Restaurant question - Page 3

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

@drizzellla - Yes it does matter, but I think you handled it well.

Like @Anonymous032819 said she might have been having a bad day for one reason or another.

My pet peeve is when I order a salad, they bring it, and two seconds later the entree shows up. I will always ask them about this - most of the time in a place we're not familiar with I will tell them I don't want my entree until I've finished my salad! Since they brought yours AFTER the entree, I would have asked them to either take it away or pack it to take home.

Many times when we are served the wrong drink, appetizer, or side dish, we will point it out but if we like it we will tell the server that it is OK and we will keep it - unless it's meant for another table.

When I was a teenager my dad took me to a restaurant where the service was horrible. He left a penny tip. I was mortified! That stuck with me and I will NEVER undertip. I don't know why the service is not great. If it's horrible, I would speak to a manager, but we've never had to do that. We have had servers who act like they don't want to be there or disappear for a long time without refilling water glasses or checking to see if everything is OK. We had one that put soup down too quickly, spilled it on the table and left, without coming back with napkins to clean it up. We had to ask another server. If the service is bad I will usually tip exactly 20%. In regular cases we always overtip by at least a dollar.

jackthebear · ‎03-11-2010

@drizzellla wrote:
Tonight we went out to dinner at a popular steakhouse restaurant.

As we were sitting down the waitress asked us what we wanted to drink. She wanted us to order the special drinks. Since we didn't have a chance to look at the special drinks, I said I would have ice tea. My husband ordered a glass of wine

The waitress brought a carafe of wine.

We ordered an appetizer and we got it in a reasonable time. I ordered a house salad and entree. The waitress asked if I wanted the salad before the entree. I said yes.

We sat awhile. Then a server came out. She tried to place our entrées on 2 different tables. Then she came to our table. There was a side we did not order but the rest was our entrees.

We eventually flagged down our waitress and said I did not get my salad. When I was almost finished my entree I got the salad.

I asked for another drink. We were both finished eating and waiting for the check. I had waited at least 10 minutes for the drink. She flew by and said she would get me my drink. I said never-mind.

She was pushing dessert. We just wanted the check. We looked at the check. She charged me for 2 drinks. And picked the most expensive carafe of wine, even though my husband asked for a glass. And charged us for a side we did not order. We had her remove the charges for items we did not get.

We then noticed she put that we were a party of 3. We were wondering why.

Does it matter?

I would have said I ordered a glass and you gave me a carafe when it came to the table,

it's your money so it matters

avid shopper · ‎04-18-2010

OMG! All this coddling! Bad service! No tip!

ID2 · ‎06-25-2012

OP, take a breath. Life is good. Don't sweat the small stuff.

"Pure Michigan"

qualitygal · ‎10-04-2010

I think after being a care-giver, being a waitress would be really hard to do. It's hard to wait, but if it's a popular place, I guess it's to be expected.

CelticCrafter · ‎03-09-2010

Does what matter? That she said there were 3 diners when it was only 2? No not really.

It sounds as if the restaurant was understaffed. It could have been short staffed in the kitchen or not enough servers were on shift.

As far as issues with the check, that should have been addressed before you left the restaurant.

Did your husband tell her he didn't want the carafe or was it left on the table?

jubilant · ‎06-10-2010

I'm glad you weren't charged for the sides you didn't order. Since so many mistakes were made, I think they should have offered you some kind of compensation. That is just good management and makes people feel like coming back and trying again. Around our neck of the woods, they often discount the meal or offer free dessert when there has been this many problems. I would think the managment would want you to complain if you weren't happy to keep you coming back. Also it might help management to improve whatever went wrong. Some things may have been the waitress fault....some may not have been. In situations like this, we still give a tip, but not our usual 20% to 25%.

PINKdogWOOD · ‎05-13-2010

@drizzellla Oh heck yes it very much matters!

First, I would have sent back the carafe since it was not what your husband ordered. I would have also pressed the issue of your missing salad. By the end I would have asked to speak to a Mgr about everything that was wrong with your order.

Finally two things - NO tip for sure. I would have attached a complaint about everything wrong with your order. Secondly, I'd never be back.

Shanus · ‎05-17-2010

Just a few sticking points. The wording has changed and now waitresses/waiters are referred to as wait staff. Don’t know why. If asking for the particular one serving you, it’s your “wait person”. I only know by hearing others.

DH and I very seldom drink in restaurants, not even a glass of wine. That automatically lowers the tip and we notice more attention is given to tables w/ those who have cocktails or larger parties. Gets me red under the collar. I’m not going to start drinking to get better service, more attention.

Restaurants are more expensive than eating home. I’ve gotten dressed, even for a local sushi place and made the effort to drive there. I expect to be “served” and enjoy my time out or could have stayed home and cooked. For that reason, I don’t hesitate to ask for the manager if something is going awry. But then again, I never hesitate to speak my mind (as you all well know).