What do you do if you get bad food at a restraint?

A couple of years ago my husband and I went to one of our favorite places to eat. It's a drive-in place where they actually have bellhops. We were waited on, and then we waited. And waited. More people came, a whole group of people, at least 30 on motorcycles, they were waited on, they got their food. And we waited. My husband was getting mad, so he went up and asked the boy he waited on us when we were going to get our food. He apologized and a few minutes later we finally got it. It was raw. And since it was sausage, we didn't eat it, I mean it was red all the way through except for the outside layer. It was like they thought, ooops, let's get their food to them quick because we forgot! Afterwards we went over to the other side where they serve ice cream and asked to talk to the manager. She was appalled, apoligized profusely and gave us a certificate for a free meal. Clams are known to be tough, but they shouldn't be rubbery, I would have complained. You are paying good money to eat there, just wait till after your meal to complain. I am too afraid to complain during a meal, I have heard too many stories about what the kitchen workers will do to food if you send it back.

It sounds like it was cooked too long, but like you said you didn't know. I had that happened before and my husband would say something to them and they would make another one at no cost. It's not the waiters fault it's who cooked it. Have a good day.

If I get bad food at a restaurant, I tell them very nicely what was wrong with it, and then I send it back for a replacement. Once though, I got a cold cup of coffee at a restaurant. Since the only problem was the temperature, I simply asked that the waitress have it heated up, and I drank it. It was delicious, once it was hot.

I would have sent the meal back ... it was inedible and if they are serving food it is supposed to be edible ..... that is regardless of what the item of food is. If people don't tell them that something is wrong they will continue to cook and serve in the same manner .... in the end nobody goes there. We have been out for a meal .... and sent it back because it was sub-standard, not cooked properly, over cooked or just plain disgusting. Only a couple of days ago I stopped at this place and bought a plain bread roll .... walked back to my truck pulled it out and took a bite. It was stale ... so I turned around and took it right back to the place. They cheerfully refunded my money ... not a lot I will add but they cheerfully refunded me and also apologised profusely. They also gave me a couple more bread rolls that had just come out of the oven. That is service and that is what we pay for. I know nothing about clams .... but a friend told us that they are cooked in a similar way to calamari and that is very quickly. If calamari is overcooked it is tough ... like boot leather .... and it sounds like clams are the same. In future I would not eat anything that was like that .... politely send it back and ask for a fresh meal and if the second one was no good I would not eat it nor pay for it.

They were cooked too long is the problem. I never eat clamsfor that reason, I keep getting the eraser ones. Thereis nothing more grose than biting into food and having it feel like chewing erasers.

I would have called one of the staff and told them and see what their response was like. They might explain that clams can feel a bit rubbery after cooking or they might accept that there might be some problems with the way it was cooked. Anyway, a good restaurant would appreciate the feedback. Some may also cook a fresh lot of clams for you or allow you to change it to another item. I think it's a little too late to complain now. It would have been better to do so on the spot while you were eating then. Anyway, certain types of seafood can turn out a little rubbery, if they aren't cooked in the right way.

Usually if it's the first time..If my item I ordered at the restaurant is not to my liking then I call the waitress point out why I don't like the food and then have it replaced. If it comes back bad again..then I bring it to the attention of the restaurant manager;)+

well if I didn't know how the food was supposed to taste then I wouldn't complain but if I did know then I would surely complain and have them bring me something different.

If the food isnt good I will say something to the waiter or ask for a manager. I dont want to pay for something that I cant even eat.

Once you leave the restaraunt its probably to late to complain but if the food doesnt taste right when I'm out to dinner, I would say somthing to the waiter. Most restaraunts would rather give you another dinner than lose a potentual future customer. Most restaraunt managers want to know how their customers feel about their food. I agree, if its somthing you never tried before you might not know how its supposed to taste but if you cant imagine why anyone would like it, maybe somthing's wrong. Take care!

It happened to me once the chicken was half cooked an dwhen I opened there was still red blood near the bone. So I called the attention of the waiter and they decided to have it changed.

Clam strips? I have no idea you can make clam into strips. I don't like clams myself though I love clam chowder - don't ask me why since I can't explain it myself. If you think there is something wrong with the food, go ahead and ask them. If not for anything, at least you get to satisfy your own curiosity. :P

Ohh..its really bad that you had foul food in a restaurant and that it it was your 1st encounter with the food. I have also fallen in such situations before and have always comlpained about it. I mean no harm to the waiter but the management should be made aware if the food is not proper...after all it will affect their business if they dont do the needful. I feel many a times the management is not aware of the food and so i directly call for the manager and tell him. Mostly i get to place a fresh order but more importantly i get to eat good food after that!

If I met with that problem,maybe I would call them up and ask whether it was supposed to be like that.I would feel uncomfortable if i didn't say anything.

I've read some of your comments and I am beginning to think I should have read them years ago! I can only imagine what has been done to my food over the years...eek. I politely (grin)complain immediately if something is wrong with my food. I'm just the type of person that speaks up no matter what, which has gotten my in trouble more than once, so I don't know why it never occured to me that my food could have been spat upon or worse. I like what the other commenters have said; complain after your meal, but before you leave. Excellent advice! I wish they had sent me a memo 20 years ago hehe Oh.. clams are good, but when cooked to long or over a very high tempeture they do tend to go all rubbery..which is gross. It won't make you sick, but you should have gotten better quaility cooking for your money. It can't hurt to call the manager and tell them about your experience. Be completely honest; about not having clams before and being unsure, about being a loyal customer etc. The management should make it up to you, they usually will with no problems:)

I don't know anything about clam strips myself but I think if I suspected something might be wrong I would have asked about them. Probably starting with the waitress and if I didn't get a positive response from her I would ask the people at the next table if they knew anything about clam strips and should they be like that.

I would have said something while in the resturaunt. I would have asked for a manager i think.

of course you have to complain them, if there is a problem with your food, coz its their responsibility to get rid them off.

I think I would have ask about it. Maybe whispered it to the waiter or something. So I won't cause a commotion. At least, I will know if I'm really having the right way it should have been cooked. But it's so generous of you not to have complain and even tip the waiter. Have a nice day Mssnow! (^^,)

It's always a good idea to (nicely) let them know if there is something wrong with the food- otherwise they may not know that anything is wrong. If a chef is cooking clams like that every day and not getting complaints, he is going to assume that everyone is enjoying the food. I am glad you still tipped the waiter- not their fault when the kitchen messes up food! :)