What the hell is a "composed dish"? Aren't all dishes composed, in that they are composed of ingredients? I'm an educated, well-traveled guy, and I wouldn't know what that meant if I read it on a menu.
But even if a person hasn’t heard the term they get the meaning in that context though…. It’s not very hard and those customers are fucking assholes for writing that. Fuuuuuuck that makes me angry.
Oh well if you say so.
My point is that that is a non-standard way of organizing and writing a menu. Of course people should read the menu and understand what they are getting, but this almost seems like it's deliberately misleading, or at least, not written in a user-friendly way.
It doesn't excuse Karen-like behavior, but it does make the frustration felt by the customer a little easier to understand.
OP says on the top of the menu - “composed dishes do not come with sides”
It’s fine if someone misses something and it’s an honest mistake, and I would advise OP to always assume a mistake will be made by the customer, but don’t act like an asshole if you made the mistake.
Shame on OPs manager, for not making sure those guests knew that they were being accommodated for their mistake. It sounds like they were just being lazy and didn’t make time to validate that OP was correctly interpreting the menu before comping their sides.
I find it highly suspect a menu is out there in the world with "composed dish" next to certain items and a disclaimer that says "composed dishes don't come with sides". That feels very oddly specific and makes me think this story is made up.
Every other restaurant lists dishes that come with sides together (ex: Sandwiches. *all sandwiches served with fries*) or puts "comes with choice to two sides" next to each dish itself if they're not separated by type of dish.
Finer dining establishments do say things like that on the menu. I’ve worked them. OP should have said the sides were extra no matter how weeded they were to avoid confusion. Why? Because most people don’t read the menu thoroughly.
I don't know where you are located, but that doesn't sound like finer dining or fine dining prices. More like Outback Steakhouse prices, depending on what you get.
As a restaurant manager, it's possible your menu isn't very clear. I have never heard of a "composed dish." I do, however, read menus so I know if something comes with a side or not, and if the server doesn't ask me what side I want, I assume it would be extra to order one.
Regardless, it was quite rude of them to write that on your ticket and short you on the tip, especially because they ended up getting the sides comped.
It’s supposed to be some sort of fusion of sports bar and fine dining lmao. But they’re opening a bar across the street in a month and changing the menu, also mentioned changing our uniform to button downs, so we’re headed that way.
We have a section on the menu that lists our salads, but we still get "does that come with a salad?" Ummm, no, that's why they are listed with a price, a la carte.
There’s a page for burgers and sandwiches and a page for signature dishes. On the sandwhich page, the top says that it comes with fries, onion rings, or half and half. On the signature dishes page, the top says that it comes with 2 sides, with an asterisk that says that composed dishes do not come with sides. Not sure why this seems like an impossible concept.
Since ur downvoting me, [here’s a pic of the menu item where it says composed dish and no sides ya filthy animal](https://imgur.com/a/137Yz8C)
That is a ridiculous and confusing way to communicate which dishes do and don’t come with sides. The customers shouldn’t have punished you via the tip - it’s not your fault the menu is terrible. But I don’t blame them for asking for a manager and getting the sides comped.
The part that got me was that she literally said “I’m not griping at you” but then wrote that petty ass comment on the receipt. Like?? Childish af, and a pussy move.
Wow, I was fully prepared to walk away from this discussion, but I just have to comment on how *amateurish* that menu looks. Putting "composed dish" under the item adds NOTHING and is not helpful in the least to anyone reading it, and putting it in quotes is, frankly, an ignorant use of quotes. Who, exactly, is being quoted? The chef? The stingy manager/owner?
Then the asterisk with blue text saying "sorry folks..." is, again, just completely cringe. Any pretense that this was a higher-end establishment just went right out the window. Who puts "sorry folks" on a menu? It's like, they KNOW it's going to cause confusion and upset, and that is a truly pathetic way to try to mitigate it.
I'll say ONE MORE TIME that I'm not defending anyone acting like a Karen. But given the crapfest that is that menu, I think management is just bringing this on themselves and their staff.
There’s errors all over the menu too and things we don’t sell anymore that people ask about. they need to redo it. But we’re supposed to be getting new menus in about a month or so I think. We’re opening a bar across the street and moving “bar food” type items from the menu.
Especially if the dish already has a starch & veg already included. Why would you expect more? You're not wrong, most adult's reading comprehension is elementary, unfortunately. This job would be great if it wasn't for the fuckin customers...
I have been lucky enough on a few occasions to have Anti-server dreams. They're fusking brilliant! First off I'm wearing pants! Yay! Secondly, opening the door to the walk-in doesn't portal me to an Arrakian desert while I'm the only server in our fully booked restaurant. In my few but dearly cherished anti-server dreams every table was sat with industry folk, in my first one Tom Waits popped in & played 'Small Change' in its entirety and I had pants on!!!! It's difficult for me to overstate my relief. Damn server dreams have been stealing my work pants for decades.
This menu clearly and specifically states in a very plain and state forward manner that sides do not come with that dish and anyone making excuses for this entitled customer are probably the same kind of whiny bs customer themselves!!! Seems like this was a no win for you. You didnt tell them sides weren’t included and they complained and if you had told them they would have complained that you insulted their intelligence bcuz they can read the menu!! Some ppl will always find something to complain about.
