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Have you had to send a meal back at a restaurant?

TankHawk said:
"But we went out with my wife's high school friend and husband the other night, and they both sent their meals back for what I thought were trivial reasons, and in dramatic fashion. It admittedly made me feel uncomfortable, and I learned later that they probably send back a third of their meals when they eat out, to try to get a discount/free meal.

Admittedly it worked and I was paying, but definitely was not worth the drama that was put forth just to save me close to $100. I definitely have no plans to dine with them again when they are in town.
Anyone else had to go through this?"
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I don't understand. Why were they worried about getting a free or discounted meal if you were picking up the tab? Were they worried you could not afford it?[/QUOTE]
They weren't aware I was picking up the tab. I gave the waiter my credit card before the bill came.
 
stevenpatrick said:
I have sent a few steak and tuna dishes back for being cooked incorrectly, and my wife has sent a few pasta dishes back for being overcooked. All without drama. But we went out with my wife's high school friend and husband the other night, and they both sent their meals back for what I thought were trivial reasons, and in dramatic fashion. It admittedly made me feel uncomfortable, and I learned later that they probably send back a third of their meals when they eat out, to try to get a discount/free meal.

Admittedly it worked and I was paying, but definitely was not worth the drama that was put forth just to save me close to $100. I definitely have no plans to dine with them again when they are in town.
Anyone else had to go through this?
Click to expand...

I was at dinner with a few coworkers and the exec in our group complained about every course, literally. He even sent a bottle of wine back. He was quite rude to the server as well. The 4 of us with him were completely embarrassed. It was a very uncomfortable meal. When he got up to leave, we apologized to the server and the manager as the meal was very good. We also made sure to tip quite a bit extra for the pain and suffering that was totally undeserved.

Very seldom have I sent a meal back. I've had a steak cooked a little longer as it came out much more rare than I'd have liked, but that's about it.
 
I've never sent an entire meal back. I do recall asking for a different salad when I saw hair and what looked like dirt in the dressing. I wondered if someone had actually dropped the salad and scooped it back up. I don't want my salad tossed that much!

But I do avoid a restaurant that has served me a bad meal.

I have had many more meals ruined by impolite and overly expectant persons in my party who did send meals back exactly as the OP describes.

I've also left before actually ordering a meal based on the initial service or lack thereof. That has happened several times. Maybe that's how I've avoided very many bad meals?

Feel like typing...my best experience was at a restaurant near or in Chicago, probably a "Burb". A Bavarian place called, "The Golden Duckling". The waitresses were all the pleasantly rounded motherly types with a fine German accent. The food was terrific and when the dessert which came with the meal arrived it was a good looking strudel. My wife turned hers down for lack of remaining appetite and the waitress was visibly saddened. So I offered to accept her dessert. The waitress grew a huge smile, reached out and squeezed my cheek in that "Great Aunt" type of slightly painful tug, and said, "You good boy!!!!!!!!!!" I was hooked. That's not service, that's love man. Momma!!! Can I have another duck?!?

The worst was in Iowa City at a Mediterranean restaurant going on fifteen, twenty years ago. Don't know why I stayed for the whole thing. Everything was constantly late and people were giving up and leaving. One waitress clued us in that the kitchen was having problems. Problems? We later heard someone yelling in the back that the cook was a no show. Anyway, again, for no good reason but to see what happened we stayed and about an hour from arriving our food arrived, terrible, terrible food. I presume it was the owner who eventually came to our table and apologized. He wasn't even trying to pretend anything had gone well. I simply responded to his apology by saying, "Well, not every night is a good night." He stopped and thought for a second and responded, "Yes! Still better than bombs going off around you!" I think, he was referring to a life experience. Hope things turned out better for him.
 
stevenpatrick said:
I have sent a few steak and tuna dishes back for being cooked incorrectly, and my wife has sent a few pasta dishes back for being overcooked. All without drama. But we went out with my wife's high school friend and husband the other night, and they both sent their meals back for what I thought were trivial reasons, and in dramatic fashion. It admittedly made me feel uncomfortable, and I learned later that they probably send back a third of their meals when they eat out, to try to get a discount/free meal.

