# What are your biggest restaurant complaints? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 30, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987 "2007-09-30T00:01:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/361 "2007-10-03T23:06:49Z")
[QUOTE=GargoyleWB] I have a parent who always insists on ordering an obscure regionally unrecognized cocktail in as casual of manner as if it were a rum and coke, and then gets huffy if the waitperson doesn’t recognize it. [/QUOTE] If I were still a waiter, the only thing that would make that behavior tolerable would be the limitless comic possibilities offered when someone handed me a straight line like “Hey, can you make me a Flaming Asshole?” ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/362 "2007-10-04T00:16:20Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] I can’t understand why you sometimes get your food pre-chilled, because it’s been plopped onto an ice cold plate. I used to work in a restaurant-they have plate heaters, and covers to keep the food hot. Use them! [/QUOTE] (except for salad… as per my earlier post… 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/363 "2007-10-04T00:27:05Z")
[QUOTE=IvoryTowerDenizen] (except for salad… as per my earlier post… 🙂 ) [/QUOTE] I can tell you why salads aren’t always on cold plates…because we’re out of clean plates. It happens far too often, but sometimes you need to make salads, but all the plates are just barely coming out of the dishmachine. It would take way too long to chill them down. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/364 "2007-10-04T00:30:31Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] I can tell you why salads aren’t always on cold plates…because we’re out of clean plates. It happens far too often, but sometimes you need to make salads, but all the plates are just barely coming out of the dishmachine. It would take way too long to chill them down. [/QUOTE] Yeah, that’s what I figured. Can it still be a peeve even if there’s a logical reason? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/365 "2007-10-04T00:31:11Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] I can tell you why salads aren’t always on cold plates…because we’re out of clean plates. It happens far too often, but sometimes you need to make salads, but all the plates are just barely coming out of the dishmachine. It would take way too long to chill them down. [/QUOTE] Because running them under a cold tap takes soooo many seconds? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/366 "2007-10-04T03:38:38Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] Who said we cooked the shit out of them? I’m sure plenty of places do, but ours gets nuked for a mere 45 seconds (granted, it’s an 1800 watt microwave, but that’s still not that long.) The veggies still have some firmness when they come out. I’ve eaten them, I know. And plenty of people send them back or as when they order for them to be extra done/extra mushy, in which case we nuke them for 1.5-2 minutes. I’m not _proud_ that I work in a chain place, but I am at least satisfied that we are better than 90% of the other chains out there, IMO. [/QUOTE] Sorry, I didn’t mean that YOU did that, just that my local restaurants do that, and the idea that they do that to fresh veggies makes it even worse. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/367 "2007-10-04T03:45:57Z")
I went out to dinner tonight with a friend, to our favorite Thai restaurant. I am not sure what happened to the waitstaff, but there were two new guys waiting tables. I don’t care if you have never waited tables, there is no excuse for having to ask three times for a glass of water. They weren’t even that busy! ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/368 "2007-10-04T08:15:54Z")
[QUOTE=SnakesCatLady] I went out to dinner tonight with a friend, to our favorite Thai restaurant. I am not sure what happened to the waitstaff, but there were two new guys waiting tables. I don’t care if you have never waited tables, there is no excuse for having to ask three times for a glass of water. They weren’t even that busy! [/QUOTE] Ah— well, I suspect that was just a cultural disconnect. The Thai are very superstitious by nature, and consider it unlucky to present any item or gift to someone who has not requested it three times. Don’t take offense, and also be careful not to ask a fourth time; the number four is considered very unlucky because of its phonetic similarity to a Thai word that is difficult to translate literally, but roughly means “flatulence causing sudden release of liquid stool,” which (unsurprisingly) is also traditionally considered to be unlucky. A fourth request for water will likely result in your being brought a glass of _nam pla_, which shares some characteristics of potable water, but which many Westerners find challenging to drink in large quantities, as the odor alone is known to induce vomiting. Good luck and _bon appétit_! ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/369 "2007-10-04T11:46:42Z")
