Before sending food back at a restaurant, I always weigh the pros and cons in my head. Yes, someone messed up my order, and I would like to eat what I was craving. But on the other hand, I’m sure the staff is doing their best and made an honest mistake. If I ask them to make it again, I might need to wait a long time, and I have a slight fear that the chef will spit into it the second time… Working in a restaurant is usually extremely stressful and fast-paced, so mistakes are bound to happen occasionally. Some patrons, however, are not very sympathetic to staff and confidently send back food for almost any reason.

Last week, Reddit user Bleepbloopblurph posted on the subreddit r/KitchenConfidential asking fellow restaurant workers for the weirdest reasons customers have ever sent back food, and their responses did not disappoint. Apparently, soup being hot and meat tasting like meat can surprise people. Enjoy this list of ridiculous reasons to send back food, and be grateful that you were not the server dealing with these customers.

After reading this story, check out these other Bored Panda articles featuring restaurant workers and difficult customers.

#1

Someone sent a meal back because it “didn’t taste like anything” and it turned out they had Covid.

Image credits: MagicPants710

When it comes to sending back food at restaurants, there is a generational gap. According to a 2018 report, millennials are much more shy than their parents when dissatisfied with meals. 61% of people over the age of 55 are comfortable sending back food that is not to their liking, while 52% of millennials are uncomfortable doing so. In fact, 15% of millennials go so far as to say they would never send food back. Why is there such a divide? Perhaps the younger generations are more sympathetic to service industry workers because they are more likely to hold these jobs as well. A 2019 report found that 49% of employees in the food service industry were millennials. Maybe because they are familiar with the pain of dealing with difficult customers, these millennials would rather bite the bullet (or you know, whatever meal they’ve been given) than inconvenience a fellow server.  

#2

Sent back their iced vanilla coffee because it was brown; vanilla is white.

Image credits: grannybubbles

What are valid reasons to send back food in the first place? If you requested no tomato on your burger then find a slice when it arrives, the solution is simple enough to avoid confrontation. When it comes to health risks, however, sometimes returning a meal is necessary. People with serious allergies need to be very cautious when dining out because cross contamination is always a potential risk. It’s the responsibility of the customer to make servers aware of allergies before ordering food, but they must understand that accidents can always happen.

#3

Sent back a French onion soup for being “too salty, and just too many onions for me”

Image credits: SllamDance

#4

Some lady sent her Impossible burger back because it “tasted too much like meat”

B*tch that’s the POINT but okay.

She then proceeds to order hot dogs.

Image credits: hufflepuff-princess

Fear of food poisoning is another common reason customers return dishes. Apparently dining out poses double the risk of food poisoning that eating at home does. Certain foods are much more likely to make us sick, however, so choosing to prepare those foods at home may be best for nervous restaurant patrons. According to the CDC, raw or undercooked meat and eggs are the top foods to be wary of when eating out. They also warn to avoid lukewarm food, especially at a buffet or salad bar. “Cold food should be served cold, and hot food should be served hot”. Some of these difficult customers mentioned on Reddit should have been thanking chefs for sending out scalding hot soup; they just didn’t want anyone to get sick!

#5

Had chicken wings sent back for ‘tasting like chicken’

They did not get a replacement.

Image credits: PazzMan88

#6

Someone sent back eggs Benedict because the hollandaise was “too flavourful”

Image credits: Germanmicrowave

According to Lindsay Mattison, a former restaurant chef, there are acceptable times to send a plate back. (And to put anxious readers at ease, she has “never worked in a kitchen that deliberately messed with the food or added unsavory ingredients to a re-fired plate”.) In fact, she says that she much prefers a customer giving her “the opportunity to make things right instead of writing a bad review about the restaurant later”.

#7

When I filled in as a server, I asked a lady how her Tuna Salad Sandwich was.

“Not great, honestly” I am sorry to hear that ma’m, what seems to be the issue? “It tastes too much like Tuna and I don’t like Tuna”. Ehh… Just to be sure; you DID order the Tuna sandwich? “Yes” But you don’t like Tuna? “No. Usually it does not taste like Tuna. Can you fix it?” Of course Ma’m. I will take your Tuna sandwich back to the kitchen and ask them to make the Tuna taste less like Tuna? “That would be great, thanks!”

