Who Is Responsible?

[ccracin]

I'm sitting here at lunch and was having a conversation with some co-workers. I ordered lunch, went and picked it up and my order was wrong. It p***es me off. So we start talking about how often orders at restaurants are coming out wrong more and more. My position is that it is the order takers responsibility to get me my food as I ordered it. I gave him or her the order, not the cook. They should check the order before I get it. I also feel that if my order is wrong the tip will get reduced. I normally tip 15-20%, I feel for what a waiter or waitress has to go through everyday. That does not excuse poor performance. I work with a couple former waiters/waitresses and you would think I called them everything bad by making this statement. So I thought I would solicate opinions on here. What do you think?

[68protouring454]

good thought, however it could be either fault, but it does come down to the waitress/waiter to check the order or remember it. i used to deal with things not right however with as much as food costs, i do not give any, they take it back and fix it or i just eat nothing if its gonna take awhile to get back out, i am not spending money on something i did not order, BUT, if the waiter/waitress is nice and apologetic and asks if she wants her to take it back or reduce price, then i will take it, just them being concerned and knowing it was not what i ordered made me feel a bit better.
ordered nachos at applebees, asked for no black beans, waiter took order, brought out nachos with black beans, i said i ordered them without, he trys telling me that i can't get them that way, and if so the cook would have to hand pick each and everyone of them off,lol, i told him to open his pocket so i could **** in it. all the while the kid thinks its my first time eating/ordering nachos there.......

[907rs]

I've got to agree with you, Chad. It should be the responsibility of the person taking the order, or the person delivering your meal if it is to be delivered.

[EFI]

I once owned and operated a couple of pizza parlors. As much as we tried to make every order right, we had our share of mistakes. Usually it boiled down to employees that just didn't care.

Who made the mistake? In my shop it could be several people. We had order takers that didn't repeat orders back to customers. If they did get it right, we had pizza toppers that didn't always pay attention to what was on a slip. From there we might have cooks or a pizza cutters/boxers who wouldn't notice a mistake made by toppers. We also had pizza cutters/boxers that would put product in the wrong box.
It always shocked me how those things could happen.
Unfortunately all the training in the world wouldn't do anything for people who take no pride in their work.
But, in the end they were my shops and my employees, so I was responsible. If something wasn't right I wanted to know, so I could make it right.
Not all restaurants will make it right, but if your order is incorrect, I suggest you talk to someone in charge. Typically owners/managers understand the value of their customers.

My 2 Cents.

_________________________
- Dan

[ccracin]

I once owned and operated a couple of pizza parlors. As much as we tried to make every order right, we had our share of mistakes. Usually it boiled down to employees that just didn't care.

Who made the mistake? In my shop it could be several people. We had order takers that didn't repeat orders back to customers. If they did get it right, we had pizza toppers that didn't always pay attention to what was on a slip. From there we might have cooks or a pizza cutters/boxers who wouldn't notice a mistake made by toppers. We also had pizza cutters/boxers that would put product in the wrong box.
It always shocked me how those things could happen.
Unfortunately all the training in the world wouldn't do anything for people who take no pride in their work.
But, in the end they were my shops and my employees, so I was responsible. If something wasn't right I wanted to know, so I could make it right.
Not all restaurants will make it right, but if your order is incorrect, I suggest you talk to someone in charge. Typically owners/managers understand the value of their customers.

My 2 Cents.

_________________________
- Dan

Well said Dan. I guess when you think about it alot of people just have no pride in the work they do. If I didn't pay attention to what our sales people ask me for it could cost the company 10's of thousands of dollars for each oops. I am just an employee, but it is in my best interest to keep the company I am working for viable. Why do people not get that. When I was in high school bagging groceries, I still wanted to do a great job. I was one of the only baggers that actually got tips. people would check out at the register I was working. That should make you proud, no matter what the job. Anyway, back on topic. Shouldn't the person passing the food to the customer be the last to check for accuracy? Thanks for the input.

[Bandit]

I agree with you bud. I used to work at a restaurant and I remember the good servers always checking the ticket again when it came up to the cook's window. If the cooks messed up the order, the server would get on their case. If it happened too often, the manager would get on the cook's case. Of course when they were really busy, the servers would sometimes miss something on the check, or grab the wrong plate. It happens, you can never have 100% accuracy in a business like that. Nobody really got on the servers' case, because they usually took the hit in the form of a small/no tip. But in the case that the order is wrong, I think as the customer we owe it to everyone's sanity to be gracious as possible, and the management owes it to us as customers to make it right. A good server will try to correct it on the spot. If the server can't fix it, a good manager will assess the stuation and adjust as appropriate. Little screwup=free drink, etc. Big screwup=free meal. Just my 2 cents.

[tones2SS]

I say the order taker since they are the one who takes the order, places the order and brings the order to the table. Which in that point, should give the food a quick glance over to make sure the order is correct. Just my opinion.:D

[ZZ3ElCamino]

Neither, it should be the food runner that should make sure your order is correct. However, all three play hand in hand

[camaro_kyle]

I respectively disagree. As a previous food runner, they almost always do not know the specifics about the orders. Their job is to take certain plates to a specific table. It is not their fault if the plate is wrong or missing something.

[JamesJ]

If the order was put in the POS correctly then it is the shelfers job to make sure it is correct, if it made it past the kitchen mgr. And it is also the waiters job to make sure it is correct. so if you get your food wrong then it was put into the POS wrong or differant then what the kitchen staff normaly sees or 3 or so people screwed up.;

[markss28]

When ever I received the incorrect order I would always as polietly as I can be explain the correct order that I want and say please and thank you about a million times. This way when the bring me the correct food there is no spit in it and I didnt totaly destroy their day. I have seen some people get there orders wrong and just explode and the server. We really dont know what kind of day they had so I try to cut them some slack. But I really hate when they have attitude.

[ccracin]

Well this poll has been around awhile and It looks like I am not alone. I thought I was the goofy one for awhile! Well I am goofy but that's a different story!:willy: