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A Comedy of Errors—Mexican Style
When we go to our favorite Mexican restaurant, we always count on flawless service, pleasant wait staff, and delicious food. Last night we decided to settle for two out of three, and the mishaps were so unexpected that we began to enjoy watching the show.
This particular restaurant is a bit of a drive for us, so we don’t go often and look forward to the visit. As we entered, a pretty blonde greeted us, asked if we wanted a booth or table and after checking booth availability, she seated us at one.
So we gazed at the menu and munched on chips and salsa as we waited for the waiter.
We waited. And waited. And finally, as a young waiter was buzzing by our table, I reached out and asked if he would see who our waiter was. He smiled and went to check; a few moments later he sheepishly returned said he was our waiter. They hadn’t told him. Or so he said.
Well, those things happen and we gave him our order: two margaritas, rocks, no salt. Jerry wanted a chicken burrito with refried beans and rice; I asked for a chicken enchilada with steamed vegetables on the side, a substitution listed on the menu and one I frequently order (although I love their beans and rice).
As we waited for our margaritas, we noticed the people in the booth behind us (who had arrived after us) were turning down margaritas—which we suspected were ours. We waved the helper over and sure enough, they were ours (easy to tell with no salt on the rim).
A little while later, we noticed that the people behind us were turning down one of their meals; we were still waiting for ours. As the helper took one of the plates back to the kitchen, I looked over at Jerry and said, “Something is going to be wrong with our order. Watch.”
Sure enough, Jerry’s chicken burrito with refried beans and rice was fine. I was, however, served refried beans and rice. At that point, I figured, what the heck, I like their beans and rice. I cut into my enchilada, took a bite and thought the chicken tasted odd. In fact, it tasted like cauliflower. The next bite tasted like zucchini. As I peeked under the top of the enchilada, I realized I had not received a chicken enchilada, but a steamed vegetable enchilada.
I’m not kidding.
But it was pretty good! I love veggies, and they steamed them just right. I decided to have my steamed vegetable enchilada with refried beans and rice, and enjoyed my unexpected and delicious meal.
We didn’t see the waiter again until our plates had been cleared (another oversight since the wait staff always check-in) and he asked us how our meals were. I answered, “Well, I actually ordered a chicken enchilada . . . “ and at that moment, we both knew what he had done. He had not only mixed up the order, but the order that was sent back to the kitchen—that was my chicken enchilada. Judging from the originally misdelivered margaritas, he must have used the wrong table number .
He was very apologetic and asked how the steamed vegetable enchilada was, and I said it was actually very good or I would have tracked him down. He apologized again and I couldn’t help laughing.
Yes, I could have handled the whole situation differently. I could have complained about having to wait. About the beans and rice. About the steamed vegetables. About his absence. But sometimes life is too short to complain about getting the wrong food when it’s delicious.
Besides, it made a funny story, too.
Published in Culture
Something similar came up in another thread, involving grocery shopping in Israel where Muslim checkers would ask customers to scan bottles of “alcohol” themselves. One suggestion was to buy their liquor elsewhere, but if the store managers/owners don’t know the real reason for the drop in sales, they’ll likely draw the wrong conclusion, such as that their customers just don’t want to buy it as much any more.
Nuts. I had to do that in Ohio, and I guarantee that the checker was a very committed Christian of a persuasion that didn’t permit alcohol. I wasn’t inconvenienced, and my Lutheran feelings weren’t hurt in the slightest.
They probably get a lot more Muslim checkers over there, and in Detroit etc.
Years ago my wife and I were out at what was supposed to be a nice restaurant. When our appetizer didn’t show up I noticed people a couple tables away from us eating the same thing we ordered, and they came in after us. Then that table got the salads we were waiting for. When the waiter eventually came by he apologized. The servers brought our food to the wrong table, and the people who got it ate our food along with what they ordered. Bad service is annoying enough, but if someone brings you food you didn’t order, wouldn’t you question that?
That’s terrible! The nerve! People can be so outrageous sometimes. I certainly would have spoken up, especially since I’d know somebody else was waiting for it!!
One time, I found a huge staple in my salad at a restaurant and complained. The manager was basically a jerk about it. Another place (Subway-I’ll drop a name) I found a toenail in my sandwich. I complained for naught. If you think I’ll go back to a nasty hole like Subway again, think again. Complaining has never helped in my experience. So I don’t go back. And if the restaurant can’t figure it out, I really don’t care.
That’s why I mentioned, in my earlier comment, that I tend to go to an area manager etc in the case of places like Subway, rather than a local manager. If it’s a chain, the local manager likely has less interest than a mom-and-pop type place. And for a chain like Subway, the area managers etc have authority to even remove a franchise license if things don’t get corrected. They recognize as you say that a bad experience in one location can cause damage to the whole chain.
A couple of years ago I stopped at a local pizza, Italian food and burgers place. Ordered two burgers to take out. Paid for them. Bought a beer at the bar. Waited. Waited. Waited.
40 minutes went by. I complained twice. I had another beer…
Someone came out from the back and handed me three 10 inch take out tins in a bag. Realizing these could not be my order I thought quickly, if I send them back there will be even more delay, so I thanked her and quietly left. Got in my car and the manager appeared by my window demanding I give them back, no sir, no way, not till you get my 45 minutes delayed hamburgers. He went off to get them and I drove away.
The orders were chicken parm, shrimp scampi and lasagna. All delicious. Dinner and lunch for two days.
As good as they were, I did not go back to the place for a year, fearing I would be recognized.
Yes it is. Additionally, I fear that we live in a world where a “complaint” sometimes generates consequences far beyond those we intend–making it problematic to complain about infractions that don’t have life-altering consequences. If I complain about food service, it’s my hope that it’ll be factored into a server’s review, that his supervisors will help him (or her) do better, and that the ultimate result will be better service for all. I’m not sure that’s how complaints/customer feedback are viewed these days. (We’ve had this conversation on several threads about the military, and about how senior officers who were promoted beyond their “pay grade” and who screwed up were often reduced in rank, and yet still given the chance to advance in future engagements, versus the current situation where one infraction results in dismissal, if not complete cancellation. Somehow, our woke and tolerant world doesn’t seem as tolerant WRT second chances as the old, patriarchal, uptight world of our forefathers.)
The crucifix she was wearing was a tell.
Lots of people wear crucifixes without being THAT Christian. But around Detroit and Chicago etc, you have checkers who won’t touch or scan bacon or other pork products in addition to alcohol, plus taxi drivers who won’t pick up people with those items in their shopping bags or from the airport, or people with dogs even seeing-eye dogs, since dogs are “unclean”…
They should not be hired. There is no “reasonable accommodation” for a taxi driver refusing to pick up a blind passenger in a rainstorm.
CAIR would sue the taxi company, and the government would be on their side.
Not if you are dishonest.
Did this happen before or after mask mandates? If after, you would have felt perfectly in character making your getaway!
Back in the old days when you actually got meals on a plane, you could also request (ahead of time) special meals. Some of these were requested by people with dietary restrictions. However, one of American Airlines’ special meals on short flights was a cold seafood plate, ie: a small plate with 6 boiled shrimp and cocktail sauce. Being on a plane a minimum of twice a week, I requested that a lot because it was much better than some of the sandwiches.
One day the flight attendant gave me the regular meal. When I queried why, she went and checked and discovered that it had been given to a man a couple of rows up. He had already finished it off. When she asked him why he took it when he hadn’t ordered it, he said, “Well, I thought I’d try it.”
Long before. It was kinda fun to scoot away as a thief in the night.