Dear Mr. Martin,
Now they get it.
Steve Martin 101
My name is Shelley Yates and I am a huge fan of your work. (I have
watched all of your movies and read many of your books.) I live in Pensacola, Florida, where recently you spent some time. In fact, I work at the Fish House where you and your family attempted to visit. The hostess did not recognize you and told you that it would be 45 minutes for a table, so you left. Understandably.
I was not at work on the evening that you came by, but I understand that the hostess was told, “You just turned away Steve Martin,” to which she replied, “I have no idea who that is.”
I feel that you are probably the type of guy who wouldn’t want special treatment even though you’re a famous author, actor, comedian, and musician. That you weren’t given a table immediately because you are such a huge star isn’t the issue here. What alarms me is what the hostess said. To me, not knowing you or your work is unforgivable.
I apologize for this. I wanted to fire her. However, ignorance is another way to say opportunity, so I took it upon myself to educate all of the hostesses about you and your collective body of work. We started out with a Steve Martin fact sheet with your photograph and some career highlights. (See photo.) Then we played your hit song, “King Tut,” and made the hostesses dance like Egyptians. (See photo.) Next, we made each hostess watch a YouTube clip of your SNL skit with Mr. Dan Aykroyd and say, “I’m a wild and crazy guy.”
For certain, at this point, I feel secure in the fact that each hostess knows who you are and, should you attempt to visit the Fish House again, will eagerly find you a table as quickly as possible.
Have a nice day.
Shelley Yates
Tags: local restaurants, Pensacola, Steve Martin
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I am in ahh!!!
Nice pick up in the Pensacola News Journal.
Thanks John! Thanks for visiting our blog. Have a great Day!
I hope the “I wanted to fire her” was sarcasm. Just because a hostess doesn’t recognize a celebrity that you might have, doesn’t mean she should be fired. How many of you really recognize celebrities that may pass through Pensacola? I doubt many.
I do, however, find the humor in the rest of their new “training.”
Now to only do that for the other 5,000+ celebrities that may or may not show up.
Awesome post! You have a great blog, absolutely the best Ive read so far. I will be looking forward to your next entry. Thanks again.
Dear Another Manager, I was totally kidding! I was just making a comment that she didn’t recognize him as an entertainer was unbelievable– whether or not he waited for a table — was beside the point. As I wrote above, I think he is a great artist and I think everyone should know him as an entertainer. Thanks for reading my blog post! We had a whole lot of fun putting it together. Have a great day!
Dear Another Manager,
Surely you could read the humor in there. Geez!
Incidentally, there’s probably no need to educate the employees on 5,000+ celebrities, just the ones that are likely to come to Pensacola. Steve Martin would be at the top of that list since he’s married to a Pensacola lady. I am amazed the server didn’t know who he was, but then I’m an old fart.
Shelley I hope you’ve also educated them on all the local professional athletes and Jimmy Buffett. You never know when they might drop in.
Thanks Jack! We strive for all of our employees to welcome our guests in a warm and friendly way. We are truly grateful that folks take the time to come and visit with us. Thank you for writing on our blog! Have a great day!!
Hi, I applaud your blog for informing people, very interesting article, keep up it coming
Thanks Jewelry!
Wherever did you find the info? I tried to get some much more details about it, but I wasn’t able to.
I wrote the letter Nagelstudio, the Steve Martin info is everywhere on the web. He even has a website: http://www.stevemartin.com/
Thanks for commenting on our wall!
Discusting!! You MADE the hostesses…. blah blah… If you want to be a better place, stop hiring the little girls in their own clique! I love the chef’s but won’t go to atlas or fish house any more because of the treatment upon arrival. I’ve been in Gulf Breeze since 81 and my wife has been here all her life and we won’t go there. Try the laid backness of the beach or the class of Jackson’s. Fish house and Atlas used to be very classy, but something has gone the wrong way.
Dear Andy.
