Should I be happy with this (customer service)?

daytona0

ThumbRemote wrote: »

I take it you rarely eat out in a largeish group then? Or you like cold food?

My local pub-restaurant can take quite some time between one meal and another even on small orders. If we're there as a large group but have ordered and paid individually (so the meals all go to the kitchen as different orders) it can easily be 10-15 minutes between different meals appearing. We know the service isn't the best but it is cheap!

There were only 3 people in the group (don't know why you were talking about largeish group) so it should usually arrive on time


Also, I suppose it depends on the nature o the meal. In this instance the wording o OP's post seems to suggest that they had walked in to get a meal, and sat down to drink when told about the wait. This implies that they went in to have a meal more than anything else in which case it would be a reasonable expectation to wait (or query it) when one doesn't arrive. It doesn't sound like they were having a booze session and then just ordered bar snacks etc, sounded like a proper meal.

BillJones

ThumbRemote wrote: »

I take it you rarely eat out in a largeish group then? Or you like cold food?

I've no idea where you frequent, but any decent restaurant or pub will bring out all the main courses at the same time, and most civilised people will wait until the last dish is served before starting.

dodger1

ThumbRemote wrote: »

I take it you rarely eat out in a largeish group then? Or you like cold food?

My local pub-restaurant can take quite some time between one meal and another even on small orders. If we're there as a large group but have ordered and paid individually (so the meals all go to the kitchen as different orders) it can easily be 10-15 minutes between different meals appearing. We know the service isn't the best but it is cheap!

In around 50 years of eating out I've never had that happen, in any size group. If that was my "local pub-restaurant" I wouldn't be giving them my business.

topdaddy_2

I would at least asked how long the last meal would be when the server brought the first two. And if too long Id ask to have the first two kept warm at the very least.

ThumbRemote

BillJones wrote: »

I've no idea where you frequent, but any decent restaurant or pub will bring out all the main courses at the same time, and most civilised people will wait until the last dish is served before starting.

It's cheap. The service is commensurate with the price paid.

dodger1 wrote: »

In around 50 years of eating out I've never had that happen, in any size group. If that was my "local pub-restaurant" I wouldn't be giving them my business.

If you place and pay for multiple orders at the till in most pubs the same will happen. They go through to the kitchen as different orders. We quite accept that this is the case when we place the orders this way.

System

ThumbRemote wrote: »

I take it you rarely eat out in a largeish group then? Or you like cold food?

My local pub-restaurant can take quite some time between one meal and another even on small orders. If we're there as a large group but have ordered and paid individually (so the meals all go to the kitchen as different orders) it can easily be 10-15 minutes between different meals appearing. We know the service isn't the best but it is cheap!

As already stated the op was in a small group of three!

I know manners are out of fashion these days and if you are happy with that then go for it .

So the person who didn't get a meal is just unlucky not to have been fed then some friends the other two were!

dodger1

ThumbRemote wrote: »

If you place and pay for multiple orders at the till in most pubs the same will happen. They go through to the kitchen as different orders. We quite accept that this is the case when we place the orders this way.

I've no idea how the order goes through to the kitchen but all the meals come out almost together at our local pub restaurant. If there are six of us the waitress will bring out three meals, return to the kitchen and straight away bring out the next three. What you are receiving is dreadful service and it will continue all the time it is accepted.

Herbalus

What probably happened was that the waiter came out with 2 meals, one in each hand, and the three chaps thought the waiter would go back for the third dish. It'd be a reasonable assumption, and then the waiter never came back.

BillJones wrote: »

most civilised people will wait until the last dish is served before starting.

Indeed, but the same civilised people will also insist that those who have their food should start eating before it gets cold. I wouldn't allow my friends to sit there idly waiting if they've got their meals.

aileth

ThumbRemote wrote: »

If you place and pay for multiple orders at the till in most pubs the same will happen. They go through to the kitchen as different orders. We quite accept that this is the case when we place the orders this way.

But the OP seems to have ordered only three meals all at the same time. If you order separately, of course they'll come out at different times, as according to the kitchen they've got a multitude of single diners.

Why don't you just order them at the same time, get and eat them all together, and then split the bill at the end, instead of waiting such a long time between each meal?

We've always ordered as a group together and the meals have always come at the same time, with everyone waiting for the last dish, unless the group insist on the early receivers starting before them.

I certainly wouldn't have been waiting as long as the OP though for the third dish. If the Waiter went back in and didn't return immediately with the third and instead wandered off to do something else, I'd be flagging him down. It might've been a simple case of misjudgment of food cooking, in which case he can tell me so and we'll wait happily (within reason of course).

awesomelover

Of course it was bad service, and I empathise with the situation. However, the best thing you could do is to simply not give that pub your custom in future.