How much can you take?

[ocnblu]

I would say most people go to a restaurant for convenience, for something different to eat, for atmosphere, and for good service.

Saturday I went to Applebee's for lunch. The server came by in a reasonable period of time and took my order... so far, so good. Then it all went to hell in a handbasket.

I ordered one of their new "combos", which is your choice of an entree and a dessert for one price. I got the Southwest Chicken/Raspberry cheesecake combo.

It took a long time to get my food and the place wasn't that busy for that day and time.

The cheese on top of the chicken was burned to ash on the edges. It actually disintegrated into black dust when I cut it.

The pico tasted old. It was all soft and watery.

The cheesecake was on a plate that had two spots of dried-up green stuff on the side, and some kind of brown dried up stuff, topped off with fingerprints and and like waterspots, or soap spots.

That's when I decided it was time to say something.

"I sat here and ate my chicken, which was burnt, and the pico, which was old, but look at this plate. What the hell is this dried up green $h!? It's nasty, and I'm not eating it!"

He apologized and brought me another piece, which was fine.

Normally, I don't hold the server accountable for the cook's mistakes, he didn't bring my food out, so he couldn't have known because I didn't say anything at first.

The nasty dessert plate though, anyone could have seen how dirty that plate was. He brought it out anyway, and for that, I left him a crappy tip.

What does it take for you to complain in a restaurant about things? Was I being too prissy?

[Flybrian]

I've never been so disappointed I've had to complain about food nor service. However, poor waiting service is inversely proportional to one's tip. People can whine all they want about "living on tips;" you knew this when your applied for the job, so perform for the pay. Of course, it has to be pretty bad to leave a bad tip with me.

Anyway, any complaints by me would be made kindly and rationally. Yelling and getting irate proves nothing as oftentimes whatever you're complaining about can be an honest mistake. If they blow me off (this applies for any service business), then I complain with my feet and never return...as well as spreading the word to my friends.

[ocnblu]

Oh, I don't want to make it sound like I was yelling and looking around to see if others were listening, I just told him directly what I saw. I won't go back there. A different Applebee's, sure, but not that one.

[Flybrian]

Oh, I know. I've seen people do that (we all have) and its really just sad.

[Cory Wolfe]

I can only take so much... After a bit of prodding, I'd lose it and freak out. Probably take the waiter hostage with the knife I keep in my pocket and demand for whoever did it to come to me. Then I'd kill him and ask nicely for it to be made up to me by someone else for the -now dead- guy's senselessness. Once that would happen, I'd kill the waiter, too... For no reason, really... Finally, I'd use my intelligence to get out of it like I always do. All would be well.

[ocnblu]

[NOS2006]

And there goes the town of Brookville, now with a population of one.

Edited February 13, 2006 by NOS2006

[Variance]

In my experience, if you are reasonable and nice about a mistake or displeasure with your food, people'll do right by you. It hasn't happened to me but with people I was dining with at the time. I'm glad too because, like Ocn, I don't really being a bother and coming off as hard to please because in the past, I've dealt with hard-ass customers myself (though not in food service).

As an aside, the one time I went to Applebee's, my friends and I found the food to be really overpriced and two didn't care for what they got. I don't think we'll be heading back anytime soon.

[Croc]

I can only take so much... After a bit of prodding, I'd lose it and freak out. Probably take the waiter hostage with the knife I keep in my pocket and demand for whoever did it to come to me. Then I'd kill him and ask nicely for it to be made up to me by someone else for the -now dead- guy's senselessness. Once that would happen, I'd kill the waiter, too... For no reason, really... Finally, I'd use my intelligence to get out of it like I always do. All would be well.

Edited February 13, 2006 by Croc

[ocnblu]

Croc, please don't drag a fight from one thread to another.

[NOS2006]

[Flybrian]

Okay, back on topic...

Applebees and Chili's are like 'nicer than McDonald's' places, i.e. "Hey, let's go to Chili's...its nicer than McDonald's." Not that special otherwise.

