A couple of restaurant pet peeves

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
62

Actually, I just gotta rant. So I’m at a Denny’s the other night. I decide I really want a Charleston Chicken sandwich, you know, the one with the fried chicken breast. We order. The waitress says, “Oh, I’m sorry, we’re out of the chicken breasts.” “Drat,” I say. Inspiration hits. “Could I get it with two of the chicken strips instead?” She says “No, we don’t do that.” I tell her I’ll pay extra if they’re more expensive. She again says no. I ask why not, she shrugs and says that she can’t.

At this point I’m getting irritated. I know the manager pretty well, but I decided to handle it myself. “Fine. ‘Can’t’, you say? Fine. I’ll have the chicken strip meal, side of cheese, side of lettuce, side of onion, side of tomato, side of bread, side of mayo, side of bacon, and I’ll show you how to build it myself.” Then the manager walked by and overheard. The waitress explained what was going on, and got the most evil glare from the manager. “Grace,” says she, “Go make the man his sandwich.”

I tipped, since her service from then on was impeccable.

63

Here’s my pet peeve. It seems that appetizers always come in some odd number of servings. For example, I regularly go to a restaurant that brings a basket of fresh hot rolls to the table when you are seated. Invariably this basket includes three rolls when there are only two of us at the table. If there were four of us, undoubtedly we would get five rolls. So everyone gets their one roll and then begins the politeness game over who gets the extra one.

“You take it.”
“Oh, no. You can have it.”
“No, that’s OK. You go ahead.”

And on and on and on until the damn thing is too cold and stale to eat and it ends up being thrown away.

I mean, come on. It’s simple math. Two people at the table - bring two rolls. Or four. Or six or any other factor of two.

64

Good Story, JSexton,

Chili’s, Friday’s and AppleBee’s are NOT family type restaurants. They’re bars with an attached food service.

The clientelle at these establishments is predominantly adult, and in adult settings. (Check them out during happy hour.) Just as somebody has gone to the time, trouble, and expense to build Chuck E. Cheese and other such places where it’s permissable for kids to act like kids, people have also invested similar time, trouble, and expense to build places where adults can act like adults.

You want to take your kids out? Try Shoney’s, Cracker Barrel, Bob Evans, Po Folks, etc. These are more appropriate places for children.
SouthernStyle

65

As for children i restaurants, if they are wel-behaved and have some table manners learned, that’s fine. But if they’r ethe kind of children who make huge messes that extend from their table/booth and make it to an adjacent table/booth and they make all sorts of noise and run about, then they shouldn’t be allowed into the restaurant or they should be seated with all the other misbehaving child groups. I for one believe that table manners are something that is supposed to be taught early on when the child is learning to feed themselves and that if the child can’t behave at the family dinner table, it’s the parents’ fault for not keeping decorum in the family domicile.

 I am one who tips at least 15% unless the service is so horrendous that I am so dissatisfied that I decide to either not dine in the establishment again, or, upon returning to the establishment, I ask not to be seated in the area where the original server is stationed. If service is really good, or there is a large group dining, I will at least tip 20-25% because I feel they deserve it.

In other countries they don't have tipping seperate, but they pay the servers a decent wage so they don't need to live off of tips. It makes sense, and this system also works if tips are a regular habit of the partons. I am netral over whether they should have tipping or not; it probably wouldn't work too well in this country with consideration to the quality of service that people receive in restaurants these days.
66

Southern Style,

Chili’s and Appleby’s (I don’t know about TGIFriday’s) have high chairs available and children’s menus. This leads me to believe that I am correct in assuming that they want my business. So does John Harvard’s, which has the advantage of good food, so that is where we go when we eat out as a family with our 4 well-behaved children.

Now I will agree with you that no one, child or adult, has any business leaning over the booth, making a mess of the seats or vocalising any louder than the rest of the patrons. I will take a walk with our youngest if she gets restless. I will clean up any unusual messes she makes. But I find it amusing that people complain about their dining experience being ruined in the sort of establishment that has a television blaring over the bar.

67

I can’t stand the servers who are too attentive and schmoozy. The worst was at Applebee’s, where we were busy with our desserts and the waiter comes by to say, “How are your desserts? Are they everything you hoped they would be?” What the heck do you say to that??

