A comment to a recent post of mine precipitated this post.
I put up a recipe for Crab Cakes and my friend commented that she had some really great crab cakes at a restaurant lately, but the only problem was, it wasn't crab cakes, it was crab cake! They only brought one.
What do you really hate when you go a restaurant? I'll get this ball rolling.
One of my pet peeves is if I walk into a restaurant and there is no one there to greet me. O.k., I understand if for a minute the host/hostess walked away to seat some one. But if you keep standing there and employees are walking by not saying a word to you, it's like, “What, do I have my Cloak of Invisibility on?”
It just makes me want to
That's a picture of me in Bolivia right after I had been ignored at a restaurant for a full five minutes!
Not really, it is me in Bolivia, but at a train “grave yard”. It was very cool. I was expecting Dudley Doright to show up any second.
This is not just an opportunity for you to rant, but it will help me professionally. I can make sure that at my restaurant we never do the things that make you want to lay down in front of an oncoming train, or throw your server in front of one.
Please share your experiences and send this to your friends and family so that they can share their experiences too.
Thanks!!!
Chef Sandy Krebs
at the end of a pleasant evening
ReplyDeleteafter a stellar meal,
dessert~lingering
finished 15 minutes ago...
and
still
i have to wait
and wait
and
wait and
wait
for the check...
:-\
the tip--
which was to be Large--
goes down and down
as
i have seemingly grown Invisible
or
something...
I agree with the above comment about waiting for the check when you're done with your meal. Another thing I hate is when they bring your check, you put your credit card in the check holder, and then you have to wait yet ANOTHER five to ten minutes for your server to pick that up and then another five minutes for them to bring it back. I understand that I'm not their only customer most of the time, but I've been in restaurants where I have been at one of three or four occupied tables in the place and STILL had to wait to get my check picked up.
ReplyDeleteAnother pet peeve I have is something that most of the time can't be helped. I REALLY hate it when the acoustics in a restaurant are horrible and it's so loud that I have to concentrate to hear myself think.
Well, I am the crab cake vs. cakes girl. Kinda tongue in cheek on that as I really loved the crab cake and it was a generous serving, I just wanted more. My biggest turn off at a restaurant is a server wearing DIRTY clothes and/or handling money and NOT washing.
ReplyDeletehi sandy excellent comments i think the feel of a good restaurant only comes in if you are greet with a smile ,crisp uniform and smart service even if he food is not 100% as per your choice you would still come again.
ReplyDeleteHi Sandy, I hate it when a server removes plates from the table when people are still eating.
ReplyDeleteLast night I was treated with a conversation where the servers were just the other side of a 3/4 wall and they were making fun of another customer in the dining room. I feel I should never hear the staff at a restaurant unless it pertains to their duties. Conversation with a customer is one thing but conversation between staff shouldn't be in earshot of the dining room. IMHO
ReplyDeleteMy biggest pet peeve is being sat at a restaurant and waiting too long for someone to even come over and acknowledge you are there.
ReplyDeleteWaiting even 10 minutes I think is too long to at least take a drink order.
And, I agree with some of the other comments, once you put your credit card down, you shouldn't have to wait a long time for them to pick it up.
Pet peeves = great topic!
ReplyDeleteWe come from a long (family) line of incredible cooks/chefs. Chef Sandy is my sister (and we are SO PROUD of her accomplishments). Therefore, I do have high expectations. For me, having a meal out is just as much about the total experience as it is about the food and wine.
As much as I hate poor service in a restaurant, I think inappropriate behavior (by both employees and patrons) can be squashed by attentive management/staff presence in the dining room. They set the tone.
I, too, have waited to be seated, or have an order taken, or a credit card promptly handled. These things do happen unintentionally sometimes. It’s the deliberate actions that peeve me the most. Hearing about the wait staffs’ latest sexual conquests, for instance, is an extreme lack of class.
Speaking of lack of class, the employees are not the only ones at fault. My biggest peeve is CELL PHONE USAGE IN THE DINING ROOM. My husband and I still joke about a meal half finished, because the two patrons in the adjacent booth were both on their cell phones loudly telling other friends how they had just ditched work and were heading off to the nearest hotel for some "afternoon delight". They were so noisy and distracting; we were unable to hold a conversation ourselves. We took our food to go.
Nor will I forget my ruined birthday celebration at an upscale restaurant when the gold-digging mother of a young child in the next booth, was so busy trying to line up her next sucker/husband, that she allowed her little one to run wild. It was inappropriate for the child to be there in the first place. Within the first 5 minutes, the mother laid the baby down in the booth to change the diaper. That was the last attention the mother paid the child. Next, the kid starts jumping up and down, pulling my hair, and finally dumped a plate of food on my head! I swear, the lesson I learned was many people are clueless (patrons and management) and that garlic-mashed potatoes make a very good hair conditioner.
Since I live in Southern California, maybe lack of class is the norm, as Los Angeles now has the dubious honor of being the rudest city in the U.S. But, no matter where you live, it is disappointing to expect to have a fine dining experience, and then have the occasion ruined by circumstances that should have never happened.
Blessings, love, and good food to all, xoxox, Jo Ann
I hate it when you sit down and waiters/waitresses look at you and then walk the other way hoping you didn't see them look your way. At least acknowledge the patron and offer to get a drink. I can wait for 10 minutes even longer if I am greeted and given something to drink, I hate being ignored because I am a woman and most think women don't tip I often overtip for great service but not for poor service. Also I hate cold food!!.
ReplyDeleteLove following you Sandy miss your food though.
Gloria