"I'm not asking for anything...but gimme free stuff!!"

[customersruinmylife]

Roommate and I are opening the pub. We get in and there is a nice little letter that has been shoved under the door. We open it. It is a letter from a customer. It has quite clearly been hastily written on a small scrap of paper and the spelling and grammar is appalling. I'll clean it up for this thread, but just imagine every other word being spelled incorrectly and the entire letter being one giant run on sentence.

"Dear Manager,

Yesterday my family and I visited your pub for lunch. We often visit your pub as we feel that it is good value for money, however I can safely say that we are considering never coming again. Yesterday was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life, and I never want to put myself or my family through it again.

We ordered three meals. All three of us had steak. My husbands steak was fine, my steak was delicious but my daughters was difficult to cut! It was like rubber! RUBBER! I believe she was purposely given a bad steak. Why someone would do this to her, I do not know, but she was very upset and so was I.

I did not want to create a scene in your pub because, believe it or not, before this incident I had a lot of respect for your business. I shared my steak with my daughter so she would not starve.

We are not asking for compensation, but I believe three meals on the house with drinks is more than sufficient. Here is my address so you can send some cash or a voucher for our next visit."

Roommate screwed up the paper and put it in the bin.

R: I actually remember them from yesterday! Not once did they complain. Not even when I checked their table and later cleared their plates!

[Monterey Jack]

I shared my steak with my daughter so she would not starve.

Ah, yes...all SCs immediately go for the "starve" card just because they can't eat RIGHT NOW. Even going a few DAYS without eating isn't going to make anyone starve. Being hungry does not mean you're going to starve. Just suck it up and ask for a replacement for your food or a refund, then go somewhere else to grab a bite to eat.

[wolfie]

I did not want to create a scene in your pub because, believe it or not, before this incident I had a lot of respect for your business. I shared my steak with my daughter so she would not starve.

We are not asking for compensation, but I believe three meals on the house with drinks is more than sufficient. Here is my address so you can send some cash or a voucher for our next visit."

R: I actually remember them from yesterday! Not once did they complain. Not even when I checked their table and later cleared their plates!

If they had quietly mentioned the problem when your roommate checked their table, that would not have been "creating a scene", and would have given the pub a chance to correct the problem. Was there an uneaten steak when roommate cleated the plates? If not (and I suspect there wasn't), then it's a simple gimme grab.

BTW, your roommate made a mistake tossing the note - should have copied the name and address to the "do not serve" list first.

[dalesys]

... my daughters was difficult to cut! It was like rubber! ...

Hey! What happened to the steak from the display meal in the front window?

[Ryuugan80]

R: I actually remember them from yesterday! Not once did they complain. Not even when I checked their table and later cleared their plates!

It's times like this that I wish we lived in a sort of TV land. The next time these customers came in, you could bring them into the back room, and show them the surprisingly clear video of themselves on the CCTV.

"Is this the day you were referring to, 01/xx/2014? It looks like your daughter enjoyed it well enough. Oh! You, even licking the fork!"

"...Uh...that's not the day I meant."

"But you said your last visit on the xx'th, right?"

"..."

[EricKei]

So...They say they don't want compensation, then immediately ask for compensation in the same breath? o_O

Her steak (that she finished) was like rubber, huh? Why are the words "Well" and "Done" floating through my mind...?

Also, they begin with "We're never coming back here again!" and then later speak of coming back...Hrm, sorry, no. As soon as you say you're never coming back, the conversation is over. You're not a customer here, therefore, I have absolutely no reason whatsoever to try to accomplish the impossible and make you happy. FYVM.

[raudf]

I did not want to create a scene in your pub because...

Causing a scene is getting up on the table and shouting to all and sundry that you aren't happy with the steak, they are trying to poison you, make you starve and/or murdering your child. Then getting into a cussing match with the wait staff (which you will win, because most wait staff aren't allowed to curse back at you) and threatening to never come back, demanding that they give you half ownership in the business.

Politely asking the wait staff to fix the issue? That will go unnoticed by the populace in general. Wait staff do not have telepathy, (Those that claim to be are delusional. IF they were, they'd be working for the government or a big corporation.) so they can't tell if you find something wrong with your order. It's respectful to tell them and give them a chance to correct it. In fact, I judge the quality of a business by how they correct the problems that do crop up!

[Mr Hero]

If you ask me, the "rubber" was given to the wrong family member.

[bankworking]

I had an issue at a recent visit to a steak restaurant. I ordered my steak medium; it was well done. But we had somewhat limited time, and I was hungry and wanting to eat with my husband, so I decided to eat the well done steak. Still was decent meat, just not my preference. So, I understand customers not wanting to fuss about it. But for me, since I decided not to complain, guess what? I didn't complain. Why bother when I wasn't up for giving them the time to make it right? I certainly wouldn't expect anything free, since I figure my eating the entire thing is consent-after-the-fact to how it was made.

[MoonCat]

So she got a bad steak (supposedly). It happens. Why on earth assume that someone did it deliberately? She even admits she can't think of a reason why someone would do that, but never mind reasons, they just did!

Then this (supposedly) bad steak, the only time they've been unhappy with your food, is enough reason to never come back. Unless of course they get the compensation that they're "not asking for."

Assholes.

[CrappyToHelp]

If they had quietly mentioned the problem when your roommate checked their table, that would not have been "creating a scene", and would have given the pub a chance to correct the problem.

But then this cheapskate would have to buy her next meal, and we can't be having that now, can we?

[Argabarga]

Obligatory "If you didn't complain at the time, we can't be held liable for failure to fix it at the time" comment.

I know these are mostly straight up "gimmie!" grabs, but, There is that rare 1% of person who doesn't seem to understand that the public at large is not psychic, and short of something visibly being ON FIRE, you have to alert us to problems if you want them fixed.

[Sapphire Silk]

Damn.

Now I want steak. It's almost midnight.

Crap

[XCashier]

I did not want to create a scene in your pub because, believe it or not, before this incident I had a lot of respect for your business. I shared my steak with my daughter so she would not starve.

We are not asking for compensation, but I believe three meals on the house with drinks is more than sufficient. Here is my address so you can send some cash or a voucher for our next visit."

Doesn't want to "create a scene" by quietly asking for a replacement steak, but then says her daughter is going to STARVE!!! Doesn't ask for compensation, but then lists her demands? Ugh! Passive-aggressive much?

BTW, your roommate made a mistake tossing the note - should have copied the name and address to the "do not serve" list first.

Ooh, yes! "Well, you didn't like the steak, but didn't ask for a replacement right away. Your letter said you weren't asking for compensation, so how could we correct the problem? I figured that meant you didn't want to be served here anymore, so we put your name on the 'do not serve' list!" A nice big dose of passive-aggression right back at her!

[crinklestein]

These people are in for some rocky times in their lives if a rubbery steak is the most humiliating thing they've ever been through.