Restaurant/Fast food pet peeves

[elnant]

I was in Subway for lunch the other day -- and one of my biggest pet peeves is when they just slap your sandwich together -- then it's a big mess later when you try to eat it.
Another thing that bugs me -- fast food places that offer drinks, fries, whatever in ''medium'' ''large'' and ''extra large''
How can you have a MEDIUM when there's no SMALL?
OK - I'm done now.
So, what are your biggest pet peeves when it comes to eating out?

[Jewel]

When I order a hot sandwich, whether it's a burger, a french dip, a chicken sandwich with melted cheese, whatever...and they serve it on a cold bun or bread. The meat and cheese may be hot but they obviously just grab a bun or roll out of the package and slap it on. I'd prefer it be grilled/toasted, at at least put it under the hot lights for a few minutes!

I also hate greasy french fries that are past their prime. I don't allow myself burgers and fries much anymore, but when I indulge once every few months I want to enjoy it! Not pick up a droopy, greasy, burnt earthworm of a french fry with no crisp or crunch. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/mad.gif Can't they tell when they're scooping them onto the plate?!

But I think the little itty-bitty thing that bugs me the most is when I'm in a very nice restaurant dressed to the nines and trying to be really delicate... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif and they serve this very nice loaf of crusty bread or rolls...and a dish of butter that just came out of the freezer. How delicate is it to be wrestling with this hunk 'o butter that won't spread, so you're tearing huge holes in the bread? Then when it won't spread, you feel obligated to eat that one end of the roll that has this huge glob on it, clogging your arteries with just one bite, just so you don't look stupid. I just know the waiters are peeking from around the corner just laughing at us! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/tongue.gif

[AndreaU]

On the topic of medium, large and extra-large... I think that discussion was in a Seinfeld episode where someone wanted a small drink but they didn't have small; medium was the small, etc.

As for my peeves, having been in the food service biz several years, poor customer service ticks me off. I don't even mind slow service or a mixed up order so much if it's remedied with a smile http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif and an explanation. I know everyone has bad days (so any servers, hostesses, etc., please don't attack me here- I've been there! That's why I got out!), but if it wasn't for the customers, the employees wouldn't be there. Smile at the customer to their face and when you go back in the kitchen, let it all out (but not too loud http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif).

[cdm]

One thing that bugs me is when they dont give you all your order. I get home and find out, then I do go back. Another thing is talking into those machines although they seem to be getting better. Sometimes when theyd ask you a question, you couldnt understand them. I guess another thing I can think of is when I get a burger and the bun is hard around the edges-yuck.

[sneezles]

OK, since I'm trying to behave myself and I live in the sticks, I don't order fast food anymore. Some of the reasons are listed in the previous sentence, the others are that those who work in Fast Food outlets are either ignorant, just plain stupid or from a foreign country! Who really needs the aggravation when everything else is so complicated? Who really needs fries? You can't even feel good about them on WW point system! Although I do think I remember a cheeseburger happy meal going for 9 points! Am I right? Sorry but after all these years of trying diets and fads (and Jewel, I may even have you beat, except for any purging...my opinion, if I eat it why in the world would I expunge it?), I have learned that any place I can drive through has too many calories, fat and or other things I don't need! (That is not to say that I don't miss those fries on occasion!)..so, in other words, if they can't get it right or they don't have the right size, I shouldn't be there in the first place, I will spend my daily allotment elsewhere, thank you very much!

[RobinC]

I have to say that by biggest pet peeve when eating out (fast food or sit down) is poor and/or slow service.

In a fast food restaurant there is no reason it should take 15 minutes to get a simple on the menu cheeseburger. I had a very bad experience in a Diary Queen in Yakima, Washington. Waiting literally 17 minutes for a cheeseburger sent me over the edge. Did you know the people at Dairy Queen really do not want to cancel orders and give refunds?

In a sit down restaurant, bad service really ticks me off. My darling boyfriend and I eat out a lot. He is an engineer, with long hair and dresses in jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers. I am a pretty casual person too. We are both fairly young, each 30. At some nicer restaurants the waitstaff has been rather condesending to us - treating us as though we just scraped the money to have a big night out. The reality is we are 2 professionals living in a double-income no kids household. I get really frustrated with bad service.

