Meal for Free or No Big Deal

[Magic Mom]

He apologized and replaced it. She ate the new meal. No need for a comp.

 

[gina2000]

Back in the day (and I do mean a loooong time ago), restaurants comped meals when there was a screw up. No ifs, ands, or buts. I think it's a pretty nice good will gesture designed to ensure repeat guests.

Those days are long over and the public no longer expects it. And restaurants are suspicious that guests are looking for something gratis. So they no longer do it.

Personally, it's a gesture that I would long remember and it would ensure my return. Depending on the magnitude of the screw up, I might long remember that also....thus ensuring my complete dismissal of the restaurant. In this instance I probably would chalk it up to incompetance....and might not return. Depends on how well prepared the rest of the meal was.

I guess restaurants are playing the odds that people will forgive and forget.

 

[mickeyboat]

I wouldn't have given it a second thought. Mistakes happen, they corrected it without delay, you got what you ordered and you ate it. I wouldn't have expected it to be comped.

 

[Becky2005]

This is interesting...if I were given a free meal every single time something was screwed up, I would have gotten a lot of free meals. I like almost all my stuff "plain" and although not vegetarian, I can not tell you how many times McDonald's would screw up "plain" (they are better now)!!

We learned early on to ALWAYS check before eating and if it wasn't correct have them replace it. Never ONCE did they say "OK, here let me give you a refund for that".

We have had to send meals to get corrected in the past too at sit downs & not been comped. The one and only time we have had a sit down place give us a comp on anything had absolutely NOTHING to do with the meal. We weren't given our drink orders until our food came and the server took it upon herself to get the manager involved and they gave us all free desserts. I was befuddled by it (we were on vacation & really I didn't think the no drink was that big of a deal, just asked for them when our meal came & next thing I knew she was apologizing all over, brought the manager over for it, etc...).

Now if they wanted to charge you for the original and replacement that would be an issue but they didn't.

 

[Skywalker]

Reminds me of the time my brother ordered a plain fajita or something like that and he received it with chicken. He was like, "Bonus! Free chicken!" lol.

Anyway, my husband hates those smoky barbecue sauces and he asked the server if the ribs he ordered came with that sauce. She said no. She brings it out and there is that sauce all over it. He points it out to her. She brings the plate back in the kitchen, scrapes off the barbecue sauce and returns the ribs! Ha.

My husband told her sorry the taste is still all over it, so she finally went and got him a fresh new order with no sauce.

The meal was made good, no comp, and no problem.

I don't see any reason for any freebies here either.

 

[Owlpost23]

OP,clarify what you WISHED the restaurant had done for you.

 

[Bonnie40]

Actually, I didn't change the story. I was just asking a slightly different question and emphasized slightly different aspects of things. I'm not exactly sure what you are implying, but, to be honest, it doesn't feel all that respectful.

It is interesting reading people's opinions. Rarely do I see such a united view around here!

I guess I think about this not from the perspective of, well, she eventually received what I ordered, because that's not really the point. I just know if I had accidently given a toddler a food the parent didn't request and morally objected to I would be mortified. I was actually quite understated to the waiter (perhaps why there wasn't more of a response. I believe one poster replied that one of her criteria for comping a meal was a really upset customer.) I don't know if its because vegetarianism isn't all that mainstream, or having moral issues with food is kind of ununsual. But, I genuniely find it intersesting that most people consider the problem to have been fixed by providing the right meal. From my point of view, that really didn't solve anything.

(And I'm being quite serious that I find it intersting. I'm not being sarcastic, I posted here because I was interested in different points of view and that's what I got!)

I have to disagree with this statement. Vegetarians are everywhere and restaurants have become increasingly aware of the need to expand their menus to accommodate - at least here in Canada!

The thing I'm not clear about is how the server explained the chicken being there in the first place. Was it a special order for another table or do they routinely put chicken in a cheese quesadilla? If they always have chicken, then I would suggest they be encouraged to change the details on their menu. I'm guessing it was an error in the kitchen and it was immediately corrected. I have a son who is vegetarian and I respect his choices - I understand your position.

In the end, you did get the correct meal for your daughter and all was well. I couldn't imagine feeling as put out as you are over a $4.00 meal. The server apologized, (which is a miracle in itself these days! - don't get me started!) and the restaurant kitchen fixed the problem. Done!

 

[huey duey & luey]

I am not a vegetarian but a close friend is. I remember going out to eat and the waiter brought her spaghetti with meatballs, when she mentoined that she needed a knew entree he offered to remove the meatballs. Her response was "if I brought you a cheese and dog sandwich and removed the dog, would you still eat it?"
SO what may not seem like a big deal to you maybe for someone else. While I agree that the meal didn't necessarily need to be comped, an offer for a free dessert would have shown good customer service.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

He apologized and replaced it. She ate the new meal. No need for a comp.

OK, you are confusing me. I am under the impression she paid for 2 quesdillas and that was the issue here?

So OP did you pay for 2 quesdillas or did you expect to pay for none of them?

 

[crashbb]

OK, you are confusing me. I am under the impression she paid for 2 quesdillas and that was the issue here?

