We have been eating there probably once a week for the past 3 or 4 months. We usually eat there on a Monday or Tuesday not for any reason but for habit. Because we are pretty frequent diners there, they recognize us and don’t even bring us menus anymore since they know we know it by heart.

The past 3 or 4 times we have been comped our second “round” of drinks and then they bring us dessert. Usually we end up with two entrees, two drinks each, (Ms. Lefty gets wine, I get Singha beer) and dessert and the bill comes to about 30 dollars.

I think I end up feeling guilty about the freebies, I tip sometimes 50% of the bill because I think they deserve to make money on me. My problem is that while I want the second beer, I don’t really know how to refuse the empty calories their dessert offers to me, and we don’t want to insult them by not eating some of it.

And, for the record, the service is really not that great for casual customers. They need to keep a better eye on the front door as sometimes people get there and they don’t quite notice right away. But the food is the best Thai food anywhere, and we have tried a lot of places.

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If the food is the problem, I don’t penalize the wait staff, but i do ask for the manager and make a point to both the wait staff and manager that the wait staff is not at fault, but the kitchen made an error that should be addressed. An apology is generally all I’m looking for – not a freebee, and frankly, its been a long time since I called out the kitchen!

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As far as me requesting compensation, it depends on the error.

If it was bad service, I just leave a small/zero tip.

If my food was bad, I request new food.

If there was hair in my food, I request a free meal.

I’m pretty passive so I hardly ever ask for what I want. I just notify the waiter/manager of my problem in a polite manner and they usually apologize and come up with a solution that satisfies my needs.

I’ve learned that if you’re polite, you usually get what you want and still look professional. If you complain and cause a scene, you will most likely get what you want, but will be frowned upon and not welcomed back at that establishment.

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Generally though, bad service, that was not apologized for, will grant a “do not return” note in my head. And I’ll also likely mention it to any of my friends who are considering going there (especially if it will be a first time visit).

If by chance the bad service happened at a restaurant that I frequent, and frequently get good service at, I’ll make sure on subsequent visits that I don’t get the “bad service” server.

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I guess I don’t have any problem with people ranting and raving on the internet. If anything, I wish people happy with service would rant and rave more often as well, so that there is some balance. I don’t agree with the person claiming poor service should be expected for the price you pay. Service is a function of management setting proper expectations for those working. It’s not expensive to smile and greet people warmly. It’s not expensive to pay attention to your work.

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Waitress was good, she got a good tip, but the chef needs to learn how to spell rare. My Dad and I both order steaks, his rare, mine medium rare. His came very well done, mine came done. Waitress was apologetic, but she did get the order right. The kitchen didn’t. The manager took money off the bill, but I think an apology would have gone farther, especially with my Dad.

Another experience was a year ago, just before a WCHA Final Five game at the American Burger Bar in downtown St. Paul. Note: The place was only open a couple of weeks and was still working bugs out…

The kitchen lost our order. Basically, the order, on heat sensitive paper, fell on the grill and became unreadable. Apparently the kitchen staff decided they could just ignore the order. Our waiter finally managed to figure out what was going on (and yes, he did get a good tip, it wasn’t his fault) and resubmitted the order. The manager (or owner, never did find out for certain) did come over and apologize, and did comp out meal completely, but in the end, my Dad never got his order. The other 5 of us split some of our meals with him so we could go to the game. Found out on the way out, that once again the kitchen staff had messed up on that. My Dad will never go there again. If he’d gotten his food, he probably would, but that didn’t happen. And in the end, we missed the face-off and the first couple of minutes of the game we were going to…

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I am pretty patient with most servers, etc who are doing their job and things go a little awry. It’s clear they are trying and are probably overloaded with tables, etc. and it’s not that they don’t care. Unless they really don’t care and then I still wouldn’t make a blanket judgment on the establishment. I guess it’s not my style. I will however, write a good review on Yelp or Urban Spoon for a truly outstanding experience. I am all for spreading the word on good places to try.

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If I’m heading out to a chain eatery, or a run of the mill 2 or 3 start place, I’m not going to expect the world. If I’m going to be dropping $25 a plate, plus drinks, app and possibly desert, I will expect that my wait staff be courteous, professional, and not smacking bubble gum or txting at the hostess booth..

Everyone has bad days at their job, and we might catch someone on that night. Accidents happen, mistakes are made. If I find that the server is just plain clueless and/or inattentive, I might catch the ear of the manager. If the service is adequate, I’ll tip accordingly. If the service is rock star, I’ll be tipping a bit more, and returning, with friends.

I can’t say that I’ve ever had a meal that I’ve needed to send back because it was prepared wrong, or just inedible.

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