If a sit down restaurant denies you a simple special order, do you stop going?

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It depends. If it's a chain, I understand, because everything gets decided from above, and the manager will have to account for everything. Every. Little. Thing.

If it's a single restaurant, it still depends. I can understand the chef not willing to add or remove ingredients he carefully selected to create a particular taste pallet on your plate. On a hamburger, though, you should be able to swap toppings and condiments as you please, it's hardly fine dining.
 
I don't have the ego to presume I can do special orders. So I've never tried nor wood I expect them to accommodate.

But I will stop going somewhere if they nickel and dime me. (50 cents extra for celery with my wings? Okay, but then it's the three tiniest smallest pieces of celery too? C'mon. )

Or really bad service that's specifically for me. Like I'm okay if everybody is getting slow service on a busy night or a bad night. I get that. I'm not okay when the people who came in ahead of me or behind me get quick prompt service while I'm left waiting around having to wave down a waiter or hostess just to get some attention. God help them if the table that sat after mine gets their food first. Better be a good reason for that or I'm not coming back.
 
This story is fake and used as a management example. But if it happened in real life, yes, I would never go to that restaurant again.
 
Yeah I would never just ask a waiter to make me a different meal than what's actually on the menu.
 
I hate going to dinner with my stepmother because she is constantly asking for annoying menu adjustments and it's embarrassing. As for the story in the OP, the dude sounds like an asshole. If I were in that situation and it was a restaurant I liked, I would absolutely continue to be a patron.
 
Risible said:
The story makes NO sense whatsoever. Why on earth would they comp you a $71 meal over a ten cent egg? I call bullshit.

That being said, I would totally discontinue going to a place if I was regular and they refused a simple request. It's virtually no effort whatsoever to put an egg on a burger.

You are paying a premium to eat out, and your wishes should be accommodated.

When I was 19 or so I used to frequent a deli near my place of business every day. I spent at least $15 a day there for 6 months or so. One day I asked for an extra tea bag in my tea because I wanted some extra caffeine. The owner charged me double for the tea, so now instead of the already hugely marked-up $1.50 I usually paid he's asking for $3.00 just because he put another five cent teabag in there. When I mentioned it he acted like he was doing me a favor for even granting my request. I politely thanked him, took my food, and never stepped foot in the place again. He threw away a customer that had spent $75 a week at his place over a teabag worth pennies.
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You can tell when someone never worked in the service business.

He charged you for two teas because that's what you ordered.
 
Sho_Nuff82 said:
Both sides are being unreasonable here.

Spending a lot of money at a restaurant does not entitle you to special treatment. And honestly, you could buy a $10 burger and a drink every day for a month and run up a $500 tab, it's not an exorbitant amount of money. Threatening to stop coming to a place you love because of one little thing seems like a crazy overreaction. Hell, asking to see the manager seems like a crazy overreaction. Kitchens are usually willing to accommodate people to a degree. To the extent that they are not, you are free to simply order something else.

On the other hand, it's one fucking egg. As a manager it's your job to know who your regulars and big tippers are (this is assuming the guy is a true regular and a big tipper). Offering a to comp a $70 meal, rather than parting with one measly 10 cent egg out of principle is a terrible stance to take for business and for general customer service. You put that egg on his sandwich, you charge him $1.50 extra, you smile. you nod, you say "have a great day, sorry for the wait", and you send your runner down the street buy a fucking dozen more eggs.

Sounds like two egos clashing over the pettiest of nonsense. Jimmies were rustled.
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This is fair. With the first paragraph depending on the request. Something complex or unrealistic? Sure, makes sense -deny it and explain the issue. Something as simple as the OP, just do it. You're not going to convince someone using an extra egg is going to break the kitchen. At least you won't convince me.

No, I probably wouldn't go to manager. I'd eat my burger without the egg. But then I'd think twice about going back over getting push back on such a simple request. While it might be a nice restaurant, it's a burger. Not exactly considered a fine dining meal.
 
