if the meals not good, do you complain?

[thornaby]

Most meals we have here are good but with some notable excepeptions.
I am quick to praise the good Resteraunts but say little for the bad ones
Kibkomers if you have a poor meal do you leave and say nothing or do you voice your concerns and refuse to pay?
Must admit I am somewhere in the middle, leave shaking my head.
I know what I should do is refuse to pay for bad food.
A good restraunt should in my view not charge if I say say the meal was poor.
Thoughts please, am I being to soft?????

[Mollie the cat]

We didn't use to complain we just voted with our feet and never went back. Now though we do complain, I think its only right the restaurant should receive constructive feedback. Unfortunately though we do get the "Cyprus shrug of the shoulders" and it would appear they don't get it or are not bothered. Either way, we leave feeling we made our point.

[Johnny Lee]

I run a successful Restaurant in the UK with 20 years excellent reputation , we get very few complaints, but no one is perfect .

You MUST complain honestly and sensibly, but do it early into the meal, if you eat it and then voice your complaint it just looks like you are after freebie.

Try always to speak to management , and look for a reasonable solution, if we get a genuine complaint the customer would not pay for the food, and would more than likely be invited back as our guest.

If the establishment is reputable they will want to know of any genuine complaint , speak to them before ybou go public.

It would be our aim for a happy ending and a satisfied client.

[squashmad]

Thornaby,

"I know what I should do is refuse to pay for bad food.
A good restraunt should in my view not charge if I say say the meal was poor."

Not sure if you intended to word your sentences in this way but it sounds like you have eaten then say it was bad then want exemption from paying.

What anyone should do is refuse to eat the bad meal and return it immediately, I have sent meals back then they cannot charge you for a bad meal because you have not eaten and most good restaurants will offer to make another.

As JL says, if the establishment is reputable then they will want to know of any genuine complaint, if they are not then you vote with your feet!

[davedee]

Absolutely Johnny I have had several Restaurants and like you very few complaints, bring it to attention of management or staff at the time you have the problem.

[frontalman]

Because most restaurants here are of a good enough standard we very rarely have a need to complain. but when we have, meals have always been replaced or the bill has been adjusted afterwards. You should always complain, you are doing a restaurant no favours by not complaining.

[journey1]

I find it varies here both in the standard of meals and service over the whole busy season. I usually have been so delighted with both but sometimes one or two of my favourite restaurants have let me down and that is a bit off putting. I do complain with a hope that it will help the establishment in the future but really it does not - it's a go with the flo attitude and 'yes we are sorry' but alas sometimes it makes no difference - so vote with your feet.
However, I must be clear that considering the huge amounts of times I do eat out here the times when I am disappointed are minimal really.
We have to remember that as individuals we all expect different and varied food and service standards - the whole reality of that is why I think we hear of such varied accounts of people and their experience in the restaurants here - well actually not just here - anywhere!
cheers

[thornaby]

As always kibkomers, good advice.
Problem for me is the British reluctance to complain.
Fish and chips at a place in town, fish fantastic, chips awful.
Spoke to the man in charge, some nonsense about potatoes.
Still charged me, should have refused to pay..
As you say a good restraunt should not charge if the food is poor ..
Fish and chips at salties (spelling awful)
Dreadful pork chops at the stone arch in town.
Pork that over cooked the cats would not eat it!
Response from owner very poor.

[karmels]

thornaby.
You have just opened a can of worms, as you have stated you have had restaurants, but was it in the TRNC.
You are only as good as your last meal ?? here in the North there is no way you can complaine and get a fair answer.
I have had restaurants for 40 yrs also, and in the North for 15yrs but I did the cooking, here the quality of the chefs is ///????
I complain and say I will not pay for such and such as it was not edible, then let the flack fly and see what happens, the police are not interested here so you may find you are faceing the family before you leave.?
As we are now retired from the catering, we rarely go out to eat, my wife is a medical veggi and the meals she recieves are poor, best to stay home and have good food, but still go out with friends for a drink and have a good crack.
I wish you all the best with this thread as I can see the responce from Kibkomers coming thick and fast.

[Briannu]

We recently had the worst Indian Curry ever at the only Curry House in Esentepe area. Waited 20 minutes before they took our order and another half hour before the meal came. The Lamb was definitely not lamb and the "hot curry" ordered was a mild. So we sent it back had another drink and waited, and waited and after 20 mins a replacement came, it was worse than the first meal whole lumps of fat and a curry so hot we couldn't touch it, mind we thought that would happen. Went to the bar on the way out saying we were not paying but offered to pay for the 4 drinks which we were given on the house.

You must complain even for your own peace of mind.

[sophie]

The problem about complaining (politely) that you are not satisfied with, say, your main course and it is taken away for a replacement is, the rest of the party carry on with their satisfactory meals and have nearly finished dessert by the time your main course is replaced. I hate that and have on occasions, missed out the main course altogether. Having seen a few of the fly on the wall documentaries of what happens behind the scenes when a customer returns a plate of food, makes me wary about doing it in any case!

[cjtill]

Have always had good meals at Taners Terrace, Karakum up until about a couple of weeks ago when I was served a dodgy fillet steak.
Brought it to the attention of the owner (Fikri) who after tasting said steak agreed it was not good.
Without even asking, he deleted the price of my meal from the bill, and refused to even let me pay for my drinks during the evening.
Pretty good customer service if you ask me..........will be returning, as you cant help a one-off problem like that.
Michael

[Hedge-fund]

There are two main experiences which give rise to restaurant complaints.

Food and service.

Food can be a problem if it's not up to standard - sourcing can be erratic so it's not something the restaurant can control but needs to be made aware of. Good quality fillet steak is a case in point - in very short supply at the moment so the best restaurants are importing from further afield. Food is also a problem if it's cooked poorly and again the chef needs to know.

Service is subjective. Some people like to be left alone and will attract attention when needed. Others want a waiter to practically sit with them. Problems can be caused by inadequate training and the waiter/waitress will take the flak when in fact it's the managers throwing them in at the deepend. Rude or dismissive staff are a breed apart and need special more personal message!

I do think it's better to politely explain any issues to management if they arise - anything is better than sloping off and then venting on trip advisor. Cowardice.

[thornaby]

Where I find it difficult, if we are in company and the meal is bad, not wanting to make our company feel awkward I say nothing. Would not eat bad food and complain afterwards..

[topten]

Restaurants maybe, my Mrs never!!!!!