Believe it or not, abusing the staff doesn't help

To the people at the next table at Krieger’s,

I understand that it’s frustrating when your dining experience is less than ideal. Here’s the thing: sometimes circumstances dictate otherwise. As was explained to you, their computers were down. You may decry modern society’s reliance on technology, but as was also explained to you, the system as it was set up did not deal well with the lack of computers. Tickets got mixed up; the kitchen was confused, the servers were confused, everything was a mess. As was also explained to you, your waitress was on her second day on the job; she can’t be expected to be all that adaptable at her level of experience.

Yes, it took a while to get your food. Yes, your sides came out late. Yes, your salads came out after your entrees. These things happen. All of the was explained to you. You do have an option here: you could leave. Instead, you stayed and bitched at the waitress, bitched at the manager, and bitched to each other when neither was around, turning what was a generally pleasant, if longer than expected, dining experience into an hour of listening to you complain.

Here’s the real kicker: when the manager comes out to explain that your entire meal, including drinks, is comped you should probably stop bitching. You just got what was probably a $80 meal for free (given that you all ordered steaks, salads, and beer), so SHUT THE FUCK UP. Eat and go. Don’t come back. I’m sure they won’t miss you.

Oh, and the fact that your meals came without the fries, and mine came with the fries, despite my not uttering a word of complaint, might serve as a clue for future interaction with service professionals. (Karma’s a bitch.)

Thank you,

The satisfied diner at the next table.

While there is no reason to be an unreasonable ass, if the restaurant can’t handle bringing out the salads first without a computer. . . eh, they meal should have been free.

Maybe it’s just me, but nothing irritates me more when I’m out eating than if they bring my salad with my meal. After the meal? I’d wonder what they were smoking and would (kindly, that’s the difference) talk to the manager.

That said, once they apologized and comped the meal, the people should have STFU.

That’s the thing that really got me. After the meal was comped, they just would. not. shut. up. They get it. You’re pissed. Go away.

My family all went out Christmas Eve for dinner. The service was pretty bad, the food took a long time, and the orders were messed up. Of course, this was at a Waffle House and it was packed. The place was short staffed and our waitress told us that she had been working since 5 in the morning because people called in sick.

Even with all of that, we did not make a big fuss. We just told the next person to walk by what we were missing and waited a little bit longer. We enjoyed the time we spent with each other (well, we made horrible fun of one another). When we left we gave a large tip because not only was it Christmas, but it wasn’t our waitresses fault and she was really nice- the planets just aligned right to make it a crappy meal.

Unless the wait staff is rude and doesn’t try to fix any problems, I can see o reason in making a big deal about it. Everyone’s human and all that.

Not in restaurants that want to stay in business, they don’t.

When did waitresses become service professionals, and when can we have waitresses back?

Clearly, you have no idea of what it means to be a customer. Being a customer means that if everything isn’t exactly as you want it to be, the only way to remedy it is to be as loud and as nasty as possible to the person who you expect to fix it for you. Those of us who work in any aspect of customer service can’t be trusted to do our jobs unless you ramp up the rudeness and volume. Accusations of our general incompetence and specific dishonesty will also motivate us to work harder. I know that I, on a daily basis in response to loud rude bitches, bend the laws of time, space and physics. Not only that, when they yell and swear at me, it makes me want to exercise my vast superhuman powers on their behalf.

Did you notice the word future in the front there? That’s your clue that the event is not occurring in the present or the past so the gender of the server is unknown and waitress would then obviously be inappropriate.

Yes, any restaurant which has ever had shitty service is now out of business. I expect McDonald’s to fold any day now. :rolleyes:

omg - they obviously never saw the movie “Waiting”

I’m sorry to hear about your employment situation, then.

Winner.

Hub and I were dining in a mid-priced local restaurant a few weeks ago. A neighboring diner called the server over to complain that their appetizer was never delivered. To listen to her talk, you would have thought that the entire world was going to stop spinning on it’s axis because she didn’t get her widdle appetizer. poooor babyyyy. :rolleyes:

A complaint is one thing, a hissy fit is quite another.

I’m in awe at all of the perfect people in the world. Those who complain the loudest must be perfect in their jobs every day they way they rant and rave. Riiiiiiight.

So, you have no real argument beyond that steaming pile you call a post, then.

Where did you steal that line from?

:dubious:
quietly wonders why the need for personal attacks on this board?

From yo’ MAMA.

PWNED!

Suck it, Jesus!

Whatever you say, peanut.

Here you go.

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?f=4

HAW HAW! See, it’s funny because Carol Stream essentially told Pixilated to go hang out in MPSIMS because she (Pixilated) can’t handle the heat of the pit. Haw Haw! No wait, that’s not funny. It’s stupid. Just because you can be nasty in the pit, doesn’t mean you should.

WHAH! Just because you can be a crybaby in the pit doesn’t mean you should.