Undercooked seafood? How should this have been handled?

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I know personally as a server and a cook, the situation was handled entirely wrong. Regardless of what the chef or manager thought , they should have replaced it, or comped it. You should call their home office and complain. The way they handled it was completely unprofessional .
 
My family went out for dinner on Saturday night as it was my parent's 50th wedding anniversary. They (my parents) came from interstate for the occasion as this is a pretty special day and this dinner had been planned for some months.

My 13 year old son (who loves seafood) ordered a calamari (squid) salad for his main meal. I noticed he wasn't eating it and asked him if there was a problem. He said that it tasted 'funny' and was slimy. My husband tried a piece and thought that it was raw. My dad thought the same thing and actually spat his out because he couldn't even eat it.

When we spoke with the waiter and explained the problem, we were very polite (even apologetic) but said that we felt the squid was undercooked and that my son couldn't eat it. She took the plate back to the kitchen to speak with the chef.

He sent another person (I think the manager) back out to tell us that squid wasn't supposed to be overcooked and that it was fine. When I asked if they had actually tried/tasted it I was told that it hadn't been and they couldn't due to health regulations but that it was definitely cooked properly.

I was pretty annoyed by this stage as I felt that the assumption was my son didn't know how the food should be cooked rather than that the food was undercooked!! And this for a kid that eats medium-rare steaks :-P We said that when three people (who all love seafood) all thought that the squid was raw in the centre and too slimy to eat it would be pretty clear that there was a problem with it. It took the mention of two adults trying it before an apology was made or another dish even offered.

At no time did the chef come out - he just passed a message through a rather arrogant waiter/manager. I feel that this was rude (obviously) and that if my son had been a adult this would not have happened. There were nine of us dining, all had several courses, soft drinks, wines and coffees; we spent several hundred dollars and left the restaurant feeling that the evening was very flat.

Have others been in this sort of situation?

How would you have handled it a) as the chef, or b) as the customer?
 
I know personally as a server and a cook, the situation was handled entirely wrong. Regardless of what the chef or manager thought , they should have replaced it, or comped it. You should call their home office and complain. The way they handled it was completely unprofessional .
 
I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. Your son was polite when he complained about the calamari. The dish should have been replaced promptly with a smile and no questions asked.

You were absolutely correct to go over the server's head and ask to speak to the manager. The chef may have been too busy to talk to you, and kitchen staff doesn't usually do that anyway. That's why there is a manager; it's his or her job to deal with situations like that.

There is no excuse for restaurant management to display arrogance toward customers. Their job is to see that the service is efficient and that customers have a pleasant experience, not to pass judgment on the validity of customers' complaints. This gentleman seems to have been sorely lacking in people skills.
 
the chef or waiter should have taken the food and replaced it with soemthing else that the boy wanted - they created a scene taht should not have been created ---- as the customer i think u did the right thing -- i probably would not b going back to that resaurant to eat
 
I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. Your son was polite when he complained about the calamari. The dish should have been replaced promptly with a smile and no questions asked.

You were absolutely correct to go over the server's head and ask to speak to the manager. The chef may have been too busy to talk to you, and kitchen staff doesn't usually do that anyway. That's why there is a manager; it's his or her job to deal with situations like that.

There is no excuse for restaurant management to display arrogance toward customers. Their job is to see that the service is efficient and that customers have a pleasant experience, not to pass judgment on the validity of customers' complaints. This gentleman seems to have been sorely lacking in people skills.
 
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