Since you mentioned a chain--

My parents consistently have had problems with Outback Steakhouse in Owings Mills. They often order curbside take-away, and time after time, the orders came out wrong. After complaining to corporate, they received a check in the mail for the cost of their most recent meal, plus a generous gift certificate for a future dining occasion.

A few weeks ago, a portion of the meal they ordered was left out, and after complaining, the portion was supposed to be credited back to a credit card, which of course never happened. On the next dining occasion, the manager comped an prime rib entree.

r

I have mentioned elsewhere on this site that a new feature in Open Table is a feedback form, with useful categories and also a space for comments. You can be anonymous if you like, and the message can be shared with the restaurant or not, as you wish.

Many years ago we had an atrocious meal at a fancy French restaurant in NYC with my in-laws. I wrote a letter to the NYT food critic (who had praised the place) and copied the restaurant. We got back a scathing personal attack in bad English from the owner of the restaurant (which did not address any of my specific complaints, including a burned quiche crust and a remoulade sauce that wasn't properly made). I simply made a copy of THAT and sent it to the food critic, who thanked me.

I do not have a problem with expressing my dissatisfaction in a restaurant. After all, it's my money. If there is something wrong, I don't blame anyone or belittle the server; rather, I approach the manager on duty. A few weeks ago I was at the MV Stables with a friend; it was typically busy. Our server delivered our orders, departing without a word. My companion noticed that his salad contained several pieces of lettuce that had gone brown. I could not get the server's attention so I asked the desk person for the manager who immediately removed the salad, apologized and returned with a fresh salad. The rest of our time there was flawless, except for the fact that our server had become overly attentive, perhaps hoping that we wouldn't blame him. When I asked for the check, I was told that our entire meal, including drinks, was on the house. Even though I am a regular there I was impressed. Later on, I wrote a letter detailing my experience, thanking them for their courtesy. The management responded by sending me a gift certificate.

I once had a very bad experience at Mezze. I wrote the owner a letter of complaint (which, like the author above, I never do) laying out the finer points of my issues with dinner. I was a waiter for many years, so I know what to expect from an expensive dinner! I received a $30 gift certificate, which was nice. A few months later, however, I became friends with a waiter at Kalai's Court (attached to Mezze). He told me that the owner posted my letter wholesale in the wait station to remind waiters what not to do! My friend recognized my name because the letter included my full name and address! I was totally embarrassed, obviously. My point is- 1. Mezze takes complaints seriously! and 2. complaint letters can come back to you later in ways you didn't expect...

I went to OPI (years ago when I lived in the area). They had just re-opened after a major renovation and a friend and I were sitting at the bar and I ordered a burger w/mushrooms and swiss. The burger came out cold, the cheese wasn't melted and the mushrooms were shriveled up like they had them left over from lunch time. I took one look at it and said to my friend "I'm not eating this" - not loud or nasty or anything. After a few minutes, the guy next to me said "you're not eating your burger?" I showed him the cheese and the mushrooms and said it was cold. He was furious! I didn't know it, but he was the manager. He apologized profusely and tried to explain that they had just re-opened and the kitchen staff was new, etc. - which I knew, so I wasn't really mad, just disappointed. He bought my friend and I drinks, took my meal off the bill and brought me something else to eat (no charge). He told me that he appreciated that I didn't make a scene, just explained the problem, and understood that there were still some kinks to be worked out.

In my experience, if you are calm, reasonable and polite, it gets you much farther than if you fly off the handle!

A side note, I can't stand it when people complain (without adequate reason) just to have something taken off the bill!!!!

When you complain -- if it's a legitimate gripe -- you do the restaurant a favor. Research shows that 90% of dissatisfied people don't complain. They simply never come back. Savvy restaurant owners treat a complaint as an opportunity. To make things right. And to win a loyal customer.

