Restaurant Meals

That happened to me at Friday's. The waitress offered to get me something else but I really wasn't all that hungry after I ate part of it. The manager took it off my bill and then gave me a free dessert. I paid nothing not even my beverage. That is what customer service is all about.

I think there are people who want a free meal and will do anything they can to get it even if it means telling them they didn't like it. I understand where you're coming from JoAnn.

This sorta happened on our Disney Cruise, not on our cruise, but the week before us it happened. Our waiter, Mo, said that he had a guy in the early dining complain about everything each night. He said he sent back multiple meals and complained the head waiter nightly. He said he left $0 tip for him and the assistant server. He said they tried to accommodate him, but nothing worked. He said he thought he was using that as an excuse so he could "explain" why he left no tip.

I agree - I would not send it back if I ordered it, that was my mistake.

As a general rule, you should never send stuff back to the kitchen or be rude to those that are making/serving your food. If you do send something back, be VERY polite and courteous about it.

I think we all know why... The chef always gets the last laugh.

(chef in the middle)

I work at Dairy Queen and have had people complain about not liking something. If something is wrong with the product/ meal than it should be fixed or remade. But if they don't like it then in my opinion too bad, thats the risk you take for trying something new.

If there was actually something wrong with the meal, I can see sending it back. (I think I've done that once or twice in my entire life!). If I was being adventurous and trying something new, or didn't understand the ingredients, etc. and didn't like it, that's my problem. I would never have the nerve to ask for something else - it's not fair to the restaurant. And I would never make the server suffer and with hold a tip because of problems in the kitchen or my stomach.

I'm with Spook. If you order something, it's made to order and you don't like it just because you don't like it, that's really your problem. I would never send it back or expect to not have to pay for it.

It would be an awesome experience if the restaurant offered you up something different, but that should not be expected, and certainly not for free. I'd expect and want to pay for it.

There are people that do this all the time. Some are scammers that do it for a living, others just do it as a lifestyle. It's just like the old scam of eating half a meal then putting something in it and complaining that you found something in the food.

I agree, if there was some thing wrong with the meal, tell the waiter/waitress, but if you just don't like it, that's on you. Some restaurants will offer to make you something else, others won't. That is thier choice if they do. But expecting to not have to pay for it, that's just wrong.

I also take responsibility if I just do not care for it, but at Disney I have actually had CMs concerned when they saw me not eating something (and not at Prime Time, where they will stand you in the corner!) and ask me if they could bring me something else. Not every time, though - depends on the server.

I try to read food reviews carefully before I go, but still you get surprised sometimes. The Pilgrim's Feast at Liberty Tree was delicious, but I was unprepared for how salty it was. I drank a gallon of water, but did not mention it to the CM. maybe I should have....

I can't imagine sending something back b/c I didn't like it, if I picked it. That's on me for making a bad decision. I wonder about these people who don't like something and then send it back, do they take responsibility for other bad decisions they make? What if they try a recipe at home and it doesn't turn out well?? Do they make the grocery store take the cost of the ingredients off their bill?? Weird.

I agree with most of you all - I wouldn't send something back or expect a free meal if I simply didn't care for what I ordered. If I order a rare steak and it's served well done, that's another matter.

I guess the way I would handle the situation depends on the type of establishment I'm at. If I'm at a fast food place (which almost never happens), I'm not complaining or sending anything back because it's not worth it. Plus, sadly, I don't trust them to not do something to any food I would have replaced. My solution is to not give them my business and money again.

