I’m confused why a married couple goes “dutch”. Do you have your own distinct and separate bank accounts, budgets, etc.? 
I always “pay” when we go out to eat, go shopping or out to a show, travel, etc. because it’s not my money or her money, it’s our money.
To prevent this from turning into a major hijack, I’ll just ask Larry what he thinks of apologizing to his wife and let it go at that.
(Sorry if I sounded accusatory earlier, Eureka. I was just surprised by the idea that he had anything to apologize for.)
No problem–in a perfect world, my post would have been clearer.
Yes, many of us do, for various and sundry reasons. Finances are just one of the many aspects of marriage where one size does not fit all.
Woof! More replies than I expected, and not nearly as condemning, either. That’s a relief.
Re: apologizing to my better half. Waaaaay ahead of you, Eureka. First order of business, actually. She was embarrassed, and that warrants an apology. (Hell, I was embarrassed.)
As for goin’ dutch, yeah - I guess that’s a bit weird. We have “yours,” “mine,” and “ours” accounts - but “ours” is generally reserved for rent, groceries, bills, and big ticket items that we share.
We’re still “Who’s buyin?” when it comes to eating out and whatnot.
Thanks for all the advice, folks - I feel better.
I think I will buy a gift card or movie coupons to have ready the next time I go in. (I do feel bad about turning down the order, still.) I’ll tell the owner in detail why I was bothered and present the poor cashier with little make-up gift.
(Seriously, if it wasn’t such a damned good place, I’d just avoid it out of embarrassment.)
Actually, you were much more accepting of poor service than I would be. But I was taught by an expert that in-person customers always take priority over phone calls (which are only potential customers, after all).
Last time this happened to me, I just reached across to the phone and pressed the button to hang it up. Then gave her my order. The phone rang about a minute later, she started to reach for it, then looked at me, and called for someone in back to get the phone.
You’re so Canadian. 
But you see, they don;t know you have a grievance.
To the OP- you have to go in and explain this. Explain politely that although you accept that a phone order does have some priority after that many interruptions it was getting rude. If they have that many calls, they need an extra person.
Huh? A gift? For doing a shabby job? I would just go back and try again. That’s “gift” enough–you’re trusting them that it was an aberration and you still want to give them your business.
I’m confused on how they sent your order back to the kitchen when you had only told them the first item so far?
Gift card? Waaaay overthinking it. Sure, tell the manager about the crappy service you had, but leave it at that. The gift thing just seems weird. To me, anyway.
And I agree with the others that she should have picked up the phone and asked the caller to hold before taking your order.
Yeah, are you kidding? No gift. I’m very rarely the type to complain about service, but the situation in the OP would have most likely had me retracting my order and stomping off. There’s really no excuse for keeping a customer waiting ten minutes like that. Has the cashier never heard the words “please hold?”
The first thing to do is explain to your wife that you cannot eat sushi and poo-poo at the same time. This is what they restaurant was serving. I have been in your exact situation myself, and realizing that you are being dissed is one of the MOST effective appetite suppressants that one can imagine. And the women in our lives think that we are being ‘difficult.’ Let her know that at least one other doper behaves this way. I, also, let things slide, in restaurants, bad service, sloooow orders, etc, but, sometimes, the abuse is intolerable. For the prices charged, you should be getting a neck massage, as well as competent, efficient, and timely service.
To your OP, blow it all off. They won’t listen to an apology, or complaints. Business as usual.
True, but in that case I’d expect his order to be free. It’s not foodservice, but I work in a small store (part of a chain owned by a very big coporation). I was told by the district manager that if the phone rang while I was physically in the process of ringing a customer up to simply ignore it until the transaction was complete, then ask the next customer to wait. His reasoning? “The customer in the store is more important that anyone who could possibly on the line.” Granted we don’t take orders over the phone or anything like that.