# Incredibly bad and weird experiences at restaurants **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 30, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040 "2015-09-30T14:25:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/61 "2015-10-01T13:57:38Z")
SIL and I at an IHOP. Took them 40 minutes to bring a salad and sandwich (no cooking involved). We wanted to order dessert, but the server threw the bill on our table and left, without a mention of “Can I get you anything else?” I wrote in the comments section of the bill "The server was extremely slow and very rude "and put it back on the table while digging out cash. The server notices what I’ve written, reads it and says in a very loud voice “I think you are very rude and nasty to say that about me.” I spoke to the manager and got us a free meal and some coupons! ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/62 "2015-10-01T14:11:15Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > No, it means they close at 10 pm. You should have been getting ready to leave already. Nope. If they expected everyone to be out by 10pm, they would never have told us it was okay to come in at 930pm. I think what happened was they saw a chance to have an early night and wanted to push it just a little bit. We still went back to the place many times after that, because the food was so good. They’re closed up now. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/63 "2015-10-01T14:16:02Z")
They certainly shouldn’t have vacuumed early, especially under the feet. But I am definitely of the group that just doesn’t go in to eat if it’s within 30 minutes of closing, and I don’t think I can get out. I worked retail, I know how much it sucks to have to leave late. When I was working retail, I took a bus, and missing the bus meant a 40 minute wait and then walking home in the dark late at night, so I hated staying late. Take out works just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/64 "2015-10-01T14:18:37Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > I forgot about the time when my now ex-husband and I went for a late dinner at a mid-priced restaurant around here. Their closing time was 10pm and we were seated at around 9:30. At 10pm were the only customers left in the restaurant, and they started their closing routine. They even had the nerve to start vacuuming, and asked us the lift our feet as they vacuumed under the table. We joked about that one for years afterward. Right, cause people should have to work as late as you want to stay there. Two drinks, an appetizer, soup, salad, main course, dessert and coffee, even if it takes to midnight. I’m a store cashier, and people will get on line two minutes before closing, and then have to decide what they want of the items in their cart, and go back for “one more thing” coming back ten minutes later with five items, and don’t see what’s wrong with that. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/65 "2015-10-01T14:18:57Z")
I was working as a seater at a Red Lobster a few years ago, and one of the managers decided to prove a point to the other, that no one comes in near closing. He told me not to lock up until 10:05p. Guess what happened at 10:04? After I seated them I ran back to the kitchen to tell the staff, who were busy in shut down mode. You should have seen the look on the manager’s face. The couple took their sweet time, ordering complicated frozen drinks from the bar, full appetizers and meals and desserts. He never did that again. In fact, shortly after that he other manager shooed me away from the host stand at 9:50p so he could lock up early. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/66 "2015-10-01T14:23:36Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I was reading an old thread and enjoyed the stories, so I thought we could start a new one and share fun stories. > > I met up with an old friend at a new Indian restaurant - my recommendation - that had opened nearby. We were halfway through our meal when we saw a large RAT scuttle out from under the counter, STOP, perch on his hind legs and look around, and then amble his way away. In shock, I went to talk to the owner, who was standing behind the counter. Now, my aunt owned three bagel shops. I understand restaurants get mice and cockroaches. I also know it gives the restaurant a bad name, so she always used to rush around and clean up. > > The owner, to my shock, shrugged and said, “Yup. We get rats.” No motion to get a trap, or clean, or even apologize, let alone reimbursing us! At least the owner didn’t say “well, we are charging Ratty half-price …”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/67 "2015-10-01T14:30:32Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > At least the owner didn’t say “well, we are charging Ratty half-price …”. 😃 Oh! Awesome! Can I be racist towards my own people? Mice are Ganesh’s chariot of choice (it’s a long story) so she could have said, “We happily feed the mount of Ganesh” and gotten all snotty on me. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/68 "2015-10-01T15:33:38Z")
I worked at a Red Lobster in college. One night , an actual catfight broke out between two of the waitresses. It started in the area where the food is picked up for delivery but quickly spilled out into the main dining room full of customers. I’ve seen a lot of pro wrestling and this fight resembled that with both women rolling on top of each other exchanging punches. Supposedly the fight started over a guy who they’d both slept with. Suffice to say, we were short staffed the remainder of the night. ---
**Author:** ![destineal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@destineal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/destineal)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/69 "2015-10-01T16:30:31Z")
My sister and her husband went to a Shoney’s several years ago. My brother-in-law pointed out to the waitress that there was a piece of dried food on his fork. She took the fork, peered at it, scraped off the food with her thumbnail, and handed it back to him. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/70 "2015-10-01T16:32:47Z")
