Restaurant dealings (opinions)

[Roadstar]

2 different situations

First one

Go into resturant with wife in tow & ask before seating if we could have a booth away from people with young kids. She says no problem & seats us in a nice booth with other couples around us (i think great) until one of the booths opens up & now a family of 4 sit there. Quite at first , then the youngest starts to screem at the top of her lungs & cries like a wailing fire truck. Would you ask for the check (with out recieving the food or would you demand another seating spot or tell the manager to move those people to another spot.

second one

Sitting in a resturant & place your order of drinks & appertizer & drinks come & no apps, but was told they are on there way & place our main meal order. Well 15 min later our meals come (by another person) & still no apps. I say to this person that we have not recieved our apps. So she says she will find out & 1 min later our apps show up with another different person. I was so pissed i told her to take it away & take it off the bill (but wife convinced me to take it anyway) & by that time of sitting on the kitchen counter they were cold & chewy.

Would you have done what i was trying to do, or just take the apps & tell the waitress she just blew some of her tip due to poor service. (figuring it`s too late for her to spit in your food)

 

[Dennis in NH]

First one, tell the waitress in a nice way that you specifically asked not to sit near children and to see what they can do.

If you're in an not so kind mood, you can talk really loud and if the screaming kids' parents look at you -- say something like "sorry about that" and continue with the loud talk at least until the kids become quiet again.

Second one, a "good" restaurant with a real manager would apologize and take those appetizers off of your bill. If you get them late or esp. after or during a meal it should just come off of the bill or get a discount (without even asking); if they're cold, they should just come off period and offer free desert or something else. People make mistakes and I get that -- but good restaurants make up for them gracefully and promptly.

Dennis

 

[Crash Cash]

For #1, you can do what I did, and turn around and say in a very conversational tone: "jesus christ, that little brat can shore deafen a ******!" the next time it let out with a glass-shattering shriek - I think they got the "hint" - I got a glare from the babydaddy, but I didn't care.

Unfortunately my lunch companion was in the middle of drinking her drink at the time. Complications ensued.

I think if someone drags their underage kid to an expensive public restaurant, they need to make them behave, or suffer consequences. They made absolutely no effort to quiet or discipline their kid, so in turn, I felt no compunctions about being rude. I paid a lot of money for my lunch, and I intend to enjoy it. This ain't Chucky Cheese, buckwheat.

 

[Roadstar]

First one, tell the waitress in a nice way that you specifically asked not to sit near children and to see what they can do.

If you're in an not so kind mood, you can talk really loud and if the screaming kids' parents look at you -- say something like "sorry about that" and continue with the loud talk at least until the kids become quiet again.

Second one, a "good" restaurant with a real manager would apologize and take those appetizers off of your bill. If you get them late or esp. after or during a meal it should just come off of the bill or get a discount (without even asking); if they're cold, they should just come off period and offer free desert or something else. People make mistakes and I get that -- but good restaurants make up for them gracefully and promptly.

Dennis

Well i did say something to the waitress & all she did was apologize & said there are no more tables at that time. I i did say something to the woman with the kid , right after she told her kid if she keeps this up she was going outside (i said please do) & i think for spite she just sat there. :angry2:

For the second, i got nothing for free & all i got was i`m sorry & a smile.

 

[Roadstar]

Unfortunately my lunch companion was in the middle of drinking her drink at the time. Complications ensued.

Been there done that :yahoo: It`s funny how much one can pass thru one`s nose in a hurry.

 

[wfooshee]

For the first, not really much you can do. It's a public place, right?

For the second, if it ain't right, make sure everybody you know hears about it. Restaurants live and die on word of mouth. On the way out, let the manager know that since they handled it poorly, you'll not be returning, nor will you be recommending them. If that feedback makes them think you're an *******, then they won't be there very long. If it bothers them, they'll make some other effort.

 

[HotRodZilla]

How's about for the first, you politely remind the parent(s) that they are in a public restaurant and the noise is too much. Maybe the parents are having a ****** day or the kid just doesn't feel good.

