Meal for Free or No Big Deal

[mhsjax]

And, as I asked in the same post you quoted, what if the restaurant merely mixed up the chicken quesadilla with the cheese that someone else ordered?
I think the mindset of people on this thread is kind of funny. On all the theme park and resort boards, everyone is always telling people that complain on the boards "did you speak to anyone while you were there?" or "did you talk to manager so they could rectify the situation"? Yet here people are saying that the restaurant should have comped her meal, without even knowing she was a vegetarian? So, if you are at Disney you are supposed to speak with someone before you can complain on a message board, but if you are anywhere else everyone is just supposed to read your mind and know how upset you were?

No, everyone is saying that they should NOT have comped her meal. They gave her the correct quesadilla and her DD ate it. so no they should not have comped it, the situation was corrected. I don't agree with many that seem to think it was her fault, but no one is saying that the restaurant should have comped it, in fact I think the OP thinks they should have.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

but it is the restaurant's responsibility to serve what is listed on the menu
My husband is allergic to shellfish and always asks about the ingredients when necessary. However if ordering a burger and fries, something typical and common he doesn't

Same here. I have food allergies (allergic to onions in all forms cooked or not and chocolate) so I can usually avoid them on the menu but if there is any chance that an item has something I can't have then I automatically order it without the offending item. Every single time I order a salad I automatically say "no onions" because some places put them on top and some don't.

I have often had items served with onions on them even when I have specified "no onions" and I just point it out to the server and they replace the item. I don't expect the item to be comped just because someone made a mistake. I have bit into items many times and tasted a hidden onion and immediately spit the bite of food out into a napkin. I can't ingest any or risk an unpleasant reaction but again, I don't expect a comped meal - just a safe meal.

 

[MIGrandma]

No big deal. They corrected the mistake.

When I was waitressing I waited on a table of two older ladies. One ordered a hamburger, no onions. I brought their food, a few minutes later I checked on them, everything was fine. When they came up to pay my boss was running the register, I was standing two feet away at the calculator adding up some guest checks. My boss asked the woman if "everything was okay" and she got all huffy, said she ordered a hamburger without onions but it came with onions! Why didn't she say anything when I checked on them? How was I supposed to know that even though I wrote "NO onions" on the guest check, the cook mistakenly put them on anyway? I didn't lift the bun to check. She should have mentioned it when I checked on them. She told my boss she was "deathly allergic" to onions...but she ATE THE BURGER ANYWAY. Who does that?! If you're allergic to something you don't eat it! I think she was just trying to get her meal comped but the boss didn't do it. The woman ate it, after saying everything was fine, so she had to pay for it.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

No big deal. The mistake was corrected and the only charged you for the correct dish. They handled the situation appropriately.

 

[huey duey & luey]

And, as I asked in the same post you quoted, what if the restaurant merely mixed up the chicken quesadilla with the cheese that someone else ordered?
I think the mindset of people on this thread is kind of funny. On all the theme park and resort boards, everyone is always telling people that complain on the boards "did you speak to anyone while you were there?" or "did you talk to manager so they could rectify the situation"? Yet here people are saying that the restaurant should have comped her meal, without even knowing she was a vegetarian? So, if you are at Disney you are supposed to speak with someone before you can complain on a message board, but if you are anywhere else everyone is just supposed to read your mind and know how upset you were?

I didn't say that they should have comped her meal, although I did state offering maybe a free dessert would have been a good gesture. Mistakes do happen I just don't think that the blame lies on the customer AT ALL in this situation

 

[NikitaZee]

I didn't say that they should have comped her meal, although I did state offering maybe a free dessert would have been a good gesture. Mistakes do happen I just don't think that the blame lies on the customer AT ALL in this situation

Exactly right. A cheese quesadilla is just that - a cheese quesadilla. Not a chicken quesadilla, not a hamburger, not a chef salad. There shouldn't be such an obvious need to double check that.

 

[Magpie]

I didn't say that they should have comped her meal, although I did state offering maybe a free dessert would have been a good gesture. Mistakes do happen I just don't think that the blame lies on the customer AT ALL in this situation

I think the blame *partially* lies on the customer because the customer has chosen to be vegetarian, but doesn't think she should have to ask, "Is this a vegetarian meal?" when she orders.

I had many, many food allergies when I was growing up. Even if I thought something should be safe (like a simple steak, for example), I always asked! If I got something I was allergic to in my food, and I hadn't bothered to ASK, then I took responsibility for it myself.

Yes, the chicken shouldn't have been in there, but the OP still has no idea what other non-vegetarian ingredients might have been in the meal her daughter did eventually eat. Or her own!

"Is this a vegetarian meal?" is a simple question to ask. LOTS easier than, "Does this have egg, pork, citrus, corn, wheat or milk in it?"

 

[huey duey & luey]

I think the blame *partially* lies on the customer because the customer has chosen to be vegetarian, but doesn't think she should have to ask, "Is this a vegetarian meal?" when she orders.

I had many, many food allergies when I was growing up. Even if I thought something should be safe (like a simple steak, for example), I always asked! If I got something I was allergic to in my food, and I hadn't bothered to ASK, then I took responsibility for it myself.

