List for Cranky People
 

Better known as more Pet Peeves:
Eating in a lovely restaurant tonight, food is excellent. Person comes to the table while I am having a sip of wine and talking to my husband and asks me if I am
"Still working on that"....
Scarlett does not "work on" her food. Not in a $135 for two restaurant.
Keeping it to restaurants, what irks you?

Okay, I have a full mouth of food and the server always asked how everything is.I can't remember a restaurant that doesn't happen at. Bugs the who know what out of me.

Hosts/hostesses, waitstaff, other patrons wearing enough "fragrance" to fill up all of outdoors!

I hate it when the waiter comes over and refers to all of the diners as "You guys" and most of the table is female.

"You guys" is officially gender non-specific. It's the same as saying you all, y'all, or you folks. The popularity of each term varies from region to region.

Hi Scarlett! I hate when I am at the punch line of a joke, or at the most dramatic point of a story, and the waitperson chooses that exact moment to interrupt to ask if everything is ok, or are we ready for dessert.

And in the stupid nit-picking pet peeve department, I just HATE it when the server says "vinaigrette" with 4 syllables instead of 3. Must be my high school French rearing its pathetic head.

Marilyn,

Do you mean "vin-uh-gred-ee"?

Tell me it ain't so.

love
roxy

How about when the wait staff says "Not a problem." to a request.

No, it shouldn't be a problem. It's your job.

roxy, the 4 syllable pronounciation I've encountered is vin-ai-ger-ette
ugh!
As an aside a colleague and I have a competition on tortured pronounciations encountered in the broadcast media, we call each other up and recite the pronounciation and the other one has to guess what the word is!
I'm with you on the middle of a mouthful interruption - it's amazing how this always happens. Maybe it's on purpose so that you can only nod and wave instead of give a proper response?
And Scarlett - you made me laugh out loud, traci also does not "work on" her food, thank you!

I hate it when I give the waitress money to pay the bill and she says
"Do you want change?". If I didn't,
I would say "Keep the change".

When the waitstaff repeatedly asks, "do WE need anything? Are WE finished?" If WE were all eating together, this person would not be our waitperson. As far as problems in life go, this still ranks fairly low so it doesn't really do me in.

Not exactly a pet peeve, but a gripe about a particular restaurant. A few years ago, an inexpensive family type place was advertising a free meal on your birthday if you bought another, so my son and I went for breakfast. I told the waitress it was my birthday and she just quipped, "Tell the cashier". They ran out of coffee, and when another diner asked about it she rudely said, "We're making it!" As soon as we got our food (which was average at best), the waitress literally slapped the check down on the table. When I went to pay the cashier, there was no greeting. I said it was my birthday and the only thing she said was "ID?" That was it. No "How was everything?", "Happy Birthday", "Have a nice day", nothing. They shouldn't even offer free meals if they're going to have that kind of attitude.
VERY RUDE.

I hate it when all but one diner has finished eating and they go ahead and clear the plates of everyone else. It's as if the last diner doesn't matter! Talk about pressure to finish it up!

My all time biggest pet peeve is that many restaurants in other countries do not have non-smoking sections.

While eating at a very nice restaurant in Mexico in April, my steak Diane had just been finished, the waiter had just taken it off the fire and placed it on my plate, and I had cut the first bite and it was on its way to my mouth when the couple at the table DIRECTLY behind (and very close) to ours lit up simultaneously some stinky kind of French cigarettes and proceeded to chain-smoke throughout our entire meal.

Pet peeve number two would be people who take young children to fancy restaurants late in the evening when the poor kiddies should be in bed and punish the patrons with their bad judgement.

I hate it when ONE diner has finished and they clear his/her plate. What's the hurry?? Also don't like being referred to as "you guys" over and over again.

this is for all of the food servers out there - after reading this post, i sympathize with you!

Pet Peeve # 2-
How many times must one be asked if one wants " Pepper on that?"
I am still capable of asking or actually doing the pepper mill grinding myself!

There are so many, I guess it is the inexperience of waitstaff, as the waiters of yesteryear, with grace and manners have all retired!
Removal of dinner dishes before all have finished is a big NO-NO, and very rude - I slways say something to the waiter as I am usually the first to finish eating. Also when the plates are removed and you are not done. Its unsettling to have to say something.
Removal of drinks before finished ...UHHH excuse me but that martini costs $12.00 and it looks like I have $4.00 left.
The waiter alwyas seems to hover and I find it very upsetting espically when you are engaged in a very important conversation, they always seem to interrupt. It stops the conversation in its tracks and I find it very rude. Their timing stinks! I guess its because they do not care.
But my biggest one is: When you frequent a restaurant and the wait staff/chef recognizes you as a regular and they all come over and do the stop and chat. They will interrupt the ordering, your dining whatever....UGGGHHH

When I'm travelling alone and am dining at a nice restaurant, I really don't want to linger for an hour after my meal, sitting all by myself. And I can never seem to get their attention to ask for my bill. It's like I'm invisible. I DO like to linger, as much as the next person, when I'm with someone, but it drives me crazy sitting there on my own waiting and waiting for the bill.

