WARNING: Never Send Your Food Back in a Restaurant
76This Fly Could Be Waiting To Swim in Your Soup
Waiter, There's a Fly in My Soup
If you've ever seen the movie Waiting, you'll know it's the comedic tale of a group of employees from an imaginary chain of restaurants called, Shananigans. It's a MUST SEE film, not only for those in the restaurant industry, but also for those who patronize restaurants on a regular basis.
I've never been involved in the industry, but I was out with some friends the other evening and we got into telling each other our own restaurant horror stories. I had a couple to share.
Years before I was married, I was out with a girlfriend to a chain restaurant (the name escapes me, but they are now out of business), on a Sunday evening. We had been at the beach all day and we both received horrible sunburns. Red, in pain and very hungry, we decided to go out to eat and enjoy some much needed air conditioning.
We both ordered pasta dishes. Mine was linguine and clam sauce and hers was spaghetti and meatballs. Everything arrived at the table hot and fresh. We had been to this restaurant many times before and had always enjoyed the meals and service. On a hot, Sunday night in August, the place was mobbed. We waited 45 minutes in the crowded bar for a table and we could tell when seated that our server, (a young lady in her mid-twenties) was not having the best night. It happens. I'm always very nice to restaurant servers. They're not only handling my food, but since they're always the first person to be notified of a complaint, (most-times by uncaring jerks) they can be a bit on edge sometimes, Whether it was the crowd, an over busy kitchen or maybe just a headache, we could tell it just wasn't her day. Little did I realize, I'd help to make it worse.
NEVER, EVER SEND YOUR FOOD BACK!
We waited over 30 minutes (unusual for me to wait that long) for our food to arrive but the waitress delivered with a smile on her face and an apology. It seems that they had 2 no-shows in the kitchen that evening. She went back for our grated cheese and when it arrived we began to eat-quite ravenously, in fact.
The food was delicious. I was enjoying my linguine and white clam sauce when I noticed my girlfriend looking down into her plate. Her sunburned face turning white-or pink as it were. She was not happy.
"What's the matter?" I asked
"Nothing", she replied, folding her napkin across the plate. "I don't feel well."
"Well, is it the food or the sunburn?", I asked
"I didn't want to ruin your meal", she replied. "There's a big f**king bug in my spaghetti." (She was a classy chick)
"You've got to be kidding", I said, feeling my stomach do loops inside my body.
"No, here it is", she responded, showing me the plate and the biggest mosquito (I think it was a mosquito anyways)I'd ever seen in my life.
There is was. The king of all mosquitoes. A mutant species. At least an inch and a half in length with HUGE wings, now covered in marinara sauce. That was definitely not in the menu description of the meal she ordered. She excused herself to go to the bathroom. I attempted to get the server's attention. So were 10 other tables.
I caught the server's attention as she was passing by our table with a tray full of drinks for the people seated behind us.
ME: "Excuse me, there's a little problem with our order."
SERVER: "I'm sorry, sir. What seems to be the problem?"
ME: (whispering) "There's a huge bug in my girlfriend's pasta"
SERVER: "I am so sorry sir. I'll get her a replacement dish immediately"
ME: "That's ok, I don't think she's very hungry. What can we do about this?"
SERVER: "I'll have to notify the manager. I'll send him right over."
In the meantime, my girlfriend arrived back at the table, still a bit disturbed, but looking better than when she had left.The waitress returned to the table. Alone.
"Sir, the manager said he's very sorry and told me to either replace your girlfriend's dinner or remove the dinner from the bill."
"Well, that's really nice of your manager, but since I've lost my appetite, as well, please let your manager know I won't be paying for mine either. We'll pay for our cocktails and it definitely won't affect your tip, but there's no way I'm paying for the food."
The waitress, had a definitelook of despair, (as if hoping the situation-and me) would accept their deal and disappear but with the sunburn, the wait for the food, the ruined meal and a half-assed apology from a manager who didn't take the time to attend to a customer, I got quite ornery.
"Can you please tell the manager, I'd like to see him immediately?"
"Yes, sir, the waitress, replied. I'll get him right now"
About 5 minutes later, the manager appeared and in his best corporate voice apologized for the spoiled food, explained that these things happen from time to time and once again offered to remove the meal from the bill. My meal, however would need to be paid for.
