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  • Restaurant suckiness or how would you managers have handled this?

    Tonight I ordered from a local restaurant that touts American fare such as steak tips, ribeyes and so forth.

    I would not have normally ordered food tonight, but I have been in pain all day, pain to the point that I felt ill. My back has been killing me because I hurt it trying to carry in a 30lb bag of kitty litter. Stupid me, yes I should have waited till SO could help me, but I needed the room in my car for our monthly grocery run yesterday.

    So rather than have to stand and be in pain any longer making dinner, I opted to order from this place. I was able to sit on the couch which has a heat and massage function. In about an hour I was more relaxed and enjoying watching anime while the food was on it's way.

    It showed up about and hour and a half later, a little later than promised, but I'm in nearly pain free bliss. I start in on my ribeye..it's not cooked as ordered. In fact, it's well done and rather crispy than being medium. SOs is the same way. We managed to eat about 3/4 of our ribeyes and say the heck with it.

    The salads are fine, no complaints there.

    The potatoes were nearly raw inside. As in the part near the skin was cooked, but the rest was hard and not cooked at all. I'd had enough and called the restaurant to let them know. This is not the first time we've gotten bad food - either not cooked the way we wanted it to be cooked, forgotten items or taking forever to show up at all.

    The manager decided that he couldn't do anything and proceeded to tell me as such:

    Manager: I don't know what you want me to do
    Me: I think at this point, a refund is in order.
    Manager: I can't do that
    Me:...wait, what do you mean? your website claims 100% satisfaction guaranteed or a refund will be issued to the credit card used. We'll bring the food back.
    Manager: I can recook your food or give you a discount

    At this point we A) did not want our food recooked because who know what kinds of vile things he'd do to it and B) this was the last straw. We'd gotten bad meals before, including bad potatoes. There was no way in hell we were ever going to go back to this place, even if it was the last place standing on earth. I'd rather starve.

    Me: No I don't think that will really help the situation. New food is not going to make up for the fact that the steak was bad or the potato undercooked.
    Manager: then I don't know what you want me to do, you're not telling me.
    Me: I did tell you...

    At this point, hubby takes the phone and tries to reason with the guy. Instead he's told "I'm just a manager in training, give me a fucking break." and hangs up on SO.

    SO is mad, and packs up the food. We drive down to the restaurant, because as the website says, if we are not 100% satisfied, a refund will be given, provided we return the items. So that's what we were going to do.

    Instead, we were greeted with a manager with a positively horrible attitude. He continued to swear at SO and I, F-this and F-that, claiming that his bad attitude was from having a shitty day and running the place from open to close. Wow..I spent an entire day in excruciating pain and I managed to keep a smile on my face and not scream at customers because I was hurting so badly. If I'd spoken to any of our customers like that, I'd have been given my walking papers and shown the door, PDQ.

    I called my credit card company when the manager stepped out into the back to bitch at someone on his cell phone and asked if the charge could be stopped, but since it wasn't showing up yet, there wasn't any way to do a dispute until it did show. I did make sure to ask if I could get just the meal disputed and not the tip, since the driver tried his best to help reason with the manager, but he told the guy to make his f-ing deliveries if he wanted to get paid. I really felt sorry for the driver.

    We ended up leaving (with the food which is now in our fridge), but I do plan to contact the owner of the establishment. If he does not do anything, then I will be contacting corporate. If corporate doesn't help, then I will dispute the charge with my credit card company. Good thing I charged it to my Amex.
    Random conversation:
    Me: Okay..so I think I get why Zoro wears a bandana
    DDD: Cuz it's cool

    So, by using the Doctor's reasoning, bow ties, fezzes and bandanas are cool.

  • #2
    A place that delivers steaks...sounds like the place I work for.
    Don't know why the manager couldn't refund your money if you were returning the food.
    Policy at my store is no refund unless original food returned. Otherwise, a partial credit or a re-cook is offered.
    You were willing to return the food, so I don't see why he couldn't do a refund.

    However, as a manager of such an establishment, I have to take exception to this comment of yours:

    At this point we A) did not want our food recooked because who know what kinds of vile things he'd do to it and


    I'm not sure what upsets me more; the fact that you expect this kind of treatment to happen, or that you worked somewhere where the employees did this.

    Comment


    • #3
      Oh come on!

      The food industry is famous for that sort of revenge.

      I am pleased to hear that you would never think of doing anything to the food of an SC, but I think it is naive of you to be hurt by someone who worries about their food being "adulterated" by a vengeful cook.

      Comment


      • #4
        It's one thing to have customers bring back mostly-eaten food and have them say "it's cold." Or to bring back the last bite of a burger - "I asked for no sauce." But when you have a real complaint and you're hungry but you can't finish a meal because it was cooked wrong, while getting new food is an option, you are certainly entitled to a refund! Please don't go back there, you'll get bad food again and you'll just have to start a new thread! Save yourself the effort!

        Why is it that many employees we complain about can get away with all sorts of crap, like swearing at customers, and yet if we did that we'd be out the door quick as lightening?
        Michael: Maybe you'll be inspired by the boat party tonight and start a career as a pirate.
        Tobias: I haven't packed for that.
        <3 Arrested Development

        Comment


        • #5
          Quoth ReadyToRetire View Post
          Policy at my store is no refund unless original food returned.
          That sort of policy can only end in tears, especially if they try to return the food after it's been eaten.

          Comment


          • #6
            Well, the fact that you ate three quarters of you steak kind of puts you on shaky ground to ask for a full refund.