Risible said:
The story makes NO sense whatsoever. Why on earth would they comp you a $71 meal over a ten cent egg? I call bullshit.
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It is odd that there doesn't appear to be any other sources on this aside from Todd and a Facebook post redirecting to Todd.

I75QOMz.jpg
 
I'm with the restaurant on this one. However, if I go to a nice cocktail bar and they won't make me a special despite having the ingredients to hand then I get fairly pissed off.
 
Three things:

1) The manager, based on the available information, sounds terrible at customer relations and inventory management. It's one egg and not a dozen; if the restaurant is unable to provide one egg to a loyal customer -- for fear of running out of eggs -- then the manager needs to re-engage with their training on customer and order satisfaction.

2) While the customer was absolutely not entitled to the egg, he/she should have been provided the egg on the burger because denying the customer the egg is denying the customer an egg. Regardless of the customer's attitude towards the staff, denying someone an egg is like denying someone a mint. It's an insignificant item that most people can offer others at no significant or extra drain on their resources, so there's literally no way the restaurant can come out looking like good guys by denying someone a single egg.

3) If I wanted an order to be modified, and the restaurant said "Nah bro", I would simply recognize that the restaurant can't satisfy that particular order. If I want to eat something else then I'll go back to the restaurant, but if I want that special order, then I'll go to a restaurant that can deliver it. It's like buying anything else. For example, if I want a 30 inch IPS monitor that can do 4K HDR USB-C G-sync G-unit etc. for under $500, and LG isn't able to provide that, then I'll go to a manufacturer that can. If I'm in the market for a large French-door refrigerator for under $5000, and LG is able to provide it, then I'll go to LG and buy it. Being loyal to a brand is, for roughly 98% of the time, a waste of your resources.
 
I go to a pretty high end Italian place often and always get the same special order, but I don't think it'd bother me much if they stopped doing it. It is a bizzare thing to not do in this case, it's not even like they have to alter a recipe or something, just throw one extra thing on top of something you already made.

Although some people do take it too far and should realize that after a certain point they should just stay home and cook their own ridiculously specific meal.
 
Ishan said:
I don't get why offer a 71 rebate when you can give p order him a waffle special for free throw the waffle out and slap that egg on his burger . Everyone is happy and restaurant loses a waffle egg special not 71 bucks .
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ha yea that's what jumped out to me.

"No sir we can't give you a $0.10 egg on your burger but let me pay your $71 bill"

This sounds fake.
 
kavanf1 said:
I worked in a reasonably high end restaurant for three years, the idea that they would be running on such thin margins that giving someone an egg would be problematic seems ludicrous. Especially if it was a well known customer. Just charge them a stupid amount for it and be done with it. This sounds like a combination of poor customer service and overly prescriptive rules.

That said, an egg on a burger? What is wrong with this guy?
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Eggs on burgers are good and its your problem for not realizing this.

Shake up your palettes, people, and stop being boring farts.
 
jasonng said:
You can tell when someone never worked in the service business.

He charged you for two teas because that's what you ordered.
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Waited tables for 4 years through college.

I see you're as dense as the owner of that deli.

I ordered an extra teabag, not "two teas". Maybe while you were so busy in the service business you should have boned up on your reading comprehension on the side.
 
I also have to laugh at the concern over a "snowball" effect. So the concern is that other people would be intrigued and like the egg on a burger, thus ordering more burgers and eggs.

So you'd rather shut it down. Instead of getting more eggs for a total of pennies, and realizing you could have a new popular and extremely simple menu item to sell at a premium?
 
milanbaros said:
I don't ask for menu adjustments just like I don't shout out story suggestions in the theatre. Hell, unlike the theatre they even let you freely review what is available before deciding to sit down.

I'm completely with the restaurant on their policy.

Probably cost them a bit of money here but they might be successful enough that it doesn't matter.

