Restaurant Pet Peeves
Replies
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Exactly! I worked in the service industry for too many years, and I have seen it all when it comes to entitled and uncourteous guests. But I will say if you are willing to spend the money to go to first rate places, you will get treated right. Don't expect fine dining treatment at chain restaurants.I get the impression very few people posting here have worked in a restaurant lol.
With that being said, my big pet peeve at any average restaurant we go to is everyone else at the tables plates being picked up before mine. I eat slower than my husband and usually my kids, and so often I'm the only one left with my plate. That definitely goes against proper server protocol, but so many servers today aren't properly trained or just don't care.
And as I mom of well behaved in public children because I trained them that way, I have no patience for parents of unruly children. And I don't mean special needs kids that may be overstimulated in busy, loud atmospheres. I mean those people who don't take the resonsibility that they should. Do your job or keep them home!0 -
Don't expect fine dining treatment at chain restaurants.
Yup! B****, please, don't act like you're a big deal because you scraped up enough money for a Bloomin' Onion and a 6-ounce sirloin.0 -
It is very rare for us to go out all together to a "real" restaurant. The last time we did, the bill included the large party gratuity. It was DH, myself, and the kids. Obviously we weren't splitting the bill! Sad thing is, our server got the 15% automatically charged, instead of the 20% cash tip we would have left otherwise.
It also bugs me that many parents don't put more effort into teaching their children how to behave in a restaurant. I know how kids can be, trust me. But dammit. Mom, Dad, do your jobs and PARENT.0 -
Don't expect fine dining treatment at chain restaurants.
Yup! B****, please, don't act like you're a big deal because you scraped up enough money for a Bloomin' Onion and a 6-ounce sirloin.
:laugh:0 -
Keep your kids under control!! don't let them roam around the entire restaurant being as loud as possible0
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Verbal tippers! That's when everything goes well with a table and they compliment you on your great service, then leave you two bucks.0
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It is very rare for us to go out all together to a "real" restaurant. The last time we did, the bill included the large party gratuity. It was DH, myself, and the kids. Obviously we weren't splitting the bill! Sad thing is, our server got the 15% automatically charged, instead of the 20% cash tip we would have left otherwise.
It also bugs me that many parents don't put more effort into teaching their children how to behave in a restaurant. I know how kids can be, trust me. But dammit. Mom, Dad, do your jobs and PARENT.
The auto-gratuity is a gamble. I've waited on big tables and decided not to put it on there and ended up getting $8 instead of $30 and I've waited on tables where I put the gratuity on and was told if I hadn't the tip would've been higher. Unfortunately, we can't read minds. Some people just don't like to tip regardless of the service, others really like to show their appreciation. I will tell you, though, if you want top notch service....try tipping before your meal.0 -
as a past bartendr/waitress/cocktailer -
best job money wise hands down, but.....
SOME CUSTOMERS are nightmares!!!
Your screaming messy kids who want 50 refills of cherry coke
Oh, you want another side of ranch and cant believe i charged you for it when you get your bill?
Game day and you come in and eat the 5$ bucket of 2lb wings, drink water, and eat the free taco bar only at half time? sit in my section for 3 hours and spend 5 bucks?
My bar is 3 rows of people deep at 11:00 pm and you asked for a blended margarita
I greet your table and ask for drinks and no one aknowledges I am there
Large party of you and your friends come in and say one bill is fine, then after happy hour is over all 15 of you say you want seperate checks and wonder why it is taking my SO LONG to bring you your tabs
The food wasnt that great., but the service was so thats why you left me a bad tip??
you get your tab and cant BELIEVE you have that many drinks on your tab and that some were not free
Yea, customers can suck.0 -
I really despise when people go cheapskate and think they can leave a bad tip for whatever "reason" they think they can find. Maybe your food was cold because the kitchen had a difficult time keeping it warm while your *kitten* husbands well-done steak cooked. Or maybe your Mtn Dew didn't get filled within 30 seconds of you slugging it down because the new girl bumped into your waiter while he was traying up his other table's dinner and had sloshed sauce into someone else's salad and had to have it remade. Maybe you didn't get your check right away because your server was busy trying to explain to his other table the exact ingredients in an entree and what vegan options his grill house could create. You never know. PS. To those of you complaining that restaurants should increase their food prices so YOU don't have to tip: Right now, it is societally UNACCEPTABLE to not pay someone for their hard-earned service and if you don't like the system, don't go to restaurants with servers. Go protest and write to your congress about a living wage. It is never appropriate to use services and then not pay for them because they are not in line with your beliefs. If you can't afford to tip, don't go out.
