22 July 2013

Bad Cafe

| Madam Cholet
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Unfortunately we happened to find ourselves in Woden today, right about the time that Mr Nearly Five was getting hungry. We decided that we would have a hot chocolate at a cafe in the Westfield. We ordered two hot chocolates, a kids milkshake ($5) and a plain ham and cheese untoasted sandwich ($13). The kids size milkshake arrived in a giant metal container – in complete contrast to the size that the waitress indicated (smaller obviously), and the sandwich arrived toasted. I sent the sandwich back and asked for a new untoasted one (he just doesn’t like them toasted).

The next sandwich arrived, untoasted, but with only the ham and cheese inside that we asked for – no butter. So really, two slices of dry very thickly cut bread with very tough crusts, some really tasteless ham and some squares of cheese.

Call me old fashioned, but when I order a sandwich that costs $13, I do expect that it will have at least a covering of some kind of spread to make the bread more palatable. At least this is what we do in our house. I also tasted the milkshake and it tasted vaguely like they had passed fruit through the milk. But pretty much, it was just a huge container of frothy milk.

When I challenged the waitresses at the desk about the quality of the sandwich and suggested a discount due to it’s in-edibleness, she flatly refused. I pointed out that it was quite clearly for a young child (as two different waitresses would have gauged when serving us at our table), and her response was ‘the kitchen does not know who it’s for’. I gave up on the discount, but did say I would not return. Not that they care.

Is it just me expecting too much or is it really hard to get anyone in the service industry in Canberra, specifically cafes, to care about the customers they serve and to provide value for money?

We should have gone to a certain new cafe in Erindale as previously planned to claim our ‘free drinks’ from when we overcharged last week instead!

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Madam Cholet1:19 pm 30 Jul 13

Good experience alert – just been to Loading Zone. Purchased a sandwich for $9.50. The very nice person who took over the order then asked me what I was charged and promptly refunded me a dollar fifty as she said the sandwich was smaller than usual due to the pot luck with the size of the loaves they purchase. Or something to that effect.

For the record, yummy sarnie – french toast (as in cooked in egg), filled with ham, cheese, salad and lashings of English mustard. It was called a Bear Hug if you want to sample one.

Holden Caulfield said :

Bluenomi said :

I have a 3 year old who is a big fan of milkshakes. Quite often places only do the one, adult size. So I just grab a spare water glass and pour toddler size servings into that. Seems to do the trick without causing the wait staff or myself any issues.

As for a $13 sandwich, well this is why I take one with me if there is a chance we will be out at feeding time. I know it will be the way she likes it and it doesn’t cost me a fortune!

Good god! Parental responsibility, we’ll have none of that here!!!

Sorry! Dear me, what was I thinking!

Holden Caulfield12:48 pm 23 Jul 13

BimboGeek said :

Just checked. Downtown Milk Bar in Manuka does a milkshake in a tin for $4.80 and the locals generally believe it’s the best milkshake in Canberra. I am not an expert in milkshakes so you’ll have to take their word for it. You pay a bit more in the places with a more upmarket ambiance.

Yeah, well I went there once on that recommendation. The best ever?

NFI if got a dud serving, but it was the worst milkshake I’ve ever paid money for, haha. Milk that was barely flavoured. No ice cream. No good. No second chance.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

C’mon johnboy…name and shame. Don’t want to take my girls to a place like this.

Also, plus one to the upstairs Woden cafe next to the Turkish joint. Went for breakfast and my girls cinnamon toast was two slices of hard bread covered in cinnamon. Not cinnamon and sugar but pure cinnamon.

Idiots.

Won’t even mention how bad the adults food was.

I agree it sounds suspiciously like this cafe – I go there once a year and really regret it. Last time I went there with a group, my order was forgotten – I loved the white lies they told to cover up their mistake! I ended up cancelling it as I could not be bother waiting another 20 minutes.

As for a good story – I love the Cherry Bean cafe down near the Donut King at Woden – good service, good food, relatively good price (you just need to ignore the play area noise at peak times). I also love Ricardos at Jamison Centre – but uber busy most of the time.

Zan said :

No they are not idiots. Cinnamon is good for you. Cinnamon sugar is not.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-surprising-health-benefits-of-cinnamon.html?page=1

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

C’mon johnboy…name and shame. Don’t want to take my girls to a place like this.

Also, plus one to the upstairs Woden cafe next to the Turkish joint. Went for breakfast and my girls cinnamon toast was two slices of hard bread covered in cinnamon. Not cinnamon and suger but pure cinnamon.

