response 7 of 20:

Jun 20 20:07 UTC 2007

resp:6 Oh yeah, definitely- very nice and polite about it. 

response 9 of 20:

Jun 20 20:52 UTC 2007

I often ask the waitperson if there are things the cook on duty does
especially well.  Sometimes I get offered off-menu items.  

I do put in special requests from time to time, but seldom send them back if
they aren't right.  I've been in too many kitchens where exceptions are just
too easy to forget.  

I do try to be clear about dressing an item or my plate.  No mayonnaise is
usually the waitperson, not the cook's problem.  

The other thing I do before I complain is ask the person I'm dining with if
I was clear.  Sometimes I'm the only one who understood what I was getting
at. *grin*

response 11 of 20:

Jun 20 22:41 UTC 2007

Re #6: So true! I *do* tip very well, so I don't feel too bad about 
special requests, as a rule. Besides, if there is a problem with food 
preparation, it is seldom the fault of the server.

response 13 of 20:

Jun 21 23:50 UTC 2007

I have no qualms for asking for modifications in something that I'm 
ordering, especially if whatever it is hasn't be 'pre-made' [like for 
asking no-mushrooms or other such thing that I don't like or can't 
eat]. If the item HAS been pre-made, if its a big deal, and/or if they 
can't fix it the way I want or need it to be, I'll order something 
different that I *can* eat.  Especially since we're usually paying more 
for eating out, I'd like to get something that I want and enjoy eating. 
If I know ahead of time that I won't find much that I'll be able to eat 
while dining out [or going to someone's place for a meal], I'll eat 
something before I go [and when I get home if I'm hungry].  I'm 
somewhat of a 'selective' [picky] eater, so I do what I need to do. I 
enjoy eating too much NOT to get and enjoy what I do want... :-)

response 15 of 20:

Jun 22 20:56 UTC 2007

that movie is one of the reasons I'm always nice. :)

response 17 of 20:

Jun 23 01:17 UTC 2007

When I was a food service worker, I never did anything bad to anyone's
food nor did I ever see anyone else do anything to a customer's food.
Sometimes we talked about how we *wished* we had though ;). What I did
to punish bad customers when I was a waitress was to simply ignore them
as much as possible and to give them the absolute minimum about of
service as  I could get away with. I was always way to busy to waste my
time on that sort of person. 

When I worked fast food, I was a teenager so I would just give them the
same look I would give my mother when she chewed me out. It was that
look that all teenagers seem to know instinctively which communicates:
"yeah...whatever" and usually comes with an eye roll or two. It always
amazed me the contempt with which some people treat fast food workers. I
mean it wasnt uncommon for people to be seriously verbally abusive about
really weird things. 

response 19 of 20:

Jun 24 18:52 UTC 2007

The five second rule... :)

I've worked at many, many restaurants, and I've never seen (or heard 
of) anyone actually dong something bad to a customer's food. Like 
slynne, we definitely talked about what we *wanted* to do, but actually 
doing it would be just too nasty. Not to mention the embarrassment of 
having to tell your family just why you lost your job. That's never a 
good thing.