ME: "I'm not going to pay for food I couldn't eat."
MANAGER: "Sir unfortunately, our policy dictates that only the meal with the problem can be removed."
ME: (standing up) "My customer policy dictates that when my appetite is ruined, I'm not paying for either meal. If there's a problem with that, you can get a district manager on the phone and I'll be more than happy to speak with him"
MANAGER: "Sir, believe it or not, people have been known to bring bugs in to restaurants in order to obtain free meals. I'm not implying you did that, but it's been known to happen."
ME: "I'm going to pay for the cocktails and leave the waitress a great tip." I pulled $25 from my wallet and tossed it on the table. I looked over at my girlfriend and said, "Let's go"
MANAGER: "Sir, if you don't pay for the meal, I'll be forced to call the police"
ME: Ok, do what you have to do", I said. "They can cuff me here in front of your customers,( who are beginning to wonder what's going on over here, by the way) And before the cops get here, I'm going to let everyone know that we found bugs in our food. I figure I have at least 10 minutes to ruin your business. It will be a pleasure being arrested and going to court for being right."
MANAGER: Sir this isn't necessary. Please pay the bill or I'll be forced to do something I don't want to do."
ME: (finally losing it) "Me, too!", I said as I stepped onto my chair and announced loudly,,,,,"Attention ********* customers."
MANAGER: "Sir, please get down from there"
ME: "Hand me the bill"
MANAGER: "Sir, my chef is calling the police"
ME: "Your chef can kiss my ass. Give me the bill!"
MANAGER: (handing me the bill) "Here, please just leave."
ME: (ripping up the bill into tiny pieces all over the table and getting down from my platform) "Have a good night! (and me, being the 20 year old wiseass, I was at the time, added. "I didn't think you had any balls"
We won the battle that evening. Obviously I would handle the situation much differently these days. But there are some do's and don'ts you may want to consider, should you suddenly find yourself with a problem meal.
RESTURANT COMPLAINT DO'S & DON'TS
DO notify your server immediately if you discover something wrong with your food. Be nice, be pleasant, but makes sure he/she knows the specific problem. Is your meal cold? Undercooked? Not what you ordered? Be specific so they can notify the chef of the complaint.
DON'T take out your anger on the server. They didn't cook the meal. It's pretty easy to lay into a server. It's also not a nice thing to do.
DO ask for an adjustment to your bill for any problems with the meal.
DON'T stiff the server on the tip because of the food. If the service was top notch, you should leave a great tip.
DO notify the manager immediately to any problems with the service. Complaining to a server about their service isn't going to do you any good.
DON'T EVER send back your food. See the above video clip for what could happen if you do this.
DO remember the cardinal rule of dining. DON'T F**K WITH PEOPLE WHO HANDLE YOUR FOOD!
Anyone else have a story to share?
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Wow! As I was reading this I found myself getting so irritated by that manager's reaction, and I was SO hoping you'd cut loose on that ass. What a jerk. Honestly, I don't think I would have handled it any differently, and when he threatened to call the police, you did the other customers a huge favor by enlightening them. I'm dumbfounded that a manager would allow anything to escalate to that point, and I'm so glad you didn't take his crap.
Nice tips too. ;)
Great Hub! And a chance for Hub community stories too, I can't wait.
I do have a quick one I'll tell. We were out at a very nice place up on a hill overlooking the city having a nice dinner with some friends from out of town. Towards the end of dinner, my friend, sitting across the table from me, looks at my wife and gets a weird look on his face. Not wanting to make big deal, he gets my attention and points out a giant cockroach climbing on the wall about a foot away from my wife who is seated in the corner of the restaurant. I try to gently pull her towards me in an effort to get her away from what could turn real ugly real fast (she hates those things) but it only calls it to her attention. The funny part of the story is when she asked if it was a cockroach and my friend told her "Cockroach, no that's not a cockroach, that's a wood beetle, they're harmless". Needless to say, she didn't buy it and kinda freaked but didn't make big commotion. We eventually got the servers attention who took care of the situation rather quickly. (man did that thing crunch!) The manager quickly stepped in to apologies and offered one meal and a round of drinks free which we graciously accepted.
