Do you send food back at a restaraunt?

watergirl

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 7:59 pm

We thought we would treat ourselves and went out to eat. We went to a cafeteria style restaurant, but I did not realize it until after we ordered. I ordered the special for the night - fettuccini alfredo. It was taking a while, so I went up to the counter to see why, and that's when I saw that the pasta, already made, sauced, ect, was in a pan, in some kind of tray (cooler? Heater? don't know). It was premade and they just nuke it, Ok, fine. But I didn't want it once I saw that it looked revolting (and I am not a picky eater) so I told the guy that I would like something else, but just as I was saying it, the microwave beeped and out came my $7.95 pasta. The owner promised me I would like it. It wasn't cream, it was just oil and herbs (which is that usually happens when fettuccini alfredo is nucked, I know). So I tried it, and brought it back to the counter. He fought with me a bit, but in the end I got something else.

Then my husbands bagel was burnt to a crisp! We didn't complain, but we wont go back there again.

WWYD? DO you send stuff back, and if so, under what circumstances?

sky

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 8:08 pm

We went out once to a new nice milchig place. and my DH ordered Eggplant Parm and the eggplant was hard as a rock. He sent it back twice and just gave up. When we left the owner asked how was the meal - my DH told him - he said we should get a drink on him. weren't going to just go over to the counter and request a drink so we paid and left.
A few months later my DH met the owner, a friend of a friend, and he asked my DH if we had been to his restaurant. DH told him the truth - he had an inedible $$ meal and all they offered him was a $3 drink. The guy was like come back I'll give you the drink. And DH was like you still don't get it - I don't want a drink - I want a good meal.
DH is more likely to send food back, especially because he is picky. He normally asks 1000 questions before ordering and if something doesn't line up he will say something. I'll always eat what I get.

Scrabble123

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 8:09 pm

Yes, if food is burnt, not prepared properly, or not fresh it is perfectly acceptable to send it back. I don't do this, but there is nothing wrong with doing so. Things can happen in a restaurant and orders can be prepared improperly or poorly and later fixed..

mandr

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 8:58 pm

Just like I send back a sweater if it comes snagged, a blow-up swimming pool if it has a hole in it, a light fixture that won't turn on - I will definitely send back food if it's not prepared properly or if it tastes really bad. On Mother's Day we went out somewhere and I ordered ravioli, which came with very, very little sauce. It was too dry to enjoy and it should have come with more sauce. So I told the waiter and while insisting that that's the way it comes (then ewww) she did go back and have them add more sauce to it. Once we went somewhere and there was a screw - yes, a screw! - in the dish. They gave us a free dessert.

When you go out to eat, you expect a decent dish for your money.

MaBelleVie

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 9:21 pm

I haven't had too many experiences where I wanted to, but generally kosher restaurants are low on service, at least the ones I frequent. The most innocuous has been sending back a steak that is too rare, that turns out fine. Usually I just get a waiter who argues with me, if I'm lucky he'll bring it to the chef and then bring it back saying the chef said it tastes exactly the way it should Confused

The most recent was a mid to upscale dairy restaurant with some extended family, so we were a group of about 8- not a small bill. And the place was fairly quiet, no harried waiters. Anyway, I ordered pasta with cream sauce for my kids, but my kids were barely touching it so I decided to taste it. It was really, really BITTER. So I very nicely called over the manager and explained it to him. He spent a few minutes trying to convince me that it was freshly made bla bla and finally I sent him to have the chef taste it. He came back and said yeah, the chef said that's because we use a cheese with that flavor for the sauce. I explained that it was not a traditional cream sauce, I had never tasted such bitter cheese, and my kids wouldn't eat it. Nothing. No offers to compensate, replace, whatever.

Like I said... No service.

ElTam

Thu, Jul 31 2014, 12:22 am

If your food is not fresh, not the proper temperature, not cooked to order, or not made correctly, I think it is fine to send it back. If you just changed your mind on what you wanted, that would be wrong, I think.

I waited tables in college and people sent food back. If you are polite about it, it shouldn't be a problem. Some people abuse the privilege though, like eating 3/4 of the food and then sending it back because "it isn't good" (really, it took you 20 bites to figure that out?) or sending back food and asking for what someone at a nearby table is having instead, where it's obvious they saw someone else's food and had second thoughts.

If you send food back on a regular basis, at numerous restaurants, then I would think about where the problem really lies. But I think people like that are in the minority, from my experience.

Motherlee

Thu, Jul 31 2014, 3:06 am

I'll send food back if there's something very wrong with the dish. Something unsanitary, raw...

Case in point:
Waiter comes with my french onion soup and as he leans over to place the bowl in front of me, the cigarette that was wedged behind his ear *plops* into my soup. Then he turns to me and kind of debates whether he should bring it back or not.

