Complaining in a restaurant/pub/food anything...
Discussion
Just curious really. When did you last properly complain about food in a restaurant or pub or whatever?
For me it was at least 10 years ago in a pub when I had ordered duck confit. Out came a microwaved vac-pac leg that hadn't even seen a grill or oven. White flabby skin and fat et all. When they said "that's how we serve it" I just ordered scampi and chips!
Other than that I have suffered poor meals for the sake of others with me but was chatting with Mrs21 the other night as I fancied a new local steak house doing an 18oz Porterhouse. Explained that to cook it as I would like (rare) would take 20-25 minutes so if it was wrong and I sent it back we'd have to send everyone's meals back or eat separately. That would spoil the evening but the alternative would be to pay £25+ for someones mistake.
For me it was at least 10 years ago in a pub when I had ordered duck confit. Out came a microwaved vac-pac leg that hadn't even seen a grill or oven. White flabby skin and fat et all. When they said "that's how we serve it" I just ordered scampi and chips!
Other than that I have suffered poor meals for the sake of others with me but was chatting with Mrs21 the other night as I fancied a new local steak house doing an 18oz Porterhouse. Explained that to cook it as I would like (rare) would take 20-25 minutes so if it was wrong and I sent it back we'd have to send everyone's meals back or eat separately. That would spoil the evening but the alternative would be to pay £25+ for someones mistake.
Last time I complained was on my birthday at the end of July. Was in a bar and my mates bought me a big daft cocktail with elaborate fruit garnish. Turns out the raspberries were mouldy. I just took it back to the bar quietly and told the barman. The bar manager came over and was horrified. Apologised and gave me a refund and another cocktail. Job done.
I work in F & B and know that you do too and I find that when problems arise, it's the best opportunity for an establishment to show how it can deal with customers. If a complaint was dealt with to my satisfaction, I'd happily go to the same establishment again.
I work in F & B and know that you do too and I find that when problems arise, it's the best opportunity for an establishment to show how it can deal with customers. If a complaint was dealt with to my satisfaction, I'd happily go to the same establishment again.
Complained once I think, when I was on my own, staying in a hotel for work. Asked for a steak, rump I think, rare. Came medium/well done. Sent it back, new steak exactly the same so I just said cancel the order, if you can't do a simple steak, I won't order anything else! If you don't like that, take it up with my company! They said, "Chef say's that's a rare steak!,when it obviously wasn't!! (Company had a deal for room etc.) Never heard a thing! (don't work for them now)
Had the cheese board at the Christmas party last week, cheddar, gruyere, and camembert, no blue cheese!! Half a pound of grapes, half an apple, sliced, 5 crackers!! Didn't complain as it could have spoilt it for the rest of the people there, plus, new company so the new boy!!
If I'm on my own or with the Mrs, I now will complain if it's not right, if in a crowd, only if it's really wrong! Stupid really as if you don't, you can just pay for crap, and the restaurant won't change!
Just to add, I will compliment and tip the staff if it's good!
Had the cheese board at the Christmas party last week, cheddar, gruyere, and camembert, no blue cheese!! Half a pound of grapes, half an apple, sliced, 5 crackers!! Didn't complain as it could have spoilt it for the rest of the people there, plus, new company so the new boy!!
If I'm on my own or with the Mrs, I now will complain if it's not right, if in a crowd, only if it's really wrong! Stupid really as if you don't, you can just pay for crap, and the restaurant won't change!
Just to add, I will compliment and tip the staff if it's good!
Edited by Short Grain on Saturday 17th December 20:19
Edited by Short Grain on Saturday 17th December 20:21
We sometimes send food back if it's not cooked to our liking and it has never been a problem, we find pubs and restaurants are very understanding and happy enough to 'tweak it'. The last time I felt it necessary to complain was over an unwashed glass in a table setting - that resulted in a complimentary bottle of wine. I never have any reservations about complaining when it's justified, equally I always mention it when the food or service has been good and tip accordingly.
A week ago in the Holiday Inn that I use for work. I ordered a salad, a child's portion arrived. I sent it back. It was replaced with an adult sized version. This week I sent back a dirty spoon in a nearby resto. No big deal, it arrived with a dessert and I just passed it back to the waitress and asked if she had another that was clean.
None of these things are a problem, I have more difficulty accepting generally crap food but that's another issue. The factory where I currently work manufactures better ready meals than I get in the Holiday Inn, I suspect because they pay less money for their microwaved specials than we get from Sainsbury and Waitrose. I wouldn't mind if it were cheap, but when you are handing over £12 for something that has been microwaved and served with chips and 3 leaves of radiccio then somebody is taking the mick.