I certainly have no problem complaining at a restaurant if the complaints are legitimate. About a year ago my husband and I went Legal Sea Foods in northern Virginia with his parents, his sister and her husband. Our server was terrible (dinners came out at different times, etc.) and the food was not good. While I should have complained that night, I did not; however, I ended up sending an email to the company. The next day I received a call from the manager at the restaurant we had visited. He apologized for the bad service and after talking for a little bit (and telling him we spent over $150) he said a formal letter would be sent with an apology. I said okay. A few days later I received the letter and also received 3 $50 gift certificates! I was shocked! If anything I thought maybe a small gift certificate but I was definitely amazed that they sent $150 in gift certificates. While I have since used the gift certificates, I am still not impressed and I am sorry to say I will not go back even if at the management level they have good customer service. If I want good fish from a chain restaurant, I think I will go to Bonefish from now on...

Dahlink, I think you did not get objective response from the owner of the establishment because you went for the restaurant's jugular. By contacting a restaurant critic, instead of addressing your concerns with the restaurant itself, you were hoping to destroy the restaurant. That isn’t constructive criticism. That’s destructive criticism. I cannot say that I respect your actions.

Adam, well done. To all, a letter to the owner or manager is always the best way to address complaints. Verbal complaints are quickly forgotten in the middle of the dinner rush. Printed words, which an owner can show to chefs, management and waitstaff, fixes problems.

Spoken words make ripples. Written words make waves. Letters to food critics cause tsunamis.

Recently, I have had complaints handled two vastly different ways:
1) At a local waterfront Cuban restuarant on Valentine's Day, a mouse ran across the floor. Rather than screaming, which I would rather have done, we had a quiet word with our server. She snapped, "what do you expect, we're a waterfront restaurant", and didn't apologize or anything. It really ruined the evening for me. I've spent buckets of $$$ in there over the years, but am not ever going to go back and eat there.

2) At Luca, a new place on Fort Avenue, there was an amazingly shrill, drunk young woman who was shrieking and screaming. We asked to be moved to another table, which the server did very quickly. She, the owner and the owner's wife all came by and apologized for the woman, and comped us our drinks, which they certainly didn't have to do. We left there with an appreciation for their handling of the event, and made reservations for eight people for a birthday dinner next month.

I write a food blog, and often bring up issues like these when they happen. I also point out good service when it happens, too.

There's an old adage about people telling 20 people about a bad experience, but only telling three people about a good one.

A few years ago I was at Petit Louis. I ordered the whole Rockfish, which was served tableside. The waitress, unintentionally, dropped the fish and its sauce on my pants. I emailed PL, and within a few days I got a letter telling me to go and buy a new pair of pants and send in the receipt to be reimbursed. I was able to get the stain out on my own, so I didn't take advantage of the situation. It was nice, however, that they really tried to correct the problem, and not just give me a gift certificate.

I like that it was unintentional. EL

My husband and I went to M&S for our anniversary a few years ago and we ordered a bottle of Moet to toast. The server asked us twice if we were sure that's what we wanted and pointed out that there were "other" champagnes available and turned the wine book to cheaper bottles. My husband was fuming and told the waiter never mind, we don't want anything. It put a damper on the rest of the meal. I called the manager later and told them what happened, and they acted very indifferent. We have not returned.

One of my worst dining experiences was the waiter's fault. In delivering plates he knocked over my full glass of iced tea. Since I was sitting in a booth it made getting away impossible. The glass and all it's contents went directly into my lap, soaking my wool skirt, my blouse, and me. I was was now wet and furious as he apologized to my date instead of me. When I asked for a clean towel he looked at me strangely. I didn't want to drip all the way to the ladies room. I spoke with the manager as the waiter chose to make angry comments at me for over-reacting. I spoke to the manager, he comped my meal, and paid for dry cleaning my suit which could have been ruined. Now that's how you treat a customer.

Fairfax, are you not going back because you now know that all waterfront restaurants have mice, or because the waitress answered you tactlessly?

I think this is a perfect example of how emailing or writing the management might actually do some good, and how simply complaining to the server and making up one’s mind accomplishes nothing.

