Returns in Restaurants

[smilineyes1]

I have been a server for many years and i would expect my guests to send their food back if it was not satisfactory with them i do all the time when i know how something should be fixed and it is not to my satisfaction i will send it back espically with egss i hate eggs when the whites are still runny i am not rude about it but poiletly ask that it be corrected so my suggestion is if it is not to your satisfation send it back and have them refix it

 

[Constance]

Having run my own business for 22 years, and having cooked all my life, I am pretty understanding about mistakes in orders or some days when the food just isn't quite up to snuff.
But there are times when I have sent food back.

Once, at a supposedly Cajun restaurant in Sanibel Florida, I ordered jambalaya. When my plate arrived, there was a chicken leg quarter that looked and tasted like it had been boiled, laying atop a mound of plain white rice with a little tomato sauce spooned over the top. I was very nice to the server...I just told her I had a problem with the food and would like to speak with the chef. So this chick stuck her head out the kitchen door and wanted to know what was wrong with the food. She had a definate New York sounding accent, and when I asked her where she was from, she said, "New Jersey."
I asked her where she had learned to make jambalaya, and she said she had a recipe. Other words were exchanged, and while my husband and kids were embarrassed to death, but I did end up not having to pay for my meal.

Another time my ex and I were at a very expensive restaurant. We ordered prime rib, medium rare, and they were so cold when we got them that the fat was congealed. We sent them back, and by the time we next saw it, the meat was cooked to death. We didn't go back. Evidentally, that happened to a lot of people, because the place was closed in 6 months.

 

[Banana Brain]

I've never come across that problem, actually. Well now I have a new social situation phobia, because I just don't know how I would handle that.

 

[jpmcgrew]

I rarely send anything back but once at a restaurant at a ski area where I happened to work for the past 11 years as head chef at another place I ordered a tequila shrimp dish the shrimp wasn't peeled and was so tough I could not pull it apart with my hands.I didn't want any else after that just my salad I never mentioned I was a chef across the way because I didn't want to come across as arrogant, looking back I think I would have maybe at least told the owner about it another day.

 

[Corinne]

I don't really recall ever sending anything back. The only times I would do that are if it wasn't what I ordered, it was truly inedible, or if there was a "foreign object" in it! And I would do it quietly & as politely as possible. Being loud & obnoxious is never the way to go. They say you can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat restaurant employees.
As far as the waitstaff tidying up the table as people are finished with their meal - I appreciate that. I don't like too much junk on the table. If I'm finished with my meal & someone else isn't, my empty plate doesn't need to stay there. It's just in the way & I would like it gone ASAP!

 

[Claire]

The beef thing is tough. It is one thing to send back a steak that is too rare for your taste -- it just requires a couple more minutes on the grill. But you can't "uncook" an over cooked steak, the chef has to start over again. I'm a rare kinda gal (I actually love carpacio and steak tartare), but still never return a well-done steak even though I always order "blood rare" or "blue". It's simply impossible to wind up eating at the same time as the rest of the dinner party if my meal has to be started from scratch. I have had acquaintances I hate going to restaurants with because they get so finicky that you want to climb under the table. I have one aunt who starts out seemingly to purposefuly antagonise the server. She justifies this by saying she used to be a waitress so she knows. She tells the server that if her hamburger arrives done incorrectly, she'll deduct from the tip. IF the fries aren't golden, she'll deduct from the tip, etc. Who gives a poop if she used to be a waitress? So did I, and about half the people I know. That somehow justifies her rude behavior?

The bad pasta experience restaurant has just been purchased by the family who owns our favorite steak house. The first time we went there my freind said, "Claire, taste this wine .... is it me?" Nope, it is bad. It has been open too long. We called over the waitress and she started in with she'd have to talk to the bartender to determine if the wine was bad. The new owner (who we know quite well) walked in at that moment, and said to all of the employess, "If these two ladies say wine is bad, trust them, it is bad. No questions. Thow out the bottle and start over." We usually just drink house wine, so it is easy for it to have been opened too long. But the tradition continues. The next time we went in, all of our drinks were on the house.

 

[kyles]

Food in Enlgand is really expensive, so I always send stuff back if its not how I ordered. Once however, I ordered steak medium rare, it came out and it was like boot leather. I sent it back, the same piece came back, the waitress had taken it to the cook who stabbed a knife it randomly, it was a tiny bit pink in that one bit and said "there it's medium rare" I tried to argue that it wasn't uniformly medium rare and certainly not what I ordered. I was told that it would not be replaced. I ate it, but we never went back.

Another time at another restaurant I ordered a mild chicken salad, it came out hot, too hot for my delicate taste buds, was told by the server that they would re do it but it would be exactly the same, with the same spice so it would be no point. This time it was a large chain so I emailed them at length with my complaint and got a voucher for two free meals and a bottle of wine. So needless to say, they have our repeat custom.

