Ever leave a restaurant because of your waiter?

[Scott Tschirhart]

I may be a :;( but I just can’t stay in a restaurant when my waiter or waitress shows up at my table wearing a mask.

Today it was worse. This ambiguous individual had a mask, eyebrows dyed pink, and a small baby hanging from his or its neck.

[black river smith]

Sounds like, you may have just been in the wrong type of restaurant, for the cuisine you where interested in.

Don't blame you one bit. Wrong impression for any establishment to present. I still see masks in my area also, (peoples choices/mental attitudes) but the baby is just not appropriate.

[marlinman93]

Sounds like a place I'd exit from too.
Wife and I did leave a restaurant last year on our anniversary when we sat down and opened the menu. We'd eaten there often over many decades, but hadn't been there in over a year. The menu had completely changed, and prices raised up a lot. My wife looked at me and said, "I'm not eating here."
So we got up as the waitress was bringing our water, and she looked puzzled. I told her we didn't like the menu and we were going to eat elsewhere. We did find a great restaurant just 2 blocks away so it actually was good that we left!

[Farmerjohn]

Hey Feller, if I had been in that joint with you depending on which one of us saw him first would have determined our positional order out the door.... John

[Farmerjohn]

Really didn't answer your question. Yes, I would have left in a hurry! But no, I haven't had to make that choice because I'm pretty picky about how I choose where to stop. If I am out of my territory I usually go by how many pick-ups are in the parking lot and if they are clean or dirty. Motel stays are mostly delivered pizza and a good breakfast the next morning, selection by the pick-ups again... John

[Steve in MO]

Scott, I have the same attitude about medical personnel. I can handle one of those small diamond nose studs on a nurse. I have a hard time taking someone seriously who has massive gauges in their ears or neck tattoos. But, I'm old, I grew up when we still had standards, I guess. Same can be said for the food industry.

To your original question though, Household 6 and I are pretty picky about where we go. Luckily we're of the same mindset: if it seems off, we're not going.

[AJMD429]

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I have a hard time with the rings in nose or lip, or whatever they are called that look like boogers on a metal stud that stick out of their nose...

[Scott Tschirhart]

Cheddars is generally a pretty decent restaurant.

We waited 20 minutes for a table. But when we sat down….

Masks make me wonder if they don’t have a policy on wearing masks because they are showing some symptom.

Just seems like a bad idea to eat there.

[Walt]

A year or so ago the local Sportsman's Warehouse employed an individual, a cashier who had long, dirty-looking stringy gray hair, wore dark-rimmed glasses and always wore a filmy white shirt (or blouse) which plainly showed that he/she/it was wearing a bra. I had several conversations, overheard others wherein it was said that there would never be another purchase made at Sportsman's as long as this individual was there; people were a bit freaked out. The administration's DEI policies probably had a lot to do with the hiring of this individual. I have never understood that openly displaying one's sexual preferences could take preference over holding a job. I'm certain that this DEI policy cost the store an appreciable amount of money because people must have complained....and a month or two later he/she/it was gone. Don't let the door hit you.....

[Crazy Horse]

I have never left because of a waiter. I have not left a tip because of a waiter's service. If I were you, I would have left too and told them why.

[veeman]

I've left places for lack of a waiter. Waiting more that 20 minutes for a waiter in unacceptable.

[jeepnik]

Didn't leave but did once have to tell a manager my waiter hadn't been by in quite some time. Turned out the waiter just walked away. Didn't even tell anyone.

[Grizz]

I may be a :;( but I just can’t stay in a restaurant when my waiter or waitress shows up at my table wearing a mask.

Today it was worse. This ambiguous individual had a mask, eyebrows dyed pink, and a small baby hanging from his or its neck.

Yeah But I walked out of a Harley dealership once. The only guy i saw was wheeling hogs out onto the sidewalk, i was heading toward the door when he informed me that they wouldn't be open until some particular time.

I turned around with a smile and returned to my car. I wasn't planning to buy anything, but I could have bought anything on the floor. I was wondering how many customers got the same treatment. And H-D can't understand why they are tanking.

Kind of funny I thought. I once sat in a brand new Corvette in a show room to get a sniff and someone cruised over and asked if i could afford it. Same thing. Could buy it and would buy it are not the same thing. I guess.
:)

[.45colt]

We were on the way Home from a daytrip and stopped at one of the Big Chain Steakhouses thirty miles east of Cleveland, about an hour from Home. We were tired and didn't want to cook so Why Not? We got seated and A Young African American Women Showed up and was to be our Waitress. I ordered a Beer ,Momma Water. Fifteen minuets later still No drinks. I flagged down another server and asked for a Manager. Finally got the drinks, never saw the waitress again. We got up and walked out. My Bad.... I was wearing a New NRA Hat that day .

