Do you complain about bad food?

S

susie1

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I was in a pub yesterday and ordered some nachos.
When they arrived, they were greasy and pretty tasteless apart from the grease. When the waitress arrived to remove the plates, i explained that the were awful. She said she would pass the comments onto the chef.

When i was paying, she didn't comment/ apologise re the manky food and i was charged for the full amount - i paid and left.

Just wondering, what is the point in complaining *if* nothing is done, i still paid for the food even though it was bad...should i have just refused.
What do you do with complaints and how do you expect them to be resolved?
 
susie1 said:
When they arrived, they were greasy and pretty tasteless apart from the grease. When the waitress arrived to remove the plates, i explained that the were awful. She said she would pass the comments onto the chef.

When i was paying, she didn't comment/ apologise re the manky food and i was charged for the full amount - i paid and left.
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Did you eat them (all?)? And then you paid in full? Why on earth did you do this if you were not satisfied?! :confused:
 
Well, it was my mothers food (i just had the soup), she didn't eat them all...but some. I didn't feel like getting into an argument over it, the girl didn't have great english and there was no manager around. I paid because there was half of them eaten.

If it was my order, i would have sent them back though.
Normally though, if you complain about food, should the price be deducted of the bill.
 
Years ago I was working as a waitress and a woman stood up and announced very loudly that her potatoes were cold and horrid. I walked over, looked at the remains on her plate and announced "you ate enough of them before deciding that!" :eek: okay, so I was younger then!

If you eat the food and then comment that it wasn't up to scratch there isn't a lot that can be done, as a gesture the establishment might deduct something. The correct way (in my opinion) is to alert the staff at the earliest time and give them a chance to put it right or replace the meal. I would always do this calmly and without making a scene. Only if the establishment fails to put it right would I expect a discount but you should given them the opportunity.

As with all businesses restuarants would prefer you tell them if there is a problem and let them try and fix it rather than leave disgruntled and tell all your friends how bad that place was.
 
To be honest from working as a waitress for many years, if you werent happy with the Nachos, u should have said it at the beginning, where the waitress should have offerred you another portion or something else from the menu, a service note: she should have asked was everything ok, a few minutes after the dish arrived!

i dont think they should deduct the cost of the nachos from the bill, as you didnt point it out when it was given to you.

i personally would bring it back, especially of it was visibly full of grease and not very appealling!! i would bring it back, and ask for a fresh dish or something else.

She certainly should have apologised or acknowledged the fact that you were unhappy!!! very frustrating when a waiter/waitress has poor english, they are no just mere plate carriers!!
 
susie1 said:
I didn't feel like getting into an argument over it
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Nobody said you should. You just needed to make your complaint calmly and politely but firmly and at the earliest opportunity. Sounds like you did not do this and whatever complaints you did make were half hearted at best in which case it's no surprise that they did not offer a discount or whatever.
 
One of the problems of complaining as soon as you taste the food is that you can be left in a situation with one person at a table with a main course in front of them and the other sitting waiting for 'new' food.
This recently happened me in a well known steakhouse, himself had ordered the steak medium, it took 20 minutes for the mains to arrive, when they did his steak was well done - not medium. He told the waiter, the waiter asked what he wanted to do, send it back and wait for a new meal or accept it well done. My meal was not to be replaced as it was fine. Rather than sit watching me eat while he waited he chose to eat the well done steak. It was a very expensive steak (certain size, aged etc...). Himself expected that seeing as he was in a bind as to the wait for new food that the restaurant would deduct something off the bill (or even offer a free drink etc..) but no, nothing offered. Yes, he did eat the steak even though it was not cooked the way he wanted, but only because his other option was to sit waiting while I ate my meal. Neither option was particularly appealing actually - in that case I do think the restaurant should have offered option 3 - deduction in cost.
 
I rang the manager and explained that i was disapointed with food/service yesterday and why.
She was very apologetic and will speak to the chef herself. I think she was genuine and very receptive to my comments.

In future though, i think returning the food would be a first port of call and then make a swift exit...incase the chef takes it personal.
 
I would never accept a replacement meal (for obvious reasons IMO)

If the food was that bad I'd simply not eat any more of it, give it back, complain, leave without paying and never go back.

If it was poor but edible, I'd tell them so but wouldn't accept an alternative - and never go back.
 
I used to work in a restaurant & we always prefered if a customer told us they had a problem as soon as possible so we'd have a chance to rectify the problem & hope they leave happy. Not a good idea to wait until you are half way through as it generally looks like you are looking for a freebie.

Just be polite & explain what is wrong with the food.
 
Yes, I have complained about bad food.I returned a disgusting looking, cold panini once which I waited over 10 minutes for. No arguments, alternatives were suggested but declined on my behalf. I left and dined elsewhere.
 
I would have sent them back personally, and told the staff to deduct them from the bill.

However, if the person eats them, they're saying its ok to eat. In this case, of course you will be charged. You ate the food!
 
Smashbox said:
However, if the person eats them, they're saying its ok to eat. In this case, of course you will be charged. You ate the food!
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precisely why i didn't argue at the till about it but i still think they should have made some form of good will gesture.
 
susie1 said:
precisely why i didn't argue at the till about it but i still think they should have made some form of good will gesture.
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You should have refused to eat the food and send it straight back to the kitchen. This would have shown them in no uncertain terms that you were not happy about the food quality.

You could have ordered something else instead.
 
I had two bad experiences with the First Active. After the second I said that I was no longer prepared to put up with an empty "apology" and wanted compensation for my time, phone calls, upset etc.

I got the cost of a nice meal for two out of it.

If in a restaurant I would simply say that I am not paying for that meal and stare them out of it.
 
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