Not Good
A few weekends ago, we went to a restaurant that my family frequents at least weekly. We’ve never had any major issues… indeed, we are almost always treated to fantastic food with great service in a lovely environment. This time around, it was much the same… until Amber took another bite of her sandwich and discovered two things: one, it was missing one of the main ingredients, and two, there was an entire bread tag embedded inside.
Understandable?
Now, I am sympathetic to folks who work in restaurants. I understand the long hours, the tiny pay, the stress, and all of that. And I can understand missing an ingredient or messing up an order every once in a while. But when something like this happens, it’s unacceptable. If Amber hadn’t noticed the tag before taking another bite, she very well could have choked on it… and who knows what the outcome could’ve been.
Freebie?
So, when someone’s health is threatened by poor workmanship, I expect the people in charge to be embarrassed, concerned, and to want to remedy the situation. Our waitress just happened to also be the owner of the place, and she was definitely embarrassed, and seemed concerned. Her remedy was to remake the sandwich, with the right ingredients, and sans bread tags. Not too bad. However, in a situation like this, I also expected that the meal in question would be comped. I really don’t think that would’ve been a wild request. Then again, we didn’t raise a stink and ask…
It’s just an awkward situation… I definitely feel the meal should’ve been comped. My family are regulars, and we almost always bring other people in with us. Do we make a huge impact on their bottom line? Maybe not, but I am a firm believer in keeping your customers happy, especially if they are repeat customers, and ones who share their experience with others. The meal comp would’ve cost them $10… not a big deal, especially when you consider the situation has made us second-guess our next trip for brunch. It wasn’t a small screw-up, and could’ve ended very differently.
“I Asked For No Onions”
I have unfortunately had a lot of terrible experiences at restaurants. It’s getting to the point where I don’t even like going out to eat unless it’s a place I know really well – but even then, bad things can happen I guess. My orders are often messed up… I blame my hatred for onions, but still it’s their job to serve what I order – why does it get screwed up so often? I have had to send back so many meals, and I always feel like an idiot… but I kind of feel that I shouldn’t feel like that. I’ve also had some terrible, terrible service. I like to eat out, and so do my friends, but the list of places I can rely on for a good meal and great service at a decent price shrinks daily.
Here’s a list of places I have had bad experiences at:
Boston Pizza (two of my worst experiences ever)
Eat Side Mario’s
Subway (Bayer’s Lake location)
George & Lito’s
Smitty’s
Minstrels (now closed)
Dragon King Buffet
Swiss Chalet Delivery
Any more to add to the list? Any terrible experiences to share?
Hey Matt!
As a Halifax dining aficionado, I thought I would chime in!
My family and I went to the Wooden Monkey not too long ago, and my aunt found a hair on her sandwich. The waiter apologized, and brought her another plate. As she was half-way through, she found yet another hair – blonde, curly, unlike that of any of us at the table.
The waiter was called over again, and yet another plate was served; this time sans-hair. Apparently they had a new girl on the line, and they were completely embarrassed that this had happened. Not only did the waiter come and sit with us to apologize profusely, he comped her meal, gave her a gift certificate, and brought out their famous tofu pie for all 6 of us.
Mistakes happen, but he definitely made a good impression on us and I think we’d all go back there.
Places where we’ve had bad service include Jungle Jims (2.5 hours to get the wrong order and we had 2 kids under 4 with us – not fun), and Brussels (food was cold, tasteless. The best service we’ve received, and best food was at Trendz in Burnside. The food was cooked perfectly and everything we ate just melted in your mouth. The service was also great! We also really like Little Europe in the Hydrostone. I’ve been there a few times and the chef has come to speak with us. In fact, one time we had three different people waiting on us hand and foot! And the food was delish :)
See, the Wooden Monkey realized how to make the situation better. And you’ll probably return there, and say good things about the place!
I’ve had some bad experiences at Jungle Jim’s as well, and I never choose to go there – I’ve only gone maybe twice in the past couple of years.
I haven’t been to Trendz or Little Europe, but they both sound lovely!
My favourite places are Il Mercato and the Redwood. Had a good experience at Talay Thai as well.