I should have known not to take my mom to a restaurant on Mother's Day. The service was not up to par. When we asked for more bread, the server just dumped another basket on top of the first basket. The kitchen help yelled out the orders. We heard all the noise because this restaurant did not have a wall separating the kitchen from the dining room, only a partition. My mother's chicken was pink. When we sent it back, they had thrown the chicken back on the grill and returned it to her on the same bread plate (with a piece of bread still on it). I hate complaining at restaurants because it puts me in a bad mood. Usually when we send things back because they are not cooked properly, we are given a new entree. I questioned the unsanitary practice of throwing food which has been on someone's plate, back on the grill. When the manager came to the table and I explained the situation, he tried to make the excuse that the MSG makes the chicken appear pink. He admitted that we should have been given a new entree. Then he said, "What can I do for you?" I didn't know how to respond. I thought he should have offered a complimentary dessert to my mother. I felt like I had complained for nothing so later, I called him back and I asked him to give my mother a complimentary dessert, which he did. I felt awkward about telling him what I wanted him to do for me. How do you respond when the manager says, "What can I do for you?"

I tell them what I want or what would help remedy the problem. There have been times that I expect my meal for free but I do not ask for a free meal. I will say that "usually at other places, they discount our bill in this kind of sitation. What is your policy?".

We usually have crappy Mother's Day service but today it was FAB. Waitstaff was super attentive and although it was a buffet (which I normally hate), they kept the food fresh and hot.

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Sorry your experience wasn't good today. Restaurants should know that on a special day, they need to step it up and go above and beyond.
My kids and I went to dinner last night for Mother's Day to avoid the craziness today.

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Umpteen years ago my brother had a fast food restaurant with chicken as the main course. He commented that when something goes wrong with an order, all it takes is to offer a free dessert and that customer will usually come back. It doesn't take much to win a customer back over.

we couldn't go out last night to avoid craziness LOL Our colleges had graduation this weekend...it's always on Mother's Day weekend so Sat night is more frantic than Sunday late Morning

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We had dinner at Longhorn tonight. The service was excellent. I'm not sure if the waiter was that good or he kept coming by to flirt with my DD. LOL Either way we had great service and it was a lovely meal.

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Hey!, whatever works, right? As long as the flirtation isn't excessive.

We went to a locally owned fish buffet. It was crowded but not overly crowded. Steady business but not the super long wait time that I've seen in the past.

Just worked 13 hours as a server....sorry for your bad experience.

Oh my, I have to share my Mother's Day Breakfast experience.

We went to a local eatery/pub that is of Scottish Theme. Our reservations were for 9:00am.
We got there a bit early.
We were the only people there.

Took us 20 mins to get an order in (don't ask me why, we were just left sitting at our table..LOL). About 5 mins after we had been seated another four top came in, then about a half hour after we had been seated a 5 top came in. So total of three tables.
The waitress came out and said the cook was going nuts in the back, and proceeded to apologize for our wait, then she went to the newer table, told them the cook was going nuts and I had to laugh when the lady there said, My goodness, there are only three tables here!
It took about 45 mins to get our omelettes (me and dh) and my dss's ordered the Gaelic Breakfast.
Dh and I got our omelettes (which were cold, and the toast was hard but they were SO yummy!), and we proceeded to eat because we were really starved. We figured the boys' would be right out, because all they had was basically Scrambled eggs on one/OE on the other with hash browns, bacon, grilled tomatoes, bangers and toast.
They didn't get theirs until my dh and I were done eating. I felt SO bad.
The boys didn't get half of their food on their plates and we had to ask for their Bacon, sausage AND toast! The bangers (sausages) were SO FUNNY. One was good, the other one like crystalized on my son's plate! It was hard as a rock and when it broke in half, it looked like crystals inside! We were totally in awe and wished that we hadn't eaten the first sausage after seeing that.

Then to top it all off, we got home about 2 hours later ,and all of us were sick and in bed the rest of the day!!!! OMG!! All I could think of was what a Mother's Day! LOL!!!!!!

It was nice being in bed with dh, but we weren't moaning for a good reason (lol, sorry! LOL!). That was not fun.

So we took a walk finally at 7:00 just to see if that would help. It did a little bit, so we went out to eat dinner at 8:30 pm. (oi)

No one was open, but we caught the very tail end at another local eatery/pub and had such fast service and the food was just fine.

There is my Mother's day restaurant woe for ya!

