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Complaining in restuarants


The Great Jacko
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Do you do it?

 

If so what for?

 

It was my birthday yesterday and having been out of work for 13 months money is tight but you gotta have a treat sometimes right?

 

Had a couple of beers and then went to Browns in Reading which is a restaurant chain I like serving decent bistro food in a lively atmosphere. I've been to Browns about 10 times over a similar number of years in Oxford, Bath and Reading and they are always packed - last night, a Friday, they were only about 70% full which is literally the quietest I've ever seen them and I'd have to wonder why.

 

Anyway long story short I sent my steak back which I ordered medium rare and was medium well - when the waiter came over and asked how everything was I said I'm not sure about the steak and asked his opinion and he agreed to swap it. The replacement was cooked much better but luke warm however I ate it. I had a 25% discount card which I'd triple checked as valid for a Friday night. When I presented it to the waiter he went off, got the bill and said we're not supposed to take this on a Friday but I spoke to the manager and got it OK'd. I took offence to his sales pitch and told him it was a shame he was bullshitting me cause I'd had a nice night despite the first steak being poorly cooked and that I knew the card was always valid for Fridays.

 

He went and got the manager....So now I'm in a conversation with the waiter and this massive South African (the manager) is hovering just behind me and I said to the waiter is that the manager (who was just staring me down) and beckoned him over. He said don't waggle you fingers at me - I explained what my gripe was and he said he was just going on what HQ had told him. In the end I apologised for swearing at the waiter who looked terrified and upset (all I said was this is bullshit) and made up with the manager who made a big deal of the swearing but walked away after my apology only to make a big deal about how I was welcome back anytime as I left the place.  I can't believe I was made to feel so uncomfortable for using a discount card that was valid and my food wasn't cooked great. I can't help but feel that maybe this manager is a grade a cock. Is complaining worth it, I know I shouldn't have said "bullshit" but was the follow up really justified?

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I dunno, any time a customer swears at me, they've lost their argument and I make them feel like twats. Don't swear, don't be aggressive and I'll treat your complaint with courtesy. Do the opposite though and you'll get the bare minimum from me, and a lot of sarcasm. I'm a huge prick though so you're instincts about the manager are probably right. I've had loads of complaints about me. 

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To be honest if I was in a similar situation I wouldn't have said bullshit. I would have just said I've checked a couple of times and it is valid. I've worked in the service industry ( shops ) before and I would see my arse if someone swore at me, especially as he might not have been bullshitting you, but just telling you what he was told by management.

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A few years ago, I would have not said anything but I do now thanks to all the time I've spent in Spain. They will complain about anything not up to standard and I've started doing the same.

 

I'm only too happy to complain about food if it's not up standard and have had money knocked off for doing so.

 

If you bought a tele and it was poor quality, you would take it back. Why should anything else you pay for be different?

 

I'd never give abuse though. The person serving is not to blame.

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In Italy last year, one of my party was served undercooked chicken, that after missing out that person's order in the first place. Kicking off about it was justified after the manager said we had no grounds for complaint. We threatened to leave without paying and the manager compromised and settled for 50% of the entire bill.

 

I remember once many moons ago I was out with the family in town. It was a cold day so we decided to stop at a popular cafe to get a hot drink and something to eat. They had pizzas on the menu at £2 a pop so we decided to order some and sat down. The hot coffees arrived first and all was normal. Then the pizzas arrived, and they were those 4-inch cheese and tomato ones that you used to get in school. Not only that, but you could clearly see ice crystals on the top. When I asked the waitress, she said they were simply put in a microwave from frozen. She was confused when I asked if they actually turned the microwave on, and so I went back with her to the counter where we'd placed the order. The guy behind the counter didn't seem to understand the problem with the pizzas still being half frozen. I told him I'll only pay for the coffees but wanted the money back for the pizzas. After a brief chat with his manager, it was agreed that I'd get my money back for the pizzas. I asked them to revise how they prepare and serve the pizzas. There was a sizeable queue at this point and no doubt they all heard what was going on, so from my point of view that was enough.

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I swore once to a fella at southern electric who were screwing our business with the most ridiculous elecy bill after he told me that he could close our shop down if we didn't pay (by stopping the electric). I told him to fuck off and after he said he wouldn't deal with me if I swore because he was offended I ranted like fuck about me being offended by his faux polite way of threatening my livelihood. It's ok for fuckers in call centres to issue threats that can ruin lives but the twats get offended by a word. Fuck off!

I wouldn't do this in a restaurant because they can't close my business but they can spit in my food.

