Last week’s poll asked how often you workout and of the choices provided the most popular was, “not enough.” I kept true to my promise of working out more regularly this week and the only day I didn’t was Friday as I was busy with work all day and then I went out with friends to play Golden Tee and watch them drink beer (being the DD sucks). I plan to keep it up through the summer and even increase my visits to two a day on certain days. We’ll see if I can keep it up.
This week’s poll comes following a discussion on the Ramy’s Pizza thread about what you do when something isn’t quite right at a restaurant. While I openly admit that I very, very, very rarely ever return anything (or even complain about it), I have done it but only when it was suggested by the waitress herself. But being that I have a different sort of opinion about how I expect restaurants to deliver and I have a much different way of making my opinions known as opposed to the rest of the general population, I was wondering what you do.
Do you immediately complain to the server or do you request someone higher up? When you do complain do you expect them to make it right by making something new for you or do you want some sort of monetary (money off your bill) or physical compensation (free dessert)? Do you write anonymous reviews on sites like Urbanspoon? Whatever you do when you experience something you didn’t like at restaurant go ahead and vote on the sidebar and then comment on below.
After you do both of those things feel free to check out our expired polls in the archive or read through the previous posts about polls here.
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April 24th, 2011 at 9:52 am
Good morning and happy Easter. I want to add a note to my vote on this poll, which was “complain to management.” I’ve only done this very rarely. These days, it’s so easy to fire somebody, in order to cover one’s, well, you know, rather than to take the time to retrain, and I just don’t want to be responsible for that.
April 24th, 2011 at 8:27 pm
my wife is the queen of sending stuff back. Typically due to under cooked meat, but mostly because she tends to ask for lots of things that are not on the menu, or not how the food comes normally. Thus she will send it back because it came with rice, and she had asked for vegetables, or stuff like that. She feels no shame or any concern for what might occur when she gets her food back.
I find the places in the best position to succeed are those that proactively handle such situations. I don’t know we have ever asked for a manager simply because the manager usually comes over to apologize before the food comes back, or it is the manager that brings the food back. Often times with the manager returning or waiting to ensure everything is now fine.
I end up being less likely to have a problem, mostly because I’m flexible on how my food is cooked, and I tend to eat whatever is on the menu. I also tend to be less likely to complain, if I do have an issue (say food too cold). That can be a negative though, as I’m more likely to hold that against a place rather than let them know where they failed so they can do better.
Now that’s for restaurants . For fast food, I have no problem letting them have it. I hate when they screw up fast food orders, and I let them know. Often times when I talk to the manager they want my address to send me coupons for free food or discounts. I generally refuse the coupons and I tell them that I’m not calling to try and get free food out of them. I’m calling to let them know that regardless of all the work they have done to make sure every order goes out right, they have still more work to do. I tell them I don’t want free food next time. i want to pay for my food next time and find out it’s right when I get home, not wrong.
The worst thing a manager can do is try to explain about all the reasons why whatever happened, happened. I want the manager to say I’m sorry, make it right, and state they will work to ensure the same problem doesn’t happen again.
April 25th, 2011 at 5:45 am
[...] Blue Ox Coffee hopes to open in June (their Twitter account is established and thriving), a survey on how you respond to poor food or service, and the best margaritas in Minnesota according to Dara. [...]
April 25th, 2011 at 7:49 am
I’ve sent back wine before, once in a great while food, but usually because there’s either something seriously wrong with it or I got something I didn’t want or order.. most common- Cheese on a hamburger.
I have been known to stiff wait staff on the tip when I’m pissed about service with no qualms what so ever.
April 25th, 2011 at 9:02 am
We rarely send anything back when we get a bad item. We just don’t go back, and I usually do my part to make sure nobody else does either.
I do remember one time at I Nonni when we ordered an item that just was not up to par. Because we are fairly frequent customers, we let our server know that the item, while sort of OK, it was not up to the standard they had set for themselves prior. We did this more to let them know as a courtesy than because we were upset. The response was gracious as I recall and I suspect it was taken off the bill, but I don’t ever look at the bill when I eat out. We have been back dozens of times since then and we continue to get top notch service and food from them even though we sort of complained once.
