Do you every complain about food in a restaurant?

[BadMeal]

I don't ever complain about what is served to me in a restaurant. On the very rare occasion I am not happy with the food, I simply make a mental note never to return to that establishment again. I am usually so grateful that I don't have to cook the food or wash the dishes, that a sub par meal is seen as just one of those things to chalk up to experience.
DD (20) says that all of her friends parents complain if they are not happy with the food in a restaurant. They often get a discount or a free meal. I just haven't got it in me to do this.

Yes if it's shit but always politely

If there's something genuinely wrong (steak overcooked, food cold, food oversalted, dirty crockery etc) then I'll politely and immediately complain. What I don't do is eat three quarters of it and then start moaning - I once sat at a table with somebody who did this, obviously in an attempt to get the food for free.

If it just isn't to my taste then no, since that isn't the fault of the restaurant.

Yes I do ,it’s expensive to eat out so I expect good food and service or why bother

I rarely complain. Have done it twice in 40 years. Both in the last 4 years.
Both for uncooked food.
How can you serve a pizza uncooked?
Obviously, a cold previously cooked base eith a raw cold topping.

If somethings not right I'll mention to get it corrected. I'll never mention something thats minor, and never after the fact to get a discount.

Absolute scummy behaviour to complain to get money off the bill or comped items.

Usually the server is busy enough without having to put up with demanding customers as well.

If it's an expensive place yes. If it's a cheap chain then I don't bother. Just vote with my feet in future.

If service-based businesses don't get feedback from their customers, how will they ever improve? You don't need to be unpleasant or aggressive about it, but a quiet word with the waiting staff is perfectly fine if you are not happy with your meal (eg the food is cold, under-cooked, or whatever).
Arseholery and making a scene in order to get a discount is not acceptable.

I don’t find I have bad experiences when out to eat really - where are people going that they need to complain and ‘often’ get discounts or free meals?

If I needed a clean glass, I would say so, but wouldn’t consider that a complaint.

I can’t think of a time where I or anyone I was with had to complain about the actual food or send back a meal.

If something isn't right then you should complain, but it should be courteous and polite, no point in being a rude shouty wanker

I've complained for the following:

Very under cooked potatoes. The staff were very apologetic and couldn't understand how it happened, they were thrice cooked potato cubes.

A pie that was described as squash and mushrooms but was 80% lentils that weren't mentioned on the menu. Staff couldn't really give a shit and were clearly used to vegetarians accepting any old crap, but I'm not even vegetarian, I just thought the pie sounded nice.

Twice when I was served crappy spread after being assured the bread came with butter. Again staff couldn't really give a shit, once was an independent pub that made a lot of noise about local artisan bread and home made soup yet thought they could get away with shitty spread, the other time was a supermarket cafe that claimed they'd run out of real butter.

I'm not the greatest cook in the world but I think that anyone running a food business should be honest about what they serve and for this to be of decent quality and well cooked. Otherwise what's the point of eating out? If I don't want to cook I can heat up a ready meal or make toast. If I'm paying restaurant prices it needs to be worth the money.

I would always complain - politely, of course, but if there's a problem they should be given an opportunity to rectify it.

It does the restaurant no favours if they don't know there's a problem - you'll never return, you'll probably tell people you've had a crap meal there, and if something's a problem for you it's likely to be a problem for others as well.

Also, calculate how many hours you have to work to pay that bill, and ask yourself if it's worth it. We all work for our money and no one wants to waste it on a rubbish experience.

Same - I'll complain about something specific if it's not done correctly but I wouldn't complain if I didn't like it, I just wouldn't go back. I am also conscious that when eating out, one person complaining can sometimes ruin the enjoyment of the evening for everyone by creating a bad atmosphere so I tend to focus on making the best of the evening.

I did when I found a bit of plastic in my food!

Very rarely complain but if I’ve paid for a medium steak and it’s well done it goes back and if the food is cold it definitely goes back. I’ve had that in pubs a few times probably because lots of stuff is fast heated.

If it justifies a complaint then yes, I'm complaining

Yes. If there is something wrong with it. it goes back.

I can think of two occasions, one at a theatre bar when my burger arrived in a bun with a large patch of green mould on top. That went straight back.

And once in a Michelin starred restaurant when my creme brulee arrived so badly burned & black that the waiter saw my face, saw me draw breath to reject it, said 'no, perhaps not' and did a u-turn back to the kitchen. 😀

But it doesn't happen very often. I seldom go out to dinner but when we do go, we try to choose somewhere trustworthy.

I usually do politely tell them if there's a problem with the food. Most restaurant owners would want to know, because they want happy customers. The key is doing it politely.
Actually once I complained & the boss said how pleased she was that I told her. We've gone on to become friends!

If it’s really bad I complain , I’ve often sent stuff back if it’s cold etc

I do if it's the wrong order or undercooked/cold etc but not if I just don't think it's cooked very well

If the food is inedible/I won't eat it, then I'll complain eg too salty to eat, burnt or there's a hair or even an insect in it. I once had a worm-type creature wriggle across my hot meal and definitely complained about that.

I generally just want the food replaced with something I can eat and am always polite and, except for the worm incident when I screamed, do so quietly

Sometimes, yeah - either to get the food changed (e.g. if it's cold) or to alert staff to a problem (e.g. something tastes off or over-seasoned). I wouldn't do it to get money off or free food. I also wouldn't write a bad review unless the service was very rude.

Of course, why wouldn't you?
I do it in a calm and respectful way and explain what the issue is and I always get a discount or the item taken off the bill.
I only do it if there is actually something wrong such as too cold, burnt etc arther than me just not liking it though.
My family say I am really good at it, I manage to never piss off the staff and we get free stuff

I do if it's bad, but I make a judgement call based on price, quality etc so it tends to be either an expensive meal which was so so, or really bad if cheap

Yes of course. And I’m sure most restaurants would prefer you to tell them that there’s something wrong and have them attempt to rectify it, than say nothing and never return.

I would only complain if it was really dreadful (eg. undercooked chicken or food totally cold) or if they got my order completely wrong

If it's just 'not great' (eg. bland, too dry, too salty or whatever) then like you I would just make a mental note not to return, or if its somewhere where I normally enjoy the food I would just avoid that dish if I return

When I'm out with friends who make a big fuss if they're not happy with their food it really makes me cringe and spoils my enjoyment of the evening