 

[thumpershere2]

Don't eat out much at all. But seen a special on tv a couple weeks ago about sending food back. makes some chefs very angry and you never know what is in your then returned food. This was from interviewing some waiters and waitresses. I don't send food back, I either just eat what ever they sent out or leave it and never return.I'm not saying all chefs (cooks) do this but there are some out there.

 

[VegasDramaQueen]

Note to MISH: If we had "walked away" from the restaurant that didn't have my husband's dinner ready when mine was, we would have lost the opportunity to dine at a wonderful restuarant. The food there was always excellent and the service (with this one exception) was wonderful also. Walking away from a restaurant just because we had one mistake is not the way we would do it. Everyone is entitled to one goof. We continued to eat there for 5 more years and glad we did.

As for Bob's Big Boy - I am originally from Michigan where we have Elias Brothers Big Boy. Moving to the California area and now to Las Vegas only proved that not all Big Boy's are the same. Bob's BB can't compare to the Elias BB here in Michigan and every summer when I come here I make it a point to have at least 4 BB's before I go back home. Big Boy's are definitely not created equal.

 

[Banana Brain]

Don't eat out much at all. But seen a special on tv a couple weeks ago about sending food back. makes some chefs very angry and you never know what is in your then returned food. This was from interviewing some waiters and waitresses. I don't send food back, I either just eat what ever they sent out or leave it and never return.I'm not saying all chefs (cooks) do this but there are some out there.

Yeah, that would be a concern of mine. Ever heard the expression "don't piss of the people who prepare your food"? Its a horrible truth, but chefs in any resturaunt, no matter where, aren't usually the "the costumer is always right" kind of people. Some chefs are really nice and care about the diner and are passionate about the food, but others just look at cooking as a job. You never know who it is you're complaining to.

 

[Banana Brain]

You know, just a couple weeks ago I got a salad from a resturaunt (not a chain, just a local place) and there was a fruit fly crawling out of one of the leaves. I of looked at my mom (who I was dinging with) and went, "I can't believe they would have a fly in the food in a nice place like this!" But she just shrugged because she's one of those people who doesn't even like to throw out wine even with dead ants or fruit flies in it because its a waist of wine. And because it was mother's day and also because I'm too shy to speak up, I ate it anyway. I hope I didn't eat any tiny larvea.

 

[AriesGirl71]

I myself am not that picky.. if it is ok.. and I can eat it.. I will not send it back.

Now. on the other hand.. as I work in a restaurant as a cashier at cracker barrel... you would not beleive some of the complaints that I will get when a guest is paying for thier meal. I feel that some of them complain just so they CAN get a free meal.It is frustrating.. nevertheless. I apologize and always call for a manager who will then take the item off the bill or will even take care of the bill themselves.

 

[Banana Brain]

I myself am not that picky.. if it is ok.. and I can eat it.. I will not send it back.

Now. on the other hand.. as I work in a restaurant as a cashier at cracker barrel... you would not beleive some of the complaints that I will get when a guest is paying for thier meal. I feel that some of them complain just so they CAN get a free meal.It is frustrating.. nevertheless. I apologize and always call for a manager who will then take the item off the bill or will even take care of the bill themselves.

True, I bet some people do complain just to shoot for a free meal because they're penny-pinchers. I know people who say its their birthday in every resturaunt they go to to try and get a free dessert, which is really rude. Especially since over half the time they succeed. What if EVERYONE did that?

 

[AriesGirl71]

If EVERYONE did that the restaurant business would lose out on revenue due to the food cost and some may not be able to stay in business. It is rude.. and drives me crazy sometimes. Like i said.. why I always get a manager cause they may have ALREADY talked to a manager about the problem and the manager could of taken a dish off the check already. I had that happen one time. They were paying for thier check and said that they had been charged for something that they did not order... ( we are allowed to take drinks off but not food) so I went ahead and took off a drink.. come to find out.. after they left and I had talked to the server.. she had ALREADY taken a drink off to compensate for it.. so they got away with TWO free drinks instead of ONE. After that.. i ALWAYS get a manager.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Once again - anyone who's willing to pay for a meal at ANY restaurant & willingly accept insects/hairs/any-sort-of-nonfood-matter in their food & won't complain extensively not only deserve what they get, but just make the dining experience all the more dicey for the rest of us.

For goodness sake - you're dining out for pleasure or convenience or both, & paying good $$$ for the privilege. The very idea that anyone would accept food that was raw/frozen, completely overcooked to shoeleather point, or had some foreign substance in it is unthinkable to me.

Get a spine guys. Really. You don't have to make a big "scene". Just politely point out the mistake & ask that it be corrected or that the item ordered be removed from your bill. And I wouldn't accept a "drink" being deducted from my bill rightful compensation - I'd fully expect the food item to be removed from the bill.

