Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio explains why it’s okay to complain in restaurants

[stewie_e]

"Top Chef" judge wants you to complain in restaurants pic.twitter.com/rH1qdxFqQk
- Business Insider (@businessinsider) September 28, 2019
Top Chef head judge and restaurateur Tom Colicchio explained why you should complain and let a restaurant know if there’s a problem, and why you shouldn’t air it out on social media

Comments

[iznanassi]

He's right. If you're polite, most restaurants don't care if you complain unless you're one of those fucking idiots/dicks that eats all the food then complains and expects a free dish.

[veritas_44]

Yep. It's all about the customer approaches it. Places can't improve without feedback but it should be done politely.

[bulastar]

nah, I'm sure it's rare (as well as illegal) but I've gotten confirmation from people who worked in the industry that cooks will contaminate a complaining customer's meal if they feel like it

[croutonochrist]

People really don't fuck with your food like that. I literally never once saw it the entire time I worked in food service.

[tucker]

Yeah I worked in a restaurant for five years and we never did anything like that

I still would be paranoid to complain though lol...I guess it would just depend on the situation for me

[madamezuzu]

as someone who has been in restaurants for 12 years, i have never once seen that happen. and i worked at a tgi fridays.

[kangaroo24]

I tend to just push the plate away after that initial bad bite/taste. The waiter always notices, and they initiate the "ooh you didn't like this"/order something else convo.

[croutonochrist]

There really is a nice way to go about it. It is just FOOD after all and they will gladly fix it for you.

[evett]

I've seen way too many people in the industry say they will spit in peoples food if you send it back to scare me into never wanting to do it.

luckily its only happened once (needing to send something back) and it was also in conjunction with worst service i've ever had. it took 15mins to even find a waiter to complain to (the bun was completely burned black) then instead of making a new burger he brings back the cold meat in a new bun and disappeared again before I can say anything) so the whole thing was just a mess all around.

[tucker]

Yeah I’m too paranoid of people messing with my food lol

[kittenmittons]

Obviously I can’t speak for every restaurant, but I think it’s very, very rare for restaurant staff to mess with the food. I’ve never heard anyone say they would spit I someone’s food or anything like that.

Source: everyone I know who has worked in a restaurant + my own seven years as a server

[swearwolves]

I agree, my dad has been a chef for 40 years, and none of his chef friends (or him) would ever do that. When my mum and dad had their own restaurant, early feedback/complaints were super helpful in helping them iron out any kinks.