# Weird restaurant policies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 22, 2012, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696 "2012-05-22T07:24:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/121 "2012-05-24T06:57:55Z")
\<\\> She never did this at the same place twice–always took me by surprise. I often had long conversations with her parents–no longer living. I had a better rapport with them than with the girl herself–she was often nasty and loud, and I put up with a lot. I told the mother about the zip-loc bags and stuff, and the mother tried to defend her daughter with “She’s starving.” That seemed to mean more that the girl couldn’t hold a regular job and was always short on money, because she is 5’7" and quite zoftig. Still, the risk of arrest put me off enough. She told me at the rib place that she wanted the rib bones for her dogs! (She had two dachshunds at the time.) ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/122 "2012-05-24T13:41:10Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > 1. Re: short-changing–I don’t understand the complete freak-out some people are having over this issue. You were going to tip the waiter anyway, so just consider the change you were shorted part of the tip. If the foregone change made such a huge percentage difference in the tip that you think the waiter is now getting too much, then (i) you had a cheap meal, so don’t complain, and (ii) you are a cheap bastard who probably doesn’t tip enough (personally I never tip less than 5 bucks no matter how cheap my meal is). > > Yeesh almighty. Life’s too short to stress out about stuff like that. Wait, Rand Rover just said it’s okay for an external party to take some of your hard-earned money without your consent? ---
**Author:** ![MrDurden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ed655f/32.png) [@MrDurden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDurden)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/123 "2012-05-24T13:59:20Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > What, were you making change out of your pocket, right at the table, instead of going to the cash register? Yeah, I’ve worked at three restaurants in the Baltimore area. (all of them in drinking areas which does skew things a bit) And MAYBE once had a problem with leaving the customer 3 singles and two quarters for a bill that was 16.43 or whatever. And at none of the restaurants was there a cash till the servers frequented or even wanted to open because of the simple time restraints. The servers running to the till or getting change every other table were simply unprepared. We would all settle up at the end of the shift. And having point of sale terminals everywhere streamlined the whole process. They just didn’t all have tills. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/124 "2012-05-24T14:04:12Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > Wait, Rand Rover just said it’s okay for an external party to take some of your hard-earned money without your consent? It’s a business doing it to increase profits so it’s OK. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/125 "2012-05-24T14:05:41Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > We went to a mediocre burger restaurant near our house a few months ago, ordered burgers for ourselves and a PB&J for our 2-year-old daughter. She was cranky and hungry and we were doing everything we could to keep her quiet until the food came (yes, you kid-haters, we were successful, and yes, we would have left if she’d start fussing, now shut up). > > Finally the food came. Her PB&J bread was moldy. > > I got the server’s attention, and her eyes widened in horror and she whisked my daughter’s food away–and I whisked my daughter outside as she began freaking out about how the waitress stole her sandwich. We walked around and I comforted her until we could return inside and placate the kid with french fries. > > The waitress told us they were out of one of the ingredients, so we had to order something else more expensive for our daughter. When the check came, they’d charged us for the more expensive meal. > > We haven’t been back there since, but every time we pass, my daughter asks why they gave her a moldy sandwich. Wow…unbelievable and cheers to your daughter Her meal should’ve been comped at the very least. That’s outrageous. One time I was in a nice restaurant in Mexico City. Right at the beginning of the meal, the waiter split a glass of water on the table. It didn’t spill on anyone sitting at the table and was cleaned up rapidly. Then we got a free round of drinks “because they spilt the water”. Then we got free dessert “because they spilt the water”. Then at the end of the meal they presented me with a beautiful floral bouquet “because they spilt the water”. And that last one is absolutely true although it sounds made up…I was getting concerned that the waiter was going to run himself through with a sword by way of apology before the night was over. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/126 "2012-05-24T14:09:18Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > One time I was in a nice restaurant in Mexico City. Right at the beginning of the meal, the waiter split a glass of water on the table. It didn’t spill on anyone sitting at the table and was cleaned up rapidly. > > Then we got a free round of drinks “because they spilt the water”. Then we got free dessert “because they spilt the water”. Then at the end of the meal they presented me with a beautiful floral bouquet “because they spilt the water”. And that last one is absolutely true although it sounds made up…I was getting concerned that the waiter was going to run himself through with a sword by way of apology before the night was over. Considering what was likely in that water. . .