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Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 9:32:35 AM

Hillwilliam

Posts: 19394
Joined: 8/27/2008
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For the first time in prob 5 years, I sent a meal back last night. (steak ordered rare was WELL done). the waitress did a great job and I made sure that she knew I appreciated her efforts on my behalf.

Here's the question. How often do you find yourself sending a meal back in a restaurant? (if ever)

Who do you feel is at fault?

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 9:36:53 AM

GreedyTop

Posts: 52100
Joined: 5/2/2007
From: Savannah, GA
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in Orlando once...

at a place attached to a hotel by the civic center..

I was having breakfast with another truck driver.

I ordered an omlete..

it came complete with a roach.

not the toking kind, either.

needless to say, I sent it back...

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 10:13:51 AM

lizi

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Joined: 2/1/2009
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Restaurants are a family business for me. Who is at fault is a hard thing to answer....

Were the customer's expectations different than what was listed on the menu? Our restaurants are teppanyaki style, like a Benihana's. Did the customer order the ribeye steak from the menu not understanding that it would be chopped up and cooked in front of them instead of coming to them whole on a plate from a broiler in the back? Yes, it's happened. I'm not sure why when people sit down at a table where a chef cooks for you, they don't seem to understand what that food will be like. Or they'll order med rare and then be appalled that it's red in the middle and not well done. Customer expectations are at the base of many mismatched meals. The customer would be at fault here, but, the restaurant should be somewhat willing to offer a gesture of good will in the form of another meal to make them happy. It's always about making your customers happy. You want them to come back. At our restaurants we overdo the comping and substituting somewhat and will bend over backwards to make people happy even if they were at fault in the exchange.

Did the server put the wrong thing into the computer and therefore the cook cooked something different than the customer wanted? The server was at fault and the restaurant should cook what was ordered asap and bring it out. That meal or something on the bill should be comped at that point to make up for the mistake. The customer ordered correctly and did not receive what was ordered, they didn't ask to be sitting there for any additional length of time while the correct meal was prepared and everyone else there is eating. You reimburse them for their time and frustration- they get the right food and they get it free.

If the meal just came out wrong like in your example of the well done steak its the restaurant's/chef's fault. You should then receive the correct meal and hopefully something on the bill should be comped to say hey...we're sorry. Because that shouldn't happen although things aren't perfect and it will from time to time. We're human after all.

As a customer, I have rarely sent a meal back. I'll eat something that is not necessarily delicious because I don't enjoy making a fuss, but if it's wrong or unacceptable in the ways of freshness or doneness then it's going back.

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 10:20:24 AM

Hillwilliam

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Re, the above. I saw the bill and the printout said 'rare'. Unfortunately, wait staff can't check the doneness of a steak before delivery (I dont want them cutting into it LOL). I didn't blame the waitress. In fact, I told her verbally (and financially) that she did well. It was partially comped and I only blame the cook.

The only time I would blame wait staff for an incorrect meal would be for something readily apparent to visual inspection. Wrong side dishes, wrong salad dressing, etc. Half the time, those mistakes look good enough to eat anyway and I tell em not to bother changing it LOL.

ETA, I have friends that I always make excuses to be elsewhere when they want to go out to dinner because they ALWAYS find a problem.

It's fucking annoying.

< Message edited by Hillwilliam -- 8/26/2011 10:22:07 AM >

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 10:35:54 AM

LinnaeaBorealis

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From: Insanity & beyond
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I rarely send a meal back, but I have done it. It usually involves fried eggs. I was a fry cook in my younger days & I was able to consistently fry perfect eggs with the whites completely done & the yolks runny. That's how I like my eggs. I order them that way from the wait staff. But fairly consistently, they don't come to the table that way. I blame the cooks who can't seem to conceive of how to fry an egg to a customer's order. At one restaurant, the cook got a little smart-ass-y about it even. When I am frying my own eggs at home, if the yolk breaks or ends up too hard, I throw the egg in the garbage & start over. That's how picky I am about that.

I was at a national chain one time & they had a new sandwich on their menu. It looked delicious & just what I wanted, so I ordered it. It was a big disappointment, but not enough to send it back. I ate it, but didn't really enjoy it. When the waiter came to pick up our plates & asked how the meal was, I was honest & said that I was disappointed. He said he wouldn't charge me for it. I argued with him & pointed out that I should be charged, since I ate the entire thing. He insisted & after he left, the manager came over & agreed that I shouldn't be charged. Apparently, there was a new corporation that had taken over the chain & he wanted to make sure that they knew when a long-time customer didn't enjoy something they'd added to the menu.