On the bright side, there is a restaurant the DB and I go to quite a lot. The staff there knows us. One of the waitresses caught on pretty quick that we run a good size tab and tip well. She provides great service and asks us to come sit in her station. She is a smart girl (I say girl because she is just about to turn 21 http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif)

[valchemist]

major pet-peeve about sit-down restaurants:

meal comes with salad, bread. you also order an appetizer.

they bring out the salad and bread. and just as you are taking your second bite of salad, they bring out the hot appetizer.

by the time you get to the hot appetizer, it is lukewarm...

no matter, though, because your entree arrives before you can try two bites of the appetizer.

the waiters seem to want to get you in and out so they can serve more tables. impossible to savor each course of a meal when your food is being thrown at you, rapid fire.

[This message has been edited by valchemist (edited 05-02-2001).]

[kwormann]

Mine is that busy people cant find many places to get a quick HEALTHY meal! In Houston, I takes more that half a day to run Saturday errands and we have to eat! SOmetimes we pack, or try to find a Schlotskys (sp), but cant always!

Kim

[ellielk]

Another thing that bugs me -- fast food places that offer drinks, fries, whatever in ''medium'' ''large'' and ''extra large' 'How can you have a MEDIUM when there's no SMALL? OK - I'm done now. [/B]

A looong time ago - in my youth (ahem) - there was a book about advertising and packaging called 'The Hidden Persuaders' by Vance Packard that explained these things. No one, it seems, wants the portion they're getting to be 'small' so they used to have things packaged as 'Regular', 'Medium' and 'Large' or even 'Regular', 'Large', and 'Giant Economy Size.' It's supposed to make you think you're getting more for your money. What I hate is to go to the movies and the drink sizes are (no matter what THEY call them) 'miniscule', 'too large', and 'I couldn't finish this in a week'. And, you order the 'medium' and they say 'For only $.50 more you can get the 'large'. Or, as we call it 'Bucket O' Pop.'

[lindrusso]

One of my biggest pet peeves is bathrooms. Why can't they be kept clean???? I've, sadly, come to expect it in a fast food place, but even some very nice restaurants ignore the restroom!! And what grosses me out even more is that they are usually the same place that the employees use!

Grosser yet - when you're a mom of boys - we have to lift the seat up when we take them in the women's room and apparenly the staff rarely cleans under there!!!! YUCK!!!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif

[Vanessa]

Pet peeves? cold french fries or lukewarm...yuk!

In restaurants: biggest complain is that I am very precise on my allergies and then the food arrives with a sauce having tomato paste and I have to ask and ask again "are you sure this does not have tomato, flour?" Then I am ask if I would get "really" sick. When I say yes then they finally go to the kitchen to be sure of the ingredients. Of course by then everyone has their food and eats and I end up being the last one.
My second pet peeve is slow service, no refill of water glasses and taking forever to get your bill.

[Kerri]

Paying $1.50 for a drink (tea, soda, etc)! I ususally will drink water, but occationally I get tired of water because they always give you a tiny glass for your water, and oooh, that is another pet peeve! Sometimes I just bring my own water bottle when I go out to lunch so I don't have to continually refill.

[JHolcomb]

I hate it when you ask for water in a fast food place and they give you a child sized cup full of tepid water, no ice. That makes me insane.

I also hate that sandwiches almost always come with mayo on them and I have to remember to ask for it without. That's why I always get the child sized burger (that and who really needs a bigger one)-no mayo.

[KValley]

Restaurant Pet Peeves?

*Salads that come slathered with dressing! For this reason, I always ask for dressing on the side...

*I travel often on business and as a result, eat out alone quite a bit. Many places will automatically stick a woman alone in the most out-of-the way spot, in a corner. I have learned to speak up and ask for a table by the window or wherever looks good to me, as long as it's not at a huge table (sensitive to the restaurant's economic needs)

*Huge meals on supersized plates

*Dirty bathrooms

*Brooding service

I have been a waitress, so I always tip well- IF it's deserved. People can be so da*! rude- including wait staff. Being kind takes so much less energy and makes you feel so much better!