True story.

mandr

Thu, Jul 31 2014, 10:26 am

Motherlee wrote:

amother

Thu, Jul 31 2014, 10:33 am

Yes I've complained about food a few times, if it's really inedible. Most recently was when I was with my sister in a café and we both had a crepe. The crepes were very poorly cooked, they were all doughy very undercooked. I like my food to be very well cooked, and that is how crepes should be ; well cooked, golden brown. They were really soggy and disgusting so we complained. I wonder if they took on board what we said and have started cooking them properly.

amother

Thu, Jul 31 2014, 10:55 am

We went out to eat last night and ordered (amongst other things) mozzarella sticks. They were the last thing to come to the table (a good half hour after we ordered) and aside for the thinnest one, they were all still frozen solid inside.

Of course I sent it back and didn't pay for it.

I've never understood this attitude when people go out to eat, are unhappy with something, and are embarassed to say so. If you bought a skirt and the hem fell down the first day, wouldn't you take it back?

heidi

Thu, Jul 31 2014, 10:59 am

I've sent food back. The restaurant is not your mother-- you don't have to worry about insulting them. If you are paying, you should be enjoying.
On the other hand, make sure it's objective. Meaning, if something is over or under cooked or comes with sauce when you requested specifically not, that's one thing. A couple weeks ago I went out with DH and ordered mallard. I thought it was like duck. It's not. I would never send it back, but now know I don't like mallard.

rj123

Thu, Jul 31 2014, 11:10 am

That's a good distinction. If the restaurant is at fault, there shouldn't be a problem with sending it back. However if it's just not to your taste? Then I don't think it's appropriate to complain (unless there's something really wrong with it).

MaBelleVie

Thu, Jul 31 2014, 11:19 am

amother wrote:

Not that I'm embarrassed, but they make it such a hassle that sometimes it's just not worth it. Between the attitude they give you and the energy you put into explaining to five different people, it can be stressful and ruin an otherwise pleasant experience.

amother

Thu, Jul 31 2014, 11:36 am

We went to an expensive steakhouse and after a very lengthy delay, they brought me the wrong order. I sent it back and after another long delay, during which my husband ate his rapidly congealing dish, they brought my steak - burnt. I was jet lagged at the time and falling asleep at the table, so I just ate whatever was edible and never went back again.

Chayalle

Thu, Jul 31 2014, 11:44 am

I once ordered a grilled portabella sandwich at a dairy restaurant....it came with like, a tiny pita with ONE portabella inside, and a few veggies.

I regret not complaining. I ended up eating DD's leftover baked ziti so I wouldn't be hungry.

I do think if something is so far from worth the eating out, one should complain.

dimyona

Thu, Jul 31 2014, 11:47 am

I understand that there are sometimes valid reasons to send food back at a restaurant, but lately my husband and I have a little people watching game where we try to predict whether certain people will send back food.

We've discovered that there are some personality types that will always find something to complain about. Some people just enjoy being "feinshmekers", and we're usually pretty good at detecting and predicting this Wink

. It's the same kind of people who carry wads of hundreds in their wallet to show off, instead of keeping it in the bank. I once watched someone return a $70 steak because it was slightly more well done than they liked. I think the chef or manager refused to let the poor waiter give them a replacement since it was a special cut, and they were giving him such a hard time no matter how many perks and free desserts he offered. I think the whole situation was more of a power struggle than a real issue with the taste of the food, and that's often what these situations are about.

I'm personally pretty shy about complaining in general, but I understand that if something is completely botched there's no reason not to ask for better. Especially if the dish can be altered instead of just tossed in the trash. But it's not good to make a habit of it. Even if you're not paying for the disliked dish, someone is, and it may be coming out of the pockets of someone who is completely undeserving.

heidi

Thu, Jul 31 2014, 11:51 am

I once watched someone return a $70 steak because it was slightly more well done than they liked. I think the chef or manager refused to let the poor waiter give them a replacement since it was a special cut, and they were giving him such a hard time no matter how many perks and free desserts he offered. I think the whole situation was more of a power struggle than a real issue with the taste of the food, and that's often what these situations are about.

I really take exception to that! If I order a $70 steak, it darn well better be cooked the way I specified. I like my meat so raw it's practically still breathing, and I would certainly send back such an expensive item if it was "slightly more well done" which to me equates to inedible.

dimyona

Thu, Jul 31 2014, 11:56 am

heidi wrote:

There's no question that the restaurant should have cooked the meat better; I just think the situation could have been handled more gracefully. Their overall attitude seemed to indicate that it was more about them being right than the food being good. They were the kind of people that complain about the soup being too hot and the drinks too cold.