[Misc] Complaining. In restaurants or in general…

[trueblue]

Interesting that pretty much everything here ended up being about restaurants when these days you barely spend a quid without being asked to fill in a questionnaire afterwards about 'how we did?'. I've been surprised that in a few cases where I've moaned on those, the company has actually followed up. They must get a warped view of their business though as I'm sure far more people fill them in if they're unhappy than when everything is just fine. Restaurants-wise, struggle to complain but once did tell a place to remove the service charge after asking several times for the bill and having had to wait ages for everything.

 

[Jim Van Winkle]

I'll be along for my chilled cucumber and mint soup shortly

Don’t forget to blow on it. It might be too hot.

 

[Jim Van Winkle]

I very rarely complain about restaurants etc. Maybe would be different if I ate at some fancy, expensive place. Would also be pissed off if I went somewhere and I was the only customer at the time and the food wasnt good. But generally speaking I'm sure most of them are doing their best and that there are logical, human explanations why sometimes mistakes are made.

The guy that delivers all your pizza must be due for early retirement.

 

[HastingsSeagull]

Over here and in other Asian countries I've lived in there's an odd dynamic. Many (not all) rich people complain all the time about everything even when nothing wrong and poor people never complain (unless a foreigner is at fault). The last part I hate myself for writing but seems to be the case and thankfully, usually it's not me. If you're a non-white foreigner gods help you some of the stuff I've heard. I expect happens everywhere or used to back in the day but still shocks me at times and best just to keep head down and ignore or fix privately and discreetly if needed.

 

[BBassic]

The only times I can recall complaining are in restaurants where people who've come in after me have been served first.

It's queue jumping and I won't stand for it.

 

[PaoloAlbioni]

Some years ago on a summer's day I went to a restaurant in Hove wearing a white shirt.
Between courses, the very energetic waitress serving the table behind me decided to demonstrate a 360 degree twirl and I felt a sudden wet streak across my back - she’d been holding a ketchup bottle and the top had come flying off. Very apologetic, once she realised what she’d done she explained that the gents WC had an old-fashioned air dryer on the wall and that I could remove my shirt and dry it off there.
Good idea I thought, and duly went and took it off & washed off (much of) the stain. Put it under the dryer, pressed the start button and …. nothing happened.
The dryer was broken. So returned to my seat with a clinging wet white shirt with red smears streaked across the back to eat my meal.
Afterwards, I politely suggested that perhaps the restaurant would like to not charge me, but the waitress said the manager could only offer me a free cup of coffee! At which point I finally lost it, marched over to the manager and explained that I would not be paying but would leave my name & address and send the dry cleaning bill in due course.
Sure enough I did - and they paid up.

 

[giveusfalmerplease]

We were staying in a hotel a few weeks back. One evening's dinner was included in the package. Being fish-eating veggies (or pescatarian to be precise) I ordered cod and chips.
"Sorry, Cod's off"
So I ordered Sea Bass.
"Sorry, that's off too"
That left me with Pea Risotto or Halloumi Tagine with Couscous. I ordered the latter with a side order of chips.
It took an hour to arrive and, when it did, the couscous was cold, which meant the tagine went cold too.
I complained to the server, she took it back to the kitchen and came back out saying "Chef says couscous is served cold here, but I could microwave it"
I told her to take it to the kitchen, put it in the bin and tell Chef he's a ****.
Oh, and the side order consisted of 10 (ten) chips.
Had it not been included in the package I would have refused to pay, as it was I agreed that our drinks and side order wouldn't be charged.

Mrs H enjoyed the risotto though.

on the flipside - being a pescitarian is YOUR choice and too many vegan, pescis etc EXPECT restaurants to provide options to their needs. My cousin works in a STEAKHOUSE - the clue is in the title! - yet almost daily she gets complaints from fekking ahole customers complaining about the vegan choices. Often people ask for the chips to be cooked in a frier that has not been used for meat/fish. Its not like they can just empty a frier of red hot fat just to serve one customer!.

 

[giveusfalmerplease]

Over here and in other Asian countries I've lived in there's an odd dynamic. Many (not all) rich people complain all the time about everything even when nothing wrong and poor people never complain (unless a foreigner is at fault). The last part I hate myself for writing but seems to be the case and thankfully, usually it's not me. If you're a non-white foreigner gods help you some of the stuff I've heard. I expect happens everywhere or used to back in the day but still shocks me at times and best just to keep head down and ignore or fix privately and discreetly if needed.

i believe Italian chefs are pretty feisty too!. A friend went to an Italian restaurant and ordered some dish (cant remember what she had) but it was rock hard and stone cold. Not being italian she didnt know the right words to complain and googled it. The waitress stormed off screaming and the chef came out, whites all covered in god knows what he was cooking and started shouting expletives (we assume!) and waiving what looked like a very sharp knife. It took the manager to come to her rescue and waving at her with a shooing motion he said "go go please no charge go". She didnt need to be told twice. !

 

[Springal]

on the flipside - being a pescitarian is YOUR choice and too many vegan, pescis etc EXPECT restaurants to provide options to their needs. My cousin works in a STEAKHOUSE - the clue is in the title! - yet almost daily she gets complaints from fekking ahole customers complaining about the vegan choices. Often people ask for the chips to be cooked in a frier that has not been used for meat/fish. Its not like they can just empty a frier of red hot fat just to serve one customer!.

What about people with health issues? Or coeliacs ? I've been with people who were LIED to about things like that and have been very ill.

But either way valid complaint if there are things on the menu - and then unavailable when you get there leaving little choice you have a right to be annoyed

 

[amexer]

Interesting that pretty much everything here ended up being about restaurants when these days you barely spend a quid without being asked to fill in a questionnaire afterwards about 'how we did?'. I've been surprised that in a few cases where I've moaned on those, the company has actually followed up. They must get a warped view of their business though as I'm sure far more people fill them in if they're unhappy than when everything is just fine. Restaurants-wise, struggle to complain but once did tell a place to remove the service charge after asking several times for the bill and having had to wait ages for everything.

The questionnaires received from Companies asking about experience are all a waste of time. My company stopped using them. Instead we rang or emailed random people each month that we had done business with and learnt a lot more about what we were doing well and where we could improve.

 

[bhafc99]

A friend went to an Italian restaurant and ordered some dish (cant remember what she had) but it was rock hard and stone cold.

Gelato?

 

[CheeseRolls]

I was in Alushi, a while back when a young lady came in and asked if they served anything vegan? Alushi is the tiny little Lebanese restaurant under Brighton Station and a one man operation. He politely explained the options to her, whilst trying to cook and prepare everyone else's food. Unfortunately despite there being a very reasonable choice of ingredients, once he had whittled off all her personal dislikes, the remaining options were pitta bread and lettuce and I am not sure she liked either of those that much.

There must come a point when you are ultra picky or have a long list of food intolerances, that you are better off taking responsibility for preparing your own food.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Does anyone else get annoyed/embarrassed when they go to a restaurant with a "question person"? Those people who can't just pick something off the menu and order it. They prepare a long list of questions to ask the server and usually ask for substitutions. There are occassions where you might have a question or two but I swear there's people who get some kind of satisfaction from it and feel like they know better than the chef.

Years ago, a group of us were in a restaurant and when asked by the waiter for their order, one of the girls who was renowned for this said 'can I be awkward' to which the waiter instantaneously replied 'I'm sure you can Madam' before she got another word out. Much laughter and a generous tip from the rest of us