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I went to a restaurant with a friend on Thursday. We debated between this and another restaurant that was slightly cheaper but not open for another 40 minutes or so. So we sat down, ordered food and were talking. My friend notes it’s been about 25 minutes and we haven’t had any food. Not only that but someone seated after us (eating the same thing as my friend) is working his way through his food.
I hate complaining to people about things, it’s a reaction from working in hotels I swear. I said we’d wait until 5 and then complain (ten minutes), I flagged the waitress down – really hard to do, and she went to check on them. Five comes and so does the food, only I’m given the wrong cold meal. My friend’s food is cold and only a tiny section of the plate is warm. I could see the kitchen if I turned around and I never saw these sat on the hot plate so where did they come from to get this cold?
I flagged her down again (it was ridiculous, she was avoiding us, everyone else was getting attention) and she hemmed and hawed about taking both plates back. I walked out to the host station and complained, all with a smile – I figured it would help. It did, the manager came over and sat next to us to apologise. The food turned up, my friend’s was hot and mine was lukewarm but hey at least it was the right meal. I had debated leaving and going back to the other place which was open by now, but the manager told us we ‘had a few options’. That confused my friend, but I’d already said I’ve worked in hospitality so I had a feeling I could guess them. The manager seemed a lot more invested in the complaint after I said that, as ‘it takes a lot to complain when you do it’.
I opted to eat my lukewarm food as I was starting to shake and I didn’t want to have both taken away so we could eat together (without going into detail it is important to my friend). I asked for a discount, thinking 25% would be offered. Nope, he took my friend’s meal off the bill and our drinks. I was really impressed with that – so was my friend (£3 and change for ribs, who wouldn’t be?).
The waitress had to get past the manager twice whilst he was sitting with us, and didn’t even speak to him, just waited till he moved. I would have expected at least eye contact to see if anything was wrong. After we left we realised it was the same place that had taken my plate just as I’d finished and put my cutlery on the plate then bought the bill back to me whilst my friend was only halfway through her meal. There’s another (same brand) that’s only 5 minutes or so away from where we were.
I hate complaining to people about things, it’s a reaction from working in hotels I swear. I said we’d wait until 5 and then complain (ten minutes), I flagged the waitress down – really hard to do, and she went to check on them. Five comes and so does the food, only I’m given the wrong cold meal. My friend’s food is cold and only a tiny section of the plate is warm. I could see the kitchen if I turned around and I never saw these sat on the hot plate so where did they come from to get this cold?
I flagged her down again (it was ridiculous, she was avoiding us, everyone else was getting attention) and she hemmed and hawed about taking both plates back. I walked out to the host station and complained, all with a smile – I figured it would help. It did, the manager came over and sat next to us to apologise. The food turned up, my friend’s was hot and mine was lukewarm but hey at least it was the right meal. I had debated leaving and going back to the other place which was open by now, but the manager told us we ‘had a few options’. That confused my friend, but I’d already said I’ve worked in hospitality so I had a feeling I could guess them. The manager seemed a lot more invested in the complaint after I said that, as ‘it takes a lot to complain when you do it’.
I opted to eat my lukewarm food as I was starting to shake and I didn’t want to have both taken away so we could eat together (without going into detail it is important to my friend). I asked for a discount, thinking 25% would be offered. Nope, he took my friend’s meal off the bill and our drinks. I was really impressed with that – so was my friend (£3 and change for ribs, who wouldn’t be?).
The waitress had to get past the manager twice whilst he was sitting with us, and didn’t even speak to him, just waited till he moved. I would have expected at least eye contact to see if anything was wrong. After we left we realised it was the same place that had taken my plate just as I’d finished and put my cutlery on the plate then bought the bill back to me whilst my friend was only halfway through her meal. There’s another (same brand) that’s only 5 minutes or so away from where we were.
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