By CHINA MILLMAN
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Restaurant Critic
When people have a bad meal at a restaurant, they're quick to tell their friends and family, but they'll rarely tell the kitchen.
Chefs don't like to make mistakes, and they make an effort to catch them before dishes leave the kitchen. But once something is sent out to the table,
a chef can only hope that a guest will send a dish back, rather than simply writing off the eatery.
What keeps people from sending back an incorrect or disappointing dish? Often, it's because they see the situation as unsalvageable. Sometimes, they're right. When your meal isn't very good but it seems to be on par with what the kitchen regularly turns out, it probably isn't the restaurant for you.
But
some mistakes can be fixed, probably more easily than you might imagine. If something isn't what you ordered or if it isn't cooked the way you requested, you should always send the dish back.
Some people might fear being labeled a "problem" customer, weighing the trade-off between a new dish and the decline in service that might come with it. But at any good restaurant, servers and kitchen staff would much rather you send back the dish than secretly resent them.
At Morton's, in downtown Pittsburgh, if a steak is prepared incorrectly, it's an expensive mistake. But that doesn't mean executive chef Jason Shaffer hopes people won't notice.
"If it's not the way they ordered it, they should
send it back, point blank," Shaffer said. "I would much rather have someone eat their meal the way they wanted it, and the way they intended it to be, than to go away mad."
Sometimes, diners decide they'd rather not wait for a new dish, especially if all of their companions are already eating. But typically the wait for a replacement meal will be much shorter than the wait for the original dish, because it will be the kitchen's first priority.
What if something was prepared correctly, but you just don't like it? That's where sending back a dish can become a judgment call. If a dish wasn't labeled as spicy and it's much too spicy for you, or a salad is drenched in dressing and you like a lighter coat, then it's perfectly fine to send it back. No good restaurant wants to charge a customer for food he or she couldn't eat.
But it's also
your responsibility as a diner to make a good-faith attempt to order something that you're going to like. If you're picky about the amount of dressing on your salads, consider asking for just a little, or order the dressing on the side.
It's impossible to list all the ingredients in a dish on most menus, so if there's something you really despise, especially if it's commonly used, tell your server when ordering. That way he or she can warn you away from an unfortunate order.
When it comes to
voicing a complaint, being prompt, specific and polite goes a long way toward maintaining good will. Most often, when servers grumble over dishes that are sent back, it's because the diner has eaten a substantial portion. The stereotypical "problem" diner doesn't want a replacement, he or she just wants a free dish. Servers are taught the "two minutes-two-bites" rule -- check on a table when they've had their food for two minutes or taken two bites. Diners should know at that point whether they are satisfied with their meal.
When the server asks if everything is OK, speak up politely but firmly.
In the meantime, remember that restaurants thrive on happy customers. Give a restaurant the chance to make up for a mistake, and everyone will benefit.
