A bad meal on my birthday!
By Barb42
@Barb42 (4214)
United States
December 15, 2008 1:36pm CST
Yesterday was my birthday. My husband took me out to a nice steak restaurant where we have eaten many times and always gotten good food and good service. We got neither yesterday afternoon at the restaurant.
First, it took a long time for our food to come out. And, when it did, the steaks looked terrible. My husband's looked more like a chopped steak. It had been picked out in the middle I guess to see if it was done enough. Well, it was WAY overly cooked and dry as could be. Mine looked like a big hunk of meat, unlike any steak I had ever gotten, and nothing like the same steaks we had ordered there before. It was WAY over cooked for a medium steak, and very hard to cut. It took me ages to cut my steak and I didn't even eat it all because it was like cutting a piece of leather. It did taste pretty good, but the steaks were not their best for sure! We were really disappointed. My husband was disappointed more because it was my birthday. Oh, and his baked Irish potato was one of those that, when you cut it open, it has those big black spots in it that makes it look rotten! He had to dig that out. The one good thing is that I had a great baked sweet potato and their bread was good. Have you ever had a situation like that on a special day?
3 people like this
12 responses
@lexus54 (3572)
• Singapore
16 Dec 08
Hello there, Barbara and Happy Belated Birthday to you! I fired up the oven and baked you a cake an hour ago. Hope you like it. I'm sorry you didn't quite enjoy your birthday treat at the restaurant. I've not had such an experience on my birthday. The food aside, at least there are some wonderful memories for you to cherish, like your husband remembering your birthday and he bringing you to this supposedly nice restaurant (which you have fond memories of) to celebrate your special day with you. These would be gestures you'd treasure more than the quality of the food served.
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
15 Dec 08
How terrible. You should have complained. Especially about the baked potato. I know that they couldn't see the bad spots but they could have replaced it for you. I'll bet you paid good money for the meal too. I have decided that it's time for me to stop receiving bad food or bad service with out speaking up. How does the management know that the person they hired to cook can't if no one speaks up? How can they improve service if the costumer doesn't speak up? I'm sure that they want to give the best service that is possible and not speaking up doesn't help them and besides you may not want to go back. They want you to come back.
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
15 Dec 08
My husband DID complain to the waiter and he also told the manager and showed him what he dug out. But the only thing the manager wanted to do was recook us a steak - AFTER we had eaten our meal. Who could eat another steak? Not us! The management has to know that the cook isn't cooking correctly. I am sure we weren't the only ones that complained yesterday. I think Sunday is the wrong day to go there and eat. They have more than one cook and that wasn't the cook who prepared our steaks all the other times we've been in there.
1 person likes this
@ch88ss (2271)
• United States
16 Dec 08
Well happy belated birthday. I am glad I checked my email this evening otherwise I will miss the chance to say "Happy Birthday".
Well, it is quiet dissapointing that your meal did not turn out as you and your husband planned it.
but the best part, you enjoyed a day and lunch/dinner with someone special that is all that matters. Even if the steak was only a chicken burger, but it is who you spend that time with that matters.
@_sketch_ (5742)
• United States
16 Dec 08
Hey! Yesterday was my b-day too!!! 
Hey! Yesterday was my b-day too!!!
That sucks that your food was sucky. I didnt really go out to eat for my birthday, but my cake we ordered and paid for the day before and they didnt even make it, so I had to wait forever to get my cake. Oh well it was pretty tasty though. I have experienced real bad things on my birthday too. Kinda seems like a cursed day to me. I always seem to have worse luck on my birthday. Well anyways, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! And happy holidays too. 
Hey! Yesterday was my b-day too!!!
That sucks that your food was sucky. I didnt really go out to eat for my birthday, but my cake we ordered and paid for the day before and they didnt even make it, so I had to wait forever to get my cake. Oh well it was pretty tasty though. I have experienced real bad things on my birthday too. Kinda seems like a cursed day to me. I always seem to have worse luck on my birthday. Well anyways, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! And happy holidays too. 
@UK_Shree (3603)
•
16 Dec 08
Hi there, that must have been quite disappointing. But hey at least it didnt taste all that bad and perhaps you could put a complaint in - nicely ofcourse so they take your comments on board and try to improve things? The bit about the baked potato is pretty bad. Did you make the waiter aware of the situation?
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
16 Dec 08
The waiter was told. He's the one that sent out the manager, AFTER we had almost finished eating. The waiter wasn't that good, either - he never offered us a fillup of our drinks. That's the first time that has happened in this restaurant and the first time we have gotten bad food. The manager brought my husband out more tea after he had talked to us.
@asterwu (55)
• China
16 Dec 08
It's very sorry to hear that.Hope you have a not bad birthday.Maybe you can see it from the other ways.it is memorable because that is terrible .Probably after many years you can remember that birthday and happened everythings in that night.So everythings have two coins.you can see it better.Have a good time!