The best experience I ever had was at a more upscale restaurant in DC where the waitress was always there when you needed something (pretty close to magically) and never there when you didn’t. I believe I left 40%.

And finally, an anecdote about kids in restaurants. (I don’t mind them if they aren’t calling attention to themselves.) When I was at Two Boots one time (yum) I was in a booth and this little girl tossed a piece of paper over the side from her booth. This being NYC, I studiously ignored it. She says, “Take it, it’s you.” I finally look and this little person had drawn this remarkably good picture of me. I still have it framed because it was such a pleasant surprise.

68

I know one way to get better service: Stop going to chain restaurants.

Many of the annoying restaurant practices that have been mentioned in this thread are endemic to chain restaurants. And many of the explanations for these practices boil down to “it’s corporate policy.”

I avoid almost all of my restaurant peeves by (mostly) staying out of chain restaurants.

And when I say “vote with your dollars,” I am not talking about tipping (or not tipping) your waiter. I am suggesting that you take the money you would have spent at the chain restaurant and go to a local place. You will probably end up with a better meal in a better atmosphere with better service at a lower price than you would have paid at the over-priced and over-produced chains. Then you can leave the waiter a big fat tip and still walk out of there with more money in your pocket than you would have had if you had eaten at Friday’s and stiffed the waiter.

69

SouthernStyle:

Friday’s doesn’t seem to agree with you about their mission in life:

http://www.tgifridays.com/
Wild horses couldn’t drag me into a Chuck E. Cheese pit. We go to restaurants to eat. Kids are people and, as long as they are behaving themselves, they have the right to be in any restaurant. Not only that, but a goodly number of parents would like to have a beer or wine or a cocktail with their dinner, thanks very much.

That being said, we usually do avoid places that put a lot of emphasis on “Happy Hour.” But that’s personal taste–not a belief that families and “adults” should be segregated.

70

I agree with this idea. But it got me to thinking about something else. If there can be family and non-family sections, then there should also be a “service” section and a “sans-service” section.

In the service section, typical server behavior would be practiced – refilling of drinks, delivery of various condiments, supplying utensils & napkins, and just fulliling general patron requests. Of course, tips are welcomed, but not required.

Now, in the sans-service section, everything in the aforementioned paragraph is at a minimum. The general deportment is “I’ll just take your order, then bring your order.” Your drink may be refilled, but it probably won’t be prompt. You may be brought extra napkins, but never within five minutes. Ecetera.

But, fret not. Your hands will not be dripping with BBQ sauce, nor will you become dehydrated, because drink refill machines, utensils, napkins, and condiments will all be provided to you at a “supply bar” in that sans-service section. Patrons can feel free to get up from their table and frequent this supply bar as they please.

Customers who choose to be seated in this section can eat in it without feeling the need to tip. And the servers who work this section would have the luxury of being free from that $2.13/hour mandate for tip based occupations.

71

Well, out of these four, the only one we have here is Bob Evans. There is a Cracker Barrel about 45 minutes from me; as for Shoney’s and Po Folks, we just don’t have them here.
All the restaurants I listed (Chili’s TGI Friday’s, etc.) have high chairs, balloons, crayons and placemats with things to color and children’s menus. To me that would seem like they expect kids.
As I said, my kids are well-behaved. They know how to behave in public. I have even had people comment on how nicely they act, usually when we are out and there is some other kid being a brat.

As Cher (I think) said, you wouldn’t get me into a Chuckie Cheese if my life depended on it. I’d rather have a root canal. Bad food, rotten kids…no way.

72

How in the heck does one express complete and rational thoughts in only a few sentences???

I’m not opposed to kids or their presence in public. What I am opposed to adults letting their children be the center of attention regardless of the surroundings.

I despise sitting in a public restaurant where the predominant clientelle is adult and having children ruin an otherwise acceptable experience. Children’s voices are typically high pitched. When they get excited they get loud. The voice of the child that’s ecstatic about having his grandmother AND chicken fingers at the same table can be heard over the din of 30 adults. The child that’s pissed because Mom won’t hold him can be heard over the entire restaurant. The child that’s entertaining himself with whatever the restaurant and Mom will provide can easily have crap strewn over himself and the 3 adjacent tables.

