Dining Pet Peeves

[TATTRAT]

I don't like being rushed.

And I don't like when the waiter/tress want to tell you thier whole life story and try and get too chummy...unless I/someone at the table, has initiated the conversation.

I also hate when a group of us will go out, and people order the same things, I mean c'mon, everyone get something different and share! Am I alone on this?

 

[lulu]

I remembered something i HATED. We went with a friend to clebrate his birthday, about 16 of us to a restaurant in Covent Garden. Some other people came at the end for pudding and champagne, 3 of them.

The person I sat next to bought a girlfriend who spoke no English, so we were all speaking both in english and French, because not everybody spoke french either. It was frustrating telling the same jokes and anecdotes twice in a row, lol She did not know anyone, and I thought it was uncomfortable to bring her to this particular even under the circustances. Then, these same tow did not order a first course, instead helped them selves to MINE! I mean, they did ask, but I could not say no, so I got literally one bite of what I had ordered. They also helped them selves to "tastes" of my main meal and pudding. This was the first time I had met these people.

Normally I agree, tattrat, you share and share a like, but I kind of like to be asked, not told. and I like to have some of the food I ordered; and some of theirs, lol!
THEN at the end, everybody got sticky about dividing the bill, the people who came for pudding and champagne tried to not pay for the champagne, and the two people who ate my food ...saying they were paying less because they did not have a starter. Had it not been my friends birthday I might have said something!

In the end the birthday boy and my husband picked up the excess. Made me hoppng mad. If you come to wish someone happy birthday you kind of don't expect them to pay for you if its agreed before hand we all go dutch. If you don;'t have a starter or whatever, well, I think tough luck. Its a PARTY. if you can't afford it say before you come, or DON"T COME!
Ooh, I am angry all over again about that meal now!

 

[middie]

Anyone who slurps !!

 

[Alix]

Ooooooooooo middie, you reminded me!

Someone who blows their nose really loudly behind you. UGH!

 

[Andy M.]

Ooooooooooo middie, you reminded me!

Someone who blows their nose really loudly behind you. UGH!

Excuse me! I had a cold that day!

 

[Katie H]

At the moment, I can't really think of any dining pet peeves I have, but if you want a really entertaining food read, pick up Alan Richman's Fork It Over: The Intrepid Adventures of a Professional Eater. It's his true commentary of eating EVERYTHING all over the world. It's truly funny. http://www.amazon.com/Fork-Over-Int...=pd_bbs_1/103-3721627-9356620?ie=UTF8&s=books

 

[GB]

I do not have any that have not already been mentioned, but Fryboy, I have a follow up question for you...Have you ever been out to eat where you have not been disappointed ? That is a mighty long list of pet peeves 9not to say that you are wrong about any of them).

 

[BreezyCooking]

GB - you beat me to it!!! Fryboy - I'd be interested to hear if there's any place you've dined where you haven't found something wrong. Do the restaurants in your area have your picture posted?

Seriously, I'm not saying that anyone should have to put up with poor food/service, but let's be realistic. Once you start listing things like "a/c is too cold; heat is too hot", etc., etc., your complaints start to lose a lot of oomph. As you yourself said - you do sound like a "bitter old man". How do you ever enjoy dining out? I hope for the sake of your dining companions that you don't bring all these things up while everyone is trying to enjoy their meal - or do you find yourself dining out alone a lot lately.

 

[SizzlininIN]

I have gotten into the habit of not ordering the whole meal at once. We'll order drinks and when they come, we order apps. Later on we order the entrées. It's the only way I can be sure of controlling the tempo of the meal. I don't always do this as sometimes we skip apps or are OK with a quicker meal.

Great idea Andy M. I'm putting this in the memory bank for our next nice meal out....thats one that really gets me.

Over or undercooked food

Or when I order iced tea and it get it just sweetened right and I leave the table for something and I come back and the waitress refilled my partially dranked glass with more tea.....errrr! I've just finally stopped ordering it.

When an over eager waiter/waitress returns to your table excessively to check on you. And on the other hand one that takes your order and you have to hunt her down for other things or ask another waitress/waiter.

Unrulely children

People that chew with their mouth open or smack their lips

 

[licia]

And on the other hand one that takes your order and you have to hunt her down for other things or ask another waitress/waiter.