Idiots.

Won’t even mention how bad the adults food was.

Don’t be silly, cinnamon sugar is just sugar with cinnamon in it, it’d give you all the benefits you get from eating plain cinnamon plus the delicious taste of sugar. Also, I wouldn’t go around posting links to sites like that as the basis for your argument. No evidence would probably be moar convincing than being directed to those digitised tabloid sites.

MrBigEars said :

zorro29 said :

i dont mind paying for a milkshake as long as it’s good…$7 seems to be the standard now

A shake? Milk and ice-cream? And it costs 5 dollars? You don’t put bourbon in it or anything?

most places that charge about $5 use soft serve and not good quality scoop ice cream…i am pretty fussy when it comes to my milkshakes – it’s a matter of global importance and delciousness!!! yeah…i haven’t paid $5 for a milkshake since the 90s – even donut king charges more than $5 for a shake now don’t they???

and an apt question about whether the Manuka milkshake place brings all the boys to the yard….can’t say i ever drank it but i never noticed the milk bar either 🙂

bearlikesbeer10:02 am 23 Jul 13

dominic_mhd said :

bearlikesbeer said :

I had a bad experience at Coffee Club in Woden a few months ago. As the waiter served my food I handed him my unused water glass, pointing out that it was dirty (not just watermarked, but encrusted with someone else’s food). The waiter asked me “So do you want another one?”. I said I wanted a clean one, and he walked back to the counter. A few minutes later, standing behind the counter, he called to my table “Here you go” and placed a glass on the edge of the counter for me to get up, walk over and collect. I got up and walked to another cafe.

Considering you pay at the counter as you order at Coffee Club, and you stated they already served your food, I don’t think they lost out.

I considered picking up my sandwich in a napkin and taking it with me. Then I thought about the state of the glass I was offered, and decided to give the sandwich a miss. That left me about $10 out of pocket.

I never returned to Coffee Club, and have shared this story with friends and co-workers who frequent Westfield Woden. Coffee Club lost out on my repeat/return business.

I think that I may know what café this is. It is located between the Homebase and JB Hi-Fi, right?
They do have sandwiches that go beyond $13 mark. I bet that’s where OP went.
Those curious can go and check their prices.

dkNigs said :

KB1971 said :

dkNigs said :

It sounds like you ordered a toasted sandwich untoasted to be honest…

I hate how some people find it so hard to order off the menu, why do they expect a special request everywhere they go? Just because you have a fussy four year old doesn’t mean the world has to indulge them like you do.

WTF?

Ordering a sandwich and asking for it not to be toasted is a hard task? Not everybody likes a toasted sandwich, I always thought toating was extra, not the tandard fare. Asking for a ham and cheese sanwich is hardly a special request, especially if they do sandwiches.

There are quite a few places that only do toasted sandwiches. The thicker bread which was too hard for a four year old to eat is a pretty good indication that this was one of them.

New to me & I eat out a lot, even in differnet cities when I travel for work.

Woden cafes are so good that one always contemplates bringing one’s own food. There is an amazing sameness.

BimboGeek said :

Just checked. Downtown Milk Bar in Manuka does a milkshake in a tin for $4.80 and the locals generally believe it’s the best milkshake in Canberra. .

But does their milkshake bring all the boys to the yard?

No they are not idiots. Cinnamon is good for you. Cinnamon sugar is not.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-surprising-health-benefits-of-cinnamon.html?page=1

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

C’mon johnboy…name and shame. Don’t want to take my girls to a place like this.

Also, plus one to the upstairs Woden cafe next to the Turkish joint. Went for breakfast and my girls cinnamon toast was two slices of hard bread covered in cinnamon. Not cinnamon and suger but pure cinnamon.

Idiots.

Won’t even mention how bad the adults food was.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd11:36 pm 22 Jul 13

C’mon johnboy…name and shame. Don’t want to take my girls to a place like this.

Also, plus one to the upstairs Woden cafe next to the Turkish joint. Went for breakfast and my girls cinnamon toast was two slices of hard bread covered in cinnamon. Not cinnamon and suger but pure cinnamon.

Idiots.

Won’t even mention how bad the adults food was.

dph said :

There’s no cafe/restaurant in Woden (or Canberra for that matter) that charges $13 for a simple ham & cheese sandwich (by itself).

The only explanation I can hope for here is that they usually do tempeh paninis and the boss has told the teenaged staff not to give discounts for substitutions or removals. Still, for that money you can buy a burger made to order from fresh top grade mince and fresh salad toppings, so a bit of spam on stale cellulose doesn’t really compare.

