If a restaurant messes up

a to go order, do you call them and complain? If so, how often, and do you call every time, or just when they screw up so bad you have to?

It’s like at least ONE item of EVERY order, (or every other order), seems to go wrong. And because it’s a to go order, you can’t return it. And you can’t go back and show them. It gets garbaged and wasted. And I lose money on it. This place I went to usually does a pretty good job of not messing up (but they do totally skimp on portion).

1- How often do you contact the restaurant if a to go order (or delivery) is messed up?
2- What is the $$ limit that you will do it (ex- complain only if it’s more than $10 or $20 for example).

Today, I ordered a $10 soup and they totally gave me a different one. Normally I’d just eat/drink it, but it tastes awful. I emailed the company but it’s so embarrassing. 1- I don’t think many people will email and ask for a refund for a $10 soup. 2- I go there often enough that the people there can remember me and I don’t wanna be known as the cheap-ass that emailed to complain and ask to get a refund (this is one of those fru-fru expensive healthy places that charge an arm and a leg for everything, but I go there because it’s one of the few places I can go because of all my food allergies).

A different example- Last week I ordered (delivery) from another place and they gave me 3 pieces of sushi instead of 5. Plus missing 2 pieces of another sushi. Plus they weren’t even made well (they were open and falling apart, the stuffing all over the place). Then a week later I ordered from them again (cuz you know me, I don’t leave my apt so I need delivery) and they gave me 4 pieces instead of 5 of that same roll, plus messed up a couple of other things (put sesame when I said no, put wasabi and ginger when I said no, etc). None singularly big enough for me to complain, but it’s like a little here, a little there. I’m always getting jipped by a couple of pieces, each and every time. No, I haven’t called and complained about this place. I just lose money or rolls each time.

It’s hard when you rely on take out / to go / delivery, and especially if you have to keep going back to these few places because I have so many allergies I can’t just go anywhere.

Long story short – It costs me so much money to order things to go or delivery because something always gets messed up, and it doesn’t feel kosher to complain about every single instance. But I’m losing money. It keeps happening. And it happens a lot because if you say “no cheese, no onions” they almost always ignore it / forget it / screw it up.