Any restaurant not frightened enough by an insect episode to the extent that someone might call the Health Department, isn't a place I'd want to visit again anyway.

 

[Claire]

I find it interesting that some people have never or seldom gotten an un-acceptable meal in a restaurant. Maybe y'all go to the same places time after time? I'm NOT a fussy eater, but still occasionally get a well done steak when I've asked for "blood rare", and often have gotten almost raw potatoes when I ordered hash browns at breakfast (burned on the outside, raw potatoes inside). I usually just let it pass -- it would simply take too long for them to cook me a new meal from scratch. The fact is that I'm not in a good mood when I'm dragged out to breakfast anyway. I know this sounds silly, but I'm an early-morning kinda person. Which makes people assume I love breakfast out. In fact, I'd rather have a bowl of soup. So raw potatoes, scorched omelettes or scrambled eggs, etc, really irritate me. But there is no way in hades you can send it back without having food on my plate when everyone is though eating. I am definitely NOT a fussy eater. The food has to be very bad before I won't eat it.

 

[phinz]

I don't send anything back. I've worked in enough restaurants to have seen what some cooks will do to food that has been sent back.

 

[VegasDramaQueen]

Isn't it a shame that some people will rather choke down garbage than send it back just because they're afraid of what the cook will do? I would let the manager know up front that the meal was unsatisfactory but you won't send it back for the reason you stated but you won't be back again either. I'll bet you get a fresh meal with no problems and maybe comped to boot. YOU HAVE TO LET THEMANAGER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING. You have a right to eat a decent meal if you have to pay for it.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I agree with you completely Drama Queen. As I mentioned over on one of the threads regarding tipping, leaving a tip or not sending something unsatisfactory back because you're afraid of the consequences is, quite simply, EXTORTION. Nothing less.

Now, that said, I'm also assuming that people who have to register a complaint or send something back are doing so politely & cheerfully - not banging their fists on the table, raising their voice, or being nasty/rude about it. I'm also assuming that they're sending the item back for a good reason - not just because it turns out they simply don't care for it.

The only 2 times I sent something back (frozen-in-the-center steak & one order that was entirely the wrong item), I did it with a big smile on my face & politely told the waitperson that I was sorry, but could he/she please (fill in the fix-it). Both times, the waitperson apologized & the matter was fixed promptly (although I will admit that with the incorrect order, they did try first to convince me to keep the incorrect one - lol - but I just kept smiling & politely asked that they bring me what I ordered.) In both cases I never got the iimpression that someone was going to spit on my food. Neither case was a matter of personal food preference; both were errors on the part of the restaurant. But again, I made a point out of being nice about it, & was treated just as nicely in return.

 

[ChefJune]

Most recently I ordered liver & onions in a local steak house where I know the owners and the regular chef. The liver was so tough that I could't saw through it with a steak knife (normally it is fork-tender). I sent it back, it obviously had been cooked way too long. But, even though it takes almost no time to cook liver, I wound up getting my meal when everyone was finishing theirs. Quite often when this kind of thing happens I don't bother to complain or send a meal back simply because it throws the entire dinner party off. At one restaurant here in town,when we first moved here, I had a perfect meal, and hubby had a truly lousy one. It was "Greek spaghetti" and the "chef" had kept the pasta half-cooked and ready to dunk into boiling water (a normal procedure, I think). However, he didn't drain the pasta (it was a long, tubular pasta), and hubby wound up with a plate of cold pasta in cold starchy water. WE complained (we'd only lived here a week or two). THe owner came out and said if we'd pay for our drinks, the food was on the house. WE'd ordered appetizers, and my dinner was the most expensive one on the menu I protested, saying my dinner was fine, we'd pay for it. His reply was "if one person in a party has a ruined meal, the entire meal is ruined for everyone." Wow. What a man.

That kind of treatment should be the rule, NOT the exception.

If the owner/chef/manager (any or all) DON'T want to know when your meak is not to your liking, they are not bbery good businesspeople, and will be out of business soon! Restaurants are part of the HOSPITALITY industry! and those who run them or work there need to remember that! If your dinner is less than what you expected, you are likely NOT to return, and to tell others that the place was not wonderful. Restaurants cannot afford that if they want to stay in business.

I always let the restaurant know if something is amiss, altho I don't always send my meal back... just as you said, because you're likely to not get the new dish until everyone else is finished with theirs. and that DOES ruin the evening.

Along those lines, theres a restaurant here in Jersey City that used to be one of my favorites until the last two times I dined there. the first, I had to send my dish back because the meat I ordered "Rare" was delivered not only well done, but cold. The next time, again my meat was over cooked. I don't crave going back there now. and Im not recommending the place any more. When someone asks me about it, I say it used to be really good.

They have to make you happy, or you'll be unhappy, whether you've sent your dinner back, or not. A couple of freebies, such as dessert, or deleting the offending item from your bill is the least they should do.