Do you complain about bad food?

[madamy]

I worked in several restaurants While in High School and college as a line cook and pantry chef. I have never seen a coworker do anything disgusting to anyones food because they sent it back. Never, not even if the customer ordered a steak and sent it back because they thought it was cooked improperly, and it was cooked perfectly. You have no idea how many people order a steak rare but really want it cooked medium. I will always send food back if there is a problem with it, which is rarely. I send mixed drinks back to the bar all the time, so many bartenders don't know how to make a decent margarita, or bloody mary, etc. I always just get something else (Like beer) instead of having them remake the same terrible drink again.

 

[Jubilee]

I complained about my steak from Yacht Club that was tough and smelled like lighter fluid. It had obviously been cooked wrong, so I felt justified in sending it back.

But when something is just spiced differently than I prefer it or something like that, then I accept responsibility for my decision to try something new.

The lighter fluid made me laugh... I had a kerosene tasting turkey leg at a medieval faire once too lol

 

[mpls_mm]

I don't know if it makes anyone feel better, but usually the kitchen doesn't know it's a re-order. It gets rung on the check like a regular meal and then a manager takes off the extra meal. At Disney the kitchens are so huge and there is so much action, no one has time to notice that table 31 is getting fish to replace the chicken. The only time the kitchen would know is if an item was undercooked or cold and the server if lazy might microwave it or have the cook throw it back on a few minutes. The times I have seen disgusting things done, it has been completely random and had nothing to do with re-cooks. I usually never have the same thing, ie I don't ask for the same thing but cooked more or cooked less. I get something completely different. I have worked in many a restaurant and have seen unimaginable things and I haven't gotten sick so I don't sweat it. As a matter of fact, I worked in a certain place 15 minutes from Disney where we wrapped our purses in saran wrap at the beginning of the night so we wouldn't carry roaches home with us. There were that many. And yes, I ate there. Fried food of course, it kills off everything, and most of the gunk sinks to the bottom.

 

[simonkodousek]

If a part (or all) of my meal is cooked improperly, I will mention it to the server and request the issue or issues are taken care of. If it comes back to the table in the same state as before, I will simply leave the restaurant.

On the other hand, if I am ordering something that I have never had before, or is prepared differently to what I have had in the past, I will not complain because I don't know how it is supposed to taste.

 

[ransom]

The lighter fluid made me laugh... I had a kerosene tasting turkey leg at a medieval faire once too lol

Yum! You must have gobbled that right down!

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

I will say that the folks at Yachtsman's Steakhouse were great about the whole thing. I didn't ask for anything. After taking a bite of it I wasn't hungry any more, so I just wanted to point out the problem. But the waiter and the manager and the chef all came to my table (in turn) insisting that I absolutely must allow them to cook me something else. So I did, but then I felt guilty because, although I'm sure it was perfect, I just couldn't stomach much of that, either, after the lighter fluid incident.

So we'll give them another try some day. But not this year.

 

[momofpirates]

I agree with those who stated if I've made a bad choice, I live with it. Now, if my kids order a grilled cheese and it comes out like a hockey puck (this has happened more than one at RFC), it goes back to the kitchen for an edible replacement. Same thing for chargrilled hotdogs or dry chicken breast. I also can't eat bloody meat, so I will ask for it to be cooked a little more to my liking. Other than those few times, we usually eat what's on our plates. No food waste for us!

 

[lynda1212]

I always talk to the server and the manager if on the very rare occassion I get bad food, or even if something doesn't live up to expectations - the manager is normally very interested in guest comments.

On the flip side - I always praise the server and manager on excellent food too - that's just as important.

 

[rico567]

From what I've read of the prices of food at WDW vs. the quality, you can bet that not only if the food is bad, but if it doesn't measure up to the menu price, I'll be saying plenty! It's the only way to get these situations rectified, folks.

 

[wdw4us2]

If it is bad (spoiled, funny taste etc) yes I will complain. If it is something I just dont like then no I will not complain.