Oh no, my milkshake’s too big!!!!! Is this another segment of “s*** no-one says in Canberra”?

55% of the point of having kids is the yummy leftovers and excess food.

$13 for a ham and cheese sandwich though? And you still ordered it?

bearlikesbeer said :

I had a bad experience at Coffee Club in Woden a few months ago. As the waiter served my food I handed him my unused water glass, pointing out that it was dirty (not just watermarked, but encrusted with someone else’s food). The waiter asked me “So do you want another one?”. I said I wanted a clean one, and he walked back to the counter. A few minutes later, standing behind the counter, he called to my table “Here you go” and placed a glass on the edge of the counter for me to get up, walk over and collect. I got up and walked to another cafe.

Considering you pay at the counter as you order at Coffee Club, and you stated they already served your food, I don’t think they lost out.

There’s no cafe/restaurant in Woden (or Canberra for that matter) that charges $13 for a simple ham & cheese sandwich (by itself).

Masquara said :

poetix said :

Masquara said :

Good God! Old-money frugality, very rare sight on the Gungahlin-esque RiotAct!

I’m positive I’m not Gungahlin-esque.

(What does that even mean though? Blocky? Lacking trees? Recently developed? How is the RiotACT Gungahlin-esque?)

You once spent $13 on a $5 samwidge – so you don’t qualify as old-money frugal, sorry! : )

Happy to be jolly and working class.

if the OP decides to buy a ham and cheese *untoasted* sandwich for $13 then the OP deserves to be sucked in….

Just checked. Downtown Milk Bar in Manuka does a milkshake in a tin for $4.80 and the locals generally believe it’s the best milkshake in Canberra. I am not an expert in milkshakes so you’ll have to take their word for it. You pay a bit more in the places with a more upmarket ambiance.

DrKoresh said :

From past experience, it’s not uncommon for parents of young children to have an air of entitlement that can turn mediocre service into crappy service. The worst would not only be not only be demanding and brusque towards the staff, but also tended to let their sprogs spread sugar and sauce and crap all over the table and then walk out leaving their table looking like a murder scene. But usually their attitude was the most intolerable aspect, when they aren’t plain rude they’re usually condescending and insincere.

Like I said, waitresses quickly become child aware. 😉

Basil Fawlty: [overseeing dinner service, he approaches a table where the Heaths are eating] Good evening. Everything to your satisfaction?

Mr. Heath: Oh…

Mrs. Hall: Well, uh…

Master Heath: [cutting in] I don’t like the chips.

Basil Fawlty: Sorry.

Master Heath: The chips are awful.

Basil Fawlty: Oh, dear. What’s, uh, what’s wrong with them, then?

Master Heath: They’re the wrong shape and they’re just awful.

Mrs. Hall: I’m afraid he gets everything cooked the way he likes it at home.

Basil Fawlty: Ah, does he, does he?

Master Heath: Yes, I do, and it’s better than this pig’s garbage.

Mrs. Hall: Now, Ronald!

Master Heath: [to Basil] These eggs look like YOU laid them.

Mrs. Hall: Ronald!

Mr. Heath: [to Ronald] Now look-look-look here, old chap…

Mrs. Hall: [severely to Mr. Heath] Shut up! Leave him alone!

Mrs. Hall: [sweetly to Basil] He’s very clever… rather highly strung.

Basil Fawlty: [forcing himself to smile] Yes… Yes, he should be.

I guess I’m the only one who thought DEADBEEF.

Yes, you need to stand up for yourself. I bought a milkshake for $5 at a cafe near my work in Belconnen. I took it back in to them and told them that for $5 they can damn well fill it.
I have also taken food back and told them it was horrible. And received a refund.
Cafes rely upon good will that is received from their good food, service and prices……if you don’t get that, you need to make them aware. If they don’t want to ‘play’ then you name and shame and don’t go there again.

poetix said :

Masquara said :

Good God! Old-money frugality, very rare sight on the Gungahlin-esque RiotAct!

I’m positive I’m not Gungahlin-esque.

(What does that even mean though? Blocky? Lacking trees? Recently developed? How is the RiotACT Gungahlin-esque?)

You once spent $13 on a $5 samwidge – so you don’t qualify as old-money frugal, sorry! : )

Masquara said :

Madam Cholet you need to be more assertive! I absolutely would have refused to pay for food that wasn’t as described, or as ordered. And you should have sent everything back again and again until it was to your satisfaction. What was the name of the cafe?

