Never have I sent food back to the kitchen in a restaurant. Only- only if meat was undercooked and needed another minute or two on the grill. That's it.
If I don't like my meal, I say to my dining companion "this sucks" and either don't come back or order something different the next time I dine there. Never do I look for a freebie either. Cooking is so subjective, what's my taste is not necessarily yours. It amazes me how many times I have a server who comes back to the kitchen and reports that the customer didn't like his whatever, it wasn't what they expected, etc... and they look at me like what should I do?
Good question- what should I do?
My feeling is that anytime we screw up- and we do, we eat it (figuratively). If the meal takes too long, if the order is incorrect, it is our fault and I'll comp you or buy you a glass of wine or dessert.
If the mashed potatoes don't taste like your mama's, that ain't my problem. The kitchen's responsibility is to make the food true to the recipes, consistent, hot or cold, seasoned properly, out in a timely fashion and plated beautifully. If we don't do that we are not doing our jobs. But if you just don't like it that's not my fault. The fact is about 98% of my customers love our food so we must be doing something right.
Another one I love is the customer who complains about the whole meal but they've eaten every scrap on their plate. Yeah, you really hated it.
I had a whole family for a holiday brunch who complained about every course, sending food or messages back about everything that was wrong. They were clearly looking for a free meal. Sorry, the Easter Bunny didn't bring free brunch in your basket this year, folks.
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