Have you ever been asked to leave a restaurant?

[mjkacmom]

I’d actually tip that server extra if I knew she asked them to be considerate of other customers. If it’s crowded, I’ll ask for the check when we get our food so we can vacate sooner. Since we usually need an 8 top, I’m very empathetic towards other people who are hungry and waiting for their turn.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Your information that you were still physically eating and your MIL was still drinking coffee AND that the waitress wasn't extremely nice in her way of saying it does make it out of line

All of these details were conveniently left out of the original post....

 

[wvjules]

I think you lingering after you were done while there was a wait was way more rude than being asked to leave.

 

[Magpie]

In my experience, I'm usually on the other side of this story, stuck standing at the entrance waiting for a table to open up. I mean, you usually get excited when you see a cheque arrive at a table, because you expect them to stand up in a couple minutes and then you'll be the next ones seated. When that doesn't happen, it can be disappointing. Especially if they're just sitting there, slowly sipping their coffee and chatting, oblivious to the fact that you're waiting for them to leave.

So if it's crowded and there are no free tables, we try to eat quickly and move on. We can settle in for a chat somewhere else, without taking up a table and preventing other people from sitting down.

That said, I've never actually witnessed a server ask someone to leave. I've occasionally wished they would, but I've never actually seen it happen.

In your shoes, I probably wouldn't be keen to go back.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Only $80 for 6 people to eat at brunch?
I hostessed at an upscale restaurant and we used to (kindly) offer people free drinks at the bar when they paid and lingered during busy times. This is probably out of line, but how much did you tip on the $80 (which I still must be missing something if some of the entrees were $19?). It sounds like they may have had enough of your party being late, lingering and getting up and down to walk around combined with a less than adequate tip. It's rude to be rushed (90 minutes is not rushed) but servers are there to pay their bills based on as many checks and tips they can get in during a shift. Once a check is paid it's time to leave and let someone else enjoy it.

Yeah that doesn't sound like a huge bill for 6 people, especially considering about 40% of the bill was just on the meals of two people. That leaves $47 for the meals of 4 people and drinks for 6 people. Was there tax? Is that included in the $80?

 

[Imzadi]

4. The lady wasn't "polite" about telling us at all. She didn't say it nicely. It was abrupt and cold. I may have taken it wrong though as I was busy "chewing" my eggs as slowly as possible lol

YOU are the one being rude now - to US - because we don't agree with you. You are changing your story. You ORIGINALLY said all of you were finished eating. Only your MIL was having coffee.

3. There were empty tables around us as we finished.

You also said in another post:

There were two parties of at least 10 with tables pushed together that were seated around the same time as us, and were still there when we left. There were a couple empty tables when we were asked to leave, but they were 4-tops. They wanted OUR table specifically because they had another party of 5 or 6 to seat.

So there was another party of 5-6 WAITING. And the other tables were 4-tops, which they didn't want to push together to cause another waiter or two problems by changing two 4-tops to one table. They had already pushed four tables together to accommodate those 2 parties of 10. But, how rude of them to not have changed things up further to have accommodated you, especially as you'd be leaving in. . . you never did say.

I am joking about most of this, so relax.

No, this is really called a passive aggressive back slap at us. To call it a "joke". It's a classic technique, to call things a "joke."

I get where everyone is coming from.

Actually, no, you don't.

Why even ask if you just want people to agree with you?
You post the situation and don't like the responses so you exaggerate them to make them seem ridiculous and then pull the "relax, I'm only joking". It comes off rude.

Posters who just want people to agree with them need to post that.
"Only post if you agree with me."

As in:

This was an "upscale" breakfast place - $14 for DS12's "gourmet doughnut pancakes", $19 for DH's skirt steak and eggs plate. Our bill was over $80. I get that different parts of the country may or may not think this is pricey for breakfast, but where we live, and we live in a pretty high cost of living area, it's on the high side. I guess I just expected more than that from a place where I was spending that much money on eggs and pancakes.

So now you are putting down the place, finding reasons to have been offended, since we didn't agree with you. Even though your son picked out the place and you agreed with him, saying in the OP: "It's a very cute local place with good food." "They are known for their homebaked goods."