Hear, hear.

$13 for a sandwich? They should eat it for you for that price!

Masquara said :

Good God! Old-money frugality, very rare sight on the Gungahlin-esque RiotAct!

I’m positive I’m not Gungahlin-esque.

(What does that even mean though? Blocky? Lacking trees? Recently developed? How is the RiotACT Gungahlin-esque?)

From past experience, it’s not uncommon for parents of young children to have an air of entitlement that can turn mediocre service into crappy service. The worst would not only be not only be demanding and brusque towards the staff, but also tended to let their sprogs spread sugar and sauce and crap all over the table and then walk out leaving their table looking like a murder scene. But usually their attitude was the most intolerable aspect, when they aren’t plain rude they’re usually condescending and insincere.

KB1971 said :

dkNigs said :

It sounds like you ordered a toasted sandwich untoasted to be honest…

I hate how some people find it so hard to order off the menu, why do they expect a special request everywhere they go? Just because you have a fussy four year old doesn’t mean the world has to indulge them like you do.

WTF?

Ordering a sandwich and asking for it not to be toasted is a hard task? Not everybody likes a toasted sandwich, I always thought toating was extra, not the tandard fare. Asking for a ham and cheese sanwich is hardly a special request, especially if they do sandwiches.

There are quite a few places that only do toasted sandwiches. The thicker bread which was too hard for a four year old to eat is a pretty good indication that this was one of them.

Holden Caulfield said :

Bluenomi said :

I have a 3 year old who is a big fan of milkshakes. Quite often places only do the one, adult size. So I just grab a spare water glass and pour toddler size servings into that. Seems to do the trick without causing the wait staff or myself any issues.

As for a $13 sandwich, well this is why I take one with me if there is a chance we will be out at feeding time. I know it will be the way she likes it and it doesn’t cost me a fortune!

Good god! Parental responsibility, we’ll have none of that here!!!

Good God! Old-money frugality, very rare sight on the Gungahlin-esque RiotAct!

Holden Caulfield4:38 pm 22 Jul 13

Bluenomi said :

I have a 3 year old who is a big fan of milkshakes. Quite often places only do the one, adult size. So I just grab a spare water glass and pour toddler size servings into that. Seems to do the trick without causing the wait staff or myself any issues.

As for a $13 sandwich, well this is why I take one with me if there is a chance we will be out at feeding time. I know it will be the way she likes it and it doesn’t cost me a fortune!

Good god! Parental responsibility, we’ll have none of that here!!!

Holden Caulfield4:35 pm 22 Jul 13

Pellegrino’s in Fyshwick has the best chocolate milkshake I’ve had in Canberra. It’s thick and with a banana to boot!

zorro29 said :

i dont mind paying for a milkshake as long as it’s good…$7 seems to be the standard now

A shake? Milk and ice-cream? And it costs 5 dollars? You don’t put bourbon in it or anything?

In defence of the Coffee Club – I find their food, coffee and service good. It is the only place to go as it is not noisy, not near a smelly nail business.

I have a 3 year old who is a big fan of milkshakes. Quite often places only do the one, adult size. So I just grab a spare water glass and pour toddler size servings into that. Seems to do the trick without causing the wait staff or myself any issues.

As for a $13 sandwich, well this is why I take one with me if there is a chance we will be out at feeding time. I know it will be the way she likes it and it doesn’t cost me a fortune!

Alderney said :

Sounds like the cafe up the top of the shopping centre between the two entrance doors to me.

I’ve been there before and the service has always been terrible, although the food is at times ok.

Ah, yes, that one. Truly terrible, burnt omelettes, bitter coffee and a hefty bill.

BimboGeek said :

zorro29 said :

(and i love a big creamy milkshake in a metal glass but getting one is incredibly difficult…paid $9 for a milkshake on the weekend and it wasn’t even that good *cries)

They’re $5-6 in Manuka. Where on earth were you?

say what? the one i got on the weekend was in sydney (as mentioned in my post…i just left canberra)…but i lived in Barton with Manuka being a regular haunt…$5 was a rarity for milkshakes. and i did pay $9 for a terrible milkshake at Urban Food in Acton at one point….so the $9 milkshake lives in Canberra too

i dont mind paying for a milkshake as long as it’s good…$7 seems to be the standard now

Sounds like the cafe up the top of the shopping centre between the two entrance doors to me.

I’ve been there before and the service has always been terrible, although the food is at times ok.

Masquara said :

….