Cici’s Pizza + drunks + food fight = my sister and her family getting the hell out and never returning. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bruce\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/71 "2015-10-01T16:35:37Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > They can start all the pre close stuff they want, but vacuuming raises up a bunch of dust. Yes, the nerve. If they didn’t want to serve us without being rude, they shouldn’t have seated us at 9:30. > > When a restaurant says they close at 10pm, that normally means they serve the last meal at 10pm. Not that they lock up and go home at 10pm. We were nearly done with our meal. They should have waited. Nobody who has ever worked in a restaraunt is going to sympathize with you on this. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/72 "2015-10-01T16:41:03Z")
> [@Bruce\_Wayne](#): > > Nobody who has ever worked in a restaraunt is going to sympathize with you on this. > [@lost4life](#): > > I’ve never been to or worked at a place that seated people late and expected them to leave at the listed time. I’m pretty sure there are a few threads about this. Hey, **l4l** , better change that handle to **Nobody**! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/73 "2015-10-01T16:41:40Z")
My parents took my grandmother out to an ethnic restaurant. They were seated, and ordered their dinner, then sat back to wait… and wait… and wait… and wait… We’re used to waiting for our food, especially when it’s in a good restaurant, where they make it all from scratch. But this was getting absurd. Finally, they asked for the manager. The waitress who took their order _quit_ shortly after taking their order, and apparently before passing their order on to the kitchen. I don’t know exactly why. Nor do I know what happened afterwards (I wasn’t there.) But they continue to tell this story. ---
**Author:** ![yawuntz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a5b964/32.png) [@yawuntz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yawuntz)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/74 "2015-10-01T16:45:43Z")
Love this thread. Reminds me of this place. Never went to it, just drove by. Forewarned is forearmed. 26 out of 26 people hated [This restaurant](http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g154942-d762849-Reviews-Pacific_Breeze_Fishermans_Net-Tofino_Clayoquot_Sound_Vancouver_Island_British_Colu.html) in Tofino. This is the funniest series of bad reviews I’ve ever seen. It gets funnier every time I read it. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/75 "2015-10-01T16:51:53Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Cici’s Pizza + drunks + food fight = my sister and her family getting the hell out and never returning. Heh. In college, with a group of other students, I once went to a Cici’s or similar cheap pizza buffet. We thought it was a little odd that they were playing Nirvana’s “Rape Me” … although the volume was low, and none of the families with little kids seemed to notice. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/76 "2015-10-01T16:56:08Z")
> [@yawuntz](#): > > Love this thread. Reminds me of this place. Never went to it, just drove by. Forewarned is forearmed. 26 out of 26 people hated [This restaurant](http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g154942-d762849-Reviews-Pacific_Breeze_Fishermans_Net-Tofino_Clayoquot_Sound_Vancouver_Island_British_Colu.html) in Tofino. This is the funniest series of bad reviews I’ve ever seen. It gets funnier every time I read it. What’s even more frightening is that there are 4 restaurants that rank even lower! ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/77 "2015-10-01T16:58:13Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What’s even more frightening is that there are 4 restaurants that rank even lower! I figured that Yelp being Yelp, it would have a 3-1/2 star rating and a bunch of cheery positive reviews. Pleasantly surprised to find one one-star review and no hidden/filtered ones… it REALLY must be bad! ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/78 "2015-10-01T17:01:08Z")
> [@Bruce\_Wayne](#): > > Nobody who has ever worked in a restaraunt is going to sympathize with you on this. Some restaurant owners might. Restaurant staff as a whole tend to be pretty “not my fuckin’ job!” about anything but easy tables of known big-tippers on a slow night. Even in restaurants and at compensation levels that should be far past such juvenalia. ---
**Author:** ![Abner\_Ravenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Abner\_Ravenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abner_Ravenwood)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/79 "2015-10-01T17:04:22Z")
> [@WF\_Tomba](#): > > A Fribble is what Friendly’s calls their extra-thick milkshake. Back when I worked at Friendly’s, The Fribble was made from ice milk instead of ice cream. The available flavors were chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and coffee because the ice milk only came in vanilla and we used syrup to make the flavors. Then some time in the late 90’s/early 00’s they switched from ice milk to vanilla frozen ice cream. The milk shakes are made from ice cream and you can use any of the many flavors available. ---
**Author:** ![Abner\_Ravenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Abner\_Ravenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abner_Ravenwood)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/80 "2015-10-01T17:10:10Z")
> [@Abner\_Ravenwood](#): > > Back when I worked at Friendly’s, The Fribble was made from ice milk instead of ice cream. The available flavors were chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and coffee because the ice milk only came in vanilla and we used syrup to make the flavors. Then some time in the late 90’s/early 00’s they switched from ice milk to vanilla frozen ice cream. > > The milk shakes are made from ice cream and you can use any of the many flavors available. Welp, now it appears that Friendly’s uses hard ice cream for their Fribbles. I guess they got rid of the distinction between the milk shakes and Fribbles. No more frappe cans with the milk shakes. [http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/bottom\_line/2013/03/friendlys-changing-fribble-recipe.html](http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/bottom_line/2013/03/friendlys-changing-fribble-recipe.html) [http://www.friendlys.com/menu/ice%20cream/treats-and-drinks](http://www.friendlys.com/menu/ice%20cream/treats-and-drinks) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040.md?page=5)