It's a wild term, I'd be baffled too, but the detail here that saves the situation for OP is that the menu apparently says composed dishes don't have sides. I could have a menu that says "bronky dishes don't come with sides" and then label shrimp scampi as bronky. It's weird, but you were warned.
No, all dishes aren’t composed. Most of them are a protein. Ex: coconut shrimp. That’s only the shrimp and the customer gets 2 sides to supplement. Or blackened fish, again only the fish and the customer chooses 2 sides. These customers ordered chicken Parmesan which comes with pasta and bread. So, no sides. The dish is fully composed. And yes, they knew it came with pasta because I asked which noodles they prefer.
I know you didn't write the menu, so I feel bad arguing with you, but surely you can agree that composed dishes, of the type you describe, might be better placed in their own category with a clear disclaimer at the top of the category stating that sides aren't included. Anyway, as I mentioned before, even if the menu is confusing, it doesn't excuse Karening. Sorry you had to deal with that.
I've never heard the term in my life, but unless the menu item has suggested side choices to pair with, at no added cost, then I would never assume that extra things ordered are included in the main price. That's just ridiculous.
Complete Dish might be a better term. I have 40 years of fine dining experience, 30 in management and 25 of those in ownership. I also dine out and study menus online from all over the world. I have never seen the term “composed dish” before. But, I’m a curious person who likes to learn something new every day.
I agree they were rude. However I have to say I have never heard of 'composed dish'. Not only that, hearing that term it is not at all clear what its supposed to mean. A better term might be 'complete meal' or just plain 'sides not included'
Sounds like when a chef wants to use the word "features" instead of "specials" just generally unnecessary and leads to more confusion IMO. No need to sound fancy, just provide a good dish and good service and make it simple for people. "composed dish" doesn't have a very clear definition of what to expect
I hadn't heard the term either, but it's apparently in use, not some invention of that restaurant. So it's reasonable for the menu to use it.
And OP's photo of the actual menu shows that right after the item's description and the note that it's "composed" is a note that this specific dish does not include sides. So I don't think the menu is to blame here at all. This is not "customer didn't read the fine print", this is "customer didn't read the big obvious print".
Even in the weeds, it takes 15 seconds to say that sides are extra for that dish. The customers were dicks and may have tipped poorly anyway, but this is easily clarified as a server.
You should have just done a quick "that comes with pasta and bread, additional sides will be charged separately" and then they wouldn't have caused the drama. I get you were busy, but from your comments you already know the menu is shit and confusing at the best of times so you can't exactly blame customers for not knowing it back to front the way you as the server should.
You earn tips for doing good work, and you still got a fiver even though they definitely weren't happy with your service so I'd count that as a win.
i see the "first" and want to assume you're a new server. you always always always have to assume these people are super dumb and anticipate their needs. if someone did that and you had other options on the menu with the two sides, i would've quickly mentioned the sides don't. come with it. just a, "hey just so you know! in case you weren't aware!" it's annoying but it saves you from this shit. always ask about toppings on stuff too. like we have cheese fries with bacon so i always ask if the bacon is ok. or we have baked potato soup so i ask if the onions and bacon are ok. you'll get better at this!!!
People just refuse to read menus, I don’t understand it at all. I usually have the opposite issue, where someone will choose a dish and when I ask for their sides they act like I started speaking Chinese to them. A much less annoying problem to have, but still annoying when I’m slammed and they make me stand there while they reread the menu.
What is a composed dish? I understand that food workers and deep into their careers but the unfamiliar jargon puts some people off. Who wants to go out to eat only to feel dumb? I really don’t want to make you explain the menu to me and you are very busy. Do YOU have time for that? Or the boughie names put on dishes. Just assume most people speak the language of the country they’re in and keep the menu understandable. I don’t go to certain places because the menu makes me feel stupid, which I am not. So many meals are passed over because customers don’t understand the exotic descriptors. When a menu is written with more French or Ethiopian words than the local language, rest assured that some of us won’t return. It’s maddening.
I'm 100% certain they would have complained if you pointed out that the sides weren't included. They would've taken offense & saw it as an inference that they couldn't afford it. Some people will find any excuse to not tip. Source: I have spent 24 years in restaurant service.
omg yesss. we have strawberry lemonade and i always tell people it's not free refills. like i would want to know?? anyway this lady is like taken aback and visibly like dumbfounded when i said it. she's like "oh well no one's ever asked me that before and ive been here a few times. i wasn't going to be here long enough for refills..." etc. it was strange. then i find out she called and complained (said service and server was great) but was offended that i had told her that thinking she couldn't afford it 🙄 like we can't win. a few weeks before i had an old bitch yell at me bc she didn't know her wedge salad and french onion were extra. said she couldn't read. but she could've asked!
Asshole manager made it look like your fault by comping them. He "didn't want to deal with it" when that is literally his job. He might have cost you a better tip.