April 25th, 2011 at 9:43 am
I don’t think I’ve ever sent food back unless it was the wrong item. Even then, I’m admittedly hesitant. I’m not picky enough to care and if the dish is similar enough, I’ll probably like it anyway.
April 25th, 2011 at 9:48 am
Like Sank said – depends on the item.
I’m NOT a fan of mayo or onions on a burger. If the burger comes out with Mayo I send it back. If the burger comes out with onions I can take them off and it won’t effect the quality of the meal.
If the restaurant offers to comp something I rarely turn it down because I think it drives home the point that they should make their food to the specifications of the person paying for and consuming the food.
April 25th, 2011 at 2:48 pm
As I get older, I care less about not making an issue out of something, and I’m getting more honest. If the server comes up, asks me how everything is, I’ll tell them if the steak was too done, the potatoes too dry, or whatever. I’ll only send it back if it’s dangerously undercooked, something nasty in the food, or just plain awful. I will accept the item being taken off my bill for the hassle, but I won’t demand it.
As far as poor service, I won’t come straight out and tell the server that they’re too slow or too obnoxious. I will wave my arms to get their attention, or flag down another server, if I’ve been waiting too long for something, however. To me, the better a server is, the less you notice them. They are there when you want them to be, and no more. They answer all your questions quickly, they don’t try to be buddy-buddy with you, and don’t incorrectly use the work “like”. A pet peeve of mine is the overbearing, hyper friendly server. Sorry, I’m there for the food and the company of whomever I’m with, not to make new friends. The only exception to that was a guy at Buca’s in Burnsville who used to stick quarters to his forehead. The kids really got a kick out of that.
The tip will definitely reflect the service, anywhere from 5% to 25%.
April 25th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Oh, and I definitely agree with Mikeh. Do not give me a number of reason why you failed. Just apologize, make it better and give me some assurance that whatever the issue is, it’s not acceptable to you either.
April 26th, 2011 at 9:45 am
“… but mostly because she tends to ask for lots of things that are not on the menu, or not how the food comes normally.”
I cannot stand eating out with people who order like that. Unless it’s a health related issue (food allergies) just order what is on the menu. If you want to substitute two or three items on your meal so that it no longer resembles the original entree, just cook it at home yourself. I find that requesting all those adjustments leads to cooks making more mistakes which leads to longer waits for food, which can ultimately end up as a bad dining experience.
I don’t do anything about poor food. I’ve sent food back maybe once or twice in my life. If I get bad service I will tip accordingly.
April 26th, 2011 at 10:53 am
Dan N,
You should just keep a keg of A1 sauce in your trunk and that way your food will always taste good to you.
The mental picture of grumpy Lenny waving down an errant server remind me of why I am no longer in the restaurant game. Under tipping penalizes the servers when it is very often management decisions that cause servers to be tardy and food to show up slowly. A server would literally have to insult me personally or commit a pretty egregious offense for me not to start at 15%. They are generally an underrated, underpaid hard working lot that deserve better than they get most days.
My rules of tipping:
Never tip less than 3 dollars no matter how small the bill (coffee only purchase excluded)
Under $100 total bill
20% tip on the total bill including tax rounded up to the nearest dollar.
Over $100. Same as above except rounded up to the nearest $5.
If I don’t like the food, service, etc, I will penalize the management by not going back and telling my friends why they should not. I won’t penalize the workers who I usually presume are trying their best to take care of me.
April 26th, 2011 at 11:08 am
Uh, lefty, aren’t the workers being penalized if you don’t go back and tell others not to as well? Less customers = less tips.
April 26th, 2011 at 11:23 am
I figured that would be someone’s rebuttal.
A good wait person always has a job available to them. If they work for a poorly managed place, they are going to suffer from:
1. Slow business and then
2. Closed business.
They will move on usually faster than the business goes down. It is not going to be my bad experience that brings a place slow to no business, but the collective decisions of all of us taking our business elsewhere.
Case in point. I am done with Ronin.
I have been there 4 times and every time the food is great, really great.
