My husband, CP, insists that it's impossible to take me anywhere to eat where I won't find something to complain about. He's wrong and has a tendency to exaggerate, but on this occasion he was right. Look, the fact is that I eat, breathe, sleep, and live food 24/7. I can't help but notice when things aren't right and tonight wasn't an exception.
Like many families, we're currently on a bit of a tight budget, so a lot of these specials being offered by chain restaurants are pretty enticing. Tonight we went to Chili's to take advantage of their 2 for $20 deal, which includes an appetizer and two entrees. Not too shabby.
We've been there several times, so I know what to expect. Something I've always hated at Chili's is their rice and beans. Seriously, how is it even possible to mess that up? Anyhoo, I digress. As I was saying, I know what to expect: crappy beans and mediocre rice. However, on this occasion, I received crappy beans and crappy rice. That's simply unacceptable.
When the server came by to check on us, I told him the honest truth, "I'm sorry, but this rice tastes like shit". I let him know that I expected the beans to suck, but the rice blind sided me. He said he appreciated my honesty and that it was refreshing (See? Kudos to me). They forgot to do to the rice what they always fail to achieve with the beans: season it. The rice had no salt and it was simply awful. Normally, I can at least mask the crappy beans by mixing it with the mediocre rice, but what am I supposed to do when I get a double portion of crap? No amount of salsa in the world can fix that.
Our server offered me a different side item, which I happily accepted, but just as soon as he left our table, I overheard him gleefully recounting the incident with someone in the hallway. Within a minute, we had a manager at the table. He did his thing and asked about my complaint. I pointed out it was horrible and suggested that he go to the kitchen and taste it for himself, at which point he mentioned that my husband was joyfully scraping his plate clean, which had had rice and beans on it at some point. I explained that CP will eat anything, even an old shoe if it was on the plate, so his opinion doesn't count. I know it sounds harsh, but CP is known to eat Chef Boyardee right out of the can for breakfast and ask for seconds. Clearly, his taste buds are broken.
I told the manager that we had come to Chili's plenty of times and knew to expect the beans to be bad, but had never experienced the rice this way. I told him that the beans tasted as though they were poured directly from the can, as usual, but that not even the rice could save it this time. He promptly defended the corporate beans that arrived directly from the Chili's mother ship ready to be heated and served, but admitted that the rice appeared to be off color. Long story short, our server confirmed that the manager went to the kitchen, tasted the rice, and indeed did agree with me.
Now that I've walked you through our dinner experience at Chili's, I can finally get to my point. Notice how on both occasions, I told the restaurant staff that I expected the beans to be bad. I couldn't help but mull it over and I came to the conclusion that nobody should go to any restaurant expecting something to be bad. A few days ago, CP and I went to Burger King, which I rarely eat at, but was starving. I ordered a Whopper combo since it was cheaper than ordering the burger with the drink alone. When considering whether to order the fries or onion rings, my process of elimination involved deciding out of the two sucky side items, which one sucked less. Why??!
How is it possible that we've allowed ourselves to accept such blatant mediocrity and then go as far as to pay for it? Have we been brainwashed or have we really become that complacent? As for restaurants, would it kill you to serve good food? It's really not that difficult. In some cases, all you need to do is add some salt. I say we should no longer go places with low expectations. Instead, we must dine out with great expectations! Instead of lowering our standards to meet theirs, they should have to raise their standards to meet ours! We can not continue to accept mediocrity. Keep in mind that each time they're lowering their standards, they're not dropping their prices to reflect it, so don't take it anymore!
So make sure to add this to your 2012 New Year's Resolutions: Do not accept mediocrity from anyone, especially if you're expected to pay for it.
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