What happens if I complain re:cold food?

[MandLBee]

I am reading thread after thread about incidents of bad service or cold food in the parks and I'm thinking if it's me? I send it back and ask for it to be hot. $35 a plate or more, I'm not interested in eating congealed or grainy food. I do this even at McDonald's ("these fries are cold, this cheese is not going to melt because the burger isn't warm") and always get a replacement.
So, we are reserved at Be Our Guest for breakfast, Trattoria al Forno for breakfast, and Tusker House for late breakfast (10:45). What would happen at any of those restaurants if I asked for hot or properly prepared food?

 

[brertoad]

I'm pretty sure they would offer to replace your food for you and apologize.

 

[Westcoastwild]

They would. And I've had "bad" food at Disney but it's never been too cold/congealed, except once. Other than that, in the cases I don't like the food, preparation is just weird and wrong, but that's not something you can really send back. The one thing I've sent back were fries. They were not fresh enough, but that's a pretty common timing problem in restaurants. They brought me piping fresh ones almost immediately.

A lot of people don't complain, though. I mean, not at the time. But I think the complaints you most commonly see for food on these boards are from people who've been several times and they were bored with it. Or they're angry the portion has shrunk or there favorite thing was taken off the menu.(I'm talking about FOOD complaints, not service complaints.)

I'm leaving out buffets. I don't like buffets, and food there is rarely fresh enough for me.

Also editing to say that I take bad service complaints with a huge grain of salt. If it's a consistent recurring issue, I tend to beilieve those reviews. But people are crazy and rarely tell the whole truth- or it's all subjective. I don't really like American style service (helicopter service) so your good service might be bad service for me.

 

[bumbershoot]

A lot of people don't complain, though. I mean, not at the time.

True. People just assume they would get a "no" or the server would be gross, and they don't do anything.

We had to absolutely insist that my cousin and my aunt actually take food back, when they got seriously gross QS two separate times. Both times their food was insanely salty, when others at the table had gotten the same dishes without the extra sodium. Pizzafari pizza for my aunt, replaced with another salty pizza (she had ordered the same pizza we did, and we tasted hers and both were horrid while ours were good)...then a burger at Cosmic Ray's for my cousin, and she didn't want to send it back.


Not even sure why someone would wonder this question. If you get bad food, tell them about it.

 

[FelisLachesis]

I've worked in the restaurant industry for years. If you get something you don't like, please respectfully say something! The servers, the cooks, and management won't know something's wrong unless people actually speak up.

If it's a one-off issue, it's replaced no problem, and no one in the kitchen talks about it again. If we see the same issue happening repeatedly, there's a deeper problem, either with the recipe, the preparation, or timing, and it needs to be worked out.

Key is: we won't know if anything is wrong unless people speak up and give us a chance to fix it.

At Epcot a couple years ago, I went to Rose and Crown, and ordered their Chicken Masala Curry. Don't ask, I wanted Indian food. The curry was merely ok, something wasn't quite right. The rice was a bit hard, but still edible. That was definitely something I was going telling the server about. Then I bit into the naan (which is no longer served, actually) and it was rock solid. At that point, I put my fork down and waited for the server to return; I couldn't eat it, anymore. When she returned, I calmly explained my issues with the dish, she took it back, and let me order something else.

The point I'm making is that be calm and be respectful to the server. Getting a bad meal isn't the end of the world, so don't yell obscenities. Give the restaurant a chance to fix it before coming back to the DISBoards and dogging on the establishment.

Edit: fixing 2 am grammar

 

[Amanda999]

Tusker is a buffet, so I guess you could take a small plate of the item you want and right there - while you are still at the buffet area - ask a CM to heat it up more? (I.e., if you think its not hot enough right at the buffet.) There are always CMS there filling up food items etc.

 

[maxiesmom]

If your food doesn't come out to your standards, send it back. Though I wouldn't let reports of cold food stress you out. Serving thousands upon thousands of people a day there are bound to be a few not quite right.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

I've never had cold food at Disney, not even at a buffet.

 

[Nancyg56]

I think that you should treat any disney restaurant like you would anywhere else.

Last trip we had a meal at BOG for dinner, just three of us girls. The server was lovely. WE explained that we wanted to relax with a glass of wine before ordering, but understood if that was an issue. Nope, you are here at 4 PM, there is plenty of room so enjoy! I ordered the steak rare...it was not. She took one look, and insisted on returning it to the kitchen. The next one came out medium. I told her I was fine with that, but she was not. Back it went. The third time was the charm, and delicious. The server 'twas very professional, and she insisted that the management woudl never want a gues tto leave unhappy with the quality of the meal, and as a woman who spent the early part of my life waiting tables...(I am that old!LOL) I agree.

