What are typical restaurant expectations?
 

This evening, my wife and I went out to an early dinner (4PM) and picked a restaurant we like a great deal (something local similar to an Applebee's). Also, we were initially thrilled to notice immediately that we were the only customers in the whole place! Finally, no screaming toddlers, no loud cell phone conversations, no politics or religion...

And then the food came.

What we ordered was obviously left over from lunch and was very dry and tasteless. The service was excellent and the drinks were superb, but the food was not the usual magnificent experience we'd come to expect.

But then again, we'd never eaten there at 4PM, either.

So here's the question: If you go to a restaurant during "off times," should you expect the same high quality food you'd get during the busiest rush, or should you be practical and realize that quality must diminish at some point in the day.

And if your answer is the former, then what would you do about it?

When the waitress came by to ask how everything was, I told her that the food was too dry and not very good. She said, "I'm sorry," and that was that.

I'd expect the same quality of food at all times of the day. Just because I have irregular eating times, doesn't mean they should slack in the preparation department. If this ever happened to me, I wouldn't make a big fuss, I'd just politely inform the waitress/waiter about it, and maybe they can fix the situation in the future.

There is no reason to expect service to diminish in any way at any time. That's what they get paid for, to keep service good.

I would complain. loudly, if need be.

if you expect the service and quality of food to be sub par during off hours, then you should rightly then expect that prices of food should be lower than when it is busier.

When you complained to the waitress, I can understand that she's not empowered to do anything about it, but she should have called over the manager and had your meal price adjusted.

I dine at all hours, generally later in the evening closer to when the restaurant is closing, and expect the same service as if I was there at 7:00PM, I'm paying the same price, I expect the same quality of service, and food.

Did you eat the meal, even though it was dry and tasteless? or did you ask for it to be sent back?

I might be spoiled from living in NYC but I always expect the food to be good. If it's a place I know is good during normal times of the day, I might send it back and hope that what they brought back was better (and if they made me pay for the first meal, I'd argue with them. I shouldn't have to pay for their leftovers.).

Depending on how expensive the resturaunt is, I might tell them it's horrible and hope they give me a discount or a free meal. But that usually only happens at higher-end places.

Either way...I probably would not go back very much after that. I don't need to give my hard-earned money to a place that doesn't consider my money good enough for fresh food.

Next time, just eat at McDonalds - low quality food at all times.

The idea that it should be expected that food quality is low during slower hours is as rediculous as expecting and accepting jizzed in sheets, a dirty shower, and a stopped up toilet at a hotel.

Complain and complain louder and louder until people leave in disgust or someone's bringing you another plate of food - and tip the waiter well. After all, it's not the waiter's fault the food sucks unless it's really cold.

I'm with everyone else. Theres no good excuse for the quality of a meal lessening. It's just lazyness....I've worked at resturants and I know at times we're rushed or tired and it gets hard but hey......that doesn't mean the food should suck....no one should feel sorry for you cause yer doing the job yer getting paid to do. They aren't getting paid to eat it but yer getting paid whether it's shitty or not. Not really fair.

Asta!!

Don't pay for it. There is no excuse for putting out shitty food. You should have brought out a manager and had them comp it for ya.

I believe the food should in fact be better. Especially, since the cooks have so few customers. I would have sent the food back either for a refund or new food

I'm also surprised that the waitress did not call over the manager. I was at TGIFridays not too long ago, and the food was just terrible. We complained and essentially ate for free - plus got coupons for a return visit.

I don't know if the place you ate at was a chain. I'm sure those that work in the food service industry can tell you more about the food that comes from chain places like TGIF, Applebees, Houlihans, etc. From what I understand, the majority of those meals are frozen and just heated up.

My only experiences are with Wendy's (I was a restraunt manager), McDonalds (Assistant Manager), and Red Robin (line cook).

The only one that remotely applies is Red Robin. Food is not simply heated up. Meats and desserts are frozen. Then assembled with other ingredients to make your meal. I would be suprised if other chains simply heated up the food. That usually just tastes nasty.

You should have sent it back as soon as it was a problem. Of course, you should also have gotten more than an "I'm sorry" in a perfect world; the waitress should have volunteered to do something. But always be prepared to take the initiative, and ask for an explanation.

