Would you find this gross (inspired by restaurant sharing thread)?

[vald1977]

Just read the restaurant sharing thread and it reminded me of something that happened last week.

I went out to dinner one night last week with dmil. We went to a very small local diner and it was past normal dinner time (about 7:00 p.m.) so there were very few customers there. This place is small enough that you could hear all conversations going on in the place.

We order our food and I order a turkey club. The waitress then goes to the next table and I hear someone else order a turkey club with no lettuce or tomato. These people were sitting behind me so I couldn't see them, just hear them.

The other table's order came out first and the waitress brings it to them. She leaves their table for at least a minute or two and goes back into the kitchen. A couple minutes later, she comes back out with a turkey club and says to the guy behind us, "sorry I gave you the wrong one. You wanted no lettuce/tomato, right?" So she heads back into the kitchen and all I can think is that she's going to bring that same sandwich back out to me after it's been served to this guy for at least a few minutes. My stomach starts turning just thinking about it.

So I say something to dmil, who happens to be pretty outspoken, and when the waitress brings our order out 2-3 minutes later, she asks her if it is the same sandwich. The girl says yes, it is but it's fine, he didn't start eating it yet -- ! Now I am not one to complain but that is totally gross if you ask me. She saw the look on my face and says she can have them make a new one if I want "but this ones really fine". I ask her to please make me a new one since I know I won't be able to eat this one.

She goes in the kitchen and I can hear her and the chef loudly talking about how I wanted a new one. They weren't being fresh about it, they sounded genuinely perplexed as to why I wouldn't just eat the first sandwich.

Now my question. Would you have eaten the sandwich? I know I have issues about people touching my food, which is a little nutty I know since someone obviously touched it to cook it , but the other customer could have coughed on it, picked at the fries, etc.. It was sitting in front of him for at least a couple of minutes.

 

[grinningghost]

Having worked in restaurants for quite awhile, I can definitely say a new sandwich should have been made immediately. Once it hits someone's table, it's non-transferable.

 

[buzzlady]

You were right for wanting a new sandwich. I hope you kept the sandwich that you refused at your table to make sure that they didn't just take it into the kitchen and bring it back AGAIN.

 

[Alice28]

Ewwww...you most certainly should have received your very own, never been oogled at by another customer, sandwich. That is yucky and distasteful, and I too have worked in several restaurants in my college days....that would be unheard of at the restaurants I worked at....

 

[Christine]

We had a similar situation happen to us a few weeks ago at Applebee's. It wasn't very crowded there so I could see everything that happened--had it been crowded I probably would not have noticed.

The waiter comes and takes our drink order. We order 2 gingerales and a Coke. A few minutes later a server comes out with three drinks and plops them on the table and runs off. They were two Mountain Dews and an Iced Tea. Of course, he dashed off so fast I couldn't catch him, so we sit there for about 3-4 minutes when our waiter comes out. I explain to him that the server brought us the wrong drinks. He said "he sure did" and picked them up, put them on a tray and served them to his other customer 2 tables away. I was VERY happy I was not on the receiving end of that deal. I mean, obviously, we did not contaminate the drinks but my son did touch the glass and almost drink the Mountain Dew, not to mention that he coughs and sneezes a lot due to his allergies , YUCK.

I just thought that the food/drinks had to go directly to the table--if they come in ANY contact with another customer they are thrown out!

 

[JC2]

Oh man, that is sooo gross! I completely agree with you!!

 

[disykat]

Gross! The other diner could have even picked up the sandwich before noticing.

 

[nancy679]

I agree with you. I'm sure he must have atleast picked up the bread to look inside. Even if I saw lettuce and tomato sticking out, I think the response is still to pick up the bread and take a look.
Atleast with servers and food handlers, they are supposed to wash their hands (we hope) but who knows where the costumers hands have been.

 

[Pat]

If I had known about it, I would have asked for a new one too. That was not at all unreasonable.

 

[Kimickey]

Yes you are right that is gross. The way to fix that is to next time that happens, ask for a new sandwich but ask for the mayo or mustard on the side. That way you know the sandwich was re-made. DH hates when I do this. I don't like tomatoes on my sandwiches so if I ask for the sandwich w/o tomatoes and they bring me one w/tomatoes; I politely let them know thier mistake and then ask for the sandwich to be remade with out the mustard and mayo. That way I know that the sandwich was completely remade with fresh meat and the old sandwich is not given to someone else, so I make sure I'm plucking with the bread when the waiter or waitress is standing right in front of me.

 

[cinmell]

I would have asked for a new sandwich too, maybe even a different kind than the one I originally ordered to make sure I didn't get that guy's sandwich ( I know that sounds ) but stuff like that grosses me out.

 

[Mishetta]

Ditto what Kimickey said!

 

[floridafam]

I would also have asked for a new one.

 

[vickyBaby]

I would have left.

 

[Mickey527]

Christine I had almost the same thing happen to me a few years ago at Olive Garden.
I was with my boys and we asked for soda refills. She took our glasses with the straws in them.
The waitress brought the boys their rasberry lemonade and said she would be right back with my coke.
She came back with my coke and walked away. A few minutes later, after I had sipped from this straw she came back and said "I made a mistake this is your coke" and she put another glass of soda in front of me. She then said "this soda is his" as he took the soda and gave it to the man at the next table.
I was disgusted and couldn't eat the rest of my meal. I called her over and told her I was upset and she said "I don't see what the problem is, he doesn't look like he has any germs.
I called the evening manager over and told him and he said give her a new coke. Nothing else, just a new coke. I didn't want anything other than the manager telling the waitress that this was not to be done again, but he seemed to think I was the one with the problem.
I called the day manager the next day and complained and he told me their policy is to take the glass away but leave the straw with the customer. He said his waitresses are taught this and theey would never take a straw from the table. He then told me that the straw was probably new, which I questioned because there wasn't the little tip of paper they have on new straws.
He told me that the waitress would be talked to but they would send me some coupons to make up for my problem.
They sent me one $5 coupon, which I still haven't used.
My youngest son lives Olive Garden so we have to go every year on his birthday but I make a point now of asking for a refill when my other glass is 1/2 full so they have to bring me a new glass too.

 

[Nutsy]

That is gross..........I also would not eat it, let alone touch it after it being served to the other table. As you say, who knows what that other person may have done with it............ok it's not been eaten yet, but that is not to say it has not been handled.

Especially as they requested it minus the lettuce & tomato, it may well have been insepected to see if they indeed leave off those two items.

Yuck

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

I wouldn't have eaten it either..GROSS!!

 

[Bojangles]

You should have left. The chef probably spit on your new sandwich.

 

[Minniespal]

You were right to send it back ~ I couldn't and wouldn't have eaten it. I would have had to order something else or seen the new sandwich being made because I don't think I would have believed them after that.

 

[CEDmom]

It would completely gross me out to the point that I'd just ask for it to be taken off the bill and not eat at all.