Not Happy with Take Away food - What do you do?

@pinklilly (3443)
Australia
November 6, 2007 3:03pm CST
Last night I was very upset when I purchased some food for dinner. The usual shop I go to for Rice was closed so I went to the chinesse shop and ordered and I wasn't happy with the price to begin with and when I received my food and took it home I was very Upset to find that the food was either burnt or soggy and not enough to feed the family...... I spent double the price I normally do at the other store and got less... I decided to take the remaining food back to the resturant and told them I was not happy and they could see I was clearly upset as I had been crying. The owner was very nice and refunded my money and apoligiesed imensley... Have you had any experiences with bad food or service? What did you do? did you take it back and complain? ..........Please Share your stories........... I have had other experiences too but usually choose to forget about it unless I really feel the need to let them know.... Mistakes can happen but that was truely poor food for the price I paid...
2 people like this
11 responses
@jennybianca (12912)
• Australia
7 Nov 07
It is very upsetting when you purchase takeaway as a special treat for the family, & get something that is not suitable. I don't blame you for complaining. At least the owner was reasonable about it.. The experience I remember most involved Chinese takeaway. It was a long time ago. I was half way through eating the meal & paying attention to my friends talking, so I wasn't watching what I put in my mouth. By shear chance, I happened to glance as a forkful full of food was about to be put in my mouth, when I spied something. I put the fork down, moved the food a little & I found a largish piece of broken glass. Imagine what would have happened if I had taken a bite of that!! I took it back to the restuarant & showed the woman at the front counter. She seemed surprised & didn't know what to say.
@pinklilly (3443)
• Australia
8 Nov 07
Gosh...... Glad you didn't bite into that and good on you for taking it back it does take courage to stand up for yourself...... It's unbelievable what people can come across in their food when you expect to be eating something good for you...
@MH4444 (2161)
• United States
7 Nov 07
Yikes! That's completely terrifying! I would have been calling a lawyer for that.
1 person likes this
@laurika (4532)
• United States
7 Nov 07
It was really nice that they apologize an give you your money back.I think it should be like that and restaunrats should treat their customers nice. Nothing like this really happend to me, but I remeber my furute mother in law was telling me, about one story. She was in this nice restaurant and when come here plate with meal, she got paper clip on her plate. She said about it the waiter and he didn't charge her for meal and even give her free dessert. I think this is the way they shoudl treat us. Apologize and admit the mistake, if they have done something wrong.
1 person likes this
@pinklilly (3443)
• Australia
11 Nov 07
Yes Laurika , they should apologize and admit their mistakes as others try to hide or deny they have, which is wrong....... I know people who are afraid of speaking up in fear that they will spit in their food if returned to be recooked or replaced.....
@vhansen (2029)
• United States
7 Nov 07
Dealing with the fast food industry is a tricky thing.Having family that worked in it,I'm sad to say that all those stories you hear about how they handle complaining customers food are basicly true.Knowing that,I stick to places that I've always gotten good food and service at.If I have to eat at somewhere new,unless as you said the food is burnt,I don't complain.It's just safer that way.
@pinklilly (3443)
• Australia
10 Nov 07
We used to always eat there and have been happy in the past but it has been a while since we had eaten there and was that's why I guess I felt the need to complain..... I worked in a fish and chip shop for a few years and received a few complaints along the way about the food and quantity received for pricing..... The customer should always be right, and the resturant is there to please their customers so as to do well....
@vokey9472 (1486)
• United States
7 Nov 07
I always take it back. I have gotten into the habit of checking the food BEFORE I head for home. Too many mistakes happening at all the places I normally go. The prices keep going up and the portions keep getting smaller. If the food is really really good, I don't mind paying a little bit more, but lately the quality is going down too. If people do not take the food back and tell the managers why they didn't like it, then the food places cannot fix the issues. So, you did the right thing.
1 person likes this
@pinklilly (3443)
• Australia
11 Nov 07
Right On Excellent Response......You are Very Right..... I have checked things sometimes before leaving the store but rearly, it does save the extra trip and hassle to go back... But we shouldn't have to do that, they should be getting it right in the first place.......