[TurboRush]

I just tend to tolerate little things at first but when it becomes detrimental to my health and is an insult to the ammount of money they are asking for a given meal that comes out way sub-par, then I will definately voice my concern. But in a subtle, constructive way.

[Cory Wolfe]

You could stop being such an ass and taking smilies so literally. Yes, you could. I knew you'd reply to that post. That's why I posted it and filled it with things that represent the other thread. Just disect it and see... Had you only realized this. Did you forget who BV is?

Anyways, nothing to see here, guys. Just Croc going

[ocnblu]

Viper, pleaze, dawg. Tell us about dried snot boogies on your fork or something. Don't be gasoline.

[NOS2006]

Viper, pleaze, dawg.  Tell us about dried snot boogies on your fork or something.  Don't be gasoline.

Yum.

Anyways, I usually can take quite a bit. I get pretty good luck in restaurants, anyway.

[Cory Wolfe]

Alright, but I just had to make a point.... No harm meant.

I've never really had bad experiences in restaurants, honestly, so I wouldn't know how much I could take. I am quite an angry person, but also a shy one. Sometimes, I don't know which will come out in these situations. Sad, isn't it?

[daves87rs]

Nope...long wait...food tasted strange...nothing to yell about though...

[ocnblu]

Viper, I may go off on him at any moment, so I know where you're coming from. I'm just trying to set a halfway decent example.

[Enzora]

My worst dining experiences have always come at places where there's a mandantory tip included for a party of X number of people. On my birthday, the waitress saw that we had a large group and ignored us the entire night. We only got refills on our drink once, and that was after I flagged her down, and this was at a small restaurant , with no more than 20 tables in the whole place, so there was no excuse for her not noticing us. To make things worse, since we were a large group, she refused to split the bill after lying and saying that we could when we first got there. She also explained the fact that the tip was required, but since it was all going on one card, she would be "nice" and not include it there and let us pay in cash (the first time that she showed any interest in our table all night.) So not only was she a crappy waittress, but a dumb one as well. We quietly walked out after leaving only a dollar or two on the table.

[Guest Josh]

I only eat at Hooters so if they do wrong I'm in for a real, real nice treat

All joking aside, from what I've come to find out where I eat at, if you complain and it is legitimate like a dirty beer glass ( just saying guys!) and it is visible dirty, they will 9/10 either take half off of your bill or offer you a $25 gift card.

I do not settle for anything less. Maybe because I am in the telecomm industry and people always beg for freebies when they feel they have been wronged. I'm the first to say when a person has rightfully been wronged...but I know the tricks of the trade.

Normally, I don't bitch about bad service, I just chalk it up to a bad day and hope my tip can help cheer them up.

[Robert Hall]

I once had an experience where the waiter quit her job while I was at one of her tables...ended up getting 50% off the meal (she dissapeared during dinner and I had to go find the manager to get water refills, etc).

Another time after a 2hr wait at lunch (without the food ever coming out), we got up and left...

Edited February 13, 2006 by moltar

[Drew Dowdell]

I would say most people go to a restaurant for convenience, for something different to eat, for atmosphere, and for good service.

Saturday I went to Applebee's for lunch.  The server came by in a reasonable period of time and took my order... so far, so good.  Then it all went to hell in a handbasket.

I ordered one of their new "combos", which is your choice of an entree and a dessert for one price.  I got the Southwest Chicken/Raspberry cheesecake combo.

It took a long time to get my food and the place wasn't that busy for that day and time.

The cheese on top of the chicken was burned to ash on the edges.  It actually disintegrated into black dust when I cut it.

The pico tasted old.  It was all soft and watery.

The cheesecake was on a plate that had two spots of dried-up green stuff on the side, and some kind of brown dried up stuff, topped off with fingerprints and and like waterspots, or soap spots.

That's when I decided it was time to say something.

"I sat here and ate my chicken, which was burnt, and the pico, which was old, but look at this plate.  What the hell is this dried up green $h!?  It's nasty, and I'm not eating it!"