[rossim92]

I've left places for lack of a waiter. Waiting more that 20 minutes for a waiter in unacceptable.

so have I, and that place went out of business.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I have never left because of a waiter. I have not left a tip because of a waiter's service. If I were you, I would have left too and told them why.

I spoke with the manager on the way out.

[AJMD429]

.
A lifelong friend who later owned several restaurants during his lifetime was just working at restaurants when we were young (1970's and 80's).

No matter what we ordered (sometimes just a cup of coffee each, other times a full meal), he only had two tips he'd leave - either $20.00 or a nickel.
It was TOTALLY dependent on the service - nothing at all to do with the price of the meal (which I think is how it should be).

So a nice friendly and high-quality waitress or watier would sometimes wind up with a $20 tip for a cup or two of coffee and refills, and one that expected a big tip just because we ate a several-course meal might get a nickel if they didn't provide good and friendly service. He purposely used a nickel to make a point, so there would be no lack of clarity as to his message.

[Ysabel Kid]

I have. Took my wife out to eat at a recently opened establishment a few years back. We were out early, before the crowds hit. Arrived with no one in line, plenty of tables, and a bunch of staff standing around. Took them 10 minutes to seat us, and then we waited almost 20 minutes at our table. We got up and left. The manager asked if we enjoyed our meal. I let him have it. I blame him too; it is his job to make sure the staff does their jobs. I let him know what I thought of his incompetence...

[Scott Tschirhart]

Story time.

Once upon a time back in the 1980s I was a bi city police officer. I went to a concert with my girlfriend and another couple (he was a police officer too).

It was late afterwards so there were limited options to eat. The restaurant we went to was notorious for having homosexual waiters. That never bothered me.

Our waiter was very attentive but when our food came out it was delivered by this younger guy. Our waiter came over and began screaming at the younger guy over our table. It was pretty raw language and totally unacceptable.

At the end of the meal I paid the check and summoned the manager. I told her that people who don’t leave tips are just terrible. But people who don’t leave a tip and register their complaint to explain why are dissatisfied customers.

She went to talk to the waiter who made a beeline to me and tore his apron off and threw it on the floor. I told him that we need to take this outside.

I had about 60-70 pounds on the guy and probably five inches of reach. He really didn’t have a chance.

So he didn’t get his tip and he got a ride downtown in shiny bracelets.

[Grizz]

Story time.

Once upon a time back in the 1980s I was a bi city police officer. I went to a concert with my girlfriend and another couple (he was a police officer too).

It was late afterwards so there were limited options to eat. The restaurant we went to was notorious for having homosexual waiters. That never bothered me.

Our waiter was very attentive but when our food came out it was delivered by this younger guy. Our waiter came over and began screaming at the younger guy over our table. It was pretty raw language and totally unacceptable.

At the end of the meal I paid the check and summoned the manager. I told her that people who don’t leave tips are just terrible. But people who don’t leave a tip and register their complaint to explain why are dissatisfied customers.

She went to talk to the waiter who made a beeline to me and tore his apron off and threw it on the floor. I told him that we need to take this outside.

I had about 60-70 pounds on the guy and probably five inches of reach. He really didn’t have a chance.

So he didn’t get his tip and he got a ride downtown in shiny bracelets.

Good one Scott. I love stories with happy endings :)

[Scott Tschirhart]

I left out that nobody ever taught him how to use his hands. It wasn’t pretty.

[COSteve]

We owned the Emerald Isle in Parker, CO as a family business with my sister and parents from 1983 to 2019, a mere 36 years. I was lucky as I live on the other side of the metro area so I mainly handled the books but did spend many days with my family working onsite. I can tell you the mindset of the wait staff is interesting.

Many are great, most are young, many it's their 1st job and some are just 'out there'. As we had outside decks where the seating varied from slightly under 100 in the winter months to over 400 in the summer, every spring we'd go on a hiring binge bringing up the wait staff to 77, cooks to handle the load and enough bar tenders to service our 4 bars for the summer. Many times dealing with the staff was like being a kindergarten teacher.

With that as a background we'd get a collection of great and not so great staff, however, we'd also get a collection of great and not so great customers as well. I remember the 2 old ladies who'd come in with big purses and try to steal as many condiments and flatware as they stuff in their bags. Also the one's who'd come in with broken pieces of band saw blades and stick them in a steak to claim that they were injured.

The wait staff were mainly great but between them and the customers it was always an adventure. So, in short I think the way to describe the business is if you can think it in a restaurant, someone has tried it. Good or bad, it's always an interesting time.