It's true that in the daily cycle of a restaurant, there may be times that they don't have time to do things "fresh," because they make it in large batches and keep it warm and aren' going to make a new batch at 4 in the afternoon, or because they're between day and evening shift, and the few people there are mainly doing prep. But there's still no excuse: if that was the reason, they should have a special "afternoon" menu with reduced choices, holding only dishes that can be made fresh quickly and easily. I know a couple local restaurants who have such deals, or have more limited "lunch" menus that extend until 4 or later when the more extensive dinner menu kicks in.

I would have sent it back to the kitchen and requested a replacement meal.

all the above is good.

I expect consistent service from California to Maine if it's a nationwide chain.

From a smaller mom and pop I expect there to be some fluctuations just like (mom's home cooking) but I also like to have a relationship with those people as well.

I think you should've gotten more than "I'm sorry". If something isn't right I immediately call the waiter/waitress over to inform them and have it corrected.

To answer your question though, you should expect the same service and quality of meal during any hours of the day.

I never do that. If I am dissatisfied with my meal or anyone else is, I speak to the manager about my complaint early in the meal, thank them for listening then excuse myself from the establishment.

I have heard to many horror stories where when something is sent back, the replacement is stepped on, spit on or rubbed around the inside of the toilet bowl or God knows anywhere else. Same with shitty service. The end result is reflected in the tip providing it hasn't been added. If it is, I pay the bill minus the included tip.

I don't like to eat out.
When I have to for some reason - I don't have any expectations.

Poor Mimi and Sus...




sorry but you walked right into it...

Maybe one or both are good cooks. :)
An average home cooked meal beats most restaurant meals hands down. You can't even compare a good home cooked meal to a restaurant meal. There's just no comparison.

Actually, I think that it makes most sense to go when the place has it's top people working -- peak hours. It may not be right or fair, but who said life is right or fair? I say, go when you think the best people can serve you

When it is off times in any job, you don't operate at optimum efficiency. When under just the right amount of stress, you will maximize your productivity.

As a rule, this applies to the service and not the food. Servers get side tracked with personal conversations or prep work when they only have one table. There is no excuse for poor quality food at a down time. However it is possible that some menu items might not be available. Baked potatos are a common example. If they could not bring you food up to their usual standards, then they should have told you your first selection was not available.

I only expect water. If my glass has been empty for more than a minute or two the tip decreases dramatically.

That's much like myself. But at times I have to just because of.,,,like tonight. Exclusive golf club for dinner. Lobster was fabulous. Service,..well,.. the best. Sometimes dinner out is less of a chore than usual especially when one is a guest.

I hear you though Art. I'm a good cook. I love my food. My specialty is making simple food taste unbelievable. Enough said.

And people just open right up and envelop life when good food and drink flow. Life is good.

Very, very true. Decades ago I worked in a chain pizza restaurant where we were all essentially servers _and_ food preparers, and people who came in at dead times, like 4-4:30 in the afternoon, got slack service.

A pizza that we might pop out in only eight minutes from time of order at a peak period might take as much as 20 minutes at such off periods; because it was slow, people were farting around and talking to each other and not keeping their eye on the ball. Present company included, but I was young.

(Even then, I was bemused that adults won't trust 16-year-olds to drink, smoke, vote or even drive, or otherwise behave in a rational fashion, but they _will_ eat a meal cooked by them.)

Never thought of that, but yeah, that's a good point.

service should be the same around the clock no matter if its 2 in the morning (woohoo dennys) or 8 at night. I expect the food to be hot when it comes out. (those frikin slacker waiters letting it get cold, DIE). I'm not a hard man to please when it comes to food. Hot, Good, and in a timely manner is all I need to be happy.

I'd want good service. I want my drink refilled whenever its near empty (I drink a lot, I'm not talking about alcohol, just liquids in general, for some reason I'm ALWAYS thirsty.). I expect to get my food in a timely manner (depends on what I order and how many people are in the restaurant), and I expect the food to be hot. If you are waiter, and you follow the above when I eat at the place you work, you shall receive a big tip.

I have always thought of eating in a restaurant as an agreement between us. They provide good food in a timely manner and I pay for it with a tip reflective of the service. Excuses for the time of day make no snese. If a waitress told me that, I would have simply told her that I will pay for the food if I consume it and what we are now talking about is her tip.

If they aren't going to be prepared to serve The same quality food in off hours as peak times...then they need to close during those periods. Also, while I'm sure the waitress is instructed to ask how everything was, both she and they should be prepared for negative comments now and then. Had she gone for the manager to hear of your concern, then she would receive a nice tip...as is was she would have received nada from me.

same quality of food and service at all times.

