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Would you complain about this restaurant experience??


Moxie
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Tonight, we took the whole family to Texas Roadhouse.  The waitress was wonderful.  We spent $65 on food (including 4 kids meals that were $4 each and probably had 25 cents worth of mac and cheese in them).

 

Here is the issue.  As she was handing me the plates and I was turned to pass them down to the kids, she put my 3 piece fried catfish in front of me.  My 2yo, who was sitting on the other side of me, grabbed a piece of fish to eat but it was large so it broke and most of the piece landed on the floor.  The waitress said, "Uh oh, I'll see if they will let you have another piece".  Then she came back and said, "I asked but they said that because it is so expensive, they can't give you another piece".

Is that a dumb thing to complain about??

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I would think that a restaurant interested in good customer service would suck it up and fork over 1 catfish piece in the interest of a happy customer. But, unless I misunderstand the scenario, I don't really see  where the waitress did anything wrong. So, I would be unhappy but wouldn't complain - unless I am just not picturing this accurately. Sorry about your fish...

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Hard to say what was communicated to the kitchen and whst they understood of situation.

 

If waitress dropped it, it would have come out of her pocket. But she did nothing wrong, it was your kid.

 

It would have looked better for them to replace, but none of it was their fault so I can see their side.

 

Most likely she asked a cook, if she had asked the manager they would have probably have said yes. Did you soeak to a manager? Did one come over and tell you the answer? If not, then it probably did not go up the right chain of command.

 

No I would not complain.

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I wouldn't complain because I'd feel like the issue was on me (via my family).

Also, that the waitress acknowledged and tried to rectify a situation out of her control would appease me.

But I'm easy that way. Effort and attitude mean more to me than whatever the eventual outcome.

 

But.

Their tagline talks up their customer service.

So I guess you could approach it from that angle.

Mention that front of the house was great, but back of the house was lacking.

To be fair I'd mention that the accident was mine, not the restaurant's.

But by playing up their customer service they open themselves up to this kind of feedback.

I'm sure you'll get a form letter and coupon in return.

If that's worth your while, have a go at it.

If not, I wouldn't waste the time on it.

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Tough call. That would never happen in a well run restaurant. In mass market casual dining - eh.

 

On the other hand, that is exactly the sort of company that has a built in process for just sending you a gift card and a 'so sorry about that' form letter.

 

Flip a coin. I do think it's lousy customer service but it's certainly nothing to be outraged over.

 

Honestly - thinking more about it - it was the waitress's poor training that was the issue.you wouldn't have felt cheated if you didn't know that she asked and they said no. She shouldn't have offered until she knew - or she should have simply brought you a replacement. Good intention but inexperience. Given that, is be inclined to not complain since it may get her in trouble.

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Nope I wouldn't complain if my child was the reason the piece of fish fell on the floor.  Had she put the plate directly in front of the kid while I was preoccupied then I would have view it as her fault because I've never had a waiter place food in front of my young children without making sure it was fine with me first

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Maybe. I've been at fast food restaurants and my kids have done things like accidentally dropping an ice cream cone or losing part of their meal in a similar way—the front counter has been happy to replace the item without batting an eye. And that's a place that doesn't advertise based on their customer service, but you can bet I told other people that I was pleased they'd done that for us.

 

Erica in OR

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To clarify, I'm not upset with the waitress at all. I'm also not upset with my 2yo. There was food in front of her, she grabbed it. She's 2.

 

I'm annoyed with the BS answer from the kitchen that the piece of fish is too expensive. It was one piece of fish and it would have really impressed me if they had replaced it. Poor customer service, IMO. Were I a restaurant chain owner, I would want the opportunity to say "hey, family spending $65, if you spend 50 cents to keep them happy, they might spend another $65".

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I'm also not upset with my 2yo. There was food in front of her, she grabbed it. She's 2.

Seriously. Sometimes I wonder what sort of amazing polite babies other people have. Pardon me, mother. Might I have the tiniest nibble of your delicious entree? It looks positively scrumptious.

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I wouldn't complain. I'd be a bit upset that it wasn't replaced, but I wouldn't complain about it. Maybe question it, but I wouldn't make it sound like I'm complaining as the waitress did what she could and was told she can't do much more. At least she tried, I guess.

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I normally wouldn't, but I admit I'd be irritated.  She was handing you food so you could hardly watch the 2 yo.  Why could the waitress not hand the food out?  If she had handed you the plate and you dropped it, they likely would have replaced it (or at least I've had that happen when they handed me a hot plate that I had to drop).  I mean, $65 worth of food and they can replace a catfish piece or at least hand out food themselves.  

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I've been at restaurants where one of us accidentally knocked over a water glass, and they've offered to replace things, bring out an extra side, etc. It's just good customer service. I don't know if I'd complain, but it does seem the manager should know. Replacing the piece of fish would have gotten your repeat business for sure, and you would've raved to others, posted good reviews, etc. Huge missed opportunity on their part.

