Given Wrong Food in Restaurant, WWYD?

[Chattyaholic]

I was dealing with a phone call (employee quitting) the other night when one of my food orders came up. The cook put the wrong guest check beside it and I should have checked it, I know, but I was thinking about the phone call and just didn't think to check it. Took the food to who I thought had ordered it. I put the plate in front of her and she said "thank you."

The cook rang me for the next order so I went and got it, put the food in front of the two women and one said "um, that's not what I ordered. I think you gave mine to her", as she was pointing to the woman across the room who was ALREADY EATING THE WRONG ORDER.

I apologized profusely, and said I would have the correct order out in just a few minutes. I completely took the blame for the mistake, BUT shouldn't the other woman have said something when I put the wrong food in front of her?

She had ordered a bacon cheeseburger without the bun, and onion rings.

What I gave her, that the OTHER woman had ordered" was a cheeseburger on white bread and fries.

The first woman who got the wrong order was actually EATING it, acting like nothing was wrong! When I explained what had happened she said "well, I thought you'd made a mistake...."

If a server put something in front of me that I didn't order, I wouldn't let her walk away, would you?

 

[SC Minnie]

I would tell them it wasn't what I ordered. This has actually happened to us especially in the restaurants that the food isn't brought out by your particular server. I always tell them it isn't ours.

 

[Chilehead Too]

I just find it so funny that she ordered it without the bun and then ate it with bread


Oh and I would send back the wrong order, unless it looked really yummy.

 

[Christine]

Gosh, the customer who got the wrong order seems, well, terribly passive. I would never eat the wrong order, even if I liked it. Seems weird, but some people are absolutely afraid of having any kind of "situation" so maybe that's the reason.

 

[Heidict]

I have had it happen to me before and I just let the waitress know that it wasn't what I ordered. They take it back and get me the right order. However, I hate it when the waitress argues with about it.

"Yes, this is what you ordered!!!" "No, it's not", Yes it is" and back and forth. Um, I'm the customer and I think I would know better then you what I ordered!!! Thankfully that has only happened like 2 or 3 times, but I get so furious when it does happen. I have worked as a waitress and if I did that then I would just apologize, find out what they ordered and get it to them. I guess some people just can't be wrong.

Anyway, I have no idea why this women would eat a meal that wasn't even what she wanted. Doesn't sound to bright to me.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I would have felt like saying, "Well, I think you're stupid" to the first lady. No, wouldn't have really said it, of course, but how strange that she noticed right away and then didn't say anything. And that she ate it with the bun when she didn't want it. It's fine not to cause a big scene, but she at least she have taken the bun off. Maybe she was in a hurry and was concerned that it was made wrong (not just a mix-up) and she didn't want to wait for a remake. But that doesn't explain eating the bun, which she didn't want.

 

[minnieandme]

Gosh, the customer who got the wrong order seems, well, terribly passive. I would never eat the wrong order, even if I liked it. Seems weird, but some people are absolutely afraid of having any kind of "situation" so maybe that's the reason.

what she said

 

[DisneyBlonde]

If I ordered chicken parm and I got fettucini I would say something. If I ordered a burger with no bun, and it came with the bun, I would probably assume it was my order and someone didn't see the 'no bun' (and rings) notation, and I'd eat it without the bun.

 

[tiggersmom2]

Gosh, the customer who got the wrong order seems, well, terribly passive. I would never eat the wrong order, even if I liked it. Seems weird, but some people are absolutely afraid of having any kind of "situation" so maybe that's the reason.

Exactly

 

[KimR]

If it's completely different from what I ordered and was obviously someone else's food I would say something; however, if it was close to what I'd ordered, I'd just assume the server or kitchen made a mistake and I'd probably go ahead and eat it (maybe picking off what I didn't like). It has nothing to do with avoiding controntation, though. I try to avoid sending things back because I hate sitting there while the rest of the table eats and then, when my order finally comes, everyone else sits there waiting for me to finish.

 

[Beth76]

In this case, I probably would have though the order was put in incorrectly and gone with the flow instead of "complaining". So, yes, I probably would have just eaten what you gave me. I would also question myself as to what I ordered: "oh I must've said something else". Like another poster said, it would have to be a totally different item for me to say something, most likely.

 

[Chicago526]

I've gotten the wrong order a couple of times (or the right order just made wrong) and I politely say "This isn't right". As long as the server gets it fixed promptly, it doesn't even effect their tip!

What does bug me is when they drop off the food and before you can say "boo" they run off, and then it takes 10 minutes to get their attention and let them know something is wrong (or you need ketchup or whatever).

 

[Tigger&Belle]

If it was just the bun, I can see not saying something (and just not eating the bun). But I assume that fries came with the burger and she ordered onion rings, so it seems that she would have spoken up and said that she'd ordered onion rings. If the order had of been correct except for the onion rings, she probably would have kept the plate and been brought onion rings unless she preferred to have them swap them out. In cases like that I've usually had the restaurant give me the option.

 

[tiggersmom2]

One question: What would have been done if the woman had not begun to eat her food?

I know that I would NOT want my correct order if it had sat at someone else's table for any prolonged length of time. I would have expected my order to be re-done in the kitchen.

 

[Luv'sTink]

I would say something. But, you cant blame the customer, maybe she is the type that doesn't complain no matter what. MIL is like that.

 

[RealMickeysGirl]

She had ordered a bacon cheeseburger without the bun, and onion rings.

What I gave her, that the OTHER woman had ordered" was a cheeseburger on white bread and fries.

The first woman who got the wrong order was actually EATING it, acting like nothing was wrong! When I explained what had happened she said "well, I thought you'd made a mistake...."

If a server put something in front of me that I didn't order, I wouldn't let her walk away, would you?

She may have thought - depending on why she didn't want the bun - that the cook replaced the bun with white bread. I could see where that mistake could be made. She may just not like the bun bread but was ok with the white bread so just ate it anyway. I could see myself doing that if I didn't like the bun style bread or if I was on lunch break and didn't have time to wait for another burger.

Some people won't send ANYTHING back because they are afraid that if they complain something nasty will end up in their food. (Don't tell me it doesn't happen.)

 

[Christine]

She may have thought - depending on why she didn't want the bun - that the cook replaced the bun with white bread. I could see where that mistake could be made. She may just not like the bun bread but was ok with the white bread so just ate it anyway. I could see myself doing that if I didn't like the bun style bread or if I was on lunch break and didn't have time to wait for another burger.

Some people won't send ANYTHING back because they are afraid that if they complain something nasty will end up in their food. (Don't tell me it doesn't happen.)

Yeah but it sounds like she didn't get her bacon on the bacon cheeseburger and that is just dreadful!

 

[Christine]

One question: What would have been done if the woman had not begun to eat her food?

I know that I would NOT want my correct order if it had sat at someone else's table for any prolonged length of time. I would have expected my order to be re-done in the kitchen.

No restaurant I've ever been to would take food from one person's table and give it to another. I believe that is a big "no-no." I'm sure the OP, at that point, would have returned the food to the kitchen.

 

[dcgrumpy]

Since they were both burgers I would have thought the order got screwed up and just eating it. I wouldn't want to wait for a whole new order.

 

[Chattyaholic]

One question: What would have been done if the woman had not begun to eat her food?

I know that I would NOT want my correct order if it had sat at someone else's table for any prolonged length of time. I would have expected my order to be re-done in the kitchen.

Oh, even if she had not started eating it I would have gotten her the CORRECT order ASAP. Once I take my hand off that plate and walk away, it would definitely need to be replaced. Now, if she would have stopped me right away, before I left her table, I would have picked it back up, taken it to the RIGHT table and ASKED if she still wanted the order, or would she prefer a fresh order. It would definitely be up to the customer. I wouldn't just plop the plate in front of her and leave.

By-the-way, the lady who got the wrong order first left me a nice tip, but the other two ladies left me 14 cents. I apologized several times, when I realized what I had done, AND when I brought out the correct order 5 minutes later (I asked the cook to put a rush on it), and they were just sitting there chatting so they weren't in a hurry or anything.