The things I've seen and heard in my industry (not food service) gives me pause, and that was decades ago. I'm not going to allow my mind to go to that dark place and imagine what happens these days!

I've worked fast food. I don't eat out.

I've never worried about that, but I rarely send food back. Not too long ago, we were dining out with another couple and I had ordered a steak, to be cooked "medium." The steak that came to me was blood rare. So rare, that it might have been raw but thrown on the grill just barely long enough to give it a couple of grill marks. I ate everything else on the plate and asked for a little box for the steak. I cooked it the next day and then ate it.

I do not have a very high opinion of Wendy Williams. She seems to have an overly high opinion of herself. I can see how she would irritate the wait staff at a restaurant and, therefore, be cautious about sending food back.

Yes, it does happen though I've never seen someone spit in the food.

Only ever saw it in response to a rude customer though, not just a send back.

Sigh, the thought of being a slave to the kitchen is depressing. Should be like Moonie and not allow myself to think about it.

Its not so much retaliation I worry about but the young unsupervised workers who do things they think is 'funny'.

I worked in restaurants for years, everything and anything can happen in them. That goes for the factory where they ship to grocery stores also. I would suggest you do not make a fuss at a restaurant.

One thing I have done is ask: "is my food on its way?" I know the answer but I'm asking to let them know I've been waiting. Was my food "enhanced" in any way?

I think unsanitary things happen all the time when other people handle your food. I try not to think about it because I enjoy dining out. I have sent back plenty of meals, but I'm always polite about it. In my case, it usually has meat in it and I don't eat meat, so there's really nothing I can do about it. For example, I've ordered veggie burgers and been served an actual cheeseburger.

I remember when I went out to dinner once in high school with a friend. I ordered some sort of mac and cheese, and it was so salty that I couldn't eat it. And I'm a salt fan, so this was very, very salty. Being young, I didn't want to make a fuss but the waiter noticed I wasn't eating it and asked if it was okay. I said it was a little salty and he insisted and rushed to replace it with something else. My friend was dying of embarrassment and said, "Oh, you're one of those people!"

My first job, when I was 16, was at McDonalds. I still remember my horror seeing the kid who manned the grill spit on it for fun.

A former neighbor had inherited a large extermination firm established by his father. They were contracted to do work in many Chicago and suburban restaurants -- from small places to those in expensive hotels. He named *three* where he would eat.

Yes it happens. I couldn't prove it, but what I saw in the middle of my food was very suspicious. I didn't eat it. Instead of being angry I felt humiliated. This was long time ago but I still hesitate to return my plate to the kitchen for any reason.

Years ago , one of my coworkers had another part-time job. Food service. Every Sunday a.m. A certain customer who ordered the same dish, always said the same line as it was served- "You didn't drop my toast on the floor, did you? " Every time. It got old so my coworker actually DID drop it on the floor. When he asked again for the umpteenth time, she smiled and said "Yup! Sure did!" And they both laughed.

Gross, I know. And not professional .

We eat out, so I try not to dwell on it, but I think the basic hygiene standards can be pretty low. People who are not given time off, come to work sick. The number of people you see exit a restroom without washing their hands....someone wipes their nose with the back of their hand and then handles your dish, who needs spit? Some of the super fancy places, how many people handle that plate and the food, to get it to look just so? Ugh skeeving myself out here. And of course exterminators are needed, for little and big critters. We sat in a chain coffee and sandwich place and watched a mouse run back and forth, or maybe it was multiple mice....most menus are totally gross, they have been handled by so many....and some places set it on your plate!

I like eating out....buuuuut if I think about it too much it grosses me out. :0)

My DH does commercial remodels and new builds. He's seen some "things" in restaurants....

Just think of it as building up your immunity and enjoy your meal.

My son trained as a supervisor for a national pest company and couldn't take it for long. One of the nicest national chain hotel's kitchens had r-----s coming from the insides of their onions, and that is just the beginning. Some restaurants early in the mornings had meat juices flowing off counters from meat left out to thaw. Needless to say, it was too distressing.

Well, I'm no longer hungry. Ew.

I bet thinking about this is the BEST appetite suppressant out there, ha

I eat out but I don't send things back. I have heard of some awfully mean things that people have done. Like this woman who was my mother's neighbor and used to cook in a little restaurant in town. She told about someone coming into the restaurant that she didn't like and he ordered a chicken fried steak and before she breaded it, she dipped it up and down in the toilet. She's dead now. She was a total b****. I doubt anyone misses her.

If I need to order at a fast food I always go in and stand at the counter where I can watch them. I rarely eat out, but if we do it's usually at the pizza shop where we can watch them make the pizza. One time my DH had to return his steak at a high end restaurant because it was too raw, and they returned it with a large chunk taken out. I've seen one guy at subway who ask the preparer to please change his gloves before making his sandwich. Smart move in his part. Plus when I'm at Walmart and the cashier licks her fingers to open a bag, I ask her to please don't give me that bag. I don't want to take her germs home. They have a sticky pad to use.

Not a restaurant story, but when I was working one of my company's clients was a large well-known grocery chain. Due to the work I did i was privey to "the back end". I was amazed that the stink from the back didn't permeate "the front end".

As newlyweds we went out with a group of other young couples in our area. One man *never* accepted his order as it came to the table. He returned *everything*, sometimes more than once. AFAIK he's still living! (We couldn't tell if he was trying to get his meal comped... or what. His wife didn't bat an eye. She'd encourage us to go ahead and eat while her DH waited for his order to be re-made. I sincerely doubt he tried this on with her!)

After watching the way people cook in their own kitchens I'm often more concerned about eating there than in a reputable establishment. People slobbering on the spoon to taste and snack as they're cooking, having their kids "help" in the kitchen. Setting the diapered kids on the food prep counters, purses, etc. Talking on the phone and then handling food. (What's dirtier than a phone?)

Thinking about it is going to make you upset. Either get paranoid or don't let possibilities bother you. Each kitchen, whether a restaurant or home, has different standards of "cleanliness". After watching Marvin Zindler's "Rat and roach report" never stopped Houston residents from eating out, though the local health officials did occasionally.

I sometimes chuckle watching the TV cooking shows, Hell's Kitchen for one, and watching them using those disgusting towels all night long wiping the plates, sticking it in their pocket, wiping the stoves, etc. Not too sure I agree with a lot of food handling procedures on those shows.

I have never worried about sending food back. Why? Because if I send something back there is a valid reason. I don't send things back just because I don't happen to like them, after thinking I might. I don't complain about my meal after eating 2/3 of it. I don't complain about something not to my liking that I forgot to mention when I placed my order. I only send items back that were not cooked to order, are lower quality than is customary for the particular establishment, or have something in them that doesn't belong, like an overlooked garden critter in a salad. If you polite ask that something be fixed without being accusatory about it or point out a flaw to let them know something went wrong I find most places will go the extra mile to make it right.

I must be doing something right. I've had managers comp my meals despite my my protests, had staff thank me for the heads up about a problem, had cooks inquire about the new steak they fixed for me etc.

So it's not what you ask for, it's how.