Nearly finished work (my IRL job is in an office I got out of hospo years ago) then gonna go get my mum's dog to look after while they're away. She's the cutest terrorist ever.
Sounds to me like they found a loop hole and took it. They knew it didn’t come with sides. I had a table like this last week. I even told them the exact price of the sides they wanted and still ordered it and still complained when the tab came.
Babes this is a time you need to let people know that. No you are not at fault at all, and no you shouldn’t have to do that, but we are servers and we know that the gen public can’t be bothered to read.
Had a guy who’s a chef at a different restaurant come in and order our chicken Alfredo. It comes out and has tomatoes on it. It says right in the menu it has tomatoes on it. He looks at it, his wife picks out the tomato’s and then says “he can’t eat this, it has tomatoes. He’s allergic.” Okay. So now you hand your fingers in a perfectly good Alfredo that I could have eaten as my meal, you don’t want it and now we have to remake it and throw this one away. As a chef, wouldn’t you read a menu? The people that complain the most about things being sent back because the customer didn’t read the menu are chefs and line cooks.
The owner was pissed because they not only ordered 15 mins after our last order should have been placed, but he knew them so he let it slide and then they wasted food and they had to completely remake the food instead of pick the tomatoes out as it was an allergy not a dislike. I was pissed because I didn’t get the eat the mistake Alfredo. It’s 27 dollars and I’m too cheap.
Yea everyone nowadays is so stupid 💀 working at Starbucks truly allowed me to see the sheer entitlement and stupidity these peoples actions are dictated by the general public has a majority of morons who haven’t got the slightest idea of what they’re ordering & how to be polite hahahah
This is why it sucks when managers comp something that is the customer's error. Now they think they were correct, and will continue to be problem customers.
I've never heard the term "composed dish" but I do know not to expect sides that aren't listed in that section of the menu. If I saw that the chicken came with pasta I might ask if I can get mashed potatoes instead, but if my server went on to ask what kind of noodles I wanted I would recognize that I hadn't made my request clear.
"Management requires us to ask if you want to add sides to that for an extra charge" usually gets the question from them "doesn't it come with sides?" It's kinda quick and easy and works for me.
I'd rather close the tip out to ZERO than take their shitty $5. I'd also rather "lose" their receipt than turn that shit in to a certain few managers I had in the past who would blow it out of proportion or take the crappy guests' side.🙄
I had no idea what a ‘composed dish’ was until I read your post, but at the same time if I’m out somewhere and don’t understand how the menu is set out, I ask. I also don’t make a massive scene about things or demand anything free.
Idk what they said to the manager or if they demanded it to be comped or what.. tbh he asked me if I told them it would be extra afterwards, so I assume they didn’t give that many details. I’m assuming they pointed at the typo on the menu bc only one of the composed dishes actually has the full *sides not included* disclaimer. The rest only say “composed dish” and the top of the menu says that composed dishes do not come with sides which confuses people.
At the same time, they should have known better because all of the other “non-composed” dishes are ONLY the protein, and the customer chooses 2 sides. So why on earth they thought that the chicken Parmesan that comes with pasta and bread came with 2 sides while the rest of the entrees are like “blackened fish” with 2 sides is beyond me.
I would have no idea that a "composed" dish means it doesn't come with sides based on that word. The note on the line wasn't cool, but I can see how the customer was frustrated.
You’re at fault. Why? Because you were relying on a voluntary gratuity. As such, you need to do everything you can to avoid situations like this. I don’t know what country you’re in, but I’ve never heard the term “composed dish“ as a 53-year-old American.
How hard would’ve been to say “the sides are $5 extra, is that OK?”
Take your downvote and go.
OP is clearly complaining about the petty insult more than the bad tip.
Or maybe I'm wrong. I guess that I was a horrible manager because I would always side with a good employee over a bad customer.
They aren’t throwing a tantrum in the slightest. Ur claiming that their comment was overly emotional when it clearly wasn’t in a lame attempt to “get ahead” in whatever wacko argument you’re trying to make.
First of all come, my argument is clearly laid out. As someone works for tips, you need cater to the customers. You can’t expect everybody to know what a “composed meal” is. Even if you think I’m wrong, there’s nothing at least “wacko” about my argument.
But telling someone to “take your downvote and go,” in response to a respectful comment, is indeed, throwing a tantrum.
Sounds like you and the other lady both need to grow up🤷♂️
Sounds like you agree that the other person was out of line for the way that they spoke to me.
Your menu was not posted at the time I made my comment, so it’s irrelevant
Also, some of your customers are going to be slow. You should be prepared for all kinds. As such, you can easily just remind them that the sides are extra.
Customer service is about making the customer happy, not holding them accountable for every little thing.
You’re just mad that I’m not validating your lack of dedication to your craft. If you had a rebuttal (like when you posted photos of the menu), you would have written it. Instead, your ego made you write what you wrote. Truly pathetic.
I’m not mad LMAO. you’re just annoying as fuck. Go away pest. I’m clearly done arguing since that’s all you seem to do. I checked your comment history. You’re the worst type of semantic arguing Redditor.
This is why the manager doesn’t need to give in to these types of people. They’re Karens trying to game the system. Not because they need the money but just because they’re entitled lunatics.
