Poorly prepared meals

I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL, EVERY OUTBACK, AND ROADHOUSE GRILL IVE BEEN TO
HAS POOR SERVICE, AND HORIBLE COOKS. AND NOT TO MENTION THE ROADHOUSE
GRILL CLOSED DOWN AFTER A HEALTH INSPECTION, AND THAT SAME DAY, A
COUPLE COMPLAINED THEY SEEN THE COOK PICK HIS NOSE AND WIPE IT IN THE
STEAK. GROWES. WELL I DONT KNOW WHY PEOPLE ARE SO CRUEL I WILL NEVER
KNOW, WE WORK JUST LIKE ALL THOSE COOKS, AND SERVERS. THEY ACT LIKE
THEIR JOBS ARE HORRIBLE.

You should bring any incidents or dis-satisfaction with your service
or meal to the manager on duty immediately. Waiting until after you
paid for your meal and then leaving just says that you want a freebie
no matter where you are!

I have heard both good and bad things about Outback depending on the
location...have yet to try it but if I do I am sure it will not be the
same location you were.

Short on time or not, the food and beverage quality/quantity issues
should have been brought to the attention of the manager while you
were still at Outback so that he/she could assess the situation and
adjust the bill accordingly.

I know you were pressed for time, however, just a quick minute or two
with the manager couldve resolved so much without the following
correspondance. Even if he couldnt replace the meals then, managers
can give you gift cards or dinner vouchers for a next visit.

Having guests leave upset is not the restraunts goal. They like to
speak to the guest in person right when the incident happens.

From my experiance, a majority of guests leave because of the fear of
confrontation. They react better on the phone or email and would
rather handle at a later time. It's the managers duty to correct
everything then. Take advatage of having someone there to make you
feel warm and fuzzy inside.

If you don't like it, send it back.
That's the policy at our restaurant. The cooks are more than happy to
accommodate you. Additionally, most times, there are not "chefs"
present at the restaurant. There are line cooks, who simply prepare
the food.

Also, when steakhouses advertise steaks, the size listed in the net
weight before cooking, so a lot of the weight is in the fat and cooks
off during the preparation process.

And always, eat local. It's better. There is a group called the Best
Independent Restaurant association. There is a directory of
restaurants on their website, which are usually excellent.

here, on whether or not her complaint has merit and deserves a
refund.

Debbie, I hope you'll come back and let us know what happens.

But because you stated in your letter you were pressed for time and
therefore did not mention nor send back your food, you get nothing in
my opinion. You need to address these things up front, when they are
actually happening.

A lot of people are passive/aggressive (not suggesting that you are)
and don't like confrontation, but hide behind letters and emails and
expect the same results that you receive when you're live and in
person. Doesn't work that way.......usually.

At least you had some other good meals on your vacation by eating at
local restaurants. I'm a HUGE proponent for only eating locally. I
only eat at a chain if there are zero other options and that is hardly
ever the case. Chains are just never as good.

I've never had a bad experience at Outback. We were there in October
for my husband's birthday, and they messed up his order ( no
mushrooms) and when his dish arrived- loaded with mushrooms. My
husband's not allergic, so rather than all of us eat around him while
they re-made his meal, he asked the waitress for a small dish to put
the mushrooms in that he picked out.She was very apologetic, and the
restaurant gave us $5 off his meal.
I guess I have the same obvious questions Redhead did- why didn't you
bring all these things to the waitresses attention while you were
there? Grab the waitress and say "Hi- these items are all burnt. We
need you to fix this." Same with the salad- if you thought it was
unappetizing ( and it certainly sounds that way) , ask to have it
re-ade. I've done that here and there in the past if I thought
something was wrong with the salad ( last time I can think of it was
black avacadoes). Unfortunately, this is a little late.

The time to address this was when you were there. I've always found
Outback to be more than accommodating when you have issues with food.
If you didn't want replacements, they more than likely would have
taken things off the check.

As far as the steak goes, I would expect a steak that comes in a combo
like that to be smaller.

I read your letter and found it just lovely to read. I like when
people expect poor food quality when an establisment is busy. I'm not
quite there myself, but it's nice to see someone willing to be
flexible.


As nice as it was to read, I'm sure it took more time to write it,
than it would to bring up the issue right there. Outback usually has
great servers who are more than willing to listen, and if that doesn't
work, then they have managers whos job is to listen to and correct
these issues.

The horse is running down the road, and the door is flapping on the
barn. It is too late to make a complaint like this.

The obvious reason is there is no way to prove it happened. People
could make up any old story they desire. An example is: "The waiter
spilled beets down my back, and hit me in the head with a jug of ice
water. Later he told us we all a needed botox treatment. I want the
waiter fired and a complete refund."

Did you ask how much the wine cost before you bought it? Did you tell
the server that you wanted the wine served in an inappropriately full
glass, against etiquette? Did your husband have to order a medley of
steak, shrimp and scallops, or could he have just ordered a steak? If
he wanted a steak, he should have ordered a steak. Then his steak
would have been more than 2 oz.

Of course, I'm going to start with the obvious: Did you speak with
the manager? Complain to your waiter/ress? That's what should be
done when you have complaints about your meal.

But this: "flipped the sandwich over so the burnt side was underneath
the sandwich"

My mom would do that with french toast or pancakes. We learned early
on to look on the underside to see if she was slippin' us a burnt
breakfast. Thanks for the trip down memory lane! ;)