3 times it took me over 2 hours to eat there with empty glasses not getting refilled often enough in a half empty place each time. It was clear the owner/manager just can’t get staffing right. Not my waiter’s fault. I tipped using my “formula” above and he was probably very happy with my tip. I just can’t go back anymore given that I really tried to give them more chances. Some waiter (most likely at the Thai Curry House) gets my tips going forward.
I hope the place stays open, but I find it hard to think it will since most people would have given up after the first try if they had an experience equivalent to 75% of the times I have eaten there.
April 26th, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Ditto.
April 26th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
You can usually tell if the poor service is caused by the server, the cook, or the management. I won’t penalize a server for issues that are not their fault. If she’s runnin’ her ass off because they’re understaffed, that’s not her fault. I may tip extra because I see her working so hard and usually bearing the brunt of complaints. I only tip less than the standard amount if it’s clear the server is at fault.
lefty, your mental picture of me waving down a server is exaggerated from reality. Though I may have painted a poor picture, I really am not an asshole customer. Most of my grumpiness stays inside.
One thing I never understood is why a tip is even tied to cost of the meal. Why do we tip more for a $25 steak than a $10 burger? The effort on the server’s part is the same, is it not? When we all order free water (because $2.50 for a soda is ridiculous, particularly when I’m paying for 5 of us), I still tip like we had bought sodas because the server makes the same effort (see…I’m a nice guy). I suppose the incentive is there so the server tries to up-sell the meals.
April 26th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
I think price is a good starting point for tip. Fine dining is expensive to provide. Typically the space is nicer, overhead is higher and (unlike Ronin), a server spends 2-3 hours taking care of you and serves way less tables per night than a Perkins waitperson. As well, paying 50 bucks for a steak, you can easily see there are many more people than your server watching you to make sure you have full waters, cleared plates, etc.
Next time you are at Sea Salt, check out the Parasole rules of service hanging up on the wall next to the wine bin. (or is it d’amico?). Anyway, though I am on record as saying Parasole food is mostly overpriced for what you get, the service is usually quite good. Those rules tell a pretty good tale about the expectations “fine dining” institutions would like their employees to pass along to the customers (there are what seems like 100 different rules).
As well, the more expensive of a place you go to, I think you get a higher quality of a wait person. More experienced, better able to make your experience enjoyable than it would have been otherwise, including pairing wines with dinner for those that don’t do that naturally, including me.
Make a reservation at I Nonni, and ask for Jay to be your waiter. He is probably the best wait person that has ever served me a meal. He took care of me and my extended family for my 40th birthday a few years back. His tip that night was bigger than my total bill usually is when I eat there with my wife, and my family is still talking about that meal.
Oh, and Lenny. I have a certain relative that *is* that grumpy hand waver guy. I am sure you are way nicer than him!
May 1st, 2011 at 7:01 am
[...] week’s poll asked what you do about poor restaurant service and/or food. Most of the respondents said they either do nothing or “other” but none of the usual [...]
May 6th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Late to this conversation, but another reason the tip amount is tied to the price of the item is because your server has to claim your tips as income. Most restaurants have a standard deduction that the server must claim when cashing out for the evening. So if the restaurant makes the servers claim 10% of their sales and you ordered a $50 steak the server would be required to claim $5. If you decided to tip $2 because you don’t agree with tipping based on prices the restaurant doesn’t know/care about this so the server has to dip into his or her other tips to make up that $3 difference.
Also, keep in mind, servers are exempt from the Federal Minimum Wage rate -
source: http://www.minimum-wage.us/states/Minnesota
May 8th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Oddly had a poor service experience just the other night. Improperly prepared order due to wait staff screwing it up, as well as generally substandard service from the particular wait staff. manager brought my food back out after everyone else at the table was nearly done, apologized and said it would be free, plus offered everyone else anything. We were close to being done and no one wanted anything. I wolfed down my food, with no interaction or apology from the wait person or any indication that they intended to do better. Got the bill, my food wasn’t deducted off it. What did I do. paid the bill, gave the waiter a minimum tip, and basically continued to whine about it at home.
apparently I’m gonna cut them some slack and just whine semi-privately about the situation. Why I dunno, probably because even if I said I was never gonna go to that place ever, my wife would still want to go. A bridge I don’t feel like burning.