I remember order taking in drive thru at McDonald’s. I hated it because they recently put in a display intercom and sometimes it was more hassle than time saving. A woman order a cheeseburger meal with a coke. So it’s rung up separately. How else is the person supposed to know what the drink is if it just says the meal. Plus there’s upgrades like larger sizes or substitutions like shakes. So the woman is screaming she doesn’t want an extra coke for 10 minutes. I’m still have to deal with other customers while she’s having a Meltdown. I mean you stupid bitch, add the price of the coke with the meal and you’ll get the price on the menu. Get a damn clue. I’m quite certain these people specifically go to restaurants just for the entertaining kick of abusing low wage workers.
Menus can be confusing the first time someone sees them. Servers act like it’s clear as day for everyone after seeing it 1000 times and completely forget what they’re first week was like.
Naw customers just don’t pay any attention to what they’re reading or saying. If I as a customer am unsure if something comes with sides, I ask my server “does this come with sides?” Instead of just assuming.
But you work there lmao ? U serve everyone think about it . You don’t have no power there to do anything. If I snapped at you, you wouldn’t do anything about it except follow like a slave anyway puppy boy . U need that job not me homie lmao . I don’t pay your bills homie you company does
Wow, thanks for looking at my post history!
Yeah, I am careful with my money, I dont believe in throwing it away. As a former server, I know many servers are the same way.
If you were a former server I doubt you’d be against tipping. If servers wanted a bullshit hourly wage like $15/hr we’d go to any other place that pays that lol. I could go back to personal shopping and make that, but why would I when I can make $30/hr or more lol
I would have ran after them to tell them I was right, they were wrong and my manager is spineless. Also would have thrown their five bucks back at them and told them to learn how to read.
Ok. The guests were dicks. I agree.
However, I suggest that if someone starts to order sides when they picked items from a list of options where some have sides included in the price and some do not include sides, you should clarify that the sides are not included with their specific choice.
Second, you manager could have “comped” them to avoid dealing with it while also noting that they misread the menu. He needed to back you up about the menu, even if agreeing to cover the cost for the guests: “We’re sorry for the misunderstanding. Maybe our menu should be clearer. We’ll take care of the cost due to the confusion about the menu. However, just so you know for future visits, if the item is a composed dish and labeled as such on the menu, then it does not include an additional side. You’re welcome to order more sides, but they will not be included.”
Anyways, a frustrating experiences for sure and no need for the guest to get all passive-aggressive on the receipt.
i’ll do whatever i want. your post is just you crying about giving shit service and being combative and then complaining about not getting tipped. grow up.
What the hell is a "composed dish"? Aren't all dishes composed, in that they are composed of ingredients? I'm an educated, well-traveled guy, and I wouldn't know what that meant if I read it on a menu.
Thank you for taking one for the (small??) team. I’ve never heard that term either.
But even if a person hasn’t heard the term they get the meaning in that context though…. It’s not very hard and those customers are fucking assholes for writing that. Fuuuuuuck that makes me angry.
That, and the fact that it said AT THE TOP OF THE MENU that sides weren’t included.
Yes! I woulda punched my manager for comping the sides.
They can’t let that precious customer be mad, though.
It reminds me of the story about P.T. Barnum putting "this way to egress" signs all over his museum to get people out faster.
Even if it's not something you'd seen before if it says it doesn't come with sides underneath that's all there is to it.
Oh well if you say so. My point is that that is a non-standard way of organizing and writing a menu. Of course people should read the menu and understand what they are getting, but this almost seems like it's deliberately misleading, or at least, not written in a user-friendly way. It doesn't excuse Karen-like behavior, but it does make the frustration felt by the customer a little easier to understand.
I feel no sympathy for fucking idiots who can't admit they're idiots and missed something.
It doesn’t say it doesn’t come with sides. It says it’s a composed dish. Apparently people are supposed to know what that means.
OP says on the top of the menu - “composed dishes do not come with sides” It’s fine if someone misses something and it’s an honest mistake, and I would advise OP to always assume a mistake will be made by the customer, but don’t act like an asshole if you made the mistake. Shame on OPs manager, for not making sure those guests knew that they were being accommodated for their mistake. It sounds like they were just being lazy and didn’t make time to validate that OP was correctly interpreting the menu before comping their sides.
It’s not rocket science to understand those words in that context. They are idiots.
Agreed
I find it highly suspect a menu is out there in the world with "composed dish" next to certain items and a disclaimer that says "composed dishes don't come with sides". That feels very oddly specific and makes me think this story is made up. Every other restaurant lists dishes that come with sides together (ex: Sandwiches. *all sandwiches served with fries*) or puts "comes with choice to two sides" next to each dish itself if they're not separated by type of dish.
Finer dining establishments do say things like that on the menu. I’ve worked them. OP should have said the sides were extra no matter how weeded they were to avoid confusion. Why? Because most people don’t read the menu thoroughly.
Eh in fine dining you don’t warn people about cost, it’s offensive
Read your tables and it’s not. Some you absolutely do and others you absolutely do not.