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Seriously. Sometimes I wonder what sort of amazing polite babies other people have. Pardon me, mother. Might I have the tiniest nibble of your delicious entree? It looks positively scrumptious.

 

LOL!  No, but they never grabbed food off of my plate. 

 

Funny, I just posted in another thread about how people have their "things" parenting.  My kids had pacifiers until they were three, and they slept in our bed.  Many of my friends thought I was crazy. That was stuff I could live with.  Taking food off of my plate though was not.

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okay, I'm still picking my jaw up off the floor - $65 for a family of 6!!??   I'm moving to your area!

 

but to the original question. I'm with you.  The waitress was great to offer...but the staff saying no because the catfish was expensive??  Sounds like a lame excuse - and just makes them look cheap.

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okay, I'm still picking my jaw up off the floor - $65 for a family of 6!!?? I'm moving to your area!

 

but to the original question. I'm with you. The waitress was great to offer...but the staff saying no because the catfish was expensive?? Sounds like a lame excuse - and just makes them look cheap.

Me too! We are only a family of 4 and ate at Texas T-bone a couple of weeks ago. Our meal was over $80.

 

I don't think I'd complain. If the waitress had dropped it as she was serving it, yes, but your child pulling it off the plate, no.

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Nope. I wouldn't complain. Your kid threw your food on the floor. The restaurant shouldn't pay for that. It is very nice when they give customers more than they deserve to cultivate goodwill and repeat business, but this should be viewed as a rare and special treat and not an entitlement.

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I would. The waitress probably told the cook and/or manager and was told it would come out of her pocket. She had to scramble. I hate that. So I would complain about poor employee practice/making staff suffer financially. Not to mention it's dangerous for wait staff to be handing plates to folks.

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Yes, I would bring it up and contact them. They can choose to respond or not respond. For me the difference is not that your child dropped the food but that you were unable to properly supervise your child because you were handing out plates at her request (aka she handed them to you).

 

If she had left and you were rearranging plates and this happened, I would not complain. But I personally get flustered when servers hand multiple plates to me especially with kids involved. I wish they would just set them out personally or give me more time to do so because it usually feels very rushed.

 

I know the restaurant setup and understand why they do that on long booths but I would still bring it up to the restaurant. What is the worst that could happen? They ignore you ?

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okay, I'm still picking my jaw up off the floor - $65 for a family of 6!!??   I'm moving to your area!

 

but to the original question. I'm with you.  The waitress was great to offer...but the staff saying no because the catfish was expensive??  Sounds like a lame excuse - and just makes them look cheap.

 

She said there were four kid's meals that were $4 each. It really messes with the budget when kids stop eating the kid's meals.  

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LOL!  No, but they never grabbed food off of my plate. 

 

Funny, I just posted in another thread about how people have their "things" parenting.  My kids had pacifiers until they were three, and they slept in our bed.  Many of my friends thought I was crazy. That was stuff I could live with.  Taking food off of my plate though was not.

 

My dd wasn't really a grabber but ds was going all Helen Keller by the time he was five months old. It didn't matter what was on  our plates, he was eating it. :lol:

 

He never did touch a pacifier, he disapproved of sucking on things that didn't provide food. 

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Why would you complain about something your own child did?

 

If the waitress had dropped the fish and then refused to replace it, that would be complaint-worthy, but why should a restaurant replace something that your child dropped on the floor?

 

It would have been nice if they had offered, but I certainly wouldn't have expected it.

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okay, I'm still picking my jaw up off the floor - $65 for a family of 6!!??   I'm moving to your area!

 

 

me too!  I want to live somewhere that that many people can eat for that much.  $4 for a kid meal... dreams!!

 

Original question:  no, I wouldn't.  She tried to fix something that wasn't even her fault.  If anything my feedback would be something like "awesome service from the wait staff who even went above and beyond and tried to replace food my kid threw on the floor."

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If it had been something else, if it had been hot soup then the kid could have been hurt. Any wait person would place a plate for an adult *away* from a toddler/baby. If the toddler/baby is close enough to knock food off then they are close enough to be hurt. That is not "awesome service." If it was "awesome service" she would have placed the plates on the table correctly.

 

I worked in a tex mex restaurant and plates would sometimes be screaming hot. 

 

The waitress should be more careful about handing out plates. It seems like a training issue IMO. I would say something, not to get anyone in trouble but that they need to be aware if there is a training issue. That restaurant DOES serve hot chili so they need to be aware that there is an issue.

 

I agree that it was probably a cook in the kitchen and not the manager. A manager would have spoken to you.