Admittedly it worked and I was paying, but definitely was not worth the drama that was put forth just to save me close to $100. I definitely have no plans to dine with them again when they are in town.
Anyone else had to go through this?
Click to expand...
If you're the type of person who send stuff back because you decide you simply don't like a dish, then you are the scum of the earth.
 
The only time I send a meal back is if it is dangerous to one's health -- mainly undercooked chicken and pork. I, too, like my steak extremely rare and have a couple places cook it a bit longer than I would have liked. I don't send it back, but just make a mental note in case we go back to that particular restaurant. My wife (pic upon request) sent back a meal the other day at one of our favorite restaurants in Vegas because it contained the wrong ingredient. Kitchen and staff were extremely apologetic and corrected the gaffe.
 
As a restaurant guy, I'd rather hear about it, even if it's just picking nits, than have someone simply not come back. Of course I own the place and convincing employees to have the same mindset is tough. Especially when you know the person is a complainer/looking for something for free. Hard to swallow and accept it when you know for a fact they said bone in wings but then a different person calls back and claims they were the person who ordered and said boneless...... no that didn't just happen to me today, not at all.

Recently I finally told a customer I would replace her pizza for her for the last time. I simply said, "i have never said this to a customer before but no matter what we do, we can't make you happy. It is always something when you order. After tonight I'm not going to replace your food for you because short of you coming into the kitchen and making it yourself, I dont' know how to make you happy"
Over cooked, under cooked, not enough taco chips, don't want to pay for extra taco chips, too big of taco chips, too crushed up taco chips, not enough tomatoes, not enough hot sauce packets, (I'm not exaggerating these are all complaints from one woman I have logged), and my favorite 'you're driver got here too quickly, I was at the store getting something to drink and your driver kept calling my cell phone while I was at the store'.


Oddly enough she agreed and didn't protest when I told her that. She has ordered since and not complained and even complimented the driver the other day saying the pizza looked good.

We do have a database for all complaints, and you can begin to redflag the scammers really quickly. I honestly want to start a private FB page or other website for all the QCA pizza places to share info on names/address/numbers of suspected scammers. We assume many run the same "I got a pizza last night and it was cold but we ate it anyway because we were so hungry and waited til today to call" kind of tricks with everyone, hoping someone will bite on it.
 
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MN.HAWK said:
As a restaurant guy, I'd rather hear about it, even if it's just picking nits, than have someone simply not come back. Of course I own the place and convincing employees to have the same mindset is tough. Especially when you know the person is a complainer/looking for something for free. Hard to swallow and accept it when you know for a fact they said bone in wings but then a different person calls back and claims they were the person who ordered and said boneless...... no that didn't just happen to me today, not at all.

Recently I finally told a customer I would replace her pizza for her for the last time. I simply said, "i have never said this to a customer before but no matter what we do, we can't make you happy. It is always something when you order. After tonight I'm not going to replace your food for you because short of you coming into the kitchen and making it yourself, I dont' know how to make you happy"
Over cooked, under cooked, not enough taco chips, don't want to pay for extra taco chips, too big of taco chips, too crushed up taco chips, not enough tomatoes, not enough hot sauce packets, (I'm not exaggerating these are all complaints from one woman I have logged), and my favorite 'you're driver got here too quickly, I was at the store getting something to drink and your driver kept calling my cell phone while I was at the store'.


Oddly enough she agreed and didn't protest when I told her that. She has ordered since and not complained and even complimented the driver the other day saying the pizza looked good.

We do have a database for all complaints, and you can begin to redflag the scammers really quickly. I honestly want to start a private FB page or other website for all the QCA pizza places to share info on names/address/numbers of suspected scammers. We assume many run the same "I got a pizza last night and it was cold but we ate it anyway because we were so hungry and waited til today to call" kind of tricks with everyone, hoping someone will bite on it.
Click to expand...

If you ever want to try something really good, or maybe you have, Texas Chili Pizza.

Chili sauce over the skin, plenty of cheese, hamburger seasoned with chili pepper. Tomatoes, peppers. When it comes out sprinkle oyster crackers on it. Oh, and the trick is to add more warmed up chili sauce after it comes out so the thing drips a bit. Serve with a bottle of Tobasco Sauce. Great wintertime pizza.
 
