I landed one of these shops. Frankly, the prices rile me to the point I hardly enjoy myself, even if reimbursed. Nonetheless, it's been a long while since they were shopped here. A sign of what, I wonder.

I have not seen them reappear in my area. We are still too economically recessed/depressed for restaurants to be doing much yet. I do, however, expect to see some handful of shops in Oct/Nov as restaurants prepare for 'season' to make sure staff is up to muster.

And shoppers can tell about service so much better than managers and other corporate folks. Last evening we did a dinner shop where a server who did well by us on a former visit has been promote to manager. She had two painfully new servers working and the Regional Manager breathing down her neck. The servers and the manager both had deer-in-the-headlights eyes with tight smiles and could hardly speak without tripping over their tongues. A simple tableside explanation got our server so disoriented she left the table, came back in a minute with a second of the item to be explained and started all over. For some reason, one of the sauces had been removed from all tables (container washing?). Our server arrived at the table and started, "Are you familiar with our sauces?" She spotted one was missing and said, as she headed for the kitchen, "Just a minute!" The manager promptly emerged from the kitchen with a tray full of the sauce containers and started restocking tables with our table. As soon as the manager had cleared the table, our server returned asking sweetly, "Are you familiar with our sauces?" The Regional Manager made his appearance several times, including once to hurry over to our table where Ranch dressing had been provided instead of Blue Cheese. I was not a big deal, we had just mentioned it to our server and she quickly replaced the sauce. Regional Manager wanted us to know it was his fault because he had put the dish together with the wrong sauce to send out. Graciously he assured us the Ranch would be comped. Comped?? Would you ever charge for an error???? It was just too funny.

Shoppers, on the other hand, are not threatening as long as you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. You can't do a deer-in-the-headlights with every customer for fear they are the shopper and survive long.

We got them here in the summer, but I did not get it. I was totally bummed. We love that place. LOVE that place. The prices don't bother me, I know what it costs, I know what the comparables cost, and that is true for here as well as cities in CA, AZ, and MD (as I have been a RC fan for a LOOOOONG time.)

If you go during the 5-6 pm time frame, they have a really nice deal with full sized servings. You can choose a salad (of two), a veggie (of several) the entree, including the petite fillet (which is my personal fav) and a choice of a couple of desserts (the desserts are downsized, but by then I can't eat any more anyway.) Here that costs $39 a person; the petite fillet alone costs something like $30, so this is a good value if you love the food. If you don't, well, it is no bargain. :-)

What is Ruth's Chris? I've never heard of it.

A high end steak house.

The best heart attack money can buy....I can smell the buttered filet on the grill now....with some shoestring fries and a bottle of Leonetti '04.

OMG...excuse me a moment....

Must find the MS company for this one....!

I know. I have to eat there at least once a year, no matter how tight the budget, it will be my BD dinner. :-)

My shop was as close to perfection as a restaurant can get. Food was delicious. Service hit all their marks. Honestly.

Reimbursement was shy by $13. We'll go on some company's expense account, or my mystery shop, just not on my dime. But, it was wonderful.

$13 to dine like that is well worth it, ya?????? :-)

I did one of these shops last week. The food and service could not have been any better. The only negative part of the shop was the bartender. She was apparently having some issues with another employee, was very irritated, and was not hiding her feelings. She was not very friendly and was kind of slamming drinks and bottles.

I had a little difficulty enjoying myself because I was apprehensive about doing the shop. I never did one of this caliber and amount. I was afraid of not getting my reimbursement especially since my husband has been laid off for the past 3 mos. He was all willing and excited about doing it.....I said, "Oh sure, you get to eat very well and I have to do all the work." The report was very long with a lot of narrative. It took me several hours. I usually get 9's and 10's on my shops. This one I was hoping to get at least an 8, but I received a 10. I was very happy.

We stayed within our reimbursement of $160 for dinner and $25 for parking and the bar. The shop also paid a fee of $12. It can only be done once a year. It was probably the best steak, meal, and service that I ever had, but I don't know if I would ever pay for it unless my financial situation was different. For my family of four, that amount covers at least 3 weekly trips to the grocery store.

Way to go, Sandy! I'm in league with you regarding the tab though. I would never pay this price, just couldn't. Sometimes, too practical to enjoy myself.