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.

We were starving after a long drive in December. It was quite cold. We ordered “hand carved roast turkey” Xmas dinner. We waited an hour for our main course, to find it was some slices of processed turkey roll, so salty I couldn’t eat it! The restaurant said they didn’t have enough staff; and they gave me a free dessert. However, given how hungry I was, a dessert did not make up for a ruined main course!

We complained the description suggested proper roast turkey to the chain’s HQ and the CAB, as we had to go through them to get to the Department of Trading Standards. All we got by reply, was it was processed turkey roll, which had been hand sliced!

We’ve never been to that chain again.

My main complaint is if they bring something different to what is ordered or how long they take. I rarely complain about food even if it isn't great.

Once we went somewhere and they took over an hour to serve sandwiches, after about 45 min I asked them to refund and we would eat elsewhere and they said they were just coming. Then they bought a ham and pickle sandwich that I had specifically ordered without pickle, for one of my DC. The woman bringing it really patronisingly told them they might like it. I knew they would not and sent it back.

Recently we went somewhere and had waited over 45 min for food, I politely asked how long it was going to be and they brought it fairly quickly after that.

I also do point our if they brought sonething additional to what was ordered, and that once they did not charge for a £30+ bottle of wine, so it goes both ways.

I give good reviews as well as bad on trip advisor etc because I think lots of people only bother to give bad feedback and I know in my own job that is the case, and it's pretty demoralising!

I complain if the good is bad. E.g cold, undercooked, too salty or if the order is wrong.

I also complain if the wait is excessive.

You saw it on a programme....ok....that must mean it's the truth then? That every waitress and chef around the world just can't wait to gob in your food? 😂 It's kind of insulting to hospitality staff really, but the UK does massively undervalued people who work in hospitality so maybe that's why so many people think this.

I have served my fair share of rude people, but that's just part of the job. Most people who actually complain are very polite, they are simply asking for what they ordered to be correct, which is very normal.

Only ever complained once when they served me raw chicken. Otherwise I usually do what you do

DH complained after ordering a chicken dish in another chain. It was raw next to the bone. We suspected they had cooked chicken straight out of the freezer.

They offered to cook something else; but took so long, he walked out and went into a nearby Burger King. I paid for the food the children and I ate, but I refused to pay for his!

.

We waited absolutely ages for food once in a local gastropub. Then they brought everyone's food apart from mine and I waited a bit longer but honestly the food was so amazing it was worth the wait. We didn't complain but they said we could have all our main meals free which was quite a decent saving on a really nice meal!

I did when I received a jacket potato in a cafe that was still frozen in the middle politely, though!

When I worked as a waitress, a man forcefully pressed a mussel into the palm of my hand to demonstrate that it was cold. They HAD been hot, but he’d spent 5 minutes chatting before even starting to eat his meal so of course they were no longer hot. He was so rude and aggressive that I sent our chef out to deal with him.

If somethings warm rather than hot i don't bother sending it back, I did send my jacket potato back in Spoons once, but that was frozen solid in the middle and like shite I was eating that. I also sent back a veggie calzone pizza when I was vegetarian which was filled with ham and chicken. They came back with the excuse that all the calzones had meat in them but if I wanted a veggie pizza I could just have a normal one. Which also indicated they were not cooked fresh.

I have a couple of times when there's actually been something wrong with the food. Haven't had a problem getting things sorted, but then I'm always polite about it. Mistakes can happen even with the best of us.

As a customer I always politely point out if a meal is that bad it ruins the experience of eating out.
As an employee of a big restaurant chain I can categorically state that I have never ever known anyone to 'gob in the food'. Honestly that turns my stomach. All the staff, including chefs, are very professional and this is a cheap chain. We definitely moan amongst ourselves about horrible customers but the food is never ever tampered with. It would be unheard of.

No, never! but I have been known to ask a waiter to stick my meal in the microwave! I can't eat cold food that's meant to be hot, makes me gag!! and the worst for me is being served a salad with things like broccoli, potatoes and salmon on, and it's all cold!! I'm obvs happy for the lettuce etc.. to be cold, but cold broccoli? Yuk!! I always get it heated up and never feel bad asking (but I've had a few funny looks from the waiting staff!!)

This.

It doesn't happen often at all, but, occasionally, over the decades, if there has been something wrong then I will draw the member of staff's attention to it, so it can be rectified and I can enjoy my meal. Always politely. I am always aware it is very unlikely to be the fault of the member of staff serving at your table.

It's not rude. It seems bizarre to sit there and not say anything.

But then equally, it is appalling to set out to 'try and get free things' when there is nothing wrong.

I was once served steak which when I cut it was practically raw inside. I had ordered medium to well. They took it away and brought me back a properly cooked steak with fresh veg. I got a free glass of wine and each got a limoncello liqueur.
We had breakfast recently and my Avocado was brown in places. I didn't complain but won't go back there for breakfast again also it was a bit pricey compared to our usual places.

It depends on the place for me. In likes of spoons, unless it is really poor I wouldn't say anything. With half decent restaurants I will politely complain.

I have worked in most roles within hospitality and would have wanted customers with genuine issues to speak up. The 'constant never happy' complainers always stood out like a sore thumb as soon as they entered the restaurant and became the subject of mockery behind the scenes.

I would if they eg brought me the wrong meal and it was something I wouldn’t eat, or if there was glass in my food that made it dangerous to eat but other than that no.
I’ve never complained (in my memory) so far and I eat out quite a lot.
I have a friend I meet for dinner OCCASIONALLY and she complains every single time we go. It’s so embarrassing! Things like “it said there should be chives on this and there aren’t any” - I would never remember what herb garnish the menu said it would have in the first place 😂

If the meal arrives in a dangerous fashion then yes, otherwise I make a point of never darkening their door ever again.

It would have to be absolutely awful and then only at the end, I just wouldn't eat it.

My DM loves to complain to try and get freebies and money off.

Enjoy your spit infused carbonara!

Twice. DH had a raw burger. Politely complained, they handed me another. Checked the reviews and it happened a lot! I was given sea food pasta not veggie- could’ve killed me for all they knew, it was Cyprus though so they didn’t much care. Luckily I saw the little shrimp floating about!

Other than that no, unless it was really bad! Once with a friend she ate her steak, ALL of it, then complained. The waitress told her she had eaten the evidence, and off she went (and rightly so imo).

There’s a school mum who complains, writes awful tripadvisor reviews for freebies. Always eating out, complaining, she told me a restaurant owner contacted her and said ‘you are ruining my business, what do you want from me?’ So she took the review down

I don't expect freebies and never actually review anything. I just expect food to be cooked to a reasonable standard, for people to have some knowledge about what they're serving and not be lied to.

When I rule the world, as well as the word butter only being used for actual butter, no-one will be allowed to work in an establishment that serves drinks until they understand that orange juice is made from squeezing oranges and absolutely nothing else.

I'm perfectly happy with basic long life made from concentrate carton stuff as long as it's not shitey sweetener filled cordial passed off as orange juice.

Only if necessary and I do it with warmth and politeness. No one seems to mind.

Yes I sometimes complain.

We were once served a kids meal where the chicken was still frozen in the middle so I very nicely pointed it out. They apologised profusely, rushed another meal out and comped the kids meal.

I wouldn't complain if I just didn't like it, or if it was a minor thing but frozen chicken was too much!

Yes but just stick to the facts, e.g "my soup is cold"

I do when it is expensive and shamefully bad. Quite recently I paid £15 for a salad and when it arrived it was a tiny side salad with literally two bits of chicken. I didn’t eat it and gave it back for a refund.