When you’re unhappy about service, are you always right to complain? When is the customer wrong? Is it ever right to click your fingers at staff...?

We want to hear from opinionated diners, proud restaurateurs and disgruntled waiting staff... Or anyone else for that matter...

Share your views here and you might be quoted on the show!

If you don't complain, then how will they know that you've not enjoyed the food or found the service a problem.

I'd never rant or rave, just politely speak to the waiter/waitress and tell them what the problem was. Or ask to speak to the manager in private so as not to ruin everyone elses dining experience.

Not a finger clicker either - that's definately very rude to the staff.

i heard gordon ramsey say on his show the other night, that the best way to complain about the food is not to eat it - he said that was the biggest disappointment for a chef ! personally if i pay for the food i want to eat it !!

andy durham

Except you don't pay for the food until you've eaten it do you?!!!!!

No the customer is not always right. If you have a genuine complaint, by all means complain. But there are pepole who complain just for the sake of it. Yes you are spending your money, but rember the restauranteurs are there to make a living, not to give away free meals.

Having had a restaurant my experience is customers complaining after eating most of the meal and then expecting not to receive a bill

We had a really bad experience in a restaurant and we did not eat the food. I decided to write a letter of complaint (something I have never done before). I outlined our boil in the bag meal to the manager and did not even receive an acknowledgement back. Needless to say I have not been back to the restaurant since and nor would I ever recommend it to friends. I do think the public have a right to complain, especially when it is genuine.

If something is wrong - point it out quietly - any good restaurant will change for you. If you then feel not remedied ask to have a quiet chat with Manager - no result well I would not return or recommnend, that is something any restaurant would not wish for. Finger clicking is just plain rude. Most you should need to do is smile and nod at your waiter/waitress - try it and be suprised when you get immediate response back, including a returned smile. OK maybe a small wave to initially attract attention.
The only time I(customer) is right is how I order my meat - not keen on very rare - did once walk out of a Restaurant (very Famous - expensive - waiting list for table) when the waiter informed me that Chef only cooked lamb rare - my response was not loud just that This customer could not eat |lamb rare, and I then left and ate elsewhere = never tried to book there again.

I had an interesting experience in a London fish restaurant a few months ago. I had ordered a starter of mussels which were excellent, followed by salmon that was so overcooked it was like a piece of leather. I ate some of it but didn't complain. At the end of the meal I was handed a questionnaire about my meal, so I stated that although the mussels were very good I was very dissappointed in the salmon. Within 2 minutes the chef came charging out of the kitchen wanting to know what was wrong. Talk about intimidating!!!! As far as he was concerned that was how it should be served so I was wrong to complain. Why offer a questionnaire if they are not going to listen to their customers? As I had filled in my country of residence (Germany) on the form, they presumed (wrongly) that I was German and upon leaving the restaurant two waiters and the chef saluted me with a click of the heels and a stern 'Auf Wiedersehn.
As you can imagine I ticked them off my list of 'places to return to'.

My ex is a chef and he says that sometimes customers do just complain unnecessarily (as if complaining will get them the food for cheaper or free) but having been on both sides of the pass (both customer and waitress) I think the best thing is to be polite but firm. No need to shout and scream at the poor waiter serving you the food - it'll only make them want to help you less!!
If you're not happy, say so, but be nice!! Manners cost nothing and i couldn't tell you the amount of times I wished I'd spat in someones food.......(you can all breathe easily, I'm not a waitress anymore)

I had a restaurant in South Africa and I always taught my staff that the client might not always be right but he/she is always king. Bums in seats are the lifeline of restaurants and there are times when the customer crosses the line but this line needs to be set by the owner and not the staff. The restauranteur needs to understand the complaint and once that has been achieved the problem can often be solved. Needless to say a well embalmed customer often needs a little more of an experienced hand to sort out the problem. Constructive criticism to use an old clichet is always appreciated.

Sonia, we love fish/seafoods so it'll be interesting to know which fish restaurant you're referring to & taking on board your comment about it.

I'm not one to keeping things to myself & will say so if things are not satisfactory or up to the standard as restaurants tend to claim these days. But agree that diplomacy is key.

I think that we still have a problem complaining in this country, basically you don't want to complain if you and family / freinds are out to have a good time. The last time I complained (about a med rare steak that was cooked well done) I got a virtually blue steak back. I think this was the chef saying "I'll show him". Perhaps the chefs in the studio could tell us some other get your own back techniques they have heard about or used. Nigel Slaters book "toast" has a few interesting examples probably not fit for broadcasting until Jenni gets back.

I'm struggling with this one as I worked in a restaurant for many years and occassionally we would be presented with an empty plate although the customer said they did not enjoy the food! But then when I've been a customer I've never feared to complain, like I've told Jeni before, I am the young female Victor Meldrew

I once ate in a well known restaurant with a group of friends, most of us had paella and were quite ill afterwards, when we wrote to the restaurant and complained we got a snotty reply letter and that was the end of that one, which in my opinion was outrageous.

I don't think the customer is always right, but you do have to respect them!