He apologized and brought me another piece, which was fine.

Normally, I don't hold the server accountable for the cook's mistakes, he didn't bring my food out, so he couldn't have known because I didn't say anything at first.

The nasty dessert plate though, anyone could have seen how dirty that plate was.  He brought it out anyway, and for that, I left him a crappy tip.

What does it take for you to complain in a restaurant about things?  Was I being too prissy?

I never would have ate it in the first place. I would have had the manager take it back and have it redone.

[Drew Dowdell]

I only eat at Hooters so if they do wrong I'm in for a real, real nice treat

I don't get it.

[bobo]

I almost never complain at restaurants. You never know if when they replace some food whether they spit in it or something. I take it as a learning lesson and never go back. The worse thing that happened to me was when I was at a Japanese restaurant, and there was a small cockroach wandering around the plate. The waitress noticed me fussing with the food. I said there was a roach in my food, and she took the bug to the chef, and then she said back to me "That's not a cockroach!" Needless to say, I never went back.

[Flybrian]

It was a palmetto bug. She was trying to teach you something, idiot. Gosh...

[razoredge]

Just a little advise.

First eat at home.....then if you must

If you see something in a restaurant you dont like or have a problem with the food.......get up and leave.......never........never.......complain and then eat what they bring you back on your plate..........never !!!!!!!!

there is some really sick idiots in this world

eat at home

it actually feels good and right to get up and leave, I never knew it until I did it once, I knew it got the message across and I didnt have to have a confrontation or wonder what just came back from the kitchen.

[PurdueGuy]

Went to Panara the other night, as it's a nice place to eat, good food, and not horribly expensive. Much of the time, they'll have a line halfway to the door, and they keep it moving quickly & you can order within 5 min. This evening, we walked right up & got in line behind the guy currently finishing his order. Apparently, there was something not working right in the computer with the guy's order, and it took a while. A long while. This was the only register with someone at it, but it was obvious that the one next to it was set up to run (it had a total from the last sale, while the 3rd one said "closed"). We probably stood there longer than 5 minutes while FIVE managers & people stood around gawking at the screen where they were having troubles.

After a while, I turned to my wife & asked her (not loudly, but not whispering either) if she would like to go get some mexican. She said sure, and we walked. I'll probably still go back sometime, but I'm not going to put up with being ignored & waiting forever while people stand around.

Also, every friday night my wife & I join a friend of ours for dinner, usually at the Pizza Hut. We had about a month & a half streak going where they would always screw up something with our order (bring out the pizza and it's obvious the cheese formed a bubble & blew up in the oven, leaving a near-bare pizza crust), or be really slow. We rarely had to say anything - they know us and try to give good service in general, but things just kept happening. They always gave us 50-100% off the bill (after which we tipped), and came back the next time.

Almost didn't, though, when one week we were seated and left to sit without seeing anyone for 20-30 minutes (we didn't notice how long it'd been cuz we were talking, but once we paused & realized how long it'd been...) No drink order, no nothing. BTW, we were probably one of five tables in the place with anyone sitting at them. We walked.

My thoughts: be polite, but to the point when complaining, and don't make demands unless it's something simple like a clean spoon. Don't be afraid to walk.

[balthazar]

Not too long ago I heard 2 separate radio shows where people called in from the food service industry to tell stories of what they did when people sent back food. Things... bad things. Overall show ratings: NC-17 for Gore, Bathroom Humor & Disturbing Imagery.

I am now thoroughly frightened to send food back, even with a polite request to 'redo' it. I would instead never return for a good long while if at all.

Years back my father & I ate at a steakhouse in Detroit. He sent back his entree and we both received free deserts. Almost 1 year later when we returned, ..... the staff remembered us!

After hearing those radio shows, I shudder to think what I ate in my desert that night.

[Croc]

I've sent things back, but I've been pretty polite about it. It isn't the server's fault the food was bad; but I always check to be sure when I send things back that what is re-made is good. If you tip people as you send things back, I tend to think that they will come back good. If you complain, leave a positive element in the encounter to ensure nothing bad will happen and maintain a good relationship with the staff.

