It's no longer the same to dine out

I am currently on a five day hiatus from work, uni, the stress of reality and chilling out with my family at home. Its great!

Part of being back in the same state as my family enticed my parents to treat me and my brother to an expensive meal in a classy restaurant... we could tell that it was fine dining and that my brother's work shorts and "Grizzly 1974" tee short were out of place on noticing a grand piano in the centre of the room and the menu featuring oysters as an entree.

It was a delicious meal nonetheless, but I think my brother got duped when he ordered the "Beef and Reef" meal- probably the most expensive steak on the menu that comes with the finest seafood served atop. He got his beef, but without the reef- which I thought was a pretty major mistake considering the seafood part featured at least 50% of the meal's title. We scrutinised the meal further, wondering if the "reef" part was cleverly disguised. Mum suggested that it could be inside the steak (she's a vegetarian, so we let that one slip) and we all examined the ramekin of white stuff on the plate thinking it could possibly contain some element of seafood. After discovering this was actually garlic butter (we obviously don't dine out all that often) we confirmed that he had actually recieved a "Beef and Reef" without any trace of the reef.

I told my brother to politely inform the waitress that he hadn't received the reef part of his meal. It was probably just a minor mistake that could be easily fixed. But he flat out refused to complain and wouldn't let any of us speak on his behalf. He then ate the meal without the reef, probably disappointed the whole time that he hadn't got what he ordered and paid for the meal without any complaint because he was too embarrassed to say anything and didn't want to cause a fuss.

It got me thinking for two reasons. The first being my envy that the sheer majority of my customers would never have such restraint if they received the wrong meal and often hold me personally responsible for their steak being undercooked or the chicken being too spicy (two things that I have NO control over), but the second was wondering why my brother felt too embarrassed to say anything. I must admit I used to be hesistant to complain, I never want to seem like that diner who just can never be satisfied, or someone who spents way too much time and energy worrying about whether my food has reached perfection when there are so many bigger issues to blow steam about, but if you order something that doesn't actually arrive, surely you have a right to ask where it is?

There is a difference between complaining about the garlic bread being brown or the calamari looking too "realistic" (I'm not entirely sure what you were expecting madam), to simply enquiring as to why only half of your meal has arrived. Kudos to my brother for not wanting to put the waitress through the hell that so many people think we are entitled to receiving (I know those of you out there that think waitresses are second rate citizens with no brains of their own) but I personally would not be disgruntled if he had asked me where his reef had ended up. On the contrary, I would probably try to rectify the situation immediately seeing as its a pretty embarrassing mistake.

I guess the whole situation is proof that the hospitality industry has changed me... at least while I still work as a waitress. I enjoy going out but I can't help but scrutinise the decor, the food, the prices and the service I get when I eat out at a restaurant other than my own. I only hope this will fade with time and I stop being the judgemental customer that I hate so much to serve.

J