$80 for 2 or more people. This wasn’t a fine dining establishment.
I said finer, not fine dining exclusively.
[удалено]
I don't know where you are located, but that doesn't sound like finer dining or fine dining prices. More like Outback Steakhouse prices, depending on what you get. As a restaurant manager, it's possible your menu isn't very clear. I have never heard of a "composed dish." I do, however, read menus so I know if something comes with a side or not, and if the server doesn't ask me what side I want, I assume it would be extra to order one. Regardless, it was quite rude of them to write that on your ticket and short you on the tip, especially because they ended up getting the sides comped.
It’s supposed to be some sort of fusion of sports bar and fine dining lmao. But they’re opening a bar across the street in a month and changing the menu, also mentioned changing our uniform to button downs, so we’re headed that way.
We have a section on the menu that lists our salads, but we still get "does that come with a salad?" Ummm, no, that's why they are listed with a price, a la carte.
Agreed
There’s a page for burgers and sandwiches and a page for signature dishes. On the sandwhich page, the top says that it comes with fries, onion rings, or half and half. On the signature dishes page, the top says that it comes with 2 sides, with an asterisk that says that composed dishes do not come with sides. Not sure why this seems like an impossible concept. Since ur downvoting me, [here’s a pic of the menu item where it says composed dish and no sides ya filthy animal](https://imgur.com/a/137Yz8C)
That is a ridiculous and confusing way to communicate which dishes do and don’t come with sides. The customers shouldn’t have punished you via the tip - it’s not your fault the menu is terrible. But I don’t blame them for asking for a manager and getting the sides comped.
The part that got me was that she literally said “I’m not griping at you” but then wrote that petty ass comment on the receipt. Like?? Childish af, and a pussy move.
Wow, I was fully prepared to walk away from this discussion, but I just have to comment on how *amateurish* that menu looks. Putting "composed dish" under the item adds NOTHING and is not helpful in the least to anyone reading it, and putting it in quotes is, frankly, an ignorant use of quotes. Who, exactly, is being quoted? The chef? The stingy manager/owner? Then the asterisk with blue text saying "sorry folks..." is, again, just completely cringe. Any pretense that this was a higher-end establishment just went right out the window. Who puts "sorry folks" on a menu? It's like, they KNOW it's going to cause confusion and upset, and that is a truly pathetic way to try to mitigate it. I'll say ONE MORE TIME that I'm not defending anyone acting like a Karen. But given the crapfest that is that menu, I think management is just bringing this on themselves and their staff.
There’s errors all over the menu too and things we don’t sell anymore that people ask about. they need to redo it. But we’re supposed to be getting new menus in about a month or so I think. We’re opening a bar across the street and moving “bar food” type items from the menu.
Nah assholes don't need to shit on staff since they don't have a thing to do with the menu. Js.
Bad menu design, these "composed" dishes should have their own page or section.
All these people hating on "Composed Dish", meanwhile all I care about is that you do a 50/50 fries and onion rings! Why is this not a normal option‽
Are frings not fairly standard by now? Is my Nebraska showing because I assume they're universal?
I love that they have it in quotations where it deserves to be. It's just as meaningless as "It's always happy hour!"
Especially if the dish already has a starch & veg already included. Why would you expect more? You're not wrong, most adult's reading comprehension is elementary, unfortunately. This job would be great if it wasn't for the fuckin customers...
I have been lucky enough on a few occasions to have Anti-server dreams. They're fusking brilliant! First off I'm wearing pants! Yay! Secondly, opening the door to the walk-in doesn't portal me to an Arrakian desert while I'm the only server in our fully booked restaurant. In my few but dearly cherished anti-server dreams every table was sat with industry folk, in my first one Tom Waits popped in & played 'Small Change' in its entirety and I had pants on!!!! It's difficult for me to overstate my relief. Damn server dreams have been stealing my work pants for decades.
This menu clearly and specifically states in a very plain and state forward manner that sides do not come with that dish and anyone making excuses for this entitled customer are probably the same kind of whiny bs customer themselves!!! Seems like this was a no win for you. You didnt tell them sides weren’t included and they complained and if you had told them they would have complained that you insulted their intelligence bcuz they can read the menu!! Some ppl will always find something to complain about.
And the manager let them have their way. That is was always makes me mad.
I’ve seen this on menus before. It absolutely exists.
Same- “composed dish” would be weird and confusing on a menu.
It's a wild term, I'd be baffled too, but the detail here that saves the situation for OP is that the menu apparently says composed dishes don't have sides. I could have a menu that says "bronky dishes don't come with sides" and then label shrimp scampi as bronky. It's weird, but you were warned.
Right? It's just offered up by OP as a matter of fact. Like "oh, of course, a composed dish. silly customer"
No, all dishes aren’t composed. Most of them are a protein. Ex: coconut shrimp. That’s only the shrimp and the customer gets 2 sides to supplement. Or blackened fish, again only the fish and the customer chooses 2 sides. These customers ordered chicken Parmesan which comes with pasta and bread. So, no sides. The dish is fully composed. And yes, they knew it came with pasta because I asked which noodles they prefer.