[Sixty8panther]

Croc:

I like your new signature... very fitting. That girl is H-H-H-H-Hot!

Ocnblu:

The way you described that made me sick to my stomach, I would have done the exact same thing.

I've only complained like that a few times in a restaurant... but it takes a lot to rattle my cage. AS long as the waiter is appologetic/sincere I'm not one to flip out or whatever.

My bad luck in restaurants has to do wiht waiting like 45 minutes for an appetizer. THAT pisses me off. 9/10 times by the time I just get my drink order I'm starving so if my appetizer takes about 30 minutes too long I'm agitated.

Edited February 13, 2006 by Sixty8panther

[Croc]

Croc:

I like your new signature... very fitting. That girl is H-H-H-H-Hot!

What signature? Edited February 13, 2006 by Croc

[trinacriabob]

I almost never complain at restaurants.  You never know if when they replace some food whether they spit in it or something. 

Yikes. I DO think about that from time to time. I will complain about the food in a restaurant...usually about once in every 40 to 50 dines. If you are going to complain, make sure you are able to see into the kitchen and have a good read as to what's going on. I usually would like to see who the chef/cook is.

PB, I really wouldn't expect quality from a "fern bar" - chain operated, brass rails, hanging plants, etc. And, hell yes, you have a right to complain. I think most people don't complain. I hope you got some reduction on your tab.

One of my friends in Portland with whom I would go to eat said I was very "East Coast" (which I am not) because I would almost always ask for something prepared MY way - either a swap of garnishments, deleting an ingredient, bleu cheese in which to dip my fries or whatever. That's their line of work. It shouldn't bother them. By the way, this is a request, not a complaint.

Weirdest dining experiences:

1. My Mom once got a broken off shard of a plate in her food at Olive Garden. The entire ticket was comped.

2. Over Thanksgiving, at an 'effin awesome Italian restaurant in Buenos Aires Argentina, an ambulance pulls up and the attendants come into the restaurant. It was taking forever for my food to arrive. Turns out my waiter, a very low key Fernando, had a bizarre drop in blood pressure and someone else had to take his place.

3. The two rudest dining experiences ever - a condescending waitress at a seaside restaurant in Sausalito and the jerky Mexican owner at an Italian restaurant in Sonoma (who gave me the up and down because I walked in wearing shorts, a t-shirt and thongs). Both times, no tip and, next to the tip space on the credit card, I wrote "sn*tch" and "a*s h*le," respectively.

[frogger]

Funny I've also had a shard of plate served to me at Jack Astor's.

My worst experience has to be with a waitress on her first day at the Lonestar Cafe, she was so nervous, damn at the end of the meal cleaning up the table she dropped the little bowl of salsa, it ricocheted (there is a word I've never typed before) off a plate still on the table and pretty much on to me. Luckily I was wearing a leather jacket already. I got a $30 voucher for my trouble. Stayed calm, I didn't want the waitress to start crying on me.

Not 3 months later, I'm out again downtown Toronto at a Red Lobster, and who is my server? The same waitress. She remembers me as soon as she sees me and says "Don't worry, I'm normal now!"

[Black and Blue Landscaper]

One, i must state my background. I spent 3.5 years in food service, plus went to culinary school, Johnson and Wales.

First off, never ever leave the table when you have been served your food IMO.

Secondly be nice, a server(person) can only take so much before being put over the edge. If your server is rude, asked to be moved. Easy.

If your food comes out and it is crap, ask to speak to a manager, General or Kitchen, do not sound pissed or irrate, until he/she shows up. Most people who are servers are young, (and i would have to add a lot are not that brite) the manager will ensure you get your food back, clean, and on time. Believe me i have seen what some people will do, not all or most, but a small population, and it can be disgusting, but be nice, and you will be treated the same way.

