Restaurant etiquette...need advice!!!!

So my big question for the night is, when is it proper to complain at a restaurant? I have a really hard time making a fuss, and sometimes would rather "grin and bear it" then make an issue out of something.

* What if you order a specific dish, and you get it, but it's not what you were expecting, or their "recipe" was different than what you are used to?? For example, recently we went to a diner on vacation and I ordered a mini-pizza with no extra toppings. Well that is exactly what I got -- pizza dough with sauce, and not even any cheese on it. :rolleyes: Somehow I was expecting that pizza ALWAYS came with cheese, but I guess not because you had to order cheese as a topping. No, I didn't complain that night, because I figured that that was the way they served it. So I guess my question is, would you complain because a dish was prepared differently than what you were expecting??

* The real reason I am bringing this up tonight, is that we went to Denny's for dinner tonight. (A little background -- my family went to Denny's in 1980 to be exact, and had a really bad experience and have NEVER EVER gone back. This was a first in 26 years!!! :eek: ) So, to be honest, I was a little prejudiced against the restaurant before we got there. But I was pleasantly surprised at the atomosphere and the menu, and the food was really good, REALLY good. Well, that is, until my steak & cheese was gone, and I had 10 french fries left. I noticed a dark spot on my french fry, and looked closer and it was a HUGE dead bug fried into the french fry. :eek: :mad: Oh I was soooo grossed out. It was horrible. But I didn't really want to complain because I figure bugs happen. But Mark said that having a bug in your food was totally unacceptable, and called the manager over. And I was so embarrassed because he acted like it wasn't in his control, and what did we want him to do about it??? He DID end up giving us the meal free, but I felt bad because I had already eaten 95% of it that was fine, and really what was I expecting that he would do?? Does a bug in your food merit a free meal???

* The times that I DO complain are when the service is really poor (waiting and waiting 15+ minutes); or if something is truly inedible (way too spicy or too chewy etc).

Anyway, I am hoping to get thoughts and opinions on this subject. Thanks :)

Yuck! Yes, I'd say having a dead bug in your food warrants a free meal. If you are already done with your food, why on earth would you want another meal?

ETA: I actually think a dead, fried bug warrants a free bill. Gross!

Dead bugs are something to complain about so THAT problem can be fixed to make sure that it don't happen again to someone else! EUCK!

The pizza thing, I have learned through all my traveling that differnt places understand things different so when traveling, I you should explain in detail what exactly it is that you want. One time we went out to eat and someone I was with, asked for a PLAIN hamburger with only mayo... That to me meant bun, meat and mayo only... RIGHT? The cook didn't think so, it came with cheese, lettuce and tomato, and mayo... He sent it back and they sent it back minus the lettuce and tomato... still had the cheese.. That was worth fussing about....

The pizza thing? Your bad. Ask for what you want. Be specific. They aren't mind readers. You'll make their jobs easier if you give exact instructions instead of letting everyone guess what you mean.

The bug? Their bad. You are doing them a service by complaining. They need to know that there is a problem. You are helping them improve their service. Speak up!

Well, I think the manager needed to learn etiquette. No wonder Denny's has a bad reputation. OK, you DID deserve a free meal, but he should have at least sounded more sympathetic, apologetic, concerned, whatever. I know he's just a "worker", but yuk, I wonder what else is in their food and what the kitchen looks like. *Calls Health Department* Gag

Since I used to travel a lot, I misinterrupted menu items many times, so even now, if I'm not quite sure what something is, I ask.
Here, a "plain" pizza is with sauce and cheese (included). I also think that the waiters don't listen. I had a botched up meal the other day and it was at a place I go to often. Sometimes I mention it, depending how bad the mess up is, other times, I don't. And I always do it politely, without a huge fuss. People make mistakes.

Once when Burger King forgot one of my orders (at the drive thru-yeah, my fault, I should have checked), I had to all the way back to get it. I mentioned it to the counter person, who told her manager and I got the entire order (again) for free. I just wanted the one they forgot, but he was so apologetic, it was surprising. And I admitted my mistake.

Anyway, now I'm hungry..... .....

I don't complain if the food is a different recipe from what I expect. Its not like the restaurants share cooking styles. I would complain about the bug though and I'd expect a free meal. I've never been to Denny's, in fact, I've only seen one Denny's in real life while driving past it. We have no Denny's by us. Now the only way I'd ever sue is if I ended up in the hospital from the food, and that's only because I would need them to pay my bill, not to get some rediculous settlement.

I complain often - its me. and while I'm ordering I am very specific. I've had the pizza thing happen to me. So now when I order a chicken cheese steak, I've learned to not only say "plain" I say "Plain chicken cheese steak. Chicken, with cheese, nothing else. NO pickles, no sauce, no peppers, no onions, just chicken and cheese on a roll." And ya know what half the time it comes back to me wrong and I have to review my order and they always say "oops, we forgot, we'll remake it" Since I am so explicit when ordering, I have no problem complaining when it comes to me any way other than what I ordered. I told them 3 different ways what I expected. No room for misinterpretation there.

I know I'm picky and I tell them, I make fun of myself while doing it - it does relax the server and realize I'm not some demanding *****, but someone who knows she's picky and is really, really sorry to put it upon them. Did that all make sense? :o

As for the dead bug, oh my, that is definately something to complain about. Yes, bugs happen, but they shold still be more aware of what htye're serving.