😃 ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/127 "2012-05-24T14:25:48Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Holy fuck. I won’t wait 90 minutes to eat at…well, anywhere, much less a Spaghetti Factory. And certainly not at Cheesecake Factory. My experience there has been that everything except the cheesecake has always sounded way better on the menu than it actually turns out to be. And then I go home and read the nutrition information on what I’ve eaten, and I’m horrified. Just _how_ they manage to make food that is so bad for you taste so mediocre, I’m not sure. I _might_ wait for the cheesecake, since that is usually not such a disappointment. On second thought, nah. I’d get it to go and eat it at home. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/128 "2012-05-24T14:41:04Z")
> [@Zjestika](#): > > Total WAG, but that wasn’t Psycho Suzi’s in Minneapolis, was it? They do that and frankly are kind of rude. They refused to let us combine tables for a bachelorette party. There was no where else for us to go in the totally packed bar so we all sat separately. They also won’t make virgin drinks and don’t really have any options without alcohol. I was pretty crabby about the whole thing, being in my first trimester and pretty crabby about everything. Afraid your WAG is wildly off the mark; it’s an Indian restaurant in London that has excellent food at excellent prices, and was a real favourite of mine. Since their huge expansion, though, I’m no longer quite such a fan. The food is still good, the prices haven’t changed, but it’s just become a lot louder and more… commercial, I suppose, and the bottled water is just a symptom of that. Not sure I’ll be going back very much, and I’m sure they won’t miss me! > [@aruvqan](#): > > That may actually be illegal - in some states it is actually state law that they provide a glass of tap water to anybody who asks, customer or not. As a matter of interest, I looked into UK law regarding this, and there is no requirement for an unlicensed restaurant (not serving alcohol) to give you free tap water. A licensed restaurant or bar must give free tap water on demand, but only since last year. I have been to a pub that refused me free tap water, and I didn’t realise at the time that they were breaking the law, but since I’ve never been back there, it’s not a huge deal. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/129 "2012-05-24T14:44:02Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > Just _how_ they manage to make food that is so bad for you taste so mediocre, I’m not sure. Truer words never spoken. ---
**Author:** ![iftheresaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecae2f/32.png) [@iftheresaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iftheresaway)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/130 "2012-05-24T15:02:08Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Restaurants hate reservations and all restaurants would do away with them if they could get away with it. You instantly take a hit from all the no-shows (which is around 20%). If someone lingers at a table too long and blocks off the next reservation, you need to shunt them to the bar and feed them free drinks until the table is ready. If you’re a high end place and you want to turn a table twice a night, you need to offer inconveniently timed seatings at 6:30 and 9:30. If a restaurant has lines out the door, it has no motivation to offer reservations. Thanks for this explanation, by he way. I’ve been meaning tostart a thread asking about why a restaurant wouldn’t offer reservations. There is exactly one restaurant in the area where I will wait for a table - the food is amazing, but the bar seats, I think, six people, and in the winter when you can’t wait outside it’s literally difficult to breathe in the crush of the crowd packed into the tiny waiting area. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/131 "2012-05-24T15:18:14Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > I’ll add that really good waitstaff will also respond to an order of “Coke” with the confirmation “regular Coca-Cola?” allowing the coke-ordering patron a chance to elaborate that the “coke” they wanted was actually Diet or caffeine-free or Mr Pibb or something else brown and fizzy. People always say this about the South. But in 30 years of living down here, I’ve never encountered this one time. If I say “coke” I get coke. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/132 "2012-05-24T15:41:05Z")
> [@iftheresaway](#): > > Thanks for this explanation, by he way. I’ve been meaning tostart a thread asking about why a restaurant wouldn’t offer reservations. There is exactly one restaurant in the area where I will wait for a table - the food is amazing, but the bar seats, I think, six people, and in the winter when you can’t wait outside it’s literally difficult to breathe in the crush of the crowd packed into the tiny waiting area. And the other reason (as others have pointed out) are no-shows. People don’t think twice of making reservations and then not showing up. That causes a restaurant to hold a table for at least a half an hour, turning away other potential customers if they’re full. They also may have purchased food based on the number of reservations, and if more than a few reserved tables don’t show, they end up potentially having to throw food out. That’s why a lot of restaurants don’t like reservations. At least one new[high-end restaurant](http://www.nextrestaurant.com) has taken to selling tickets rather than taking reservations. You want to come? You buy tickets. If you can’t show up, you re-sell the tickets. They claim this allows them to keep prices down as they don’t have to worry about extra food/empty tables as a result of no-shows. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/133 "2012-05-24T15:52:54Z")
