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Sawing Logs and Chewing Iron: The Underbelly of South American Travel, Part Two

5/14/2014

7 Comments

 
Those who live in Buenos Aires will be familiar with the somewhat unusual "Porteno" way of doing business: It's not uncommon, for example, for local business owners to lose a sale rather than make change for a 100-peso bill, and one often gets yelled at for touching before trying in shops.  But last night's restaurant experience took crappy customer service to a whole new level!

In this second example of not-so-great travel adventures, I'll share a story that will make your hair stand on end, and your teeth chew carefully -- I should give Tatiana much of the author's credit here: The material below was taken largely from the review she wrote last night for Trip Advisor. ("I" is Tats.)

I also just want to insert that we've had lots of great experiences with restaurants here and with people.  But the experience below must be shared, I felt, if only to help the next victim avoid such a nightmare!!!

We Got Served a Rusty Nail with a Side of Attitude

We'd been to La Cabrera once before and quite enjoyed the food and the atmosphere, so we decided to go there one more time before leaving the city. What a giant mistake! What follows is without question the worst restaurant experience of our lives -- no exaggeration. 

It started out pretty well. Since we had reservations, we only had to wait for about 15 minutes before being seated -- that's not too bad for Buenos Aires. A pleasant enough waiter took our order, and soon brought us our starter -- a caprese salad. It looked and tasted just fine, until I took a bite, and, to my horror, pulled A NAIL out of my mouth.

Not a fingernail -- a metal nail, made out of iron. Sharp. Rusty. 

Had I bitten it the wrong way, I could have had a pretty bad mouth injury! I was suddenly glad I had gotten my tetanus shot before coming to Buenos Aires, though I would never have guessed that I was putting myself at risk of tetanus by dining at a restaurant that claims to be in the top 50 in Latin America! 

I held the nail up for inspection by my dinner companions, and the four of us examined it carefully, somewhat in shock. Still, at this point we were willing to forgive the establishment. I mean, freak accidents happen to everyone, right? I thought about snapping a picture, but it in the end stupidly decided that it was unnecessary. Surely a restaurant of this caliber would take care of this, we figured. Our server was quite apologetic, after all, and even though my appetite was rather spoiled, we figured we'd give them the benefit of the doubt. 

However, what came next was rather unbelievable: After the waiter had brought our bill, he informed us that we had not been charged for the salad (duh!) or the dessert (ice cream for the kids; we didn't even want to order any dessert after what happened, but the kids had really been looking forward to that...) Plus, they brought out a tree of cheap lollipops to appease us which, frankly, felt more like a slap in the face. At the very least, they could have taken out the cubierto (seating charge), we felt! 
That's when we asked to talk to a manager, in English. Two people came in succession, and instead of apologizing, they tried to explain to us what a seating/cutlery charge is, as if we didn't know, after 8 months in the city. Finally, they agreed to take out two cubiertos out of four (which is something many restaurants routinely do for us without our asking, since lots of places tend to waive cubiertos for the kids). In the end, we got about 5 bucks off our US$100+ meal. We did take a picture of THAT, and are including it with the review. 

We would have argued further, but unfortunately one of our kids was a bit under the weather and getting really tired and nearly falling asleep, so we decided to just pay the bill and leave. We certainly did not feel like leaving a tip at that point, so we paid exactly the amount the restaurant charged. We felt somewhat bad for the waiter, but could not imagine paying any extra to the establishment after what had just happened. However, our empathy for the waiter quickly evaporated after he very carefully and deliberately counted the pesos we paid him and then had the audacity to point out that "tips were not included", implying that we better give him some. I understand that what happened not exactly his fault, but seriously? You just served someone a rusty nail in a salad and -- having witnessed our rather lengthy discussion with the personnel at your place -- feel like it was the right thing to ask for a tip after all that? 

On our way out, the hostess asked us how everything was, and seemed rather embarrassed and horrified to hear of our experience. She was extremely apologetic and had told us that she thought that it was completely unacceptable. I felt for her. I know I would have felt quite awful if an establishment I represented dealt with customers in such a manner. 