Fairfax, to be more diplomatic, what could that waitress have said to you that would maintained your status as a regular customer? She, or more appropriately, the management, should have apologized. Perhaps they should have comped something. I wouldn’t recommend having them tell you that it would never happen again - because they would be lying. After all, they are a waterfront restaurant.

I have had a range of experiences in making complaints to restaurants over the years. A long time ago at Clyde's in Columbia I had a spinach dish that was lightly cooked and after eating a small portion, found a caterpillar. When we told the waiter, he quickly and discreetly wisked it away. I did not want another meal, as my appetite was somewhat diminished by the experience, but later when the rest of our party ordered desserts, I did too. When our bill arrived, everything that I had ordered, including drinks and dessert were not on it.
On the other hand, at the Candlelight Inn in Catonsville a waiter poured sauce down my back while serving. Other than bringing me an extra napkin, he did nothing, not even offering to pay for the cost of dry cleaning the blouse I was wearing.
Some of the chains are very responsive. Cheeseburger in Paradise and Bennigans have both responded to online complaints I have made with gift certificates or other merchandise.
And just so you know, I also tell restaurants when they are doing a good job, too.

I will complain, quietly, to someone in charge if there is a major issue, so it can be remedied.

My pet peeve, however, is treating young people badly. I've been told this is because young folks don't tip well.

I'm well in to middle age now, but I tipped very well when I was young (having been raised right and having depended on tips myself). If I see house staff treating young customers worse than older customers, I will tip less (if my waiter is one of the offenders) and I will quietly tell the manager why.

As a former hotel and restaurant manager, I think it is important to remember if the management doesn't know it can't be fixed. I will let the management know when there is an issue but at the same time, I will let the management know when things are wonderful. Any time customer service is involved, it is important to speak up. We have several gift cards at home to restaurants because I let some one know what was happening and they aren't only because I complained.

As far as Fairfax is concerned, pick up the phone and call the owner of the waterfront restaurant. He doesn't like to hear of misbehaving servers!

Our large group had an extraordinarily bad meal at a restaurant in Timonium on New Year's Eve several years ago. Now, I was both a server and a bartender for many years, so I know how crazy New Year's Eve is and not to judge a restaurant by this one night since they are usually overbooked, etc. Additionally, I am not really one to complain unless there is something glaringly offensive. However, the problems with this meal just kept on coming, from waiting for our 1st cocktails for over 1/2 an hour to the waitress completely forgetting the salads for the entire table. The final straw was when my lobster tail was served stone cold on a cold plate with cold vegetables. When I mentioned it to the waitress, she took my plate away and returned with it about 2 minutes later, and it had obviously been microwaved. I am sure I don't have to explain what happens when you microwave a lobster tail, but let me put it this way, it was more rubbery than Fred Astaire's legs.

About a week later, I decided to write a letter to the owner of the restaurant, explaining our bad experience. Needless to say, I was very surprised to be sent a handwritten letter back expressing their sincere apologies and a $50 gift certificate enclosed. Definitely a very nice way to handle the situation, and I really felt as if the owner had read my letter and taken my concerns seriously.

To answer your questions, I thought that the answer about it being a waterfront restaurant was not the right thing to say. Being on the water is irrelevant to having mice. If an otter (and I have seen them on the harbour) ran across the floor, it would have been relevant. Also, it was Valentine's Day and the large glass doors weren't open, so it must have come from inside.

I would have liked a more apologetic tone to the answer from the server, and an offer of something, which we would have turned down. BTW, we left her a decent tip.

I have found the staff there to be indifferent to customers, unless you're a regular there. I have often stood at the bar waiting for drinks and been ignored and even been asked to move from a table to make room for a reservation coming in.

So, in a way, this was the last straw. Sure, I will go have drinks after sailing, but that's about it.

I know the owner to speak to, but didn't really feeling like calling back and tracking him down. It wasn't worth the effort.