I went to Coyote Ugly in San Antonio and there was a sign stating something like “This is not a free show” and that you had to be drinking **alcoholic** beverages in order to be in there. Apparently if you asked for “water” the servers would spray you with the water tap-hose thingy. (Badly sunburned and dehydrated me ended up puking into a garbage can up the street after 2 vodka & cranberries, but that was my own stupid fault.) ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/134 "2012-05-24T15:58:26Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > **lost4life** , that hilarious. > > It reminds me of when my ex tried to order a grilled cheese sandwich in a diner. The waitress told her that she couldn’t as they were out of bread. But would she like a tuna sandwich instead? Long story short, they were out of grilled cheese bread but had plenty of tuna bread. My ex finally ended up ordering a tuna sandwich. Grilled. With cheese. And hold the tuna. Didn’t that same exact thing happen in the movie _As Good as It Gets_? ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/135 "2012-05-24T16:21:51Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > I once ate a diner… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/136 "2012-05-24T16:27:38Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > Didn’t that same exact thing happen in the movie _As Good as It Gets_? Just in case you’re not joking, it was in _Five Easy Pieces_. Post No. 99 linked to the scene. ---
**Author:** ![nogwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nogwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nogwart)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/137 "2012-05-24T16:32:49Z")
New to the forums, hi! Reading this thread prompted me to register so I could share this: A friend and I had spent most of the day at Daytona Beach, and on our way home, decided to stop at Pizza Hut for pizza and beer. Having planned on nothing but the beach all day, my friend, Jim, had not brought any footwear. After taking our drink order, the waitress returned to tell us that we could not be served because Jim was barefoot (I had flip-flops on). I think she expected us to leave at that point, but I remembered that my cousin had accidentally left her shoes in the back of my car weeks ago, so I told Jim to go and put them on. He did, and then staggered his way back into the restaurant as best he could in my cousin’s 3-inch high heels, about 3 sizes too small. Of course, we laughed, but honestly thought the waitress would consider it a good-natured attempt to follow the “rules”. She did not. She said that it wasn’t good enough and when I asked her to consult her manager about it, she stomped off in a huff. We waited about 10 minutes and when she didn’t return we decided that even if they did accept our attempt at compliance, they obviously did not like us, and having worked in restaurants, I was concerned that “special ingredients” would be added to our pizza. So, we left with empty bellies and heels in hand. Strangely enough, a few years later, I worked my way up to Manager of a Pizza Hut in another state, wherein I allowed all manner of footwear, regardless of gender specificity. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/138 "2012-05-24T16:47:06Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > Didn’t that same exact thing happen in the movie _As Good as It Gets_? Right Actor, wrong film. It was Jack Nicholson is Five Easy Pieces. Oops already corrected above ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/139 "2012-05-24T16:49:52Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > And the other reason (as others have pointed out) are no-shows. People don’t think twice of making reservations and then not showing up. That causes a restaurant to hold a table for at least a half an hour, turning away other potential customers if they’re full. They also may have purchased food based on the number of reservations, and if more than a few reserved tables don’t show, they end up potentially having to throw food out. > > That’s why a lot of restaurants don’t like reservations. At least one new[high-end restaurant](http://www.nextrestaurant.com) has taken to selling tickets rather than taking reservations. You want to come? You buy tickets. If you can’t show up, you re-sell the tickets. They claim this allows them to keep prices down as they don’t have to worry about extra food/empty tables as a result of no-shows. Some require that you leave a credit card number as a deposit. If you keep the reservation, nothing happens. If you don’t, they charge a nominal fee to that card. This tends to keep potential losses due to no-shows to a minimum. I know of at least one local restaurant that does that during homecoming, prom and graduation seasons. They only take reservations at those times, and they don’t want a book full of reservations made by kids who may or may not have any intention of keeping them. So the restaurant requires that a parent (or someone over 18 with a credit card) make the reservation and guarantee it with a credit card. If the kids are a no-show, the card gets charged. If the kids can’t afford their meal, the card gets charged. The restaurant, therefore, has minimized its losses from kids who don’t show up, or who order meals without sufficient means to pay for them. It’s strict, but it works for them. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/140 "2012-05-24T16:54:38Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > A few years ago my Mom went to a local restaurant; when she paid her bill they gave her the currency change, but not the coin change. They said it was “policy” to keep the coin change. She said she would never return. (She eventually did.) I read this entire thread and have been racking my brain to think of whether or not I receive coin change from restaurants. I mentally went through the paying the check process and realized that when I pay cash, I don’t request the coins back. If the bill is $20.43 I will either give them $25 dollars or if I don’t have the exact paper money, I will round the amount up and ask for a specific dollar amount back. “Here’s $30.00, please bring me a five back” I would never say bring me $5.57 back. That would be odd. I thought most people who paid cash did this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696.md?page=8)