"Why is our food cold 30 minutes after receiving it?"

[customersruinmylife]

Took a meal out to two women.

Me: Hi there, I’ve got fish and chips and steak and kidney pie?
SC1: Yes, that’s us!
Me: There you go. Enjoy your meals.
SC1: Thank you.
SC2: Want to go for a cigarette?
SC1: OK!

They walked outside, leaving their table and meals unattended. I knew right away how this was going to end. My sucky customer-sense was tingling. I went to the manager.

Me: Table 10 are going to complain that their meals are cold.
M: Huh? What makes you say that?
Me: They’ve just left their food unattended. I bet you they complain.
M: *not believing me* Riiiiight.

The two of them were outside for over five minutes, slowly smoking their cigarettes. They finally came back inside and immediately headed for the sauces and condiments. I decided to go over and listen to them as they slowly selected sauces.

SC1: You want ketchup?
SC2: *tapping finger on lips* Hmmmm…I don’t know…hmmmm

They stood there for another five minutes, selecting sauces at a snails pace. They finally headed over to their meals.

SC1: You want another drink?
SC2: Sure!

SC1 went to the bar and had to wait another five minutes to be served, while SC2 sat at the table waiting, not touching their meal. SC1 got the drinks and headed back. We are now approaching the 20 minute mark and they still have not touched their meals. They are now slowly sprinkling their condiments onto the meals while having a long drawn out conversation. They take their first bite. I immediately see SC1 slam her fork down, stand up and head for the bar. I decided to pull up the register history. After I took away the cooking time, their meals had been out for 27 minutes.

SC1: This food is cold! I demand a fresh meal!
Me: Let me go get the manager!

M was stood at the end of the bar. Her jaw had actually dropped.

M: I’m sorry, but I can’t replace a meal that went out almost 30 minutes ago.
SC1: It should have stayed warm! You must have served it wrong for it to go cold in only 30 minutes!
M: I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do.
SC1: So I guess that means we have to eat cold meals then???
M: You don’t have to-
SC1: We’re never coming here again!

They ate the meals and stormed out about 30 minutes later.

[roguesqd]

I get the same thing from people who call complaining their fries are cold after the 10-15 minute drive home

[An Haddock]

You should have cooked meals that defied the laws of physics, obviously.

[Sapphire Silk]

They were looking for the meals to be comped. Then they'd have taken them home and warmed them up.

[firecat88]

They were looking for the meals to be comped. Then they'd have taken them home and warmed them up.

Which is gross, IMO. O.o Fish-and-chips really should be eaten fresh.

[XCashier]

They were looking for the meals to be comped. Then they'd have taken them home and warmed them up.

That would not surprise me a bit. (Hopefully management would've taken the meals back and thrown them in the garbage if that were the case.)

Either that, or they were truly brain-rotted stupid. The time to smoke, get your condiments, etc. is while you are waiting for your meal, not after it has arrived! Basic Common Sense 101, which far too many people have flunked.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Which is gross, IMO. O.o Fish-and-chips really should be eaten fresh.

Well, at least the fish part of it. The fries may depend (I've been to places where the fries are just as tasty reheated.)

I've only had one thing that has been seafood that tasted just as good re-heated as when made fresh, and that was clam chowder in a bread bowl. I think the only reason it survived and still tasted good was that all the chowder was soaked into the bread of the bowl! XD

I totally agree with Sapphire that they were trying to get free meals that they would then nuke at the house. Also... who smokes right before eating? I mean, I'm not a smoker, but wouldn't the taste of the smoke still be on your palette before you chow down on your delicious food?

I know a lot of smokers smoke after eating (and that's because all the blood is going to the stomach for digestion, so the brain is all "OMG WHERE IS MY NICOTINEEEE?!") My boyfriend does... but I've never seen him smoke right before eating.

Maybe that's why they took so long with the condiments?

[Sapphire Silk]

Which is gross, IMO. O.o Fish-and-chips really should be eaten fresh.

Amen, sister. I have yet to see fries that reheat well. Fish, YMMV. But they're still best hot and fresh.

But when it comes to SCs there's no accounting for taste. Literally.

[Raveni]

They ate the meals and stormed out about 30 minutes later.

I notice that you didn't mention them paying.

[emax4]

They could have just, you know, lit up again and used the heat from the cigarette to warm up their food...

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

"Why is our food cold 30 minutes after receiving it?"

"Because we don't cook it with an acetylene torch, and serve it to you with asbestos silverware."

[Jay 2K Winger]

Basic Common Sense 101, which far too many people have flunked.

You're being too generous with their academics. They flunked Remedial Common Sense.

[Mr Hero]

My Scammy Senses are tingling! I read this story and suspected what others have already posted. No one is that stupid to believe they actually expected warm food after the fact.

[Argabarga]

That's, like, one of those questions that if you have to ask.... you've already lost the game.

[siskaren]

What's strange though is that while they were clearly intentionally wasting time before finally sitting down to eat, they didn't ask for the meals to be comped; they asked for them to be replaced. What would they have gained from that? Unless of course they asked for them to be comped after they got the replacement meals.