@martosi (57)
• Portugal
7 Nov 07
Hi! When i get food from a restaurant or take away for the first time i consider it an adventure. So, when i have to order food and i´m not in the mood for an adventure, i allways order from the places i already know well, that way i wont be desapointed. I had quite a few experiences like yours and i allways complained about the food, or took it back. These kind of situation can really spoil a family dinner and upset us a lot, but we have our consummer rights! Here in my country all these places that work with food must have a complain book so clients can register their complains. Martosi.
1 person likes this
@pinklilly (3443)
• Australia
10 Nov 07
Thank you martosi for your response, very well said..... I thougt I did know this resturant as I have been a customer there for many years and never had a problem, but havn't been there for a while and was really disapointed......
• United States
7 Nov 07
Yes I have also had that same problem many of times and I take the food back and complain about the problem. The way I see it is if I pay for food to eat and I'm not satisfied with it Im not going to just through it out or eat it any way. I want the food I order be what I ordered not something else and I really don't want it burnt.
1 person likes this
@pinklilly (3443)
• Australia
10 Nov 07
Good point space creature... Thank you for your response...
@gittabest (1946)
• Iceland
6 Nov 07
I think it's very important to complain if there's something wrong with the food you get. Why should companies get away with selling you some disgusting food for high prices, that just doesn't make sense. It's also because when we buy food like that we expect it to save us trouble and time. I have so often got burnt pizza's and I have even got almost non-cooked pizza, yup that was gross :P, I also hate when they make you pay so much and then you get so little food that you just think wow maybe I should just cancel this and eat an apple instead :) Anyways I live in so small country that everything here is expensive, we are even well known in the world for our insane prices. Wish you all the best :)
1 person likes this
@pinklilly (3443)
• Australia
8 Nov 07
I've had burnt pizza's before and once I was in the shop and the owner wasn't happy because it was burnt and recooked another and gave me another Free Pizza, but I am a Regular at that shop and they are really nice... I too would have been happy with just eating an apple after the chinesse food I couldn't stomoch it and did't feel like anything after that, The burnt taste was enough to put me off for the rest of the night......
• United States
10 Nov 07
I'll tell you my story, tho it is an old one. Years ago when I was a newlywed living in Florida, I worked nights and drank a lot of spiced rum. This required Taco Bell for breakfast to burn the rum off my stomach. I know, not good, but that's how it was then. Anyhoo, I don't know if you know how bad Florida traffic is, but I went to the same one every day regardless. Almost always ended up with free food too because the workers couldn't stop overfilling the sodas or putting my husband's burritos (even when we asked for burritos to be bagged separately) on top of my pizza causing the toppings to stick to the box-top. You would think people would learn.
@pinklilly (3443)
• Australia
11 Nov 07
You would think so wouldn't you especially when you were a regular.............
@MH4444 (2161)
• United States
6 Nov 07
I think that the shop you bought it at should be told that it was not as you wished. Otherwise they can't fix the problem. I will always tell the place that anything like this happens at. They may even give you a refund or credit. It never hurts to report it.
1 person likes this
@pinklilly (3443)
• Australia
8 Nov 07
I won't be going back ther that's for sure. I had to go back and tell them otherwise they would never know or think they got away with it.... This lady strives on everybody being happy so that's why I went back, because I know what happened isn't good for business and felt they needed to know.....
@MagieL (266)
• China
7 Nov 07
i will never go to there to buy anyting.^^
@fanji008 (775)
• China
7 Nov 07
Well,I think it happens many times in our daily life. There're some not nice products but are charged much. I usually won't take those things at the time that I'm not satisfied unless there're no other ways. I'll tell the salesgirl that I'm not satisfied with the food or the price.If the service is bad,then I won't go there next time.I'll just find sth I'm happy with somewhere else if it's possible. Hopefully you'll be happy after telling us about it. Have a good day:)
@pinklilly (3443)
• Australia
10 Nov 07
Thank you fanjii for your response. I feel better that I took it back and did something about it than let it really get to me and upset me more for not doing anything.....