People who constantly complain at restaurants

I got a sister in law who complains everytime we go out with her, no matter were we go. She sends her food back half the time and likes to let everyone around her know that this restaurant is not up to her standards. She's rarely happy with the service and always lets them know it, and whats worse she gets attitude when anyone who, (like her husband) thinks everythings fine.. I see every restaurant as a new and different place and take it for what it is- and i'm rarely dissapointed. Almost never

Tell me i'm right and she's wrong

Silas Jayne wrote:I got a sister in law who complains everytime we go out with her, no matter were we go. She sends her food back half the time and likes to let everyone around her know that this restaurant is not up to her standards. She's rarely happy with the service and always lets them know it, and whats worse she gets attitude when anyone who, (like her husband) thinks everythings fine.. I see every restaurant as a new and different place and take it for what it is- and i'm rarely dissapointed. Almost never

Tell me i'm right and she's wrong

You're right and she's wrong.

It is possible for a restaurant to disappoint, and I'm not sure I'd go as far as you in saying that it "almost never" happens in my experience, but half the time? Or so often that it would make one "rarely happy"? There's a problem there, and it's not with the restaurants.

I've never thought about putting a number on it, but I'd say a restaurant actively disgruntles me no more than 4% of the time.

riddlemay wrote:I've never thought about putting a number on it, but I'd say a restaurant actively disgruntles me no more than 4% of the time.

Me, I'd say I'm gruntled the vast majority of the time--but gruntled isn't necessarily the same as really happy.

riddlemay wrote:

Silas Jayne wrote:I got a sister in law who complains everytime we go out with her, no matter were we go. She sends her food back half the time and likes to let everyone around her know that this restaurant is not up to her standards. She's rarely happy with the service and always lets them know it, and whats worse she gets attitude when anyone who, (like her husband) thinks everythings fine.. I see every restaurant as a new and different place and take it for what it is- and i'm rarely dissapointed. Almost never

Tell me i'm right and she's wrong

You're right and she's wrong.

It is possible for a restaurant to disappoint, and I'm not sure I'd go as far as you in saying that it "almost never" happens in my experience, but half the time? Or so often that it would make one "rarely happy"? There's a problem there, and it's not with the restaurants.

I've never thought about putting a number on it, but I'd say a restaurant actively disgruntles me no more than 4% of the time.

Hey I even like airline food, but I only travel First Class

Sounds like your s-i-l craves attention more than food I'd be nervous bringing her anywhere for fear that the poor server might take out his/her frustration with her on the whole table...not a pleasant thought!

If no restaurant is good, that makes things easy. Take her to places that actually aren't good. Then she can be right.

This is a very funny post for me.
My parents have what we jokingly call in our family "restaurant karma"
No matter how many times we have gone to a place, and how great it's been for us,
take them, and you are GUARANTEED to get either
1. the waitress who is working for her first night ever(ie. slowest service ever)
-wrong entree-
2. the chef is sick that night
3. the sauce is burned
well....

you get the idea.
There was a stretch where hubs and I didn't go out with them at all.
Now we generally will go out with them once in a while but only to places they choose.
(so if its bad it's their fault)
Last week, we broke our rule, aand took them out to Sabatino's on Sunday night.
It didn't start off well, service was very slow-
at one point there was a joke about the "restaurant karma" and whether they were growing the lettuce for the salads...
Shortly thereafter, things picked up, and Dad's entree even turned out stunning wonderful, which we were particularly nervous over as he requested something NOT EVEN ON THE MENU!
But they made him a really lovely bowl of Cioppino, which is kind of a riff on their Zuppa di Mare, so not out of left field completely...
still it was touch and go there for a while....

She got a free dinner or a gift card (?) for Red Lobster from work, and after her meal there she complained to the manager, he apologized and told to her come back and dinner will be on him. She went back and complained again and he graciously told her to come back again, for free. You guessed it, she complained again and the manager told her to get the F outta here and if she ever came back he'd call the police. True story.

