was I a butt?

[pro reel]

I don't know if this was the right thing to do or not, what do you think? Here is the deal. Charlene and i went to Denny's for supper tonight. The waitress was nice and took our order in a timely manor. Charlene got a turkey sadwich with fries. I was in the mood for breakfast and was hungry, so I got the lumberjack slam. The waitress brought our drinks and then in about the right amount of time she came back with our meal. She set our food down and basically dashed off. I looked at my plates and thought , what the hell. My pancakes were very dark with crispy edges. My toast needed to be scraped to remove the almost burnt, slightly black areas. My sausage was black. The bacon was extra crispy wih some black areas. The ham was good. The hashbrowns and eggs were also good. Charlenes food was perfect and she said her sandwich tasted great. She commented that My food looked a little burnt. We were in a hurry as we had just gotten to KC and wanted to get to the hospital before visiting hours were up, so I didn't try to call the waitress back. I ate the eggs, hashbrowns, ham, and even the slightly too crispy bacon. I tried the sausage, but it was just to burnt. I picked the least burnt peice of toast and ate one half of that. Then I tried one fork of the pancakes out of the middle but even that had a nasty burnt taste. Now, in this entire 20 minutes or so the waitress never came back. When she finaly did come by, I had moved my plate to the side and Charlene had finished her meal. The waitress saw then that I had only took a bite from the middle of the cakes and left the toast turned burnt side up now. She asked if i was done with that or if I would now prefer she brought me something different. I said no, now that i tried to eat the burnt food, I had a burnt food taste in my mouth and was done. She left and came back with our ticket, laid it down and waked off. I picked it up and it was full price for both meals. Charlene saw the look in my eye and said, you are going to make a fuss aren't you. I said absolutly, so she asked for the keys so she could wait outside. I calmly went to the counter and handed the lady my ticket. She asked how the food was. I said it was horible and i said that kind of loud. My waitress was evidently waiting to see if i would say something and she steped around and told the lady that my food was overcooked. The lady apologized and and said she would discount mine. I was willing to pay a reduced price for the part that I ate, but i felt that it should have been free. She rang it up and basically took 4 bucks off so mine was half price. She then had the nerve to ask if i wanted to add a tip for the waitress. Thats when i laughed and said i didn't think so because that burnt food should never have been brought to my table in the first place. She apologized again and handed me my reciept and I left. So, did the waitress deserve a tip? Would you have made more or less of a scene than i did? Should i have risked the extra time and just demanded a complete new meal right off the bat? My theory when you do that is what if the cook spits in your food because he is mad at ya.

[Jrob78]

I think you did right under the circumstances. The waitress didn't deserve a tip because she knowingly served you burnt food. She knew it wasn't right and should have at least acknowledged it and given you the option of a new meal.

I would have probably refused the meal from the start, being in a hurry though, I understand why you didn't. As far as paying for it, I would have had a hard time paying for any of it, even though you did eat some. To me, that's really poor service on the part of the waitress and terrible quality on the part of the restaurant.

[kennethdaysale]

Anytime of course, but especially now with businesses fighting for customers, a decent meal and good service is the least you should expect. You did fine.

[joedog]

Pro reel you acted exactly the way you should of!!!
I put my self thru college waiting tables at a Radison. A tip should never be asked for by anyone! A tip was always meant to show appreciation for a job well done, not to supplement the hourly wage of any employee. A tip should reflect your happiness or satisfaction; if there is no happiness or satisfaction, then there is no tip! The hostess asked for your opinion and you gave her exactly what she asked for, again appropriate!

We were not allowed to add tip even for large parties, (as is custom at most resturants), again inappropiate. A tip is a show of appreciation not part of the bill !!!!! Once this assumed tipping strategy was adopted, service suffered. Whats this garbage about it's custumary to tip 5%, 10%,15% . No it's customary to tip when you are satisfied and tip accordingly to show that appreciation. We had a goal of 20% tip per table average and we would bust our a**es to reach this goal! If we didn't reach goal we were very dissapointed and would work twice as hard the next shift to improve service. Thats where this whole tipping thing got started, to motivate better and at the very least good service. The best compliment a server can recieve is to be requested by name from a guest to serve thier table!!

[CamG]

You're good to go. People need to be held responsible. I would have done the same thing...or worse!