That goes into the top 10 for sure.

Image credits: Alwin_

#8

A lady sent the salmon back because she says it tasted like it had been microwaved. Our chef was working 94 hour weeks at the time and you could see that this particular criticism just struck a nerve.

Fast forward to him leading her back to the kitchen and saying “DO YOU F*CKING SEE A MICROWAVE! I’LL PAY FOR YOUR WHOLE GODDAMN MEAL IF YOU CAN FIND THE MICROWAVE BACK HERE!”

Spoiler, we did not have one.

Image credits: grantthejester

#9

Had a lady send back her nachos that she ordered and received a week prior (she had ordered it to go). She had come in for dinner with her son, and she brought back the nachos, saying there wasn’t enough cheese on it and she didn’t like it much. Again, this order was from the previous week!

Image credits: aser2323

So when would Lindsay send a plate back? If the dish is simply wrong, no need to suffer through it, she says. “Politely point out the mistake to the server and ask for the dish you actually ordered.” Receiving a cold plate (when it was supposed to be hot) is also a valid reason to send it back. As previously mentioned, nobody wants to go home with food poisoning. “Not only will it taste off, but it could actually present a food safety issue,” explained Lindsay. 

#10

A guy got mad that he felt he was served “too much food” since his portion of brunch potatoes was bigger than the table next to him. He asked to speak to the manager (me) to complain about it and made me take his plate back and bring it out with fewer potatoes

Image credits: Stracharys

#11

In my brief stint in the FOH, I had a lady complain that the water from the hot water spigot on the coffee machine wasn’t hot enough for her tea… so I brought some water to a boil and gave it to her and that still wasn’t hot enough! Ma’am, do you want steam? Cause this is the limit for water as a liquid. One of the many reasons I switched to the kitchen, away from humanity.

Image credits: Several_Fennel_7878

#12

I had a rare steak come back because it “looks cold inside.” Gave me a chuckle.

Image credits: Xallchi

On that note, if your food was prepared improperly, such as over or undercooked, it’s okay to send that back too. Especially “if you’re at a fancy restaurant paying top-dollar for your meal, don’t be afraid to insist on the temperature you ordered,” said Lindsay. This commonly happens with steak, but the same goes for preparation of other meats, fish and eggs. In the case of undercooked chicken, Lindsay warns, definitely don’t take a risk. The kitchen needs to know if they’re serving salmonella on a plate. 

#13

Sent out two 1lbs mussel dishes to the same table. In a rich cream sauce, topped with frites.

Those mf’s COUNTED the number of mussels on each plate, AND counted the fries. The server tried to explain that its weight based portions, and also that fries are kind of a guesstimate portion and no one is being ripped off here. They weren’t having it.

Oh, you bet I made that insane person two extra mussels and the other lunatic 6 extra fries. They never returned, which is nice.

Image credits: spookyhooch

#14

Had someone send fettuccine alfredo back because it was “too spicy” lol

#15

I don’t even know how someone could come to that conclusion…

One weird one that’s always stuck out was the customer that wouldn’t touch the purple carrots in the multi colored carrot side because that meant they were burnt. Chef went out to assure them that’s just their colour. Wouldn’t believe it

Lastly, Lindsay notes that finding a foreign object on your plate or receiving food that’s simply inedible are two more reasons to return a meal. As horrific as it sounds, sometimes “a stray hair, a bug or something gross like a Band-Aid finds its way onto your plate”. As far as deeming your meal inedible, Lindsay first sets some ground rules: “don’t eat all but one bite and ask for a new dish because you didn’t like it”. “But if you’re a few bites in and the food is inedible, it’s always fine ask for a replacement meal,” she says. “It might not be about personal preference; maybe the cook accidentally added too much salt or one of the ingredients has gone bad. Sending it back lets the chef taste the dish to see if she thinks it should be modified or changed.”

