What's up with Wild Olive's?

[ILUV2H2OSKI]

Agree that things could be a bit better

Wondering how others are enjoying Wild Olives recently? Have to say we've been disappointed in recent weeks. Not the same experience as last summer/fall. Seems to have slacked somehow. Food slower, no visible manager, staff seems a liitle scattered. Used to really enjoy it, needs a little fine tuning. Maybe even just a floor manager? [/quote


I thought the same thing last year on the way out. No big deal but 4 of us spent $80 bucks for lunch and it was not up to par. The service was juvenile and it took over an hour to be served. There are so many great places on 30A. I will still give Olives another shot but someone needs to step it up a notch in management. The food is good and the space is great.....maybe some fine tuning would do the trick.

BTW - Stinkys was incredible tonight and Pizza Bar was awesome last night!

 

[Kurt]

I agree with the above post. If you had a bad experience you should have every right to post it just like you would a great experience. You should not have to apologize for having a bad experience. When you open a business you put yourself out there for critisicm as mush as praise. You take the good with the bad. I work my behind off in the food industry to put out a stellar product knowing that if I have an off day it could be published on any blog or foodie site Chowhound, Yelp etc. When you are a proffesional and you charge for your services you are subject to fair critiscm. I have no beef with Wild Olives in this post as I have always had good experiences. I just notice that when people post fair complaints about local restaurants folks tend to jump all over them for doing so.

We have spent January in Seagrove for the last 12 years.

We actively use local restaurants while we are here.

Our group finds that many of the restaurant reviews on this site to be highly biased and not a reflection of actual quality.

The sentiment on the website seems to be "If it is local it is great...no matter what" and if you aren't impressed you are evil!!

A good business constantly reviews its performance and customer expectations. It listens to customer opinions.

Most of us come from communities that have restaurants equal or superior to SOWAL venues.

Defending subpar local establishments helps no one.

Seems about half say this site is too positive and half say it is too negative. Sounds about right. We will be adding professional reviews, photos, videos etc. in a format that will be more user friendly. It will allow star ratings and reader comments and reviews that will "stick" with the establishment's main page. I look forward to a lot of participation both positive and negative.

If you read our forum rules you'll see we do tend to err on the side of caution and hope to help local businesses. No one should be surprised if locals are a little protective of their neighbors' businesses but our site will not be a "cheerleader" site where everything is rosy. I would find that of little more value than a phone book, and annoying.

 

[Minnie]

I was going to avoid saying anything about my most recent trip in March to Wild Olives for two reasons.

One my daughter is a manager in the restaurant business in Mississippi and I know how hard it is, I know how having one person not show up for work, deliveries not make to the restaurant on time, etc. can really make a difference in a customer's visit on a given day and it not be a true reflection of the usual level of service.

That said, I think I know what Seasheller was trying to say is that, to us that have really enjoyed dining at Wild Olives many times, that recently there has been a noticable decline in previous quality and service.

Does this mean it was horrible, no it does not. Which is another reason I did not mention my experience there recently. I am willing to allow any restuarant to have a bad day.

But I will say that based on many previous visits the quality of the food and the service was not up to the standard they had set previously.

Someone that had not dined there previously probably might not even notice the difference, others, myself included did.

And I have been very vocal about this restaurant being a favorite. On any visit it would be one place I would visit daily.

I think their tuna salad is the best I had ever eaten. It was unique. On my last visit I would compare it to almost every tuna salad I have ever eaten even at chain Deli restuarants, ok but not unique. It did not taste at all similar to what I had gotten there last summer as if the recipe had changed.

Service was the worst I had ever had at a restaurant that previously had given me excellent service. Our server was at best slow, got our order wrong, I mean a tuna sandwich, fries and water is not that difficult and then basically ignored us, even to the point of me having to go find the server to ask for water and our check. This is something I had never experienced there.

And Yes I emailed them to let them know about my experience rather than post a review here.

Hopefully they will made some adjustments and bring back the Wild Olives we loved.

 

[Mermaid]

Jfunn told me on Tuesday night that she was just there and the sandwiches were fantastic and the french fries delicious!

We are partial to the Dagwood sandwich. When we go for lunch we split the Dagwood and we always get two separate plates and the fries are divided evenly so my husband and I don't have to fight over food. I think it's a thoughtful touch. Some restaurants, when told a couple wants to split their lunch, will only go so far as serving the one plate with the sandwich cut in half. The service at Wild Olives is cheerful and accomodating and I've never found it otherwise.