Yes, the chicken shouldn't have been in there, but the OP still has no idea what other non-vegetarian ingredients might have been in the meal her daughter did eventually eat. Or her own!

"Is this a vegetarian meal?" is a simple question to ask. LOTS easier than, "Does this have egg, pork, citrus, corn, wheat or milk in it?"

see, I still disagree in this instance. If she ordered lasagna, absolutely some can be made with cheese or meat. But to me a cheese quesadilla is just that a cheese quesadilla not a chicken and cheese quesadilla. It just makes no sense to me

 

[tlbwriter]

I think the blame *partially* lies on the customer because the customer has chosen to be vegetarian, but doesn't think she should have to ask, "Is this a vegetarian meal?" when she orders.

I'm sure the OP asks when the meal is questionable (like the lasagna example). But how often is there meat in something called a "cheese quesadilla?" I think it's ridiculous to blame the OP for not asking if a cheese quesadilla contained meat. I think the restaurant handled it correctly by bringing another quesadilla, and a comped meal was not in order, but I do not think, by any stretch of the imagination, that the OP was the one in the wrong here.

Also, I think there's a pretty good chance that the chicken in the quesadilla was a mistake in the first place, and so it wouldn't have done any good to ask if the quesadilla was meat-free.

I don't expect that every ingredient is listed. As I mentioned and a previous poster mentioned, it is pretty common for a grilled cheese sandwich to also include bacon, although it is sometimes not listed on the menu.

Really? I've never seen such a thing. Bacon is a value-added item (mmmm... bacon ) that is usually highlighted. I can see a menu not mentioning bacon bits on a salad, but I've never seen a sandwich with "hidden" bacon.

 

[Magpie]

see, I still disagree in this instance. If she ordered lasagna, absolutely some can be made with cheese or meat. But to me a cheese quesadilla is just that a cheese quesadilla not a chicken and cheese quesadilla. It just makes no sense to me

I think my disagreement is mainly because when you have an actual allergy to something, instead of just a plain ol' "I don't want to eat it", then you have to take it a lot more seriously.

For example - a grilled sirloin steak was usually safe when I was a kid, but I still always asked, because just once a restaurant brushed it with lemon juice. Was the lemon juice listed on the menu? Of course not! So I always asked, even when it seemed obvious an item should be safe.

The restaurant obviously made a mistake (possibly someone else ordered the chicken quesadilla, or possibly the chef got confused, or it could have been the waitress who wrote the wrong thing down). They made their mistake right by producing the correct quesadilla in a timely manner. The customer bought a meal and ate a meal and then paid for the meal they ate. The fact that the customer has a secret moral objection to meat is irrelevant.

As a former highly allergic child, I'm disturbed that the OP seems to have no interest in anything other than the most obvious ingredients and yet calls herself a vegetarian and considers it to be a big deal if her child accidentally eats meat. Because guaranteed, that means she's eating dead animals all the time - she just doesn't know it.

I found chicken stock in the ingredients on a frozen "vegetable lasagna" the other day. Even "vegetable" doesn't mean "vegetarian".

 

[tlbwriter]

I think my disagreement is mainly because when you have an actual allergy to something, instead of just a plain ol' "I don't want to eat it", then you have to take it a lot more seriously.

For example - a grilled sirloin steak was usually safe when I was a kid, but I still always asked, because just once a restaurant brushed it with lemon juice. Was the lemon juice listed on the menu? Of course not! So I always asked, even when it seemed obvious an item should be safe.

But that's different. Lemon juice is a very common seasoning. If I were allergic to lemon, or garlic, or onion, or pepper, or anything like that, I would definitely point it out to the server. But chicken isn't a common seasoning. It isn't a condiment. And it isn't a traditional, commonly expected component of a cheese quesadilla.

 

[huey duey & luey]

But that's different. Lemon juice is a very common seasoning. If I were allergic to lemon, or garlic, or onion, or pepper, or anything like that, I would definitely point it out to the server. But chicken isn't a common seasoning. It isn't a condiment. And it isn't a traditional, commonly expected component of a cheese quesadilla.

MTE, in times of uncertainty I agree the OP should ask and would be at fault if she didn't. To me a cheese quesadilla doesn't fall into that gray area.

 

[Ceila]

Mistakes happen. The restaurant corrected theirs, and that should be it. I don't think they should have been expected to comp the entree or the meal, although if they did that was nice on their part.

I do think that when ordering a cheese qusedilla, then I wouldn't even think about asking if there would be chicken on it. However, if I had a strong moral objection to something or an allergy, I would mention it when ordering, just to be on the safe side.

 

[morethananyonex]

Well since this crazy thread is still going, might as well respond.

The restaurant made a mistake, I highly doubt it was a crazy conspiracy to hide chicken and offend unsuspecting vegetarian families . They fixed the mistake, what is the problem here? I don't think the OP is responsible, but mistakes happen. As a waitress I wouldn't want someone like this as a customer, not everything needs to be rewarded with something free. Since when is admitting the mistake and replacing it not good enough for a $4 meal? Sure it's not about the money LOL.