^^^^ THIS. AMEN. As a server and a 9-5'er, I see both sides of this. Some people have WAY TOO HIGH of expectations when they dine. If it is Friday night at 7, and your server has a table of 6, a table of 8, and a two top (maybe even more depending on the restaurant), BE PATIENT. It will probably take her a second to get your drink. She notices it, I promise you, but running back to the kitchen with two of her 8-top's steak that the grill guy undercooked WILL TAKE PRIORITY. She will bring your drink, that 30th loaf of bread (fat *kitten*), and your ranch on her way out. Not to mention trying to separate the 6-top into all separate checks while putting in the two top's order, bringing out your appetizer, the salads, AND dessert.
PATIENCE. When you're at work, and you have 30 things to do at once, surely you hope your customers will be patient and understanding as you work your way down the list?
I have become a master multi-tasker through my years of serving.
Now if you wait 20 minutes for you drink and see your server lounging around, that is unacceptable. But if she or he is running around looking frazzled, the last thing you need to do is snap your fingers at them and demand a refill on your 12th Diet coke.
Rant over. LOL SORRY!0 -
Don't expect fine dining treatment at chain restaurants.
Yup! B****, please, don't act like you're a big deal because you scraped up enough money for a Bloomin' Onion and a 6-ounce sirloin.
THIS LOVE!!0 -
Where I work, we have 12 booths and around 4-5 tables. One waitress handles the entire dining room. It's hard to take care of 50 people when you're doing it alone. I guess that's why I'm not very critical when I go out to eat.0
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Loud cell phone patrons. Unless you're a doctor, put it on vibrate.
^^^#2 for me especially sitting next to that person that thinks their conversation is soooooo important that everyone in the restaurant should hear it. I have a hard time restraining myself from telling them just how very rude they are!!!
Simple solution, pick up your phone and answer to their phone conversation. Phone bomb FTW.0 -
Butter that's just come straight out of the fridge so it's too hard to spread on your bread, very annoying!0
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Servers who are wayyyy too chatty and try to act "cute". Doesn't matter if they're male, female, old, young, etc. I am not interested in being entertained by my server. I don't want to make a lifelong relationship with them. I don't need to learn their children's names and hear long stories about their lives. They can save that for the middle aged traveling salesman who will be charmed by their tales and leave a fatter tip. But my husband (or girlfriends) and I came to share a meal and each other's company...not the server's.
I really don't go to restaurants where this is an issue...worst offenders seem to be chain American restaurants like Applebees, Chili's, etc. Which I never eat in, for a number of reasons. But I still hate it.
FTR I am generally a very friendly and chatty person. I don't mind small talk. But I don't want to hear all about Bekah's economics class and get 14 stories about hijinx in the kitchen while they were making our tilapia. Thxbye0 -
Group of us went out to celebrate my sisters birthday last weekend. There was about 10 of us there for happy hour. Our waitress was all over the place checking on other tables but seemed to be avoiding us. We sat with empty glasses trying to wave her down the whole damn time. Then when someone got her attention she would take that one order and take off again without letting anyone else put in an order. I know you have other tables but a quick check in is always nice. We weren't there to not have conversation and watch the waitress the whole time.0
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As a person who got through college waitressing, I am really picky about Bad service, obviously. Cold food. Not getting my order right and not returning within a few minutes to see if everything is alright. My drink being left empty too long (and I drink water - no reason for it. Bring me a damn pitcher then if you are too busy). That being said, if I have good service I am a really good tipper because it is NOT an easy job!
As a patron - Watching the way some people eat really grosses me out. Shoveling it in, chewing with their mouth open...gross. It's like watching someone poop in reverse. :noway:
And people who eat and scrape their teeth on the the fork. It's ALL I can hear when someone is doing that - like finger nails on a chalk board. I can't stand it.
" It's like watching someone poop in reverse."
SUCH a gross visual and LMAO all at the same time!!0 -
Horrible service, cold food, people using cell phones loudly, and screaming, bratty children. If the host/hostess tries to sit us near children I ask them to seat us elsewhere because you never know.0
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My pet peeve is a restaurant that lists an entree/meal on their menu as "Heart Healthy" only to discover they still use trans fats in it.
Happened to me at the "Cotton Patch" restaurant. Their rice is processed or preserved with something that causes it to have trans fat.0 -
My pet peeve is when people act like they're the only ones in a restaurant and complain about the servers being so slow and lazy when they clearly are trying to keep 50 people happy at one time. Or when patrons chew the server out because their food isn't right. The saying "Don't shoot the messenger," applies here. Servers, you rock! Unless you really are slow and lazy. But honestly, I haven't seen many of those kinds. Maybe I'm just sheltered. Or maybe people just need to be more patient or cook their own meals at home. Give the servers a break!!0
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I usually tip real well, I can't remember the last time I had a bad server, maybe because I've just had good luck. Most of the time if I have a bad experience at a restaurant it has nothing to do with the servers.0
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Don't expect fine dining treatment at chain restaurants.
