Over the last few days, I ordered food from Danny Chinese Kitchen and Zorn’s of Bethpage. The people filling my order in each case left something out.
The main dishes were there. Napkins, silverware, chopsticks (as the case may be) were there. But certain side dishes were not. In one case, the rice was missing and the other gravy and the chicken tenders did not make it into the bag. Never packed. This isn’t just an inconvenience. By the time you realize what is missing, you are miles away from the restaurant.
Why do these missing items cause me and others such hard ache. It is because, the food you did receive now fees incomplete. Chinese food without rice does not feel completely satisfying. Also, gravy adds to the flavor of stuffing. Let alone, the missing chicken tenders which is my favorite thing at Zorn’s.
When this happens, you have two choices, and both of them suck. Option one is the most rational: You call the store and tell them that they missed an item. They will in most cases gladly replace the item which would require a trip back to the restaurant. That does not work since the rest of your food will not be cold. The second option is that they can offer you a credit the next time you order. These are fair responses but neither address your immediate need. You either go without or you have to ruin the rest of the meal to pick up the missing pieces.
In most cases, I typically suck it up and just skip the missing item. I neither call or complain. Since my life is so boring, I brought it up at dinner with some friends and they have experienced the same things. Without any scientific proof, we feel that the number of missing or wrong items in an order has been growing over the last few years. We can only guess why and most of them can be like the old man yelling in his backyard. But the problem is real and I do not see any incentives from the restaurants to fix these issues.
But as one of friends says, this is a first world problem and I should not spend any time or effort on this. There are better things for my time. Obviously, I did not take his advice.