Thanks for letting me share.
Thanks, imadork. I'm with you. I refer to place my own seasonings on my food.
Hi Pam. Thanks for the comment. I'm older and a bit more mellow now. I think I would handle it differently today. Back in my early 20's, however, I was fairly dramatic.
Hi Jim. I LOVE the cockroach story. My wife would have freaked out big time. Wood beatle cover-up story, or not) I'm glad you were able to turn a possible horror story into a positive with the manager. You were obviously in a higher class place than I was. We were in a spaghetti/seafood chain. Thanks for sharing!
Oh, my. I've had some great service over the years and some really bad ones. My husband and I went to a chain restaurant. Besides one lone man seated at the bar area, we were the only ones in the place at that time of day. I promise that I'm not stretching the truth here. We sat for 25 minutes before anyone approached us with water and then not to take our orders. Another 30 went by before the waitress appeared. She took our order. An hour went by and still nothing. We decided to wait it out just to see how long this was going to take. Finally after sitting 2 1/2 hours we got our food. Nothing was said to us. We never got a check in from her again so there were no refills. As we left I couldn't understand why my husband threw down a quarter for a tip. I wanted to leave nothing. He said if he left nothing they might think he just forgot. By leaving a quarter he was making a statement. We never went back there again.
Good advice, here. As for the video, that's possibly the most disturbing thing I've ever seen. Ok, maybe not the MOST disturbing, but it's up there.
Hi RGraf. You and your husband must have the patience of saints. 2 and a half hours? WOW! That's insane. I like the idea of the 25 cent tip. I know someone who erased the specials on the chalkboard in the front of the restaurant and wrote. THIS PLACE SUCKS with a piece of chalk someone carelessly left on the podium.
Hi B.T.E. Thanks for the comment. Yes, that video is pretty disturbing. It has completely cured me of sending back food-no matter what's wrong with it.
Rockinjoe, I'm going to tell you one so disturbing, you'll never eat at a place where teenagers are working and I swear I am not making it up. My friends were working at this hamburger place when we were 16, and it became a hang out spot as we could get some free grub after we smoked and had the munchies. When day we went by and they said my friend was in the bathroom and he'd meet us out back where the cooks smoked. It took awhile and he came out all smiles and explained to us about a special ranch jar, they called it the mecko jar. It seems that my friend had started this thing where that if there was a stuck up chick or asshole came in, they would use this "ranch" that my friend and another cook would contribute to at least twice a shift. It was so disturbing that we all talk about it to this day whenever we see the same type of hamburger place with teenagers working in it or if this subject comes up. Of course after that we always wondered about the food we got at that place. Definitely never send you food back.
goldentoad, That is extra disturbing. As much as I didn't need to know about it, I'm glad you told me. I'm shaking my head here in amazement.
I've watched this movie so did work at several restaurants while studying in college. Yes, don't return your food back to kitchen unless you don't want it anymore.
Thanks for the comment, yxhuang. I hope everyone gets your very important message. :)
UUUUUHH yuck... double yuk. Thanks for sharing this great advice.
regards Zsuzsy
Soooo, what part of your (IMO) very appropriate reaction would you handle differently if this happened to you now? I totally agree taking frustrations with problems in the kitchen out on your server isn't smart or fair to him/her. I also can't believe the manager was such a richard cranium to you. No wonder the restaurant went out of business. Geez.
I agree with you here, from stories I have heard I would never send my food back at a restaurant either. My sister worked at a small family restaurant when she was a teenager and she was always respectful of the food and the patron, but there were a few guys who were working in the back that did not feel this way. There was one family that would always come in and be exceptionally rude to the wait staff on top of making a giant mess at their table. One time she saw them pretend to "drop" this family's pizza on the floor and put it back in the box. I would always be polite to the servers because you never know who might snap if you treat them disrespectfully.
Disgusting.. that is all that I can say. I think the better alternative to sending your food back is just not paying for the food that you did not like.
This is a great story. It made me laugh, and it made me think of so many persona restaurant stories that I many now have to write my own hub so as not to mar yours by a 15 paragraph comment! (I'll provide a link to yours if I do it.)