[mandarin2j]

Originally posted by RobinC:
I have to say that by biggest pet peeve when eating out (fast food or sit down) is poor and/or slow service.

In a fast food restaurant there is no reason it should take 15 minutes to get a simple on the menu cheeseburger. I had a very bad experience in a Diary Queen in Yakima, Washington. Waiting literally 17 minutes for a cheeseburger sent me over the edge.

DH and I joke that DQ is actually "slow food" because of how long it takes. We just don't go there when we're in a hurry. Same story (unfortunately) with a local favorite, Burgerville, USA.

lindrusso: Nasty bathrooms and dining areas also gross me out, but, having worked in many forms of food service, I can promise you, 9 times out of 10, it's not slacker staff that is to blame. It's management/ownership that wants to squeeze every last dime out of the business. Short-staffing is the quickest way to save money...and to lose business. Most companies have very strict staffing formulas they must adhere to, and store managers are constantly expected to generate greater profits while cutting staff hours. Of course, the manager/owner isn't the one who gets yelled at when someone has to wait in a 5-minute line to get a latte! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/rolleyes.gif

Jewel: I learned a trick to get fresh french fries from a friend--tell the cashier you want unsalted fries. Since the other fries are salted right away, they'll have to make a fresh batch. Not especially fast, but worth the wait. I hate wasting WW Points on food that doesn't taste like it's worth it!

My pet peeve: I hate going into a store/restaurant, and having another customer ask the clerk a "quick question" while the clerk is still dealing with my transaction. Wait your turn, buddy!

-Amanda

[dearamy]

I don't eat fast food (in part becasue of my fear of fried food, which I posted about on the "quirks" thread), & I really cannot stand the smell of fast food-especially McDonald's. I work on the 36th floor of my building & I hate it when someone hops on with me with their bag of food from Mc's. I really feel like I need to go home & wash my hair to get the fried smell out.

At nicer restaurants, my pet peeve isgetting rushed out the door so that they can turn the table.

[foodiedelite]

We don't frequent fast food restaurants. I don't want to sound like a snob, but most leave a lot to be desired in the way of cleanliness. I have visions of employees spitting in my food and slapping hamburger patties under their arms--EW! This vision has helped me immensely in my dieting efforts.

For nicer restaurants, one of pet peeves is when you order a drink and they bring out the glass holding onto the rim, where you put your mouth.

[RobinC]

Originally posted by mandarin2j:
[B] DH and I joke that DQ is actually "slow food" because of how long it takes. We just don't go there when we're in a hurry. Same story (unfortunately) with a local favorite, Burgerville, USA.


I see you are from Portland. I know what you mean about Burgerville. The one on I-5 in the Tigard/Lake Oswego area is the worst. I took me over 15 minutes to get through the drive thru once. The lines there are worse than Costco on a payday weekend.

[heidibowman]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by RobinC:
My darling boyfriend and I eat out a lot. He is an engineer, with long hair and dresses in jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers. I am a pretty casual person too. We are both fairly young, each 30. At some nicer restaurants the waitstaff has been rather condesending to us - treating us as though we just scraped the money to have a big night out. The reality is we are 2 professionals living in a double-income no kids household.

This sounds like us to a T! We're 30 & 31, pretty casual, and DINKs. Only, going one step further, I've been told I barely look 21 (not a bad thing, usually) and I've even had people quiz me on my drivers license info. I'm all for enforcing the legal drinking age but not to the point of hasseling someone. It sure can put a damper on a nice evening.

[Lynn B]

Great thread!!!

My all time PET PEEVE when eating out is when they serve you REGULAR COFFEE and call it DECAF!!! And, believe me, that happens A LOT!!!!

My son used to work in a VERY NICE restaurant and while the menu said "regular" coffee AND decaf, he told me they NEVER HAVE decaf!!! The manager told them to just brew regular in the orange pot and serve it as decaf!!!!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!!!