[nofearengineer]

Kevin, I think you handled it pretty well. I have also had girlfriends get "embarassed" when they knew I was going to complain in a restaurant. As a former restaurant GM, there are simply things I find unacceptable when dining out.

You were completely justified in not tipping in this instance. We're not talking about a slight mixup in the order. Delivering absolute slop to your table is almost unforgivable. And then not being present to give you an opportunity to remedy the situation was the icing on that (pan)cake.

If the waitress has any kind of a brain in her head, she'll learn a lesson from this: it might be the cook's fault, but the waitress is ultimately responsible for what hits the table.

[Bubba_Bruiser]

I think you you were in line Kevin. And JD, I am glad to hear what you said out of an ex-waiter's perspective. And I hate to hi-jack, but I will for a moment.

We went to Disney last July and the waiter brought us our bill. We had prepaid everything before the trip in the meal package and we had a card with a value on it. But the waiter brings the bill and it is about $100 plus a 22% tip tacked on top of that! Kevin, I got the same "Oh Bubba please don't" look from my wife as you got when she saw me flinch. I said I am too southern to pass this one up. The guy came back and I handed him the ticket and he said I need your card. I told him no, he needed to go remove the tip charge and I would give him what I thought he deserved. Which wasn't much figuring I never saw him after the first refill and it was a BUFFET! I asked my wife if I had been in a time capsule somewhere because I never remembered a tip % being that high. I just started making it known for the rest of the week for them to not include the tip and I would tip them accordingly. They seem to bounce a little better when they know it's not a gimme.

[bassboogieman]

The way you handled it was OK, I would have done differently. I would have started with the fuss when the plate was set in front of me. I would not have accepted it and sent it back. If the waitperson set it down and took off - the entire resturant would have heard me calling them back, and there would be NO tip.

[Tavery5]

I probably would have given the waitress a minimal tip and refused to pay for the food.

[Bassboss]

I probably would do the same thing. But I'm sure the waitress felt bad about it too. I guessing she was a rookie and wasn't really sure what to do and left to avoid herself looking dumb.... didn't help at all apparently though.

So no, I dont think you where a butt.

[bamabassman]

kevin..you were not TOO loud, polite and honest. you did EXACTLY what SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE. AND OYU SHOULD NOT HAVE HAD TO PAY A PENNY FOR EITHER MEALS.

[Tavery5]

I have been reading over this thread, and it got me thinking, what if all of us received our pay based on the same set of criteria. In other words, what if your pay depended on an internal or external customer being completely satisfied with the service or product that you presented him, and then he in turn could decide to pay what he felt like it was worth. Might make for some great customer service, but I have a feeling not many of us could live up to that type of scrutiny day in and day out.

[bamabassman]

it used to BE that way in the U.S.A. kevin. this is ANOTHER thing that is ruining our ocuntry.PRIDE in AMERCIAN MADE PRODUCTS. we really need ot get back to it.

[keithdog]

You did the right thing buddy. I wouldn't loose any sleep if I were you.

[Dogmatic]

Throw the poor girl 15%, for christ sakes, she's woking at Denny's. Like others said though, don't lose any sleep over it, she works at Denny's, she's probably use to it. Having worked in the restaurant biz for thirty years though, ya got to nip those things in the bud right away, get her butt back to the table, and at least give her a chance to fix the problem.(Worried about the cook spitting in your food? what you don't know won't hurt you, unless he has herpes or hepatitis, LOL) On another note, you should've had your meal comp'd, that you didn't, leads me to believe you really didn't push it that hard.

[bcklash]

I think they were lucky that your a nice guy.

[carolina-rig-01]

You handled it better than I would have.

[joedog]

Tavery5, I'm thinking thats what our economy really is based on. We may not see it directly like service personel, but most busineses that fail, thier failure is directly based on people felt the value of service or product was lower than the asking price for said product or service. That is or was the heart of capitalism. Now whether it works or not is a whole nother question that no-one will ever agree on.
But I do truely look back on my serving days as really rewarding experience, and the great feeling when you earn and recieve a fantastic tip based on your sevice or better yet when a guest will wait or reserve a table weeks ahead because they insist on you serving them.

[nofearengineer]

I still remember several specific instances of a really good (and well-deserved) tip, and that was over 20 years ago. They made a very big impression on me. Do the job right = more money.

Hell, one time a couple tipped me $20 just for entertaining their kids (through the window) while I made pizzas one night. I wasn't even waiting tables that night.