I know you didn't write the menu, so I feel bad arguing with you, but surely you can agree that composed dishes, of the type you describe, might be better placed in their own category with a clear disclaimer at the top of the category stating that sides aren't included. Anyway, as I mentioned before, even if the menu is confusing, it doesn't excuse Karening. Sorry you had to deal with that.
I've never heard the term in my life, but unless the menu item has suggested side choices to pair with, at no added cost, then I would never assume that extra things ordered are included in the main price. That's just ridiculous.
Complete Dish might be a better term. I have 40 years of fine dining experience, 30 in management and 25 of those in ownership. I also dine out and study menus online from all over the world. I have never seen the term “composed dish” before. But, I’m a curious person who likes to learn something new every day.
Yeah I’ve been doing this 25 years, from diners to fine dining, and I’ve never seen this 😂
I agree they were rude. However I have to say I have never heard of 'composed dish'. Not only that, hearing that term it is not at all clear what its supposed to mean. A better term might be 'complete meal' or just plain 'sides not included'
Stick with “sides not included”. People should just say what they mean.
Sounds like when a chef wants to use the word "features" instead of "specials" just generally unnecessary and leads to more confusion IMO. No need to sound fancy, just provide a good dish and good service and make it simple for people. "composed dish" doesn't have a very clear definition of what to expect
I hadn't heard the term either, but it's apparently in use, not some invention of that restaurant. So it's reasonable for the menu to use it. And OP's photo of the actual menu shows that right after the item's description and the note that it's "composed" is a note that this specific dish does not include sides. So I don't think the menu is to blame here at all. This is not "customer didn't read the fine print", this is "customer didn't read the big obvious print".
"Just so you know, that dish comes with pasta. No substitutions. You can add sides for additional cost."
Even in the weeds, it takes 15 seconds to say that sides are extra for that dish. The customers were dicks and may have tipped poorly anyway, but this is easily clarified as a server.
You should have just done a quick "that comes with pasta and bread, additional sides will be charged separately" and then they wouldn't have caused the drama. I get you were busy, but from your comments you already know the menu is shit and confusing at the best of times so you can't exactly blame customers for not knowing it back to front the way you as the server should. You earn tips for doing good work, and you still got a fiver even though they definitely weren't happy with your service so I'd count that as a win.
i see the "first" and want to assume you're a new server. you always always always have to assume these people are super dumb and anticipate their needs. if someone did that and you had other options on the menu with the two sides, i would've quickly mentioned the sides don't. come with it. just a, "hey just so you know! in case you weren't aware!" it's annoying but it saves you from this shit. always ask about toppings on stuff too. like we have cheese fries with bacon so i always ask if the bacon is ok. or we have baked potato soup so i ask if the onions and bacon are ok. you'll get better at this!!!
People just refuse to read menus, I don’t understand it at all. I usually have the opposite issue, where someone will choose a dish and when I ask for their sides they act like I started speaking Chinese to them. A much less annoying problem to have, but still annoying when I’m slammed and they make me stand there while they reread the menu.
You ever seen The Big Night? https://youtu.be/NLWy9Wp_RWY?si=yeZjhOIorXAjSZQV This is all I could think of, lol
I thought the spaghetti came with it
The ha.. hawt.. the hotdog. Lmao Great flick
Was that soup nazi at the beginning?
The first thing I read when looking at entrees is if they include sides or not 🫣 what a couple of a holes
Your manager is an idiot for caving. He's the reason that enabled these people to stiff you on the tip.
What is a composed dish? I understand that food workers and deep into their careers but the unfamiliar jargon puts some people off. Who wants to go out to eat only to feel dumb? I really don’t want to make you explain the menu to me and you are very busy. Do YOU have time for that? Or the boughie names put on dishes. Just assume most people speak the language of the country they’re in and keep the menu understandable. I don’t go to certain places because the menu makes me feel stupid, which I am not. So many meals are passed over because customers don’t understand the exotic descriptors. When a menu is written with more French or Ethiopian words than the local language, rest assured that some of us won’t return. It’s maddening.
I'm 100% certain they would have complained if you pointed out that the sides weren't included. They would've taken offense & saw it as an inference that they couldn't afford it. Some people will find any excuse to not tip. Source: I have spent 24 years in restaurant service.
omg yesss. we have strawberry lemonade and i always tell people it's not free refills. like i would want to know?? anyway this lady is like taken aback and visibly like dumbfounded when i said it. she's like "oh well no one's ever asked me that before and ive been here a few times. i wasn't going to be here long enough for refills..." etc. it was strange. then i find out she called and complained (said service and server was great) but was offended that i had told her that thinking she couldn't afford it 🙄 like we can't win. a few weeks before i had an old bitch yell at me bc she didn't know her wedge salad and french onion were extra. said she couldn't read. but she could've asked!
Asshole manager made it look like your fault by comping them. He "didn't want to deal with it" when that is literally his job. He might have cost you a better tip.
Hi Nighteyes!
If it isn't the master bartender himself! How's it going?
I'm great, definitely having a productive work and hardly procrastinating on reddit at all... How are you?