Once we were at another restaurant and I ordered pie and decaf. Drank 2 or 3 cups. Was up ALL NIGHT! Literally! By morning I was ready to FLY! Went BACK to the restaurant and had a fit! The manager DID NOT deny it... said they weren't "supposed" to do that, but sometimes he knows they DO (when BREWING a pot of decaf is apparently TOO MUCH TROUBLE?!!!!)

Now when we go out and it's later in the day, and I request decaf, I third-degree the poor server. ("Are you SURE it's decaf?!") DH will even tease the server saying, "If she's up all night, she'll be back in the morning and she might HURT you!!!!"

But REALLY!!!!!! I don't have a caffeine allergy or sensitivity, but what about the people who do?!! It just keeps me awake!

Calm down, Lynn... calm down... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Lynn B (edited 05-02-2001).]

[JHolcomb]

LynnB- When I worked as a waitress we did the exact opposite. We served decaf as regular all the time. I would never have served regular as decaf (if someone was allergic and DIED-yikes) but I'll admit that I was a lazy enough waitress who hated her job just enough to serve decaf as regular.

Oh, and don't think that just because it's not a fast food restaurant that people aren't spitting in your food (or rubbing your bread over their groin). I've seen it happen. Just try not to think about it too much, I guess...

[HARRYET]

aside from most of the things already mentioned here, I can not stand when at a fast food resturant they start to sweep or vaccum while i'm eating, there is nothing worse then smelling a dirty vaccum or seeing the dust flying while they sweep up! As a teenager I worked in a deli, and we only swept when there were no customers in the store, or after closing. They can easily close an area off and sweep it up then reopen the area and continue on!

Ann

[AD]

I hate it most of all when they are out of what I want, and it is the only thing I would want from the restaurant. However, I mostly hate it when I have to buy or pay for a full meal when I only want one thing. Chicken is the worst. I hate preparing my own, and any time I want plain grilled or roasted white meat chicken (without all those chemicals fast-food chains use), I end up spending five or six dollars and get a small 3 oz. portion of chicken. I always make something myself to go with it, but this keeps me away from several local restaurants.

[Tiger]

Fastfood-
I hate that they don't have enough healthy selections and the way food is handled. I try not to look! It really bothers me when they handle the food and money! Or handle your food without gloves or utencils. Gross, gross, gross!!

[Gina O]

Poor service is by far my biggest restaurant pet peeve, but another big one is hot food that is not served hot (as in, it has been sitting around for a while before they brought it out). Another huge one is asking for the non-smoking section and being seated at a table 5 feet (or less) from smokers. Gina

[donleyk]

This is only a little off the subject, because it has more to do with other patrons of sit down resturants. (Applebee's etc. not especially nice but decent) And I agree with everything already mentioned above...

It's when mom and dad don't make their children behave! We sat behind a family of 3 and the child sat next to the window. Once he was finished, he started playing with the blinds. I didn't mind the strobe effect as much as the continuing banging of the thing!

As much as I want to sit in non smoking I'd like children and child-less sections too.

[daner94]

I laughed when I saw the title of this thread. I knew it would open a whole can of worms!

I have worked in the foodservice industry for over 14 years. I have seen it all, I think. But, I have never, ever seen regular coffee served as decaf, it could kill someone!

I have learned to look the other way alot. Something that really bothers me is when I see no manager present. As a former restaurant manager I can tell the difference in service and also food quality when noone is there to manage. Service has gotten worse and worse because of the labor shortage, and people are not trained properly.

I was at a sandwich shop and this young kid, maybe 18, working with all people his age, wearing an absolutely filthy apron, took out the garbage and then came back to the line and proceeded to make more sandwiches, and did not wash his hands. I was so grossed out. I watched for a manager to talk to about it but I never saw anyone that looked over the age of 20. I'll never go there again .

I could tell stories that would make you never want to go out to eat again!!

