When you didn't like your meal in a restaurant...

[Beckypooh1972]

I think as a business owner you need to look at a complaint as a gift. You need to acknowledge the feedback - no pun intended.

I generally don't complain if I don't like a dish I ordered...UNLESS:

1. There was a large amount of an ingredient I didn't like and it wasn't listed in the description I would probably expect to exchange the dish for something else.

For example:
I once ordered General Tso's chicken at a Mom & Pop kind of Vietnamese restaurant. Now, General Tso's chicken is a popular CHINESE dish with not a lot of variety in its preparation. However, my dinner arrived with addition of all these peanuts throughout the sauce. It was pretty obvious the chef was unfamiliar with the recipe. That said, I didn't send it back but I never went back there again either.

2. The dish wasn't prepared as advertised on the menu. Maybe I expected it to be fried but it came out poached...

3. If the item is a classic food item and the chef put an unexpected spin on its preparation and the restaurant didn't note it in the menu, you might get complaints. For example, suppose I thought I was getting regular ol' mashed potatoes but when they arrived at the table I realized they were blended with ricotta cheese or something...

While I don't suggest you comp meals regularly, I do think you should heed the feedback you receive and offer to replace the meal - not refund it altogether.

If I owned a restaurant, I'd track the complaints I received about specific dishes and make changes accordingly.

Treat your customers like gold if you want to compete against the big chains - that's where you can make a difference. Best of luck to you!

 

[kkacar]

If I ordered it and i did not like it well that is on me.

For example I love a good Hamburger Steak, however I hate that brown onion gravy that some people think is part of hamburger steak. If I order it and don't remember to ask if its part of it, I will wipe it off and eat around it. I know that some places consider what I call "that nasty mess" part of the dish.

However I am allergic to fish and I ordered chicken tacos and when they came out there was something wrong with that chicken. Now I always let people know I have a severe fish and shellfish allergy, so for him to make me fish tacos instead of chicken tacos I was a little upset. Then it was forever before he came back and asked if it was ok. I told him no "this is fish" he argued that he was certain it was chicken. Ok yes they are both white BUT umm chicken is not flaky and I believe me i know the difference. Other than to poke at it with my fork I did not touch it, my husband took one bite and confirmed that yes it was fish. The same fish he had on his sandwich. The waiter maintained it was chicken tacos. So when it appeared on my bill (as FISH tacos) at the end YES I refused to pay for it. He told me I had to pay I ordered it. Needless to say the manager was brought out.

The waiter did not offer to go get me some chicken tacos like I ordered, and I was not paying for something that could potentially KILL me. Well when it was all said and done we paid for nothing. Although I did argue with the Manager that my husband ate his food and that I did not have any problem paying for that. I know that it was the waiter and his reaction that made the manager comp the whole meal and I will be honest no I did not give the waiter a tip, I gave my tip to the manager.

kelli

 

[sissy_ib]

I can only remember one time I complined about a dish I did not like and got something else. I ordered Garlic Noodles with shrimp at the Cheesecake Factory. What I got was plain shrimp on buttered noodles. There wasn't even garlic on it! I guess that is a little different because I really don't feel that what I recived was what was decribed in the menu.

A few weeks ago DFH and I went to Applebee's and neither of us liked what we got. What I ordered was really terrible. I don't really like Applebee's to begin with, not sure why DFH wanted to go there. I didn't say anything but the manager came over and asked about it since they could tell I wasn't eating. I told him I did not like it and he took it off the bill and asked it I wanted something else. I really didn't so we just paid and left.

So no I don't send back food just because I don't like it. Only if I feel it is wrong.

 

[cinabug]

I don't think I've ever complained about a meal, but I was once comped because I didn't like an alcoholic beverage. I objected strenuously that I was just a wimp about about alcoholic flavors and that I just wanted to try it, but the server took it off anyway.

I'm a slow eater, and I get asked all the time if something is wrong or if I don't like my food. I hate being asked, but it's really probably a good thing, because without being asked I would never complain, but I would avoid returning to the establishment. If someone notices that I don't like my meal and at least tries to remedy the problem, I will probably try the restaurant again.

 

[ceecee]

This is well put, and that is how I'd respond at a cheap place or somewhere expensive. I ordered it, it is my fault if I don't like it.

 

[Kat&Dom]

Reading this thread made me think about a story one of my co-workers told us a couple of years ago. She and her husband were banned from ordering from Domino's Pizza - I guess they had complained about their take out order on 3 different occasions so the manager told them they were banned from ordering from them. They tried a few weeks after their conversation with the manager to call and order and were told that they could not accept their order. I am sure there was a big sign by the phone with their name and phone number that said, do not accept orders from these people.

I also worked as a server through college and 2 of the restaurants that I worked for did have signs at the phone in the server station with people's names and phone numbers stating to not accept take out orders from them. Usually this was due to payment issues. Sometimes, there would be a note that if so&so called to order, we would comp an item for them as they had an issue on their previous take out order.

Some people just want something for nothing and those are not the type of customer to grow your business.