I really appreciated their attitude & no, I wasn't charged for it. I had been going to this particular chain since it was one restaurant in the University District in Seattle, owned by a guy I knew who served great burgers. It was such a popular place that it just kept expanding until he started selling franchises & then ended up selling the whole thing & retiring extremely rich.

Whenever I have to send something back, I am always polite & understanding with the staff. I don't often find anything wrong with the food that I order & I am generally quite effusive in my praise. I also tip very well.

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 10:51:00 AM

lizi

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Hillwilliam

Re, the above. I saw the bill and the printout said 'rare'. Unfortunately, wait staff can't check the doneness of a steak before delivery (I dont want them cutting into it LOL). I didn't blame the waitress. In fact, I told her verbally (and financially) that she did well. It was partially comped and I only blame the cook.

The only time I would blame wait staff for an incorrect meal would be for something readily apparent to visual inspection. Wrong side dishes, wrong salad dressing, etc. Half the time, those mistakes look good enough to eat anyway and I tell em not to bother changing it LOL.

ETA, I have friends that I always make excuses to be elsewhere when they want to go out to dinner because they ALWAYS find a problem.

It's fucking annoying.

I'm totally with you on being with fault-finders. Ugh, they are annoying as heck. You just feel like crawling under the table. Having worked in restaurants forever I have witnessed some appalling behavior from customers. Oh my, that reminds me of a recent story from one of my sons. He was working as a server on a prom night, had a table of 3 prom-goers that tried first of all to order alcohol and were denied, and then they tried walking out on the bill. He chased them out into the parking lot and said he'd call the cops if they didn't pay right then and there. One of the guy hauls out his wallet, gives my son the bill money and then as an afterthought hands him a one dollar bill for his 'services'. Our restaurant dinners average around $20.00 so the dollar was a slap in the face for a $60.00+ meal. My son threw it on the ground and said "Obviously you need this more than I do" - he then stepped on the dollar and ground it into the pavement some and went back inside.

After I chewed him out for chasing them down, don't want him to get a weapon drawn on him or anything else, I laughed my ass off. The kid has balls.

(in reply to Hillwilliam)

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 11:17:23 AM

LadyHibiscus

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From: Island Of Misfit Toys
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If something is cold, I will send it back to get heated up. If the preparation is dead wrong/inedible, I will send it back, as in the example of Hilly's steak. I eat RARE MEAT, but I can go up to medium and won't complain. Give me well done? Think not. If it's just something that I don't LIKE, well that's on me. Plenty of perfectly good preparations that just aren't "good" to me, and you never know until you try.

I am pretty lenient with most places, and I am not one of those "on the side" people. I don't like cucumbers on my salad, but SOMEONE at the table will, and it's not a hardship for me to just take the cukes off. I am at a RESTAURANT, not at home. There are a lot of folks who should never eat out.

I know that the waitstaff did not do the cooking, so I am chill with them, as long as they are not La Snark when I have a complaint.

Lizi, I love your son!!

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 11:39:28 AM

VirginPotty

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Joined: 7/16/2008
From: Virginville
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Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I try not to but if it's something I can't/won't eat I'll send it back. I tip very well so I expect to be able to at least be able to eat my food.
Truth be told I can't remember the last time I sent a mal back so I guess I"m not as tough as I try to be.........................

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 11:45:24 AM

KeriB

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Recently a I ordered a chicken dish and it cam out without the chicken it. The chicken were whole breasts so it was a rather obvious mistake that they weren't included. I mentioned it to the waitress and she took it back and the added the chicken and then gave me a free slice of cheesecake. It's the only time I've ever sent something back to the kitchen. For me it's not the waitstaff's fault if the meal doesn't come out right, it's either me for not paying attention or the cooks fault.

I've even gotten a migraine in the middle of meal and couldn't eat more than a bite, but I didn't complain to the waitress about it since it wasn't their fault I couldn't eat the meal. She did notice though and asked if I didn't like it and I just told her that I had a migraine and couldn't stand the taste of the food at the moment, but it wasn't their fault at all. She comped me the meal and I tipped her very well, because I didn't feel it was something she needed to do as it wasn't their fault.

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 11:50:44 AM

servantforuse

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I don't think I have ever sent a meal back, but if it isn't good I will tell the manager.

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 11:55:11 AM

lizi

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Joined: 2/1/2009
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Thank you Lady Hib, I love him too.