Aegon_Targaryen said:
If you're the type of person who send stuff back because you decide you simply don't like a dish, then you are the scum of the earth.
Click to expand...
I've been with people that have done this with wine and had to call them out on it. For some reason they thought the sample you get when they open the bottle was to see if you like it rather than to see if it has turned. I was so embarrassed I found the waiter and paid for the first bottle myself.
 
DanL53 said:
If you ever want to try something really good, or maybe you have, Texas Chili Pizza.

Chili sauce over the skin, plenty of cheese, hamburger seasoned with chili pepper. Tomatoes, peppers. When it comes out sprinkle oyster crackers on it. Oh, and the trick is to add more warmed up chili sauce after it comes out so the thing drips a bit. Serve with a bottle of Tobasco Sauce. Great wintertime pizza.
Click to expand...

This sounds awesome. Where the hell did this idea come from?
 
DanL53 said:
If you ever want to try something really good, or maybe you have, Texas Chili Pizza.

Chili sauce over the skin, plenty of cheese, hamburger seasoned with chili pepper. Tomatoes, peppers. When it comes out sprinkle oyster crackers on it. Oh, and the trick is to add more warmed up chili sauce after it comes out so the thing drips a bit. Serve with a bottle of Tobasco Sauce. Great wintertime pizza.
Click to expand...
we've done it more as a chilli cheese dog pizza with hotdogs added, but never the crackers. I'm going to give this a rip this fall and maybe try corn chips instead of oyster crackers.
 
MN.HAWK said:
As a restaurant guy, I'd rather hear about it, even if it's just picking nits, than have someone simply not come back. Of course I own the place and convincing employees to have the same mindset is tough. Especially when you know the person is a complainer/looking for something for free. Hard to swallow and accept it when you know for a fact they said bone in wings but then a different person calls back and claims they were the person who ordered and said boneless...... no that didn't just happen to me today, not at all.

Recently I finally told a customer I would replace her pizza for her for the last time. I simply said, "i have never said this to a customer before but no matter what we do, we can't make you happy. It is always something when you order. After tonight I'm not going to replace your food for you because short of you coming into the kitchen and making it yourself, I dont' know how to make you happy"
Over cooked, under cooked, not enough taco chips, don't want to pay for extra taco chips, too big of taco chips, too crushed up taco chips, not enough tomatoes, not enough hot sauce packets, (I'm not exaggerating these are all complaints from one woman I have logged), and my favorite 'you're driver got here too quickly, I was at the store getting something to drink and your driver kept calling my cell phone while I was at the store'.


Oddly enough she agreed and didn't protest when I told her that. She has ordered since and not complained and even complimented the driver the other day saying the pizza looked good.

We do have a database for all complaints, and you can begin to redflag the scammers really quickly. I honestly want to start a private FB page or other website for all the QCA pizza places to share info on names/address/numbers of suspected scammers. We assume many run the same "I got a pizza last night and it was cold but we ate it anyway because we were so hungry and waited til today to call" kind of tricks with everyone, hoping someone will bite on it.
Click to expand...

People like that are the most miserable people on earth inside. So they have to spread their misery by being the most unenjoyable people in public.
 
GarryO37 said:
This sounds awesome. Where the hell did this idea come from?
Click to expand...

1970's Happy Joe's. It was a test pizza we cooked after hours. We all thought it was great but it never made the menu. As I recall there were too many ingredients we didn't normally use.
 
I've sent steaks back a few times for being over-cooked. But it was at an expensive restaurant where they specialized in steak. You'd think they should know how to cook it properly. I prefer medium rare, and will only consider sending it back it is over-done to medium well. It's such a pain, the next time you get it really rare. I don't want a free anything, only a steak medium rare.
 
Hawk in SEC Country said:
People like that are the most miserable people on earth inside. So they have to spread their misery by being the most unenjoyable people in public.
Click to expand...


They really really are. They are a small reason I got out of being a chef as a career. Main reason was the hours but I digress.

Here's a suggestion I have for every restaurant patron. If you've had a great meal and experience, let the kitchen know. Don't try to relay the message through the server, it's not very reliable. Ask for a manager to relay the message for you. Better yet, in cases of an open kitchen, let them know personally. You have no idea how much a simple positive compliment can lift a kitchen's spirits.