That manager was a droid. I hate droid. "Company policy says..." What ever happened to human beings? They used to exist. Thanks rj!
Hi Zsuzsy Bee. Sorry for the yucky topic, but it's one where almost everyone can identify.
A group of us went to Brugges in Belgium on a weekend trip. We left Bristol by train in the evening, sailed overnight, got the train in the morning and arrived exhausted at 4am. Couldn't get into the hotel until nine and the only place to eat or drink was the train station. The fun started when Dave spotted cockroaches running around the back of the seat and tried forking them. We were all perched on the edge of the seats drinking our coffee when Jenny spotted a cockroach floating in hers! So she took it up to the counter, expecting a new cup but when she pointed out the roach (none of us spoke French very well) the woman behind the counter just handed her a spoon!
Hi qiutian. Welcome to Hubpages. If only there was a way to watch your food being prepared or fixed after you sent it back.
Hi Mightymom. I think now that I'm older, I wouldn't have threatened to make a speech to everyone inside. I would have handled it through corporate and let the manager get his ass handed to him. Of course, now, I'd be able to take a digital or phone photo for evidence. I was crazy in my 20's.
Hi Sweetie Pie. Thanks for commenting. I've heard of those "accidents with food" by kitchen workers. I'm with you. If it's got to go back to the kitchen, It's staying there.
I'd write a letter, before eating something that was "re-made" for me.
Hi JJC13. To be fair, I'm sure there are a lot of customers who try to get one over on restaurants and complain unnecessarily about real (or imagined) problems with their food. I think you've got a great idea, by asking for a reduction in price for one part of the meal you didn't like-after the meal is finished, that is:)
Definitely write the hub. I'm a HUGE Pamela fan (not just Anderson, either) I love your hubs. Help me with this mission to save the world (or at least Hubbers) from "sent back food"
Ya know, this kind of reminds me of the "spiked" punch scene in Hollywood Knights, if you're old enough to remember that one.
Hi Ken. So Jenny tried the Caffe a la'Roach? That's disgusting. The woman handing her the spoon is hysterically funny. I can imagine the look on your faces. I was in a small diner one day as a kid and a roach ran across the counter. A man sitting at the end of the counter pulled out his cigarette lighter and torched it as it ran by. I was 8 or 9, so I thought it was pretty cool. My dad, however, didn't and we got up and left and went to McDonald's down the street.
Hi B.T.E. I'm definitely old enough to remember Hollywood Knights, but I'm also old enough to not remember the scene. Feel like sharing?
The scene involved peeing in the punch. The memorable line was something like: "The punch does have a certain wang to it." I remember laughing my butt off. Of course, I was a lot younger then, too.
Ahhhhhh! Peeing in the punch. An all-time crowd pleaser.
I loughed at the comments as well as your hub. hope that's ok.
Seriously funny and yet disgusting hub...Congratulations.
Thank you earnestshub. Funny and disgusting was the intention. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
That video was truly disgusting. I have long been of the attitude that you should be courteous to the wait staff, not just for fear of reprisals, but things are usually not their fault. Of course, sometimes it is but you should still handle them gently (there are psycho's everywhere, and they already have the upper hand). Thanks for sharing your story!
Thanks Christoph, If I were a server, I'd want my tip up front. Servers would make a lot more money with that system.
Having seen a programme where the chef snorted his snot/boogers into someone's meal that had been sent back, I would never risk sending it back myself. It made me retch just watching it being done on TV with a hidden camera!
Thanks, Cindy, I totally forgot about the hidden camera shows. I saw one where a guy peed in the coffee pot at work everyday and watched his boss and co-workers drink it. They caught him with a hidden camera. He was not only arrested, but charged with assault.
I can imagine what goes on in a restaurant kitchen.
Oh and while we're at it...how many people in a restaurant don't wash their hands after using the restroom? Too many, I bet.
I worked in the restaurant industry (cook, manager and server) for most of college, the comedy Waiting, could very well be a documentary - Cooks hate servers, they are jealous that they get great money for just carrying their work.
