Compliments of the House

[ER2]

If a dish is clearly unacceptable and has to be sent back, then obviously a restaurant will replace it. However, in addition to the replacement would most Chowhounders expect (hope for?) something more - say a free drink or dessert?

[jfood]

Nope, please fix the error, return the dish properly prepared and back on the road again.

Life should not be filled with "gotchas".

[Lucia]

I think sending something back disrupts the meal. Then the other person(s) at the table are eating while you're sitting there w/o food in front of you. Depending on how egregious the mistake, I might expect something extra, or at least a very gracious apology.

[marcia]

Assuming everything was settled satisfactorily, why should the house give out a freebie? Those who do expect this sound rather entitled to me.

[swsidejim]

no, just fix the dish, I am not looking for freebies.

[pollymerase]

Agreed, I go to a restaurant knowing I will spend money and I certainly don't expect to get something for free because someone made an error.

[Catskillgirl]

Absolutely. As long as they fix the problem quickly, I'm satisfied. Mistakes happen. I would only think any kind of comp would be in order if the whole meal were rife with mistakes. One problem corrected promptly = full price meal IMHO.

[Karl S]

No. Expectations of comping are getting way out of hand. There needs to be compounding error to justify that expectation.

[brendastarlet]

Not necessary, just take it off the bill and offer a replacement. It is nice to offer a free dessert. I've had restaurants bring the bill and say, "we took the drinks off your bill" and that's a nice gesture.

[FrankJBN]

"Not necessary, just take it off the bill and offer a replacement"

If it is being replaced, why should it be taken off the bill? Shouldn't it be one or the other - take it off bill or replace it?

[Missmoo]

I would not expect something free if the temperature is wrong as long as it comes back the right temp after I point it out. I would only expect something like that for a really big mistake, like a lost reservation, or waiting over an hour, or something inedible (that can't be fixed)

[MMRuth]

I agree - mistakes do happen, and unless the meal is rife with problems, I wouldn't expect to to receive something free.

[jeannieh20]

I think it really depends on how unacceptable it is. For example if it's raw or undercooked then yes I would at least expect a complimentary dish/drink. But if its a matter of you wanting rare and it's over cooked to medium then, you're already getting a new steak - so I wouldn't really expect it. It really depends on the level of customer satisfaction the resto is going for.

Surprisingly on Friday I was at Jack Astors for lunch and my coworker who ordered wings sent it back as the wings were undercooked. Not only did they send out a new batch but it was on the house and the resto manager came out to make sure everything else was ok! That's the best service I've had at Jack Astors in a long time!!

[FrankJBN]

"if it's raw or undercooked then yes I would at least expect a complimentary dish/drink. But if its a matter of you wanting rare and it's over cooked to medium then...I wouldn't really expect it."

So undercooked you want a freebie, but overcooked you don't? What is the difference really?

[beany]

Well, in an item like chicken, eating it undercooked could make you sick, but overcooked chicken just results in dryness.