TravelerGina

Am I the only one who hates to be called "hon" by the waitstaff?; i.e. "Have you decided what you want, hon?"

rjw_lgb_ca

Gina, what are you going to do if/when you go to Baltimore? The citizens call EVERYONE "hon"!!

Surfrider

Oh, you bet, above the little fray, always, thank goodness. LOL, I just bet most of that occurred at a place with counter service. Probably in the burbs. Lets see some hands! Dennys? gt;

OliveOyl

How about arriving in a dining room at about 8-8:30, 3/4 of the tables are empty and having the maitre d' ask haughtily, "Reservation"? LOL It's so tempting to respond, "It doesn't look as if I need one", bursting that big ole bubble. Registry Hotel, Naples, FL

Along those lines... I love the "Will you be dining with us this evening" line too. "No actually, it's our duplicate bridge night, do you mind?"

I dislike having the chef or restaurant manager stop by for a chat, but that's something they are trained to do here.

Lastly, (and along the lines of the above) the "how is everything" question. How I'd love to not always be on my best behavior!! "Well, see these weeds here...they look like something I pulled out of the yard this afternoon and taste worse". "That salad--yuck--swimming in dressing. Nasty." So much for the pleasant evening, so I smile, say wonderful and they smile and go back to the kitchen and keep doing the same things the same way and I never return. (Actually, as far as those weeds go, I really do like them, but thought they'd be easy to use here. )

Suzie

OO, so true about the empty room vs. having reservations.

It was at least 8:00pm and we didn't have reservations and neither did the many other guests waiting in the entry. We all started to get the giggles looking at the nearly empty room while the host made busy at his podium. When one brave soul asked why we were all waiting when there were obviously many free tables,the host claimed that they had many reservations. That was too much! This is not in a town that experiences lots of late diners. We walked. Never been back.

Surfrider

LOL, OO, you gotta eat closer to home and avoid places south of Central. Offer some names, puleeeze - my pet peeve is too little dressing - I'd love to have my weeds swimming occasionally. Take care, and do watch what you eat.

Scarlett

OO,YES! that does go to the top of the list, those who meet you at the door of an empty restaurant and not only ask if you have reservations but look around the empty room, as if looking for an available table LOL
Now while some posters may dine in suburbs, there are also those who live and dine in cities and I think that the location should not matter, it is the restaurant!
But of course, I guess you have to experience it to understand it.

Marilyn

Frisee. Does ANYONE like that stuff? It feels like I'm eating a brillo pad.

artchik

When meeting friends at the restaurant and they won't seat you until your "entire party has arrived" even though you have reservations and the place is practically empty! UGH!!

Also, I second having to wait for the bill. Can I just hurry up and give you my hard-earned money and get on with my life please!!!!!!!!!!

Sarah

1. Hate being being sandwiched between two other tables.

2. Uneventful food = nothing new or at least reminiscent of another trip/place.

lscott

We have invented a word, I think, for the guy who brings over the big pepper grinder and grinds away until you say ENOUGH! He is the "peppier" (French accent) and only the best of restaurants have one.

Marilyn

Iscott, LOVE it! It shall become part of our dining out vocabulary. "Petit peppier" has a lovely ring to it, n'est-ce pas?

buttercup

1. Restaurants where they have crammed as many tables as possible into the dining room, so you are too close to other diners.

2. My husband and I were out for a romantic dinner and the host tried to seat us at a table for six. Hard to be romantic at a big round table.

3. While traveling, we went into a restaurant with our kids. Before we even talked to the host, we decided it didn't look like a kid-friendly place, so we turned around to leave. He came after us, asking "how many in your party?" When we politely told him we had kids and we were looking for something more family-friendly, he started arguing the point. I thought he would follow us to the car.

ellen_griswold

Ditto to ALL the above and:

Being seated near the restrooms in NICE restaurants! Even to the point of seeing feet under the stalls if you happen to glance that way.... eeeyucky-poo!!!

NOT exactly what i have in mind when requesting a table with a view!

cassidy2002

Glad to know I'm not alone in some of this. I drive my husband NUTS when I get upset about bad/improper service. God love him, and I do too, but something in his life must have made him think he should just ACCEPT being treated poorly! One woman I once worked with, who in a previous life managed upscale restaurants in Metro Detroit said to me "I would fire a waiter/waitress on the spot if I heard them ask a table 'how is everything?'. Doing so implies that there is a chance that things might NOT be what my restaurant strives to be (which is nothing less than superb) and therefore they are not representing what my establishment is and/or should be." That really made me think, and now everytime waitstaff asks me that it makes my skin crawl!!!!

Scarlett

I am SO happy to see that as of this posting, there are about 74 Cranky people posting and I think we are all brilliant and restaurants should sit up and take notice!!
I do love the Peppier!!
**Now for something a little different**
We went out to dinner with people a while back (it will be a cold day in hell before we go out with them again-just FYI)
and SHE pulled out her own tea bags at the end of the meal and asked for a cup of hot water. Now this was not a diner nor were her tea bags special..unless Red Rose tea has suddenly become priceless and only she has the remaining 10 bags!
Have you ever seen someone bring something to a restaurant to eat/drink?
What is the craziest thing you have had a fellow diner do that just made your jaw drop?

Diana

Scah-lett dahling, you are just soo much fun today!

My contributions for "interesting" restaurant behavior...

1. A well-dressed lady at a fancy restaurant at the table next to ours pulled out her dental floss apres dinner and proceeded to "go to town" on her teeth.

2. Man at next table in a fancy steak place taking the (mostly-eaten) T-bone in both hands and "gnawing" on it like a dog.

3. Man at next table in not-so-fancy steak house spearing large (6") piece of sausage with fork and gobbling said sausage - at which point it turned on him and the "loose end" speared him in the eye.

4. Man at next table in another fancy steak house eating corn on the cob and much of it went into lap. At the point the corn was finished, slurped fallen corn kernels out of napkin.

5. Man at free cocktail hour at less-than-stellar Cancun hotel removed dentures and placed them neatly on cocktail napkin on table in plain view so as to better enjoy the free food being served.

Heartburn3

Have you ever watched someone tediously CUT a small olive to remove the pit? It cracked us up!! We were on dessert when he was starting his entree! We went shopping and met him at the car! This friend embarrassed us ALL THE TIME! I think my father let him be his friend because he felt sorry for him...LOL! Oh yeah, there was also the time the same person walked past an overweight patron he didn't know and told her she shouldn't be eating what she ordered! We were walking back from the salad bar and just kept going. He was on his own and I wouldn't have blamed the woman if she had punched him out! What nerve!!!

Okay, can anyone top that last one?? (I hope there isn't anything worse than our rude friend)

sunnydelite

I hate it when the waitresses/waiters give you the "three-headed look" if you do NOT order an expensive cocktail!! Give me a break!! Some of us are not into drinking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

puddin

sunnydelite, where is this happening? I don't drink and this has never happened to me. Not that it doesn't, but I'm just wondering...