Thanks for replying to our blog. I am so sorry to hear that you aren’t pleased with the way you have been treated when you and your wife have visited us in the past. We will discuss your comments with the management and staff and work hard to do a better job.
The intent of my writing this letter to Steve Martin, was to in fact, teach the hostesses to lighten up and have fun. We had a lot of fun putting this together. Because the truth is that everyone at some point or another is guilty of becoming complacent in their jobs and every once in a while the people who notice this must step in and bring back the joy and enthusiasm that makes jobs worth working. I too feel, that many youth of today seem to see things differently than I did at their age. I don’t know exactly what has caused this trend but it is my goal and the goal of the other managers to hire enthusiastic, friendly people who are excited to come to work and grateful for the opportunity to have a job.
I appreciate your taking the time to let us know how you feel. We have been working with the hostesses and I believe we have some really sweet girls that genuinely enjoy what they do. I would love to invite you and your wife to come and visit us again. I too have lived here in Pensacola all of my life and I can honestly say, that I am proud to work at the Fish House and feel that the employees are a group of individuals committed to providing an excellent experience to all guests who honor us with their visit. Please email or call me at shelley@goodgrits.com, (850) 748-9001 so I can contact you about your return visit.
Thank you again for your time and your feedback. Feedback like yours is really valuable to us and helps us become a better restaurant.
We are glad that you like Jackson’s, our sister restaurant. I ate there last night for Valentine’s to watch the parade. It was really delicious! I agree that it is a very special place.
Have a wonderful weekend. Shelley
Just ask for Jessica for your server. She is the best! My two brothers and I booked the private room at the Fish House to celebrate our parents 70 & 75th birthdays with friends and family. It was a wonderful day. Everyone was so warm and helpful. The food was delicious, and beautifully plated like pieces of art. They were very accommodating, compared to other excellent restaurants in Pçola. We were more than pleased with our experience. Some of our guests had never been to the Fish House and were very pleasantly surprised! Great place!!
Thanks Marci! We have a new “reviews” section on our facebook page! We’d love for you to share your experience there. We are so happy you were pleased! We will make sure to tell Jessica about this. We think she is great too. Take care!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pensacola-FL/The-Pensacola-Fish-House/57448462537?v=app_6261817190&ref=ts
Dear Shelley: Like you I am a fan of Steve Martin & was amazed that your hostess, even tho young, didn’t know him. Your open letter to him is quite is amusing & an upbeat way to deal with what happened. I only wish he would have gone into character such as from “Roxanne”:
“And I was just thinking: as much as I really admire your shoes, and as much as I’d love to have a pair just like them, I really wouldn’t want to be *in* your shoes at this particular time and place.” That would have been a hoot & surely would’ve drawn out one of the customers to say something!
But then again, on his off time probably the last thing he wants to do is draw attention to himself!
My husband & I are big fans of The Fish House & were in attendance at the luncheon written about by Marci. Everyone had nothing but good to say about the food & in fact raved about it. We were there too for Valentine’s Day & altho we arrived early so wouldn’t have a very long wait, we had an unfortunate incidence w/ a beeper that didn’t work, so we waited an hour. However, once my husband checked into what was going on, they figured out what had happened & we were pretty much immediately seated & treated very graciously. So, make sure they check the beepers before giving them to your patrons!!
Hey Peggy! I am so sorry to hear that the pager goofed up and you had to wait such a long time. I am sure that was very frustrating. I will make sure I send a copy of this to the managers today so that they will know to really go through the pagers and check them out better.
Yes, the mind goes wild with the possibilities of Steve Martin entertaining us. He could have said, “Well, Excuuuuse me!” which I would have loved. I know that he is a very private man and certainly, when he comes back to the fish house we will respect that. But secretly, keeping it to ourselves, we will be playing all the scenarios over and over in our heads.
Thank you for writing on our blog. We are glad to know that you are fans of what we do. Please ask for me when you come in next time. I’d love to meet you and say hi!
Have a great day.
Shelley
Great job Shelley! if the young generation could only share our years of wisdom and we could share their energy!