Dana

[AndreaU]

I came up with another pet peeve (as DH and I were getting our free ice cream last night at Baskin-Robbins!)... employees who take their smoking break RIGHT OUTSIDE THE DOOR! I hate going into a restaurant (fast food or otherwise) where I have to walk through a cloud of smoke right before I'm going to consume food. That just turns me right off to a place- the fact that there's NOWHERE else to smoke except right where all the customers make their first impressions. YUCK http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/mad.gif

[Don]

Well, my bigggest pet-peeve is drive through orders that are wrong. We never seem to get what we ordered. The worst situation though occurred at McDonalds. I had ordered a regular hamburger and a salad. When I bit into the hamburger, I noticed something was very wrong. There was no burger! They had remembered the pickle, mustard, onion, and ketchup, but had forgot to add the burger! I drove back to McDonalds and asked for the manager. He had this look on his face that told me he had heard about this from many other customers. So he gave two vouchers for free meals. Still, I thought it was pretty inexcusable to sell an entire tray of hamburgers without the burgers.

[Jen]

I agree with the poor service, "non-smoking" section, and just about everything mentioned here! But I have to agree that my biggest pet peeve is the wrong drive-through order. We have a Wendy's a block away from our house - we call it our second kitchen. At least they have some healthy choices (does everyone know that the taco salad [no chips] is only 8 WW pts? - and very filling!), so we end up going there a lot when we're in a rush (VERY often!). Recently the drive-through has become terrible for messing up our orders. We try to check it in the lineup, but of course, it's when we don't check that it turns out to be wrong - then we get home and realize it's wrong, and we don't feel like getting all dressed and going back to complain. Recently I ordered a grilled chicken Caesar, but asked for the light Italian dressing instead of the Caesar dressing (which has a whopping 25 g of fat in the packet!!) and didn't realize until I got home that they gave me the Caesar dressing anyway. I had to chuck it out and use my own dressing, but I really hate paying for something I can't possibly eat.

Another thing that really bugs me, as a die-hard diet Coke drinker, is when they pass off diet Pepsi for diet Coke! I can't stand diet Pepsi (yes, I really can tell them apart) and it drives me nuts! If they tell me they've only got Pepsi, I'll order something else!! (OK, I know I should be drinking water anyway...so sue me!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif ).

[SusanMac]

My big peeve is when you finish your salad, the server takes it away and asks you to keep your fork & knife. What losers! Get me a clean one, thank you. I just spent $8 for a plate of lettuce, so I expect a clean knife with my entree. Do they expect you to lick it clean in between courses??!

Which brings me to another peeve...restaurants that give you just lettuce, or *maybe* a slice of tomato and call it a salad. I expect some carrots, cucumbers, croutons, whatever. I'm not picky, but it's got to have more than 2 ingredients to be considered a real salad.

[aka]

OK, this is more of a specific situation, but I think it still applies.

A couple of years ago DH and I went to a steak house in Dallas (Kirby's) with some friends. I asked our waitress the price of the "steak and lobster" (because it was "market price") and she said something around $32...well that's more than I usually spend on a meal, but for steak and lobster it sounded good, so DH got an appetizer and salad and we decided to share the main meal. Well, when we got the bill, we were charged $45 for the steak and lobster, so I asked the waitress again "How much was the steak and lobster?" and she said "$32" so I said, "Why did we get charged $45 for it?" She said, "I meant $45...sorry." Naturally I was annoyed and eventually the manager was called out, we explained the situation (the waitress tried to tell him we were lying, but all 4 of us heard her say the wrong price 3 times), so the manager said he would adjust the bill.

When we got the bill, the price was adjusted only by $7, but I had already caused so much ruckus, we just went home. When we got home, I called the manager and told him I was extremely upset. He told me the waitress said she told us the right price so he decided to split the difference. He also said he couldn't believe I was getting so upset over $7. And I said "If you think this is about $7, you have A LOT to learn! This is about customer satisfaction and I am NOT SATISFIED! You may have just made $7, but you lost me as a customer. Also my husband, and also our two friends. We also entertain business customers when they come into town and we are never taking them to your restaurant. In addition, I am going to tell this story to anyone who will listen whenever the opportunity arises. Have fun with my $7!"

So, true to my word, I had to share.

Sorry it was so long.