No, you don't get a good tip every single time you do the job right, but often enough to make a difference.

I am a big tipper...if it is deserved.

[bassboogieman]

I am a big tipper...if it is deserved.

You should be, you're such a demanding PITA - if ANYONE can please you they deserve a Krugerrand. I didn't get a dime for cooking you scrapple.......................

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by bassboogieman

you should be, you're such a demanding pita - if anyone can please you they deserve a krugerrand.

hahahahaha!!!!!!!!!

[nofearengineer]

Originally Posted by bassboogieman

I didn't get a dime for cooking you scrapple.......................

Your tip was pan-fried trout, you ingrate.

[WaffleJaw]

I waited tables for a loooong time...I spent four years of it (out of 7)as a trainer for the TGIFridays corporate store....and I dont miss it one bit

Everybody made little mistakes in this situation imo

You shoudn't have eaten anything,say your done when offered something else,and then expect a comp because half the food was messed up...You should have flagged another server to get yours to have the problem fixed immediately...She may have been tripled sat or have had other tables on the other side...You said she dashed off so she sounded busy or weeded....Was it crowded?.

She should have checked back on ya'll within 3 minutes of dropping the food off....Thats her fault,and would diminish a tip a few percents in my eyes.But from being good at the beginning,then slacking,Im assuming she got busy.
Bad food,I usually blame the line cooks and the food prep (if Denny's has one)
Preps shouldnt hand out bad plates....But Im thinking Denny's doesnt have one,but I dont know...That plate should not have made it to your table...Again her fault.

She may have been checking on ya form a distance,saw you eating and your drink full and figured your fine...Not acceptable, but again going back to the dont touch your food theory...If she is watching and sees you looking around,she'll know something is wrong.

I think if she was busy,a small tip would have been fair.....But I will say that not tipping her just taught her to pay more attention to food presentation

I also say you handle it fine as far as humanly possible and no need to worry about it.Your a kitten compared to what Ive seen...Ive seen some horrible people go out and eat in public,and Ive got stories

[pro reel]

Actually, they were not at all busy, it was almost empty at almost 8:00 pm. I think she took her break right after she gave us our food. Believe me, I did think about hollering at her as she walked off, but again, i originally didn't want to complain or make a scene, especially because my wife is very easilly embarrased by those situations. the other thing was, we were on a short time frame. I didn't want my food going back and aving to wait another 20 minutes while my wife would have been done eating hers and ready to go. Oh, and the drinks were not full if she ever did look over, It was the first time that she finally came back that she noticed i had slid the plate to the side with only the burnt food still there and an empty glass that she asked if i wanted something different. If she ever would have come over right away, i might have just asked for new pancakes and sausage while i ate the rest and then it might have been fine. I didn't expect the food to be comped. I was fine with paying for my wifes and i thought that the price of mine shoulf have been about half as only half was good. It was when she asked if I wanted to add a tip to the CC bill that I got mad. What about my order or service deserved any tip, other than a verbal tip to tell her she should not deliver burnt food and should have told the cook to redo it before she brought it.

[WaffleJaw]

Originally Posted by pro reel

Actually, they were not at all busy, it was almost empty at almost 8:00 pm. I think she took her break right after she gave us our food. Believe me, I did think about hollering at her as she walked off, but again, i originally didn't want to complain or make a scene, especially because my wife is very easilly embarrased by those situations. the other thing was, we were on a short time frame. I didn't want my food going back and aving to wait another 20 minutes while my wife would have been done eating hers and ready to go. Oh, and the drinks were not full if she ever did look over, It was the first time that she finally came back that she noticed i had slid the plate to the side with only the burnt food still there and an empty glass that she asked if i wanted something different. If she ever would have come over right away, i might have just asked for new pancakes and sausage while i ate the rest and then it might have been fine. I didn't expect the food to be comped. I was fine with paying for my wifes and i thought that the price of mine shoulf have been about half as only half was good. It was when she asked if I wanted to add a tip to the CC bill that I got mad. What about my order or service deserved any tip, other than a verbal tip to tell her she should not deliver burnt food and should have told the cook to redo it before she brought it.

Ah well hell then you handled that better than I would,hahaha!
Theres no excuse if she aint busy.In fact thats just poor....She sounded to anxious to get the cigarette break in and lost money...I dont feel sorry for her.