Natalie Ladd offers some guidance and when and how to send food back to the kitchen in today’s Portland Daily Sun. Step 1 is to
Evaluate the Error: Make sure the problem is on their end, not yours. Be sure to tell your server if you have a food allergy or aversion to an item listed in a dish. However, if your food is undercooked, overcooked, the wrong temperature, stale, has a foreign object in it, or is not what you ordered, send it back. If it doesn’t taste the way you thought it would, however, try to deal with your disappointment. It is my experience that most food is sent back by nitpickers who are disappointed with their own choice, or occasional scammers who hope to have their bill reduced by a preemptive complaint.