None of these things are a problem, I have more difficulty accepting generally crap food but that's another issue. The factory where I currently work manufactures better ready meals than I get in the Holiday Inn, I suspect because they pay less money for their microwaved specials than we get from Sainsbury and Waitrose. I wouldn't mind if it were cheap, but when you are handing over £12 for something that has been microwaved and served with chips and 3 leaves of radiccio then somebody is taking the mick.
It's not uncommon as we eat out once a week. When I don't want to go back, I want them to know why so they can improve, all comments are constructive.
It's quite easy now with Trip Advisor, likewise I always tell them and TA when it's good too.
I run a business, If people aren't coming back I want to know why.
It's quite easy now with Trip Advisor, likewise I always tell them and TA when it's good too.
I run a business, If people aren't coming back I want to know why.
227bhp said:
It's not uncommon as we eat out once a week. When I don't want to go back, I want them to know why so they can improve, all comments are constructive.
It's quite easy now with Trip Advisor, likewise I always tell them and TA when it's good too.
I run a business, If people aren't coming back I want to know why.
+1 Always give them the chance to make good rather than just walking off unhappy. Or worse, don't complain then walk off unhappy then stick the boot in on Tripadvisor and the like.It's quite easy now with Trip Advisor, likewise I always tell them and TA when it's good too.
I run a business, If people aren't coming back I want to know why.
We complain pretty much whenever anything isn't right, be it food, hotels, anything. When I'm paying for something I expect it to be of an acceptable standard. Last night when out for a meal we complained that the chilli was bland. They brought another portion spiced up nicely, as it should have been originally. No problem, no drama, no issue for the restaurant to address our complaint and the result was a happy customer.
When leaving a Premier Inn this morning we told them we didn't sleep well due to the fire alarm going off for no apparent reason at midnight then being woken up by loud drunken guests at 1.30 am, 2am and then 2.30am. They said they'd had multiple complaints and would refund our money. They offer a money back promise if you don't get a goods night sleep, we didn't, we told them so, our comments were valid, they honoured their promise.
Why would you not complain when you're being charged good money for substandard service?
On the flip side we are very complimentary when people put in effort over and above the norm and tip well when it's deserved.
Edited by foxsasha on Saturday 17th December 22:15
Rarely complain... if I get what's described & it's just poor I don't go back.
I did complain once I can recall. Fair dos to the place as well the manager came & spoke to me, asked what was wrong, I explained the meal really didn't line up with the description, so he asked what I would expect; I told him; he agreed!; he offered a refund or another meal.
I did complain once I can recall. Fair dos to the place as well the manager came & spoke to me, asked what was wrong, I explained the meal really didn't line up with the description, so he asked what I would expect; I told him; he agreed!; he offered a refund or another meal.
GT03ROB said:
Rarely complain... if I get what's described & it's just poor I don't go back.
I did complain once I can recall. Fair dos to the place as well the manager came & spoke to me, asked what was wrong, I explained the meal really didn't line up with the description, so he asked what I would expect; I told him; he agreed!; he offered a refund or another meal.
I have occasionally refused to pay for a meal, but offered to leave my name and address so that the management can contact me if they want to. I've done this where either the food has aleady gone back once or they have givem me doubts about their ability to get it right. I have always paid for any alcohol consumed.I did complain once I can recall. Fair dos to the place as well the manager came & spoke to me, asked what was wrong, I explained the meal really didn't line up with the description, so he asked what I would expect; I told him; he agreed!; he offered a refund or another meal.
AMG Merc said:
13m said:
Last night. The pinot grigio wasn't cold.
So would I have. Can't stand that. Same for bottled beer. Worse for me is warm champers. 
Apart from the usual "we haven't had our vegetables... Sorry Sir, here they are..." from time to time, the last time I properly complained in a restaurant was a place near my then employer's offices near Philadelphia about 12 years ago. I was eating on my own, so made it much easier, as I wasn't holding up anyone else's meal.
I made a specific point of asking the waitress to check if the seared tuna steak could be served blue, and was told yes, it could. I therefore ordered that and a beer.
Whilst waiting 30 minutes for the tuna, I had to ask a further three times for the beer before it eventually arrived. At least it wasn't warm, but it would've been colder still if it hadn't spent the last 10 minutes sat on the bar.
Then the tuna arrived.... Cooked to within an inch of becoming pure carbon, with a sliding colour scale of black to grey. Not the remotest hint of pinkness anywhere within, so back it went.
This time, I only waited 20 minutes for it to reappear, and it was at least pink in the middle, if not properly blue.... And it was sat on the plate with the very same garlic & chilli purple sprouting broccoli that had been there the first time around, now stone cold and with the butter congealing! How they even managed to get it that cold in a presumably hot restaurant kitchen was a mystery to me!