            Let the owner and corporate know, then drop it. It's not worth the angst and high blood pressure. If this is normal food quality (and your letter suggests that it is) , and that's how the manager acts, they will get what is coming to them. They will very quickly go out of business. Or, at the very least, the asshat manager will likely lose his job and things will improve.

            Just vote with your feet. Do not go back. You won't be the only ones, trust me.

            Comment


            • #7
              Usually, I think any restaurant should be given an opportunity to replace the meal without giving a refund. I personally would have given the restaurant a second chance to provide the meal I ordered.

              Except then the manager started to curse at you. I'd say you were owed a refund at that time.

              Just write corporate and see what happens. If they never get back to you, oh well. You'll know better than to eat there again.

              If you have to ask, it's probably better posted at www.fratching.com

              Comment


              • #8
                Quoth ReadyToRetire View Post
                A place that delivers steaks...sounds like the place I work for.
                Don't know why the manager couldn't refund your money if you were returning the food.
                Policy at my store is no refund unless original food returned. Otherwise, a partial credit or a re-cook is offered.
                You were willing to return the food, so I don't see why he couldn't do a refund.

                However, as a manager of such an establishment, I have to take exception to this comment of yours:

                At this point we A) did not want our food recooked because who know what kinds of vile things he'd do to it and


                I'm not sure what upsets me more; the fact that you expect this kind of treatment to happen, or that you worked somewhere where the employees did this.

                I don't know either, but the more we discussed it, the angrier he got. It was as if he felt slighted that we had a complaint about the food. I mean, we did ask for it to be cooked medium. We got steaks that were tough. Yes, we should have stopped eating and called sooner, but seeing as neither of us had eaten since earlier in the day (SO at 10am, me probably not at all because of my pain), we were glad to get something.

                I apologize for making it seem as if any restaurant would do this, but his attitude made me very leery about even allowing him. Add to that, even if we had, we would not have gotten it before they closed.
                Random conversation:
                Me: Okay..so I think I get why Zoro wears a bandana
                DDD: Cuz it's cool

                So, by using the Doctor's reasoning, bow ties, fezzes and bandanas are cool.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I might also suggest a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. If the restaurant is making claims like 100% guarantee on the website, and then not following through, the BBB will take that seriously. Of course, if the restaurant isn't a member of the local BBB, there is only so much they can do, but it might help.

                  Also, save a copy of the web page with the guarantee, just in case it gets changed in the near future. You'll at least be able to prove it was there at one point.
                  The Rich keep getting richer because they keep doing what it was that made them rich. Ditto the Poor.
                  "Hy kan tell dey is schmot qvestions, dey is makink my head hurt."
                  Hoc spatio locantur.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Well, considering it was a delivery, if I got my meat cooked more than I asked for, I'd probably just eat it, anyway, rather than go through the hassle of getting a new one, but when I got to the potato and it wasn't even cooked enough to be edible, I would be calling the place, too.

                    Instead, we were greeted with a manager with a positively horrible attitude. He continued to swear at SO and I, F-this and F-that, claiming that his bad attitude was from having a shitty day and running the place from open to close.
                    If this is how he handles having to work a long shift, he has no business being a manager. And the fact that he's "in training" is all the more reason for him to watch himself.

                    I'm with RK, though. In the grand scheme of things, it's not worth turning it into a huge fight. Report it to the higher-ups and then forget about 'em.
                    I don't go in for ancient wisdom
                    I don't believe just 'cause ideas are tenacious
                    It means that they're worthy - Tim Minchin, "White Wine in the Sun"

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      And now for something completely different - an update with a pleasant ending:

                      I came home last night after getting SO ingredients for his white bean and potato soup...mmmmm. There was a knock on the door and when he answered, there was someone from the restaurant with a delivery. At first we thought it was a mistake and SO told him we hadn't ordered anything.

                      Instead, the guy at our door was the owner of the location, with two new meals for us, cooked the way we had originally requested. When I tried to give him what we'd saved, he refused. He said it was his fault for not insisting that the manager he'd left alone be given help that night, and he kept apologizing about how we had been treated.

                      He also let us know that he'd been concerned with some other issues that only seemed to pop up when this manager was working. He didn't elaborate, but it seemed that it was a serious problem that apparently needed a catalyst - in our case the behavior of the manager - to take care of.

                      So we got a free meal, as well as a couple of desserts and coupons for free meals for the next few times we order. And he also handed me a slip that showed my refund of the entire meal. I did insist that he give the tip to the driver, since he didn't do anything wrong.

                      SO had his meal today since he's off, and I'm about ready to reheat mine. We already had dinner cooking when he had shown up.
                      Random conversation:
                      Me: Okay..so I think I get why Zoro wears a bandana
                      DDD: Cuz it's cool

                      So, by using the Doctor's reasoning, bow ties, fezzes and bandanas are cool.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        What a great resolution. Yay for the owner.
                        "In the end I was the mean girl/or somebody's in between girl"~Neko Case

                        “You don't need many words if you already know what you're talking about.” ~William Stafford

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Best ending ever. I give it two thumbs up!
                          Ba'al: I'm a god. Gods are all-knowing.

                          http://unrelatedcaptions.com/45147

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Yay! That's great! Methinks you'll be back and the 'manager in training' will not...
                            I don't go in for ancient wisdom
                            I don't believe just 'cause ideas are tenacious
                            It means that they're worthy - Tim Minchin, "White Wine in the Sun"

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Wow, that's really awesome. Kudos to the owner.

                              Comment

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