Working in the back you are constantly putting out fires and mainly deal with things that haven't gone right. One solid compliment from a customer can make your entire night.

People who piss and moan about a meal that was just fine to just get a discount are absolutely scum of the Earth for many reasons. The biggest reason to me, is that in their asinine act of selfishness to save a buck, they literally affected the service and night of every other patron in the restaurant. When food gets sent back, the kitchen has to disrupt the flow of their tickets to fix the problem. This causes the kitchen to have to prioritize that item, and slowing down service for the rest of the customers. They piss off the kitchen staff, they piss off the serve staff, they piss off management who now has lost money or broke even on the table. Now that table is also slower and sits around longer which affects turnover which affects people waiting in line for a table.

These people have no idea the amount of chaos they cause, and they don't seem to care. They are the absolute worst.
 
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like-woahh said:
They really really are. They are a small reason I got out of being a chef as a career. Main reason was the hours but I digress.

Here's a suggestion I have for every restaurant patron. If you've had a great meal and experience, let the kitchen know. Don't try to relay the message through the server, it's not very reliable. Ask for a manager to relay the message for you. Better yet, in cases of an open kitchen, let them know personally. You have no idea how much a simple positive compliment can lift a kitchen's spirits.

Working in the back you are constantly putting out fires and mainly deal with things that haven't gone right. One solid compliment from a customer can make your entire night.

People who piss and moan about a meal that was just fine to just get a discount are absolutely scum of the Earth for many reasons. The biggest reason to me, is that in their asinine act of selfishness to save a buck, they literally affected the service and night of every other patron in the restaurant. When food gets sent back, the kitchen has to disrupt the flow of their tickets to fix the problem. This causes the kitchen to have to prioritize that item, and slowing down service for the rest of the customers. They piss off the kitchen staff, they piss off the serve staff, they piss off management who now has lost money or broke even on the table. Now that table is also slower and sits around longer which affects turnover which affects people waiting in line for a table.

These people have no idea the amount of chaos they cause, and they don't seem to care. They are the absolute worst.
Click to expand...
I do this on a regular basis-give a shout out to the open kitchen if something is really great. I encourage my friends to do so too.
 
stevenpatrick said:
I have sent a few steak and tuna dishes back for being cooked incorrectly, and my wife has sent a few pasta dishes back for being overcooked. All without drama. But we went out with my wife's high school friend and husband the other night, and they both sent their meals back for what I thought were trivial reasons, and in dramatic fashion. It admittedly made me feel uncomfortable, and I learned later that they probably send back a third of their meals when they eat out, to try to get a discount/free meal.

Admittedly it worked and I was paying, but definitely was not worth the drama that was put forth just to save me close to $100. I definitely have no plans to dine with them again when they are in town.
Anyone else had to go through this?
Click to expand...
Eff no I don't send the food back. That is just asking for the "works" to be added to the dish.
 
like-woahh said:
Here's a suggestion I have for every restaurant patron. If you've had a great meal and experience, let the kitchen know. Don't try to relay the message through the server, it's not very reliable. Ask for a manager to relay the message for you. Better yet, in cases of an open kitchen, let them know personally. You have no idea how much a simple positive compliment can lift a kitchen's spirits.
Click to expand...

Are you/they that needy?
 
stevenpatrick said:
I don't understand. Why were they worried about getting a free or discounted meal if you were picking up the tab? Were they worried you could not afford it?
Click to expand...
They weren't aware I was picking up the tab. I gave the waiter my credit card before the bill came.[/QUOTE]
Why not cash?
 
ANYCHawk said:
Are you/they that needy?
Click to expand...


It's not a matter of being needy. Don't you feel better about your job when your boss gives you a compliment on a job well done? In the restaurant world, your ultimate boss are the customers. When they give you a compliment it's a great boost in your morale. There's a different connection between making an awesome spreadsheet for someone and creating an awesome dish for someone.

If you only heard negative shit without hearing the positive day in and day out, would you not feel worse about your occupation?

