Free or nearly free restaurant meals

[Dlbdonn]

My wife is somewhat following in the footsteps of her late mother and aunt . They never met a restaurant meal or service that they liked . Sometimes it was embarassing eating with them. My wife only complains when the complaint is warrented . Generally the response she gets is positive and when we go back to the restaurant mentions this fact , thus the free meal is better and the service pleasant . My wife is pretty easy going and it takes a lot too get her upset . Generally if the food or the service is bad I wont stiff the wait person their tip because usually it's not their fault and tips are a big part of their income .

[rockmom]

Ditto for me Hank. :thumb:

 

Why would I want to go back and get another crappy meal...for free? I use two things as my leverage: if the service is bad the gratuity suffers and if the food is bad I don't come back. Less fanfare (as opposed to complaining) but it hits where they'll notice.

 

But, what if it was a one-time occurrance? Or, what if they sincerely have no idea your experience isn't meeting your expectations? Most places I know of sincerely want to make it right for you. How is it fair to not tell them, and give them a chance to make it right?

[98NCCalum]

We have a guy here at work who complains every single time we go somewhere. Hre has free meals everywhere we go it seems like.

 

It is the most embarrasing thing ever. Everyone here refuses to go to lunch with the guy now. It's ridiculous. He will complain over the smallest most insignificant thing and get a free meal out of it, and trust me, he doesn't need a free meal, he needs to skip a few.

 

I have never complained at a restuarant and probably will never, if the food or service is bad why would you want to go back anyway.

[98NCCalum]

Ditto for me Hank. :thumb:

 

Why would I want to go back and get another crappy meal...for free? I use two things as my leverage: if the service is bad the gratuity suffers and if the food is bad I don't come back. Less fanfare (as opposed to complaining) but it hits where they'll notice.

Should have read the rest of the posts in here first. I'm completely agree!

[h.s.sportsrbest]

But, what if it was a one-time occurrance? Or, what if they sincerely have no idea your experience isn't meeting your expectations? Most places I know of sincerely want to make it right for you. How is it fair to not tell them, and give them a chance to make it right?

 

I'm not saying it is fair. I'm saying that there are thousands of places I can eat, and to me, it isn't worth the fuss. If a manager is sincerely to trying to ensure my experience is up-to-par, he or she can ask as I'm wrapping up my meal. Not, however, when I'm in the middle of it -- which many do and nearly guarantees I'm not going to leave happy.

[98NCCalum]

I'm not saying it is fair. I'm saying that there are thousands of places I can eat, and to me, it isn't worth the fuss. If a manager is sincerely to trying to ensure my experience is up-to-par, he or she can ask as I'm wrapping up my meal. Not, however, when I'm in the middle of it -- which many do and nearly guarantees I'm not going to leave happy.

:thumb:

[Booge]

My wife is somewhat following in the footsteps of her late mother and aunt . They never met a restaurant meal or service that they liked . .

 

ugh...life's too short.

[Ram]

My wife, when we first got married, was the world's worst for this. I ate more free, or reduced, meals in the first two years of our marriage then I have eaten in the rest of my life combined. She, one time, actually had a waitress ask her if my wife was going to hit her.

 

She has mellowed out now, with age, and we rarely have any problems.

[98NCCalum]

My wife, when we first got married, was the world's worst for this. I ate more free, or reduced, meals in the first two years of our marriage then I have eaten in the rest of my life combined. She, one time, actually had a waitress ask her if my wife was going to hit her.

 

She has mellowed out now, with age, and we rarely have any problems.

I couldn't allow that...

[98NCCalum]

ugh...life's too short.

Amen brother!

[spe690]

I have never openly complained to a waiter. Complaining means one thing, your food or drink is going to get something unpleasant done to it. So my advice when experiencing bad service or bad food is to just hold our tounge, and not return to the restaurant!

[HHSDad]

I'm usually not a complainer, but HHSMom has a different view. She abhors poor customer service and lets it be known. Keep in mind that she always gives excellent customer service in her job.

 

If I do complain, I seldom send my food back. I don't want any "additives" in my food.

[PurpleHaze]

I have taken food back that was not what I ordered. I do not like to complain, however, everything that I have been through with PH....well, it does not seem important. If I am asked if everything is alright, I will tell the truth. We do not tip well if the service is awful and the food is good. We will tip well if the food is bad but the service was good. I have never gotten a free meal, and, don't expect to. I have never run into a place where the food was bad (maybe I just like to eat LOL)....however, I have had places to put cheese on PH's sandwich when I say NO CHEESE....I even explain that he can not have cheese when I order. I do get very upset when this happens, however, as long as they fix the problem, it is fine.

Maybe it is the fact that we do not go out and eat a lot....we like our home cooked meals....however, when we do go out, it is usually a very nice experience that we share together without anyone else, without the problems of the world...etc.

I think that as a society, home cooked meals have dropped off....at least here in Bowling Green. We have, I think, two Krogers, one or two Houchins, and two Wal-marts....Sams and some other new place like Sams. I might be leaving some out, I don't know. Compared to the stores, the eating establishments are everywhere.....IMO for every one store, there are at least 20 eating establishments.

I have noticed that the stores have parking places left, however, every one of the eating establishments have hardly no where to park.

I guess if we ate out more, we might have more to complain about....as it is, eating out is a treat that we enjoy!!! It is to celebrate something, usually. Maybe we are just still living in the old days, however, when we did not have much money, we could not afford to eat out....now that we are doing fine, it has just become a habit to eat at home. In fact, we still can and put food up. Home cooking, to us, just tastes better anyway.

 

All this being said...anyone who wants to come to our house to eat, the price is cheap and tipping is not expected...come one, come all!!! LOL LOL....

[SvFan4life]

Yes, if they mess up on a simple order of mine then I will complain. It's a joke to see people mess up on food orders when the store is dead. I don't get replacement food, when it's at a fast food place I just say I want my money back and I'll go elsewhere. The service at Taco Bell in Morehead is horrible and I have refused to go back there after them messing up on my orders 5 of the 6 times I went there.

[h.s.footballfan]

however, I have had places to put cheese on PH's sandwich when I say NO CHEESE....I even explain that he can not have cheese when I order. I do get very upset when this happens, however, as long as they fix the problem, it is fine.

 

I am the same way, if i can not eat it i will simply ask for them to take it back and fix it. I try not to do this unless i really have to.

 

I always think about the movie "Road Trip", It has a funny restaurant scene about people that complain about small things and ask for their food to be fixed.