Edit: why do some restaurant goers think the menu is a starting off point for suggestions?
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That's bad customer service tbh. There's few restaurant setups that truly can't accommodate changing the item. A burger? You can take care of that fine.
 
I would choose the restaurant I frequent based on if they made something I would eat.

If they couldn't put an egg in my burger I would go somewhere that could.
 
Ripenen said:
The customer is already running up a tab like that why doesn't he just order the damn burger and waffle special, then take the egg from the waffle and put it on his burger? Then he has a waffle that he can do with as he pleases. It's not hard to find use for an extra waffle.
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The same rationale could be applied to the restaurant too.
 
kiri said:
I'm with the restaurant on this one. However, if I go to a nice cocktail bar and they won't make me a special despite having the ingredients to hand then I get fairly pissed off.
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I don't understand this at all. You side with the restaurant and then give an example that directly contradicts your first statement.
 
Not accommodating special requests is pretty normal in a lot of upscale restaraunts. It seems perfectly reasonable to me and I certainly wouldn't get upset if I asked and was told no. They don't have some moral obligation to change their product just because I asked. If you want to make requests just find a place that allows them.
 
A good business person would know who's their loyal customers and would bend backward to please them as they are a returning customers and you want them to keep coming back.

So yeah they should have given him one egg and charged him extra to compensate for the lost of that special, I am sure that the customer wouldn't have minded paying extra, than denying his request and run the risk of him going somewhere else.
 
KHarvey16 said:
Not accommodating special requests is pretty normal in a lot of upscale restaraunts. It seems perfectly reasonable to me and I certainly wouldn't get upset if I asked and was told no. They don't have some moral obligation to change their product just because I asked. If you want to make requests just find a place that allows them.
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This. Most of my favorite places even have a "unfortunately we are unable to accept requests to change dishes".
 
KHarvey16 said:
Not accommodating special requests is pretty normal in a lot of upscale restaraunts. It seems perfectly reasonable to me and I certainly wouldn't get upset if I asked and was told no. They don't have some moral obligation to change their product just because I asked. If you want to make requests just find a place that allows them.
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This is a burger, though. Not exactly a fine dining item.
 
Risible said:
Waited tables for 4 years through college.

I see you're as dense as the owner of that deli.

I ordered an extra teabag, not "two teas". Maybe while you were so busy in the service business you should have boned up on your reading comprehension on the side.
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It's not an issue of my reading comprehension. For the sake of argument if the teabag cost 10 cents and charges you accordingly then he loses $2.90 in sales.

Since you waited tables for so long then you should know that you don't always get preferential treatment no matter how much you spend with them. They're not obligated to recognize you no matter how often you go.

I apologize for making an assumption but you can certainly be less condescending.
 
Hollywood Duo said:
I would never make a request like that to begin with. A restaurant buys their food supplies based on what is on the menu and volume of orders per particular item so I completely understand the managers points of view. If this guy is such a loyal customer why would it burn a bridge in the first place. Sounds like a completely irrational person.
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milanbaros said:
I don't ask for menu adjustments just like I don't shout out story suggestions in the theatre. Hell, unlike the theatre they even let you freely review what is available before deciding to sit down.

I'm completely with the restaurant on their policy.

Probably cost them a bit of money here but they might be successful enough that it doesn't matter.

Edit: why do some restaurant goers think the menu is a starting off point for suggestions?
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at what point does asking for something make it special? My wife almost always asks for salad dressing on the side.
I almost always ask to hold the onions, no matter what i've ordered.
I dont think asking for a egg on a burger is unreasonable.

many restuarants will offer "grilled cheese" for kids even if they don't have a "kids menu" isn't that a special order?


Alphahawk said:
They asked for an egg on their burger, they were a lost cause anyway.
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wrong, fried egg on a burger is actually fantastic.

TheLostBigBoss said:
Absolutely idiotic he was given a possible full meal comp over an egg
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sometimes it not about the money, its the principle. Asking for a fried egg isn't unreasonable.

