I bite into a rock or something at OG

[HotelMinion]

So, ok. I've worked as server before, and I know how horrible it is. That's why, whenever I go out to eat, I never complain. If the food is disgusting, I never go again. There are too many options.
Well, me and my sis went to an Olive Garden. I like the OG near my other house because they are attentive, friendly, and the food is rarely over or undercooked, and they put plenty of sauce and cheese, which I like. Plus all the breadsticks and yummy salad you can eat!
Well, my sis, who is kind of a snob, doesn't like going "to that one" because it's not in the big city. She said why don't we go to the one in the city, it's excellent. I say sure let's go.
Well we get there and give our names to the hostess. We take a look around and the restaurant's pretty empty, but the hostess says it'll be 15 min. Okkk...I'm starving by the way and we sit in the waiting room. Ohhh...so hungry.
Meanwhile this heavyset guy who I gues was the manager came out and started giving the hostess grief about something, and she "ok, ok" and told us our table was ready. Yay! So we go and sit down....and wait...and wait...and wait...
About 20 min later my sis flags down a passing waiter, who seems to know, because she asks, "didn't anybody take your drinks and appetizer orders yet?" My sis says no, and is very peeved off. Me? I was just trying not to faint from hunger.
The waitress says, "Sorry, what are your orders?" So I give it to her, along with our entrees, thinking that they wouldn't give it all at once. Wrong! Next thing we know, a guy comes out and starts stuffing our tables with heaping plates of food. Our entrees, bread, salad, appetizers, drinks, all on this itty bitty little table. We look at each other and say, "ooookkkkk..."
Before we could say anything the guy hurries away. Literally, just drop and go. They seat screaming babies at either side of us, even with half the restaurant still empty. Well, I'm starving, so I'm chowing down on the bread and salad. I take a drink to wash it down, and then much on a stuffed mushroom. Mmm...then....CRUNCH.
The crunch was so loud that my sis heard it over the screaming babies, and she's like, "What's that?!" I'm terrifiend. thinking it's my tooth, because I can feel something crumbling. "I don't know, I think it was a bone" I say, and I guess I should've spat my mouthful out into a napkin, but I didn't want to gross anyone out, so I kind of feel around with my tongue for something bony, but I don't feel anything. Thinking it went down my throat, I grab some water starting chugging it in case the bone or whatever it was was about to choke me. I spit a little of it out, and there's this pale pebble like thing. Ok, it wasn't a bone. It was a bit of a rock!
Gross. That means the muchroom is dirtyyyyy.
"That's it!" my sis says, and waves down a server. She is hopping mad, and I don't blame her. I have ate at some really cheap diners and I have never bitten into a rock before. She asks for the manager, and soon a lady who introduce herself as the sales manager comes over. "We've been waiting all this time and the food comes out like this, and my sis just bit into a bone while biting into a stuffed mushroom!"
The manager apologizes, saying there was a tiff in the kitchen, and that we were seated in the wrong area, and there was a shortage of servers today, and so on and on.... Okkkk.. meanwhiel I'm checking my teeth with my tongue to make sure they're ok, that's there's no chips or anything. It doesn't seem to be. After comping out drinks and appetizers, the manager leaves.
"I thought you said this place was good," I say, half teasing. "told you the other place is better. Well at least they apologized and comped our drinks. Come on, let's get out of here."
So we left, after eating as much of we can, and boxing the rest, and paying the poor server. Since I served, I left her a nice tip and so did my sis, since it's not her fault the manager graduating from Ye Olde Manager Skool. We vow never to go again to there, and that's it.
So it goes to show, even the reasturant fron the bity city can be worser than the one from the suburbs. but of course I knew that, my sis on the other hand....she won't admit it!

[PepperElf]

The manager apologizes, saying there was a tiff in the kitchen, and that we were seated in the wrong area, and there was a shortage of servers today, and so on and on.... Okkkk..

maybe it's me but that sounds more like he's making excuses rather than apologizing.