So back it went again, accompanied by two further requests for another beer!
This time, they were on fire! The third attempt at my meal only took 15 minutes to arrive, the veg was fresh, and the tuna was pink enough in the middle that I couldn't face sending it back again, despite having started the conversation over an hour previously with confirmation that "yes, absolutely sir, we can do it so that it's still raw in the middle, sir! We pride ourselves on doing it exactly as you like it, sir!"
I didn't even contemplate ordering a dessert, but the food was actually pretty good by the time it was served properly, so I asked for the bill, not exactly happy with the experience, but happy enough to at least pay for what I'd eventually received, including the beers which I'd really needed because my throat had been starting to get sore from repeatedly asking for them!
Imagine, therefore, my overwhelming delight at the little smiley face the waitress had drawn next to the place where you write in how much you want them to add to your credit card as a tip!!!
Needless to say, I didn't want to just not leave a tip and be taken for an ignorant foreigner not informed of American ways, so instead, I rounded it up to the nearest dollar (an extra 15 cents), and explained exactly why I'd chosen to tip that amount.
At no point during the whole process did I actually get an apology. Just "I'll get that right now sir" (followed by a 10 minute wait before asking again) or "I'll tell the chef, sir".
In fact, most of the worst customer experiences I've had have been in the States, where they just don't seem to know how to cope if something deviates from their customer service script, but this one just stood out by a country mile above everything else I've ever experienced.
I made a specific point of asking the waitress to check if the seared tuna steak could be served blue, and was told yes, it could. I therefore ordered that and a beer.
Whilst waiting 30 minutes for the tuna, I had to ask a further three times for the beer before it eventually arrived. At least it wasn't warm, but it would've been colder still if it hadn't spent the last 10 minutes sat on the bar.
Then the tuna arrived.... Cooked to within an inch of becoming pure carbon, with a sliding colour scale of black to grey. Not the remotest hint of pinkness anywhere within, so back it went.
This time, I only waited 20 minutes for it to reappear, and it was at least pink in the middle, if not properly blue.... And it was sat on the plate with the very same garlic & chilli purple sprouting broccoli that had been there the first time around, now stone cold and with the butter congealing! How they even managed to get it that cold in a presumably hot restaurant kitchen was a mystery to me!
So back it went again, accompanied by two further requests for another beer!
This time, they were on fire! The third attempt at my meal only took 15 minutes to arrive, the veg was fresh, and the tuna was pink enough in the middle that I couldn't face sending it back again, despite having started the conversation over an hour previously with confirmation that "yes, absolutely sir, we can do it so that it's still raw in the middle, sir! We pride ourselves on doing it exactly as you like it, sir!"
I didn't even contemplate ordering a dessert, but the food was actually pretty good by the time it was served properly, so I asked for the bill, not exactly happy with the experience, but happy enough to at least pay for what I'd eventually received, including the beers which I'd really needed because my throat had been starting to get sore from repeatedly asking for them!
Imagine, therefore, my overwhelming delight at the little smiley face the waitress had drawn next to the place where you write in how much you want them to add to your credit card as a tip!!!
Needless to say, I didn't want to just not leave a tip and be taken for an ignorant foreigner not informed of American ways, so instead, I rounded it up to the nearest dollar (an extra 15 cents), and explained exactly why I'd chosen to tip that amount.
At no point during the whole process did I actually get an apology. Just "I'll get that right now sir" (followed by a 10 minute wait before asking again) or "I'll tell the chef, sir".
In fact, most of the worst customer experiences I've had have been in the States, where they just don't seem to know how to cope if something deviates from their customer service script, but this one just stood out by a country mile above everything else I've ever experienced.
I don't remember the last time I sent something back. I have had a few wrong orders, spaghetti Bolognese came with fusilli pasta. Once I ordered a fish pie and they served me shepherd's pie, I queried it with the waiter who apologised and offered to change it but it was a really nice shepherd's pie and would have taken lots of time to make a fish pie so I just ate the one they gave me.
ecsrobin said:
I was reading an article the other day suggesting that only Riesling should be chilled and like reds whites should also be served at room temperature Sod's law I can't find the article now (although around 7-8 degrees seems to be the accepted norm for most wines rather than room temperature)
You can drink a white wine at 20C if you want, I'll pass. I don't serve it at 5C either, FWIW, but even a cool room at 18C is too warm for a white IMO.I have a French mate who is a wine maker. He tastes wine for his job at 25C, because it highlights any faults it may have. When he takes the same wine home that evening for his dinner, he chills reds to 18ish and whites go in an ice bucket, because at home he wants to enjoy the stuff and not be reminded of its imperfections.
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