Eating out annoyed!

[NewStart2014]

While I know I should be grateful that someone else is willing to prepare my food I just really wish that they would listen when taking my order. I specifically said "Dressing on the side please" for a reason. I didn't want those ogled looks if I would have said "no dressing please"

My dressing came on the side but my salad was also already dressed. I didn't want to come off rude in front of my co-workers and career peers.

So I ate around the highly sweetened dressed baby spinach only eatting the bacon, chicken and avocado.

29 days doing pretty well only to be met with this hurdle and feeling I've failed a little bit. As Tom says, "find the lesson." Next time I will be sure to say no dressing, no dressing at all please."

[Rachael2288]

Although it may seem "rude" to you at that point to ask for a new salad, undressed, it is their JOB to get it right. You are paying them to prepare and serve your food so if it is not edible (which it isn't during a whole30) then you should ask for them to get it right. Plus when it is a salad it wouldn't take that long for them to make a new one versus ordering a new steak or something like that.

Next time I would politely ask for a new salad, if you were allergic to something in the dressing then you would have to ask for another anyways! I usually tell servers that I have grain, legume, and dairy allergies so they don't act like it is less of an issue

Good job staying strong though and not eating the sugary dressing!

[Kirsteen]

It's really annoying when they don't get it right. I carry a small make-up bag containing two travel size bottles, one of extra virgin olive oil and one of balsamic vinegar. That way I can ask for no dressing and still dress the salad when I get it. i just tell people I've got lots of food allergies and don't want to risk spoiling the evening with an upset stomach.

[kb0426]

What I "hear" when I read this is that you are someone that does not like to make waves, nor draw attention to yourself. If you are looking for a lesson in all of this, take some time and reflection to perhaps look at all of the other times that you did something you did not want to do, or perhaps held back your feelings because you did not want to create waves or draw attention.

This lesson may be far more than about a botched salad order and how to order next time. It may be about finding your voice, allowing you to stand up and be an advocate for yourself.

I actually joke with waitstaff that they are about to get a very customized, high maintenance order. When that order turns out to be that I simply would like a side of olive oil, and no dressing, they tend to laugh. And they get it right.

[jillian]

I was a server (waitress) for many years - in high school, through college, and as an adult when between other jobs. Can I just say - I really really enjoyed serving people and making sure they really really enjoyed a good dining experience. There were only 2 reasons I'd be upset with a guest - 1. they were rude/disrespectful and 2. they weren't happy with some aspect of the food or dining experience and instead of speaking up, they became quiet or awkwardly impersonal. Sometimes I'd call the guest out if I noticed something wasn't right (most often a steak that was overcooked or undercooked) and I'd take their plate back to the kitchen even while they were softly saying "it's okay - don't worry about it. I don't want to cause a fuss." They'd always be happy that I fixed their order - but I would be a little irritated that they didn't just speak up in the first place ... it was my job and I liked to do my job well. Speak up! If your server is rude when you speak up - that's on your server, and has nothing to do with you (as long as you were being respectful).

[SpinSpin]

I used to work 'back of the house' as a line cook, and I always made sure that the order was right when it went out, and I never chewed out waitstaff if they needed a substitution or needed the order fixed, not even when we were slammed. My motto has always been 'If the customer isn't happy, no one is happy.' Because if the customer isn't happy, they won't be back, the waitstaff won't get a good tip, and while most people may tell 2 people if they had a good experience, most will tell many more if the experience was bad. ALWAYS speak up if an order isn't right--it is the cook(s) job to get it right and make it right.

[Susan W]

I was a server for many years. I'm surprised your server didn't notice your salad was dressed, but all you needed to do was point it out to them. It's quite possible they thought you wanted extra dressing on the side. People do that all the time. I really don't think it would have been an uncomfortable situation and you have every right to order your salad the way you want it and as long as you were polite, (which, I am positive you would have been) it should not have caused any angst to the server or the kitchen. When I am doing the Whole30, I simply ask for a squeeze of lemon and some olive oil. No amount of a sweet dressing would have been okay for me.

[lixer]

KB's post really touched me. I'm doing the Whole 30 because I care about myself and want to honor my body but yet I am also the type of person who would rather just be quiet and "nice" in most situations. I'm learning that honoring my voice is just as important and that doing so (in a polite way) doesn't make me a *itch.

I actually haven't eaten out at all on my Whole 30.... 36 now, just because I'm too paranoid. When I was a little "looser" paleo before and when I choose to eat out in the future I understand that my order may be a bit odd, but everyone has been wonderfully accommodating since they want to make you happy. And, it should go without saying, tip those that make your dining experience a breeze well!

[NewStart2014]

can I just say how much I detest hitting the wrong button and then the back button only to find a lengthy post has been deleted because of my rare but inopportune "fumble fingers".

Anyway to try to reiterate what I had previously said.

• Thank you for your posts, they are greatly appreciated.
  
• Had I had been with family and friends I would have had no trouble getting them to sort the order out.
  
• I was eating at one of two places in my town that actually had meals (and was not a McDonalds, KFC, Chinese food or Fish and Chip Shop
  
• Australians in my area (rural/mining) have a saying if something is not as you had wished "Take a tablespoon of cement and harden the F*** up" (not all Australians but 99% in my area.)
  
• Servers here are hard to get as they don't have to be working as their partners are on $100K + a year and they know they don't have to work.
  
• I definitely agree that had I been with family and friends I would not have had an issue to ask for them to fix the meal but being with my work colleagues was not the time to do it. Mental note made and it won't be happening again. If it does it can go back.
  

In a nutshell my previous message.

Thanks again for your posts.

[Kirsteen]

• Australians in my area (rural/mining) have a saying if something is not as you had wished "Take a tablespoon of cement and harden the F*** up" (not all Australians but 99% in my area.)
  

Love it, Love it, Love it. I am unashamedly stealing that and adding it to my arsenal of sarky responses.

[bratdoll]

It's really annoying when they don't get it right. I carry a small make-up bag containing two travel size bottles, one of extra virgin olive oil and one of balsamic vinegar. That way I can ask for no dressing and still dress the salad when I get it. i just tell people I've got lots of food allergies and don't want to risk spoiling the evening with an upset stomach.

Genius.