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Do you ever send food back at a restaurant?

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I have a couple of times with steak... like when it moos when I cut into it. ( I like it at least dead before I eat it 🙂 )

Only other time I can remember is when I got something I didn't order.

 
Im more of a quantity watcher. Most everything I get is made correctly, but at some places they might try to underhand you and give you a smaller portion.
 
I worked in a fast-food restraunt when I was younger. I think the best manager i've ever had was there. She made sure the place was clean and to take care of the customers well. In fast-food, maybe it is so common you don't even get upset about the situation, but I never once felt the need to retaliate. In fact, I was embarrassed about the situation if it was me who made the screw up and made an effort to apologize.

I think where you could potentially get into trouble is if you return it with a mean attitude. As long as you are polite I think most people have been in those shoes before where they need to return something for whatever reason.
 
Originally posted by: TravisT
I worked in a fast-food restraunt when I was younger. I think the best manager i've ever had was there. She made sure the place was clean and to take care of the customers well. In fast-food, maybe it is so common you don't even get upset about the situation, but I never once felt the need to retaliate. In fact, I was embarrassed about the situation if it was me who made the screw up and made an effort to apologize.

I think where you could potentially get into trouble is if you return it with a mean attitude. As long as you are polite I think most people have been in those shoes before where they need to return something for whatever reason.
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I used to work in a fast food place too. I felt the same way if someone came back and said the product was unsatisfactory. I might have irritated me if they claimed to have said they asked for no such and such, and I know they didnt, but I would never deface there food.

But im sure it depends more on the personality of the individual.

No one should ever be afraid to send something back. Your paying for the food, get it right.
 
I'd be far far more likely to send my food back at a higher quality restaurant than one of lower quality. I'd also be far more concerned that the low quality restaurant would be more likely to defile the returned food in some fashion (although the possibility of such at either is so unlikely as to be almost urban myth).

Look, if you get crappy service at a fast food or casual restaurant, who really cares? But if you're dropping large at a fancy restaurant and the server and/or cook ruins your meal and won't fix it, you're gonna be pissed and rightfully so. That's how it is. If I'm paying $40 bucks for a steak, I damned well expect it to be better than one I could make for myself at home (and I grill a damned good steak at home) much less just properly cooked to the proper doneness. If tipping 20% adds up to more than $20 bucks, then I expect that server to earn their pay and provide a proper pleasant dining experience, much less completely ruin my meal, i.e. keep me waiting half an hour for my drinks and then bring my entree 2 minutes after my salad was served, then force me to wait half an hour after I finished my meal to bring the check, etc etc.
 
Originally posted by: waggy
Originally posted by: meltdown75
I did once, when my Wendy's chicken sandwich was frozen in the middle.
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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.
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that's pretty strange! looks like you found the only fast-food cook out there that takes his job seriously 😀
 
One of my friends who worked at Little Ceasers pizza spread a little bit of his fecal matter into the sauce on somebodys pizza.
 
Originally posted by: Marinski
One of my friends who worked at Little Ceasers pizza spread a little bit of his fecal matter into the sauce on somebodys pizza.
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WTF NASTY. What did that person do to piss off your friend that much?!
 
If the food is really bad yes. If I ask for a rare steak at a nice steakhouse and get a medium well, its very obvious and should be embarassing to the kitchen staff.
 
Originally posted by: eLiu
Originally posted by: Marinski
One of my friends who worked at Little Ceasers pizza spread a little bit of his fecal matter into the sauce on somebodys pizza.
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WTF NASTY. What did that person do to piss off your friend that much?!
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I think she got a pizza and didn't like the way it looked so she chewed him out then wanted him to make a whole new pizza. Then she brought the new pizza back missing one slice and said it didn't taste right. This guy used to lift weights and drink protein shakes twice a day so his turds were horrible too.
 
servers usually say it's really how you 'complain' about the situation that gets you the treatment on the food. Everyone makes mistakes and not everyone likes food a certain way. Most servers are open to that providing you have not been an asshat since you put your name on the list to be seated.

What I usually witness is Joe Asshat complaining that there is a 30-45 min wait on a friday night, trying to explain how important his time is and that he hopes they can find him a table quicker. He then hits the bar and makes each drink order as difficult as possible (too cold, too warm, short shotted, etc)...then leaves no tip. Gets to the table and complains about wanting a booth, or a bigger booth esp asking for the large 12 seater for his party of 4.

Then he wants the waiter to 'leave him alone' so he can order...he will 'let them know when he is ready'. Then its about how the server wasn't paying close enough attention because 2 mins have passed since he made up his mind.

And on and on.
 
My mom ordered a medium rare steak at Texas Roadhouse, and they brought her a "well" steak. She asked them to get her a new medium rare steak, and they brought her a well done steak. She got the steak comped, and I ate it the next day. 🙂

My mom tends to complain a lot, but it's usually within reason. I usually don't care unless its super rare or super well done.
 