I have a bazillion other weird/funny/sad restaurant stories. One woman is currently suing us. At the end of a meal our chefs usually toss food for a diner to catch in their mouth. It's not my thing but people love it- especially when they've been drinking. This woman volunteered to do it, missed it, then claimed a week later that she was burned on the chest area irreparably and since she was a diplomat and had to wear bodice baring gowns this would hamper her job and she wants reparations.

People with food allergies regularly don't tell the chefs, then try to raise holy hell when their food appears with the unwanted ingredient in it. Duh. Or they'll call ahead of time wanting to know if we can prepare a meal without something like wheat, soy, shrimp, etc. Sometimes it's yes, sometimes no, depends on what they ask for and if it's an intrinsic part of the dish. They can get pissy if it's no. Then stay at home or eat somewhere else. I mean really...don't eat at a place that serves seafood that is openly cooked if you can't even breathe the fumes from having it cooked within 100 ft. We're not reponsible for setting up a whole new restaurant for you so you can eat one meal.

People come to our restaurant, which is set up with group tables, and then request to have an entire 12 person table to themselves because they don't want to sit with anyone else.

It's not just the waste of space, it's also the chef wasting his time cooking for one couple. Although we try to accomodate that if we can, but honestly who would be that obtuse?

We have celebs that come sometimes and usually people are respectful. Not always. It's embarrassing to ask other adults to leave someone alone.

I showed a guy how to eat a lobster once and the thing sprayed eggs across his forehead when he cracked it. I tried to get it all off but they were everywhere and I"m sure he found them in his clothes at the end of the night. He was an amazingly good sport considering he was on a first date with someone.

We had a sushi chef who opened one place with us and worked there for 12 years. He then suddenly left with no notice...to go open his own restaurant up the street. My ex renamed this guy's specialty roll the 'Judas Roll' (formerly the Chesapeake Roll) on the chalkboard for about 2 weeks. I was in stitches. We couldn't take it off the menu as it was popular, but that was a good solution I thought. The Judas Roll....omg. Still cracks me up.

One woman had a complete melt down because someone took a bag of trash out of the kitchen and she witnessed this heinous act. Said she shouldn't have to see 'that'. Wanted her entire bill comped.

I don't eat at any of our places too often. Mostly if I'm taking people there or for a family event. I took a group of people there recently and of course it was understood that I was footing the bill, one woman invited her daughter because 'she always does.' Well sure she does, if the meal is free. I noticed the next time we went out somewhere else the daughter was never invited. Or 2 semesters ago when I invited my lab class of 20 people to eat there (on me of course) and one woman raised her hand and asked if she could bring her family. Really people?

Ok...that's it for now. Rest assured there is more.

(in reply to LadyHibiscus)

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 12:05:11 PM

myotherself

Posts: 7157
Joined: 3/9/2006
From: The cold bit of the UK
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I used to eat out a lot, mostly in London. In the 20 or so years I lived there I only ever sent back food once.

I'd ordered a dish with steak (perfectly cooked), fresh vegetables (perfectly cooked), and mashed potato. The potato was lumpy and tepid. Normally I wouldn't have been too fussed, but this restaurant had, at the time, 3 Michelin stars and the mash alone costs ten pounds (about 15 dollars) a bowl.

So I called the waiter over, quietly asked him to replace the potato because it wasn't up to standard, and he immediately took it away and within minutes a perfect bowl of mash was on the table. He apologised on behalf of the restaurant but, because it was dealt with so well, I just smiled and said "no problem".

They comped us a free bottle of hugely over-priced wine, and at the end the head chef came out to apologise. What a truly nice guy Gordon Ramsey is - not at all like his alter-ego on tv. Thankfully!

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 12:17:56 PM

outhere69

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quote:

ORIGINAL: KeriB
I've even gotten a migraine in the middle of meal and couldn't eat more than a bite, but I didn't complain to the waitress about it since it wasn't their fault I couldn't eat the meal. She did notice though and asked if I didn't like it and I just told her that I had a migraine and couldn't stand the taste of the food at the moment, but it wasn't their fault at all. She comped me the meal and I tipped her very well, because I didn't feel it was something she needed to do as it wasn't their fault.

Before I realized I had reflux, I got up early to go to breakfast with the 'rents. I had some unsweetened ice tea for the road, which added to the acid....and my stomach felt queasier and queasier as I rode along.

