Help w/ our research..list your peeves.....

[KimR]

I doubt you will see this one on the thread.

I hate it when people address me through my husband.

"Will she need a booth or table?"
"What would she like to drink?"
"You may want to move her over there."

You get the idea. This happens very rarely but when it does, I am livid.

Wow, I have NEVER had this happen!! I don't blame you, I would be pissed too and would probably make some snide comment.

 

[lecach]

Even if you're too busy to stop at my table at least look my way and if I need something tell me you'll be right back. I hate when the waitstaff is busy and wont look over at my table.

When you put our food on the table please dont put it within reach of our 16 month old. He WILL put his hands in it.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

I always knew I could never hack it as a waitress! There's just no pleasing everyone:

--Be friendly (but no small talk, and watch even the smallest thing you say--if you greet me with a benign word I happen not to like, no tip for you!)
--Get my order right (but don't crouch down so you can hear me)
--Refill my drink (but don't disrupt my perfect tea/sweetner balance)
--Offer me dessert (But don't try to sell me anything I don't want)
--Bring my check promptly (but don't rush me out because I like to liger over a meal)

Sheesh!

It's not that there aren't things that annoy me, but I never really appreciated until now how hard it's got to be to please people who think they own you for the cost of a tip. It's like people are drunk on the power of the $5 they might leave the waiter and see it as justification to pick at the tiniest things!

I want to clarify that I don't mind being asked if I'd like a drink or dessert.

It's the having people "sell" me stuff that I hate. "Are you sure? The Key Lime pie is wonderful!" "Save room for dessert!" And sometimes the disappointed looks on their faces makes me quite sure that there are restaurants who have turned the servers into commission sales people.

I wish the owners of these places would stop. I didn't go out to eat to get a sales pitch for dessert. I want to relax, not deal with salespeople.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

Wow, dude! That's pretty specific! You've got a peeve against people named Amanda being your waitress??

Yea, those Amandas get to me!

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Wow, I have NEVER had this happen!! I don't blame you, I would be pissed too and would probably make some snide comment.

Sad to say, it DOES happen. I mean, really, do I even LOOK like I need to be spoken to this way?! I think I look pretty self-sufficient, wouldn't you say?

 

[Skylarr29]

I would have to say that not having my glass refilled is my biggest pet peeve when eatting out... I hate when the server waits until the end of the meal to ask if you need more.....ummm hello, We are leaving now!!

 

[Shugardrawers]

I doubt you will see this one on the thread.

I hate it when people address me through my husband.

"Will she need a booth or table?"
"What would she like to drink?"
"You may want to move her over there."

You get the idea. This happens very rarely but when it does, I am livid.

That's happened to me too!!! They talk to your companion. Granted I'm not in a wheelchair full time but I still can relate. Once Dh and I went to dinner. The waiter kept talking TO Dh ABOUT me but never spoke to me. Finally, when the waiter asked what I'd be having, without missing a beat or looking up from his menu Dh replied "A hissy fit if you don't ask her directly". The look on the waiter's face was priceless. I'm sick, not deaf or mute.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

That's happened to me too!!! They talk to your companion. Granted I'm not in a wheelchair full time but I still can relate. Once Dh and I went to dinner. The waiter kept talking TO Dh ABOUT me but never spoke to me. Finally, when the waiter asked what I'd be having, without missing a beat or looking up from his menu Dh replied "A hissy fit if you don't ask her directly". The look on the waiter's face was priceless. I'm sick, not deaf or mute.

I will HAVE to tell my husband that one!! To the "what will she have: questions, my husband will usually say, "I don't know, you'll have to ask her."

 

[winniedapooh]

I waitressed and managed a family style restaurant in my late teens into my 20's and it is not easy being a waitress at all. I hear what others are saying here and some of them do annoy me as well. My biggest number one giatn pet peeve that skeeves me out totally is when the wait staff, hostess, etc. puts the silverware down as I am sitting down or already seated and puts it down touching the part I am going to eat with instead of only the handles. That will get you a dirty look and a good stiff comment from me!

 

[gypsydoodlebug]

I'm managing editor of a foodservice magazine, so I'm getting lots of good stuff from you guys!

For the OPs, I like it when the waitstaff talked to my kids and pays attention to them: coloring pages, crayons, crackers, even a bowl of applesauce at Rainforst Cafe once that kept my starving toddler happy.

I also don't like being asked if I've saved room for dessert FIVE MINUTES after our order has arrived. Consequently, don't toss the check on the table halfway through the entrees until you've determined that I DON'T want your frickin' cake.

Finally, if a table runner brings out our order, it's up to our server to ensure that I don't need mayonnaise, an extra side of salad dressing or another basket of bread. If the runner brings the food, the server needs to stop by within 5 minutes to follow-up, then bring it directly to the table -- not 15 minutes later after my mayo-free burger has gotten cold.

Good luck with the book! PM me when you get it done -- I might be able to quote you guys in some articles!

 

[skuttle]

I haven't read the thread, but here are mine:

When they bring out DS's food early without asking us if that's okay. I DO NOT like getting DS's food brought out before ours. When they do that, he's normally finished eating by the time we get our food! Or, last time, he refused to eat until we got our food, so then his food was cold.

When they ask, "Do you need change?" I'll let you know if I don't need change, otherwise, just bring it!