On the other hand, if I go to a nice restaurant, and by that I mean one where I anticipate a bill of $80+ for two without drinks, I will handle things quite differently. If the food is not properly prepared, I will most definitely tell them and expect them to replace it. For example, a few years back my wife and I went to Alize in Las Vegas. They had a wonderful sounding filet with foie gras. I went to great detail to make sure my server understood I wanted the filet rare. I didn't just order it rare, I emphasized the fact that I wanted it red in the middle. Most places overcook steaks; it's an unfortunate fact of life, so I wanted to make it perfectly clear that I wanted a red piece of beef. I wasn't rude; I just politely clarified "rare." What happened? It came back medium. Not even medium rare. It was medium. I was so disappointed. Our server came back to our table two or three minutes later to see how we liked our food. I started to say something, but he already saw the steak and was reaching for it before I could even say it was overcooked. I felt horrible. It was a $70 plate and was going to be pitched. But here's the thing. At places like Alize you expect near perfection. And you pay for it. They don't want you to be disappointed. They want you to have a fantastic experience and tell everyone you know about it. And guess what. I do just that. I tell everyone that Alize is phenomenal. When they brought back a new plate, it was heavenly, melt in my mouth, sinful goodness. And the service was spectacular. The waiter didn't make excuses, he simply whisked it away and offered a gorgeous replacement along with apologies from the chef. Alize rocks.

It depends if I just don't like it and am being fussy, or if I think it's really horrible. Really horrible goes back, period.

If I'm being fussy I usually just leave it, and when the server asks how everything is I'm honest about not liking it. 9 times out of 10 the server will insist on getting me something else and take the first plate off the bill. If I've eaten more than a bite or two and don't want anything else, but still have a lot on my plate, servers usually just take it off the bill.

It's rare that a server doesn't notice if I'm not eating - it's up to me to be honest about why.

I can be a picky eater and I eat salads a LOT when we eat out because I just get overwhelmed by all the menu choices. Even if I scope out the menu beforehand, it's tough for me. Cheesecake Factory? Forget it. I don't understand why you need to have a 20 page menu. Ever. LOL - my quirk.
Anyway, saying that, I'll say I never send anything back - even if it's made badly because I know that the reason I might think it is bad is ME and not really the food. I will mention it if I see a hair in it or something (ugh), but otherwise, I just assume there's a new cook or someone is having a bad day. I might not choose to eat at that establishment in the future, but I would never punish a server or expect something free for that.

I've only ever had to send food back a handful of times - food was cold, under or over done meat (and I'm talking raw or blackened) or simply inedible. That wasn't even my dish! I noticed the person having dinner with me wasn't eating and he said his food tasted funny. I tried it and the cream sauce was scorched. Pretty disgusting! If I don't like something that has been nicely cooked? That's on me!

I too am a pretty fussy and picky eater. If I don't like something - I usually end up having my husband eat it for me.
I'm with the majority here, if there was something wrong with the preparation of the food - I might say something, otherwise I live with my choices good or bad.

This thread made me think of a few of the customers I've had to deal with on occasion - I work at a large flower shop and we have had recipieints call and say they don't like what the sender has sent them - nothing wrong with the quality - they just didn't like the look or even wanted a different item ie. plant. We have a very good customer service policy and we will replace just about anything. I'm just amazed that people are that ungrateful for a gift sent to them. Oh the stories I could tell about some of the goofy customer service complaints.... Here's a quick one, we had a customer livid that his arrangement didn't include a packet of flower food (even though the arrangement water is already treated with flower food)
It takes all kinds to make the world go round....

I absolutely agree that if I don't like something that I ordered simply because I don't like it, not because it was made incorrectly/burnt/extremely poor quality, I would never send it back. I don't even think I would say anything to the server, but that's just me. It is on a very rare occasion that I will send anything back, and it has to be truly terrible before I'll speak up. If it's bad or unenjoyable, I will simply think twice about eating at that restaurant again.

Just last night, after, church, we went to a Mexican restaurant where I usually order the Fajita Chicken Salad. Decided to order by number, because, for some odd reason, I wanted a tamale. I like tamales, I just don't usually "crave" one. When I got my #7 I took one bite and was totally disappointed. The tamale was good, but I couldn't stop myself from longing for the taco salad being eaten down at the other end of the table.

So, I ate my dinner without complaining and chalked it up as a lesson learned. No! I am not sending that back! I intentionally made the decision NOT to order my usual. That's not the fault of the kitchen!