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I think it's pretty ballsy and respect people who do, but I never would. It's strange, because in any other comparable environment, I would make a point of explaining why I wasn't happy/what I think they should be doing better.

 

I have a friend who owns quite a few restaurants and he's always asking me what I think about the food and incessantly critiquing it, himself. Same with the Chef's, I know, they all welcome feedback, but all anybody ever tells them is how great everything is.

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I would complain if the service and/or food was bad. A little while ago we went to a local deli/sandwich type of place for lunch. The food is usually fantastic. The establishment was featured on the Food Channel over here. Anyway, we waited, and waited, and waited...

 

Eventually I had to leave (it was only lunch and I had something planned that afternoon) so I told them to cancel my order. I waited for almost an hour and still hadn't received food, when the norm is about 15 mins. 

 

The manager was gutted. From their perspective they were understaffed and needing to hire more people, and he knew they had done a bad job of it that day. He gave me a voucher to use in the place that would comfortably cover 4-5 meals. I've been back since. The food and service was excellent.

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I never complain before I've received my food and if the food arrives inedible then I very politely send it back - always work to the theory that you should never upset someone who is handling your food (even if they don't do anything to it, the wondering about it will put you off)

 

I went through a phase a few years back when I would be pretty blunt about service or quality after the meal, but seems a bit pointless and I can't be arsed these days. Generally I register disappointment by not tipping and not going back

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I swore once to a fella at southern electric who were screwing our business with the most ridiculous elecy bill after he told me that he could close our shop down if we didn't pay (by stopping the electric). I told him to fuck off and after he said he wouldn't deal with me if I swore because he was offended I ranted like fuck about me being offended by his faux polite way of threatening my livelihood. It's ok for fuckers in call centres to issue threats that can ruin lives but the twats get offended by a word. Fuck off!I wouldn't do this in a restaurant because they can't close my business but they can spit in my food.

Problem with dealing with call centres is that these guys have no authority whatsoever to help you even if they want to. The general outlook they have is that if a customer gets upset or angry then they want a way to get them off the phone so they don't have to deal with something they are powerless to do anything about. Swearing is an automatic get-out for them whether they are actually offended or not

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I've no problem complaining or making a polite inquiry how much longer the food will be.

 

One time I really did get pissed off was out for a meal in Harrow. The ex's meal came out and the steak was over cooked, we sent it back with no problem and it came back cooked correctly, only the veg was now completely cold as was my meal, they hadn't even put the plates under lights. And this was a pricey gaff to be eating cold food.

 

The waiter picked up that things still weren't right and took back both our meals, they were eventually brought out cooked correctly and hot but we waited over an hour and there wasn't so much as the offer of a free drink from the manager who the waiter (fair play to him, he did his job well) was keeping informed of what happened.

 

At the end of the meal when we got the bill the cheeky cunt of a manager had added on a 15% service charge. At this point I told him I wouldn't be paying the service charge, I wouldn't be paying for the ex's main meal and he'd cost his waiter a tip as he'd actually looked after us pretty well all things considered. I did try not to swear but couldn't help telling him he was taking the piss trying to add on 15% when his chef couldn't even cook a fucking steak.

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Problem with dealing with call centres is that these guys have no authority whatsoever to help you even if they want to. The general outlook they have is that if a customer gets upset or angry then they want a way to get them off the phone so they don't have to deal with something they are powerless to do anything about. Swearing is an automatic get-out for them whether they are actually offended or not

I understand that, but the swine threatened me by saying he could shut down my business.

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The only time in recent memory was when I took the wife out for her birthday. The problem arose when, despite the blurb on the menu about 'all our food is freshly prepared etc', the dirty scummy fuckers brought me frozen chips. If the wife pulled that shit at home I'd fucking cunt punch her, so there is no way I'm paying £25 for a steak (which was excellent, by the way) and soaking up the bloody gravy with frozen fucking chips. I nearly cried when I saw them and sent them back before they'd even touched the table. I didn't get fresh chips, but did get extra mash and a round of drinks by way of apology.

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Why the fuck should I pay a service charge, ever?

 

The people cooking and serving my food get paid a fucking wage for what they do already. Having my food cooked correctly, within a reasonable amount of time and served in a polite, friendly manner is a fucking pre-requisite to me coming to your restaurant. Since when has that changed from being an order qualifier to an order winner? 

 

If you're a good waiter then well done, I'm impressed with how well you carry out your duties and wish you well with your career. I aint going to pay you for the fucking privilege though and think its absurd that people do.

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