Just been out to a local restaurant to celebrate my 2nd wedding anniversary and it was honestly the worst dining out experience I've ever had and I'm including all the times I've eaten at McDonalds in that!

Order our meals and we were told there would be a half hour wait. Well, that's OK, we've eaten at the restaurant before and the food has always been very good so no problem.

Half an hour later, out come our meals. By this time I'm starving and looking forward to my steak and chips with side salad instead of peas and mushrooms. By the time I noticed (the salad was huge, found David Bellamy in there) the waitress had well scarpered.

After 5 mins, another one eventually scuttled past:

"Er, excuse me love, were are the chips?"

"Didn't you order it without chips?"

"No, I ordered it WITH chips and salad instead of peas and mushrooms"

"So you just want chips and no salad?"

"No, I want salad AND chips"

"OK, I'll just put this tray somewhere and I'll come and take it away"

Another 5 minutes goes by and then she returns

"Sorry, it won't be long"

Another 5 minutes and my plate returns. Chips are present and piping hot and lying on top of the now slightly warm, very limp salad and next to the decidedly lukewarm steak but by now I'm that hungry that I can't be bothered so I tuck in. Took a mouthful of my "medium" steak only to be greeted with the taste of pure carbon. By this time, MrsREV is more than half way through her meal. I tried to flag a passing waitress but none actually passed, so I wandered up to the bar and found the same waitress who had added the chips.

"Sorry to keep complaining but my steak is completely inedible"

"Oh, is it cold?"

"Well, yes but it's also burnt and tastes terrible"

"I'll get someone to come and collect it"

5 minutes later a waitress comes to the table

"I'll take your steak and have it recooked"

"Don't cook it any more it's already burnt to a crisp!"

So off she toddles, a few minutes later she comes back:

"I've told the manager and we're doing you a complete fresh meal"

Now at this point, MrsREV has finished our anniversary meal, I've already eaten half of a large salad and a load of chips but, hey they're showing willing.

10 minutes later, my new meal arrives and the waitress asks if we want any drinks, which we order. The drinks still hadn't arrived by the time I'd finished my meal and we just decided to leave, so instead of waiting for a waitress we go to the bar to settle the bill. She pulls the bill out and it's for the full whack.

"Er, is this the full price for bith meals?"

"Yes, we've only charged you for the one steak"

So I complained in full, explained about waiting for chips, then waiting for the re-done steak and that it was our anniversary and MrsREV had effectively eaten alone and that I wasn't prepared to pay the full price for my meal so she fetches the manager who doesn't even look me in the eye he just brusquely announces that he'll take care of the bill and walks off!

Now, I've never complained about a meal, ever! But that was really bad, we had a **** night and now I feel as if I'm in the wrong because we ate for free but what really gets me is that the manager wouldn't even listen to my complaint, he just got rid of me as quickly as possible which frankly is appaling customer service. This is a restaurant we've eaten at a lot over the years and a lot of friends and family also eat at regularly but I certainly won't be going back.

You can tell you're having a nice romantic anniversary night when you end up coming home from the restaurant and going on the internet

 

Hey, you can make up for the rubbish meal now you are at home LOL at the 'we've only charged you for the one steak'

Life is full of bad meals and lousy restaraunts..... chin up, it can't get any worse this evening... oh, and congratulations for your anniversary

 

Sorry to hear your meal was crap, espec for your anniversary


Just think though, anniversaries should be spent together, going out for a nice meal and ending the night with loads sex, so instead you can just have loads of sex

 

You're right Julz. Back in 5 mins

 

What a stud!

 

You do NOT legally have to pay the advertised price for a meal, or indeed ANYTHING whatsoever, if you feel that it did not represent a fair price for what you were given.

What you MUST do is to pay what you think it was worth and hand over your name and address ...... then leave - it's up to them to sue you if they wish (they NEVER do!)

Pete

 

Aaah, that's better

 

How do you make it last 5 minutes??