Two years ago, for the first and last time, we ate at Café Zeus in Rehoboth. I ordered my meal from the regular menu and we ordered wine to go with the meal. After we were served the wine our waiter told me that they did not have the lamb entrée and gave me a menu so I could reorder. I reordered and they did not have the duck special. At this point I did ask if they had an 86 board. They did not. The manager intervened and I did get a meal (I paid for it) and was offered a free dessert. At that point I was in no mood for dessert and declined the offer. We also told all the neighbors about the experience. I believe we left an average tip for the waiter. Also, I do think that the waiter has some obligation to know what isn't available on the menu. One slip is forgivable, but two? End of story.

First lesson: when you've been waiting an unusually long amount of time for your foo, and the server comes by and says: "Your food will be out in just a few more minutes", they're a little backed up tonight"-- over half the time it means that they just remembered to ring it in, the cooks are finally making it, and it will be at lease 15 more minuites. I've worked in restauants for 15 years and when you train to be a waiter, that's what they teach you to do if you screw it up. Blame it on the kitchen, and that way, there's a slight chance the customer will not take it out on your tip!

Here's my story of bad service and subsequent complaints to management:

I was at the Charred Rib one time (in their "new location in the Yorkridge shopping center). It wasn't that busy, but for some reason it took FOREVER to get our food. At first I thought it may have been because the kitchen may have been short handed. But having worked as a waiter, a line cook, and a prep cook, I know when problems can be blamed on poor service as opposed to honest mistakes and staff shortages. I can deal with the latter.

Unfortunately, the service on all levels was poor. When the entrees come out but you still haven't been served that bowl of soup you ordered, you can bet your bottom dollar that it's the server's fault. Most places, it's the server's JOB to get the soup and put it in the bowl themselves. So when your soup never arrives, it's usually b/c the server forgot to do it. Our server wasn't doing his job very well that night, and it just wasn't because of the soup.

There were 6 of us. All of us got rib platters. Three people in our party ordered the vegatable of the day instead of fries. Guess what? They all came out with the fries and no veggies to be found. Even the guy who ordered a baked potato got fries instead. Sorry, but that's NOT the kitchen's fault. Not to mention, after waiting about an hour for our food, every plate was ice cold. You could tell the food had been sitting for at least 20 minutes.

As the waiter was serving the platters, he was told which ones should have come with the veggies instead of fries. Before we realized all the food was cold, he darted off back to the kitchen, which we thought he was doing to get the veggies and the potato in which he failed to ring in.

Literally, 10 minutes later he comes back with 3 sides of brocolli. Guess what? Ice cold. No lie. Beofore he could escape, I stood up and said, "exuuse me sir could you come over here? There's a big problem with our food"

With a confused look on his face, we explained that it took forever (over an hour) and that the food was cold. We also told him the "fresh" brocolli he was supposed to bring the others was cold too. And the baked potato was still nowhere to be found. All he did was say "let me get my manager".

This is where it gets good. The manager comes over and says: "so what's the problem?", half defensive, half seemingly bothered because he was watching TV in th bar and this was interrupting him. or at least that's how he came off. ARE YOU KIDDING ME ???? THAT'S how you greet a table with a complaint? (I didn't say that but I was thinking it).

I thanked him for coming over and politely explained everything that had happened. He pulled out the good old "our kitchen is backed up and understaffed" routine.

I politely told him that I didn't believe him because if that were the case, at LEAST the food would be HOT when it came to the table. I told him that the problem doesn;t seem to be coming from the kitchen.

Here's what he did. He said: "Well what would you like me to do about it?

Are you serious????

I said, "look, you're the manager. I would hope that you can see that we have received horrible service all around, especially waiting an hour to be served cold food".

"I apologize sir. How can we fix it?", he said. I almost lost it, but I kept my cool. At that point, a manager should have just done something proactive. Anything. But he was clueless.

So, I told him that If I were running the place, I'd seriously consider comping the entire meal. But I also said that including all the beers we were ordering (even though we had to track down the waiter every time we wanted another), plus the 6 rib platters, that I understood it would be a heavy loss, but that the least he should do is charge us half price for the entrees (meaning just charge 3 at full price)and comp the drinks. "Let me see what I can do sir", he said.

