Eating out is a normal part of life for many of us. And yes, it's often unnecessary, expensive, and not always as healthy as it should be. But with many families requiring/desiring two bread-winners, time and convenience often trump staying home to prepare and eat dinner.
Let's face it, some evenings you're just too tired to think about cooking and cleaning up afterwards.
Don't get me wrong, I know that the restaurant business is a tough business and putting on your best smile everyday to serve cranky and inconsiderate customers isn't for everyone.
I have no problem tipping well if the food and service is good. But it seems that, all too often, what you hope will be a pleasant dining experience can easily be soured by the little things.
And many of these restaurants really leave you wondering what, if any, training is provided to the staff.
Here are a few of my pet peeves when it comes to eating out at a restaurant. What are some of yours?
Please don't touch my utensils
This one really irks me. If you somehow forgot to place utensils at my table and I have to ask you for them, please don't hold them by the business end when you hand them to me. That's just wrong!
Wobbly tables
How is it that restaurants haven't figured out a way to ensure that ALL tables are stable? It really can't be that difficult. Ok, maybe I can make an exception if, say, the flooring is some kind of really uneven stone or tile. But all too often, that's not the case. So you have to resort to folding a napkin or grabbing a few sugar packets to jamb under the shorty.
The bad pour
It's bad enough that here in the US (especially in the over-priced East/West coast areas) that a tap beer can set you back a good $6 to $9 US dollars. Now add to that the fact that most restaurants have switched away from a true pint glass (i.e. 16 ounces) to 14 ounce beer glasses. And you're also going to then short the pour, seriously?
"Still pickin' "?
"Do you need change?"
Image source:
https://pixabay.com/en/cooking-asia-bangkok-large-pan-eat-1757446/
https://pixabay.com/en/bar-barmaid-barman-bartender-1238779/
https://pixabay.com/en/pizza-salad-plate-lunch-meal-918561/
https://pixabay.com/en/beer-chopp-happy-hour-drink-cold-2218900/
https://pixabay.com/en/alcohol-bar-bill-champagne-closeup-1238345/
https://pixabay.com/en/monkey-lemur-cute-eat-zoo-%C3%A4ffchen-2228996/
https://pixabay.com/en/car-surface-ahead-road-information-44410/
Great post! As a service industry worker I had some thoughts.
No one should every touch the "business" end of your utensil when handing it to you. We fold our utensils in a napkin when we give it to the customer. But in reality, several people have had their hands on them to dry, polish then put them into the basket that you see on the tables.
It's not just you, the staff hates wobbly tables too. We have a stone floor which is uneven and there are screws that can be adjusted under each leg to compensate for an uneven floor. The problem is when it gets busy tables are moving around to accommodate customers and it gets difficult to flip over every table and adjust it during service.
The bad pour? Did they not pour enough? Not enough head? Too much head? I worked at a place where the tap would pour half a glass of head on the first beer than none on the second. What do you consider worse? Just curious so I can improve my service.
Plates should be cleared constantly as we go so dishes don't pile up in the kitchen all at once. It also makes resetting tables faster. Although some people get mad if you clear plates before everyone is done eating.
I actually do your method of, "I'll be right back with some change" and agree with this. Inside I am just hoping that if they do need change they will say something like, "Just a $5 back" or some round number so I am not running around asking my coworkers if I can borrow 47 cents while they are taking an order just to have the customer leave it as part of my tip. Many restaurants have no cashier or register and require their servers to bring their own money to make change for the customers.
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Thanks for the detailed and thoughtful comment @brainblowjob!!! By "bad pour" I mean when the bar tender is too lazy to wait for the glass to be properly filled. In a 14-ounce glass (that should really be 16) you wind up basically getting a 12-ounce pour for a pint of beer, not cool!!!
You couldn't get away as easily with that in the UK or in Ireland.
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oh ok cool, good to know. If you're ever in Hawaii I'll pour you a full pint!
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Great post on some pesky things about eating out. They now make little wedges for your keychain that you use to put under the off-kilter table leg. Go figure.
It is a hard job, as I have some friends that do it, but you would think they'd at least train them to not hand you a fork by grabbing the tines.
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That's crazy that there's an actual product to solve the wobbly leg ;-) I can only imagine what kind of schumtz it will collect?
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Never thought about that part. I would definitely think twice about stuffing it back in my pocket after one use, let alone 20...
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Just the idea of eating at a buffet is repulsive to me. The thought of touching the same serving spoon that many people have touched and really not knowing where their hands have been is more than I can stomach. UGH!
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Totally agree @marymg2014, I'm not a buffet fan either!
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You know what they say, great minds think alike. lol
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upvoted and followed
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Couldn't agree more @cognoscere How about when they tag team and you have more than one server...but neither return after they drop your food off so you can't ask for an extra napkin or some ketchup!
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oh man, this happens more than it should lol. I've also had times where somehow all of our servers (three people) are at one table and then I think, "If we are all here, who is servicing the rest of the restaurant!?".
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