To be angry at DH for ruining Father’s Day lunch out

[Chelle882]

Myself, DH and our two teenage DC went out for lunch today to celebrate Father’s Day at a local restaurant.

When the food arrived, there was an issue with DH’s meal and he alerted the waitress to this. The waitress told him she’d arrange for this to be re-cooked and it would take 15-20 minutes.

DH asked that they also take the other three meals away so that we’d all be eating at the same time.

The waitress said she’d need to check this with a manager. The manager came over and apologised, said that they wouldn’t be able to re-do the three meals which were fine but they’d deduct the cost of DH’s meal from our bill and also give us a free round of drinks.

DH challenged this and the manager stood firm. Without consulting me, DH said that we would leave and find somewhere else to eat. So we didn’t touch our food and DH settled the bill for the drinks we’d had and we all walked out (much to our hungry DC’s bemusement).

Obviously being Father’s Day, the two other restaurants in close proximity were fully booked until this evening, so we grabbed a KFC drive through on the way home (which doesn’t agree with me so I’ve had stomach cramps for the past three hours!)

DH maintains he was correct to leave the meal and that restaurant’s should not get away with this - we’d ordered to eat together and they failed to deliver this.

For the sake of our DC’s I think he should have just sucked it up and not ruined the lunch.

Do you agree with what he did or would you have just accepted the free meal and got on with it?

As far as the cooking goes, it depends how over it was. I order rare. I’ll accept medium rare, but anything above that I may as well be eating leather, and I refuse to pay restaurant prices for that.

Why couldn't the three of you eat yours first, then he could have had his when it was ready later. You were still all there at the same table to celebrate Father's Day.

I mean technically he's correct but in reality he should have sucked it up for the sake of his family in order not to be a pedantic arse.

I loathe people who think their "consumer rights" take precedence over absolutely everything including their family, common sense and harmony.

Can't stand this sort of self-important pettiness.

I understand why he wanted his meal cooked how it was supposed to be cooked and I understand why he wanted all of the meals to be served at the same time. You would have all finished in fifteen to twenty minutes and his would arrive.

I think if it hadn’t have been a special occasion then he should have just got on with it but it was supposed to be a celebratory meal.

Team DH here - eating together is the point of going for a meal.

The manager should have at least offered to put the other 3 meals on the hotplate while DHs was redone.

Agree with your first part but not the second

The manager should have at least offered to put the other 3 meals on the hotplate while DHs was redone.

Blechhh This would be terrible too. You’d just swap the ratio from 1 ruined meal to 3 good ones to 1 good meal to 3 ruined ones.

It’s very expensive to eat out now.

This is a very big point, it’s so expensive to eat now, for everyone to come home not happy would weigh on you

Because very, very few people actually enjoy doing that! You go out for a meal, especially on a special occasion, as a shared experience. Who wants to sit and watch everyone else tucking in and then sit and eat their meal alone with everyone else watching them. Surely to goodness you can see that's not particularly great, and it's certainly not what you sign up for when you go out for a family meal.

Well I guess he enjoyed his KFC then.

depends what their meals were tbh

have checked with my Chef who said they should have redone his meal right away, and served everyone together.

If it had just been a wrong side or something, then you just take the reduction in price/free drinks etc.

Also, OP, sorry but you are being a bit of a twit complaining that you ate a meal that you know doesn't agree with you.

The last steak I had cost me £80. That's just the meat, before sides/sauce/extras.

If I ask for it medium-rare and it comes out well-done, you'd suggest that I just suck it up lest I become an unwelcome customer?

Dh would happily Eat a kfc over a shit steak. I’m not too keen on kfc but on “his day” same
with birthdays. The person whose day it is picks the meal.

The manager could have put the 3 other meals under the hot plate, but they wouldn't have been very appetising sitting under the light for 20 mins.

So as a solution to the incorrectly prepared steak, a new one was offered, along with complimentary steak and a free round of drinks.

I think the manager did his best to rectify the situation however your husband was also right to not want to wait while everyone else ate.

Personally, I wouldn't mind waiting while everyone else ate, wouldn't bother me but clearly it bothered your husband.

I think his reaction to leave was OTT.

I agree with DH. Why should his food take another 20 mins? So everyone finishes before he even gets his and is expected to eat awkwardly alone?

Meals out arent cheap and you go out for the experience not just the food.

I can kind of see his point. I absolutely hate eating by myself. But, I don’t think I would have forced everyone to leave.

For everyone saying 20 minute is too long to cook a steak.

Would you be happy for the chef to forego cooking your meal that you ordered with your family to cook this man's steak? This is a restaurant and it is clear none of you have ever seen inside a working kitchen. They aren't just sitting around waiting for the order to come in. They are cooking all the meals in the order the table orders come in. The 20 minutes would probably be how long every table had to wait from placing their order to when their meals comes out. This mans' steak gets put into the queue.

I eat out with a friend who is coeliac, their meal is made by the manager so is often out of sync with the rest of our table. Everyone just chats, we accept that the meals will arrive at different times.

If you want to see inside a successful kitchen this might be a good video to watch.

I get it tbh, I wouldn’t want to sit at a table and eat alone after everyone else has already finished- it’s awkward, and on a date that is about celebrating him I can’t blame him for not wanting to do that.

I have worked in hospitality and if it was OUR fault that a meal had not been properly prepared or was incorrect then it would absolutely not have gone back into a 20 minute queue- it would be done immediately.

He sounds like a fun sponge. Way too uptight for me, do you find that kind of attitude attractive?

They were probably at maximum capacity and didn't have the time/staff to cook four meals again, you'd essentially become a second booking at they stage.

He should have sucked it up so his kids could have enjoyed their meal because, you know, he's their father. I would have simply wangled a free glass of something to kill the time will waiting.

A minor issue....and your kids ended up the shite kfc because your dh had a tantrum.
What a twat

He sounds very rigid

He had a point.

The restaurant couldn't/wouldn't accommodate his point.

I think he was wrong to then unilaterally decide that everyone was leaving.

He was getting it for free.

He should have sucked it up so his kids could have enjoyed their meal because, you know, he's their father. I would have simply wangled a free glass of something to kill the time will waiting.

Exactly. Arguably fair if he had been out with mates or just the OP but on a family meal with kids it's not really about you and your "rights". It's about creating a nice day for the family.