We all ordered and when the food arrived, I started drooling, etc. and knew that doom was upon me. I departed for the bathroom, sat in front of the toilet, but coralled my stomach. I came back a little green around the edges, took a bite of my perfectly cooked eggs, and made an even speedier exit to the same bathroom stall. Then I rendered up my toenails, I swear.

I apologized to our server, and also asked her to relay my apologies to the chef. Then I thanked them for the amazingly clean bathroom floors!

(I hope my parents left a big tip, I just wanted to go lay down in the back seat!!)

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 12:43:34 PM

LadyPact

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I don't send meals back very often. I probably would have in Hill's case because if I ask for it to be rare, I really don't want a slab of beef jerky (otherwise known as a well done steak). I'll also do it if I've ordered something without onions and it showed up with. I'm allergic, so I try to order something that doesn't include them in the first place, but it's not always possible. I'm very specific about it when I order. At a place like lizi's, I'd let both the wait staff and the cook know before it's even cooked. I'm not "oh My gosh, scrub the cooking surface" allergic. Just don't mix My vegetables in with the rest that are being cooked with onion.

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 1:13:29 PM

littlewonder

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I've sent a meal back twice and I didn't leave a tip either time because the service along with the entire restaurant was slow and rude and the food sucked even after being given a new meal.

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 2:15:34 PM

DesFIP

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I should have sent it back last night. I ordered a hot open sandwich. Slices of beef in canned beef stock, not gravy. And no bread. The mashed potatoes were cold and watery and flavorless. The beef stock was condensed and incredibly salty. I didn't feel like going through the ordeal of complaining, but I hope we don't wind up there again any time soon.

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 2:33:52 PM

ChatteParfaitt

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There have been so many times I should have sent a meal back but I have not, for whatever reason I could not be fussed, possibly b/c dinner time is chill out time for me. I'm trying to relax, not work myself up.

I have done it, but it is rare, it has to be a MAJOR mistake before I feel like dealing with it. The places I go are all high quality restaurants that depend on their reputation. I don't do fast food or casual food places, I can cook my own self, and yes, I am VERY snobbish about it.

I never fuss the wait staff about the error, it is not their fault. It's the fault of the cook/chef and I know that. I also know being a chef in a high end restaurant on a busy Friday night is one of the hardest jobs you can have. But the buck has to stop somewhere

Just my thoughts on a Friday might when my dinner plans are for burgers LOL !!

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 2:44:18 PM

NuevaVida

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I rarely do but it's happened twice, recently, with people I've gone to dinner with.

My mom, the Mister & I went to Red Robin before a movie. He ordered his sandwich without mayo, because he hates mayo. It came glopped with it. He was kind, but said he can't do mayo. The waitress apologized and said she'd be right back with a correct sandwich. She never came back. Mom & I were finished with our meals when another waiter came and dropped his sandwich in front of him. He said never mind, we were ready to go then. They removed his sandwich from the bill and gave him a $10 gift card. He went without lunch and got popcorn at the movie.

We were out with my mom & a friend a week ago, at a mexican restaurant. My mom asked if the enchiladas were spicy, telling the waitress she is extremely sensitive to spicy food. The waitress said not at all, and recommended the dish. The enchiladas were way too hot - spicy wise. I tasted them and they even burned my mouth, and I like spicy food. I told her I'd swap plates with her, though, and as we were swapping the waitress came by and asked if something was wrong. We told her. She was super nice, and put together a great substitute dinner for my mom, taking the enchiladas back. We tipped her well.

The food really needs to be inedible for me to send it back.

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 6:16:00 PM

poise

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I've only had one unpleasant meal while dining out, and it was due to my own ignorance.
My son loves sushi, and as I have yet to be inspired to pass any of that between my lips,
I thought I would just simply order something non-raw-fishy.

I thought the Steak Tataki sounded delicious, and since it was beef, what's not to love?
Suffice it to say that I am now of the opinion that barely cooked beef is even more unappetizing than sushi.

I happily settled on a plate of vegetable tempora.

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RE: Sending meals back. - 8/26/2011 6:36:01 PM

LinnaeaBorealis

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Not all sushi contains raw fish. On my first date with my beloved ex-husband, we went to an upscale Japanese restaurant in Seattle. I ended up getting an appetizer that was a wooden palette with a sampler of sashimi--raw fish--on it, due to a mistaken communication with the waitress. She spoke little English, I spoke no Japanese. I ate everything except this one thing that I just couldn't imagine putting in my mouth. I did this to save face. It turned out that it was most delicious & I was glad that I'd gotten it & had decided to try it.

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