#16

We have a vegan burger named Crispy NO Chicken. Its soy based but made to imitate chicken.

It’s listed under our “green” family burgers, distinctly away from the chicken.

People come and ask for a vegetarian/vegan burger. I start listing the burgers but as soon as I say Crispy NO chicken, without fail, they start arguing with me that it’s not vegan because it has chicken in the name.

“It’s a soy based patty”

“But it’s called chicken!”

“Yes, it’s imitation chicken.”

“But then it’s chicken!”

One vegan even rushed to me in a frenzy, one bite taken out of her No Chicken, accusing me of serving her chicken

“No, it’s imitation chicken”

Had to gather up all my coworkers, which one by one, had to look at her burger and confirm that it was indeed our vegan patty.

Don’t even get me started on the vegan nuggets.

#17

I was once in line at a Jamba Juice and the person in front me had the people blend their smoothie for an absurd amount of time because they wanted it extra smooth.

#18

The clam chowder that they got was cold.. we didn’t sell clam chowder they got it from some other restaurant.

Image credits: arai34

Some of the responses on Reddit included vegetarians sending back dishes with meat because they somehow forgot their convictions or didn’t realize what they were ordering… As with allergies, being transparent with restaurant staff about dietary preferences is the job of the patron. From personal experience, I have found it’s much easier for everyone to be on the same page if I just ask exactly what the vegan options are. Servers are usually helpful and accommodating, and having this conversation before ordering almost guarantees I receive what I wanted. It is much less embarrassing to ask questions when browsing the menu than to sheepishly admit when the food arrives that you didn’t know what prosciutto is.

#19

Too much chicken on the chicken sandwich, too much cheese in the mac and cheese, and the most recent one that actually upset me the most… some lady claimed her scotched egg was too runny……

Every day we stray further from our path.

Image credits: hardleyharley

#20

Lady sent her burger back, because it had sesame seeds on the bun, which she insisted are ‘made from pork’ and she didn’t eat pork…

We all started doubting our own sanity after a few minutes of back and forth, but rest assured folks, there is indeed no pork in sesame seeds.

Image credits: Bleepbloopblurph

#21

Had someone send back a New York strip for being “too meaty.” Still can’t wrap my head around that one.

Image credits: Cyborg_Huey

One reason not to send back a meal is to avoid wasting it. Food waste is a prevalent issue worldwide, being responsible for 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions, but the United States is the worst contributor. In the US, up to 40% of all food produced is thrown away, causing food to take up more space in landfills than anything else. Typically, the issue is addressed at a household level, but restaurants play a part as well. 

#22

A woman sent back her pancakes because she found a long black hair in it.. My hair is short, blonde and curly at the time. The guy who made the pancakes had a shaved head. No one else handled her food, but guess who had long black hair? Her..

Manager just shrugged and said make her new ones.

Image credits: lostinlovelostinlife

#23

Someone asked for a full refund when I worked at Taco Bell because I was too chipper at 2 am and they, “didn’t like my face”

Image credits: PrateTrain

#24

Worked at seafood restaurant, had a “grilled salmon Reuben” on the lunch menu. Lady at the bar sent it back immediately because she didn’t know it had fish on it.

Image credits: Soupmate1980

Certain cities worldwide, including New York and Paris, have implemented donation programs to minimize food waste. Even apps such as “Too Good Too Go”, which allows restaurants and bakeries to sell leftover food at discounted prices, are rising in popularity. A study by Unilever found that most customers, 72% of them in fact, actually do care about “environmentally friendly disposal of food waste”. And 60% of diners desire more transparency about the “sustainability practices of restaurants”. While improvements are being made to combat food waste, every little step helps in reducing our individual “foodprints”. Before sending back another meal, take a moment to consider where that food will end up next.

#25

Had a fish come back because the wife insisted it wasn’t fresh and the husband was supposedly a fisherman and also claimed it wasn’t fresh. I live in Hawaii our fish we cook for dinner was usually swimming that morning.