We finally got our cold ribs replaced with food that wasn't cold. But for the guys who ordered the brocolli--again, it was ice cold. At that point we didn't care, we just wanted to eat and leave. But at least the baked potato came this time!

So here's how the manager "fixed" it. He had the waiter bring us all out a dessert, while telling us "the manager will take off all drinks from the bill".

A lot of problems with that, most notably, it should have been the MANAGER coming out to serve the food. But I digress.

We get our bill and the drinks were removed. Okay, good start. But all 6 rib platters were still on there, at FULL price, as was the F****ng SOUP I ordered but never got. We all said screw it, paid the tab, barely left a tip ($4 dollars and 12 cents tip on a $100+ tab-- which I don't feel an ounce of guilt for to this day).

I then "thanked" the manager for his "generocity", including charging me for a bowl of soup that the waiter never brought to me.

I will NEVER, EVER, EVER even think about going there EVER AGAIN !!! It's too bad, because their bar area looked like a place I'd enjoy drinking a few and watching a game. But no way, not after what I went through

And the ribs were just okay. Corner Stable's ribs aren't that great, but at least I've never had bad service there. Andy Nelson gets most of my rib business these days. And there are plenty of other bars along York Rd, so I have zero reason to ever go to the Charred Rib (or as I call it, the "Charred Rip-off") ever again in my life.

Fairfax, I think those are all very good and perfectly valid reasons not to give business to an establishment. Habitual poor service should be rewarded with habitual poor word of mouth. Last time I ate there, the waiter sat down at our booth like he was a member of our family. Not to be too stodgy, but I could have yanked him by his mop top, had I not controlled myself. I’m really not a fan of that sort of presumed familiarity.

BUT, doors or windows shut or open, no matter how much money is spent on pest control, no matter how diligently every single crack in the foundation has been filled in with cement, I can promise you, every restaurant on the waterfront has at least an occasional mouse sneak in and dart across the floor, perhaps as often as once a night. The rule of thumb is to exterminate once a week to guarantee that there is no infestation, and every restaurant on the waterfront will still have mice occasionally run across the floor. For the exterminator to come in more often than once a week would be a waste of money. Mice cannot nest that quickly. They would still sneak in and run across the floor. That’s just a fact of the waterfront. Nothing more can be done than what is being done already.

Don’t go back because of the poor service, but with the mouse thing - I cannot stand shoulder to shoulder with you on that. THAT isn’t necessarily their fault. Now, the poor service? That’s a different matter.

Fairfax, I know you won't say it , so I'll say it for you. I'm pretty sure the palce you're referring to is Little Havana on Key Highway. It's the only waterfront "Cuban" place in Baltimore.

I have always found the service at Little Havana to be inconsistent at best, especially their bartenders. It seems that unless you're a "regular", you should expect to wait a while for the bartender to finish his/her conversation with the other "regulars" before he/she finds the time to see what you want to drink.

It's like, if you don't know the bartenders you're gonna have a hard time getting a drink when you want one.

Who knows, they could have gotten better about it. I haven't been there in about 4 years and really have no reason to go back. But if I ever do go back, I would hope their bartenders have either been replaced by professionals, or least have grown up a bit and realized that being a bartender is actually a "job" (especially at a place like LH) and not just a means to hang out with your friends.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has the same observations about Little Havana.

Donny, Fairfax, etc....You guys, are exactly right! If you are not a regular patron of Little Havana, it's almost impossible to get decent bar service because the bar tenders are more concerned about carrying on with their buddies. What';s worse is that you don't even get acknowledged, i.e. "I'll be right with you". No, they just get to you hen they feel like it.

Just the opposite is true at Bay Cafe in Canton, which is very similiar to little Havana in atmosphere. But that's where the similarities end. The staff at Bay Cafe is extremely efficient and friendly. They realize that they can't be boged down by hanging out with their buddies because they have a job to do.