Be very careful about sending food back for picky reasons, a bug in the food isnt a picky reason, but if you send a plate back because its a little cold, well the cooks wont take kindly to that since obviously it was hot when they cooked it, therefore its the servers fault that it was cold, perhaps the cooks didnt time the table well, but most likely the server got caught up and failed to bring your food out in time....the cook makes the same money either way and considering how busy it is, how drunk they are and how hot it is that day...your looking for trouble, they WILL take their frustration out on your food.
By the way, 9 out of 10 servers eat right off your plate when they are waiting for other food to be ready, sorry!
I think that your actions were right on, your meals should both have been free, your drinks should have been comped as well.
A friend of my Mum's was in the toilets when she saw one of the staff leave the restroom without washing their hands. When she complained, the staff member called over the Manager, who actually backed HER up. Shocking, and they never ate there again needless to say.
Hi sunforged. I had no idea that cooks hate the servers. It does make a lot of sense the way you explained it, though. People really eat off your plates? Your comment was scarier than my hub. Thanks for posting.
Hi Cindy. That's gross. I used to work in a supermarket and you'd be surprised at guys from the deli and other hands on departments who left the men's room without washing their hands.
Iccckkkk, I always wash my hands, often up to 10 - 15 times whilst simply preparing food for home consumption. Horrible to think in restaurants they would do any less!!!
Think i would have acted exactly the same, Great Hub
Thanks comparebase. I hope you don't get a chance to find a bug in your food.
Great Hub! I have a few friends who work in restaurants and boy do they have stories. There's this one about yellow mustard-you don't really want to know the rest!Trust me!
Thanks for the comment, tourmaline2777 I can only imagine what the yellow mustard story is....
Great story!I think most people can probably relate to it.
I've had a lot of problems with that due to food allergies. I eventually gave up on restaurants as a bad proposition. I wind up getting sick and then getting managers arguing to my face that there was no pepper in whatever it was, only to find out it was routinely marinated in a pepper sauce.
Hi robertsloan2. Thank you for the comment. You bring up a great point that I hadn't considered. My nephew has severe food allergies. His parents have to be extremely careful of everything. That's got to be tough.
Great Hub! I'd heard and seen stories on TV telling how some restaurant workers would get back at bad customers through tampering (to put it very mildly) with their food. I also don't send food back if I can help it and always treat servers well. Also, I've been told that if you do have any complaints, to voice them only AFTER you have eaten, and don't go back to the place, either.
I got to your hub through Pam Grundy's hub about her experiences as a waitress, which I found very interesting and informative, also.
Though I've never been employed in the restaurant business, I can see that the restaurant business can be pretty tough to work in.
This movie is one of the funniest I've seen in the past couple of years---the goat--no the brain-- that's all I have to say.... They casted that movie so well, and the plot is so typical of many establishments. Speaking from experience as I worked in restaurants from age 12 to age 24.....Great hub!
Hi myway720 Thanks for stopping by with the comment. I'm a Pam Grundy fan as well. If I had half her talent, I'd be extremely wealthy.
Hi Jared. Thanks. I almost forgot about "the goat" (If anyone wants to know what the goat is, you'll have to see the movie, as I can't explain it here on Hubpages)I appreciate the comment.
Great Hub and I applaud you for not taking the bogus deal they offered you. I have worked in many restaurants and never heard of customers bringing in bugs. Believe it or not, most food employees don't mess with food, no matter what. But they do live on tips. If the service is subpar, that is where you take out your anger. Great Hub.
I think the manager was right. There was nothing wrong with your meal. What if you had been a party of 16 and one meal had a bug. You expect the other 15 meals to be free?
If one meal is bad, they're all bad. I would definitely expect all 16 to be free-and if you don't you must live in Illinois, or something.
Right upon returning the meal, I would leave the restaurant right away. Chances are that some ego is going to be hurt on the process...so I prefer leaving!
Hi Wow....
Sorry that we don't agree. Bugs are not on the menu in the restaurant I attended. They were jerks to me before I was a jerk to them.
Where the hell do you get off telling me how to conduct a business transaction, anyway?
If you're gonna be a box of douche, at least have the guts to sign your name instead of remaining anonymously.
imadork 3 years ago
Good advice. I do not need additional "seasonings" on my food.