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip] Ah— well, I suspect that was just a cultural disconnect. [/QUOTE] _snicker_ _snip_ If there was a disconnect it was mental, not cultural. The former waitstaff were Thai and gave excellent service. Both the new guys are American - Southern American to judge from the accents - and my friend knew more about the menu than they did. ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/370 "2007-10-04T14:43:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Sometimes I don’t know I want something until I actually see it and become jealous of it. A lot of the times when someone grabs a waiter’s attention to get something they literally bolt after that thing is said so no one else has a chance to chime in. > > I hate seeing that look on a waiter’s face that they think I’m the biggest asshole ever when I dont have bad intentions. Bad intentions or not, you’re still being a pain in the ass (and your “jealous” remark makes you sound childish). “Running” a server is petty, selfish and rude - their other customers have to wait while they spend an inordinate amount of time on you. Read the fucking menu and make up your mind! ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/371 "2007-10-04T14:59:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Okay, here’s one of my complaints (not the “biggest,” or even that egregious, but here it is): the Recitation of the Daily Specials. > > This would be a bit irritating anyway (why can’t they just put them on a chalkboard somewhere or put a printed insert into the menu itself?) but thanks to my partial hearing loss, the frequently high level of ambient noise in most restaurants, and the tendency of the waiters to mumble tonelessly like second graders stampeding through their first oral book report on the Heroes of the American Revolution, I’m typically obligated to smile and nod my way through sixty seconds of watching someone’s lips moving— politely feigning full comprehension of what to me sounds, at best, much like the “wah-wah-WAHH!” speech of adults in the animated Peanuts specials. You do realize that servers are required by (corporate level) management to recite the specials? And that people are actually paid to come in as customers to see if (among other things) you’re reciting them? And that servers/restaurants are graded accordingly? And that assholes are ripped if they’re not recited? And do you really think servers enjoy rehashing that shit all day long? ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/372 "2007-10-04T15:01:30Z")
My biggest gripe? My husband is a much quicker eater than me. I really hate it when the waiting staff come by and take his plate whilst I’m still eating. Grrrr! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/373 "2007-10-04T15:40:53Z")
[QUOTE=SnakesCatLady] and my friend knew more about the menu than they did. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I hate that. It happens to me sometimes when I’m in a restaurant for the first time. Last year I was in a place and saw the list of drinks and decided on a tasty sounding beer. When I asked the waitress for one, she informed me that they didn’t have it. Huh? You ran out? Nope, never had it to begin with. This is a great opportunity for a little toying with the server, in a slightly Machiavellian way. Great fun. “My bad. Can you get me a more updated menu?” “I’m sorry, what?” “This one contains errors.” “Where?” “Right here, where it lists the very item that you’ve never carried.” Played right, you’ll both get a little laugh out of it. Played almost right, you alone get a laugh out of it. It’s win/win! ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/374 "2007-10-04T16:20:14Z")
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip] a Thai word that is difficult to translate literally, but roughly means “flatulence causing sudden release of liquid stool,” [/QUOTE] Difficult to translate? Never heard the word ‘shart’? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/375 "2007-10-04T16:48:47Z")
[QUOTE=stegon66] You do realize that servers are required by (corporate level) management to recite the specials? And that people are actually paid to come in as customers to see if (among other things) you’re reciting them? And that servers/restaurants are graded accordingly? And that assholes are ripped if they’re not recited? And do you really think servers enjoy rehashing that shit all day long? [/QUOTE] In order: Yes. Yes, I’ve also heard of that. Yes, that makes sense. Yes, I can imagine they would be. No, I’m sure the vast majority of them would prefer not to. I was expressing my annoyance with the practice itself (which as I said, for me personally is especially futile since I often cannot even hear what they’re saying) and not attempting to lay blame on the servers themselves. I didn’t really suppose there was a convention of the National Waiters’ Union one day, at which one of the attendees spontaneously jumped to his or her feet and said “hey, everyone, listen— I’ve got a GREAT IDEA!” [QUOTE=GorillaMan] Difficult to translate? Never heard the word ‘shart’? 😃 [/QUOTE] Ah! I didn’t know you spoke Thai. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/376 "2007-10-04T17:35:31Z")
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip] Ah! I didn’t know you spoke Thai. [/QUOTE] Oh, Jack talk Thai. Jack talk Thai real good. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/377 "2007-10-04T19:44:04Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Because running them under a cold tap takes soooo many seconds? No, because running them under a cold tap will make them shatter. Sometimes rather explosively. I’ve seen it a few times and, in a similar situation, had two glasses abruptly shatter in my hands when I filled them with icewater right after they came through the wash. We were slammed and there were no other glasses to be had. ---
**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:** [October 4, 2007, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/378 "2007-10-04T21:55:13Z")
[QUOTE=Beadalin] No, because running them under a cold tap will make them shatter. Sometimes rather explosively. [/QUOTE] Even if they didn’t, I’d rather get my salad on a too-warm plate than on a wet plate. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/379 "2007-10-04T21:59:28Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] Even if they didn’t, I’d rather get my salad on a too-warm plate than on a wet plate. [/QUOTE] Because drying them also takes many seconds?! ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/380 "2007-10-04T22:03:45Z")
Yeah, there’s no excuse for a wet plate. Ew. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987.md?page=20)