I would like to add a little extra to this, it's actually a supermarket that I'm referring to here and their customer service policies. If a customer was to return a bottle of wine saying that it tasted vile and they wanted their money back, they are entitled to the refund even if the bottle has one mouth full left in it. The supermarket I'm referring to is close to a football ground and a fan went in half cut after a game one day. He bought a sausage roll and ate most of it then complained saying it was awful, they replaced the sausage roll with another variety and so on. This went on for a long time where he had tried pies, and pasties saying they were all rotten. The supermarket actually stopped after about 2 hours of his complaints but obviously the customer knew he could push this customer loyalty thing just too far! Where do you draw the line? Was he right?

Carol

Is the customer always right? I have big reservations about this. Customers of course should complain about poor/rude service etc. But ALWAYS -No - Anybody who has dealt with the public knows that out there are people who can be arrogant just plain rude or just confused about what they want -I know it is probably an Appocraphyl tale there was a lady who alleged complained about a Chef on a famous cruie liner who perfectly politely told her he could not serve with a leg of Bombay duck! Having some contact with the public myself , sadly there are people whoseem tocomplain to be malicious or are just palin rude or stupid , and thet can push you to the limit to remain couteous and helpful.

There are a lot who will complain just for the hell of it and, like a few of you have said earlier in this thread, just to try and get the meal cheaper. That's all wrong. My belief is that you should only "voice your concern" if what you get is not what you were expecting, ie, well done instead of medium rare meat, etc. Things should only turn into a complaint if your initial "concern" is not addressed to your satisfaction.

On the other side of the coin, I always believe in offering my thanks, not only by way of tip, but verbally too when I have received good service and/or food.

A lot of people in my experience in this country (and I'm talking about the UK here) complain "the wrong way" about things. Example - I used to commute to London and whenever the train was late my fellow travellers would complain and whinge to each other and the poor guard. What result did they receive from this? Nothing - just winding each other up and letting off steam. They would mock me when I complained to the train company, however, it was me who would get the travel vouchers and/or other expenses repaid as a result of my official complaint.

Right, off my soapbox now! Good evening all.

MrsWW

Just because it's called the service industry, dosn't mean we (staff) are subservient.

My view is if food is cooked/presented correctly and on time in the first place there wouldn't be any need to complain. It is often thought that the head chef is at fault but it is usually those employed by him/her, and what happens between leaving the head chef and getting to the customer's table, that errors/delays occur.

My son will never send back a meal if it isn't hot or not cooked the way it should be or as he has requested, just in case the kitchen staff do something unsavoury to it before bringing it back! He always asks for his money back and never returns to that particular eaterie. By the way, he is not one of those who eats most/all of it before complaining.

I often think that we do not get value for money these days as most of the dishes are clouded with garnishes and salad to hide the lack of the main ingredient, which costs the most. We are all too often afraid to complain about the lack of the main ingredient in the dish.

I was once in a pub owned by a well known chain, frineds and i had taken our children there for lunch (as it had a play area). We all sat when our meal arrived i found plastic melted onto my chicken, i asked the waiter nicely if he could take it back for me he told me to just cut it off!!! i wasn't happy about that and asked to talk to the manager he then informed me he was the assistant manager and told the whole group we were barred and we were asked to leave there and then. I then asked for a refund on our meal and was told to !!!!!!!!!!!! (those exact words).as the whole bill came to just under 100 pounds i was not happy.

Anyway the following day i went back and spoke to the manager who gave me the refund, and told me that our group was not banned, i was greatfull for that as it was our weekly treat.

IMO i think the customer is sometimes right but having worked in the food industrey i know that sometimes they are very wrong

My husband and I own a number of restaurants with one of them being a recently opened venture. A group of 6 people came to the new restaurant a week or so ago, ordered their starters and mains, ate all the starters then when the mains came one of the men said 'I didn't think it would look like that' to which they all got up and left, refusing to pay the bill! This sort of thing unfortuantely is not an isolated incident and it makes our business incredibly difficult. There are so many people out there who just want something for nothing and will find absolutely anything to complain about in a bid to get 'something knocked off the bill'. There are also those lovely customers who eat everything on their plates, knock back a few bottles of wine (usually quite expensive), tell the staff they've had a lovely evening then fire off a letter of complaint asking for the whole meal to be refunded! Things do go wrong from time to time and genuine complaints are welcomed and dealt with in a polite manner, however sadly most complaints are anything but genuine.

Yes you should complain if you recieve a meal you do not enjoy.Why, when I ask for my meal to be cooked to my likeing do I get looked down upon? I, like many others like my steak or fish to be well done. If I recieve a meat dish that is pink or undercooked or even a fish dish that is not cooked thoroughly I feel sick to my stomach and if I tried to eat it I could not. To me a meal out is something to be enjoyed and I think you should get what you asked for, not what the chef's think you should have because the meat should be pink.

Having complained in a restaurant after a terrible experience I was told I could always go elsewhere. Shocked at this I made a point of circulating the story of their ineptness to the local community of people who eat out. They didn't last more than 6 months.

In my humble opinion if the customer does not receive what he ordered, he is entitled to complain. People who complain or make too much of a little problem are normally attention seekers trying to belittle the waiting staff infront of there friends. My only general complaints are lack of attention by staff, when they can be seen chatting away to each other, and being looked down upon by the wine waiter because my wife and I do not drink wine!

A polite quitely spoken complaint will get a better repsonse than ranting and raving (and you won't embarass those ding with you.

Also less chance of anything nasty happening Never upset the people who handle your food when you cannot see them