Still peeved
Here are more excellent peeves from readers. Thanks to Catherine for this one:
My pet peeve is when the waiter assumes that just because you don't order a dessert and your dining partner does that you really want one but are denying yourself (do I look like I am on a diet?, no, I just don't like chocolate) so... they patronizingly announce that they will bring two forks and sweep away....or just bring two forks and go "wink, wink..." grrrr. Or how about this, when it's two women dining alone and when the dessert menu is brought, the waiter asks if you two would like to share a dessert!!! No, we each want our own and we don't want to share)
I like these a lot from Randy, who posted them last week:
Easily, my absolute pet peeve is the waiter or waitress who starts sweeping plates off the table while one or more are still eating. Just what is their problem? I resent the pressure it puts on those still eating to hurry up. At Cibo's, in Owings Mills just last week, I went to share some of my entree w/ another guest, only to find that his dinner plate had been removed. If I had to name another peeve, it would be the almost universal use of 'you guys' by servepersons. I could tolerate it at many casual places; somehow, it seems out of place when in a fairly decent place, dining with, say, one's 87 year old mother. Sigh.
Loved this one from Romaina:
My pet peeve is cigarette-smoking in restaurants. I was at a Hampden restaurant on Wednesday night and at about 8:50 p.m. nearly all the customers around the bar -- in unison, it seemed, whipped out cigarettes and lit them up. The bar is not separate from the dining room. The thing is, the restaurant's policy is that smoking is not allowed before 9 p.m. Those patrons must have been starved for a cigarette. Fortunately, I was waiting for the check and didn't have to endure the smoke for too long. I suppse the restaurant workers didn't want to upset the smokers by asking them to wait till 9 to light up.
Can't argue with Mather:
A friend/colleague of mine and I meet for lunch every once and a while and we have had a string of bad service at a number of popular downtown restaurants ranging from national chains to popular hot-spots. Admittedly, the most obvious occurrences have been when we were sitting outside since the nice weather has rolled in. It has lead us to wonder why the managers don't look at the forcast for the week and staff accordingly! (We used to when I worked at an indoor/outdoor place in DC during college).
The infractions aren't just minor ones, but mistakes such as serving the wrong meal, waiting 15 minutes before being greeted/placing the drink order, and having to wait 15 minutes after asking for the check and another 10 to run the card. While a slow paced meal may be nice for dinner, it is unacceptable for a business lunch! Managers: take the time to train your staff properly- it will pay off in return business!
The infractions aren't just minor ones, but mistakes such as serving the wrong meal, waiting 15 minutes before being greeted/placing the drink order, and having to wait 15 minutes after asking for the check and another 10 to run the card. While a slow paced meal may be nice for dinner, it is unacceptable for a business lunch! Managers: take the time to train your staff properly- it will pay off in return business!
And these from Kate:
1. Lukewarm coffee, tea, or soup (when it should be hot)
2. An unswept floor
3. A disappearing waiter, who magically reappears when it's time to be paid
4. A waiter who scoffs when you order soup and salad instead of an expensive entree
5. Drafts from an open front door
6. Overpriced desserts
2. An unswept floor
3. A disappearing waiter, who magically reappears when it's time to be paid
4. A waiter who scoffs when you order soup and salad instead of an expensive entree
5. Drafts from an open front door
6. Overpriced desserts
Comments
I share your reader's annoyance with the waiters who insist on referring to diners as "guys," regardless of who they are. Just as bad are those - almost as universal - who ask as we near the end of our meal, "Are you still working on that?" Believe me, if it were work to eat their food, we wouldn't eat there in the first place. It also conveys his or her impatience with the pace of our eating. Also annoying. The ultimate peeve, however, are the waiters who ask, "Do you need change?" That suggests they're reminding me to tip, or telling me the difference between the money I've left and the check total should be their tip. Sorry. Just assume I want the change and bring it to me. Asking risks making it smaller.
Posted by: frank roylance | May 1, 2007 5:43 PM
My pet peave is: "Are you ready to order?" At a restaurant in Annapolis, we had just sat down when a waiter appeared and asked if we were ready to order. We said "no." Then as soon as we opened our menus, he returned with the same question. We got the message that things were going to be rushed, so we left.
Posted by: Charles Grene | November 29, 2007 6:36 PM