#26

Had a dude order “One cheeseburger, plain and dry.” (This was the entire order, I witnessed it taken) and then bring it back complaining it wasn’t plain and dry because it had cheese on it. The giant board menu lists cheese and hamburgers separately but even if it didn’t what the f*ck. Thought the chef was going to punch him when he realized what the guy was saying.

Not the weirdest I’m sure but this one still gets to me.

#27

Sent back a pizza (at a fine dining Italian restaurant) because the mozzarella was “too chewy”

Working in a restaurant is by no means an easy job. Whether you’re the chef churning out dozens of meals at a time or a server darting between the kitchen and hangry customers, the environment is quite stressful. While the customer may always be right, they can still be obnoxious too. When mistakes happen and you do need to send something back, remember to use your best manners. And please don’t cite one of the silly reasons on this list.

Have you ever worked in the food service industry? We would love to hear about any ridiculous customer requests you received in the comments section! 

#28

Medium rare burger ordered, split four ways. Roughly a 7 oz burger. 2/4 sent back because they didn’t expect us to actually cook it mid rare.

#29

I might have an explanation for the sesame pork seeds. Maybe she bought toasted sesame seeds from a whole foods vendor and it was toasted in lard. Therefore the packaging would say it has pork in it. I can’t think of anything else lol.

#30

I was working cashier at a fast casual Japanese restaurant that had teriyaki bowls and sushi rolls. An older lady comes in seemingly in a hurry and asks for a recommendation on something she can eat easily while she’s in a lunch meeting. I recommend some rolls and she decides to go with the California rolls. She asks if they’re spicy and I tell her they are not. An hour later she comes back huffing and puffing telling me I told her it wasn’t spicy but that it was. I’m incredibly puzzled so I look at the food she brought back and I notice that the mound of wasabi on the side of the plate is gone. I ask her if she ate that whole thing and she tells me she did and that it was very spicy and that she’ll report me (?) and give me a bad review because she’s the editor of a food magazine. Again, I’m baffled and try to explain the situation but the stuff she was saying wasn’t making sense and nothing I was saying was getting through. I just wanted her to stop making a scene and leave so I gave her a refund. Other customers in the restaurant and I were all looking at me and each other shaking our heads.

#31

One of the managers at the place I work at came to the our restaurant and ordered a chicken quesadilla then sent it back cause it was too cheesy. When I’m saying I haven’t been right since, I’m underselling it. How can a cheesy tortilla be too cheesy? It’s in the name!! F*cking management

#32

Portion was too big. They didn’t want to waste food by not being able to eat the whole thing. So they sent it back and asked for a smaller piece of fish, and could you please make everything else fresh too, since it will go cold while you are cooking the new bit of salmon.

#33

I did this once out of ignorance. I sent a plate back because I told the waiter that they hadn’t rinsed their dishes properly. The food tasted like soap. The waiter looked puzzled and brought me back another plate, which still tasted like dishsoap.

And that was the day I first tasted cilantro.

#34

I worked at a BBQ place in Charleston, SC. Had a customer who insisted they knew all about BBQ. They sent the smoked ribs and chicken back because “it’s pink, that means it’s undercooked.” They were pointing at the smoke ring.

#35

Woman comes in to my sushi/hibachi restaurant and ordered steak tartar and then sent it back because “why would give me a plate of raw meat?! I wanted it well done! I’m calling the health inspector about this. You can’t serve paying customers raw meat like this!”

Another one, back in high school I worked at Dairy Queen, and had a woman demand a refund for her entire $50 order because I couldn’t put a lid on an ice cream cone “so it doesn’t make a mess while I’m driving home. Obviously, that wouldn’t work so I offered to make it in a sundae cup with a lid and give her the cone on the side. I offered to make the cone and put it in a parfait cup with a lid. No. She wanted me to put a sundae lid on a cone. I’m the oldest of 5 so at least half my blood cells are actually malicious compliance so I said OK, made her cone, grabbed the lid, and held eye contact while I put it on the cone and handed it to her. She immediately started screaming about how disrespectful I was and that I ruined her food and she wanted to see the manager and a full refund… I just grabbed my boss, told him what was up, and he (politely) told her that if she didn’t want to eat the food she ordered that she could go eat sh*t. He husband eventually came looking for her and dragged her out while apologizing to everyone.

