Restaurant Meals

kgord

kgord

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2 Aug 2015
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759
Location
Virginia, USA
I had a disappointing meal at Denny's last night. I had tilapia which was presented with no seasoning, then the waitress tried to overcharge for my apple crisp. I don't like to complain but I felt I needed to comment on the fact that was shown on the menu was nothing like the food I received. She agreed to give me a 20 percent discount, and said I was correct about the apple crisp price. They said they had a new cook.. and the waitress had come from another location.I was thinking why have a new cook working on Friday night?? It is probably the busiest night for restaurants. Have you ever complained about a restaurant meal and benefited?
 
Oh yes... I'm very critical of restaurant food, I'm afraid. But I only complain if I think its worth it. Sometimes. you just realise you are dining in a not very good restaurant and this is how they do things, in which case they won't understand what you are complaining about! If I do complain, I try to do it politely, of course. Usually one will get offered a free drink or will not be charged for something. On the other hand, I will always make sure I praise the food if I think its good.
 
I am usually not one to complain about anything but I do compliment them if the food is good. My top I leave reflexes on the quality of food and service. I have on occasion complained of things weren't cooked or the food was cold when I got it. I never really got a discount though.
 
I had a disappointing meal at Denny many years ago and I still remember it. I was some holiday in the States and almost every restaurant was closed. I don't remember what I had but whatever it was I never went back.

I have complained about food in the past and 'benefited', but it's not something I like to do. Usually, if I complain, I don't want another meal unless I can see it being prepared. I've heard too many horror stories about what staff do to complaining customers.
 
I don't make it a habit to complain in restaurants, and I prefer not to, but in this case it was warranted. I also got my bread which was supposed to come with the meal when I was almost done drinking and my water had no lemon in it like I requrested...so the whole meal was off. I was telling my roommate about this, and he said stick to breakfast items at Denny's. I have had some good club sandwiches there though.
 
I have worked as a server and know how busy it can get on certain nights in the restaurant, a good server will look at the plate of food before it is served to make sure everything is as it should be to avoid complaints. I had a plate onetime that had burnt food on it and was told to give it to the table, I refused, we were busy but I stuck to my guns and refused to serve the burnt food, I asked the floor manager would he eat it if it was given to him? I got a new plate of food and a good tip. I also explained to the table why it was taking so long for them to get their food.
 
I would never have anything fish related at Dennys because I would have the expectation of it being gross. For those of you that do not know what Dennys is, they are a cheap hangover restaurant that serves classic American food. Anyway, that place is always hit or miss so I always stick the breakfast food when I go there.
 
Some people complain for the sake of it ,to hot to cold ,to wet to dry and when it's right there's not enough ,if the complaint warrants it be constructive in your approach ,30 plus years of dealing with complaints I still get upset by people's comments ,I would never send a meal I would not eat my self and I do my up most to deal with the problem
 
Berties said:
Some people complain for the sake of it ,to hot to cold ,to wet to dry and when it's right there's not enough ,if the complaint warrants it be constructive in your approach ,30 plus years of dealing with complaints I still get upset by people's comments ,I would never send a meal I would not eat my self and I do my up most to deal with the problem
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I worked in the food industry too at one time and it drove me crazy when the people who liked to complain would complain about everything. Nothing was ever done right but the part that really got me was that they would come back time and time again. If things were as bad as they said they never would have came back and then bring friends and family with them. Then again those people are the same people who complain about every service every where. Not just their food.
 
I have also worked in the industry and for some reason one old lady's compliment has stayed with me above and beyond all of the complaints over the years.
Her compliment was that it was the first and only place where the food actually looked like it did in the photo on the menu and she was really happy about that (and enjoyed the food). That meant far more to me (and the others involved) than anything else. Strange the little things that you remember.
 
Whoa, Denny's is my husband's favorite restaurant in the US. He had dined there for countless of times although it was mostly breakfast. He loved the hash brown and the fried eggs. But with being shortchanged, I guess you are right since the manager (was it the manager?) offered you a discount for their shortcoming. The cook was new and the server was also new, huh. That's clearly a mismanagement of their outlet. Trainees should be guided especially in customer-related operations.
 
Berties said:
Some people complain for the sake of it ,to hot to cold ,to wet to dry and when it's right there's not enough ,if the complaint warrants it be constructive in your approach ,30 plus years of dealing with complaints I still get upset by people's comments ,I would never send a meal I would not eat my self and I do my up most to deal with the problem
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As a server I would never present food to a person that I would not eat myself and I am very picky.
 
We very rarely complain: whether food is well cooked/seasoned can be pretty subjective as peoples' tastes differ so much. We often compliment if we've really enjoyed a meal and if someone has left a lot on their plate we'll usually explain if it was due to the size of the meal rather than any problem with the food.
The only time I can think of recently where we complained was when we were served under-cooked sausages (they were still visibly raw in the middle) - in that case I think they did give us a discount to say sorry, but the reason we complained was more about making sure the kitchen was aware and could prevent it happening again.
 
Eating at restaurants these days is not like what it used to be. When I was younger it used to be a real treat to go out and get a meal with the family, now it is more of a chore than anything. The dining halls are always crowded and the food does not usually taste as great as you would hope.
 
I only complain about my food when I still see blood in my chicken or whatnot but everything else I'm fine with. I only notice something's off in my local restaurant if my usual dishes taste different but I've never experienced what you've gone through though. It's a very good practice of the management to have given you a discount, that's how restaurants should run-- with care for their customers.
 
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