And FYI like the aunt in this situation I don't eat bacon for religious reasons. As mistakes do happen, I've had it come on my meals before even though I requested it off. I was hardly grossed out and offended, I just asked for a replacement or picked it off. Life is too short to stress about unnecessary things like that.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

First of all, I would like to state that I have a lot of vegetarian friends.

To me, vegetarians/vegans are picky eaters, because they are. Maybe it doesn't sound nice to some, but they are picky about what they eat. It's a completely separate issue that someone who is allergic to peanuts, for example. If a vegetarian ate a 16 oz. steak, it won't kill them. If a person allergic to peanuts eats 16 oz. of peanuts, it'll probably kill them.

I am a picky eater, but not a vegetarian. I will not eat mushrooms. I hate them so much that I'm 100% certain that I wouldn't eat them more than a vegetarian would not eat meat. I also believe in personal responsibility.

If something is that important to you, like picky eating or allergies, I think responsibility rests on you and no one else. For example, I will ask with MANY things, if it comes with mushrooms or red bell peppers (because I also don't like those, just not as much as mushrooms). Will I ask if these things are in ice cream? No. In soup? Yes. Like chicken in a quesadilla, mushrooms and red bell peppers are often found in soups, even if it doesn't say in its title.

So I guess for me, I'd say no big deal. I'd dry heave if that happened to me (with mushrooms), and I'm sorry, but I don't let it happen. They gave you another one, that's as much as I'd ask for.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I don't think the OP is responsible,

Agreed. The OP is not at fault, to blame, responsible, etc (unless chicken was in the description and she neglected to read the entire description).

Someone in the restaurant - the menu writer, the waiter, the cook, the runner - made a mistake. The waiter apologized and corrected the mistake. The person paying for the meal was reasonably charged for one meal for the toddler - not the one she ate, by the way

 

[DipsyDoodles]

OP here. But I did communicate my needs very clearly. I asked for a cheese quesdadilla. That is exactly what I wanted. In a mistake free world, I shouldn't have to say "I want a cheese quesadilla, and here are my particular reasons that it's really important that you don't screw up." The restaurant made a mistake and put chicken in it.

Now, did I make a mistake? Sure. But my mistake was not guarding against the restaurant's mistake carefully enough. And there is a big difference between actually screwing up (putting chicken inside a cheese quesadilla) and not guarding against other people screwing up.

I totally get that some people don't think the restaurant's mistake is that big a deal. I happen to disagree. I happen to think that it was a big enough of a deal that comping the kids meal (about 5% of the total tab) would have been the perfect gesture to acknowledge and apologize for that mistake. But others disagree. No problem.

However, I think it's a bit over the top to start claiming (not as the direct PP has, but as others have) that the chicken was some sort of bonus or that I bear more responsibility that the restaurant in the matter.

Agreed!

 

[dis75ney]

I believe that the waiter/restaurant handled things appropriately. I am deathly allergic to mushrooms and I make sure that whatever I order doesn't have them, but mistakes happen and if there is an error I send my food back. I get a new order and I pay for that one. Restaurant has to eat the cost of the wrong order. No biggie.

However, I'm looking at this from a different viewpoint, as the "restaurant right or wrong" has been debated in this thread already. If I read the OP's original post correctly, she didn't even pay for the meal. Her mother did. If her mother had a problem with the quesadilla not being taken off the bill, she most likely would have said something. Apparently, she didn't have a problem with it and thought the problem was resolved to her satisfaction, so she paid the bill. So why is the OP making a big deal about a meal that she didn't even pay for?

Or am I being completely crazy here? *Dons flame suit*

 

[mhsjax]

I believe that the waiter/restaurant handled things appropriately. I am deathly allergic to mushrooms and I make sure that whatever I order doesn't have them, but mistakes happen and if there is an error I send my food back. I get a new order and I pay for that one. Restaurant has to eat the cost of the wrong order. No biggie.

However, I'm looking at this from a different viewpoint, as the "restaurant right or wrong" has been debated in this thread already. If I read the OP's original post correctly, she didn't even pay for the meal. Her mother did. If her mother had a problem with the quesadilla not being taken off the bill, she most likely would have said something. Apparently, she didn't have a problem with it and thought the problem was resolved to her satisfaction, so she paid the bill. So why is the OP making a big deal about a meal that she didn't even pay for?

Or am I being completely crazy here? *Dons flame suit*

NO flame suit needed. I think most people agree with you. If she or her mother paid for it, the child got the correct meal and the waiter apologized. End of problem.

 

[Arielle22]

My sister is a gluten free vegan (luckily we found a restaurant we can both enjoy). My daughter prefers not to eat meat because she doesn't like the taste.

I am the polar opposite of my sister; I am a canivore who doesn't like veggies or condiments.

However both my sister and I have learned to ask questions in restaurants and clearly state what we want. It is better to ask a silly question than to send the food back.

OP, I see nothing wrong with what the restaurant did. Your posts paint a picture that because it is a moral reason, it makes this mistake bigger than anyone else's mistake could be. Your discomfort at finding meat is the same as I feel when I find an errant veggie in my food. However I have never expected a comped meal, just a replacement.