How Close to Closing Will You Go to a Restaurant?

[MonaCK]

My husband is in the food business, and has also run a restaurant. That being said, whenever we go out to eat late, we always ask if the kitchen is still open.

If the kitchen is still open, it means that they are still serving. If the restaurant closes at 8pm, and I get there at 7:59.. and I ask if the kitchen is open, then I am going to assume that they are still serving at 7:59...

If it's truely a problem at your restaurant leaving at 8:30 instead of 8pm, then your manager needs to close the kitchen earlier. And when that last minute straggler comes to the door at 7:59, then your staff needs to tell them that the kitchen is closed. Otherwise, it's going to be assumed that it's still fair game.

If you want to be in a place where you close the doors at a certain time and are able to leave, the food industry is not one of the places to be. In fact, in this day and age, I'm not sure what industry that is...

 

[Lucky4me]

I used to work at a place that had a huge blinking neon restaurant light on the outside of it.

They stayed opened until 3am on weekends. I can remember standing at the switch at 2:55am along with the cooks and other servers PRAYING no one turned into the parking lot. We'd hold our breath as each car went by. The people who did walk in that late were drunk and obnoxious anyway and usually didn't tip. When it happened we rushed the heck out of them. If anyone complained we took it with a grain of salt. Who needs to be eating that late anyway?

I hated it when people came in late like that, but at the same time realized it was their right. The worst thing is when you've been dead all night, made no money and a table of 2 walks in 2 minutes before closing. At that point you just want to get the heck out and go home.

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

I am a restaurant manager, and we take orders until the posted closing time. So, if we close at 11PM, any order not placed (or, started to be placed) at 11:00:00PM will not be accepted. We typicly get out 1 to 1.5 hours after closing.

 

[Chattyaholic]

Lucky4me: ITA!

Briar Rose: Well, goody goody for you

Lorix2: I know what you mean about those that stay, long after they've finished eating, when they know the restaurant is closed. We have those too. After they're done eating and the cooks have come out to take down the buffet and salad bar and they can see clean-up has started, it's time to LEAVE!!! I've "jokingly" suggested they stay and help us clean, they never want to though and I really can't understand that...

MonaCK: Nope, I'm not in the wrong line of work. I've been a waitress almost 8 years and 99% of the time it's GREAT!!

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

chatty, I have a work ethic. I do my job. and when my employer sets policy, I don't argue it on an internet bulletin board.

 

[Chattyaholic]

Briar Rose: Like I said, good for you!!!

 

[MICKEY88]

several people mentioned the cooks and wait staff, waiting together to leave ..this confuses me...if we go with the theory that once customers have their meal they have an hour to finish eating...wouldn't it make sense that the wait staff should be scheduled to work an hour longer than the cooks.....if closing time is 9:00 and the cooks are scheduled to work 'till 9:00 that would tell me that the restaurant expects to seat people up until 9:00, if they don't want to serve people that late, why pay the cooks to be there...???

 

[DCLuvinit]

I guess you have to have worked in the restaurant industry to understand chattyaholic's 'vent'. Like I said in a previous post, I don't think anyone actually expects to get out right at closing - but the sooner the better, right? The restaurant I worked for didn't specify what time your shift ended for anybody - if you weren't closing, you got off when business started to slow down enough, then had to clean up, etc. So, we couldn't just walk away from work that had to be done either. If you ever have worked any type of job that involves customer service, you understand it means doing whatever it takes to make the customer happy. That's just the way it is with most restaurants - they will seat you up until closing time and have appropriate staff on hand to do so. Yes, it's part of the job, but give her a break if she wants to vent.

 

[DSNY FN]

The latest I have been to a place is 5 minutes before closing I will show up a minute before closing a closing time is posted for a reason I usually get the order to go but will sometimes sit down. I used to work in retail and had people show up 1 minute before closing and stay till say 9:30 or 10 when we closed at 9 it is part of the business. When I was 13 I washed disnes in a restaurant and we always had people show up 5 minutes before closing but the owner and the wait staff didn't really mind as those people usually left the best tips for the inconveniance.

