'AITA for calling the manager of a restaurant to verify what my server told me?'

"AITA for calling the manager of a restaurant to verify what my server told me?"

So today I (30f) went to a corporate restaurant with my husband (32m) and our child (4yo). Husband orders and appetizer sampler, kiddo gets a corndog with fries and fruit (upcharge) and I ordered a tex-mex-esque chicken rice bowl. My husband's food is hot, our kid's food is hot, my food is COLD.

Not just the cold toppings and the top layer of my rice due to the cold toppings, but my chicken and the entirety of my rice feel as though they were put in the cooler. My dish is advertised on the menu as a HOT dish.

I get our server's (early 20s F) attention and ask her if this is correct. She informed me that due to the cold toppings that my rice and chicken would be cold and that she has had several people ask the same question and that this is how it is.

I ask her if she is aware that it doesn't mention that it is a chilled dish on the menu and tell her that if this is actually supposed to be a cold she needs to do her due diligence as a server and inform her guests so we can make an informed decision regarding our food since the menu is not.

My husband then mentions that I'm also a server and rarely ever bring things to a fellow server's attention. She asked me where I work, I tell her and suggest that since she has had multiple people have this exact inquiry...

That maybe she should add it to her repertoire for this particular product, as is customary for most servers after getting MULTIPLE complaints/notes about THE SAME THING.

She apologized, but made no recommendations about rectifying the situation, didn't even grab the manager to come talk to me about it. In service, in EVERY place I've worked (from little mom & pops to corporate to fine dining) the minute a server has a complaint from a table, a manager is supposed to be informed and the manager comes to speak to the table.

Doesn't matter why, what, nothing. A manager should have been at my table immediately after my inquiry to verify and/or rectify. We paid our tab, in full, and I still left our normal tip amount ($15 on $52). I ended up taking all my food home to heat up in the microwave.

Since management didn't come to the table to discuss things, I called them a time later after finishing our errands to talk about how they need to change the description on the menu so guests can make informed decisions regarding whether or not they want a chilled dish that isn't a salad.

Wouldn't you know, my rice AND chicken both should have been HOT. I told the manager what the server relayed to me and he told me he was very sorry, but the server was very wrong and asked what she did to rectify the situation; manager touch, replace food for hot, make a different item, discount off the bill, etc.

I told him she absolutely did none of those things and if I had spoken to the manager on duty I absolutely would not be calling and taking this up with him over the phone. I explained that I could excuse things being a one off had the server not told me she gets this complaint often and that I was simply calling to ask them to do their due diligence on informing guests that it was a chilled dish...

...but since speaking to him that I'm rather upset at being lied to over something that could have been a super easy fix. As service industry, I get that crap happens, especially considering the establishment we went into, I'd have been happy with them throwing the whole dish in a pan and heating it up for two minutes...

And it not looking like it's advertised and it being a tex-mex-esque stir fry! But food shouldn't be left to die in the window or sent out cold when they should be hot. I wasn't even calling to complain for myself, for the most part (I NEVER call in to complain!), but for the fact that this is a recurring complaint that hasn't been rectified one way or another.

He apologized profusely and told me he will get to the bottom of as to why this has been a reoccurring problem, according to his staff, and thanked me for bringing it to his attention. He took my information (email, name, server's name, and details of my complaint) and told me that the district manager would be in touch in the coming days.

I thanked him and apologized for causing him additional stress and work when I know how busy Sundays can get. I know if any of my managers had gotten this call, there would be some strongly expressed words in private and in front of everyone without naming the server to make sure everyone knows how to handle this from now on.

That's not even getting into how they would talk to kitchen staff regarding how it got past the cooks AND expo...So, AITA for calling and verifying what my server said to me with management?

Here's what people had to say to OP:

paper0wl said:

NTA. It sounds like it’s a branch problem and not just a server problem. It’s the kitchen that makes the food, not the server, after all. Kitchen had incorrect information on food preparation, and it’s unlikely that this server was the only one who had gotten complaints from customers on the issue.

Quite a number of people had to drop the ball for it to have gotten to the point where you called the manager. The server’s misstep was not informing the manager of a customer issue, which is very out of character for (properly trained) servers. Which really makes me wonder what ELSE that store is secretly getting wrong.

HappyTuba551 said:

NTA. The only thing I would have done differently is address it with the manager while I was there in the restaurant.

OilIcy1230 said:

"Oh, I thought it was going to be hot. Do you mind warming it up for me?" Problem solved. You turned a minor annoyance into a whole production and you sound absolutely dreadful. Glad you whipped the thesaurus out for this essay, but maybe if you had kept this story short and sweet, we wouldn't all be able to tell how completely YTA.

whatzupwitu said:

YTA. You turned a simple “can I get this remade?” into a corporate audit. Relax.

Independent_Lie1507 said:

YTA why didn't you ask her to have it heated up for you? Also your husband mentioned you're also a server. She could have mistakenly thought you were ok with keeping the cold dish. Instead you call her boss. Try posting this on one of the server subs and see how it goes.

sluthlorien said:

Nta but you sound insufferable.