Think about the kid that strews food over several hundred square feet of flooring. Parents won’t set up the high chair in the middle of the living room and let the child throw soggy corn flakes all over the carpet and furniture when THEY have to clean it up. Why are they so willing to share with me the fact that they’re inconsiderate bastards?
And TGIFriday’s having high chairs and a kid’s menu doesn’t make them a family restaurant. Fold the bar and its revenue and the place shuts down.

Chuck E. Cheese serves beer but that doesn’t make them an adult establishment.

SouthernStyle

73

Wow, the Chuckie Cheese’s here don’t serve beer.
If they did, I might consider going to one. Maybe.

74

The waitress approaches 2 minutes after the meal begins:
[ul][Waitress] “Is everything allright?”

[Me] “Yes, thank you.”[/ul]
Moments later, I discover that I’ve finished my tea or would like a condiment. The waitress has vanished.

I didn’t get my tea, condiment (whatever). By now I’ve finished my meal. I’d like a dessert. Still no waitress.

I’m still thirsty. I’ve finished my meal. I’ve given up on dessert, and would just like to pay the bill and leave. Still no waitress.

Finally I go up to the front (where there is no cash register) and ask the person seating guests where I can pay for my meal.

[list]“The waitress will bring it to you”*

What? You mean today?

~~Baloo

75

Hey Kinsey,

Please don’t take my rantings personally. I’m certainly not targetting you for assault. There are a lot of people with well behaved kids. Just as there are a lot of people that are trying to HAVE well behaved kids. It’s the few bad ones that leave the sour taste.

Merging the two primary themes of this thread, when a waiter/waitress detracts from an otherwise acceptable dining experience I can punish her/him with reduced compensation. When a child is in that same establishment acting like a spoiled brat, teething, sick and cranky, etc the same dining experience can be ruined through no fault of the restaurant or its staff. To make matters worse, its taboo to comment to the parents. (Another customer once threatened me with violence for my commenting to the waitress about an unruly child. It’s actually a good story – kind of long, though.)

When a restaurant ruins the meal I have recourse, all the way to no longer frequenting the establishment. When other customers and their kids ruin the meal I have none.

And that sums up why I endorse a “no children” section.

SouthernStyle

76

I couldn’t agree more. We’ve got tons of restaurants here in Seattle; I heard once we’ve got more restaurants per capita than anywhere on the West Coast other than San Francisco. We’ve got everything from nice places like Cutter’s and Wild Ginger down to all the hole-in-the-wall teriyaki joints. (The influence of being a Pacific Rim city.)

In the last few years, as the city fathers have attempted to shore up their tax base to resist the fluctuations of Boeing and the up-and-down software market, they’ve been making it possible for lots of big chain restaurants to move in. We got a Planet Hollywood a few years ago, followed by a Hooters, and of course we’ve got Azteca and Tony Roma’s and TGIFridays and on and on and on. We’ve also got Red Robin, a west-of-the-Rockies chain, but they’re headquartered here in Seattle and tend to be better than the others.

At any rate, I couldn’t agree more that the service in these chains is, on average, far below the service you get in a place that stands alone (or has only a couple of locations). Our favorite restaurant in Seattle is Two Dagos from Texas. We’ve been going there for years. Over time, we’ve gotten to know the wait staff (and the owners), so some chit-chat is more than welcome, it’s encouraged. We’ve recently started going to Copper Sky up by Northgate, another standalone establishment, and have had very good experiences. It makes a huge difference when the person with ultimate decision authority for service standards is actually there in the restaurant and can see the immediate impact of their decisions and adjust appropriately, instead of having policies coming out of some remote headquarters where the suits walk in lock-step with a bunch of marketing yo-yos who don’t know what it’s really like to run a restaurant.

I definitely agree, though, that good service at the table is the responsibility of the waitperson, and that a good tip should result. I would also repeat my above caution that, especially at chains, the waitperson, being at the bottom of the totem pole, is often hamstrung by inane directives handed down from some ivory tower a thousand miles away. If my water glass is filled regularly, the waitperson is available but not obtrusive, and special requests (clean silverware, fresh napkin, etc.) are handled quickly and professionally, I’m basically a happy guy. I refuse to hold things against the waitperson that are out of their control: The Outback likes the server to sit with you or kneel by the table to be friendly and informal, TGIF encourages annoyingly chirpy cheerful speech, and so forth. Those don’t impact the tip. I let the server do their job within the constraints set out for them, and that’s it.

