Tuesday

Is Honesty The Best Policy?

Our son with my Brother and His Family

Tomorrow, my brother, his wife, and their little boy are moving. My brother is headed to medical school and we will probably never live in the same place again. Ever. It is happy and sad all at the same time. That is another post for another time.

Tonight we went out to grab something to eat. You know to celebrate/say goodbye.

The sandwich shop we went to is new in town. I suggested it. It has gotten rave reviews.

We got there and the man who took our order was very positive and excited. He told us he had just moved here from the East Coast and that these Philly sandwiches were better than "the real thing". He promised they were authentic. My husband has had authentic.

Out came our sandwiches. We couldn't wait to dig in.

We all took bites together and chewed with strange looks. The sandwiches were not that good. Actually they weren't good at all. There was no taste, the bread wasn't that good, and the cheese. Well, I should have gone "wit out." We felt like we wasted time and money. I was sad that this was our last meal together.

Have you ever been to a restaurant that people said was great, but it wasn't? We were disappointed. We talked about that around the table. I apologized for making the suggestion in the first place.

We joked that if they came over and asked how our food was, we would tell them it was bad. Our kids heard us say all of this.

Then, before we knew it, the man did come over to our table and asked how things tasted. We smiled and fibbed. Yep, we pretended. Not over the top pretending, just reasonable pretending. He actually asked my brother again on the way out. My brother was polite.

Then...wouldn't you know it. We start to leave and our daughter asks...

"Mom, why didn't you tell the man the truth."

"What do you mean?" I said

"You told the worker that the sandwiches were good, but they weren't good."

I was quickly preparing to have the conversation where I explained that sometimes... you know... you have to say things...polite...others feelings....appropriate....etc....

She got sidetracked and didn't care about the answer to the question.

Leave it to our kids to keep us honest and on track. Pretty sure we need to be more careful about what we say in front of our children. They are getting too big.

WOULD YOU HAVE TOLD THE MAN THE TRUTH?

Family Volley

9 comments:

  1. When it comes to food, absolutely YES! I won't pay for food that is inedible or should have not been eaten. I would have sent it back too. If you ever don't have the nerve...which has happened to me twice recently I've used my new friend Yelp.com and posted a very honest review. Speaking of which I need to review a restaurant tomorrow that some friends took us to last week.

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  2. I don't know. If it is a place I like and go to often and something is wrong I'll tell them. But in your case, especially where everything was bad, I probably would have done the same thing and then just never go back.

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  3. It depends. We went to a restaurant for our anniversry two years ago. The food was great, but there was so little of it, and for the price we paid (a lot) it was a rip off. Not only that, the service was terrible. There wasn't a good tip that day. I didn't even want to leave one I was that disappointed. I agree with Sarah that when it comes to food, I have no problem sending something back that is inedible. They need to make it right within reason, if they want further patronage.

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  4. I wouldn't have. My husband is braver. He's told waiters 'I've had better' and 'Not my favorite' before. It's semi-politer than telling them food is outright bad. They're not usually that offended, they just work there.

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  5. Forgot to comment about one issue....as a professionally trained chef I WANT people to tell me if something is off in something I prepare.

    A-The chef or cook should be tasting everything and know better, but...

    B-If they don't...or there is a taste bud issue then they deserve to be told.

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  6. Tough one. It might be good food for someone else, but not good for you. You can't go to McD's and complain the food is bad and doesn't taste like an expensive restaurant, because that's just how it is. So if the food was just overall bad and not to your liking, I'd probably not say anything and just not go back. But if there's something wrong with it- like once I had a raw burger- then I say something and have it fixed.
    But so true that kids listen to everything and pick up things. I have to remember that as they get older!

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  7. I answer honestly when asked how I liked the food at restaurants. Sometimes they offer a refund or to exchange for a different dish, sometimes they don't. But I really think it's in their best interest to know how people honestly feel about their food; they can make adjustments according to feedback that could make their business more popular and more profitable.

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  8. I totally would have told the truth. If it was at my sister's house and I didn't like the food, I probably wouldn't. But at a restaurant? It's their job to make good food, and if I don't like it I absolutely tell them (if asked). I don't feel like feelings matter so much. I also don't think it's impolite to tell the truth in that situation. But at a home of a friend or family member, then maybe not.

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  9. I am known for being upfront, much to my husband's embarrassment at times. If I order something and have my husband taste it and he likes it, then I leave it alone, but if we both think it is not good, I will tell them if asked.

    Are you going to tell us which sandwich shop to avoid? You can just tell us the "general vicinity" if you don't want to name names!

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Hi Hi! It always makes my day to hear what you have to say. Let's keep this conversation going. Thank you for your comments. Don't want to leave a comment here, email me at blog.familyvolley@gmail.com.

 
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