Mark R.
Yelp
Three days ago my family and I attempted to go to Camp Outpost. It was crowded (Thanksgiving week) but they have lots of outdoor seating. We were looking forward to the meal because the food here is excellent. However, we were told that they did not have propane for the heaters on their patio. The wait for inside seating would be long. So we left, disappointed. I wondered how the management could make such a mistake about the propane. Poor service and losing lots of business!
Yesterday we tried again. This time we were able to sit inside. An encouraging start. But then the host informed us that they were out of meat for burgers, several salad items, anything that required compressed air (soda, beer), and several other things. I was bugged. What is wrong with the management here? I thought. I'm going to update my review (previously 4-star). This is going to be a rare 2-star review because of such poor management and service.
But my negativity soon evaporated. A man named Trent was taking our orders. He was appropriately apologetic about what they were not able to do for us. He got our orders and we were quickly seated. Trent and his staff brought us our drinks right away and then our food. I was impressed with their attentiveness. The food was predictably excellent, as expected. But the service was over the top.
Near the end of our meal, Trent came to our table and apologized once again for what they had run out of. He thanked us for our business. And then offered our whole party complimentary desserts. They were, as I expected, extremely tasty.
At this point my earlier disappointment with Camp Outpost had disappeared. In it's place was gratitude for the outstanding service we received from Trent and his colleagues. We went from "We're never coming here again" to "We can't wait until our next visit."
I know this is a rather odd Yelp review. But I wanted to tell a story of how someone like Trent can make a difference. Excellent service and outstanding care of customers can turn a not-so-great experience into a great one. Thank you, Trent, and your team for giving us such a fine evening.
I'm sticking with my 4-star review. Trent and his team get a 5-plus for service. The food is a 5. Still some issues to be solved at Camp Outpost, but this is one of the best restaurants in Springdale.