that “all patio bills will have an automatic 18.5% gratuity” which is standard in this day and time, what you don’t realize is most people as your self and your fellow bloggers think that 15% gratuity is the standard.
I hope this will educate you clearly on what is a normal gratuity and what it costs for service and operations of all establishments and all restaurants in the present time.
As for your comment of being in the “lounge”, you were seated on the patio which has different policies and rules than the lounge. As for the Lounge, we serve full dinners as we are a restaurant where people come to eat, have wonderful interactive desserts, and drink. We can not survive on average checks of $13.00 per person (which is the breakdown of your experience at Moroco), no restaurant can. We have created rules and policies to better serve our clients but to also protect the restaurant in the matter to keep operating.
I hope you do not have the wrong impression of Moroco Chocolat and this situation has been dealt with, I have spoken to all my service staff about the incident and it has been made evident that no other server would have approached or handled you experience the way that server handled it. This is what made me make the decision I did to ensure the feelings you felt would not portray again.
In conclusion, I understand and pass on to my staff that communication from themselves and the client is the upmost important. Please keep in mind that as a customer you have the right to make a complaint at the time of incident not to hide behind words on a blog. Moroco Chocolat is constantly learning, growing and evolving. I welcome all constructive criticism to better our establishment for no one or no company is perfect and if we do not know we can not act.
It was a pleasure speaking to all of you and if you do decide to come back to Moroco Chocolat I would love to meet all of you a drink some chocolate.
Kindest Regards,
Pedro Flynn
General Manager
The wrong impression? Well after reading your comments I know I’ll never be going there to eat!
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What a bunch of morons at Morocco!! After reading your post, I decided not to go there… but after reading that manager’s replies I’m absolutely positively sure That I’m not going there.
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WOW, from the General Managers comments above there is NO WAY I would ever go here! WHAT AN A## !!!
Wow the manager is rude and downright insulting I can see where the staff might get this attitude I have been there before and the experience was ok but never again will I visit
Wow. I just reread this article from your link, this manager is WAY out of line. It is a knee-jerk reaction to a bad review…I’d love to see his letter to the Star or Now if they gave a poor review. It is also knee-jerk to fire his server. Why on earth would he fire her, then give a HUGE written statement justifying her actions, while attempting to tear apart your criticisms?
Bad review of the service aside, I was still planning on eventually trying out this restaurant. Absolutely no way am I going to go now. I don’t want to go to a place where the manager refuses to apologize, fires his staff based on poor reviews, and then belittles the reviewer publicly by posting details of the bill and remarking that it was too small for the restaurant to survive on.
What a stuck-up, snobbish JERK. Maybe instead of firing the servers, they should fire the General Manager, for inspiring poor service with his nasty manners.
P.S. Indescrepancies? Seriously? You wanna attack them for “misconstruing” a lounge?
This guy got me riled up!
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Exactly. It’s one thing to acknowledge the complaints (which are valid!), but to fire the server, belittle me on my blog, and basically tell me that the customer was wrong? I will never, ever go there again, and I make it a point to tell everyone who is even thinking of going to there, not to bother.
Glad you linked to this, Krystal. It is noteworthy in its level of absurdity. It’s like this guy is from a weird alternate reality. It might be funny if it wasn’t real. As it is, shaking my head in disgust seems like too little a gesture but I’m at a loss about what else I might be able to do.
Hilarious. The manager should have stopped writing after the first sentence of his first post
“I am writing letter to you all to make a formal apology for your experiences last Saturday May 21st on the Patio.”
That’s the only part he got right. :)
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WOW it looks like Moroco needs someone to handle their PR…someone that is NOT that general manager. I’m sorry but referencing your tab and insinuating that you weren’t spending enough? You have the right to go to a restaurant (pricey or not) and spend as much as you want. I’m a server and rely on tips but if someone wants to come in, drink a pepsi and hang out for hours with free refills (it does happen from time to time), it may not be ideal for me but I am just as kind and patient as I would be to someone with a large tab. I’m just not sure what angle he’s taking – antagonizing the waitress, then you?
Bad service is a major pet peeve – the other day I was waiting to order dessert (I was with my 9 year old cousin who gets a free dessert with her meal and I usually get dessert as well to eat with her) and when the waiter finally arrived, he goes ‘just the bill for you guys?’ Even something this small seriously ticked me off so I can imagine how irritated I would be if I were in your position! I’ve been to Moroco – seriously overpriced for mediocre food and I definitely won’t be returning now.
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I am just in awe at the manager’s response here. I have no idea how they expect to create a good customer experience with all of those crazy policies – especially when they change depending on which of the 4 restaurants areas you happen to be seated in. What a joke!
Even if he was right about some of the minor discrepancies, who cares? This guy obviously doesn’t know how to deal with customers. I wonder what would have happened had you requested to speak with him the night that you were there. That would have been an interesting story as well!
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What irritates the hell out of me is the GM’s comment that 18.5% is a standard tip in this day and age, and they have the right to just take it from us. What ever happened to servers EARNING their tips? If i get great service then I give a generous tip, but if i get crappy service then i have the right to leave no tip at all. I have gone to restaurants where they try to tack on an automatic tip after giving awful service and i verbally bitch-slapped the manager for it and refused to pay it.
I totally agree. Tips should be given at the customer’s discretion. I can understand a standard tip for large parties, but for smaller parties (we were just 3 people), I want to be able to decide how much I give. If it’s crappy service, I should be able to leave nothing if I believe they deserved nothing. While tips are common practice, they still have to be earned and cannot be expected. Especially if you’re lousy at your job.
Thanks for sharing your experience Krystal! I live in Ottawa, with most of my family located in the Toronto area. My sister in law lives in Liberty Village and patronizes the Yorkville area regularly. After reading your experience, but more importantly, reading the unprofessional remarks of the elitest manager, I will NEVER spend money at this establishment when visiting the city- and will ensure that my sister in law and her entire social circle follow suit. This louge/boutique/cafe may have worked hard to ensure they are seen outside of the coffee shop genre but their customer relations and PR skills mirror a bush-league truck stop.
Wow! The general manager’s response to your post was wildly inappropriate and just plain awful for business. I’m a social media strategist and this is one of the worst cases of online customer relationship management I’ve ever seen!
While sometimes service is a toss-up, after reading your post I still would have given MoRoCo a chance, but after seeing the GM’s response, absolutely not!
I’m originally from the Toronto area and visit Yorkdale whenever I’m in town. hadn’t heard of MoRoCo, I will make sure I never visit and will direct my friends in Yorkdale to avoid it as well!
Just. Wow.
I just read this post with interest as I my husband and I visited MoRoCo for our anniversary this summer. We decided that it was highly overrated on all counts. The food was interesting conceptually (we had brunch) and the sipping chocolate was good, but the overall atmosphere was disappointing (and cold to say the least…somewhat like our food).
For example, I happen to have a severe nut allergy, which I informed the server about (she was friendly at least). She took the order (which did not directly contain nuts) but came back a few minutes later to inform me that the kitchen “refused” to serve me. That’s it. No compromise or explanation. A little harsh no? I eat out a lot and am very informed about the ingredients in food, which I would expect a high end restaurant to be as well.
Long story short, after a bit of begging, they allow me to order select items. I didn’t die. But, I would not go back, nor, after reading the manager’s perspective on the role of the customer, would I ever recommend this place. And by the way, there are excellent restaurants in the same location that do not treat their customers this way…
This is simply ridiculous. Do you think they would have kicked Mark Wahlberg (a Yorkville resident) off their patio? Hells no! Treat every customer like Mark Wahlberg. First off, you never know how much power the customer has (in this case, a lot of Klout), and, second, no matter who it is, word will get around eventually.
Wow! The GM is not someone who should be in a business that deals with customers as he has no concept on how to treat them. I’m from Toronto and I have to say that I’m truly sorry that your experience was tarnished because of that ignorant individual. A part of me would love it if you sent the GM’s letter to the Toronto Star just so that more people would see how sill he is but another part of me thinks that if you did that there is a possibility that it could make things even uglier and who wants that? Krystal I hope that you will give Toronto another chance. :)
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LOL! I cannot’ believe this guy’s response. What an unprofessional snob!
I always get a kick out of establishments who seek to “educate” their clientele- thanks buddy but I understand the concept of a restaurant as well as the concept of customer service, unfortunately the same can’t be said for the GM!
Needless to say, I’ll never set foot in Moroco.
Sounds like the kind of unpleasant experience that can spoil a nice day. I assume someone did check that the responses above really are from the actual general manager of the restaurant? Just so hard to believe.
Well I didn’t call into verify that it was from the GM, but I didn’t blog about the details that he’s writing about (what we ordered, the time we spent there, etc), so the only way he’d actually know is if he looked at our receipt.
@Krystal Yee:
I only mentioned it because no-one else did and I did find myself wondering is perhaps a disgruntled ex-waitress might have been trolling a bit. Not likely. But not impossible either. :)
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Funny, I was going to take my chocolate fiend husband to MoRoCo for our anniversary next weekend. Had I only read your entry, I would have assumed that you had a one-off bad experience. After reading the GM’s comments, I’m going to Soma instead! How obnoxious. If you have difficulties “educating” about your concept, it doesn’t work. An 18.5% automatic gratuity is not “standard”, and after his subsequent statement about the costs of operating a restaurant, I’m concerned it’s going into management’s pockets, and not the servers’!
Oh, I *love* Soma! A friend took me there the last time I was in Toronto, and it was awesome. Chocolate was great, atmosphere lovely (beautiful part of town, but I’m sure you already know that), and the customer service was superb. Much, much better than MoRoCo IMO. :)
[...] A MoRoCo update: Ginger called and spoke to the General Manager of the restaurant earlier this week about our dining experience, but so far, nothing has been done. We haven’t received even an apology. So disappointed. [...]