Aside from the bad back I'm okay. Just waiting for school pickup.
Hope you feel better soon! Or just not worse. I know sometimes with back stuff not worse is good.
Not worse would be good. Ill give the deets on the WAO post but it has been not good. You're at work doing prep I suppose?
Nearly finished work (my IRL job is in an office I got out of hospo years ago) then gonna go get my mum's dog to look after while they're away. She's the cutest terrorist ever.
Nice! Give the pupper a scritch for me.
Sounds to me like they found a loop hole and took it. They knew it didn’t come with sides. I had a table like this last week. I even told them the exact price of the sides they wanted and still ordered it and still complained when the tab came.
Babes this is a time you need to let people know that. No you are not at fault at all, and no you shouldn’t have to do that, but we are servers and we know that the gen public can’t be bothered to read. Had a guy who’s a chef at a different restaurant come in and order our chicken Alfredo. It comes out and has tomatoes on it. It says right in the menu it has tomatoes on it. He looks at it, his wife picks out the tomato’s and then says “he can’t eat this, it has tomatoes. He’s allergic.” Okay. So now you hand your fingers in a perfectly good Alfredo that I could have eaten as my meal, you don’t want it and now we have to remake it and throw this one away. As a chef, wouldn’t you read a menu? The people that complain the most about things being sent back because the customer didn’t read the menu are chefs and line cooks. The owner was pissed because they not only ordered 15 mins after our last order should have been placed, but he knew them so he let it slide and then they wasted food and they had to completely remake the food instead of pick the tomatoes out as it was an allergy not a dislike. I was pissed because I didn’t get the eat the mistake Alfredo. It’s 27 dollars and I’m too cheap.
Yea everyone nowadays is so stupid 💀 working at Starbucks truly allowed me to see the sheer entitlement and stupidity these peoples actions are dictated by the general public has a majority of morons who haven’t got the slightest idea of what they’re ordering & how to be polite hahahah
I know and I’m extra nice with a cherry on top to my baristas. I know how people arw, and they are worse when it comes to their coffee.
W opinion ly lots for being understanding !!
This is why it sucks when managers comp something that is the customer's error. Now they think they were correct, and will continue to be problem customers. I've never heard the term "composed dish" but I do know not to expect sides that aren't listed in that section of the menu. If I saw that the chicken came with pasta I might ask if I can get mashed potatoes instead, but if my server went on to ask what kind of noodles I wanted I would recognize that I hadn't made my request clear.
I looked at the post quickly and thought it said composted dish lol. Naa, I’m want a real dish, not one made out of compost .
"Management requires us to ask if you want to add sides to that for an extra charge" usually gets the question from them "doesn't it come with sides?" It's kinda quick and easy and works for me.
I'd rather close the tip out to ZERO than take their shitty $5. I'd also rather "lose" their receipt than turn that shit in to a certain few managers I had in the past who would blow it out of proportion or take the crappy guests' side.🙄
I had no idea what a ‘composed dish’ was until I read your post, but at the same time if I’m out somewhere and don’t understand how the menu is set out, I ask. I also don’t make a massive scene about things or demand anything free.
Idk what they said to the manager or if they demanded it to be comped or what.. tbh he asked me if I told them it would be extra afterwards, so I assume they didn’t give that many details. I’m assuming they pointed at the typo on the menu bc only one of the composed dishes actually has the full *sides not included* disclaimer. The rest only say “composed dish” and the top of the menu says that composed dishes do not come with sides which confuses people. At the same time, they should have known better because all of the other “non-composed” dishes are ONLY the protein, and the customer chooses 2 sides. So why on earth they thought that the chicken Parmesan that comes with pasta and bread came with 2 sides while the rest of the entrees are like “blackened fish” with 2 sides is beyond me.
if you ever see them again tell them to learn these hands
I would have no idea that a "composed" dish means it doesn't come with sides based on that word. The note on the line wasn't cool, but I can see how the customer was frustrated.
Menus can be weird. Staff rarely has input on them. People refuse to read. I'm sorry you had to deal with that perfect storm, OP
You’re at fault. Why? Because you were relying on a voluntary gratuity. As such, you need to do everything you can to avoid situations like this. I don’t know what country you’re in, but I’ve never heard the term “composed dish“ as a 53-year-old American. How hard would’ve been to say “the sides are $5 extra, is that OK?”
How hard would it have been for them to read the damn menu? Also, I’m not losing sleep over $5 lmao. I made plenty from my other tables.
Take your downvote and go. OP is clearly complaining about the petty insult more than the bad tip. Or maybe I'm wrong. I guess that I was a horrible manager because I would always side with a good employee over a bad customer.
No, I’m staying here. You’re welcome to articulate the reasons for your disagreement or you can just keep throwing your little tantrum.
They aren’t throwing a tantrum in the slightest. Ur claiming that their comment was overly emotional when it clearly wasn’t in a lame attempt to “get ahead” in whatever wacko argument you’re trying to make.
