What Do You Do When There Is Food Left On The Plate?

A fellow waiter last night brought up something that I thought would make for an interesting post and which your thoughts on what you would do in this situation would be fun to hear back on.

You see the previous night he had a few cook ups on a couple of steaks at his table but it was how they came about that was different. When the food was delivered and after a few bites he went over to do a table check and everyone at the table mentioned that the meal was delightful. Throughout the meal he passed by the table several times and each time noticed that everyone seemed to be enjoying their meal.

Then when it came time to clear the plates he noticed some bits of meat still left on the plate. Then he made the comment , "was everything alright?" Then they started to complain about the meat had some grizzle , not cooked enough bla bla bla. So now they are complaining after the meal is over but while they were eating everything was fine. A dessert was bought for them and then they complained that the cost of a dessert did not do enough to soothe their feelings toward the meal. In other words a bigger discount than that of a dessert should have been offered.

When I heard this I offered that I never , once I have done the table check and everything is fine , ever ask them again how everything is or was upon clearing. Unless they are unhappy at the time of table check do I ever take the plate back to the kitchen to get it fixed up.

The reason I choose not to is because if you ask them a second time then they think that maybe you might be covering up something or in the case above they will find something to complain about and expect something free afterwards.

When I do the one table check I make sure of two things. One , they have tasted enough to make a decision on whether they are satisfied. In other words let them eat a bit and do not table check too early. Second is I make sure I always make eye contact with the guest when asking if everything is to their satisfaction. That is everyone at the table of course. This ensures everyone has heard me.

When I clear and there is still food on the plate I will never ask something that could produce a negative. I assume , because they told me it was fine , that it was.

Now when someone does mention something negative about the meal I will actually respond with , " oh geez you should have told me when I asked you if everything was to your satisfaction and I would have got it fixed , now I feel bad you didn't tell me." "If you don't tell me how would I know." Then I clear the plates and forget about it. Their fault , I am sorry. If I do not tablecheck then it is mine. But I always do.

I do two things though when there is food left on the plate and that is ask if they want to take the rest home with them or just pat my stomach , smile , and say wow are you full?

Always clear the plates on a positive note and of course if their plates are empty I say wow did you enjoy that or what? I think we should send the dishwasher home early tonight or something stupid to illicit a laugh.

Any thoughts from the industry professionals out there or suggestions? I am sure this has happened to all of us at one point.