#36

Sat next to a guy in an Italian trattoria in Rome. He sent back his pizza as he wanted ‘normal cheese’. The waiter explained it was burrata and that it said so on the menu. Customer explained that he hadn’t read the description on the menu and wanted a new ‘normal cheese’ pizza’.

#37

I had 2 gems in a pizzeria, The first one I got a chilli prawn pizza returned because it had spicy chilli on it. I guess the three hot red chillies printed on our menu weren’t enough of a tell, let alone the name of the pizza. FOH manager gave in as always and comped her refire.. Second- menu reading error again, sort of.. it was a bbq pizza (had listed bbq onion jam as the base sauce) and the customer returned it to remove the onion topping as he was “deathly allergic” but he could eat the texture-less onion in the sauce when questioned… So I refused to refire that one because of “duty of care for his safety” / he was a f*ckwit.

#38

Guy sent his Pesto Piggy Pie because he doesn’t like pesto…

#39

Sorry, I didn’t realise the frittata wasn’t vegan

#40

I once had a lady send back nachos because they had lettuce on them. She claimed to be allergic. I’ve had people complain wings came out too fast on a busy night. Yeah, we serve wings, by the time I’m putting your order in, all the cooks have to do is drop fries and toss the wings. We’re kinda famous for this.

#41

My friend ha someone send back a Caesar salad because “it wasn’t warm.” Nuked it in the microwave, they were very happy.

#42

I was working breakfast one day as the runner. Had this one guy come and sit down. We weren’t too busy at the time, but just enough for this to be a pain. He had eggs Benedict and well done toast on the side. I put the eggs down and the plate of toast wasn’t even on the table before he said it wasn’t done enough. Okay fine, go back put it in the toaster again. The toaster is right next to the exit of the kitchen. Its now a healthy dark brown with lines of black. Went back to the table, and he sent it back again saying he wants it toasted more. Okay then. I put it through the toaster until it was all black. Went back to the table and again he sent it back. The chef noticed me with the same f*cking bread and said give it here, he put it on a hot plate, poured a bit of vodka over it, flambed the thing, and then gave me the plate to run. He gave me ten bucks after his meal and said he wanted to know what would happen if he sent back toast enough times. Prick

#43

Had a gluten free grilled cheese come back because “the kid is a visual learner and it needs to be open faced.”

Nothing i’ve ever done has topped that. This was like 2 weeks ago.

#44

I once watched a woman get in a screaming match with every single person on staff from her server all the way through BoH to the GM that finally kicked her out, all over a “hair” in her food. No matter how many times it was explained, she did not understand what corn silk was. Even after the meal was comped she demanded they admit it was hair and apologize for gaslighting her.

Her date got up and left her there somewhere in the middle of the argument with the head chef. This was an extremely upscale restaurant on a spa resort. How this woman had never seen whole corn before in her life is beyond me.

#45

Worked in banquets at a hotel. Server requested a vegetarian plate for a guest who didn’t eat meat. Made her a vegetarian meal, and the guest sent it back because she wanted fish. She didn’t ask for fish, she just thought if she said she “didn’t eat meat” we would give her fish instead. Fish wasn’t being served at that event.

We made her fish.

#46

Had a “Hearts of Romaine” salad (caesar) go back because it “has no actual lettuce! Like can I get some green leafs?!?”

#47

I had someone send back two orders of fish because she didn’t know it was gonna cost so much. She though the second filet was a 1 for 1 substitute for two veggie side options that came with the entree

#48

FOH here.

“Could you explain the sausage wrapped egg?” (Scotch egg with description on menu)

“Yes, it’s a soft boiled egg wrapped in sausage”

“Does the sausage have meat in it?”

“Yes.. the sausage is meat.”

Customer orders scotch egg and another dish, food is fired. 5 minutes later customer waves me down:

“Can you cancel our food, we’re going to go somewhere else, we’re vegetarian.”

