[QUOTE=Sigmagirl]
There’s a cashier at my Giant Eagle who always used to comment on whatever I bought. A 2-liter of pop and a bag of pretzels? “Oh, you must be having a party! Can I come to the party? How come I’m not invited to the party?” Or if I bought a roasting chicken, “What time should I come over for dinner? What kind of wine should I bring?”
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Jesus, there was a guy like that at the Save-Mart store in Visalia, CA, when I lived there. Every time, he’d make some kind of “humorous” comment. I wanted to slash his eyeballs with a butterknife. I’d avoid his lane unless it would clearly save me at least a 5-minute wait.
[QUOTE=Frylock]
Esp. interested in people with experience in this area, from either end.
Sometimes waitstaff are too “friendly.” They feel a need to chat me (and my companions) up, try to “connect,” and so on. I don’t really like this. But I have never been sure whether this is a result of personality, or if there is a general idea amongst waitstaff that customers want to be treated this way.
Were I to politely tell my waiter or waitress at some point that I’d really just like them to take care of my dining needs, and that I am not here to socialize with them (gah, how do I do that “politely” is another question!), will this, do you think, be taken as an insult, or as providing them with some relief?
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Well, the best that can happen is cold food and another tipping thread started about you here. The worst is “substances” in your food. :eek:
Generally, I’d like to see my waitstaff often enough so that I think they are getting too friendly. Instead, usually, I start to think I am going to need a compass, a bloodhound and a team of native guides to even find my waiter. Damn, I wish I had your problems.
I hate it when servers are super chatty too. I’m one of those “just take my order and bring my food, then bring the check when I’m done” people. I don’t even want them to check up on me, because when they do I always have a mouthful of food, and trying to answer through it is embarrassing. Actually, I hate all forms of overly friendly customer service. It’s weird, because I work in customer service (god knows why), and we’re encouraged to engage customers in conversation, which is exactly what I wouldn’t want as a customer. It’s difficult for me to believe that other people actually enjoy that kind of service. But I guess they must, or it wouldn’t be so prevalent.
The worst is “substances” in your food. :eek: