Bad Management

I am a big booster for all the businesses on the Drive. I rarely shop outside the neighbourhood and I am pleased to recommend local stores to anyone who asks. So when things go wrong, I am both upset and disappointed.

On Thursday I had a book signing event which I chose to hold at Zawa’s Restaurant. There is a sign in the window that says, due to covid-related limits on occupancy, drinks (such as coffee or beer) will only be served with the purchase of food. Several of the people who came by stayed for a while and had full meals and drinks. I would guess that a few hundred dollars was spent.

Today, I met with three others at Zawa’s for them to collect their books. Each of the four of us ordered breakfast dishes. While we waiting for the food to arrive, the owner approached us and said sternly that we couldn’t have a meeting there without buying food. He was rude about it and obviously had not checked with his server before coming over. Just as he finished berating us, the waitress brought our food. The owner slunk away without an apology and kept watching us with an unhappy face for the rest of the time we were there as if we were doing something wrong.

For various reasons, I have been in Zawa’s three times this week. I will never go back. There are too many other pleasant places on the Drive where customers get treated with respect and courtesy. I hate to knock a local business, but bad service is bad service wherever it takes place.