Sometimes life happens, and people make mistakes in the food industry. As long as they apologize, eventually give you the right food, and maybe even give you a discount it's all good. However, for these diners, they couldn't believe the treatment they received at these
(Content has been edited for clarity).
They Got The Check But Where’s The Food?
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“When I was in high school I went to a restaurant with some friends, ordered drinks and the specialty the restaurant was known for, all at the same time. Drinks arrived in a timely fashion, but the food never did. We were busy in conversation about a topic that must have been very important because we didn’t even notice until the party that was sat next to us left paid and left even though they came in five minutes after us.
We stopped the waiter to ask where our food was and he insisted we never ordered, even though we did. We figured we’d just cut our losses there and asked for the check but lo and behold; somehow the food we apparently never ordered showed up on the check. We ended up arguing with the manager before tossing €10 at him for the drinks and walking out as he threatened to call the police.”
They Didn’t Want This Unexpected Guest At Their Table
“I stopped at an old-fashioned roadside diner. It was worn and looked like it was falling apart, but you could smell brewing coffee and bacon even from outside in the parking lot.
Once inside, I seated myself at the counter and asked for coffee. The harried waitress must have been having a bad day, so when she approached, I ordered the coffee and one of the breakfast specials displayed. It took a long time to get my order, and as I waiting, not one but two cockroaches came ambling down the counter. The waitress appeared with my cold food, and I motioned toward the roaches, and she just smirked a bit. As she walked off, I loudly called for her attention (she was sure it was about the roaches), and I motioned that I needed a napkin. She reached over and picked up those quart sized aluminum napkin holder and thumped it down by my meal. As the two roaches had now paired up and where near my plate, I picked up the napkin holder and thumped it down on both of them and twisted their bodies into the counter. I just got up and left.”
Worst Homecoming Night Ever
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“So my senior year of high school, for homecoming, a group of friends and I decided to take pictures at my house and then go to this new Italian restaurant for dinner before the dance. We called one week in advance to let them know that we would be a largish group (8-10 people) and that we were going to be on a pretty tight schedule because we had to get to the dance.
So the night of we go to the restaurant at about 6:30, dance starts at 8:30 and we think that’ll be plenty of time right?
We were the only table when we first got there, and throughout the whole ordeal, only six other people came in.
So we all order, pretty much everyone gets the same pasta with sauce on it, nothing too crazy. We order at maybe 6:45ish, which is still on schedule.
7:00: Everyone’s food comes out…except for mine. We figure it’s no big deal, they probably just couldn’t carry my plate as well, so everyone offers to wait to start until my meal gets there (I say it’s no problem, but they insist). 20 minutes go by, and there’s no sign of our waiter, so I just tell everyone to start and that I’ll scarf mine down once it comes.
7:30: The waiter finally comes over to the table and tells me my food is on its way, he’s very sorry, a mixup in the kitchen, etc. No big deal, I worked in the food industry, I get it, it happens. Besides we still have an hour before we have to get to the school, it’s chill.
8:00: Everyone else has finished eating, and the waiter hasn’t come back since the 7:30 check-in. I had been munching on breadsticks but we ran out, and at this point, I am starving and starting to get cranky. We also have our limo waiting out front and everyone is trying to be understanding, but the show really needed to get on the road.
8:15: Waiter finally comes back over, and he still has no food. He insists that it’ll just be another five minutes before my food comes out and offers us all free refills on sodas while we wait. The other six people who came in after us are already on dessert, and I’m the only person in the entire restaurant who hasn’t gotten to eat, and I’m hangry.
8:30: Dance has started, our friends who we were meant to meet at the dance are wondering where we are and everyone’s getting upset because we’re just sitting around for no reason. Still no food.
8:45: Still no food, I’m upset and hungry, and the group is just upset. We decided to cut our losses after waiting two hours for my food to come out. We try to flag down the waiter because we had an event to get to and I was not about to let the $90 dance ticket go to waste.
9:00: The dance stops letting people in at 9:30 and we are pressed to get out of this pasta joint. We finally get the waiter’s attention; he continues to assure me that my meal is on its way and that it’ll just be another minute, we tell him to grab the check and wrap up my food to go if it’s ready. He brings back the check, no food, but CHARGED US for both my meal and the ‘free’ refills he gave us. We argue it with the manager, he assures us that my food is coming but kindly offers to comp the meal that I still haven’t gotten.
