just returned from an ordeal, sorry a meal out, this is a restaurant that i visit the most, never had many problems, only with the language if you deviate from the menu. i ordered the salmon fillet. now fast food its not,, here in bulgaria you have to have patience, your food will arrive at some point in time.

my salmon arrived and to my dismay, it was frozen in the middle, inedible i sat there and pondered, should i complain or not, well yes of course i should as it was inedible. tried to explain to the staff but to no avail, so asked some customers if they spoke english and they explained to the staff what the problem was.

no problem, they said they would do another salmon for me. ( could be half hour to an hour ) would be rude not to accept the offer.

The boss arrived and was told of the problem, he came over apologised and gave us free drinks, how nice, then he went shouting at all the staff and disappeared into the kitchen. i was becoming uncomfortable at this stage and beginning to wish i had said nothing, my appetite was diminishing too.

out came the salmon, piping hot and beautiful, so whats the problem now................................I had an audience, all the staff, the boss and the customers had all eyes on me, watching my every move, ( dont know where the chef was ), i felt so uncomfortable and i did not really want all this food for a second time but felt obliged to force it down.
so, will i complain again................................................................................................................I dont know. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Of course the natural British reaction to not enjoy a meal is not to complain, although I always think this is wrong. The British having not enjoyed the meal and not complaining then never returns to the same restaurant. This naturally reduces the Brits list of restaurants that he or she can frequent. Here in Turkey, my list 2 years ago was quite long, but 2 years on and it is down to 3 restaurants. Shame, but that is what happens here, even if you complain the next time you go to the same restaurant it is very likely that the food will still be rubbish!! They never learn!!!

Complaining always seems to be a problem with lots of people;
and I really don't know why, if you are unhappy with a service than you should complain. Or think of it another way, If you offered that same service and someone was served the same meal as you, would you expect them to say nothing no, so why are you any different. Because it is not your nature to complain and make a fuss. But complaining is the only way to make improvements and believe me I should know I have people screaming at me day in and day out at my work.

Personally if the food is not cooked or cold than I would certainly complaint and never complaint to the waitress or the waiter always just ask for the manager. It is embarrassing I grant you, but what if you had ate some of that salmon and ended up in the hospital ill Who is the loser? of course it is you as you now have a hefty bill, your life is disrupted, you feel awful and the restaurant is none the wiser and will continue poisoning everyone else. You may feel people are looking at you and so what if they are - I bet they would soon complain if it was their meal. Bulgaria has a long long way to go to achieve a competency in customer services and it will take them a while but I am sure they will catch up in due course hence your complaint will help this development

Oddy

oddball wrote:

if you are unhappy with a service than you should complain

Totally agree.

Brits don't complain, oh yes they do but the French are worse.

I once worked part time after I retired at a well known European Train Company. The tickets for travel are either Non transferable Non Refundable or they are more expensive with conditions. One lady called and asked if she could change her non changeable ticket. The answer was easy 'no'. She said why not. Answer because it is not changeable . She said I want my money back. The answer was 'no'. Why she said, answer it is non refundable :Headbang:After all the discussions about the why's and why nots she was asked what the problem was she said wait for it.................... she forgot she had already booked a hair cut in the UK doh.

Complaining should be something we do as a right so yes starlite you are right as you had a genuine grievance, but there are some silly people out there that complain even when they know they are out of order.

I think we British don't like to make a fuss. However, I do agree in some circumstances you should complain especially if food is inedible. I remember years ago in the late 70s we took our family to France on a weekend 'special'. We found what we thought looked a proper French restaurant but we were given a very limited tourist menu by a very bored -looking waiter. Apparently the restaurant was near closing ( I never get my head around continental hours!) However, I decided to be brave on behalf of my hungry family and asked for the French menu which we got and we ordered a very nice meal. There was a table of other foreigners next to ours (can't remember their nationality) and they asked how we had got such nice food because, they too, had only got the 'tourist' menu which wasn't very good. When I explained that I had asked, they were very impressed and said they wished they had been brave enough to complain.

My Wife and I and two friends had last week-end in France. We went to a restaurant where we are known having used it over a period of ten years. It is a family run business, Mother front of house, Father (chef) in the kitchen and Son is head waiter. We have always felt relaxed and comfortable there but on this occasion things did not quite work out in the manner we had been used to
Our starters came to the table, our friend ordered a mixed salad and it arrived covered in tuna fish and my wife's carrot and corrander soup was luke warm
Both were sent back, the soup came back hot but the salad, they obviously just scraped the tuna off as there were traces of it still on the plate, she did not eat it but it was still charged on the bill. We had to ask three times for a bottle of wine and a bottle of water
On receiving the bill we have in the past been given a small brandy on the house not this time though and we always showed our appreciation with a good tip
I have always said you only get out of people what you put into them, On this occasion it did not work, yes we did complain but were not unpeasant or rude
Not that it will make any difference to their trade and I doubt that we will be missed but they have lost a regular customer

willowsend wrote:

we always showed our appreciation with a good tip

I guess they didn't receive such a decent gratuity this time!

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