Hubby and I went to this really fancy steak place the other day, he ordered steak and I ordered the chicken. After quite a wait, our food came, and after one bite I knew something was not right. I gave hubby a bite and he asked me what kind of fish it was???!!!
Well, once I reminded him I had ordered chicken, he agreed that chicken should not taste like fish and we called the manager over who took away my dish. Later he came back to say that he agreed that it tasted very strong of fish and then brought a steak for me (which I should have gone with initially, considering this was a steak place!).
Not like I am expecting a free meal here, but do you all think I am justified in thinking the manager, as a goodwill gesture, comp at least my entree considering I went to their "fine institution" to have a meal and went through a wierd experience of tasting fish.
On a different note, I have been a lurker for a while here and just love all the stuff I get to see here...
Any comments would be appreciated...

D.

Not sure I would agree the entree should be comped, but dessert or a cocktail would be appropriate.

Welcome to FT, BTW.

No.

I got a pop up screen that requires this reply to be at least 10 characters.

no no no no no.

Not sure I would agree the entree should be comped, but dessert or a cocktail would be appropriate.
agreed.

Welcome to Flyertalk :)

Not sure I would agree the entree should be comped, but dessert or a cocktail would be appropriate.

Welcome to FT, BTW.



Agree with both Craig6z & Sweet Willie. Another option would've been if you'd ordered an appetizer to comp it.

Welcome to FT Desirees!

Thanks for the opinions, I feel better now knowing that the fact we were not comped is not unusual. We did have an appetizer, it was not comped.

Now that I know this is not unusual, we will be going back there and give them a second chance.

Again, thanks for the comments.

D.

very sloppy service by them it is fortunate you do not have an allergy to fish as your evening would have been ruined.yes an apology and a free meal was in order as this also messed up the timing of your meal

When dining out at an upscale steak house you are willing to pay exorbant prices for ala carte items and wine markups of 500%. You agreed to the prices by dining at the establishment so your food should arrive as expected. Should you receive items not properly prepared or wrong items and your companion has to eat alone, the entire dining experience has been ruined.

eg:
Lobster tails arrive at table with strong amonia odor,manager acknowledges they are spoiled.
Steak arrives overcooked
Sashimi full of gristle, restaurant manager acknowledges they changed supplier and it is not of the quality they would serve.

I don't barter price and expect consistent quality and no excuses, we're not talking diner food.

As restaurant owner, I can say that the driver of our actions when something has gone wrong for a guest is our desire to salvage their evening, so when it's all over, they are satisfied. Guests like the poster just before this one are troubling for us -- "completely ruined" is a strong statement, and it's hard to come up with any plan of action that will make someone like that happy (we'll still try anyway).

Comping an entree in the situation described is done if there is nothing else we can do (if, say, the guests are rushing off to a show).

Preferably, the recovery from this kind of mistake needs a combination of 1. fixing the food problem itself, and 2. demonstrating extraordinary hospitality -- it's important that the staff demonstrates that we are sorry this happened, that such a mistake is not how we operate normally, that we'll fix the problem amazingly quickly so no other guest at the table feels uncomfortable eating, and in short that the whole restaurant is sincerely concerned about taking care of them, and making sure this type of thing doesn't happen again.

As an additional gesture, we'll often send something additional to the whole table -- so, comping something is not just a tit-for-tat transaction. Ideally, delivered by the manager or the chef. A sample of some homemade sorbet or gelato for everyone also acknowledges that the problem made everyone at the table uncomfortable. Problems like this can become the centerpiece of a table's conversation -- it can poison an evening -- so it is important to make a type of effort that turns that table conversation around.

At the end of the evening, the manager would give his/her card, and express the desire that they would return for another meal -- that would not be quite so eventful. This would be a guest we'd want to know by sight and by name.

for me it would really depend on the level of "fancy" we're talking about..
at an upscale chain steak house like ruth's chris or mortons - a problem with one entree could be alleviated by getting another entree altho I'd appreciate drinks or dessert comped. Were it a place like Jardiniere or Boulevard, however (2 places in SF that are known for great service as well as food) I would expect more - like an entree comped. I go to those kinds of places when I really expect a great experience and if it isn't correct I expect the manager will do something .

however - I am highly allergic to seafood and can't eat fish, so if I got a chicken entree tasting of fish it would most likely truly ruin my meal more than just an underdone piece of chicken or similar.