Poetix’s $13 tempeh sandwich with raffia bow was an absolute bargain by comparison.

I’d forgotten all about that. Must go and have another one and check out the beautiful vegans.

schmeah said :

Another post by Madam Cholet about terrible customer service … You asked for a discount for a $13 sandwich? Why not just pay the sum and then bad mouth the place to all your friends and never go back. Seriously, sometimes cafe’s a crap but either you visit all the wrong ones or you’re just difficult.

NEXT!

“Pay the sum”? What low-self-esteem planet do you hail from? Refuse to pay! Call them out, in front of other customers. Sometimes it’s OK to pay a heft for a standard item if you’re getting amazing atmosphere or service, or if you’re in a location where rents are astronomical. Like central London.

Poetix’s $13 tempeh sandwich with raffia bow was an absolute bargain by comparison.

Another post by Madam Cholet about terrible customer service … You asked for a discount for a $13 sandwich? Why not just pay the sum and then bad mouth the place to all your friends and never go back. Seriously, sometimes cafe’s a crap but either you visit all the wrong ones or you’re just difficult.

NEXT!

Barcham said :

“Unfortunately we happened to find ourselves in Woden today”

I’m sorry to hear that. 🙂

What were you thinking that place is the a***hole of Canberry….

Panini at Lonsdale St Roasters (for example) are a lot less expensive than that, and they are tasty, as well as being served in a fairly interesting locale by fairly interesting staff. Those prices, for a cafe in a shopping centre in Woden, are bizarre.

Don’t encourage them.

I wonder if this is the same cafe that charges a dollar to toast banana bread.

HiddenDragon2:10 pm 22 Jul 13

Even if the service had been what you had expected, it still sounds like a rip to me. This little black duck and friend (both adults with relatively good appetites) were happily fed and watered at a Woden cafe last week for less than $24. The service was slightly daggy, in a well-meaning way, but as our resident Algonquinites would point out, it was Woden, so we probably only had ourselves to blame for that.

If Madam and Master Cholet’s experience is at all typical of the mystery establishment, it may not fare too well if things start to get really tough in Canberra.

zorro29 said :

(and i love a big creamy milkshake in a metal glass but getting one is incredibly difficult…paid $9 for a milkshake on the weekend and it wasn’t even that good *cries)

They’re $5-6 in Manuka. Where on earth were you?

$13 for a ham and cheese sandwich? At a Woden Cafe? Sounds a bit like bullsh*t to me.

“Unfortunately we happened to find ourselves in Woden today”

I’m sorry to hear that. 🙂

That’s really weird.

You must have been dealing with some seriously stupid waiters because children can be the high or low point of a shift depending on how you deal with them.

Feed them quickly, give them an activity if they didn’t bring one (even an old magazine to look at) and don’t let them have too much sugar or fill up on drinks before they eat. It’s not hard. The only part they got right was not giving him too much sugar in his milkshake and even then they gave him the wrong size. I’d say the person who took your order may have been as frustrated as you if the bar refused to do the size you requested and the kitchen weren’t talking to them.

Decent chefs usually do know when an order is for a child because when an unusual order comes in they will clarify it with the waitress – particularly if it’s returned! They want to know the story and the customer so that they can make it properly. The chef in this place not communicating or even looking at the customer is pretty crap.

I can explain why you received the sandwich toasted the first time: the bread was stale and the chef knew that you can disguise this by toasting it. They may have had so much day-old bread left over that they even cancelled that day’s order (or they may only get bread every two days) but even so, the solution is finding the freshest unopened packet, not sending out cardboard without butter. Icky.

Unfortunately the waitress who took your money probably isn’t authorised to give discounts. Every place has their own policy on discounts, but “if you finished it without saying anything until afterward, you pay for it” is pretty standard. Protocol would be to ask to speak to a manager/supervisor although sometimes the supervisor is just the waitress rostered on that shift who makes the least mistakes, not someone who actually knows how to make decisions. It also sucks when one person has all the bad luck of the entire shift because a self-absorbed waitress will have trouble telling the difference between that and a serial complainer.

ah how i /don’t/ miss this about canberra. unfortunately it’s a captive market and people will pay those kinds of prices…

i really sympathise with you on both the quality and service issues…although #3 pretty much nails it on every point

#2….that is appalling and you did the right thing! i speak with my feet now…not that they care (as noted by OP)

a few weeks ago i was at max brenner’s in belconnen and our order sat on the counter for a substantial time while the slow waiter chatted, moseyed about lost and took forever. the order included waffles which needed to be served warm (and aren’t that warm to begin with so any delay makes them inedible)….we ended up getting them ourselves off the counter cos the waiter just took forever!