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To the OP, no I wouldn't complain.  It's not the restaurant's fault.  If they had replaced it, that would have been nice.  Heck, if they'd offered, I probably would have told them I appreciated it, but it wasn't necessary.  Also, catfish is expensive?  Isn't that like the most common fish ever?

 

Seriously. Sometimes I wonder what sort of amazing polite babies other people have. Pardon me, mother. Might I have the tiniest nibble of your delicious entree? It looks positively scrumptious.

 

I had to laugh here, because one of Han Solo's (3) favorite words is 'scrumptious.'  I have no idea why, but he uses it all the time in reference to food, although he pronounces it 'cwumptious.'  "Mmm...smells cwupmtious."  "Mommy dat stwawbewy was cwuptious."  "Oh, dat looks cwumptious."  I have no idea where he got it, but at least he uses it correctly.  He also uses 'delicious,' but pronounces it 'alicious.'  One day he used the word 'delightful' when he was eating something and I laughed so hard.  He took a bite of whatever we were having, looked over at me and said, "Mmm, delightful!"  So freaking funny.  He actually won't take food off anyone's plate, but if we're out and there are fries on the table (like a big serving for everyone), all bets are off.  He's got fries in his mouth and in both hands.  Kid has a thing for fries.  

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She said there were four kid's meals that were $4 each. It really messes with the budget when kids stop eating the kid's meals.  

 

$4 for kids meals at any place but McDonalds is unheard of here too (at least the last time I checked).  Restaurants charge more than that for desserts.  But yes, when they go off the kid's meals it really changes the eat-out budget. 

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Lots of local places here have kids meals half off on Mondays or Tuesdays which really cuts the bill.

 

In defense of the op - she did not ask for a replacement fish. It was basically floated as an option and the declined. That transaction- not the lack of replacement fish - is the issue.

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Off topic, but I used to love the Macaroni Grill because of their cheap kids meals. They were just as cheap if no cheaper than McDonald's so I never felt bad about the money I spent there, lol.

 

As a restaurant owner there are two sided to this. Mishaps happen with food and in theory it should be no big deal to get another item. The trouble comes with packaging. We serve huge portions of meat at my restaurant, it is high quality, not cheap and people want half sometimes. We can't do it. We pay people to package the meat in individual servings before we freeze it and we only thaw small amounts at a time. It is a constant process to keep food fresh and not let anyone get sick or less than quality food. 

 

In the case of the restaurant the OP listed I'm sure the catfish was frozen in portions of three and so the chef felt that it would be too wasteful to let two pieces go to waste. In my restaurant I would have done it, understood that there is no profit in the meal at all and moved on to the silver lining that now some of my staff could try to two uneaten pieces and be reminded that our food is delicious. The chef probably receives a bonus based on food cost and is not willing to lose it unless it is the restaurant's fault. Also, these sorts of chain restaurants do not feed their staff the way we do. They run on a tighter profit margin.

 

Can I tell a funny story? A few weeks ago I served the wrong hamburger to a guest. We were very tired, it was the end of a long weekend, and instead of just replacing the hamburger we watched the guest take a couple of bites to see if he was enjoying it and if he wasn't I was going to make him a new burger. The family appeared to be in a hurry so I didn't want them to wait for a new burger, and we were closing so I was motivated to get them on the road. We decided he looked happy with his food, but in examining him we realized he was Bill Russel, the basketball player, lol. We let him eat in peace and his wife thanked us for it on the way out. I would have made him a new burger, even though I would have lost money, and even though I did not know he was Bill Russel, lol, but mostly he just wanted to eat in peace, so that is what we let him do.

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Me, I am just in shock that they didn't provide you with more fish. I've never heard of a good restaurant who wouldn't have. Doesn't say much for the restaurant to me. And, even cooking you a whole 'nother 3 pieces wouldn't have surprised me. 

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To the OP, no I wouldn't complain.  It's not the restaurant's fault.  If they had replaced it, that would have been nice.  Heck, if they'd offered, I probably would have told them I appreciated it, but it wasn't necessary.  Also, catfish is expensive?  Isn't that like the most common fish ever?

 

 

I had to laugh here, because one of Han Solo's (3) favorite words is 'scrumptious.'  I have no idea why, but he uses it all the time in reference to food, although he pronounces it 'cwumptious.'  "Mmm...smells cwupmtious."  "Mommy dat stwawbewy was cwuptious."  "Oh, dat looks cwumptious."  I have no idea where he got it, but at least he uses it correctly.  He also uses 'delicious,' but pronounces it 'alicious.'  One day he used the word 'delightful' when he was eating something and I laughed so hard.  He took a bite of whatever we were having, looked over at me and said, "Mmm, delightful!"  So freaking funny.  He actually won't take food off anyone's plate, but if we're out and there are fries on the table (like a big serving for everyone), all bets are off.  He's got fries in his mouth and in both hands.  Kid has a thing for fries.  