Silas Jayne wrote:I only travel First Class

I like having these reminders that there are those out there who are less fortunate -- it keeps me grounded.

Like most other LTHers, I have my own jet. Here it is:

Silas Jayne wrote:She got a free dinner or a gift card (?) for Red Lobster from work, and after her meal there she complained to the manager, he apologized and told to her come back and dinner will be on him. She went back and complained again and he graciously told her to come back again, for free. You guessed it, she complained again and the manager told her to get the F outta here and if she ever came back he'd call the police. True story.

That is HILARIOUS! Your brother must be a VERY patient man (or has a great set of hidden earplugs...)

cilantro wrote:

Silas Jayne wrote:I only travel First Class

I like having these reminders that there are those out there who are less fortunate -- it keeps me grounded.

Like most other LTHers, I have my own jet. Here it is:

But you have grocery store taste in wine

and those stems are all wrong too!

cilantro wrote:

Silas Jayne wrote:I only travel First Class

I like having these reminders that there are those out there who are less fortunate -- it keeps me grounded.

Like most other LTHers, I have my own jet. Here it is:

I like the simple, understated interior you went with. In this day & age of economic woes, it's always a nice idea to not go too over the top - I've found it makes the "have nots" resent us "haves" even more than normal. I think you may have gotten a bit carried away with the whole down-to-earth movement though...there's no excuse for having Kendall Jackson wine onboard. Your concierge needs a stern talking to.

Still, I'd rather drink Kendall Jackson on my 2011 HondaJet than fly...commercial. Ugh, I could hardly bring myself to type the word.

In my previous life an ex boyfriend had a hard to please great uncle. He was a snow bird that would come up for the summers and always have a list of places to eat and things to do. Except to matter where he was taken there was always an issue with his food. He also always ordered the most expensive item on the menu and this would always happen right about when he was 3/4ths of the way through his meal. Sometimes it would be just one of those 'teensy problems' but 'he just couldn't enjoy himself at all!'. I always saw the staff being very responsive to his complaints and generally he would walk away with a wiped bill or some type of comp.

The more embarrassing instances would be when he would order a steak, eat half, then complain it was 'so dry' and start trying to cough and hack the thing up in the dining room. Needless to say he always got a steak and a half every time. I'm one of those people that feels uncomfortable in situations like that and I would usually excuse myself from attending dinner with him. It got to be a running joke where he'd come back and I'd say "So what was wrong tonight?"

In this week's New Yorker (Jan. 11, 2010), there's a great Roz Chast cartoon on p. 55. Of course I cannot post it here without violating copyright rules, but the gist:

A typical Chast middle-aged couple in glasses--but with angel wings and halos--are standing on a small cloud. Wife to husband: I feel a draft. There's God. Ask him if we can change clouds.

The wife reminds me of a family member. Some people are never satisfied.

EvA wrote:In this week's New Yorker (Jan. 11, 2010), there's a great Roz Chast cartoon on p. 55. Of course I cannot post it here without violating copyright rules, but the gist:

A typical Chast middle-aged couple in glasses--but with angel wings and halos--are standing on a small cloud. Wife to husband: I feel a draft. There's God. Ask him if we can change clouds.

The wife reminds me of a family member. Some people are never satisfied.

Trouble in Paradise.

boudreaulicious wrote:

Silas Jayne wrote:She got a free dinner or a gift card (?) for Red Lobster from work, and after her meal there she complained to the manager, he apologized and told to her come back and dinner will be on him. She went back and complained again and he graciously told her to come back again, for free. You guessed it, she complained again and the manager told her to get the F outta here and if she ever came back he'd call the police. True story.

That is HILARIOUS! Your brother must be a VERY patient man (or has a great set of hidden earplugs...)