9:15: We finally get to leave, I still haven’t eaten anything, and now we’re an hour late to the dance.
I spent the whole dance hangry and crabby, and my date (who I was meeting there) was obviously upset that we were an hour late. All in all, not a great experience.”
“You Just Don’t Get One”
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“It was this bakery/comfort food restaurant that my grandmother loved going to, something like Kiki’s or Cece’s. It was rather late at night, and there were only one or two waitresses. I could tell from our waitress’s demeanor that something was wrong. She seemed a bit frustrated with something. Not with us, obviously, because she was one of the best waitresses I’ve ever had. No, she was upset with the people in the kitchen, and soon enough we would be as well.
Now, the main reason we were dining at this place was for their prime rib and baked potato special, which my dad thought was a deal. We all ordered our steak, with varying side dishes. I ordered a baked potato with just butter (important) and broccoli for my sides. However, this turned out to be a mistake.
After a while, our food comes out. Not all at once though, just one dish at a time. One of the four of us would get their meal and finish it before the next was brought out. I was the last to get my dish, and at this point, my mom was slipping me bites of her food as I had to watch them eat without me. Finally, my food comes out, but it is missing something. ‘You don’t get a potato,’ the waitress says in utter distress. ‘You just don’t get one.’
Of course, this situation had been ridiculous for awhile now, but to be missing my very-simple baked potato was the breaking point. Everyone else had gotten their overdressed roots, why not me? I think my mom was sick of this situation at that point because she stood up and walked to the kitchen. It turns out the people working in the back weren’t the cooks; they were the manager of the shop and the general manager! The real cooks were both sick or had walked out or something.
We ended up getting the whole restaurant free meals, and my parents made sure to tip our waitress as it wasn’t her fault.”
“What’s The Matter, You Just Wake Up Or Something?”
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“I went to a waffles place, and the server was training someone new. That’s fine; I’m all for it. I work in food service, so I know the struggle. But, I’d never been there before, so I was taking my time looking at the menu, and when I ordered my plate, she asked what sides I’d like. Obviously not knowing what sides were optional, I asked, and she was so rude about the answer, rushing out all of them and then even throwing in ‘What’s the matter, you just wake up or something? Come on man!’
Needless to say, I didn’t tip. But if you’re ever just needlessly rude to a customer you can bugger right off.”
Good Food, Terrible Service? No Thanks
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“I went to a restaurant with 19 people for a friend’s birthday, so not the easiest table to look after, but:
1) We waited one hour before they took our orders.
2) It took one hour from orders until the food started to arrive.
3) We got so hungry that we ate the raw vegetables on the table (I think they may have intended as ornaments).
4) It took over an hour from the first person receiving their food until the last person receiving their food.
5) It took 45 minutes from asking for the bill to receiving it.
6) After we’d asked for the bill, one of the serving staff started putting out plates for dessert. When we expressed confusion, she got angry with us and went off in a huff.
7) We witnessed their manager verbally and physically assaulting one of his wait staff (grabbed her hard by the arm, tugged at her and shouted in her face).
The food was good, but the service and therefore the overall experience were the most atrocious I’ve ever experienced. We elected not to tip.”
You Could Take A Nap Before Your Order Arrives At This Denny’s
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“Oh, Denny’s….when I was a teenager I went there a lot for some reason. Always had issues but it took me a while to realize it wasn’t acceptable service. Finally one day my boyfriend and I went to Denny’s for breakfast. We were seated, but our server never came to our table. So we eventually left, and I swore never to go there again.
My boyfriend ended up going again with his family. They never brought his food even though he asked several times. After his family finished eating, they got the check and went to the counter to just get his meal removed. They removed it and paid for the rest. As they were walking out, they brought him his food to go.
Years later, boyfriend is now MY fiance, and we are out drinking and somehow end up at Denny’s… Not sure why. We waited over an hour for our food. I fell asleep while waiting, so my fiance and his cousin decided just to let me sleep and see how long the food would take. It’s been three or four years, and we haven’t been back since.”
All They Could Do Was Leave A Terrible Yelp Review
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“My family and I went to this Thai restaurant in Katoomba, New South Wales because we were starving. Anyway, so my brother-in-law and my sister ordered something that I couldn’t remember, my parents and I ordered spicy pad thai with prawns and noodles. It was a great meal until I bit something that tasted weird when it landed on my tongue, which then turned out to be so horrible that I had to spit it out.