 

[BeachbumAggie]

We ate at Wild Olives for the 1st time a couple of weeks ago.

The burger smelled great when we walked in but I didn't think it tasted nearly as good as it smelled. Hubby's french dip was better but wasn't something that I'd return for. Service was pretty good; we were there mid-afternoon and there was no crowd or long wait.

I do think their menu looks really good and we'll give it another try next trip.

 

[jodiFL]

I agree that if you have a problem, by all means post it. I have seen many "bad days" compensated for here on SOWAL. But I also feel that the first post might have been a polite way of saying "this place su****" the day I went. Maybe you should be a little more direct next time Seasheller. It seems that if you are too harsh you get scolded, if you are polite about something...you get scolded for being too vaque. I also agree that if you put yourself out there, you better be able to take the good with the bad.

 

[conched out]

I agree that if you have a problem, by all means post it. I have seen many "bad days" compensated for here on SOWAL. But I also feel that the first post might have been a polite way of saying "this place su****" the day I went. Maybe you should be a little more direct next time Seasheller. It seems that if you are too harsh you get scolded, if you are polite about something...you get scolded for being too vaque. I also agree that if you put yourself out there, you better be able to take the good with the bad.

Yeah jodiFL...this food/dining forum is a tough place to post. We own here (don't rent to others) and are here alot "vacationing" from an otherwise pretty hectic lifestyle. That last thing I want to see is any restaurant in this locale fail for mostly selfish reasons....love eating out and want to see this area thrive. Think there's a little conflict of interest on the part of SoWal.com and their wanting to keep things more or less positive in the dining forum. I understand there has to be some boundaries but am really confused about what they are so think I will just stop posting here and enjoy the other forums. I also find the whole "we locals are a little protective" alienating to those of us who live here part time. I love it here and want Wild Olives to be here forever. From now on, will do as Minnie suggested and email a restaurant with my concerns if they are in the "disparaging" category.
Just for the record, the restaurants are mostly great here and our big decision of the day is "Where are we going to eat tonight?" Thanks for your input jodiFL.

 

[Kurt]

Yeah jodiFL...this food/dining forum is a tough place to post. We own here (don't rent to others) and are here alot "vacationing" from an otherwise pretty hectic lifestyle. That last thing I want to see is any restaurant in this locale fail for mostly selfish reasons....love eating out and want to see this area thrive. Think there's a little conflict of interest on the part of SoWal.com and their wanting to keep things more or less positive in the dining forum. I understand there has to be some boundaries but am really confused about what they are so think I will just stop posting here and enjoy the other forums. I also find the whole "we locals are a little protective" alienating to those of us who live here part time. I love it here and want Wild Olives to be here forever. From now on, will do as Minnie suggested and email a restaurant with my concerns if they are in the "disparaging" category.
Just for the record, the restaurants are mostly great here and our big decision of the day is "Where are we going to eat tonight?" Thanks for your input jodiFL.

The only conflict SoWal.com has is restraining ourselves from banning members who call us Nazis for asking them to be more specific.

I ate at Wild Olives yesterday for the first time since they expanded. The food and service were very good. It is a friendly place and has a family-run feel to it. I have always appreciated their attention to detail. It was a great move for them to expand. The inside space is very comfortable and light and cheery. I love sidewalk cafes and so glad Rosemary Beach has such a good one. SoWal has quite a few now and I am thankful for that. They also have excellent baked goods.

We were there after the peak lunch crowd and although most of the tables were full and it was Father's Day, the wait time was normal. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Wild Olives.

 

[A_South_Waltoner]

Wild Olives is one of my favorite spots to go after a long day at the office to grab a glass of wine and some nibbles with my better half during the shoulder seasons. I LOVE to see them so busy during the season and patiently wait until things slow down to be able to find a table outside so I don't feel like I have to hustle to let them turn the table (I totally understand the need to do that when it's busy). Chris is such a nice guy and I always enjoy visiting with him.

 

[NoHall]

If you read our forum rules you'll see we do tend to err on the side of caution and hope to help local businesses. No one should be surprised if locals are a little protective of their neighbors' businesses but our site will not be a "cheerleader" site where everything is rosy. I would find that of little more value than a phone book, and annoying.

Don't hate the cheerleaders. :angry: (I love cheerleader drinks! Do they serve them at Wild Olives? )