I agree. I once had to do this at Le Chef's de France. I had some type of lamb that just tasted rancid. It was the first time I'd ever sent food back anywhere in my life. Right after I did that, several others around me did the same when they tasted theirs.

If something is not as good as it was on a previous visit, I make sure to tell the server. I also tell them that I'm not trying to have the item removed from our bill, I just want to make sure the chef knows that the quality has slipped.

 

[spooky1]

Warning - not for the faint of heart.

Last year we had a horrible experience at Coral Reef. I had ordered the Grilled Chicken Breast with rice and when I cut into it I cut a vein that was in the chicken. Well this vein was still full of blood and it totally grossed me an my wife out. It was not a pretty site and what transpired made the experience even uglier.

When I brought it to the attention of the waitress she just blew me off - eventually she asked do you want another I said no - just take it off my bill! The manager came out about 5 minutes later and said there was nothing at all wrong with the chicken and that he wouldn't take it off the bill.

Well that really ticked my wife off and she went off on him ... eventually the manager agreed to take it off our bill but only if we left our room number/hotel info with him. He went on some big rant about how people were going around Disney trying to eat free implying that was what I was trying to do. Lord that was clearly not the case here, but the smuck wasn't bright enough to put one and one together. We will never go back there again.

 

[KorieDWnut]

Are you crazy?! I used to work in food service and I hesitate sometimes to just ORDER some items! I would NEVER send my food back because there is no telling what you could get back. Maybe the cook/server is having a bad night. Maybe he/she is tired. Maybe he/she had a fight with his boyfriend/girfriend. You just gave them a great way to vent their frustrations! You don't like how much your chicken is cooked? Wait until you taste the new seasoning in the sauce!

I have been a waitress for almost 13 years. I have worked many chain restaurants as well as some small family ones. I have never seen anything happen to food simply for sending it back because it was cooked wrong.

I would never hesitate to send something back because it was cooked wrong.

I HATE it when my customers wait until the end to complain because there really isn't a whole lot I can do for them at that point. If they told me before, I could have replaced their meal with something more to their liking. What I hate more is when a customer eats more than half their food, tells me that everything is fine when I check, but then at the end complain and expect me to comp their meal. Um, no. If they didn't TOUCH the food or barely poked at it, then yes, I would probably comp it, but if you are eating it AFTER I had already checked with you and you said everything was fine, then you are simply out of luck my friend.

 

[Aimeedyan]

If it's not cooked right, or a really bad piece of meat (like a poor piece of steak), I'll send it back.

We tossed our hamburgers at Pecos Bills and didn't bother complaining. It was free dining, you had to wait 15 minutes to even place an order, and in the madness it simply wasn't worth tracking down a manager to tell them their hamburgers were gross. He/she could have credited back the credits but we didn't care enough to take time out of our day to do so. (we actually had 4 CS credits left when we boarded the plane at the end so we wouldn't have used them anyways)

I have ordered things that I simply didn't like but that is my fault, not theirs, so I don't complain. Like the Tonga Toast at Kona. Just personal preference.

 

[mpls_mm]

I HATE it when my customers wait until the end to complain because there really isn't a whole lot I can do for them at that point. If they told me before, I could have replaced their meal with something more to their liking. What I hate more is when a customer eats more than half their food, tells me that everything is fine when I check, but then at the end complain and expect me to comp their meal. Um, no. If they didn't TOUCH the food or barely poked at it, then yes, I would probably comp it, but if you are eating it AFTER I had already checked with you and you said everything was fine, then you are simply out of luck my friend.

Like when they complain there is no booze in the drink after they have drunk at least half of it and want a new one.

 

[nikapluto]

If something is not what I would have reaaallly liked I usually let it go. I'll just deal with the disappointment and move on (such is life lol). However if something is truly awful I usually mention it to the waiter or if its REALLY awful send it back. I am definitely one of those people that understand that especially in a Disney restaurant things get lost in the kitchen...its cool, fine, ok, just make it taste good. However if I have to pay over 100 bucks for a meal....make it taste darn good