Would you pay for Crappy food service????

Question

At lunch me & my hubby went to eat at a local resturant...when we were seated we told the waiter our drink order as well as our appetizer order (we eat there a lot, so we already know whats on the menu)....Anyway our waiter brings us our drinks, and takes our meal order.....about 15 minutes went by and our waiter brought us our appetizer...with NO plates and NO silverware..so I asked him to bring these items and that we also would like more tea...well about 10 minutes pasted and still no plates, utensils, or refills....I asked another waitress who said that she would tell our waiter....still nothing...I asked another waitress for the manager at this time because our lunch hour is almost up and we still have not eaten....NO manager...so I go tell the cashier that I need to talk to the manager or owner....finally after about 10 minutes he comes over to the table and asks me what the problem is. So I tell him that we are waiting for drinks...our appatizers are now cold because we didn't have silverware or plates....and that our waiter never came back....& I had asked other waitresses that were of NO help to us at all. By now...almost an hour later here comes our waiter with our food...& I told him...that I didn't want it...as my lunch hour is now over. Well the manager tells the waiter to take it back to the kitchen and to bring us our ticket. I told the manager that I was not paying for anything more than my drinks and that I shouldn't even pay for them. He proceded to tell me that our appetizers were brought to us as well as our food and we declined our meal. (are you kidding me...even on a busy night I've never waited a whole hour for my food) So I told the manager...do you always eat uncivalized in a resturant without out plates and with your fingers...Needless to say we ended up not paying and I am awaiting a call from the owner, becuase the manager said we weren't welcome in that resturant any more.

Would you have graciously paid for a meal you didn't get to eat???

Answer 1

absolutely no.   just in case they called the police, it is much  better because the customers will not come in which hurt their business and by law, you have the right to eat food that is not serve at the right temperature. health department will cite them . i have these incidents happen frequently and i complain to the manager. if they solve. i just walk out .

Answer 2

I would not expect to pay for the service, food, or the drinks.  I would expect an apology from the manager.  I know for a fact  and this is from management training at various fast food restaurants, 1 bad word of mouth destroys 10 good word of mouth statements.  That is a fact!  I hope when you hear back from the restaurant they make this up to you, because I have had it happen to me and done it myself when on the receiving end.(btw the service was just like yours in my bad example and I made it known)

Answer 3

No.

But that said, since you say you've eaten there many times before, I suspect the restaurant was trying to get rid of you as a customer. I wonder why?

Answer 4

I have had the same thing happen and I did not pay nor did I ever go back.

I said, "Well, since my order took over 30 minutes, I don't want it unless it's free"

She says "Let me think about it"

I shove food back at her and say "Here, take this w/ you while you think about it.

I got the food for free, there was literally no one in the restaurant and I was mad - You are in the right.

Answer 5

As a former restaurant owner, with the circumstances you described, you should have received your meal as compliments of the house plus an invitation to come back for a free meal.

Answer 6

I actually saw this on Oprah years ago and pass it along as this question does come up from time to time.

Oprah had an entire show on Ettiquette and this expert said that they way to show disatisfaction for food service (not the food..just the service)  Is to leave a quarter on the table when you leave.  A variation of this that I've heard is to leave a quarter under the ketchup bottle.  The important part of this is to make sure that the waiter(ress) knows that the quarter was deliberate and not accidental.  Leaving nothing when service was poor leaves open the possibility that the patron simply forgot.

Answer 7

Now thats bad!!! I can't believe the manager would have the nerve to tell the waitress to get the check. Service like that you should not have to pay for anything.

Answer 8

Funny how over the years these issues keep coming up. It's sort of an "unwritten rule" in the industry. Even if you received your meal but it was unedible, you would not be required to pay for it. There are many examples for this but the bottom line remains...If you are disatisfied, (and you did not eat the entire plate), you don't have to pay, period.