Do you ever send food back at a restaurant?

[eLiu]

Do you ever send food back? I've often heard that "bad things" might happen if you send things back to the kitchen (specifically referenced in the link from Phokus' thread). I mean, they even made a whole (crappy) movie about what cooks do to returned food. It's been referenced in a Family Guy ep too (No Meals on Wheels). I've always wondered:
1) Is that really true?
2) What qualifies "bad things"?
and
3) Is there a level of restaurant at which they wouldn't fvck with you? e.g. I hope that at Ruth's Chris steakhouse, if I'm not happy with my steak, they won't pee on it or something.

Discuss.
-Eric

 

[StevenYoo]

1. I'm sure cooks in restaurants find a way to get back at you, whether it's spitting or something else.

2. To my mind, a "bad thing" would be the presence of a food item you're either allergic to or cannot eat for some cultural/religious reason. Another bad thing would be a steak that is obviously majorly overcooked. Or a bug in the food.

3. I'm really not sure

 

[Capt Caveman]

I would if the food wasn't cooked properly.

 

[Vette73]

It can depending on the place. If it is open I am sure a manager would keep it from happening.

Some health departments have ordered food and send it back and keep some for testing, but that is rare. Usually happens when there are complaints or such. But again very rare.

I have sent stuff back and it came out fine. Again busy and very open setting so little room for someone to hide and do anything.

Now in college when I hauled pizzas for a short time if you were a bad tipper I would haul your pizza last, open box with AC on, drop and kick your coke, etc... but never spit or did anything to the food per say.

 

[HN]

I had to once but it was not a nitpicky issue, they really got it wrong -- ordered medium rare and somehow ended up with well done (*blech*).

Here's an amusing little side story:

Friends and I were waiting for our food (a rather long wait) at a chinese restaurant. When our first plate of food came out (beef chow fun, large plate, family style), we all reached in with our chopsticks and grabbed a bit of beef/chow fun each. Server came back, picked up the plate, and apologized that that was not for us. We watched him take the plate to another table and served it to them.

 

[Platypus]

Never ever.

 

[skrilla]

I never send anything back.

Today I asked for a burger well done and the thing was barely cooked on the inside. I ate parts of it and didn't eat the rest.

 

[hanoverphist]

i do, but ill check it when it comes back. sometimes its also not worth sending back, so i deal with it... like a well done steak instead of the med rare that i order. if it tastes bad, ill tell the server that its bad and order something different instead of getting a new of the same, and again check it when it comes out. if i ever found something to worry about in my food, id be in that kitchen with one of the cooks knives at his throat too. im spontaneous and sporadic enough to get the temporary insanity thing too.

 

[arrfep]

In my 3 years of waiting tables, I never saw anything "bad" (spitting, dropping on floor, etc.) happen to food sent back. I'd go so far as to say, with near certainty, that none of that stuff ever happened. Of course, I worked at a Chilis, the epitome of the corporate restaurant. Our cooks were being paid too well in too well-policed of an environment to risk their jobs for some petty revenge that didn't effect them in any real sense anyway.

However, you can rest assured that if you sent your food back for being cold, it went in the nuke. If you didn't want ranch dressing on your fried chicken sandwich, it went back in the deep fryer for 10 seconds to clean up. No tomatoes topping your salad, and a quick-fingered line cook dug em out and sent it back out. About the only things that ever got completely remade where steaks/burgers cooked too well done (hard to quick-fix undo that).

 

[waggy]

sure. i went to a steak joint and ordered a minimum-rare steak. it came well done. of course i sent it back. if i'm paying $25+ it better be for what i want made how i want.


My Sister-in-law sends back nearly everything. its rather annoying to go out to eat with her. fist she will order 2-3 appitizers eat a little from each then send them back for stupid reasons. then do the same with the main course.

Its not even like she try's to get any off the bill either. she just sends it back.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

If the food is that poor, I'll leave cos things aren't going to improve.

 

[SirStev0]

Probably not... I am not a steak person and I think that would be the only thing I would dare send back... Even then expect to have some spitty goodness... I have worked at various food establishments through college and have seen the gambit of employees. If you are rude or short with the waitress and you give her any extra work she will find someone to fuck with your food. If it is especially busy and you send something back for some minor reason expect some spitty goodness (assuming it wasnt a mistake by the wait staff; the cooks have their own way to get back at them for screwing up and giving them more work).

 

[eLiu]

Haha... some amusing respones here.

And for the record, I think I've sent stuff back twice--steak both times. Once was at a local steakhouse (like $30 for the filet) because I ordered rare (very rare) and got something that was definitely well-done. The waiter, my dad, and I were like "wtf". The second go-around came out great.

The second time was at a Carrabas (sp)... again ordered rare, and I got medium-well or thereabouts. The second round was like nearly raw and they gave me a gift certificate for a free meal next time. You could tell that steak didn't spend very long on the grill. But that was A-OK with me! For a while (before I went off to college), they actually seemed to remember me insofar that my steaks were always on the very rare end of things. Win.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Think I did it once...I completely forgot why, but just asked to 86 (take off) a few items and substitute other things, and the waiter didn't do it. (Wrote it down) That's about the only time I'll ask to take something back...that or if a steak is just way overcooked.