Lilia

[Grace]

My husband and I travel around the Midwest during the summer for bowling tournaments, which are usually held in some really po-dunk towns (no offense to anyone, I like small towns VERY much, especially coming from the big city. It's a refreshing and nice change, and people are SOOOO nice). BUT, restaurant food in these little towns nearly kills me. In one restaurant (supposedly the "nicest" one in town - it had plastic red checked tablecloths!), everyone in our group pretty much ordered steaks. I found some grilled chicken on the menu, which is fine (as long as there is something I can eat, I'm happy, and not at all bothered). But I asked for a salad (ICEBURG lettuce and a barely pink tomato, and nothing but icky full fat dressing), and then I wanted a vegetable to go with my chicken. Vegetable? The waitress looked at me like I was from Mars. "Well, we have corn", she said. Nothing GREEN? No ma'am, I'm sorry, just corn. JUST CORN? (And of course it was canned). And here I am in the middle of FARMLAND as far as the eye can see, supposedly where all the good produce comes from, and a vegetable around there is as scarce as hens teeth. Makes me crazy. I really don't like to call attention to myself, but sitting amongst all these people who are eating fried chicken and huge steaks and fries and onion rings and smothering their iceburg lettuce salads in thick globs of Thousand Island dressing, I have to be the weirdo that makes a fuss, and everybody looks at me like I'm the Princess and the Pea (you know, the fairy tale). And this happens nearly EVERY time we go, so for as much fun as I have spending a weekend away with my husband, I dread eating out. Same thing happens at breakfast. Do you have feta cheese and spinach (for my eggbeater omelette)? What? What's feta cheese? Nevermind. How about whole wheat toast? No ma'am. Could you substitute some fresh fruit for those hash browns, please? Fresh fruit? We have a fruit cup (canned!)....ok, that will be fine, thanks. UGH!!!!

[This message has been edited by Grace (edited 05-03-2001).]

[elnant]

Originally posted by Jen:
Another thing that really bugs me, as a die-hard diet Coke drinker, is when they pass off diet Pepsi for diet Coke! I can't stand diet Pepsi (yes, I really can tell them apart) and it drives me nuts! If they tell me they've only got Pepsi, I'll order something else!! (OK, I know I should be drinking water anyway...so sue me!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif ).

I know what you mean Jen -- I can tell the difference too -- except I'm a diet pepsi drinker. But it seems like most places serve just coke products.

[aggie94]

Longhorn - you hit on another one for me. There is a restaurant in Eugene, where I live, that everyone seems to LOVE. I have to admit that they do have the most fabulous desserts I've ever tasted. And their food is pretty good (not phenomenal). BUT...DH and I can't get out of there without paying at least $60 for dinner (and that's only two dinner entrees and one dessert -- no appetizer, drinks, etc.). You would be appalled at the atmosphere in this place -- one big room with tons of tiny tables crammed into this big open space. It's like eating in a cafeteria, and it's just as loud and crowded (no barriers, walls, anything). I just can't figure out what the fuss is about with this place.

[This message has been edited by aggie94 (edited 05-07-2001).]

[This message has been edited by aggie94 (edited 05-07-2001).]

[carolyn.1]

I believe my biggest pet peeve is, this particularly happens in fast food restaurants. DO NOT SWEEP THE FLOOR around my table when I'm sitting there eating!!! I have actually asked them not to sweep in my area until I have finished eating. Is that cranky or what-I can't help it. I don't want all that filth flying on my food. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/mad.gif
Carolyn--

[Longhorn]

Thank you, Aggie94! God save me from restaurants that "everyone seems to LOVE." Usually, I'd rather be at Schlotzsky's -- or at home! The wine's cheaper there... :-)

[Longhorn]

Okay, I couldn't resist this topic any longer.... My biggest pet peeve is restaurants that are loud, crowded, casual, and EXPENSIVE!!! If I can't get out of a restaurant for less than $20 per person (and that's just the entree), then I don't want to see someone in shorts at the table next to me! I want to be able to hear my dinner companions. I don't want to bump into the table behind me when I scoot my chair back to get up. I also expect friendly, attentive service. Why do people think that just because I am under thirty that I like paying through the nose for a lousy restaurant experience? If you've been to Z Tejas Grill in Austin or Maggiano's Little Italy in Houston, then you know the sort of restaurant of which I am speaking.

