1 of 1 users found the following review helpful:
Loud, Bad Service, Cold Food, 1/2 off, Harpers written by jimjimmenez
Last visited this restaurant on July 28, 2006

Harpers, where to start. I have been there probably around 50 times. I am either positively or negatively surprised everytime. The food and service vary every day. Either good or bad, you never know what you get.

The food can be good, can being the keyword.

At 1/2 off on Wednesdays everything is half off, price, service, food quality.

Loud music is also a common complaint. The bands are too loud for anyone to have a decent conversation.

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1 of 1 users found the following review helpful:
Worst Dining Experience Ever written by steve12345
Last visited this restaurant on July 11, 2006

1. They told us to sit wherever, when we did the host then told us that those seats were taken and we should move.
2. We sit down at another table and the wait staff comes by to "borrow" our salt and pepper, we're the only table in the place that has people on it, couldn't they take it from an empty table?
3. We waited a half hour to place our orders.
4. We waited another 20 minutes for our drinks
5. The drinks were made wrong.
6. The manager came by to apologize for the time it took and the drinks being made wrong and offered to send us complementary appetizers. We stil haven't gotten them.
7. Food came out over an hour after we ordered. It was cold.
8. No one came by to refill our drinks, not once.
9. We went to pay and they told us that we weren't their table and pushed the money back towards us.
10. The tables are so big if you sit on the wrong side of them you can't hear your own party talking to you.
11. Seriously there's a lot of bad dining in Lansing/E. Lansing, but this is single handly the worst experience I have ever had dining out.

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not that great! written by anonymous
Last visited this restaurant on July 16, 2008

Won't go there again. Went with a group of friends and 3 orders were messed up. My ravioli was burnt, my friend was overcharged for several things, including her not-even-cooked salmon, and another friend never even got her food until we were ready to leave. (the waitress forgot her order and left it in the kitchen) this isn't a one-time thing though, had bad service the other times i've been there as well. the only good food is their pizzas, other than that, steer clear. bad service and bland food - not a good combo.

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Worst service imaginable... written by svendler
Last visited this restaurant on June 19, 2008

The last time I went to Harper's I swore it would be the last. The time before that, I said the same thing. That's the trouble with this place. That "half-off Wednesdays" is always a deal-breaker when college students are involved and the management knows it. Now that it's been expanded to what seems like "half-off all day, everyday" like some kind of joint venture with DejaVu, there's always going to be a crowd.

We have experienced those busy Wednesdays but also slower evenings. The service is not different. Harper's is frequently out of glasses and has made a habit of bringing drinks in a hodge-podge of plastic and glass cups. They may have finally succumbed to serving drinks in five gallon pails. That could be a new program for Thirsty Thursdays.

With tables only half full and a line out the door, you would think that the staff would be aching to get butts in the seats and drinks on the table. When meeting some friends, I stood around with a line of people while the host was parked on a stool. It took ten minutes for him to merely get up and check IDs. I thought he was waiting with all the rest of us.

The time before that, one in our group had to wait almost 2 hours before her poor quesadilla came. We all ordered at the same time. Everyone else's food only took an hour. Everyone else's food was just as cold. Two hours.

One time before that, a we had dinner on the patio. Plastic cups in hand, we waited the customary hour before food came out. When the waitress started serving plates, she told us that there were enough french fries for all but one of the orders. Waitress's solution: take half of the fries from my plate and put them on the other.

Service only half of the problem. A completely irredeemable place would close in two weeks and that clearly has not happened. When you can get your hands on it, the beer is actually good. Most importantly, it's cheap. It's without doubt the real strength of the operation. It's brewed right among the tables, which is really more a testament to the place's designer than to restaurant itself.

That's Harper's. And the sad truth is I'll probably have to go back.

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DONT GO HERE!!!...service is rude.. written by KidNiki
Last visited this restaurant on November 21, 2007

I don't understand how they can consistently train their employees to be extremely rude, but they do and they do it well. I've gone there many times in the past 8 years (mostly because my friends force me to go on half off wednesdays) and every time I go, I regret it. Here is a list of my issues with this place:
1. Half off Wednesday. Sounds great right? Well, that is if you wanna wait at least an hour for your food and drinks, be yelled at by the bar tender for whatever reason they can make up, and pay a $5 cover to eat! Oh and sometimes, once you pay the cover, the staff will announce that today is special and therefore, nothing is half off. Talk about false advertising. No joke on the wait...I'm not even exaggerating...it will take them an hour to an hour and a half to deliver your food.

2. The service is just plain rude....sometimes even violent. From the hostess to your server, to the manager, they will make you feel like a peon. And I'm not speaking for myself. I watched as a bartender told several people to f-off cause they didn't have their drink order ready. No joke! He came up to me, I asked him for some drink prices and he told me that I'm holding up the line...he skipped to someone else. I heard someone tell him to chill out and he replied, "come say that to my face." Another bartender took my friends order, delivered it, she gave him the cash...he put it in the tip jar, came back and asked for the money. She told him that he just put it in the tip jar....he got really upset and after arguing with him, we were asked to leave.

3. Food is ok. No complaints or praises except that it usually comes cold...cause it takes them so long.

4. I was once forced to leave by a bouncer who had a crush on a girl that I was talking to. I asked him why and he said it was because I put my head down. I didn't do this...I was standing the whole time.

5. Music is too loud to even think. I mean, why have a band jamming at full volume during dinner hours 5 to 7. It was quite annoying.

Don't go to this hole. They don't deserve any money.

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Great Friday Happy Hour written by Sandymurphy
Last visited this restaurant on August 10, 2007

My husband and I came in on a Friday after work for drinks and appetizers. The happy hour special was $2 microbrews and $2 wristbands that were good for a buffet of appetizers...how do you beat that? Sure, the buffet was just pizza, chips n salsa and cocktail shrimp, but that's more than we expected for 2 bucks.
As far as atmosphere goes, they had a huge tv directly across from the bar and it was definitely better/cleaner than any of the stinky, windowless basement bars that I've been to in E. Lansing.
The service was quick and the bartender even chatted us up about things to do in and around town (we just moved to the area 6 weeks ago).

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Post MSU Hockey written by Sparty
Last visited this restaurant on July 27, 2005

We went in when this place first opened.
My ears are still ringing for the loud LOUD (can you hear me?) L O U D bar band.
Service was kinda crummy also.
Wrong orders taken, partial orders delivered.
It was a mess.
We never went back.
And who called this place "eclectic".
BS, it is a just a bar in a college town.

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