# Which restaurant would you be more likely to recommend? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 13, 2014, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245 "2014-10-13T22:00:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245/41 "2014-10-14T21:34:33Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > I’d probably recommend both but be more effusive on TripAdvisor about the one that recovered right. Not on TripAdvisor, but in person. If someone asked me “Have you eaten at Flawless? How was it?” If everything went the way it’s supposed to I likely wouldn’t have much to say beyond “Fine. The branzino was good.” With the restaurant that fixed my problem I’d have a story to tell. Also, I make my living in customer service so I am always inclined to support people who try and do it right. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245/42 "2014-10-15T00:12:04Z")
> [@Octarine](#): > > Huh, 38 posts and [I get to be the first](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VLwV48OHs)? Thank you. I was getting worried. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245/43 "2014-10-15T00:27:03Z")
I’d be disinclined to recommend either restaurant after only one visit. A restaurant is unjudgeable after only one visit. One visit is simply luck, one way or another. After four or five visits, with one always getting it right the first time, and one always happily fixing their mistakes, I’d recommend the former. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245/44 "2014-10-15T05:18:52Z")
Now who wants to bet that there are customer satisfaction gurus who, knowing how people feel about things like this, actually recommend restaurants make the occasional intentional mistake? ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245/45 "2014-10-15T12:14:03Z")
> [@gwendee](#): > > Not on TripAdvisor, but in person. If someone asked me “Have you eaten at Flawless? How was it?” If everything went the way it’s supposed to I likely wouldn’t have much to say beyond “Fine. The branzino was good.” With the restaurant that fixed my problem I’d have a story to tell. > > Also, I make my living in customer service so I am always inclined to support people who try and do it right. So you’re more supportive of screw ups than people who get it right the first time? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245/46 "2014-10-16T04:44:43Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Now who wants to bet that there are customer satisfaction gurus who, knowing how people feel about things like this, actually recommend restaurants make the occasional intentional mistake? Hell, that’s what I might do after reading the results of this poll. I find it … surprising, to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245/47 "2014-10-16T11:28:09Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Now who wants to bet that there are customer satisfaction gurus who, knowing how people feel about things like this, actually recommend restaurants make the occasional intentional mistake? Maybe even a theme restaurant based on that concept. “Screw Ups”, where we _promise_ to disappoint you in some silly way. “Hey, I ordered fries, not onion rings!” “Welcome to Screw Ups!!” Then, you meet your fellow diners by swapping what you got for what you want. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245/48 "2014-10-16T11:53:56Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Maybe even a theme restaurant based on that concept. “Screw Ups”, where we _promise_ to disappoint you in some silly way. “Hey, I ordered fries, not onion rings!” “Welcome to Screw Ups!!” Then, you meet your fellow diners by swapping what you got for what you want. stolen from a comedian I heard on Sirius a while back- I’d open a restaurant named “Thank You For Calling, How May I Help You?” So my staff would have to answer the phone “Thank you for calling ‘Thank You For Calling, How May I Help You’ how may I help you?” ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245/49 "2014-10-16T15:43:42Z")
By this time I’m sick and tired of restaurants screwing orders up. I’d be unreasonably ticked off that yet AGAIN I’ve eaten out and the restaurant has messed up something about my meal, so I’d go with the flawless one. However my mistake usually consists of “I asked for no tomatoes and now my burrito is filled with extra tomatoes. What the hell, guys?”. Or, “I ordered this meal exactly as-is, no changes, and you’ve forgotten the sauerkraut that comes with it as listed on the menu. And it took you 10 minutes to get that to me. Really.” Or, “I ordered a burger…and it’s been 40 minutes…what, my check??? You forgot that I ordered a burger?!” I know restaurants make mistakes but my terrible luck has resulted in an inordinate amount of mistakes being sent my way and I’m sick of them. I don’t care if you fix them. I’m tired of them happening to begin with. And the fixes I’ve gotten are simply a replacement of my food which is what they were supposed to get right to begin with. This is why I plan any outings early so that I do movie + dinner rather than dinner + movie. Did the dinner + movie once and hey! They screwed up. I didn’t have enough time left by that point to wait for them to remake my meal so I had to suck it up and eat the shitty food. Great. At the same time I don’t really recommend restaurants to anybody anyway so hey. But after two screwups I’m never going back to a restaurant again (or just one really bad screwup). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245/50 "2014-10-16T16:06:11Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Now who wants to bet that there are customer satisfaction gurus who, knowing how people feel about things like this, actually recommend restaurants make the occasional intentional mistake? If it means getting 15% off my bill like the last time there was a minor screw-up I’m all for it. That is as long as the food is great. The food itself is still the most important part. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245/51 "2014-10-16T16:36:29Z")
I have to say that the OP specifies a minor mistake that the waiter detects and corrects, and they knock 15% off the bill too. That’s not the kind of thing to make me reject a restaurant anyway even if they do that every time so long as nothing else is a problem. I know a lot of people feel differently, and they’re entitled to. In this case it’s an unrealistic hypothetical, in real life there would be a lot of other differences I’d consider before the minor screwup made any difference. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245/52 "2014-10-16T16:49:24Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I would be slightly more likely to recommend the restaurant that got everything right. > > A flaw, even a small one, is still a flaw. > > Look, take two identical restaurants and experiences, but in one, there was a smudge in the paint on the ceiling, or there was a typo in the mneu, or its parking lot is two spaces smaller. To that degree, I am going to be less likely to recommend it. Same reasoning, different answer. I know the restaurant that made an error will correct it. No clue if the “flawless” restaurant would fix a problem or give me a huge plate of GFY. Like one restaurant I was at in Denver. Waitress spills a glass of ice water in my lap. Bad but not ruination. I asked for a black and tan after I had dried off as much as I could. While they could make it, they were going to “have” to charge me for a whole can of Guiness. When I pointed out that maybe not charging me for beer I wasn’t going to drink might make up for the wet crotch, I was ignored. And dinner when downhill from there with wrong food descriptions leading to inedible food; if you tell us in response to a direct question that there is nothing on the fish and it really comes with tons of onions - it’s not the diner’s fault they don’t like onions. The manager was a total asshole and did not want to adjust ANYTHING for all of the problems. Now how did all of the reviews talking about flawless service prepare us for that? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245/53 "2014-10-16T16:49:29Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I have to say that the OP specifies a minor mistake that the waiter detects and corrects, and they knock 15% off the bill too. That’s not the kind of thing to make me reject a restaurant anyway even if they do that every time so long as nothing else is a problem. I know a lot of people feel differently, and they’re entitled to. In this case it’s an unrealistic hypothetical, in real life there would be a lot of other differences I’d consider before the minor screwup made any difference. Bringing the entree out before the appetizer seems like a pretty big screw up to me. Forgetting a plate could be big or small. If the waiter just left the plate in the kitchen that’s one thing, but if they forgot to cook the order altogether then that’s a pretty big mistake. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245/54 "2014-10-16T17:07:39Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Bringing the entree out before the appetizer seems like a pretty big screw up to me. Forgetting a plate could be big or small. If the waiter just left the plate in the kitchen that’s one thing, but if they forgot to cook the order altogether then that’s a pretty big mistake. Sure, if they forget to cook a dish altogether that’s pretty bad. I read it as something less serious than that. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245/55 "2014-10-16T17:14:39Z")
I wouldn’t make a judgment based on a single visit. If I went to each restaurant five times, and one place was always flawless and the other place consistently made mistakes, I would recommend the flawless one even if the other place always compensated for the mistakes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-restaurant-would-you-be-more-likely-to-recommend/701245.md?page=2)