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
16 Dec 08
Oh, I sure didn't let that ruin my birthday. Would take more than that to ruin my day. It just made us mad that we got such bad food and no compensation for it other than for the manager to tell us to ask for him the next time we came in, knowing we'd never do it and he wouldn't remember us anyway! He was just an incompetent manager when it came to customer appreciation!
@jands1 (835)
• United States
16 Dec 08
First of all, Happy Belated Birthday Barb42! *hugs & tosses confetti about*
Secondly, I am so sorry you had this experience. Poor thing. I can not imagine how any restaurant would want to serve you old shoe leather. 
Lastly, yes. I have had this happen. More times than I would care to admit. Especially considering where I live and how much the area is world famous for its food. But, I do now know, from trial and error, where to go and where not to go. I certainly am not going to send it back to the kitchen. I do not even want to think what scary things will happen to it. But that is life. Good with the bad and all. 
Lastly, yes. I have had this happen. More times than I would care to admit. Especially considering where I live and how much the area is world famous for its food. But, I do now know, from trial and error, where to go and where not to go. I certainly am not going to send it back to the kitchen. I do not even want to think what scary things will happen to it. But that is life. Good with the bad and all. @Barb42 (4214)
• United States
16 Dec 08
Thanks, Jands1, for the birthday wishes. As for the meal, it would have gone back to the kitchen, but it wouldn't have been returned to us. They would have had to cook us another steak because these were ruined by the chef! This restaurant is a very nice one and known for good food. I think we caught the chef at a bad time, and the restaurant was FULL to over flowing yesterday! But we've been there before and had to wait much longer to be seated, yet we got good food.
@playmateshorty (365)
• United States
15 Dec 08
My 21st birthday was a few weeks ago, we were so tight on cash, that i had a ham and cheese hot pocket. =[
but then again, there are more important things in life!
at least i am blessed to have great family!
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
15 Dec 08
Nothing wrong with having a ham and cheese hot pocket. But my thought is, when you go out to eat, you expect to get good food because that is what you are paying for. We didn't. Many times we never go out for birthdays, but there is only two of us now, and we do occasionally go out. And when I do, I want what I order and not over-cooked meals or rotten potatoes. 
By the way, happy belated birthday!
By the way, happy belated birthday!
@luvandpower (2048)
• United States
15 Dec 08
Yes absolutely, a couple of years back I had went to this restraunt with my parents, hooters to be exact, just to celebrate me turning eightteen. While I was there, they barely had any good service there, and after the plate of chips or fries or whatever it was showed up they did not even get my order right, and also they even tried to overcharge, however it was still a good time.
I also would liek to say sorry for the restraunt not doing their best for two paying consumers, that is like the worst thing that can happen to payin customers. Personally, I would had your husband take it back or give it to the waittress and ask for a remake.
Oh and also happy late b-day.
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
15 Dec 08
If we had it to go over again, we probably would have gotten another meal. The waiter told the manager when we complained, but the manager didn't come out until we were almost through eating. My husband told him we didn't want to eat free - the problem was that the steaks were not what we had expected since we had eaten there several times before. But they were not the good steaks we had experienced the last few times. They were grainly and very overly cooked. We thought sure he'd at least give us as coupon off on another meal and give us a break on the meal we had partially eaten. I thought it was very inconsiderate of him to say he'd give us the 'best waitress' the next time like that was going to make a difference. You would have thought he'd appreciate his customers more than that! Customers do tell other customers about bad service!
@TrayBlaylock (630)
• United States
16 Dec 08
I totally hear you when it comes to bad service. Most employees today just want to slack and slack and get that paycheck. Nobody wants to work for anything. It has been numerous times where I have went to a restraunt and I have to wait a half hour for a refill. Something has to change with these restraunts because people pay their top dollar for good service. Times like these, it's hard to still go out and eat so whenever people do, waiters, cooks and what not just truly care about their product.
@stejhas (209)
• United States
15 Dec 08
Yeah, that's really crappy. We don't get to eat out much (especially without our kids) so when we do, I have the HIGHEST standards for our meal and service. I have no issues complaining when there is disgusting food on my plate.... the unfortunate thing is not that they made a mistake, but that they couldn't even give you good service to make it right!!!! That's my BIGGEST issue. - I totally would have mentioned that it was my freaking birthday and asked for a free dessert and lunch delivered to my home the next day! lol You gotta stand up for yourself and let them know it REALLY IS A BIG DEAL!!! ;)
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
15 Dec 08
My husband did tell the manager that the thing that made it bad was it was my birthday. I didn't want a dessert since I had a baked sweet potato and it was huge. And we live too far for them to deliver a meal to us. I would have liked to have had a free coupon! The manager won't even remember us when we go back!