(and i love a big creamy milkshake in a metal glass but getting one is incredibly difficult…paid $9 for a milkshake on the weekend and it wasn’t even that good *cries)

I fully agree – cafes do not seem to care about customer service. I dont think this is a Canberra only problem though.

I have to say though, I would have cancelled the order and left on hearing the sandwich was $13.00.

I’m stunned there is a kid who doesn’t eat toasted sandwiches. Seriously though the service you describe sucks.

dkNigs said :

It sounds like you ordered a toasted sandwich untoasted to be honest…

I hate how some people find it so hard to order off the menu, why do they expect a special request everywhere they go? Just because you have a fussy four year old doesn’t mean the world has to indulge them like you do.

WTF?

Ordering a sandwich and asking for it not to be toasted is a hard task? Not everybody likes a toasted sandwich, I always thought toating was extra, not the tandard fare. Asking for a ham and cheese sanwich is hardly a special request, especially if they do sandwiches.

Madame, you have done the right thing and told them it wasnt acceptable. We have followed up with an email when we have done this before and recieved quite a different reception from the manager/owner so may that will help.

aussieboy said :

I can’t understand why you would agree to pay $13 for a sandwich anyway.

especially in a no-name place in a shopping mall. cheaper to have gone to coolies and purchased ingredients for one and diy…

and yes please, as masquara inquires, name of said establishment?

Please tell us the cafe. Funny I thought of taking my son to Coffee Club Woden today. Glad we didn’t based on bearlikesbeer’s experience. I am not for rewarding businesses who don’t deal with customers well with my patronage

The name of the cafe was redacted in editorial. It’s not that important to the discussion and saves us a lot of heartache.

It does, however, emphasise the importance of telling the story when you have a really good experience.

Personally, I only go to cafes that employ clairvoyants.

Felix the Cat12:18 pm 22 Jul 13

Name and shame I say.

I think it fair enough that MC wasn’t happy with the oversized milkshake, it was for a 5yo child who might have trouble handling a regular sized milshake container (let alone drink the entire contents). The waitress (‘s) were informed that the drink was for the child, surely she could of passed this info on to the milkshake maker.

As for the no butter thing, it’s a bit subjective, some people want butter and some don’t. I guess the waitress could of checked if butter was wanted when taking the order.$13 does seem an excessive price for a sandwich, maybe they charged for the origianl toasted one as well?

Luckily (for them) cafe staff don’t rely on tips to make a living unlike the US because a lot would go broke in a short space of time.

As for discounts, IMO that’s being a bit stingy (even though you had bad service and bad food). If it were me I would juist vote with my feet and never go there again and tell all my friends what a bad experience I had and reccommend that they don’t go there either.

Madam Cholet you need to be more assertive! I absolutely would have refused to pay for food that wasn’t as described, or as ordered. And you should have sent everything back again and again until it was to your satisfaction. What was the name of the cafe?

It sounds like you ordered a toasted sandwich untoasted to be honest…

I hate how some people find it so hard to order off the menu, why do they expect a special request everywhere they go? Just because you have a fussy four year old doesn’t mean the world has to indulge them like you do.

I can’t stand people who complain when serving sizes are “too big”. Milkshakes have been rapidly shrinking and getting more expensive for years, even though the price of milk has plummeted. Any cafe that still serves milkshakes in the metal cups has my approval. Your kid didn’t have to drink the whole thing after all. Your criticism about it being weak is definitely valid though!

As for the sandwich, I reckon that you got exactly what you ordered – i.e. ham and cheese. I can’t understand why you would agree to pay $13 for a sandwich anyway.

And asking for a discount in any cafe/restaurant is just inappropriate. If you aren’t satisfied, let them fix the problem (i.e. ask for butter).

bearlikesbeer11:04 am 22 Jul 13

I had a bad experience at Coffee Club in Woden a few months ago. As the waiter served my food I handed him my unused water glass, pointing out that it was dirty (not just watermarked, but encrusted with someone else’s food). The waiter asked me “So do you want another one?”. I said I wanted a clean one, and he walked back to the counter. A few minutes later, standing behind the counter, he called to my table “Here you go” and placed a glass on the edge of the counter for me to get up, walk over and collect. I got up and walked to another cafe.

You do seem to have some terrible luck with your experiences at cafes, so much so that I wonder if maybe half the time it’s a result of your own actions.

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