 

[George P Burdell]

Only once in my life, at a place I can't remember. The shrimp was BAD (not the preparation of the meal, but the shrimp itself), so I sent it back. Ruined my appetite for the night and I didn't eat anything after.

 

[vshah]

buddha would eat whatever he was served, even meat.

 

[Strk]

Originally posted by: arrfep
In my 3 years of waiting tables, I never saw anything "bad" (spitting, dropping on floor, etc.) happen to food sent back. I'd go so far as to say, with near certainty, that none of that stuff ever happened. Of course, I worked at a Chilis, the epitome of the corporate restaurant. Our cooks were being paid too well in too well-policed of an environment to risk their jobs for some petty revenge that didn't effect them in any real sense anyway.

However, you can rest assured that if you sent your food back for being cold, it went in the nuke. If you didn't want ranch dressing on your fried chicken sandwich, it went back in the deep fryer for 10 seconds to clean up. No tomatoes topping your salad, and a quick-fingered line cook dug em out and sent it back out. About the only things that ever got completely remade where steaks/burgers cooked too well done (hard to quick-fix undo that).

I do that myself. To me, sending something back just to pull something off is asinine.

 

[0roo0roo]

i don't. because i do think theres a chance of my food being doctored.
i'll cut out the tip and not come back depending on the restaurant.

 

[AUMM]

Originally posted by: Strk

Originally posted by: arrfep
In my 3 years of waiting tables, I never saw anything "bad" (spitting, dropping on floor, etc.) happen to food sent back. I'd go so far as to say, with near certainty, that none of that stuff ever happened. Of course, I worked at a Chilis, the epitome of the corporate restaurant. Our cooks were being paid too well in too well-policed of an environment to risk their jobs for some petty revenge that didn't effect them in any real sense anyway.

However, you can rest assured that if you sent your food back for being cold, it went in the nuke. If you didn't want ranch dressing on your fried chicken sandwich, it went back in the deep fryer for 10 seconds to clean up. No tomatoes topping your salad, and a quick-fingered line cook dug em out and sent it back out. About the only things that ever got completely remade where steaks/burgers cooked too well done (hard to quick-fix undo that).

I do that myself. To me, sending something back just to pull something off is asinine.

well in some cases it's valid... i'm allergic to wheat and have had to send back a salad because it came with croutons even though I said no croutons. I had to speak with a manager because even after i told them to remake it they just sent it back after picking them off....

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: arrfep
In my 3 years of waiting tables, I never saw anything "bad" (spitting, dropping on floor, etc.) happen to food sent back. I'd go so far as to say, with near certainty, that none of that stuff ever happened. Of course, I worked at a Chilis, the epitome of the corporate restaurant. Our cooks were being paid too well in too well-policed of an environment to risk their jobs for some petty revenge that didn't effect them in any real sense anyway.

However, you can rest assured that if you sent your food back for being cold, it went in the nuke. If you didn't want ranch dressing on your fried chicken sandwich, it went back in the deep fryer for 10 seconds to clean up. No tomatoes topping your salad, and a quick-fingered line cook dug em out and sent it back out. About the only things that ever got completely remade where steaks/burgers cooked too well done (hard to quick-fix undo that).

20+ years in restaurants, only once did I see someone do something to a customer's food. And, it had nothing to do with it being sent back. In that once case, an employee spit in the customer's sandwich. Quite honestly, given everything that happened just prior to that, I don't know how the employee restrained himself enough not to jump over the counter and get into a physical fight with the customer. (The kid working was very religious; the customer was insulting his parents, called his mother an sl#t, and it went downhill from there.) And, had the event happened after I was more experienced, I would have thrown the customer out long before it led to that point.

However, as far as I can recall, I've only sent items back 2 or 3 times; I eat out quite frequently. Once, I had a fish fry. The lettuce being used on the plate as a garnish had aphids on it. I just set it aside and continued eating my meal. That's all the kitchen would have done anyway - possibly a clean plate, new piece of lettuce, and the rest of the food simply moved over with their fingers.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

If it were clearly made wrong. Like if I had ordered a double burger and it only had a single patty. Or if there was something clearly wrong with it. Like moldy bread. In any case, if I send something back, the cooks aren't likely to be upset about it.

 

[torpid]

If you are polite and nice about it I doubt they'd do anything. If you are snotty and act like you own the place, watch it.

I only send things back if they are the wrong item or have a bug in them. That sort of thing.

 

[meltdown75]

I did once, when my Wendy's chicken sandwich was frozen in the middle.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: meltdown75
I did once, when my Wendy's chicken sandwich was frozen in the middle.

oh yeah. i did that once. the grill cook got all pissy and threatened to kick my ass.

it was rather funny. i was kinda short and not very big (5'4 120lb) and he was smaller then me!

i just laughed at him and got my money back. no way was i going ot let that idiot make me a sandwich.

as i was driving around the buildign he was hanging out the drive through window screaming at me. i just parked otu of reach and laughed at him. it was rather funny.

 

[mugs]

When I eat at the Olive Garden, they almost never cook the pizza long enough. If the cheese is still white, it's not done. Normally I ask them ahead of time to make it "well-done." One time I just asked them to throw it in the oven for a few more minutes. No big deal. Hopefully not something that would warrant bodily fluids.