And fuck it if they had a "tiff" ... that still doesn't excuse bones/rocks in your mushrooms.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

The manager apologizes, saying there was a tiff in the kitchen, and that we were seated in the wrong area, and there was a shortage of servers today, and so on and on.... :

None of that explains the pebble in the stuffed mushroom, which is actually the most serious issue since that kind of thing can wreck teeth and dental work.

[Merriweather]

So basically for all the trouble you had, their answer was to give excuses rather than apologies, and comp your drinks? I don't even consider the appetizers as comped, considering you couldn't eat them anyway.
Definitely not a place I'd go back to, more for the reaction to the complaint than to the problem itself (which could easily be a one-off).

I know some people don''t complain, they just don't go back to a place, figuring that gets the message across. But really, even if enough people do it for numbers to go down, a store doesn't know if drop in customers is service, food, advertising, the economy, roadwork on a highway leading to them, or any of dozens of reasons. And really, even the worst of experiences at a restaurant can be the result of a lot of random one-off events, and was truly a one-off day at a place that's normally wonderful.

That's why I do believe in complaining (about real problems, of course, not tiny little things that don't make any real difference), calmly and logically. The reaction of the staff, especially the manager, to that is what I base my decision on whether to ever give them a second try. An apology that at least sounds sincere is a must - explanations are fine, if used in addition to an apology, but not if simply used as excuses. As for part or all of a meal being comped, a free dessert, etc - yes, they do influence me. Not because I'm out for a freebie grab, but because that's really the only thing a manager can do do make things right, once something has gone badly wrong, and that coupled with an apology shows that they do care about the impression you have of their place.
And therefore, makes me inclined to give them a second chance.

[Andara Bledin]

Just a note, but the mushrooms are stuffed with clam meat and no matter how well you clean it, you will, sometimes, end up with a bit of sand. Same with clam chowder.

There is nothing more jarring than enjoying your delicious clam-based foodstuff to crunch into a grain of sand. Particularly as it sounds as though that were a rather large-ish grain of sand.

Now, there shouldn't have been any sand at all, but I suspect that the kitchen likely relies on their supplier to provide sand-free clams.

^-.-^

[Bright_Star]

That doesn't make sense. They screwed up & you left a nice tip?? What you bit into could have broken your teeth.

[Draco]

The server didn't seat them. The server didn't prep the food. It sounds like the server -tried-.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I'd send them a complaint letter about the stone in the mushroom, personally; it will with any luck make them more careful next time.

I have weak tooth enamel, so if that had happened to me, that would have been a chipped tooth and boy, would that restaurant have to pay thru the nose!

[FenigDurak]

None of that explains the pebble in the stuffed mushroom, which is actually the most serious issue since that kind of thing can wreck teeth and dental work.

Rocks, bones, improperly processed grains... I'll tell y'all the story of the $2000 Jersey Mikes sub sometime.

[EricKei]

I can understand there being a "tiff" in the kitchen -- but it adds yet another issue to that manager's style to actually TELL a customer that. The waiter who actually properly helped you out deserves kudos for being a professional... The one that dumped all of your grub at once and disappeared deserves a little chat with the brass, as does the manager. With the overall service (or lack thereof) y'all got, I think it would have been reasonable to either comp the whole thing or else just let you get out of there and leave the food behind.

I'll tell y'all the story of the $2000 Jersey Mikes sub sometime.

Now, now, no teasing Spill.

[FenigDurak]

A piece of hardened grain in the wheat bread of the otherwise delicious turkey sub hit my second molar (top right, second from back) just right that it cracked off a piece of tooth. At first I thought the seed was just stuck in between, but after a few minutes trying to fuss it out with my tongue, the piece came out. Sadly we had already left the restaurant by this time.
I reported the incident to the location management, Jersey Mikes head office as well as various forms of social media in hopes of getting some kind of response. Never heard boo.
Fortunately I wasn't in any pain. Just mortification that my healthy teeth were marred. Four dental visits, 2 temporary crowns and a permanent later, I'm down $1500 for the crown, $200 for the temporaries and $8 for the sub.

It feels weird too. That molar in particular had this great sharp ridge I could scratch my tongue on during allergy season and now it's rounded off with the crown.