But when I saw the bitten piece that was ‘weird and horrible tasting’ food, I realized I just ate a dead fly. Yup, a dead fly. That dead fly taste was in my mouth for an hour or so. My parents, brother-in-law, and sister saw the crushed dead fly and informed the waiter, who was having a bad day. The waiter said in an impolite and abusive manner ‘THERE’S NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT. EITHER YOU EAT MY MEAL OR GO AWAY FROM THIS RESTAURANT!!!’ So ‘go away’ his restaurant, we did. We then proceeded to head to Sydney to eat at a real restaurant. When I came back home, I rated the place a good 0.5 stars for ‘consumed bug in meal.'”
They Got More Than What They Bargained For At This Restaurant
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“We made a reservation at some new-ish place by my house.
The waitress didn’t seem happy to serve us, which was fine because she could have been having a long day.
It took an hour and a half for some of my coworkers’ dishes to come out. They waited patiently while half of us ate. We ended up asking for it, and that took another half hour.
The server never showed up when she didn’t need to, spending her time laughing and chatting with people at the bar.
Finally, a few of us paid early so we could head out to the other reservation we made at a karaoke place. Despite everything we tipped 20 percent and busted out of there.
Halfway on the walk, we got a call. One of the people who stayed behind told me I forgot to pay for my meal. Which, obviously I paid. He argued with the server back and forth before paying for it again (I paid him back the minute he arrived).
So yeah. Paid twice for a mediocre meal with 20% tip and nominal service.”
Blaming The Kitchen Wouldn’t Get This Manager Out Of This Situation
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“One time a couple of friends and I decided to eat somewhere new. I think we settled on a place over at the International Mall in Tampa. I wish I could remember the name of this place because, holy crap.
We get in there, and there are maybe only six other people there besides us. We sit down at a table and wait for a server to come around. Five minutes pass. Then another five. Some other people get seated, and the server takes their order. Meanwhile, we’re still being ignored.
My best friend starts getting upset because clearly, they’re ignoring us because she’s got dark skin. Eventually, we get service and order food. It takes almost 30 minutes before it arrives, and when it does, it’s cold.
The manager apologizes when we object to the food and comes out to give us a sob story about how he’s sorry about how long everything has taken, but one of the chefs in the kitchen had just cut his finger open, and that it would take even longer for us to have our food re-made, but they’d happily put our food in a microwave to re-heat it. Or we could come back another day.
We never went back, needless to say.”
This Restaurant Could Only Blame Themselves For Going Under
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“For lunch, a dozen colleagues and I made a reservation to this Chinese restaurant down the street. Let’s list the problems:
Two people had no placings, another just had two spoons, another three forks and nothing else, and I had only two knives.
The waitress came to take our drink order. The first guy said ‘I’ll just have water’ and the waitress promptly left before anyone else could make their order and she came back with ten glasses of water. Two people had no water, and despite asking for it repeatedly throughout the outing, they never got it.
Our meals came one at a time at two-minute intervals. Do the math, the time between the first person getting their meal and the last is 24 minutes. It also took 45 minutes for the first one to come out. For lunch. And no the place wasn’t busy at all.
One person’s meal was overcooked to the point it resembled a hockey puck, both in texture and flavor, so we asked for a replacement. The waitress walked into the kitchen, made a 180 and out without so much as even getting the plate out of her hand. The guy accepted defeat and ate his sad meal.
One of the booths in this establishment had a support pole go straight through them to make sitting there uncomfortable to anyone except the tiniest and thinnest person.
The restaurant didn’t last long.”
This Is The Perfect Restaurant If You Only Want One Certain Meal
“I went to a restaurant with my parents. They gave us the menu, and we tried to order. My mom and I ordered the day’s special, while my dad didn’t like it, so he tried to order something else from the menu. However, each time he named a dish, the waiter would apologize and say they were out of that (we were one of the first clients at lunch). This happened like five times until my dad said, ‘So, what do you DO have?’ and the waiter said ‘Today’s special.’ They literally only had one dish to serve, despite having an extensive menu. My dad wasn’t even a fan of whatever dish the day’s special was, but he ordered it anyway because we were late for something and very hungry. It took us ages to get our food, which was cold when we got it, and a lot of it was terrible (I remember the lettuce being completely tasteless and the fries not even being decently fried). We tried complaining, but according to them, nobody else had complained so it was obviously our problem.”