And you STILL have not said how much you tipped your server.
Did you take it out on her after the owner seated your party a full 35 min before your whole party arrived and asked TWICE at the end if you needed something else?

I BET you got "offended" by what your server said and USED it as an excuse to under-tip her. Especially as you NOW are putting down the price of the restaurant in general. Instead of feeling embarrassed or sheepish that you hadn't realized there was another party who was waiting, and then being considerate, you double downed on your rudeness by under-tipping too.


You were called out for being inconsiderate at the busy restaurant when YOU established originally that there was another 5-6 party waiting and they did need the table.

You are being called out for being rude to US now.

 

[willowsnn3]

Not giving any opinions here but remarking that a couple of the all you can eat buffets in my area (one Chinese & 1 country style) have signs up saying to limit your time there (seated) to 1 hour. Plenty of time since all you have to order is your drink.

 

[Imzadi]

No one did "The Rule" for the OP especially as she is now changing details of her story "as a joke."

My FIL and his wife were in town over the weekend. We went to church on Sunday and then out for breakfast. We chose the venue based on DS18's request because he was leaving for college later that day- it's a very cute local place with good food.

We arrived at 10:45am and asked for a table for 6. The owner, who has a son DD14's age (she is friends with him, but the mom doesn't know me by sight, I don't think...I JUST found out the connection myself after 8 years of them being in school together!) asked if we were all here, and I said everyone but one person.

She paused, looked slightly annoyed, then said "OK, it will be about 15 min". At that point I figured I wouldn't introduce myself lol

At about 11:05, we were seated. DS18 texted and said he was on his way, and go ahead and order.

The server came through with coffee and was nice enough. She came back a little while later and took our order.

We ordered, and the food came. I'd say it was about 11:30 by then. DS got there probably at about 11:40. He ordered a cinnamon roll (they are known for their homebaked goods), and finished DH's steak and eggs. He was done eating around the same time as FIL.

We visited for a while with the Inlaws as we finished up. Step-MIL asked for more coffee as DS and FIL were still eating. FIL takes a little longer to eat because he has to keep getting up to walk for health reasons (diabetic nerve pain, etc)

At about 12:10 the server asked if we needed anything else. We said no and she brought the check.

At 12:20, step-MIL finished up her coffee, the server asked if she wanted more, and MIL said no thank you.

At that point, the server said "I dont want to be rude, but we are really busy...if you are done, we would like to get the people who are waiting seated now"

We were startled, but apologetic, and very quickly left.

Now I'm kind of feeling like I don't want to go back there. I get being busy, and quicker turnover means more tips, revenue, etc, and although I try to be courteous and polite, I didn't think one hour and 15 minutes for a 6-top table, including two elderly people, is over-the-top ridiculous?

Maybe I'm wrong....is it now the responsibility of the patrons to monitor the wait-times of the venue and what...eat faster? Not talk to the people at your table so they can get you in and out quicker?

Also adding:

1 hour and 15 min total from the time we were seated....and 50 min from the time the food arrived, until we were asked to leave.

There were two parties of at least 10 with tables pushed together that were seated around the same time as us, and were still there when we left. There were a couple empty tables when we were asked to leave, but they were 4-tops. They wanted OUR table specifically because they had another party of 5 or 6 to seat.

 

[Imzadi]

I’d actually tip that server extra if I knew she asked them to be considerate of other customers.

Yes, we do too. If I'm on a date that turns into a, "Wow! We could have talked all night. . ." situation, we will either settle up really quickly once we've realized we've been there forever, tipping extra for the extra time we took, then moving to a slower-paced cafe where we can have dessert & coffee and linger and talk some more.

OR if we are a party that hasn't seen each other in a while and know we will be staying for a bit, we will place a large bill, (depending on how expensive the restaurant is,) off to the side of the table, underneath the salt shaker, in clear visible sight. It to let the server know that bill is their extra tip, on top of what we will tip on the bill. We are essentially saying to them, "We are 'renting' extra time on the table. But, not to worry. We got you covered, since it means you will lose an extra seating during our time here."