The only time I had cold congealed food was at Liberty Tree Tavern at lunch. I think it was an anomaly becuase I have been dining in Disney for over 10 years adn that was the first time.

BE aware that Disney restaurants are like any other, there will be great days and off days.

 

[Amelia :)]

Everywhere is generally so busy most stuff at buffets and quick service locations is not going to be sat there long enough for it to go cold. Table service restaurants generally want you as quick as possible so bring your food asap. You hear the odd bad report, but in general things are run very efficiently.

 

[mdelano4]

Being a bit of a conspiracy theorist and a big worrier, I am very cautious about how and why I send food back. So like anyplace else, we respectfully make the reason clear. Most of the time we ask for a replacement, but on occasion we don't get to speak with the waitress until everyone else is done, so we just ask that it be taken off the bill.

 

[MandLBee]

A lot of people don't complain, though. I mean, not at the time. But I think the complaints you most commonly see for food on these boards are from people who've been several times and they were bored with it. Or they're angry the portion has shrunk or there favorite thing was taken off the menu.

I'm leaving out buffets. I don't like buffets, and food there is rarely fresh enough for me.

See, it's our first family (of 7) visit and I think with Food and Wine at Epcot and 2 character breakfasts and a castle QS ADR, the magic will hold up. But I just wondered why there weren't more reports of awesome customer service when complaints have to happen! I know buffets are not awesome, totally agree, but with kids ages 6-14 and with extra dietary restrictions, it will work best for us as our one TS meal.

 

[GeraldineW]

I think the issue with BoG breakfast is a lot of people go to the breakfast to get an early ride on 7DMT so they want to eat and leave in time to line up at least 20 minutes before park opening. There isn’t time to return your cold food and wait for a hot one if that is your goal. We had a horribly cold breakfast at BoG, but didn’t send it back because we weren’t really there for the food/dining experience, our purpose was early ride on 7DMT. Did the meal serve our purpose and thus worth it to us? Yes. Would it have been nice to get the food hot? Yes. Was it worth sending it back? Nope, not for what we were trying to accomplish. Would I go to the breakfast again knowing the food might be cold again? Yes. Would I send the food back? Maybe, depends on if I am there for the food and have the time, or if I am there again to get a jump on the ride. Would I “complain” about the food to others? Not so much as complain but I would share our experience so that others know what ‘might’ happen.

 

[jwfla422]

I am reading thread after thread about incidents of bad service or cold food in the parks and I'm thinking if it's me? I send it back and ask for it to be hot. $35 a plate or more, I'm not interested in eating congealed or grainy food. I do this even at McDonald's ("these fries are cold, this cheese is not going to melt because the burger isn't warm") and always get a replacement.
So, we are reserved at Be Our Guest for breakfast, Trattoria al Forno for breakfast, and Tusker House for late breakfast (10:45). What would happen at any of those restaurants if I asked for hot or properly prepared food?

Absolutely without a doubt say something and of course explain it nicely. We've had this happen a few times and were visited by the manager to apologize and make sure the replacement was more than satisfactory. (in one instance we were offered a dessert on the house which wasn't necessary). In most instances they will even replace a meal/item if you really don't like it.

 

[Hopefully]

Tusker is a buffet, so I guess you could take a small plate of the item you want and right there - while you are still at the buffet area - ask a CM to heat it up more? (I.e., if you think its not hot enough right at the buffet.) There are always CMS there filling up food items etc.

Really???
I don't think so. I don't believe any food could be returned for warming after it has been out on the buffet line. I would believe that is a food safety issue.

 

[bwang123]

People don't send food back because they are worried what will happen when it goes back. Heard many stories and have seen it once in person.

 

[alex9179]

People don't send food back because they are worried what will happen when it goes back. Heard many stories and have seen it once in person.

Um, yeah. I can't imagine that the stories my friends would tell me don't happen anymore! If it was so bad that I couldn't eat it, I'd ask for it to be removed from the bill and not take a replacement. Otherwise, I'd contact the restaurant afterwards and express any disappointment. People are crazy at stop signs, for crying out loud, so I choose to NOT take chances angering someone who is providing me with food.

 

[ShellieMimi]

People don't send food back because they are worried what will happen when it goes back. Heard many stories and have seen it once in person.

If OP is repeatedly requesting replacements at the same McDonald's, I can almost guarantee that they're coming with "bonuses" or "special handling."

 

[MandLBee]

People don't send food back because they are worried what will happen when it goes back. Heard many stories and have seen it once in person.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

People don't send food back because they are worried what will happen when it goes back. Heard many stories and have seen it once in person.

Yep. I never send food back. I've heard too many horror stories. This goes for any restaurant no matter how nice.