In warrrreagl's situation, if I had received the response as they did from the waitress it'd be no soup(tip) for her. And I'd think twice about going back there ever again.

There's a chinese store near me that actually closes from 2-5, for the very reason above. They are able to maintain a higher quality of food/service by not trying to keep food on a warmer. It's annoying when I have a craving for them at 3:00 or something, but I know anytime I go there the food is going to be good.

I think that depends on the restaurants. I really question whether chains (like McDonalds) can even be called a restaurant, and anywhere that uses a warmer for food is pretty low down the food preparation scale. I live in a City/Country where we take eating out seriously, and where tipping is optional. In essence, no decent meal/service = no tip, and probably never returning to the same establishment. Places using a food warmer would expect little to no tipping at all. I am a decent cook, but I would much rather eat out, and it doesn't have to cost a lot for a great meal.

I work in a kitchen. At 3 we close lunch down. From 3-5 only the bar menu is open. At 5 we open for dinner. At that point most of the food should be prep'd that we need that night. So early birders food shouldn't be of any less quality, however it may be older food that they just had to use up before they get into the newer prep'd stuff.

And to those who say food quality should never go down, well you're right in theory, however realize that the people making the food are humans and not robots.

One night 1 of our cooks didn't come in due to confusing scheduling conflicts. The cook thought he had his shift covered when in fact we were expecting him to come in. So I was bumped up to whats called the oven station, a station I've never worked before, and my station was covered by only 1 guy, when usually 2 or even sometimes 3 people is needed (because my station also does any prep the kitchen might need done during dinner). To top that off the kid at salad station (my usual station) was new and didn't quite know everything yet. All would have been good if it was a slow to average night, but as luck had it we got bum rushed 2 o 3 times during the night, getting 20-25 slips at a time. Because I was trying to learn this new station alone on a very busy night, and salad station was being run by 1 new guy some of the food was not of the best quality. We tried our best to get all these meals out, however some of it was dry, slightly over cooked, or whatever else because we were one cook short of a very busy night.

Oh and if you go to a restaurant 5 minutes before close, expect some saliva in your food :). I'm kidding of coarse, however 5 minutes before close we are cleaning the kitchen up and are damn well ready to leave, and if a slip comes in we are pissed. The exception is a very busy night that doesn't end so the slips coming in 5 minutes before close are from people who have been waiting for a table.

Yeah, I work in a kitchen, and if a ticket came in 5 mins before close I would be seriously pissed (unless it is a Friday or Saturday night, I'm used to it). You'll get old food also. But never in hell would I spit or do anything gross to someone's food. That is really fucked up. It takes someone special to do that, and if the restaurant would hire people like that, then I wouldn't come back. Hell, if I was even afraid of that, I wouldn't go there in the first place.

As far as standards of food, if I'm working in the off times, I only make enough food for that specific ticket. The food may take a few more minutes if I have to make fresh fries, but I figure people would rather get hot fresh food than stale food. I know most of the other cooks where I work don't give a shit and send out anything.

To answer the title question:
I expect my food to be ready in 30 minutes, if longer, they should tell me. I also expect the food to be properly cooked, the plates and eating utensils clean.

The post's question:
The quality of food should be the same throughout the day, no excuses. Serving left over is just shitty ethics. I wouldn't come back.

Wow...totally echoed my dad.

I think that it's reasonable to expect slower service at odd hours... lower staffing, not as many ingredients laying out ready to use, whatever. But the quality should be the same, and the restaurant should take the time to make it so. AND the customers should expect that things might take longer.

I expect to be treated well. You dont have to treat me like royalty, but acting like I dont exist isnt the way to get a tip--and if that happens, I wont hesitate to not tip them.

I expect the food to be well prepared and timely. Again, depending on the restaurant, doesnt have to be perfect, but it shouldnt be dried out junk left over from lunch. As for the time, I can handle it if things take a bit longer as long as I am told up front about it. If it will take too long for my schedule, Ill leave.

Basically, I feel that because I am paying for it, they should make an effort to make it a good experience. Clearly, depending on the restaurant, this experience will be different, but acting indifferent or giving me crappy food will get them no bill.

We've sent food back before and will do it again if its *that* bad. Thats only happened rarely, though.