This is an amazing coincidence.
I just did it for the first time in my life, today.

Asked for a well-done NY stip at Applebees. It came out medium but that wasnt the problem.
It seems that (at my local Applebees) the meat has been going down in quality over the last year.
I told the waitress. The manager came out and talked with me for a little bit. He said he wasnt aware of a change in meat supplier or a change in the quality of beef, but he took it off the bill and said he would investigate. The lady at the next table asked to take the leftovers home to her dog.
She, too, said that the beef quality had gone down over the past year.

Other than that I still love Applebees and I still love a good New-Yorker.

EDIT:
Oh, and as a general rule I prefer well-done, but I can actually eat anything except raw. Never had a problem anywhere with those two being mixed up, so I had never sent food back in my life.
 
Worked in the restaurant business before as a cook, in over a year got food sent back more than a couple times, never did anything other than give them their food as they wanted it, never had a problem, most costumers are more than reasonable just take time to make them happy.
 
1. Yes, they will tamper with your food if they feel you're being too picky or for a multitude of other reasons, although it's rarer than movies like "Waiting" would have you think.

2. Spit, hair, dropping it on the ground, urine, feces (in small quantities, it'd be hard to pass off large amounts), semen... all sorts of nasty stuff if they can hide it.

3. No. Cooks are pretty much the same everywhere and get paid pretty much the same everywhere, though the chefs (the guys who actually run the kitchen) will be different. In fact, some might be more tempted to screw with food at a really nice restaurant, because they're poor and those "undeserving, greedy, rich SOBs are being snobs about their food." Class warfare. That and they have to work harder to please the customers.

The things that go on in kitchens can be quite horrifying.
 
I generally never send food back, even at nice restaurants, although I've been lucky in that I've yet to really experience a horrible miscooking.

The only times I've returned an item were 1) when a steak that I received tasted genuinely rotten, or 2) if I order something without mayonnaise and cheese only to have it brought out slathered in said mayo and cheese. Beyond that, I'm generally not very picky.
 
I worked at a Bobs Big Boy when I was in highschool. I never messed with the food when it was sent back except for one guy. I worked mornings over the summer, this guy would come in for breakfast a few times a week. If he did not see the HeadCook on the line when he ordered his eggs he would send them back at least 2 times if she wasnt there. It did not matter if she cooked them or not, it was just her being there that determined if he would send them back or not. So there was a few times he got a little extra something in his eggs.
 
I only send food back if it is REALLY screwed up. Ive sent back a steak for it being nearly well done when i asked for "completely rare, bleeding and faint moos"
 
The restaurants that i know (friends and family that own), worked at, or know friends/family that worked at, yes, you definitely DO NOT want to send food back. The chefs really do take it personally.

I was on a first date one time, and the girl didn't like that there was something odd in her food, and sent it back. I REALLY REALLY wanted to tell her not to, especially since we still had the main course!
 
Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer
I only send food back if it is REALLY screwed up. Ive sent back a steak for it being nearly well done when i asked for "completely rare, bleeding and faint moos"
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They probably did that on purpose then. Some of them don't like 'funny' people. I had a friend order 'glass of NameOfCity water' one time, and got a glass of vinegar instead.
 
I worked short order a few times over the years. I was one of the few cooks that I met who didn't mind "descriptive" orders. You tell me what you want and I will try to do it that way. If you didn't like something I did I appreciated the opportunity to make it right. Others would get angry and want revenge. Me? I wanted you (the customer) to be happy. If you came in all the time and you wanted things just so, I would learn your order. Why not? It is your money and I was already being paid, why not do a good job?
I had people you couldn't please. Just did what I could for them and knew I did my best with the material and time allowed.
 
I have worked in an italian restaurant, and my girlfriend worked at Texas Roadhouse, and we've had conversations about this before. Neither place did we ever see anything bad happening to the food for our customers, but the people we worked with were pretty good about just fixing the issues that occurred and letting the manager take care of the customer issues or complaints.

Edit: BTW one time my roommate in college and I were at Applebees and he ordered something, saying specifically not to put sausage in it because he was allergic to sausage. He gets about 1/3 done and starts turning red and gets bumps all over his face, and the manager tells him he won't exchange it because he already ate some. To my roommate's defense, the sausage looked just like ground beef, so he didn't realize until he was into it a bit.
 
Originally posted by: Marinski
Originally posted by: eLiu
Originally posted by: Marinski
One of my friends who worked at Little Ceasers pizza spread a little bit of his fecal matter into the sauce on somebodys pizza.
Click to expand...

WTF NASTY. What did that person do to piss off your friend that much?!
Click to expand...

I think she got a pizza and didn't like the way it looked so she chewed him out then wanted him to make a whole new pizza. Then she brought the new pizza back missing one slice and said it didn't taste right. This guy used to lift weights and drink protein shakes twice a day so his turds were horrible too.
Click to expand...

Sorry but your friend needs some face time with sweet lady brick
 
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