My restaurant rant

There was a rant here about tipping, now comes my rant about restaurants.

I went to the restaurant with my mother a few nights ago and was not happy with what I saw and experienced. First of all, me and my mother are both on fixed incomes so we do not go out much. Here are a few things wrong:

1. The air conditioning was blasting on us at our table. We asked to be moved and it took a while to find us a table. (It was chilly outside too, so we do not know why they turned it on.)

2. The TV was on and blaring. We could not hear our waitress. We asked them to turn it down, but that never happened.

3. Little children were running around everywhere, and went into the booth next to us and started kicking the chairs. The mother just smiled at her children's rude behavior.

4. The food was OK, but has gone downhill fast since our last visit. I ate better food at a fast food restaurant.

5. The busgirl was reaching over our food and did not ask if we were finished (most politely ask if your are finished with a plate and then one hands it to them).

It is a wonder why some restaurants stay in business. The waitress was outstanding though and she got a nice tip. For the most part, people tip on their experience as a whole. That would not of been good for the waitress at all. Next time, Mom and I will order for pizza delivery.

Originally posted by kidflash2008
There was a rant here about tipping, now comes my rant about restaurants.

I went to the restaurant with my mother a few nights ago and was not happy with what I saw and experienced. First of all, me and my mother are both on fixed incomes so we do not go out much. Here are a few things wrong:

1. The air conditioning was blasting on us at our table. We asked to be moved and it took a while to find us a table. (It was chilly outside too, so we do not know why they turned it on.)

2. The TV was on and blaring. We could not hear our waitress. We asked them to turn it down, but that never happened.

3. Little children were running around everywhere, and went into the booth next to us and started kicking the chairs. The mother just smiled at her children's rude behavior.

4. The food was OK, but has gone downhill fast since our last visit. I ate better food at a fast food restaurant.

5. The busgirl was reaching over our food and did not ask if we were finished (most politely ask if your are finished with a plate and then one hands it to them).

It is a wonder why some restaurants stay in business. The waitress was outstanding though and she got a nice tip. For the most part, people tip on their experience as a whole. That would not of been good for the waitress at all. Next time, Mom and I will order for pizza delivery.

From the perspective of someone who worked in a restaurant:
1.I'm willing to bet the people who ate at the table before you, complained it was too hot..hence the air conditioning.
2.The tv's are always loud so as all the customers can hear..and it's good for covering up the background noise coming from the kitchen.
3.Parents who bring children to a restaurant is a topic in itself..but you cannot blame the restaurant for that. They must cater to each customer equally, even the kids drive them nuts.
4.I cannot comment on food quality, only speculate that due to the recession, perhaps they needed to change suppliers resulted in poorer quality.
5.The busgirl was in the wrong, for not asking if you were finished..but if she was pre-occupied with other thoughts, or very busy..sometimes they forget. We are all human.
Just my 2 pennies..and I hope your next experience is a more pleasant one.

You're right to be annoyed about most of what you've said, but its not entirely the restaurants fault about the children. It is really annoying though, I know kids can be nightmares sometimes but its so irritating when someones child is clearly misbehaving and the parents dont care. And you cant say anything to the parents because they'll treat you as if you're the antichrist for daring to imply that their children arent perfect little angels!

That said though, if it happens in future just inform one of the waiters that the annoying children are ruining your meal, let them deal with it instead.

What was the name of the restaurant? Some restaurants allow some mischief from children as long as they're not damaging property. An example in my town is a pizza place called Sicilys. Children are allowed to play around as long as other customers don't complain. It's a family restaurant and they know people bring there kids there for a good time. Anyway I hope your next night out is a more pleasant one

tell them they need a sign that says


"attention parents"
"all children must behave at all times"

I needed to blow off some steam here. I realize restaurants cannot control small children (it is a family restaurant, but not a kid's one), and it could of been a one night thing (parents need to bring back hiring a babysitter so they can spend time away from the brats).

The TV's being loud is a rant about most restaurants now. I can see it at a bar, but not at all restaurants.

The regular workers do work their butts off, and I appreciate that. I guess the busgirl might have had a lot on her mind as most ask if you are done and then have you hand them the plate as to not reach over food. Also, the regular workers cannot control the temperature as that is the owner's thing and they might get into trouble for touching a thermostat (I worked at more than a few places where no one was allowed to touch anything custodial, they had to call them manager or owner).

Me and my mom will go out again from time to time, but we will pick restaurants that will not appeal to younger crowds. Thank you for all your responses.

reply to post by AccessDenied


As someone who currently works in a restuarant, let me add to that. I hate kids. They're noisy and don't possess the logic required to be negotiated with. As far as the AC goes, I hate it when I dress for the weather then go into a restaurant and its a boderline steam bath. If I would've known that was the case, I wouldn't of worn a sweat shirt. Food quality varies from place to place and the reason the fast food may taste better is because its mostly fake.