It’d Be Shocking To See How This Restaurant Looked On A Busy Day
“I went to a place with my family between Detroit and Toledo somewhere. Just off the highway. Little restaurant. We sat down. The waiter was uninterested. We put in our order and waited. My food and my brother’s food came out in like 10 minutes. We waited until our parents’ food was ready. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Twenty minutes. Finally, my dad got up and asked the waiter where their food was. He looked at his pad and said ‘Oh. Sorry. I didn’t put your order in yet.’ Our family was the only group in the restaurant. We just got up and left at that point.”
Even Their Apology Was Fake And Lousy
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“The most epic fail experience I’ve had was at the Chili’s in Palisades Mall in West Nyack, N.Y. about five years ago. I’ve been to this location several times before and we had ok service. But this night was different as we were paired with a new server. We waited 45 minutes to get seated, no problem there, but we waited another 30 minutes just to get serviced. Another 10 minutes to get our waters. He came back almost an hour and took our orders but he wouldn’t have done that if we hadn’t flagged another server. Again, took an hour and 20 minutes to get our orders in and at this point, we deserved an explanation. The manager was apologetic, and he was forced to serve us but wanted to give all of us desserts for free for the trouble. We said ok.
This time the order came, and it was completely wrong!!! What the heck!! We were about to explode, and again he apologized… back to the kitchen and got our correct desserts, and we tell him were ready for our check. At this point, you think there’s nothing else that could go wrong since its just the check. Well, guess what.. the freaking guy charged us for the desserts! Again, we were so ticked off, and he was beyond himself and couldn’t say anything and corrected the mistake so fast that he left the order of another table on OUR table… We vowed to never come back again. That was the worst restaurant experience ever. To this day, we have not set foot at that Chili’s.”
Guess This IHOP Could Care Less About Its Customers
“So, I was accompanying my dad on his business trip (he takes one every week to South/North Carolina or Tennessee), and we had been driving all day long without proper food.
So, at noon on the outskirts of Nashville, we decided to go to an IHOP. The moment we stepped in, I was violated by the scent of every strong drink in the world combined, but I didn’t think much of it. Anyway, we sat down ordered our food, and I couldn’t help, but notice that the scent had grown stronger. I kept ignoring it, though. I was too hungry and tired to care.
Fast forward a couple of minutes, and suddenly there was an ambulance outside along with a few police officers. They came in, walked right next to the booth I’m sitting in, kneeled down, and suddenly out of nowhere pulled up this guy who was passed out, and I mean this guy was knocked out cold. One of the police officers tapped him on the head a couple of times, but this dude was like a stone. No movement, no reaction, just the smell of defeat.
Note that I wasn’t more than five feet away from all this, and NOBODY in the restaurant seemed to care. Eventually, they managed to carry him out on a stretcher, and my dad and I haven’t acknowledged that situation since.”
What Happened To The Good Ol’ Days Applebees?
“At my local Applebees. I know everyone has a thing out for them, and I’ve been to other locations, so I understand, but the one down the street is head and shoulders above any other I’ve been to, except this one time.
First off, it was Karaoke night. Yes, we could have left as soon as we discovered this, but we decided to get a table anyway. Our mistake, but was a bad atmosphere for the rest of the experience. Apparently, Karaoke night at Applebee’s is the cool thing to do for the local high schoolers, so the place was packed with extremely loud teenagers, many of whom were singing off-key pop songs on a system that was turned up just a bit too loud. My girlfriend and I could hardly speak to each other due to the volume.
The server came quick enough, took our drink order, and took our food order when he brought out the drinks. Someone else brought out my food not too long after, but not my girlfriend’s. We figured it was because I ordered an appetizer, so they probably just tried to get that out first. Ten minutes later, her food still hadn’t arrived, and our drinks were empty, hadn’t seen our server once since he took our order. Spent another five minutes trying to get ahold of anyone. They said they’d check with our server to see what was going on.
Another 10 minutes, our server showed up with my girlfriend’s food and apologized; he had forgotten to put in her order. So somehow he put in my food without putting in hers. He offered refills and disappeared. And that’s the last we ever saw of him. Eventually, we were able to wave down another server to get us refills, and Applebees has the little kiosks on the table to pay your check, so he never had to bring us the bill. We left him a single penny as a tip, so it was known we were upset and didn’t just forget to tip.”