By the way, if you want a hilarious look at the decline of the service culture, read Connie Willis’s Bellwether. There’s an office assistant character who defines obstructive incompetence, and I promise you’ll recognize her or her kind.

77

Oh, crap – I hate when I forget to add something and have to double-post.

Anyway: I would add a big recommendation to all of this discussion about “punishing” bad service with a small tip. It’s fine to do that; I think it’s warranted. But don’t just do that.

If your service is poor enough that you feel it’s justified to leave a small tip, EXPLAIN WHY. Find the manager, leave a note, fill out the comment card, do something. Otherwise, the waitperson finds your small tip after you leave, thinks “asshole,” and that’s the end of it. Nothing changes if nobody knows the reason for it. Naturally, offering feedback is only worth doing if the food is good enough (or the location is so convenient) that you’d be willing to go back, and you want better service the next time. If the food was mediocre, just leave a minimal tip and don’t go back.

Anyway, all you have to do is jot a quick note on a napkin, and leave it with the host/ess, asking him/her to give it to the manager: “I tipped poorly because I felt the service I received was poor. If you want more information, here’s my phone number.” It gets you out of the restaurant quickly; no additional standing around. And, by offering feedback at a later time, you can calm down a bit, and discuss the situation dispassionately, as opposed to getting all steamed up and looking like a jerk.

If the manager calls you, the restaurant takes quality seriously, and warrants a return visit and a second chance. If you don’t get a call, you know never to go back again. Simple.

78

Southern Style,
I would be willing to hear it. I love a good story. You can email me at Kinsey94@yahoo.com if you don’t want to post it here.

I wasn’t offended at all. I think a no-kids section would be good, but in addition to smoking & non-smoking, it could get a little ridiculous. I like the idea of the service/no-service sections.

As for Outback…someone mentioned the server kneeling at your table. I hate that.

And we (my husband and I) are King & Queen of the Comment Card. If service was really bad, we leave a few pennies for a tip and fill out a comment card. If we had a bad experience and it obviously wasn’t the servers fault, we will tip accordingly, but also fill out a comment card.
Even filling out a card with positive comments will get you a coupon for free entrees, desserts, anything.
(I am SOOOO cheap!)

79

So, I take off to my favorite lunch spot with one of the guys I work with. (This is the restaurant where I can walk in, sit at any table without being seated, and say: Give me the usual, and they will.)

We go crazy with the menu. Three appetizers, and two entrees. The bill comes, and it’s for $2.06.

Since I wouldn’t want to get my favorite waiter in trouble, I call Colin over. I say, “This can’t be right.”

Colin looks it over and says to me, “For you, it is.” This makes me look horribly influential in front of my co-workers.

Long story short, Colin got a %500 tip. Good kid. Wish there were more of them.

80

1)Servers that refill my coffee without asking. Half the time they are so busy they slop the coffee into the saucer as well. Ask me! I just got the cup as sweet as i want it and cool enough to drink!

2)Servers who give the check to the guy even if he appears to be 12. If am the grown up, I get the check. Otherwise, the check should be placed face down where anyone can grab it unless the server has been instructed to do otherwise. Sometimes when dining out with a known check grabber i have tipped the server a bit in advance to give the check directly to me.

3)Servers that ask for proof when you say you need a new fork this one is deformed/dirty. “Oh, really? let me see? It doesn’t look dirty to me.”

4)Servers that won’t talk to me but turn and talk to someone else instead. I have asked questions and the waitress turns and tells the answer to my husband. WTF??

5)Waitresses that chide me for ordering for my husband. We have discussed the entire menu and he decided on something. the reason i am ordering is that if he orders he will have forgotten what he wanted and take another 10 minutes talking to you about the menu. If he changes his mind while i am ordering, he will interrupt me. He has done so before. Confirm with him if you must, but I don’t need a lecture about how to treat my man.
I wish that just avoiding chain restaurants would avoid bad service. The local place i used to like has the worst waitresses now :frowning:

81

I can’t believe nobody addressed this…

Cute idea, but as Cecil said, probably not.