So OP did you pay for 2 quesdillas or did you expect to pay for none of them?

I assume that she expected to pay for none of them.

I think everyone would agree that she shouldn't have to pay for two orders.

 

[mjkacmom]

Well, I guess I have my answer!

I do want to be clear that I didn't want a "free meal" for the sake of a free meal. It was a $4.00 kids menu item and about a $100 tab. I just always considered the "take it off the bill" to be a restaurants way of admitting that they really screwed up, and, honestly, I considered this to be a pretty big screw up.

(And, I guess I'll start checking more closely!)

I can't count the number of times restaurants have made mistakes (and if I take fast food into account, the numbers would be even larger, because even though we only eat it a few times a year, our order has NEVER been right). My dd7 has celiac, and even though I order her salads without croutons, many times they still show up with them, and because it a cross contamination issue, I need a new salad. I've never expected to get it for free.

 

[ICF]

The only way the meal should have been comped would have been if you thought that your daughter was so morally upset about that the bite of meat she consumed she could no longer continue eating for the meal.

If that was your 2 year olds problem, then by all means it should be free.

If she was able to continue on with the correct meal and eat some of it, then all seems ok in the world (or at least with this meal) and you should pay the $4.

It's really not clear what you wanted them to do. You say that it's not about the $4 (and btw, when people say it's "not about the money"....it's often about the money - you must be the exception) yet keep saying they should have comped the meal. Why?? They acknowledged and then fixed their mistake by bringing her the correct meal. I dont see the big deal.

 

[Magic Mom]

OK, you are confusing me. I am under the impression she paid for 2 quesdillas and that was the issue here?

So OP did you pay for 2 quesdillas or did you expect to pay for none of them?

I think she expected to pay for neither. But I think she was only charged for one. I would absolutely agree that she shouldn't pay for two.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I assume that she expected to pay for none of them.

I think everyone would agree that she shouldn't have to pay for two orders.

I was under the impression that they charged her for the chicken quesdilla and the cheese quesdilla in my earlier postings.

I guess I should have asked for clarification.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I think she expected to pay for neither. But I think she was only charged for one. I would absolutely agree that she shouldn't pay for two.

Well I am not going back and editing but that is what I got from her post. See what happens when you assume.

 

[crashbb]

I was under the impression that they charged her for the chicken quesdilla and the cheese quesdilla in my earlier postings.

I guess I should have asked for clarification.

Perhaps I should have as well. In your scenario, my answer would be different.

 

[Bonnie40]

My understanding of her original post was she was charged $4.00 for the child's meal. Not for 2. There's no way a restaurant would/should charge for 2 meals under this scenario. If so, that's not right and I would also change my opinion.

 

[Allison]

From my point of view, that really didn't solve anything.

Then there must be a problem none of us know about because the problem presented was your daughter was given something you didn't want her to eat/she couldn't eat. That item was replaced with something she could eat. So, how did that not solve anything?

 

[kaytieeldr]

It is interesting reading people's opinions. Rarely do I see such a united view around here!

That should be a strong indication that the restaurant took all the appropriate steps, including charging for a single entree for your daughter.

I guess I think about this not from the perspective of, well, she eventually received what I ordered, because that's not really the point. I just know if I had accidently given a toddler a food the parent didn't request and morally objected to I would be mortified.

That's you as an individual. A restaurant has absolutely no idea why any given diner objects to eating a particular item. Could be a general dislike, could be an allergy, could be religious, could be moral... It's ultimately not their concern.

No, comping the meal wouldn't have fixed the fact that she ate meat. But, as I've mentioned, comping the $4 kids meal is just the most common way a restaurant has of acknowleding they screwed up.

But did they err? It's not a vegetarian restaurant, and they actually gave a diner MORE than was (apparently) indicated on the menu. Unless there was conversation in advance of ordering of which we're not aware, the restaurant had no way of knowing you're vegetarians or that your aunt keeps kosher (unless it was a kosher restaurant?).

I mean, honestly, if had been you serving the meal. And someone had ordered something that wasn't supposed to contain meat and you served them meat. And they calmly informed you after they noticed. Would you say to them "It was less than an ounce of meat and while I respect your right not to eat it, I think you are making a moutain out of a molehill" I think most people would feel embarressed, if not on their own behalf, at least on behalf of the business they are representing.

No, but this isn't the restaurant . But in that situation, I would have done exactly what your server did - remove the offending dish, replace it with the correct one, and charge you for a single entree.

 

[Magpie]

The restaurant didn't make a mistake, the OP did. She didn't take the kinds of ordinary precautions anyone with a special diet must take when eating out.

And even when the restaurant DOES make a minor mistake - like when my server gave me scrambled eggs the other morning instead of the over-easy eggs I'd ordered - I still don't expect to get a free meal. I just expect that the server will take my plate away and replace it with another with the right kind of food on it. And if she's prompt and apologetic about it, she'll still get a good tip.

Minor mistakes happen all the time - and yes, a non-vegetarian restaurant failing to mentioning the chicken in the quesadilla on their menu is minor. The restaurant is not responsible for our dietary choices - we are. I might write a letter to management suggesting a change in the menu. I wouldn't expect a free meal.