Acting like an ******* wont get anyone to want to do you any favors. As a matter of fact, if one of my daughters was freaking out and in the middle of trying to deal with her, some ******** interjected his ******** opinion, I'd knock him on his ******* ass.

As for the second, man the **** up and don't pay for something that isn't right.

Oh...and if I seem pissed, well, I'm just wondering...Now we say ****** on this board because a kid is loud? Bad ******* form...

 

[Patriot]

I seem pissed, well, I'm just wondering...Now we say ****** on this board because a kid is loud? Bad ******* form...

definitely

 

[joebiodiesel]

I live on the road, and eat dinner in restaurants 5-6 days each week. I don't pretend to have seen it all, but I'm getting there. Crying kids suck on airplanes and in restaurants. It is stressful to hear and there is no escaping them. Being a smart-ass by nature, I usually start to cry myself. Quietly at first, and then louder. It draws the attention of the kid, the parents, and anyone else in earshot. On the one occasion that it didn't quiet the kid down, the restaurant manager asked me to stop or leave. I protested, and was re-seated.

(I'm not a TOTAL jerk about this. Last week I was on a flight to Charlotte, NC that had a big delay. We boarded after midnight and the people in front of me were travelling with 2 little ones. They were both screaming their heads off, and the parents were trying hard to settle them down. They were caught in a bad situation and weren't being inconsiderate. We all had to listen to it though...but as said before "It is a public place.", and to be expected at times.)

On not receiving my appetizers until after my entree, it would depend on whether I still wanted them or not. If I didn't, I would send them back and ask them to be removed from the bill. I can't imagine that a manager would argue with you on that.

 

[FJR-RemingtonRider]

For #1, you can do what I did, and turn around and say in a very conversational tone: "jesus christ, that little brat can shore deafen a ******!" the next time it let out with a glass-shattering shriek - I think they got the "hint" - I got a glare from the babydaddy, but I didn't care.

Unfortunately my lunch companion was in the middle of drinking her drink at the time. Complications ensued.

I think if someone drags their underage kid to an expensive public restaurant, they need to make them behave, or suffer consequences. They made absolutely no effort to quiet or discipline their kid, so in turn, I felt no compunctions about being rude. I paid a lot of money for my lunch, and I intend to enjoy it. This ain't Chucky Cheese, buckwheat.

Wow! Speechless; One would go and hurl racial epithets for an unruly child, in the presence of a child.

It is what it is. But to write it up on the forum shows truth of self. Thanks.

 

[FJR Flyer]

Been there on both ends. I didn't see in the original post that it was an "expensive" restaurant. There's no way I'd take my four young kids to an 'expensive' restaurant. And we don't let our kids act like little monsters, but there are times where kids will be kids. That's why we'll go to Friendly's or other kid friendly restaurants. If you go there and expect it to be kid free, you're bound to be disappointed. For the second situation, I've had that happen many times, and I always tell them to take it back and take it off the bill. Having worked at restaurants during school, I expect a reasonable level of service and I reward generously with a very good tip when I get it. But I have little patience for bad service and I tip accordingly (min. amount, I rarely stiff).

 

[BwanaDik]

For #1, you can do what I did, and turn around and say in a very conversational tone: "jesus christ, that little brat can shore deafen a ******!" the next time it let out with a glass-shattering shriek - I think they got the "hint" - I got a glare from the babydaddy, but I didn't care.

Unfortunately my lunch companion was in the middle of drinking her drink at the time. Complications ensued.

I think if someone drags their underage kid to an expensive public restaurant, they need to make them behave, or suffer consequences. They made absolutely no effort to quiet or discipline their kid, so in turn, I felt no compunctions about being rude. I paid a lot of money for my lunch, and I intend to enjoy it. This ain't Chucky Cheese, buckwheat.

Ouch! Dirtbag....