 

[TipsyTraveler]

A party of 6 likely had gratuity automatically added to the bill, so the OP probably didn’t have the option of taking her irritation out on the server.

Gotta say, $80 is pretty typical of what it costs for DH and I to eat at a lousy chain restaurant. Granted, that’s dinner and not breakfast but still, I’d be tickled to be able to feed any meal to 6 people for the same price.

 

[sam_gordon]

A party of 6 likely had gratuity automatically added to the bill

I've seen that for parties of 8 or more, never 6.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I heard that in japan there is Japanese only restaurants. That was probably one.

This didn’t sound right to me so I did some googling. The short answer is no, Japan has discrimination laws like anywhere else and this kind of practice would not be legal nor socially acceptable. Theories about how this rumor of Japanese-only restaurants got started involve confusion over restaurants that require membership, signs advertising “Japanese only” meant to indicate “English menu not available nor does any of the staff speak it” being misinterpreted as discriminatory, etc.

An interesting note about Japanese restaurants as related to this thread is the practice of Otoshi. Otoshi are plates of food served to your table that you did not order but will, by law, be paying for. It’s brought to your table prior to the start of your meal while the kitchen is preparing your order or while you’re just sitting, sipping, and chitchatting. It’s a way for the restaurant to recoup lost revenue of having tables taken up by customers who aren’t eating. I suppose the OP should just be grateful the server didn’t drop another order of pancakes on the table and expect her to pay for it.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I've seen that for parties of 8 or more, never 6.

Really? In my area 18% on parties of 6 or more is standard.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

I've seen that for parties of 8 or more, never 6.

Disney is 6 at all of their restaurants. I used to encounter 8 a lot in the real world, but it seems that most of them have gone down to 6 as well.

How about we all stop assuming that OP under-tipped. She has given no inclination of what she tipped, but several people are getting rather presumptive about it. We also weren't there to really know how good the service was or how rudely they were asked to leave.

Large parties do generally take longer in a restaurant. OP did say there were other large parties seated around the same time that were still there when they left. The amount of time spent at the restaurant does seem a little long for breakfast/ brunch/ whatever considering they presumably did not order apps or dessert, but it doesn't seem too crazy for a larger party and I don't think it's ever right to rudely ask customers to leave. In the restaurant I worked at years ago, it was very common for tables to turn much faster during breakfast than during the rest of the day as people generally just ate quicker and didn't linger at breakfast. I'm guessing that the server was used to a quick pace during breakfast and may have been thrown off by a party staying longer than what the norm may have been at that restaurant during breakfast. She may also have been confused by the person that got up to walk several times during the meal, assuming that they were ready to leave and after that happened a few times got thrown off by how long they had actually been in the restaurant, assuming it had been longer. The server may have been getting pressure from the host or her manager to turn her tables faster due to people waiting to be seated. The server may not have even realized that she was being rude. Again, none of that excuses any rudeness if there was any, but there are lots of variables that may have contributed to this situation.

If I liked the place, I wouldn't let the actions of one server deter me from going there. If there was an issue with the food or something then I may stop, but some servers are great and others not so great. If what the server said was truly out of line, I would definitely speak with a manager so they are aware that a server's actions made a negative impact on a guest experience to the point of considering not returning to the restaurant.

 

[Imzadi]

I've seen that for parties of 8 or more, never 6.

Really? In my area 18% on parties of 6 or more is standard.

Maybe it depends on the region? I've generally have seen it on parties of 8 or more.

The OP never did say when they settled up the check:

At about 12:10 the server asked if we needed anything else. We said no and she brought the check.

At 12:20, step-MIL finished up her coffee, the server asked if she wanted more, and MIL said no thank you.

At that point, the server said "I dont want to be rude, but we are really busy...if you are done, we would like to get the people who are waiting seated now"

I think what likely happened was that: at 12:10 the check was dropped off.

