Surely They Don’t See These Friends Much Anymore
“My husband and I were meeting two other couples for drinks then going to another restaurant for dinner.
For drinks, we went to this popular upstairs bar that was super crowded. We seemed to show up at the same time everyone else was showing up. My friends were already tipsy as they arrived downtown early and downed a few drinks at the neighboring bar before meeting us.
The waitress served us a round of drinks. Her other attempts to serve our table went largely ignored by my party. When my table did want her attention she was often busy with other tables. This was all a matter of bad timing, inebriation, and distractions, no ill intent by either party at this point.
My party was annoyed by the waitress, and the drinks didn’t allow logic or explanation to enter their brains. They said it was the worst service ever, they were leaving, and they weren’t paying. My husband got up and found our waitress and told her to bring separate checks right away.
The waitress put the checks down just as the other two couples were ‘going to the bathroom.’
I asked my husband to just pay for the entire bill, but he said no. He wouldn’t get involved. I didn’t have my wallet. So after we pay for our drinks, we leave to go downstairs to meet our party in the Uber.
Just as we start to drive off my husband realizes that he forgot his credit card upstairs. He had to go back. I whispered, ‘I knew you wouldn’t leave.’ He went back up to pay the rest of the bill.”
The Waitress Took Her Anger Out On The Customer
“Stopped at a 24-hour restaurant (at which I was a fairly regular customer) for breakfast after a night shift. Waitress/counter girl/miscellaneous employee was clearly having some sort of a bad night and apparently, she decided to make it my fault.
My order took its sweet time coming and I eventually noticed it sitting in the window from the kitchen, under the heat lamps. And it sat there, and sat there, while the employee sat there, sullenly wrapping silverware in napkins. When I went up to the counter to (politely) ask about my order, she got up and walked away from me.
Finally (maybe 10 minutes later) she takes my order out from under the heat lamps and plunked it on the table in front of me. ‘I’ve been waiting for this for …’ I said as she walked away again.
I took one bite. It was cold. Cold eggs and toast … well, I can see where there are some circumstances in which I’d be glad to have it, but this wasn’t one of them.
I got up and left, without paying. The cop in the next booth gave me nothing but an approving nod. The restaurant was out of business a month later.”
Ignorance Is Hardly Bliss
“I was on a date and didn’t realize the place was closing. The waitress just stopped coming around. When we finished we got up and walked around, made eye contact with her across the dining room. Girlfriend went to the restroom while I waved money at the waitress, who quickly darted into the kitchen.
Waited there for 3 or 4 minutes for the waitress to come back out, throwing casual glances at the guy cleaning the hostess stand, money in hand. There was literally no one else there. My girlfriend returned, so I shrugged and we left.
As I started the car the guy who was cleaning ran out to ask if we had paid. Went back in, signed the check, no tip.
If you’re going to ignore your guests then walk away when they try to pay, the message is clear.”
They’d Rather Starve Than Go Back To This Restaurant
“Over a decade ago some friends and I were out to dinner before going to see Cirque du Soleil. We went to a notable eatery located in inner Southeast Portland (Oregon) for dinner beforehand. We placed our orders for appetizers, drinks, and meals and we informed the waiter we were on a timeline as there was some common knowledge the kitchen could be a little slow.
We received our drinks and appetizers within a reasonable time, but our food was a little slow to come. During what seemed like an eternity, the tables around us got their meals and left and the people seated again received their meals and we had not received ours.
We had been there over TWO HOURS and were now cutting into the safety margin to make the start of the show. We figured out what we owed for the appetizers, drinks and a small tip. We dropped the money on the table and started walking out, while the waiter finally came around and noticed us leave. I didn’t feel great about what we were doing, but it made me feel a lot better after what the waiter and the kitchen staff did to us while we were walking away, it was an embarrassment on their part.