One person's peeve is another person's pleasure! Scarlett - I LIKE when restaurants grind pepper for me, or when Italian restaurants come over with parmesan cheese and sprinkle it on for me with a spoon.

I think these are nice touches that add to the dining experience in nice restaurants.

Karen

I think the discussion here is about waitstaff not being trained properly. I would certainly not expect a waiter in an establishment where the average check per person is $60 or $70 to ask if I'm "still working on that" in those terms. Whatever happened to "have you finished?" or "may I take your plate?"?

Anyway, my own personal pet peeve is other diners who are so loud & rambunctious that you can't hear anyone at your own table!

I agree that some people's displeasures are what other people prefer and it really all boils down to each person's preference.

I've read many posts on here that are complaints of some, whereas half the people I know would prefer that type of service (i.e. dishes being cleared away when it's obvious they're done eating).

Different strokes for different folks!

One that especially peeves me here in NYC: people that bring small children to a restaurant that is obviously intended for quiet, romantic dinners. I blame the high divorce rate on the fact that people can no longer get to know each other over a quiet dinner due to tired children who are up past their bedtime.

Another peeve from NYC restaurants: people that are listening in on your conversation and then have the nerve to ask you about something which proves they were eavesdropping.

Watching the wait staff socialize or flirt with each other when you've been trying to get their attention for something...(or when the waiter socializes for 10 minutes with a table near you while your one drink sits empty the whole time).

When you have 4 people at a table, and they bring 3 rolls.

And they ALWAYS ask how it is when you've had the very first mouthful...1) give me a chance to taste it first and 2) is this a plot so our mouth is full and we can't tell you if something IS wrong?

I still can't believe it when a waiter sits down...I don't care if it is some cutsie random family restaurant, I don't want to have a conversation, I want to order! They especially seem to think this is endearing when they're a young guy and you're a table full of women...sorry kid, we're not going to tip you more b/c you're flirting with us.

There was a funny column in the Dallas Morning News about waiters refilling iced tea...how you get the perfect sugar mixture, and they refill your glass anytime it dips below 2/3 full. So it ruins your sugar mix and you have to constantly be retooling your drink level. The lady said she appreciated it, but ASK before you refill.. I would have to agree, it doesn't make me angry, they're just doing their job, but it is a pain to constantly be messing with sugars. And on that same level, I always use only 1/2 pkg of sweetener, and I reserve the second half for when they refill. Bless their hearts, they are always grabbing up that half used package, thinking it's trash, even though I've carefully folded it closed. I never notice until I go to get it...poor things, they are trying, but what a waste of sugar.

And one of my top ones, when they bring your appetizer or salad, and about a minute later plop your entree down. ARGH!

And these restaurants that serve huge portions but have tiny tables....we should not have to shuffle everything around and squeeze items tight just so the waiter can set the plate down.

Scarlett, I also am appalled by the "still working on that" question. Last weekend at a nice restaurant in Toronto, I actually mustered up the nerve to comment on it. In reply I said, "Actually, I never was WORKING on it, but if you mean am I finished, the answer is yes." Like Luv2fly, I think that a young waiter referring to a tableful of people old enough to be his parents as "you guys" is rude.

You are so right...actuallly children that do not behave and ruin your meal deserves it's own post, as well as the parents that so not use common sense!

How about places where they decide for themselves that you're finished, and slap the check down, saying "There you are!", without checking if there's anything else you'd like. Even worse, "There you go!"

I also have "a problem" with "No Problem!" When I ask for an item on the menu, or a simple request like water, I really didn't expect it to be a problem. One place I dine at has successfully trained their staff to say "My pleasure!" instead. Still sounds a little "canned", but doesn't irk me so much.

There you go! <g>

Major irk: when the waitperson comes over and rolls off a glowing list of specials and doesn't let you know the prices! I know, I know, if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it...but all the same, I WANT to know.

It seems that most servers bet on the fact that you don't want to appear "cheap" in front of your dining companions, and therefore you won't ask the price. Specials tend to be more expensive = higher tab = equals more tip. On principle, I resent this, and I think that just as the menus have clearly listed prices, so ought the specials. I won't order a special if I am forced to ask for more than a description of it.

Alooohaaaa,
Not that I'm normally cranky, :^o ,we came home from a beautiful weekend in SF thru Napa Valley and stopped at Hurley's in Yountville for lunch.
Nice place, patio dining and we've always had a good meal and service there.
BUT, when the waiter brought the bill he "hawkeyed and hovered" around it.
He even went to pick it up one time before we had a chance to look at it.

We were still enjoying a conversation with friends. No line to get in....empty tables available so it wasn't like we were taking up space that day. I finally asked him if he was getting off his shift shortly so we could pay the bill right now. Nope.

What's worse. Inattentive service where you have to send up smoke signals to get/pay the bill or a "hoverer"?

Is this limited to just restaurant cranks or could I describe some drivers we saw on Hwy 101 and thru the NV? X(
Darn tourists! :-d
Scored some REAL Buffalo Mozzarella in NV so it made the minor annoynace mo' bettah. Now to find some REAL tomatoes!
Mahalo,
Kal

What did you say? I can't hear you because of the music that's BLASTING from the speakers. I have nothing against background music but it should stay in the BACKGROUND!