Even when they're super busy, they at least say, something like "hey, I'll get you in a minute, just hang with me for a second" or something to that effect. And then they'll apologize for the wait once they get to you.

Somesap and DonnyB... it is mostly the service. On Valentine's when this happened, they weren't very crowded and I wanted to order a drink before my Valentine arrived. I sat at the bar, watched the bartender talk to friends, serve someone who arrived after I did, and wander around. Finally, he saw me waving to him and took my drink order.

Additionally, I am not wild about the food. It's very uneven. I've had the same thing several times and it never tastes the same or looks the same.

About 4 years ago, I was in Atlantic City for sales meetings with various Casino's with my manager and another sales represntative. We didn't have a lot of time between appointments so we went into Hooter's of all places, in the Tropicana, to grab quick sandwiches.

I was 7.5 months pregnant and was wearing a dressy white maternity shirt with a black skirt. One of the waitresses wisks past me with a plate of buffalo wing bones, stumbles and spills them down the front of me where they roll over my bulging pregnant belly streaking it with buffalo sauce someone else had licked all over.

Seeing as we were only there for the day, I didn't have a change of clothes and finding a maternity shirt on short notice in a casino is impossible. So I had to wipe up as much as I could and wear my coat (it was early March) for the remainder of the day over my clothes during all of our meetings. I felt ridiculous and was HOT but had not other choice.

Not only did we not receive a comp for any of the meal, only a strained apology and extra napkins, I had to smell like chicken and be grossed out by the fact that it wasn't even my chicken, for the rest of the day and 3 more appointments!!

Wow, all of these long posts are really testing my short attention span.

Fairfax

In all seriousness - there are otters in the Harbor? Where did you see them? I will have to look next time I'm out on the water...

Somesap wrote "Dahlink, I think you did not get objective response from the owner of the establishment because you went for the restaurant's jugular. By contacting a restaurant critic, instead of addressing your concerns with the restaurant itself, you were hoping to destroy the restaurant. That isn’t constructive criticism. That’s destructive criticism. I cannot say that I respect your actions."

Well, I should have said in my first post that we DID complain about the quiche, which literally had a black crust and was inedible. The owner tried to tell the person who had ordered it that it was supposed to be that way. I've made plenty of quiches in my day and never produced anything so awful. There was no apology and no offer to remove it from the bill. It was after being treated like ignorant country bumpkins in the big city that I wrote to the food critic (and included that part of the story as well).

When I used to sail at the Downtown Sailing Center, there would be river otters along the shoreline sometimes. There are also some out at Fort McHenry and all along the edges of the Middle Branch. The otters and turtles (there are some of them, too) snatch the duck eggs and sometimes the diddles (the Smith Island word for ducklings). Of course, my yellow lab was always itching to retrieve some ducks, too.

If you are driving on 395 out of the City, and look to the west, you can often see loads of egrets and herons over by the Resco plant.

I told my husband about this thread and he remembered more of the "fine French dining" disaster story. When the owner wrote back to us she said "people like you should go to McDonald's." So much for the impeccable service and exquisite food that the NYT's review led us to expect. Six of us paid a lot of money for a very bad meal and got a load of attitude along with it. I can no longer remember the name of the restaurant, but we both seem to recall that it went out of business a year or so later. With that approach to customer satisfaction, it was no surprise.

Gee Diamond, that was brief ans to the point, huh?

But it certainly does sound like you guys had a rough go of it. I don;t blame you for the tip amount at all, in fact I wouldn't have left one at all.

I've always found Charred Rib to be inconsistent anyway and haven;t been there for years. I'm a big Andy Nelson's fan too. Famous Daves also but only for the a la carte ribs, pulled pork, and brisket.

In my experience, this is one area where the chain restaurants absolutely shine. Everyone has a boss, and nobody wants to hear from their boss about something they could have solved themselves.

I've sent a few letters and emails to corporate offices (both compliments and complaints) and I invariably get a prompt response. Occasionally I'll even get a follow-up.

Thanks for the responses. Good to hear what people have said and the follow ups!