Wow. Just wow. Let me tell you, we left with a VERY bad taste in our mouths, and there is no question we'll be telling people to avoid this place. A nail in a salad, outlandish and ridiculous as it is, can be forgiven, but the way the restaurant dealt with it is absolutely  inexcusable and is indicative of very serious problems. 
7 Comments
Rob
5/14/2014 01:16:22 am

So you're doing everything in your power to ruin this restaurant's reputation because of a mistake? They apologized, comp'ed the salad, comp'ed dessert, but you're upset that they did not comp the cubierto? Way to go! Cost them thousands of potential business with your multi-review internet attack on a forum, trip advisor and this blog. You give travelers a bad name. For shame and grow up- I feel bad that they had to deal with you.

Reply
vera
5/14/2014 02:30:58 am

So, you think a rusty nail in a salad is okay? Wow, okay, Rob, well, go enjoy your iron-enriched meal there. Hope you don't hurt your mouth in the process.

As far as Trip Advisor goes, if you read the more recent comments, you'll see that our lousy experience was not the first! Thankfully, that's the benefit of the Internet, so that people can share open, honest feedback.

While you are certainly entitled to your opinion about me giving travelers a bad name, I myself am grateful for travelers like me who share honest experiences, because they allow me to make an informed decision about where to dine and so on when I travel.

And, based on my own reviews (that is, reviews of myself as a guest, for example on AirBnB), I can't be giving travelers *that* bad a name, since 100% of my reviews there are positive.

Reply
LAinBA
5/14/2014 01:31:52 am

I completely agree with the other comments although they are a bit harsh. They comped items to make up for the mistake which was NOT the waiters fault. At a restaurant like La Cabrera you usually occupy a table for 2+ hours. Since they open at 8:30pm and close at 1am or 2am (depending on the day), that means each waiter usually sees how many tables? ... Maybe 8-10 a night? You took away hard earned money from this waiter with your selfishness. While it is easy for you to go to La Cabrera and spend $100+ on a meal, that man probably spends that much all month on food. Shame on you.

Reply
Vera
5/14/2014 02:40:18 am

Hi, LAinBA, and thanks for joining the conversation.

I should mention to you that it was not without consideration that we did not tip the waiter. I do agree that to some extent, it was not his fault, though in fairness, I myself -- having waited tables in the past -- would never have asked for a tip under these circumstances. Furthermore, in the past, I've refunded money and gone the extra mile for people in courses I teach if they are unhappy with some aspect of it. That's just the cost of working in customer service.

Also, based on our conversations with LOCALS as well as experienced tourists here, it is not customary to tip here to the same extent as it is in North America.

Further, we only occupied the table for a little over an hour...

Finally, I'd just like to insert as an aside that my tourism includes lots of volunteer work and local study, and if you read my other blog posts, you'll see that in general I am pretty positive about our experiences.

I do, however, feel that people have a right to know when a restaurant serves rusty nails in their salad and then thinks that comping said salad and throwing in some ice cream makes up for it. Despite your experience of being easy to spend $100+ on a dinner, this is not *our* reality, as we are living on a very tight budget while here (granted, not as tight as the waiter's), but when we do go out for dinner at a nice place like La Cabera, we don't expect to find rusty nails in our food or have to fight for compensation. It's not a fun way for us to dish our $100!

Reply
David
5/14/2014 11:18:12 am

I will never go near this restaurant again. A mistake?? What mistake?? Serving a rusty nail in a salad is TOTAL NEGLIGENCE and should be reported and made public to everybody. They could have saved face by not charging you for dinner and I am sure if they did that you would have left the waiter a tip. But since they were stupid about it why should you. I wouldn't have paid them a penny but I also would have left immediately. If they gave me attitude I would have called the police, ambulance, etc just to scare them, They could end up injuring somebody seriously or getting someone very sick.

Reply
Vera
5/15/2014 11:47:14 am

Hehe, yea, in hindsight we totally should have left. I think we were all a little stunned and in shock. I mean, who expects to find a nail in the salad? Lol! Reflecting on it later, I realise how lucky we were... had she swallowed it, things could have gone very badly!

Fortunately, most of our resto experiences in this city have been pretty good; it's a great place to dine out, and we've been very lucky to do so on a semi-regular basis. (I don't think I'll ever get accustomed to the late night dinners, though -- I'm ready to eat by 6:30 p.m.!!!!)

Reply
Vera
5/15/2014 11:49:13 am

And, yes, you are correct in your assumption that had it been taken care of appropriately, we would have left a normal tip for the waiter; maybe even a bigger one in light of what he had had to deal with! :)

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    Canadian, vegetarian, PPL, certified teacher and mother of twins, home schooling for the year, in Argentina!  
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