It's my wifes sister and her husband, or ex husband now. One time I saw a guy asphalting her driveway. I told him he'd rue the day he took this job, he said why? I just shook my head and walked by him. He's been back out there about 20 times for little cracks and imperfections.

I've been thinking about it recently, after my experience at Terragusto that maybe I don't complain enough.

A couple of nights ago I had dinner and between my dining companion and I, we ordered a bunch of dishes. One was a roast chicken which came out *dry*. The white meat was just way overcooked - the kind of white meat shards that dry out your mouth. Our server walked past and asked how everything was, and on pure reflex I said "everything's fine". 20 seconds later, I thought to myself: "why did I just say that - almost everything is fine, but this poor chicken is beyond overcooked."

Maybe your sister-in-law and I need to meet somewhere in the middle.

-Dan

I constantly complain about everything and spend a lot of time in restaurants. Do I qualify?

=R=

dansch wrote: Our server walked past and asked how everything was, and on pure reflex I said "everything's fine". 20 seconds later, I thought to myself: "why did I just say that - almost everything is fine, but this poor chicken is beyond overcooked."

You know, Dan, I have the same problem. I try very hard to differentiate between times when the kitchen just messed up and when I just don't like or agree with the preparation (in the latter case, I wouldn't complain,) but most often my default is "everything's fine."

Part of the problem is, if my dinner has arrived and there's a problem with it, there isn't much the kitchen can do to make it better: I don't want to wait for another one to be cooked while my companion is eating, and I just feel bad about having my meal comped or to be showered with free stuff unless it's really an eggregious error. I hate the "unhappy customer" fuss that comes with a negative response to "how is everything." Is there a more delicate way to avoid/address the above? I assume the restaurant wants the feedback in many cases.

If my wife has a big problem with her food i'll say somthing nicely, but i'm usually happy with mine. I like Chef Boyardee canned Ravioli, so............

Mhays wrote: I assume the restaurant wants the feedback in many cases.

I was kind of going back and forth about whether this belonged here or in the "chefs hate bloggers" discussion

Talked to a chef a while back (not one that I think has been quoted on this subject) and his main complaint in this vein was that someone will leave his restaurant without anyone on the staff having a hint that the customer had a bad time, and then they see a really bad review on a site (usually Yelp or Open Table). And he said that they can usually tell who it was (especially if it was Open Table) because they'll say "I was at X on Fri night, and had the P, D, and Q and my mom had the L, B and J..." and that when possible they reach out to the person to ask them to come back on them. But they have staff discussions and the server will remember the group, and recall them saying something on the order of "everything is fine."

He says they REALLY DO want to know if something is wrong. They want a chance to make it right while you are still in the restaurant and before you feel like your meal is ruined. They don't want to hear about it on Yelp when there isn't too much they can do about it.

Silas, it sounds like your s-i-l is anhedonic. It's is an inability to experience pleasurable emotions from normally pleasurable life events such as eating, exercise, social interaction or sexual activities.

leek wrote:He says they REALLY DO want to know if something is wrong. They want a chance to make it right while you are still in the restaurant and before you feel like your meal is ruined. They don't want to hear about it on Yelp when there isn't too much they can do about it.

True, but ...

If I have a complaint, I don't want to spend 30 minutes waiting for the chef or owner to talk to me or to "be found."

I will tell you what displeased me BUT I am not looking for the "great debate."

I might complain once about an issue but if I come back and see the same thing (especially when it is a health code violation), I am just going to assume that you don't care. And if it is a health code violation, I will contact the authorities the second time.

Before I complain, I ask my self, "how do I really want this to be resolved." If I head to a restaurant and it is just plain poor, why bother talking to or writing the owner? So I can get a gift certificate so I can get another lousy meal?

Do you dare complain to the waiter about the food?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/colu ... olumn.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/colu ... olumn.html

Nice picture, Trib.

Pete Wells, explains why bringing your gripes to the management instead of anonymously torching the place online will make everybody happier.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/05/dini ... urant.html