Pete

 

Cool... that's helpled me no end (and I'm serious) Thank you

 

rubber band

 

I was thinking of you

 

Pete

 

It's because we now live in a country where people don't care anymore about anyone or anything.
I blame Labour, i always have and i always will.

 

LOL Rev, you made the biggest mistake you could make in a restaurant

You complained about the food before you ate

Did you like that Mayo on your salad

and thats the last time I invite you round for your anniversary meal

 

He had the salad before the steak

 

I'm surprised that you can even still find your 'little chap' after all this time PSLewis

 

not strictly true if you don't like the food complain and they should offer something else if you eat all then complain its your own problem.
What the restaurant should have done is apologise and offer you some free champagne to celebrate in style. Its also a golden rule that you always serve a new dish completely. If a steak is undercooked you may cook it some more but with completely new salad and veg. In that situation the restaurant should offer to give you and your wife new meals to your specification at the same time and free champange while you wait. Having said that every one makes mistakes so it seems strange when you have had good meals there to never go again becuase your steak was cooked wrong and they forgot your chips once.

My advice never eat in a restaurant that serves steak and chips
I know why the manager never looked you in the eye it was because he was completely embarrased about the shoddy service you had and diddn't know what to say. What more could he have done apart from give you a totally free meal and say sorry.

 

I am not commenting on the thread but this comment is taken with a big pinch of salt . I think you will find there are things that affect this which any food selling pub/ restaurant will follow and to just offer a price at the end of your four course meal will lead to a non to happy meal and result

 

I can understand the pissed off attitude, but whats worse is us brits mostly just seem to take it. We have a pub lunch every friday at work, and my burger was so bloody tough that I had to SAW it with a steak knife. When the woman said "is everything ok" I was like "oh yes fine" then realised how it really wasn't. Doh moment indeed.

 

I would NEVER return a meal to the kitchen and eat what came back!! NEVER!!

The reasons are obvious .... have you EVER seen a chef who has been insulted??

Chefs are the biggest prima-donnas and sulking babies you could ever wish to meet!!

And I am right in stating that, as long as you leave your name and address, you do not have to pay for shoddy service and a shoddy meal!!

Pete

 

I once refused to pay for a meal in Planet Hollywood in Hollywood. Admittedly we didn't eat much of the main course, and we did pay for the beer, but the manager didn't bat an eyelid when we refused to pay anything for the food.

The service was the worst I have ever experienced in any kind of food or retail outlet.

 

It was in last Indian I went to.Poppodums were stinky and soggy.was just cack!
Paid and got out.hardly ate anything!

 

I would write a strong letter to the top man who owns the restaurant describing the whole business in detail including the importance to you of the occasion. I would write "copy" at the bottom of the letter and make it clear that you are in two minds whether to make it an open letter to send to the local press.

The old British tradition of putting up with poor service does us no good whatsoever, they will just take advantage of it.

Sorry it ruined your evening NotRev.

Les

 

Had a similar situation last week. Took me dear old Mum out for lunch. Ordered a mousaka for moi. It was welded to the dish, there was about a teaspoon of minced lamb in it. Two slices of aubergine, and the rest was potatoes. Told the waitress I wasn't best pleased. She said she'd tell the manager.
We left in rather a hurry, (Mum was keen to get home bless ), and then I noticed they hadn't knocked a penny off the bill. So I've written a pretty strong letter to the head office. Well if the upstart little sh1te of a manager can't sort out something like that, you just have to go higher don't you ?
Yve

 

LOL

What do expect taking your wife out for a "romantic" meal of Steak and Chips....

 

It wasn't a Harvester if that's what you're wondering. It's actually a nice restaurant with a good reputation it's just that I'm a fussy eater and it was the only thing on the menu that didn't contain something I didn't like

 

then you thought of me and evreything was ok...............

 

Bernie Inn and a quick one in the car park LOL

 

name and shame?

Mark

 

At least next year you can use it as an excuse for the wife to cook the anniversary meal, and if it's cr@p you only have to walk as far as the sofa


Sorry you had a rough ride (at the restaurant)