 

[beemerdons]

I seem pissed, well, I'm just wondering...Now we say ****** on this board because a kid is loud? Bad ******* form...

definitely

+10, 100 times Gunny!

 

[Roadstar]

Been there on both ends. I didn't see in the original post that it was an "expensive" restaurant. There's no way I'd take my four young kids to an 'expensive' restaurant. And we don't let our kids act like little monsters, but there are times where kids will be kids. That's why we'll go to Friendly's or other kid friendly restaurants. If you go there and expect it to be kid free, you're bound to be disappointed. For the second situation, I've had that happen many times, and I always tell them to take it back and take it off the bill. Having worked at restaurants during school, I expect a reasonable level of service and I reward generously with a very good tip when I get it. But I have little patience for bad service and I tip accordingly (min. amount, I rarely stiff).

well it was a medium priced resturant (BUT) I kind of did ask to be seated away from kids. I have nothing against kids, & kids will be kids, but I expect the parents to have a little more control over them& not let them disrupt the whole section. I have found that if the kid is extremly disruptive, they need a time out outside the resturant with one of the parents untill they quite down (that worked for me) . Its very rude not doing anything& just let the kid carry on .
+1 on using the N word (un called for)

 

[jmdaniel]

If I don't get what I ordered, I tell them to take it off the bill. Not ask, tell.

I'm also a big believer in using online review sites to both reward and report service of varying levels. If it's really good, or really bad, it's going to get written up on Yelp. The word of mouth can spread pretty far and fast in the Age of Information. And I make sure the manager of the establishment knows that I am going to write them up, for both bad and good experiences.

 

[Bounce]

2 different situations

First one

Go into resturant with wife in tow & ask before seating if we could have a booth away from people with young kids. She says no problem & seats us in a nice booth with other couples around us (i think great) until one of the booths opens up & now a family of 4 sit there. Quite at first , then the youngest starts to screem at the top of her lungs & cries like a wailing fire truck. Would you ask for the check (with out recieving the food or would you demand another seating spot or tell the manager to move those people to another spot.

second one

Sitting in a resturant & place your order of drinks & appertizer & drinks come & no apps, but was told they are on there way & place our main meal order. Well 15 min later our meals come (by another person) & still no apps. I say to this person that we have not recieved our apps. So she says she will find out & 1 min later our apps show up with another different person. I was so pissed i told her to take it away & take it off the bill (but wife convinced me to take it anyway) & by that time of sitting on the kitchen counter they were cold & chewy.

Would you have done what i was trying to do, or just take the apps & tell the waitress she just blew some of her tip due to poor service. (figuring it`s too late for her to spit in your food)

pay the bills. don't tip. explain why to both the wait staff and the management. don't come back.

 

[Bounce]

I seem pissed, well, I'm just wondering...Now we say ****** on this board because a kid is loud? Bad ******* form...

definitely

+1

and, for the admin portion of this reply: it ends here. no more responses to the Crash Crash's post or to add or detract from that n comment. from the time stamp of this post, anyone doing so will get at least a warning.

 

[FJR-RemingtonRider]

Looking at it from a the restaurants viewpoint, there is little you can do without being caught in the middle of two paying guest. Money is green and you want to harvest all you can. That said, the server could have used balloons or crayons to assist the parents in achieving a more calm atmosphere for everyone. Too many variables to have a monochrome opinion, could have been a special needs child, medicated, or a number of disorders that chastisement can't fix. Either way, a good server tries to make all patrons happy. Of course your second situation really brings light to the former one. The server was inexperienced and new, because with the app being so far behind, she should have told you that she was going to the mgt to have it removed and apologized. I would summarize you had a new seever who had a couple of tough events they were not experience equipped to handle.

 

[NMRoadRunner]

If it's that important to sit with adults, then ask to be moved. Now as for the ap situation, you pull out a pistol and kill every mother ****** in the place! Just checkin to see if you read my posts! Nah you just tell them, in a calm collected voice, they're a ****** mess and they need to tightin up a few iisues before you will dine there again. :blink: