Meal for Free or No Big Deal

[ajk912]

How is it a pretty big screw up?

I could see if you asked for something without nuts due to an allergy and it came with nuts, you ate and went into anaphylactic shock. That is a pretty big screw up.

No kidding. HUGE difference between something that is potentially life threatening and something that is a personal choice. And I 100% respect people who don't eat certain foods due to personal choices/religion/or personal beliefs, but I wouldn't expect someone to go to as much effort for something that is personal choice over something that is life threatening. I know someone who works in the hotel business, and there are people who abuse this (or it seems that way) they'll go in and order a dish saying they are allergic to butter. Really. Never heard of that allergy before? I get that you don't want butter, but with true allergies they'll go to more effort to be sure everything is void of the allergy contaminants and it's a little inconsiderate to claim it's an allergy when it's really not. And maybe there are butter allergies, of course I could be wrong!

 

[RachelEllen]

I could maybe see your point if you would have double checked that the cheese quesadilla would be vegetarian and the server said yes, and you were served something different. Most people with allergies do this, just to be sure.

But ordering something ASSuming it would be one way- I would own up to that mistake myself and expect to pay for it. Just like if I go to a restaurant and forget to ask the burger without sauce, I would feel bad asking for a new one if I didn't special order it the way I like. Most likely it said on the menu the ingredients of the quesadilla, they usually do. So likely you were in the wrong here. I do get that most just look at the title and ASSume by the title what's in it- I've done that myself. But they made it right, so no harm, no foul.

I get that most people feel like this isn't that big of a mistake on the restaurant's part, however, I in no way think it was a mistake on my part. I read menus really carefully and it said "Cheese quesadilla, size of salsa for dipping, carrot sticks, fresh fruit, or fries" It wasn't only not a special order, what they served, chicken quesadilla wasn't on the menu.

Yes, I could have been more proactive in preventing the restaurants mistake, but I can't see where I actually made an error.

 

[worm761]

No kidding. HUGE difference between something that is potentially life threatening and something that is a personal choice. And I 100% respect people who don't eat certain foods due to personal choices/religion/or personal beliefs, but I wouldn't expect someone to go to as much effort for something that is personal choice over something that is life threatening. I know someone who works in the hotel business, and there are people who abuse this (or it seems that way) they'll go in and order a dish saying they are allergic to butter. Really. Never heard of that allergy before? I get that you don't want butter, but with true allergies they'll go to more effort to be sure everything is void of the allergy contaminants and it's a little inconsiderate to claim it's an allergy when it's really not. And maybe there are butter allergies, of course I could be wrong!

I am allergic to pickles. People never believe me but I always ask if pickles are served either in the food or on the plate. The put pickles on, it seems, just about every plate in the south. It is not a major food allergy but I prefer to not have a full body rash. It sounds ridiculous but it is what it is. Even worse, I actually like pickles. Haven't had one in years though.

 

[lovetoscrap]

I have to say that I have had restaurant issues before. Unless I absolutely can't eat something because they can't make it right then I don't expect to get it comped on the check.

However, I do take note of those places that go the extra mile to apologize/make up for a problem. In your case if you had to choose between this restaurant or another one next time I am guessing that you probably would choose something else. Not that they did anything wrong but you had a bit of a negative experience so that will probably affect your thinking.

For instance I ate at Olive Garden many years ago and there was plastic in my Stuffed Chicken. The server apologized and offered to get me a new one. I had already eaten about half of it and was frankly lost my appetite when I found the plastic so I declined. Instead I ordered dessert. When the bill came I was charged for both the meal and the dessert. Did they do anything wrong? No. They offered me a new meal and I turned it down. But could they have gone the extra mile and taken either the meal or the dessert off of the bill? Yes, I think so. It was years before I ever ate at Olive Garden again.

At another restaurant we waited an extraordinarily long time for our meals. No idea why, all the other tables were served, I think our ticket was lost or something. The manager came over to apologize, the server apologized and we were offered a free salad or soup while we continued to wait. We declined but appreciated the gesture. We will go back with no reservations.

I think it comes down to the old saying "It's the thought that counts." Yes, they can do the minimum that they are required to do and that is fine. I don't expect more than that. But great customer service (and thus customer loyalty) comes from going beyond the minimum.

 

[etoiles]

As a vegetarian I would not expect the meal to be taken off the bill because they originally served the wrong item. I would only expect it to be taken off the bill if they would not fix the problem and refused to do so.

Mistakes happen and yes to vegetarians like myself this would be a gross mistake but a mistake none the less.

 

[disneychrista]

My daughter is vegan and if an item is served with something that we don't expect or asked specifically that it be left out, we ask the item to be replaced. No big deal.

 

[bumbershoot]

I get that most people feel like this isn't that big of a mistake on the restaurant's part, however, I in no way think it was a mistake on my part. I read menus really carefully and it said "Cheese quesadilla, size of salsa for dipping, carrot sticks, fresh fruit, or fries" It wasn't only not a special order, what they served, chicken quesadilla wasn't on the menu.

Yes, I could have been more proactive in preventing the restaurants mistake, but I can't see where I actually made an error.

Same thing happened to us recently at Shutters, at Caribbean Beach Resort!

I just checked the menu on allears, and there is NO chicken kid's pizza. And yet that's what DS was served, after ordering the cheese pizza. Bizarre! At the time we thought "but that's not even on the menu", and it seems we were right.

Anyway, we're all vegetarian too, and I just figure that in both of our cases, some other family requested a chicken pizza or quesadilla, and that the other people got the item meant for us.

Our server also brought DH a lemonade instead of the smoothie he ordered.

Nothing was comped, but things were replaced somewhat quickly. And that's really what was important.



As for being vegetarian and being served meat, after a certain amount of time, it's possible to get VERY sick if fed meat (even if you don't know that you were). My son has never had meat at all, and I would bet he'd have an awful night in the bathroom if he'd actually eaten that chicken. I sure know I would have!

 

[HelenePA]

I ALWAYS ask for no mayo on everything. If it comes with Mayo I just ask them for a new top or new sandwich. If I eat it after they fix it why should they comp it? I can not think of a single time I was comped for something like that.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

I can't eat gluten or dairy. My body treats them like a foreign object and I get incredibly ill so I am pretty careful about where I choose to eat making sure they have something I can eat and I always double check once I am there.

Usually this is no big deal but 2 situations bother me:

1) The server laughs at me when I ask for something without a roll or for absolutely plain vegetables

or

2) They put the roll/bread/etc. on the plate and do not understand why I have to send it back.

I never make a big deal about it and it is usually not a problem but when either of these things occur, you can bet I will mention that it is a medical situation. Having grown up in the restaurant business, I know that this will mean manager involvement (at least at well run places).

 

[Jennasis]

No biggie.

 

[Allison]

Not a big deal

 

[Minnesota!]

They brought you a new one without chicken, right? If so, there's no reason they should have taken it off your bill. You make it sound like it was some hidden agenda against vegetarians, when it was probably just a simple mistake.

pescatarian here, and we went to Champps recently and I got the cheese quesadilla. Mine came with chicken on it. The waiter saw me picking the chicken off, and offered to replace the whole thing, but I knew I could de-meat it quicker than they could replace it. So I did. No big deal.

I would never expect my meal be comped....

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I just always considered the "take it off the bill" to be a restaurants way of admitting that they really screwed up

I agree that taking an item off the bill is a pretty traditional way of making up for "really screwing up", but I wouldn't consider giving somebody the wrong quesidilla "really screwing up"

 

[NikitaZee]

I'm somewhere in the middle of this debate. While I wouldn't expect a meal to be comped over a mistake like that, I'd appreciate some small gesture from the restaurant acknowledging the inconvenience involved in their mistake - such as a complementary dessert, etc. I hate it when my order is wrong and has to be sent back - everyone else is eating while I wait for another dish to be prepared. It doesn't happen often, but in my experience the nicer establishments usually do something like that. For me, that is just good business and would make a difference to me the next time I was thinking about eating there again.

 

[merryweather20]

I agree that taking an item off the bill is a pretty traditional way of making up for "really screwing up", but I wouldn't consider giving somebody the wrong quesidilla "really screwing up"

I can see expecting a comped meal for a REAL screw up, bu this was one wrong meal, quickly repalced. No problem.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I get that most people feel like this isn't that big of a mistake on the restaurant's part, however, I in no way think it was a mistake on my part. I read menus really carefully and it said "Cheese quesadilla, size of salsa for dipping, carrot sticks, fresh fruit, or fries" It wasn't only not a special order, what they served, chicken quesadilla wasn't on the menu.

Yes, I could have been more proactive in preventing the restaurants mistake, but I can't see where I actually made an error.

We do ask beforehand because just because it says "cheese" does not mean that there are not other things in there. ESP. at a restaurant that you have never eaten at.

It is a frequent correction despite ordering it with "just cheese" (in the past).

Now my dd eats "chicken and cheese" as well as DH. They are crystal clear to the servers. Guess what, it will come with jalapenos, tomatoes, green peppers, etc. I wish I could say it is a fluke but it is not.

 

[okeydokey]

I get that most people feel like this isn't that big of a mistake on the restaurant's part, however, I in no way think it was a mistake on my part. I read menus really carefully and it said "Cheese quesadilla, size of salsa for dipping, carrot sticks, fresh fruit, or fries" It wasn't only not a special order, what they served, chicken quesadilla wasn't on the menu.

Yes, I could have been more proactive in preventing the restaurants mistake, but I can't see where I actually made an error.

They made the error but then fixed it for you. I think that is enough and wouldn't expect them to issue an extreme apology or take the item off the bill.

 

[minkydog]

Yes, actually, I do, because it's that important. It doesn't embarass me. If I don't ask/check, I suffer. I just say, "I'll have XYZ with no onions." The worst I've heard is, "That doesn't have onions."

Ultimately, I always check myself. You can't count on anyone else.

I agree. It doesn't matter whether it was a special order or not. The onus is on you to make sure that they are informed of your preference. I am allergic to pineapple. If I have any suspicion at all that something could possibly have pineapple in it(and you would be surprised how many dishes are sweetened with pineapple juice) I ASK. I make the waiter go ask the chef, because it is THAT IMPORTANT. I tell them upfront that if i eat pineapple it will be ugly real quick and I'm sure they don't want an emergency on their watch. I have never been served anything with pineapple in it when I use this method.

The restaurant made a mistake, but your DD got her cheese quesadilla. I think they gave you what you wanted. They do not owe you anything else.

 

[Talking Hands]

It was fixed. No big deal. Happened to my order the other day at Ruby Tuesday. Cook messed up. Fortunately the server was my daughter and the messed up version never made it to the table. If it had I would have sent it back.

 

[klacey1]

I don't really think they should have paid for your meal (especially since it was quickly replaced), BUT I would have spoken to a manager and told them that I thought they should change the wording on the menu. Cheese may mean just cheese (typical for a kid's meal) or cheese with peppers, etc. but it SHOULDN'T mean chicken. If that was the case, it should have said "chicken quesadilla." Period. That really should have been specified and I do understand why you were upset.