Drink refills.

Don't disappear.

 

[KimR]

That's happened to me too!!! They talk to your companion. Granted I'm not in a wheelchair full time but I still can relate. Once Dh and I went to dinner. The waiter kept talking TO Dh ABOUT me but never spoke to me. Finally, when the waiter asked what I'd be having, without missing a beat or looking up from his menu Dh replied "A hissy fit if you don't ask her directly". The look on the waiter's face was priceless. I'm sick, not deaf or mute.

OMG, that is priceless, I love it! And Lindsay, from your previous posts, I do remember you mentioning that you were in a wheelchair, I guess I just assumed they were addressing your DH instead of you because you were female. Still and all my original comment stands...I'd be pissed and probably would have come up with some snide remark, and I am generally NOT a snide person.

One other thing that happens rarely but I really hate is when restaurants seem to have an unofficial 'kids section'. Actually, I don't mind the fact that they have such a section but I DO mind getting 'attitude' from the hostess when we refuse to be seated there. We dine out often and my girls are extremely well-behaved and polite - we've worked hard to teach them manners. None of us want to be seated in a room with a bunch of loud, out-of-control children (even my kids complain about it!). Now, I'm not saying that all children other than my own are loud and out of control but you can bet that when there is a specific room that appears to be classified as the 'kids room' some people think it is a green light for their kids to run amok. I have no problem with that as long as I don't have to put up with it. What annoys me though, is getting the attitide from the hostess when I request to be seated elsewhere.

 

[Missy1961]

My only pet peeve is when the meal comes out before I've finished my salad or appetizer. This never used to happen, and 2 of the last 3 times I went out to eat it happened. It's not so bad when I'm eating a salad, but it stinks when I'm eating a hot appetizer. But that might not be a problem of the wait staff, it might be the kitchen.

 

[Daxx]

Just stand up, I can hear you fine.

Did it ever occur to anyone that perhaps you can hear them b/c they're talking down to you ... but they can't hear you b/c you're talking up to them and w/the din in the restaurant, they may not be able to hear you well?
Maybe if they got down on your level more often, orders wouldn't get messed up.

Just a thought.

 

[grinningghost]

I just thought of another one. When you serve me coffee, please don't place the cup into a saucer that is filled with coffee overspill.

There's nothing like picking up your cup and having coffee dripping all over the place because it was floating in a coffee lake.

MOST servers are good about this, but there are always the ones that just plunk it down on the table like they didn't even notice it - it's impossible not to notice.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

DH...

Telling me about their bad day or it is their first day or anything negative about THEM. Please don't lower my expectations of YOU, my server.

Me...

Before you put Iced Tea in my glass...ASK ME FIRST....I like my "lemon to tea" ratio and you mess it up when you add more tea to it. I HATE that!

 

[aprilgail2]

I hate when they sit in my booth to take my order....or even worse, they sit in my booth to take my order and they smell like cigerette smoke!

I have a 6 year old..don't make her wait for her food until mine comes..bring the kids food out right away!

Do you want change? YES I want my change...if I didn't I would tell YOU!

If I order appetizers I dont want my meal brought out until we have finished them.

I don't like sitting there with a dirty dish in front of me..if I am done, take my plate away even if others are still eating...just leave theirs LOL...

 

[NorgeKathrine]

The only pet peeve I really have involves lemons. I hate lemon in my iced tea so I always specify "no lemon" when ordering. Half the time the server forgets and brings it anyway and the other half they just pick the lemon off the glass and I'll have a lemon seed floating in my tea. I try to be nice about sending it back but I still get lots of rolled eyes or deep sighs when I do.

It used to bother me when a server took too long to bring our check at the end of the meal but we found a great solution. If time has dragged on with no sign of the check we simply get up and make our way to the door. Only once has anyone failed to notice and we simply told the hostess that we were leaving and if they wanted us to pay they better get our check fast.
We've only had to use this idea a few times but it sure beats sitting around at the mercy of the waiter.

 

[bballmom56]

I guess my only real annoyance is not being acknowledged by a waiter/waitress within 10 minutes of being seated. Just let me know that you know we are there.

Wow, the contradictions in this thread continue! How as a server should I know to either (a.) bring a child's meal out quickly or (b.) don't bring the child's meal out until everyone's is ready; (a.) refill your coffee, tea, etc. when it gets to 1/2 cup or (b.) don't refill until it is empty; (a.) clear dishes as people are finished or (b.) don't clear until everyone is finished ? A lot of these things are personal preference. Sure, servers can ask, but maybe there is conversation going on and they want to try to be unobtrusive. When we eat at a restaurant, we try to roll with things as every experience will be a little different.

 

[bubba's mom]

Wow, the contradictions in this thread continue! How as a server should I know to either (a.) bring a child's meal out quickly or (b.) don't bring the child's meal out until everyone's is ready; (a.) refill your coffee, tea, etc. when it gets to 1/2 cup or (b.) don't refill until it is empty; (a.) clear dishes as people are finished or (b.) don't clear until everyone is finished ? A lot of these things are personal preference. Sure, servers can ask, but maybe there is conversation going on and they want to try to be unobtrusive. When we eat at a restaurant, we try to roll with things as every experience will be a little different.

my guess would be to ask.......then, it's not YOUR fault!