Since fast food joints are notorious for screwing up your order (as I expect bored teenagers who don't really wanna be there to be), I seldom use the drive-through, and instead go in, placing my order, then checking the food before I leave to ensure it is correct. Yeah, it's about 50-50 in terms of correct to incorrect, no matter how specific you get with the front-counter kid, and your mileage may vary depending on what restaurant you use (McDonalds and Burger King, I have noticed, are the worst, and Runza is the best). But I never castigate the front-counter kid if it's wrong, especially if they've recited it back to me correctly, and you can tell on most receipts if they've entered it correctly.
I handle sit-down restaurants are pretty much the same way. If the wait staff person recites my order back to me correctly (and I'm one of those finicky eaters who likes things a certain way, much to Mrs. SicOne's chagrin at times, and messy or liquidy foods in separate bowls or plates from solid foods (example:today, at Cracker Barrel with Mrs. S1, I ordered the farm-raised catfish platter
, with sides of mashed potatoes and butter, steak fries, and corn, and requested (and received) the taters/butter and corn in separate bowls/plates, so I didn't have corn juice soaking the fish and fries, nor liquid butter soaking them; hence the finicky), and the kitchen gets it wrong, I will ask them to correct it (if it's really messy, and I have plenty of time) sometimes and go ahead and eat it (if it's not too bad or I'm pressed for time or don't want to make an issue out of it) at other times. But I never take it out on a wait person.
Well...one of my pet peeves is when the wait person takes your order without writing it down, listens to your detailed request, then heads off to the kitchen. When the kitchen screws it up, in that circumstance I am more inclined to believe the wait person screwed it up, and had they written it down, I'd be more understanding. Especially when I've spent a minute detailing what I want, and how I want it done. Seldom have I had cause to complain to a manager, though, as usually a kind word to the wait staff person is sufficent to adjust whatever problem there is, and most wait persons would also prefer (1) not to involve their boss in something negative, and (2) to correct bad service to help their chances at tipping.
If I have received excellent wait service in a sit-down restaurant, especially if one person is juggling multiple busy tables, I tip well, and frequently tell the manager on the way out (with the wait person close by, if possible, so they can get the good feedback right from the horse's mouth, so to speak) that I received great service.
Who knows, that nicety might make the difference between how the rest of that server's day goes?