I did get ill after an FT dinner in Sf, acvtually, and told our FT hostess later on. When she approached the restaurant I believe they comped my meal or at least some portion which was very nice.

That said, the two times I have complained to upscale restaurants, once about awful service and once for an undercooked entree, I was not comped anything but was later sent a certificate for a free dinner. Now that's class - and encourages me to return!

Guests like the poster just before this one are troubling for us -- "completely ruined" is a strong statement, and it's hard to come up with any plan of action that will make someone like that happy (we'll still try anyway).

If there is a mistake on the part of the restaurant which causes one person to eat before the other lest the food get cold, then this can be considered as completely ruined. I am a bit surprised that you as an owner would not see this. Sometimes you might want to put yourself in the place of a customer to see what it can look like from our side.

That said, I think something should be done as a gesture of good will by the restaurant. Comping a meal might not do the trick; perhaps offering an after dinner drink and dessert on the house for both people at the table. Something added as a way of making up for the error can turn an unpleasant experience into future business.

Chicken which tastes of fish may very well be spoiled. Any food which has an off-flavor is likely to be so. This would definitely spoil my meal even if a different entree was brought out, and I would be uncomfortable eating anything else from that restaurant.

If, however, it's something like onions when I requested no onions or bringing out my chicken entree earlier or later than my dining partner, that's not really deserving of a comp. The former situation would be, IMHO.

Thanks for the opinions, I feel better now knowing that the fact we were not comped is not unusual. We did have an appetizer, it was not comped.

Now that I know this is not unusual, we will be going back there and give them a second chance.

Again, thanks for the comments.

D.
I would not go back - unless it's the only restaurant around! :D
It may be not usual to comped, but a chicken should not taste like fish, never! :td:
Your "fine institution" is using poor quality food ... the chicken plant was feeding this poor creature years after years with fish flour.
BTW, you should post your comments about this restaurant in "Zagat", so people are warned!

Iwas recently in the RCC lounge at Narita and was reading about a Japanese resteraunt chain that had locations in the USA as well as Japan and the article spoke of the training received by employees in both countries the US people got many hours less.The reason? Management did a study which found American consumers do not expect much .So I guess they figured why give it to them.We as customers have allowed this

Iwas recently in the RCC lounge at Narita and was reading about a Japanese resteraunt chain that had locations in the USA as well as Japan and the article spoke of the training received by employees in both countries the US people got many hours less.The reason? Management did a study which found American consumers do not expect much .So I guess they figured why give it to them.We as customers have allowed this

I agree - but it's getting better, much better. ^ Americans become gourmets, more critical.
Why else would they buy and pay plenty of $$$ at Dean & Deluca?
Some years ago, the coffee in the US was almost undrinkable, now coffee houses serve a good coffee. Same is true with wine.
Next, the service in the USA is the best you can get .. mostly very friendly servers .. at least in the restaurants I go.. :cool:

"Management did a study which found American consumers do not expect much" --

In restaurants, at least, this is not necessarily the case -- our perception in our restaurant is that dining out is one of the last places where everyone still expects, and can still get, personal service. When you call, a person answers (compare to phone co, credit card, airline, electric co, insurance co, hotel, bank, you name it). When you complain, no one tells you that the only way to get a response is to send a letter to Dallas -- you actually get things fixed on the spot. Ask for something difficult (walk in at 8 pm Saturday, ask for table for 10) and the staff might actually try and get it for you -- right away. Ask for the owner -- the owner appears.

Chicken which tastes of fish may very well be spoiled. . . (edited by DaDOK)

THANK YOU!!
My first impression on reading the initial post was that the chicken was spoiled. I did not even think she was served fish instead of chicken Iin which case a comp'd entree would have been called for.

If the person was served fish instead of chicken -- which the initial poster does not clearly state -- then less of a problem. I would not have expected a comp'd entree, but perhaps dessert, appetizers, etc.

Same if the chicken was not spoiled, but perhaps stored with fish and picked up the odor of fish (not sure if that could be the case).

My experience has been a comp dessert if there's an error in the order. If there is any food spoilage, the entree should be comped and corrected.

As an aside, here in China if any food is sent back by the table, the cost comes out of the server's wages. A server in a normal retaurant may only make the value of 2-3 meals per day