Sending Back Food... (long!)

[GoofyPrincess]

It really drives me crazy to read posts about being afraid to send back food because "You never know what the kitchen will do to your food if you send it back".

I used to be a chef before I had kids and let me tell you what happens when a dish is returned. First, we grill the server to find out what was wrong. Then we taste the food to see if the customer is right and we need to pull the dish (or yell at the person who made it!) but either was, we would replace the dish with no questions asked to the customer. In ten years of cooking, I never once saw anyone do anything to a returned dish.

People that are chefs cook because we love it. The money is lousy, the hours are worse and it's a hot, dirty job. The only benefit to the job is the pride in the food we create, so we will do our best to make the customer happy and to make great food.

Also, since I've rambled on this far, I might as well finish!

Why do you think that the CM's in the kitchen have a lower standard of service than those you see elsewhere? They want you to walk away from your dining experience saying, "Wow, that was great!" They are just as dedicated and just as proud to be Disney employees as the CM's you see "on stage".

Thanks for letting me vent. And if your food is bad - send it back!

 

[jann1033]

thanks for viewpoint

i wish i could cut this out and show it to my family...i will occasionally send something back if it tastes spoiled or (usually ) if it's cold which mortifies them

 

[Scratch42]

DD will not eat meat unless it is "Cooked to the Max!" No Pink showing whatsoever!

I feel sorry for the chefs who have to endure Cooking a Fillet Mignon to death!LOL

We do not hesitate to send it back, or shall I say she won't!

They are very accommodating.

Scratch

 

[StarWarsMan]

My DW is the same.......and her father is a butcher....

Actually her whole family likes there meat extreamly well done....

Me, blackend on the outside.....as for the inside....check for a pulse......

 

[ILUVDXL]

Good advice, GP. We never hesitate to send food back when deemed improperly cooked. Example: A couple of years ago we were dining at Le Cellier. DH orderd the Prime Rib med- rare. When it was served the thing could have gotten up and walked away it was so undercooked. Naurally we sent it back. A couple sitting next to us noticed the situation and the woman said to me, "You know they'll just throw that thing back on the grill till it's done." Seizing an opportunity to teach this person sometihng, I said, "I'll bet you a glass of wine it's and entirely different piece of prime rib perfectly cooked." (she had been so intent on watching everything going on at our table, I knew I had her) Sure enough, when DH's meal was returned it was very obvious that a new piece of rib was resting on the plate. I never enjoyed a glass of wine more and hopefully she won't be so nosey again.

 

[Jestocost]

I agree that you should never hesitate to send back something if it's improperly prepared or there's something wrong with it. As a former waiter, however, what always galled me was when someone ordered a meal and wanted to send it back because they didn't like it. There was nothing wrong with it and it was served exactly as described on the menu, but they just didn't like what they ordered for whatever reason. Usually the restaurant would just replace it at no charge to avoid a scene, but it was extremely annoying to me.

 

[canda]

I am the one who said this in another post about what happens to your food. I used to be a chef myself. starting from a small BBQ place to a large camp/resort facility and then a local upscale steakhouse. I only meant it as a joke as people were saying they do not send food back. In all of the places I worked, if people were not satisfied they did not pay and recieved a replacement meal if they wanted. Dessert would even be thrown in to make someone happy. Even if it was prepared fine, you never know what one might like, as in an example of bruchetta topped bread, we served this with fresh cracked red and black pepper on the tomato mixture. Most folks love it, but some find it way to spicy. If they don't touch it, I make them something else mild, and take it off their bill and not charge them for the new one.


As for cooking a beautiful piece of meat past pink, I do it, but it is painful for me to do that, to watch a prime rib or filet suffer like that.

There is a really vulgar movie called Road Trip that you need to see. It shows a scene where some one sends back food. It is so disgusting but it is really funny at the sametime. That was what I was joking about. But in reality, there are sick people in the world and all jokes, humor, and such has truth to it.

 

[GoofyPrincess]

Actually, I was venting about a post I read weeks ago and for some reason I guess I was looking for a fight today. (Not enough sleep!) Sorry if I was too "vent-like"!

 

[hookedup]

I had a very bad piece of prime rib at CRT a couple of years ago and the chef and manager were so concerned about my feedback they BOTH came out to talk to me. At first I was really intimidated but then I realized how sincere they were and very nice too. The chef asked me a few questions about the taste, texture, etc. and thanked me profusely for my feedback. This did teach me a lesson about speaking up and I have more confidence about sending food back now. Of course, like most anything if you have a pleasant and kind attitude when you speak up it will be received much more graciously on the other end.

 

[wendylovesdisney]

I ate at a non-Disney restaurant where we sent back food that was not right and when the new food was brought to our table our waitress RAN out to tell us not to eat it because something had been "done" to it.
So - sometimes bad stuff does occur.
-Wendy

 

[Tina]

I WISH all restaurants cared as much as you. I always fear sending things back to the kitchen (I did see Road Trip, by the way and I will never look at french toast the same way again!). We've sent things back periodically and often received the same item again. One that comes to mind was a simple hamburger in a family restaurant that came with mustard and mayo on the lower bun. This was not listed on the menu and DH hates both of these items. He's a ketchup man. So he sent it back. It came back out a few minutes later with obvious remnants of the mustard and mayo mixture still on the bottom of the patty, but a fresh bun.

 

[KCMiller]

I, too, have had to send something back in a restaurant, and gotten it back 'recooked' - which was totally gross (the small piece I had cut out was still there, as were the vestiges of the sauce in question - I can only imagine what ESLE was there). But in this instance, I of course didn't eat the food. Between the argumentative server and the kitchen staff, I didn't see the point. I went home, and wrote a very polite factual letter to the guy who OWNED the restaurant. I received a VERY prompt apology, a refund of my entire bill, a gift certificate to use at a later date (hopefully when he changed his staff!), and a $20 which looked like it came out of his own pocket to pay the babysitter!

THAT'S customer service, and that's why my husband and I eat at this man's restaurants at least 4 or 5 times a month . . .


KC