And I'm another person against big plates on small tables. Especially when the tables are jammed in too close.

Being seated in smoking when I am 8+ months pregnant (Morton's - I'll never go back!)

Ordering a crab pita in the Caribbean and having it be FAKE crab. I'd expect this in Ohio but not while I'm overlooking the ocean!

When I use my credit card to pay the bill and they bring it back to my husband to sign. I don't mind if they give him the bill initially, but when it's my name (which is clearly female - Lisa) I expect them to give it back to me.

There are only two things that I really hate in restaurants, and I guess it just goes to show that "different strokes for different folks" really does apply because for one, I hate those stupid pepper grinders the size of mature oak trees.

You know the ones I'm talking about -- the waiter has to bring it to the table with a ceiling-mounted hydraulic hoist.

I much prefer individual pepper grinders at the tables, because I love cracked peppercorns in my salads, and coarse pepper in my entrees, and rarely have any use at all for fine pepper, which is what you find in pepper shakers.

Meanwhile I also can't stand it when anyone smokes in a restaurant. The city where I live experimented with banning smoking in restaurants, only to discover exactly how loud and obnoxious some smokers can be, and thus gave them back their right to make my meal taste like cigarette smoke. This isn't a problem in most places, which restrict smoking to the bar or lounge, or to some area that's separated from the rest of us, but in a place like Pizza Hut (I know, I know, what should I expect in such a lowbrow place), you're sitting there trying to enjoy your anchovies and extra onions and you can't because of the smoke wafting over from the smoking section -- which is about two booths away and separated from you by nothing more than good old Asheville mountain air (chilled to perfection by restaurant air conditioners).

From the volume of smoke, it appears the diners have multiple cigarettes stuck between each finger and are sucking like a bilge pump, lest any of that delicious nicotiney goodness slip away.

For God's sake, can't it wait? Can you not go 15 minutes without making sure some Eastern North Carolina tobacco farmer can pay for an inground, marble-inlaid swimming pool in cash?

When trapped in a restaurant without much separation between smokers and those of us who actually like to taste our food, I'm often tempted to go over to them and heave one of the industrial strength pepper grinders stolen from a better restaurant onto them. Sure, it would crush them and kill them instantly, but it would effectively alleviate the problem.

Plus, if they hadn't been tapping their ashes onto it, I could steal their pizza.

Top restaurant peeves: when the waiter arrives at the table and calls out each entree, as in "who had the blah blah?"--waiters are supposed to have a system for remembering who ordered what; when the entree arrives while the appetrizers or salads are still on the table, being "worked on"; and one that actually happened to me, a waiter who returned after serving the entrees and inquired "Is everything wonderful?". Yikes!
I should add that my peeves apply to better restaurants; it makes no sense to expect 4-star details at Denny's (although the waitstaff at pancake houses tends to be very professional, IMO). But restaurants with 2 or more stars and prices to match really should train their waitstaff well. You can't assume anymore that people of a certain age have good manners.

Froggy,

Max's Diner in San Francisco used to have a line on their menu that said if any of the staff asked how your meal is you'll get it for free, or something to that effect. Of course, there was also a sign on the door that said "This is a bad place to bring a diet".

Here we go:

1. Having my entree brought to the table while i'm "still working on" my salad/appetizer.

2. Salads brought on hot dishes.

3. Busboys who hold your glass/bowl by the rim when serving. YUCK!

4. Being forced to drive around and see the rear of any restaurant,(seeing the dumpster prior to/just after my meal). HURL!

5. Mandatory valet parking.

6. Room temperature soup/coffee.

7. Answering the question "was everything okay?" with a specific comment about one or more items, and receiving no repsponse from either the manager or the waiter. Don't ask the question if you don't want to hear the answer!

8. Opening a dirty menu.

Oh, yuck, yes, the dirty menu, I forgot that one! A small thing, but also easy to fix.

Thank you all so much for sharing your "crankiness"!
Kal, I agree wholeheartedly! As if they have had too many patrons run out leaving him the bill!
Hauntedhead, that is exactly the Pepper Mill I am talking about!! And once is enough, do I need them asking me before EACH course!! At least they are quitting with the pouring oil in dishes everywhere..especially when you give Scarlett a dim restaurant and a tiny plate in front of her and she lands a hand or arm in the bowl of oil~
ncggrl, SAY THAT AGAIN?? and it is never music you want to hear anyway!
Worse than shopping in these boutiques that play bad techno full blast and I am trying to pull up my pants and hold my hands over my ears at the same time..Awkward but it can be done :)

How about this one for a switch? "Is everything wonderful?!" Nothing like going for the presumptive close. My answer.. "well, it's good but wonderful might be a stretch".

Scarlett,

Your boutique image gave me a good laugh....thanks. I agree, too.

Dirty menus, rocking tables, chair (even booth seats) that are disproportionately tall to the table, taking forever to get your food - especially if you are starving, taking forever to get your check, and too much air conditioner (Chili's) or sitting by a window on a cold day and feeling the cold air. B-r-r-r!