#49

Customer sent back gumbo with all the okra removed because there were too many jalapenos(okra) in it

#50

Heirloom Tomato Salad had “too much tomato”

#51

I’m here to confess. I was 19 and pregnant with my first son, I ordered a turkey sandwich and sent it back because the turkey was ugly. (It was sliced roast turkey rather than processed deli type turkey.)

I blame my 19 year old hormone riddled brain. I’m 48 and still ashamed. I worked as a server starting at 15 and worked in kitchens as a line cook and FOH off and on since. I’m so sorry to my fellow kitchen staff and FOH. I will continue the self-hatred until my death.

#52

I am a brunch cook for a popular alpine themed restaraunt in my city, and we once had a guy send back a breakfast hash because it had fried eggs on it, and the menu didn’t specify it had eggs ( I do understand the guy could’ve had an allergy), like it’s brunch at an alpine place there’s gonna be f*cking eggs on EVERYTHING

#53

Somebody sent back salmon because it supposedly wasn’t done in the middle. Several chefs and temperature checks later, we find out that their actual reason for sending it back was that the middle was pink.

#54

Ice cream was frozen.

Also had a table that ordered one steak mid rare and one well done. Waitress got the plates the wrong way round and rather than just swap plates when they realised they insisted I cook two fresh ones. You can imagine how that went.

#55

Lady wanted rare prime rib, sent it back because it wasn’t hot enough. She wanted it like piping hot and bright red. Didn’t know you can’t have it both ways.

#56

The most common for me is someone who got a chicken thigh. Dark meat is dark. Yes that’s a vein. Bone in chicken has bones. And veins.

#57

I got a baked potato back once because it was too starchy

#58

Once we had a lady complain that her bowl was too cold.

Let me be clear here. She had eaten a good chunk of the soup and said that she couldn’t continue because the bowl was too cold.

We ended up just microwaving a bowl for 20 seconds and sending her some fresh soup. Seriously though, how do people think up these excuses.

#59

Lady sent food back to the kitchen so we could cool it down since it was too hot. Server just left it in the window for a few minutes and then took it back.

I’ll never be able to figure that one out.

#60

The Creme Brulee was cold in the center, and burnt on top ( brown, not burnt).

#61

On the morning of oil change, fries were sent back because they tasted fishy. Wouldn’t listen to this is fresh oil talk.

#62

Not enough shrimp in the tuna crudo.

#63

Ice cream too cold. Not freezer burnt, not too hard or had thawed/melted and refroze, just it was too cold.

After explaining to them it was not going to be a Mr Whippy in a cone but a quenelle.

Too f*cking cold and it hurt her teeth.

Either that or someone who ordered steak and changed to a salmon dish after it had gone out because they saw cows outside being herded up the road, but they were big tippers laughed at themselves and very apologetic so no hard feelings there.

#64

Years ago, my brother and I worked I. The same kitchen. I was FOH expo, and he was BOH expo. Server brought back a pasta dish and said customer said it didn’t taste right. I looked at my brother and handed him the dish. He put a new pasta bowl on top of the returned pasta, flips it over, wipes the rim and regarnished it and I sold it back to the server. Customer says it tastes perfect now Haha

#65

A woman once sent back her seared tuna because it tasted like….tuna. She ordered the exact same thing every day.

#66

Was working at a vegan restaurant and had a customer send back his food because it “tasted too good” and must have had something non vegan in it. Apparently, the customer just sat at the table pouting while everyone else enjoyed their meal.

#67

They claimed my mango sorbet tasted like fish. It didn’t.

#68

We used to sell freshly baked bread as a sharing loaf. Customer complained that it tasted like it had been in an oven…

#69

it came out too fast and they wanted to have a glass of wine first

#70

The chicken salad was moist.

#71

Lady order Mahi Mahi, sent it back because she remembered she’s allergic to fish.

#72

Lady ordered a chopped salad (no meat) with gorgonzola cheese crumbles. She explained she couldn’t eat cold food and “can you heat it up a little?”

This wasn’t me but my coworker.
She had to straight-face her ‘of course’ and calmly walk away, I’d be laughing my ass off.

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