 

Sorry to derail, but how do you stand it?!? That is so adorable, mispronunciation and all!

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I would. The waitress probably told the cook and/or manager and was told it would come out of her pocket. She had to scramble. I hate that. So I would complain about poor employee practice/making staff suffer financially for common mishaps. I'm putting Texas Roadhouse on my long list of chains never to visit. Not to mention it's dangerous for wait staff to be handing plates to folks.

You hold the entire chain responsible for one location's service? This sounds like a management issue (and it doesn't seem that the manager was even told), not an official company policy.

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I don't see how it's the 2-year-olds fault.  The waitress should be used to serving families with young children, and should NOT have put the plate in front of OP while she was looking the other way since it was within reach of the child.  I've been to many restaurants with our toddler and many of the waiters/waitresses we have seem to be aware of this... they make sure we are looking and they put it down out of the reach of the child, usually warning us if the plate is hot.  We have had some that are not aware and it drives me nuts.  They start handing out drinks really fast, sitting them right in front of a toddler who is obviously going to try to take it (and spill it).  The ones who are aware and understanding get larger tips (beyond the standard tip amount).

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Off topic, but I used to love the Macaroni Grill because of their cheap kids meals. They were just as cheap if no cheaper than McDonald's so I never felt bad about the money I spent there, lol.

 

As a restaurant owner there are two sided to this. Mishaps happen with food and in theory it should be no big deal to get another item. The trouble comes with packaging. We serve huge portions of meat at my restaurant, it is high quality, not cheap and people want half sometimes. We can't do it. We pay people to package the meat in individual servings before we freeze it and we only thaw small amounts at a time. It is a constant process to keep food fresh and not let anyone get sick or less than quality food. 

 

In the case of the restaurant the OP listed I'm sure the catfish was frozen in portions of three and so the chef felt that it would be too wasteful to let two pieces go to waste. In my restaurant I would have done it, understood that there is no profit in the meal at all and moved on to the silver lining that now some of my staff could try to two uneaten pieces and be reminded that our food is delicious. The chef probably receives a bonus based on food cost and is not willing to lose it unless it is the restaurant's fault. Also, these sorts of chain restaurants do not feed their staff the way we do. They run on a tighter profit margin.

 

Can I tell a funny story? A few weeks ago I served the wrong hamburger to a guest. We were very tired, it was the end of a long weekend, and instead of just replacing the hamburger we watched the guest take a couple of bites to see if he was enjoying it and if he wasn't I was going to make him a new burger. The family appeared to be in a hurry so I didn't want them to wait for a new burger, and we were closing so I was motivated to get them on the road. We decided he looked happy with his food, but in examining him we realized he was Bill Russel, the basketball player, lol. We let him eat in peace and his wife thanked us for it on the way out. I would have made him a new burger, even though I would have lost money, and even though I did not know he was Bill Russel, lol, but mostly he just wanted to eat in peace, so that is what we let him do.

 

What if he was allergic to something in the burger he didn't order?  Just a thought (our oldest two had life-threatening food allergies).

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It's true that most restaurants do replace food that falls to the floor in a mishap. However, that is a gracious gift when they do it and it is the customer's fault. In your shoes, I would not complain because it was the direct result of my kid's behavior, so to complain is to essentially be saying that you believe they have an obligation to take the financial hit for your child's accident.  You could have ordered another piece of catfish and paid for it. They were not under a moral obligation to replace the catfish, though most would do it from a customer service point of view. It's just that you have no moral ground to stand on in this scenario.

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You hold the entire chain responsible for one location's service? This sounds like a management issue (and it doesn't seem that the manager was even told), not an official company policy.

I removed the sentence. I don't choose to visit chains is what I meant. That still sounds bad. ;) but unless we're on a road trip with no options, we prefer to support indie restaurants. And if something like that happened at a non-chain, I would absolutely talk to a manager and remind them what happened was dangerous. Wait staff should not place a potentially hot plate in front of a toddler, nor should a plate be handed to a patron. I would expect the piece to be replaced.

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I can't see complaining because the restaurant wasn't able to replace food that my family had wasted. I'd be apologising for making a mess.

 

L

Have you ever been to a Texas Roadhouse?? You throw your peanut shells on the floor!! And why would I apologise for making a mess?? She set a plate of food inches from a toddler while I was clearly looking the other way passing plates!!

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You hold the entire chain responsible for one location's service? This sounds like a management issue (and it doesn't seem that the manager was even told), not an official company policy.

 

I do think it is a training issue. If wait staff are not being told to be careful with plates and babies in training then I would consider that an issue.

 

They would want to know about a training issue. IMO one doesn't even need to let them know which waitress it was since I wouldn't want someone to get in trouble, just which location.

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