PIECE MEAL

I now can give a new meaning to "piece meal" eating. When you go to a restaurant, you expect to get what your entree order all at once.

As a kid, I was taught to eat "around the plate" to get a taste of everything, not just eat one thing at a time. However, the restaurant I visited a few weeks ago made my teachings impossible.

I was visiting my nephew and we went to a nearby eatery. I ordered the chicken breast with hash browns, a side salad and rolls. When the waitress delivered our drinks, I received my salad. It's normal to eat a salad first, so far so good. When the entrees were brought to the table, I looked at mine inquisitively. There was no chicken breast, instead toasted bread with a slice of tomato inside. I told the waitress that I ordered chicken and she said yes you did, I'll get it corrected. However, she didn't take my plate away, and just told me to ignore the bread, because they would just throw it away anyway. Therefore, I ate my hash browns alone since my salad was finished.

When the waitress stopped by to ask how things were a few minutes later, I mentioned that I had not received the rolls that went with my dinner yet. When I finished my hash browns, she brought me two rolls and butter. So, as I was waiting for my chicken, I ate the rolls, alone.

Finally, after my nephew had finished his meal (served all at once) and my three courses were complete, my sole chicken breast arrived on a small plate. I had to laugh, but I then ate it, alone. My nephew was none too pleased with the service.

When the waitress brought the chicken to me, she stated that she would "comp" my meal for the terrible mix-up. Well, at least that's nice of them. Then she brought the bill. Since we were ready to leave, we headed for the register. The bill was handed to the cashier and she said the total amount due. I said, "The waitress said my meal was to be 'comp-ed' due to a mix-up in my order." The cashier replied, "No, she just gave you 10% off."

The woman standing next to the cashier, I quickly learned, was the new 'manager on duty' just reporting for work a few minutes earlier. She had overheard the conversation. I reluctantly handed the cashier the money for my meal, not leaving a tip, and walked out. My nephew, however, was not giving up that easy. After I left to go outside, he spoke to the new 'manager on duty' about the whole thing. She went back to the kitchen and spoke with the manager whom she was replacing on shift. The kitchen manager said he knew about the 'disaster' as he called it, and I was to get my meal free. The woman manager returned and refunded my meal cost to my nephew with her apologies.

When my nephew got to my truck, he told me what happened. I thanked him and he said he just didn't like me being treated that way. No customer should be treated that way! Go for the WHOLE meal, not PIECE meal.