The moment you complain to your waiter, you alter the very experience you are paying for. A restaurateur asks that we consider the kitchen before grumbling about the food
In restaurants up and down the country, it seems to have become acceptable for customers to send back a dish because they don’t like it. Not because it was cold, or too salty, or because of an untimely delay in the kitchen, but purely because they happened to make the wrong call. I have some sympathy. I bought a pink scarf a few weeks ago that I thought suited my colouring, but, catching sight of my reflection later, I realised it made me look washed out. It didn’t occur to me to ask for a refund.
And the same goes with restaurant meals – disappointments happen. We’re all familiar with that pang of envy when your dining companion’s choice looks sexier than your own. And, with the not inconsiderable costs of eating out in some places, it is only human to begrudge paying for something you’ve decided you’re not going to enjoy.
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