TheOfficeMut said:
I used to work at both a BBQ restaurant. I had customers who dined there and expected anything they could imagine, from pizza to Chinese food. They always threw a fit.
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this is idiotic and completely unreleated. You go to a bbq restuarant and ask for pizza you're not being unresonable, you're being a moron.

TheLostBigBoss said:
It's a reasonable request and he got a reasonable answer that they are using eggs for a special today.

The fact he wrote a story about how much he spends and his total bill cost tells me he's probably an asshole.
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ElectricBlanketFire said:
Good chefs combine specific ingredients and cooking methods for a reason. Refusing to alter a recipe does not make them a bad chef.
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lets be real here, a burger isn't exactly fine dining. No matter how many "gourmet" burger chains are popping up around the country. We went to burger lounge in san diego last month, motherfuckers put 1000 island on their burgers. I told them to hold that shit. Is that a "special order." Also the burgers sucked anyway, overcooked dry meat.

What if i don't want onions in whatever is on the menu? Is that still a special order? Am i being unreasonable or should i just eat whatever the chef has prepared because he's the chef? Should i also let the chef decide the temperature my steak should come out as? Or do i get that option, after all they are the "chef."


Yea the restaurant has every right to refuse, but it should be taken on a case by case basis. A fried egg? Takes a couple of minutes, no big deal and for a regular who supports the business in the way he has? A smart manager would have said no problem. If he asked for completely random ass shit? Then no.
 
There's a mid-high end french restaurant where the owner knows I am lactose intolerant and offers to change the baked potatoes with cheese and butter whip cream into sometime else.

My request was simple, just don't add the cream on my potato. However, he was telling me that the baked potatoes wouldn't taste good at all without the cream and offers to switch to another complementary dish of my choice.

He gets an A for service.

Best thing is, I will be back!
 
This seems insane to me. It's just an egg... saving them for the special? I get it if someone asked for some Chilean sea bass on the side and they didn't want to dip into the supply... but an egg? If they start running out, send someone to the corner store to pick up a carton for two bucks.

Some special orders I would fully understand a favorite restaurant not accommodating for me. But if they have eggs on the menu, and I ask them to crack one onto my dish, I'd be pretty taken aback if they refused.
 
Akuun said:
How the fuck do you spend $75 on a restaurant unless you're paying for like 4 people?
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$25 entree
$10 appetizer
$10 drink (note: this is a glass of cheap house wine)
$10 dessert
+ Tax and Tip gets you near $75.

This is a cheap order at a restaurant Yelp would give $$ (out of a maximum $$$$).
 
Risible said:
Waited tables for 4 years through college.

I see you're as dense as the owner of that deli.

I ordered an extra teabag, not "two teas". Maybe while you were so busy in the service business you should have boned up on your reading comprehension on the side.
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When you order a tea you don't get charged for the hot water in your cup. I agree with you though, he could have given you another tea bag.
 
Risible said:
I don't understand this at all. You side with the restaurant and then give an example that directly contradicts your first statement.
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It's weird, I know - I was thinking that when putting myself in that situation. My best explanation would be that, as has been discussed above, the restaurant most likely buys to order assuming they will make X number of a certain special, so they cannot just randomly use up the ingredients on other dishes whenever someone feels like adding something on then menu.

However, and I used to work in a cocktail bar, the whole point of cocktails is to mix something new and interesting - we buy alcohol to create these cocktails that are on the menu, but also to experiment and find new and interesting creations. I guess for me, if I can see that the bar has all the ingredients for a certain drink and isn't busy (2-3+ people being served) then I would politely ask for a mix of X,Y and Z to create something I know tastes great.
 
I would be more perplexed than anything. I'd also start to wonder about how they handle their food and food prep. If they are unable to be flexible at all with a simple ingredient, why could that be?

If Burger King can make an adjustment I would think a restaurant with real cooks could too. Maybe the Chef is an egomaniac and refuses because he thinks his creations are perfect as is? But then again it's a damn burger.
 
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