Yup! B****, please, don't act like you're a big deal because you scraped up enough money for a Bloomin' Onion and a 6-ounce sirloin.
A fellow previous Outbacker? lol, me too.0 -
Don't expect fine dining treatment at chain restaurants.
Yup! B****, please, don't act like you're a big deal because you scraped up enough money for a Bloomin' Onion and a 6-ounce sirloin.
A fellow previous Outbacker? lol, me too.
HUZZAH. Outback!!!
Hey fellow 'aussie' 
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Don't expect fine dining treatment at chain restaurants.
Yup! B****, please, don't act like you're a big deal because you scraped up enough money for a Bloomin' Onion and a 6-ounce sirloin.
A fellow previous Outbacker? lol, me too.
HUZZAH. Outback!!! Hey fellow 'aussie'
:drinker:0 -
Don't expect fine dining treatment at chain restaurants.
Yup! B****, please, don't act like you're a big deal because you scraped up enough money for a Bloomin' Onion and a 6-ounce sirloin.
A fellow previous Outbacker? lol, me too.
I actually have never worked as a server, but Outback is the type of place where I've encountered annoying customers. it sucks because those squeaky wheels always get the grease so to speak, and I feel as a polite customer who isn't very demanding I get nothing. Oh, well.0 -
Don't expect fine dining treatment at chain restaurants.
Yup! B****, please, don't act like you're a big deal because you scraped up enough money for a Bloomin' Onion and a 6-ounce sirloin.
A fellow previous Outbacker? lol, me too.
I actually have never worked as a server, but Outback is the type of place where I've encountered annoying customers. it sucks because those squeaky wheels always get the grease so to speak, and I feel as a polite customer who isn't very demanding I get nothing. Oh, well.
When I was working there, a guy asked if I could bring out the meat rack so that he could pick out his steak from our selection. lolwut?0 -
Where I work, we have 12 booths and around 4-5 tables. One waitress handles the entire dining room. It's hard to take care of 50 people when you're doing it alone. I guess that's why I'm not very critical when I go out to eat.
Then your mgmt is doing it wrong. Customer service is key, and even the best servers can only properly take care of so many people at once. While it's not you, the server's fault, the customer shouldn't have to suffer.
After having owned a restaurant and managed a staff of eight servers (we were a small, family restaurant in a ski/resort town) I am more particular and critical when I am out. Very often, more blame lies with the managment than the server.0 -
-water not getting refilled- fastest way to lose a tip with me.
-plates not being served within a reasonable time of each other at the same table.
-too damn cold- I know restaurants sell more hot drinks and desserts and apps keeping the temperature freezing cold, but shivering is just not my idea of a good time.
On a humorous note, I was with friends at a restaurant in a hotel and the server was very friendly and efficient, the bus boy however had something else going on altogether. He would refill the waters and slam down our cups, we did awkward sideways glances at each other and murmured when he left thinking he was just having a rough night. We carried on with our conversation having a really good time and forgetting about him. Not too long later, he came back and started getting in our faces, "I know you're talking and laughing at me. Let's take this outside and I'll show you what's up!".
:noway:
For real.
The server heard and got the manager. He got fired on the spot. Said he'd be waiting in the parking lot for us..... OMG. Off the deep end, for sure. Oh- and our meal was comp'd.0 -
-water not getting refilled- fastest way to lose a tip with me.
-plates not being served within a reasonable time of each other at the same table.
-too damn cold- I know restaurants sell more hot drinks and desserts and apps keeping the temperature freezing cold, but shivering is just not my idea of a good time.
On a humorous note, I was with friends at a restaurant in a hotel and the server was very friendly and efficient, the bus boy however had something else going on altogether. He would refill the waters and slam down our cups, we did awkward sideways glances at each other and murmured when he left thinking he was just having a rough night. We carried on with our conversation having a really good time and forgetting about him. Not too long later, he came back and started getting in our faces, "I know you're talking and laughing at me. Let's take this outside and I'll show you what's up!".
:noway:
For real.
The server heard and got the manager. He got fired on the spot. Said he'd be waiting in the parking lot for us..... OMG. Off the deep end, for sure. Oh- and our meal was comp'd.
:noway: :flowerforyou: I'm sorry!! We're not all like that!!!0 -
biggest one..and its happened a couple times...if i should run into the staff in the bathroom and they do not wash their hands!!! wont be eating there again.0
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Unsupervised children. I get if I am going to Red Robin or something it is going to be a different environment then a nice restaurant. But still, watch your kids and keep them in check. I once had a kid launch their filthy toy car across a room and have it knock over my drink and the parents did nothing.
People on their cell phones. If your phone call is that important step outside for a moment.
Bad tippers.0
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