I judge very harshly on food, and service, and will comment on both each time i go to a resturant, and that goes into the tip as well. if there are really big complaints or compliments i will speak to a manager.

now that, that is aside

F'N Funny Movie!!!

http://movies.go.com/movies/movie?name=waiting_2005

[Sixty8panther]

Okay, here's a story for you:

I love Subway 'Sweet Onion Chicket Terriaki' Subs. SO today (less than an hour ago) I grab one. Now I have to ask EVERY effin' time for them to spread out the meat instead of just throwing it on. Nothing more annoying than the first two bites being vegetarian and then a hughe glob of meat in the center of the sub.

So I ask politely and the lady complies. The Subway I go to is owned by this Indian (or Pakistani?) family and after I make my very polite requesst they start talking in Hindu or whatver and laugh and giggle like school girls.

That's rude. Maybe they were not talking about me but if you're going to converse in your native toungue & "make a funny" do it on your own time. I'm pretty sure however that the conversation was about the picky American or whatever.

I don'tspeak Slovakian wiht a buddy in situations like this, it's just plain rude.

[Satty]

On the other side of things, people get one one free stiff, if I dont get a tip on the first or second delivery I make to a house (could be weeks or months apart) then they aren't getting top-notch service the next time or times. I'm sorry but if you have the money to be ordering pizza (which when you think about it, isn't cheap compared to the alternatives) then you have a buck or two to give the drivers who burns his or her gas and puts the added miles on hir or her cars, and the driver (usually) has to cover the maintenance. Oil changes, brakes, tires, all that crap comes out of my pocket, and of your lazy ass doesn't realize that then you get non of your coveted parmasean cheese and crushed red pepper packets and you r driver likely wont take the "quick" route to make sure you get your food hot. As a matter of fact, the driver may very well take the "long" way which could take him or her several miles (or maybe a town or two) out of the way, and may do it with your food sitting on top of, and not inside, the delivery bag so it gets cold faster. On the flip side, if a driver knows he's going to get a tip, he'll do whatever it takes to make the customer happy. Same goes for wait staff.

And yes, I'm glad I only deliver a couple of days a week now, working in the store, even as management, is sooooo much less stressful.

[Croc]

Yea, whenever the pizza is late, I still tip the drivers because it isn't their fault. If management/person on the phone has been awful, though, I will tell the driver something that I'm not too thrilled...but again they get the tip because they didn't do it.

[Satty]

That reminds me of something that happened a couple weeks ago. We got a delivery to a construction site, a couple of guys finishing up a house because somebody bought it and wanted it done quickly, the workers didn't know the proper address or street name because its in a new area and nothing is clearly marked. So the guy who was supposed to take it called and was a complete asshole to the customer, saying we need an exact address, blah blah blah. Well he gets directions (very clear I might add) and when it comes up I realize that it runs better with the deliveris I was taking. So I get there (the only trouble being that the customer said there was a white truck parked out in front, and there were two houses right next to each other with white trucks) and the guy asks, "Are you the one I talked to on the phone?" I said no, the guy said, "Good, because he was a jerk" and gave me a $6 tip. I kick ass.

[tmp]

I was having a birthday dinner for a friend at <B>very</b> expensive restaurant in downtown LA (which I won't name, but it's, oh what the hell, it was Patina). The food would have been great if it wasn't served piping cold. Not one of the dishes were served above luke-warm. I didn't say anything at the time because it was a birthday dinner, and I wasn't paying for it. But I know it was more than $300 bucks- without tip (because I left the tip). I did quietly send in an email mentioning it, and didn't hear anything for two months. I sent a second email, and got a message back saying "so sorry, let us make it up, blah, blah, blah". Well, the dude didn't say that he was going to comp another meal for us, so I didn't bother. I don't need to be given a free round of drinks and another $300 dollar meal that ain't going to be better than what I can make at home.

[Croc]

That's unfortunate! I've heard that place is good.

[ocnblu]

There's nothing like a delicious, well priced meal, served by an attentive, good natured server, in a clean, well maintained restaurant. If the server is cute on top of all this, I will tip like crazy.