Was in one of my 'eateries' one evening and enjoying after dinner drink with some friends,including the staff, when one said to me words to this effect,
" By law, all restaurants/eateries in Portugal, have to have a book, whereby customers can register comments, positive or negative about the place,staff etc...Ive just been spoken to in a very rude, nasty manner, yet I have no way of complaining/ answering back ?"
The person concerned was angry & upset.
As we discussed this, I was told some of the horrible ways( by words, manner) that these nice helpful,friendly people had been treated. I didn't have an answer, except that I don't understand bad manners in anyone, least of all towards people who are serving us..of course if the staff are not nice, they may well ask for it..
but not so in this case.
Should there be a book for waiters..to complain about rude, ill-mannered customers?

An Irishman was in a posh Cheltenham restaurant after a nice win at the Gold Cup. He was particularly distressed by the noisy table next to him, in particular one guy who was giving the staff a really hard time.

"God God man! he exclaimed to the wine waiter. "I asked for the Chateau Nuit 86 and you've given me the 85. Get me the right year you imbecile."

The Irishman looks over.

"Excuse me sir but can you really tell the age just by taking a drink?"

"Of course I can, I was educated at Eton don't you know"

"Well what about this?" asks Paddy, handing him a glass.

The guy takes a swig and immediately gags. After a couple of minutes of choking he splutter.

"God that was piss!"

"Right first time but how old am I?"

laserblazer wrote:An Irishman was in a posh Cheltenham restaurant after a nice win at the Gold Cup. He was particularly distressed by the noisy table next to him, in particular one guy who was giving the staff a really hard time.

"God God man! he exclaimed to the wine waiter. "I asked for the Chateau Nuit 86 and you've given me the 85. Get me the right year you imbecile."

The Irishman looks over.

"Excuse me sir but can you really tell the age just by taking a drink?"

"Of course I can, I was educated at Eton don't you know"

"Well what about this?" asks Paddy, handing him a glass.

The guy takes a swig and immediately gags. After a couple of minutes of choking he splutter.

"God that was piss!"

"Right first time but how old am I?"

Its the way you tell 'em !

Right..Im off to me bangers & mash..with no one to 'wait ' on me

I never continue eating in any restaurant in which I've had to complain about the food. Here's a recent complaint I sent to a well known hotel chain:

On the Saturday evening we had planned a nice meal in your restaurant followed by a peaceful night's sleep. However, those plans began to go wrong immediately we arrived at the restaurant reception. We arrived dead on 7.00 as requested and there was no-one to show us to our table. After waiting three minutes for someone to appear I went to the bar to order a bottle of wine. The bar was deserted with no staff in sight. After a couple of minutes I popped my head around the corner and there were two members of staff sat at a small table. One was eating her dinner, and the other, a chef, was watching the X-Factor on the television. I was told that the guy in Reception would serve me; but I pointed out he was very busy with at least four new customers and didn't have time to serve at the bar. Reluctantly the chef dragged herself away from the TV and came to serve me.

I chose a bottle of white and she brought it to our table. She did not supply a cold-bucket to keep the wine chilled. My wife mentioned that the X-Factor was very loud and we were informed in no uncertain terms, "I'm not turning it off"!

A little later the waitress arrived to take out order. We ordered the Combo starter and the chicken and mushroom pie (steak and mushroom was not available). We asked what gravy would replace the red wine gravy due to fact that we were no longer having steak and we were informed it would be ordinary gravy. I assure you, it was far from ordinary; it was extraordinary!

Our starter arrived and we enjoyed it; it and the wine were going down a treat and I was anticipating another bottle to wash down the main course and eventual pudding. I had just finished my final piece of garlic bread when the main course arrived - even before I had time to swallow the last mouthful of my starter.

What a disappointment it was! The mustard mash potatoes were barely warm, and when the pie was opened the centre and bottom of it were icy cold, even though the lid and top were badly scorched. The gravy was the lumpiest gravy I have ever had the misfortune to be served. It had huge clots in that made it look very very unappetising.

I immediately complained about the poor condition of the food and, although asked if I wanted an alternative, I declined. I never eat food in a restaurant in which I have sent food back - too much reality TV have shown what can happen to the new food served to you. It was for this reason we also cancelled breakfast.

It is shocking that a 'chef' can turn out such abysmal food. All she had to do was heat the pie slowly and thoroughly, ensuring it was piping hot inside before serving it. Reheated frozen chicken can be a hotbed of salmonella and we were lucky not to have been stuck down by it. Also, how difficult is it to produce gravy without clots in it? The biggest clot we saw was the chef. If she spent less time watching TV and more time concentrating on her job perhaps our evening would have been more enjoyable. As it was, due to the fact I had consumed a fair amount of wine we were unable to drive elsewhere for a 'proper' meal; instead we were reduced to a burger at MacDonald's next door!

I still await their reply

In answer to your question about "should waiters have a book to complain about rude customers?" Ellie

Yes I think they should. For the most part they work for peanuts serving the masses with little or no gratitude. Michael and I are always appreciative of good service and can sometimes understand a surly waiter if they have just had to deal with Mr Cranky at the next table.

Whereas I seldom have time if the waiters behaviour towards me just reflects the treatment he has received at a nearby table - I spent the whole of my college years waitressing and each table was treated with respect regardless of how badly they behaved - and because of that I always earnt more in tips that I did in wages.

Taking into account my age I earn't £22 per week and at least that per night in tips!!!

Make of that what you will but when push came to shove I knew what side my bread was buttered on - keep the customer happy despite the fact that they may have been obnoxious . And you never let another table suffer for the bad behaviour you experienced earlier.

Maddi