A man hatched a petty scheme to prove that chefs cook meals differently based on the name of the person who orders it.
Posting on Reddit, the man said he asked for a curry to be spicy only for them to give him a milder version, so he changed his name next time he ordered it as a takeaway to see if he would get something hotter.
He said: “I am currently on a business trip in another city. A few days ago, I dined in at a Thai restaurant near my hotel. I ordered a green curry, and asked for 5 star spiciness. My waitress laughed at me, and told me that I’m getting it 3 star. I corrected her, and told her that I in fact ordered it 5 star.
“When she came back with my dish and I tasted it, it was not spicy at all. It wasn’t even a 3 star. I sent the dish back, and it came back a few moments later with what appeared to be red chilli flakes sprinkled on top. I asked her about it, and was sarcastically told that I ordered it spicy. I told her that it makes no sense to sprinkle red chilli flakes on a green curry which is supposed to be made with green chiles. It honestly looked hideous, but I tried it anyway. It still wasn’t spicy, so I sent it back.
He said he then sent it back twice because it wasn’t spicy before he gave up and accepted a “bland meal”.
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“The waitress, in a very sarcastic tone, told me that they made it extra spicy just for me, told me that she was going to stand there and watch me eat it, and took away my water glass. I tried it, and it was not extra spicy. But it was just barely acceptable, so I didn’t send it back. I told her so, and she walked away looking completely bewildered as I finished my bland meal,” he said.
So, he decided to investigate the matter.
“The next day, I was still upset about it. So that night, I decided to order the same dish from the same restaurant to my hotel room—but under a Thai name just to see if they make it any differently. Sure enough, the food was very spicy just as I ordered. It was far better than the ‘extra spicy’ dish I had at the restaurant.”
He then contacted the restaurant to explain what had happened and received an apology and he was also offered a refund.
Responding to his story, some people found it pretty odd:
“I can’t imagine feeling comfortable sending a dish back more than once,” one said. “I’d sooner ask for a refund and leave than have them attempt to make it that many times. And then to order it again to the room? Who would actually do this?”
Another said: “Spicy or not spicy. Sending food back 4 times is a bit.... Much.”
But others supported the man. One said: “They had no business serving you bland food, especially when they do offer the option of really spicy. If you can’t handle it then it’s your problem but they shouldn’t make the decision for you. The waitress was really rude.”
Another said: “I would have walked out after the second dish personally, especially given the waitresses behavior. It's fine to confirm with a person that the spice level they want is what they REALLY want, but it's not fine to ignore the customers order or treat them disrespectfully.”
A heated debate indeed.