I'm just saying, be a positive person when you have a positive experience and give credit where it is due. You can really uplift someone's day.
 
like-woahh said:
It's not a matter of being needy. Don't you feel better about your job when your boss gives you a compliment on a job well done?
Click to expand...

Sure, but I don't need it or want it or even wish for it. That crowded dining room is enough to show my I'm doing OK
 
ANYCHawk said:
So you admit to being that needy?
Click to expand...

Again, it's not a matter of being needy. I didn't quit the industry because of that, it's just nice getting a morale boost from someone who appreciates what you do. It's a tough job, when getting a compliment, it made me a happier person.

You can be a grind it out type of person, but that only goes so far. I've seen those types, they typically end in drug abuse.
 
I suspect you're out on a limb here, ANYC. It is a big shot in the arm to a kitchen. It is a shot in the arm to anybody when the customer says "Hey awesome job with that"... I tell the server too and they usually smile and say something along the lines of "I'm glad you enjoyed it". Of course, I augment my verbal comments with a good tip.
 
stevenpatrick said:
I have sent a few steak and tuna dishes back for being cooked incorrectly, and my wife has sent a few pasta dishes back for being overcooked. All without drama. But we went out with my wife's high school friend and husband the other night, and they both sent their meals back for what I thought were trivial reasons, and in dramatic fashion. It admittedly made me feel uncomfortable, and I learned later that they probably send back a third of their meals when they eat out, to try to get a discount/free meal.

Admittedly it worked and I was paying, but definitely was not worth the drama that was put forth just to save me close to $100. I definitely have no plans to dine with them again when they are in town.
Anyone else had to go through this?
Click to expand...

Saw this scam in Tampa when down at the Outback Bowl vs LSU.
Went to Cheescake Factory with a couple buddies.
At the table next to us is a couple - 35ish. They sit down and in about 15 seconds the guy makes a beeline to the bar. Comes back with a beer and a glass of wine.
Waitress comes takes their order. Between the order and the food coming they then order a couple bluetinis or some other designer drinks. Food comes the broad eats about three bites of her fish, rest of her plate and they split his kobe beef burger. When waitress comes for the bill guy says he wants to see the manager. Guy complains to manager says he had to go to the bar himself for drinks and the wifes fish is way to dry.
Manager comps the drinks at the table, her meal and throws in two desserts. One they ask to eat there - they take the other home.
Same waitress as us and she was average - not good, not bad.
 
I've only sent back things like raw chicken or other kinds of obvious major things....but I'll do it politely
 
stevenpatrick said:
I have sent a few steak and tuna dishes back for being cooked incorrectly, and my wife has sent a few pasta dishes back for being overcooked. All without drama. But we went out with my wife's high school friend and husband the other night, and they both sent their meals back for what I thought were trivial reasons, and in dramatic fashion. It admittedly made me feel uncomfortable, and I learned later that they probably send back a third of their meals when they eat out, to try to get a discount/free meal.

Admittedly it worked and I was paying, but definitely was not worth the drama that was put forth just to save me close to $100. I definitely have no plans to dine with them again when they are in town.
Anyone else had to go through this?
Click to expand...
I've sent steak back that was undercooked, numerous times. I've sent soup and food back that was cold.

If you act like a snob or a dick about it, you will get spit or worse put onto your food before it comes back.
 
DaveSnedeker said:
The only time I send a meal back is if it is dangerous to one's health -- mainly undercooked chicken and pork. I, too, like my steak extremely rare and have a couple places cook it a bit longer than I would have liked. I don't send it back, but just make a mental note in case we go back to that particular restaurant. My wife (pic upon request) sent back a meal the other day at one of our favorite restaurants in Vegas because it contained the wrong ingredient. Kitchen and staff were extremely apologetic and corrected the gaffe.
Click to expand...

Posted on Friday, and not one single person has requested pics, yet? HROT is slipping.
 
^^^^^


Don't blame me, I just read this thread!!


Love the subtle brag by steve (cost of the meals). You never disappoint SP!
 
hawkitd said:
^^^^^


Don't blame me, I just read this thread!!


Love the subtle brag by steve (cost of the meals). You never disappoint SP!
Click to expand...

???? It was less than $100 for 2 people. How in the world is that bragging?
 
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