I feel for you chattynat, I used to be a server years ago. Those long shifts are just killer. I hope you get some much deserved rest and made really good money today!

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I'd rather cook my own mothers day dinner than to out to eat on that day. Course i dont go to the mall either too many rude people stopping in the walkway or kids running crazy around while the parents look on.

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I've worked in restaurants for over 20 yrs. When the manager asks you that question, they really want to know what will make you happy, and you should tell them. If they're a good manager, and it's within their power, they'll do it. Folks should realize though that the manager doesn't always have carte blanche.

If your complaint is legit, a good manager will do whatever they can to make it better. However, don't try to put one over on them. They've seen it all. Last week, I had someone order a crab cristo sandwich. He literally ate all but 2 bites and then proceeded to tell me the crab meat was bad and he sure hoped he wouldn't get sick. Since I know for a fact that the server had been back to check on the table at least 2 times, and he didn't complain till he had eaten almost the whole sandwich, my response to him was, "I hope you don't get sick too."

I'm sure he was disappointed that I didn't comp anything, but really, who eats almost an entire meal and then decides that it's "off"? Particularly seafood. If seafood is bad you know immediately. Had he complained after the first few bites, I would have taken the sandwich off the check, comped him another sandwich and given him a gift cert hoping to ensure his return.

Another of my favorites is when a customer complains about a meal and I offer to get them something else, they refuse the offer, which is fine. Maybe time is an issue. So I take the offending meal off the bill and then they want it wrapped to go. Um, no. It's no good remember? And once I take it off the bill, it no longer belongs to you. Nice try though.

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We had a great time! We went to a local seafood restaurant on the water, got a nice table by the window with a fantastic view. The food was excellent. We had to wait a little to be seated, but that's to be expected on a day like today.

I agree..when the manager asks what he can do for you to make you happy. By all means. let him know. Sometimes they won't even ask. I do not like to go out on this day either. Always crowded. I am sorry your mom's evening was ruined though..and I do agree, throwing the chicken back on the grill is ICKY!

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She's 20....trust me it was mutual....LOL

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Our family learned long ago not to go out to eat on Mother's Day - just too busy! We were going to go Sat. for lunch for my mom but ended up eating with my cousin who graduated from college that morning and went where she wanted to go. For several years, we have gone out to eat for Mother's Day on another day simply because it is so crazy on Mother's day. This works for us and my mom would much rather enjoy her meal than go to a crazy restaurant on Mother's Day. Besides, it was cold and rainy here yesterday.

I feel that way about all the holidays. How can you enjoy yourself when there are a bazillion people, it's loud, and you feel rushed???

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Funny... I was just online filling out a complaint on our Mothers Day restaurant trip. We went to a brand new place called Fuji...... Here's my letter:

Hello, My husband took me to your Lake Mary/Sanford Florida location yesterday for Mothers day. It started off alright, The waitress asked it this was our 1st time here, we told her it was, & asked for recommendations. She took our orders. Brought our sushi, we ordered the warm Saki sampler, never arrived. My husband had to ask if she forgot our main dishes because it had been a while, she said the kitchen was busy. We never saw our waitress again after she brought our meal plates, We had a problem with the main dishes just being warm, not hot at all. She never came back to refill drinks, or even bring our 2nd drink order. We had to ask another waitress to bring our check because it was getting late & even then the new waitress just brought the check amount, we were unsure if she charged us for the Saki because when we saw the check, it was already totaled, had it not been for the fact that we were already late and disappointed, we would of asked to see the itemized list.
We just thought it was very rude & for this being our 1st time ever there we are in no hurry to return because of this poor service.
We were there from 5:30 pm to about 7:30 & by no means was it busy for this to have happened to us.

I was sooooo upset, we were hoping to find a good sushi place..but won't be back here

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After working 15 long years in the restaurant business, I would never dine out on any holiday. It is just too busy. Lots of people go out that never usually go out and have grand expectations of their experience. Others trade up to the restaurant - For example, if they are used to going to Denny's type of place, they might trade up and go to Olive Garden and expect the servers to treat their mom like the most important person in the world! When you have 5 tables an hour expecting this and you are a mother your self - it is very overwhelming.

The worst tippers come out on holidays also. Do yourself a favor and cook for your mother/in-laws and save the hassle. They will feel much more cherished, which is what every mother wants. And if you are a mom that just wants the day off from cooking, go out on another day like a previous poster said. Spend the day at home. This nation does not need to keep spending money they do not have because it is what they are "supposed" to do.