Where do they go when they don't return for ages? I don't know much about how a restaurant staff operates, but do they actually seat and serve guests and leave? I do remember one in a diner type restaurant had an emergency call from home and left, but I don't think that would happen often. I think they must be talking with others and forget some of the tables. Is it ok to "forget" the tip in such an occasion?

 

[Ellen]

LOL, all the above, I laughed like a drain over this thread. I didn't laugh the day a waitress dropped a glass of red wine over me and the owners were at the bar, saw it, and laughed. We were going to stay there to, but the room stunk of stale tobacco. I coped with the wine, but the meal was so salty we couldn't eat it. We walked out. But really we have had more goods than bads. I hate hoverers, honkers, and howling brats. And I have never heard of bringing an entire order at the same time.

 

[Ellen]

I forgot about hiders. Lulu, those people at Covent Garden sound truly revolting. I don't mind sharing with family and close friends, but otherwise don't even think of touching my plate unless I am finished, then eat what's left if you feel you must. My first reaction would be to push the plate away and tell them to eat it if they must, but don't expect me to play trough games with them. Utterley disgusting. My intention would be to embarrass them. It has never happened to me though. ;Þ

 

[middie]

Everything I wanted to say has already been said lol

 

[luvs]

canned veggies. 'cept peas.

 

[Claire]

I go with the "bad children" camp of thought. I avoid any restaurant that bills itself as a "family restaurant" and avoid "fast food" places. So when I'm paying top dollar to dine at a premium-type restaurant, I don't expect to find children playing tag, tripping the waiters, wailing, etc. In that vein, when I dine out and see a particularly great family with the children obviously feelling like they're getting a great treat and having fun "pretending" to be adults, I make a point of stopping by the table if I haven't caught Mom in the loo, and complimenting them on their kids' great manners. Whenever I've done this, I get beaming looks from Mom & Dad. Hey, I know it isn't easy to get those kids to behave, and sometimes the family needs a compliment!

 

[expatgirl]

I go with the "bad children" camp of thought. I avoid any restaurant that bills itself as a "family restaurant" and avoid "fast food" places. So when I'm paying top dollar to dine at a premium-type restaurant, I don't expect to find children playing tag, tripping the waiters, wailing, etc. In that vein, when I dine out and see a particularly great family with the children obviously feelling like they're getting a great treat and having fun "pretending" to be adults, I make a point of stopping by the table if I haven't caught Mom in the loo, and complimenting them on their kids' great manners. Whenever I've done this, I get beaming looks from Mom & Dad. Hey, I know it isn't easy to get those kids to behave, and sometimes the family needs a compliment!

Me, too, Claire,

I've done the complimenting on other's children now that my children are grown and been complimented on my own when they were young. It's a nice warm, fuzzy feeling all the way around. Children will meet standards set for them----adults have to set them.

 

[luvs]

yep, add me to that list. i live in a rich city so we don't have fast-food-joints nearby. whew. plenty of other restaurants!

 

[GB]

One thing that I constantly see when we have threads like this one are conflicting statements. Here is what I mean by that. For some people they do not like when they have to wait for their water glass to be filled, but other people can not stand when their water glass is filled frequently. Some people can't stand when dirty plates are left on the table, while others can't stand that some peoples plates are cleared when the entire dining party is not done yet.

Something we need to keep in mind (for our waiters and waitresses sake) is that everyone is different. what one person expects, someone else will expect the opposite.

Of course this is only true for some things. I do not think there is anyone who enjoys the children who are misbehaving or the waiter who gets the orders wrong and doesn't seem to care or other things like that.

 

[kimbaby]

When the waitress/waiter doesn't service enough or to much...
When one tries to talk you into ordering something you do not want...
or when the waitress makes a fuss when you want to send something back
due to it not being prepard correctly,which really is the cooks fault...

 

[GB]

This one happened to us last night and bothered me enough that I will not be going back to that restaurant anytime soon.

Both my wife and I ordered burgers to be cooked medium. I actually prefer mine a little more on the med rare side, but I always order med in a restaurant because they always screw it up anyway.

Well we got our burgers and mine was well done and my wifes was rare. Talk about inconsistent!