[kima]

My number one peeve when eating out is when a restaurant has a radio playing as the "dinner music". We do not pay to listen to annoying ads and music we don't like! My husband and I either leave the place before ordering or ask them to turn the music down. It is especially annoying when we take my MIL out- she is 93 and hard of hearing- the last thing she needs is competing noises.
When I eat out in a nice restaurant I want a calm, soothing atmosphere - no car or funiture ads!!

[Gail]

1. Any place that is dirty or smells like a rag they've been using since last summer. Sticking to the table is not conducive to pleasant dining.

2. Being told, "There you go" when led to my table. There I go where? Did I just run by and miss myself? What??

3. Being invited to "visit" a salad bar. As if I've been granted an audience. Or I'm expected to leave my calling card. How do you act when you visit a salad bar? Toss off a bit of witty repartee over the croutons? Mix with the greens a bit?

4. "Clever" approaches to birthdays. They know they're not into it; we know they're not into it. Everyone sounds like they just want it over and done, rushing through the routine thinking of dishes under the warming lamps or that annoying woman at table 36 who keeps craning her neck and singing out, "Waitress! WAITRESS!" Why punish everybody? Sing the old basic "Happy Birthday" with dignity and put everyone out of their misery.

5. Impatient customers who keep hounding the host/hostess: how much LONGER is it going to be? As if we can gauge how long it takes a person to chew...

6. Cell phones at the table. How come the same person who used to give you dirty looks when you got too close to his pay phone is now spouting off intimate details of his life, in tones loud enough to be heard in the neighboring county?

7. Menus which promise food baked/broiled or otherwise cooked "to perfection." Besides being trite, isn't it really all relative?

8. Being served appetizer and main course at the same time. Well, heck-- why not bring on dessert while you're at it?

9. Missing table settings. Ever notice if you don't have one from the beginning, you'll probably never get one at all?

10. That guy who keeps trying to take away your plate when you aren't finished. I'll bet a deft squirt of ketchup over the hand will stop that one once and for all!

[This message has been edited by Gail (edited 05-04-2001).]

[MrsReber]

I am totally in agreement with Lynn on the caffiene! Although I don't drink coffee much at all, I cannot have caffiene because I have mitral valve prolapse and the caffiene increases my heartrate too much. I could pass out if it goes up too high (and this has happened to me). My a co-worker at a previous job went to Starbucks one day to surprise me with a flavored coffee on a rainy yucky morning. The mixed up the regular and decaf and then thought she was crazy for asking which was which, like it didn't make a difference. She made them give her 2 new ones, marked correctly.

Also, I found out from an ex-boyfriend that used to work at Burger King that they use chocolate syrup in their strawberry shakes if they are running low on strawberry! Aside from containing caffiene, there are many people with chocolate allergies. I just wish these people would think!!!! Go ahead and rant, Lynn, I'm with you on this one! It makes me so angry because the people at the restaurants act like you're crazy for being so particular.

[Irene Bartlett]

I'm a Belgian living in the states for two years now. I had a restaurant in Belgium and I was quite "surprised" with the quality of the service over here. For exemple we wouldn't imagine to remove the plates before the whole table has finished eating. Also we never bring the check if the customer didn't ask for it ! This is considered very rude. I don't mind the service too much now after two years. People are more relaxed and more friendly overall (maybe because they are mostly payed by the tips which is not the case in my country : the tip is just a plus, usually not more than 2 or 3 bucks).

[emilycat]

Irene,

I agree with you completely -- I traveled in Europe for a month last summer, and I loved the more relaxed pace of dining. You actually feel as if they want you there, and you can stay in a restaurant or cafe for hours without feeling rushed. Here, the mantra seems to shout, "Get 'em in, get 'em out!" It's so obnoxious -- I do think it's extremely rude to take someone's plate away before others are finished eating; especially since I eat relatively slowly and tend to be the very last person to finish, I really feel uncomfortable sitting there with the only plate. I know it's a courtesy here to bring the check promptly, but after being abroad and experiencing the entirely different attitudes and perspectives, I'd love to feel as if lingering as long as I liked were perfectly acceptable.
By the way, what part of Belgium are you from?

Emily