At 12:20, the waitress came back to pick up the check & payment method. But, there had been no payment placed on the tip tray. That is when she asked if the MIL wanted more coffee or anything else added to the bill. When it was established that MIL & no one else wanted anything else, the server asked them to please settle up and move along as there is another party waiting.

At 12:21 was when the OP took offense and they under-tipped the server for pointing out there was another party waiting.

 

[NHdisneylover]

There is a 0% chance I would wait 47 minutes for McDonalds regardless of what my kids wanted!

I can see how it would happen.

Took 11 minutes to place the order---a bit long, but you are there, with kids who want it, you'd loose more time getting them back out and into the car and going elsewhere, so you stick it out.


Then what? You've already paid, so if you DO decide to bale and head elsewhere you first have to wait in that 11 minute order line again to get a refund---and you figure surely the food will be out before that. and the longer you have waited, the more you think "it must be almost ready" and feel like you've already invested so much time that you hate to have been for nothing, so you keep holding in there.

I don'T think I have ever waited quite as long as Gumbo, but I have gotten stuck for 30ish minutes a couple of times over the years.

 

[Imzadi]

How about we all stop assuming that OP under-tipped. She has given no inclination of what she tipped, but several people are getting rather presumptive about it. We also weren't there to really know how good the service was or how rudely they were asked to leave.

Exactly. What a person says and leaves out, actually tells a lot. She came back and certainly included a lot of what people addressed in her lengthy "joke" except how long they would have taken had they not been told other people are waiting. Nor did she mention how much she tipped. More than likely, she will come back and say, "Of course we tipped." [Leaving out how much.] Or, "DH paid the check, so I don't know. [Again side-stepping the answer.]

IF she though the server was rather rude, I would think she would have stated it, either in the OP or in her "joke" reply.

 

[cabanafrau]

Yes, we do too. If I'm on a date that turns into a, "Wow! We could have talked all night. . ." situation, we will either settle up really quickly once we've realized we've been there forever, tipping extra for the extra time we took, then moving to a slower-paced cafe where we can have dessert & coffee and linger and talk some more.

OR if we are a party that hasn't seen each other in a while and know we will be staying for a bit, we will place a large bill, (depending on how expensive the restaurant is,) off to the side of the table, underneath the salt shaker, in clear visible sight. It to let the server know that bill is their extra tip, on top of what we will tip on the bill. We are essentially saying to them, "We are 'renting' extra time on the table. But, not to worry. We got you covered, since it means you will lose an extra seating during our time here."

That's all well and fine looking at it from the server's wallet. But that "large bill" placed off to the side of the table doesn't do anything for the bottom line of the proprietor who also needs those tables turned for positive cash flow.

I've already stated in the thread that I have several times over the years been essentially forced to leave a restaurant because they're closing for the night. It's never been a situation where others were waiting to be seated; always a situation where we've come in late and were always going to be the last patrons of the night at that table, whether we were there for 40 minutes or two hours.

There's a place I've had this happen a few times with the same group of friends. Several of us have patronized the place on a regular basis for many years. The owner and staff have gone out of their way to let us know we are very welcome to linger while they take care of other things even though all the other customers are clearing out for the night. We do tip appropriately, not Daddy Warbucks' level, but on the generous end of the scale.

 

[Imzadi]

That's all well and fine looking at it from the server's wallet. But that "large bill" placed off to the side of the table doesn't do anything for the bottom line of the proprietor who also needs those tables turned for positive cash flow.

True. Yet, I'm not talking about a situation when the restaurant is so packed, or there is a waiting line, that the restaurant needs the table back to turn the table over several times. I'm talking about times when there are other tables available, and customers end up seated in another waiter's section. So, our specific waiter loses out on another seating, not the restaurant.

 

[RedAngie]

Nope. They would have had to do that for everyone. The people who ordered after me were still waiting when I left.

I did make a minor scene when they handed me my food by loudly announcing the time.

Too bad Gumbo didn't cause a major scene so we could have video like this.


https://nypost.com/2018/07/26/mcdonalds-worker-beats-up-milkshake-throwing-customer/

http://www.tmz.com/2018/07/26/mcdonalds-customer-pummeled-employee-crazy-fight/