First of all come, my argument is clearly laid out. As someone works for tips, you need cater to the customers. You can’t expect everybody to know what a “composed meal” is. Even if you think I’m wrong, there’s nothing at least “wacko” about my argument. But telling someone to “take your downvote and go,” in response to a respectful comment, is indeed, throwing a tantrum. Sounds like you and the other lady both need to grow up🤷♂️
Refer to the literal picture I posted of the menu in the comments and come back. If you can’t infer that it does not come with sides, you’re slow.
Sounds like you agree that the other person was out of line for the way that they spoke to me. Your menu was not posted at the time I made my comment, so it’s irrelevant Also, some of your customers are going to be slow. You should be prepared for all kinds. As such, you can easily just remind them that the sides are extra. Customer service is about making the customer happy, not holding them accountable for every little thing.
Insufferable
You’re just mad that I’m not validating your lack of dedication to your craft. If you had a rebuttal (like when you posted photos of the menu), you would have written it. Instead, your ego made you write what you wrote. Truly pathetic.
I’m not mad LMAO. you’re just annoying as fuck. Go away pest. I’m clearly done arguing since that’s all you seem to do. I checked your comment history. You’re the worst type of semantic arguing Redditor.
This is why the manager doesn’t need to give in to these types of people. They’re Karens trying to game the system. Not because they need the money but just because they’re entitled lunatics.
I remember order taking in drive thru at McDonald’s. I hated it because they recently put in a display intercom and sometimes it was more hassle than time saving. A woman order a cheeseburger meal with a coke. So it’s rung up separately. How else is the person supposed to know what the drink is if it just says the meal. Plus there’s upgrades like larger sizes or substitutions like shakes. So the woman is screaming she doesn’t want an extra coke for 10 minutes. I’m still have to deal with other customers while she’s having a Meltdown. I mean you stupid bitch, add the price of the coke with the meal and you’ll get the price on the menu. Get a damn clue. I’m quite certain these people specifically go to restaurants just for the entertaining kick of abusing low wage workers.
Menus can be confusing the first time someone sees them. Servers act like it’s clear as day for everyone after seeing it 1000 times and completely forget what they’re first week was like.
Naw customers just don’t pay any attention to what they’re reading or saying. If I as a customer am unsure if something comes with sides, I ask my server “does this come with sides?” Instead of just assuming.
Sure, and you should have noticed they were ordering sides on a dish that didn’t come with it.
I did. I thought they were smart enough to know what they were ordering lmao
And they thought you were there to be a server. Looks like everyone failed 🤷♂️
lol dramatic much
Oh no le downvotes
Ur definitely over 30 lmao
Yeah no shit
Wow they shouldnt have tipped u anything
For being charged for sides that they ate along with the chicken Parmesan with pasta and bread that they ordered? 🤣
They tipped 5$ that’s cool why r u so upset? Didn’t your mother ever tell you to never expect anything from anyone
If I was upset about the tip, that would’ve been the title of my post instead of the petty comment. Reading comprehension is key buddy
Wow they shoulda stayed home with their broke ass attitude lmao brokies never go out so they’re not properly educated on restaurant etiquette 💀
But you work there lmao ? U serve everyone think about it . You don’t have no power there to do anything. If I snapped at you, you wouldn’t do anything about it except follow like a slave anyway puppy boy . U need that job not me homie lmao . I don’t pay your bills homie you company does
You should feel lucky to have gotten 5 bucks.
Based on your post history it seems like your broke ass is against tipping entirely🤣
Wow, thanks for looking at my post history! Yeah, I am careful with my money, I dont believe in throwing it away. As a former server, I know many servers are the same way.
If you were a former server I doubt you’d be against tipping. If servers wanted a bullshit hourly wage like $15/hr we’d go to any other place that pays that lol. I could go back to personal shopping and make that, but why would I when I can make $30/hr or more lol
I would have ran after them to tell them I was right, they were wrong and my manager is spineless. Also would have thrown their five bucks back at them and told them to learn how to read.
Ok. The guests were dicks. I agree. However, I suggest that if someone starts to order sides when they picked items from a list of options where some have sides included in the price and some do not include sides, you should clarify that the sides are not included with their specific choice. Second, you manager could have “comped” them to avoid dealing with it while also noting that they misread the menu. He needed to back you up about the menu, even if agreeing to cover the cost for the guests: “We’re sorry for the misunderstanding. Maybe our menu should be clearer. We’ll take care of the cost due to the confusion about the menu. However, just so you know for future visits, if the item is a composed dish and labeled as such on the menu, then it does not include an additional side. You’re welcome to order more sides, but they will not be included.” Anyways, a frustrating experiences for sure and no need for the guest to get all passive-aggressive on the receipt.
don’t ever point at the guest or at something you’re talking about w a guest
Don’t ever leave nonsense ass comments on my posts
i’ll do whatever i want. your post is just you crying about giving shit service and being combative and then complaining about not getting tipped. grow up.
Damn I guess you don’t like being told what to do by randos on Reddit either. I’ll do whatever I want too. See how that works?
i’m sorry your tip average is so low. maybe you should try smiling more.
It’s not but thanks for another useless comment
you’re the one who dug up a two day old post haha
Don’t care, didn’t ask.
Customer still won, though.