 

[mum4jenn]

To answer the original question...

I prefer to go in no later than 1 hour before closing time. I know the food will usually not be of the best quality anytime after that.


Even though I do not NOW work in that industry I HAVE been a manager in a restaurant before for several years and I DO understand and therefore do not act like a jerk when I want something to eat. I PLAN accordingly and get to the restaurant way before closing because I am sympathetic to those that do work in those situations.

 

[dcgrumpy]

Originally posted by Lorix2
agreed, I never stated I blamed a customer.

sorry, guess I was confused by this statement

You're the kind of people that keep us there much longer than we are required to stay, dcgrumpy

 

[Bojangles]

Why wouldn't you just say "we're getting ready to close" if you don't feel like serving your customers that night?

Isn't 8PM and 4PM on Sunday a little early for a restaurant that serves dinner to close? I realize you don't set the hours but even the places around here stay open until at least 10PM.

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

I don't go in less than an hour prior to closing time. I have always assumed that the closing time meant exactly that. I think it's rude to rush in 5 minutes prior to closing and expect to be served. And I really doubt that any person working in the restaurant has the right to tell customers that they are closed or closing soon.

And no, I've never worked in the food industry.

 

[Lorix2]

dcgrumpy - no problem here, I should have stated my thoughts more clearly.

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by Bojangles


Isn't 8PM and 4PM on Sunday a little early for a restaurant that serves dinner to close? I realize you don't set the hours but even the places around here stay open until at least 10PM.

I was blown away by those closing time too...around here 8pn the places are packed and there is a wait to get in....places are open until midnight for dinner and 11pm on sundays!

 

[KrnB]

For those of you that are surprised that this upsets servers, how many of you are happy when your boss walks up 2 minutes before you are done for the day with something that HAS to be done right away. After all, you are still on the clock for another 2 minutes, right? Sure you'll do it, but are you happy that you suddenly have to stay for an hour or two longer than you planned, no matter what you needed to do when you left work? Of course not!

I worked at Pizza Hut in college, and the worst story I had was a group of people that came in right before close. All in all they seemed nice and were finishing their meal relatively fast. Then, after they finished eating, they ordered two pitchers of beer. I wanted to die. It was already a half hour past close when they ordered the beer, but they were in the restaurant, so I had to do it. I got as much of my closing duties done while they were there that I could, but there were things, like vacuuming, that I absolutely could not due with customers there. For a restaurant that closed at 10 (meaning I usually was done with closing by 11 or so), I left work at 1AM. So much for getting homework done that night.... all this for a minimum wage job.

 

[Chattyaholic]

Some of you seem surprised by how early my restaurant closes (8:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m. on Sundays). The restaurant is an old-fashioned "mom and pop" diner, used to be run by Mennonites (actually the current owner, who is a registered nurse, was once a Mennonite herself) and is located in a very tiny, tiny town...not a bustling city.

The only other businesses in the "town" are a bank, post office, pizza place, grocery store and funeral home!!!

The restaurant used to be closed completely on Sunday, but now we are open for breakfast and "Sunday dinner."

There is no bar in town, so the streets are "rolled up" early.

Actually, I know of two other small restaurants in nearby towns that close at 2:00 p.m., they are only open for breakfast and lunch.

KrnB: Yes!! My thoughts exactly!!! I've always wanted to find out where our "latecomers" work and go to THEIR place of work at THEIR closing time and just "hang around" for an hour or so, making THEM wait....see how THEY like it!!! Bet THEY wouldn't be happy with me at all!!!

 

[Bob Slydell]

Originally posted by KrnB
For those of you that are surprised that this upsets servers, how many of you are happy when your boss walks up 2 minutes before you are done for the day with something that HAS to be done right away. After all, you are still on the clock for another 2 minutes, right? Sure you'll do it, but are you happy that you suddenly have to stay for an hour or two longer than you planned, no matter what you needed to do when you left work? Of course not!

I'm salaried, so it happens all the time. It's part of being a professional -- things happen and you have to learn to roll with them.

And even when I was on contract (and thus was hourly), I wouldn't have a problem with it because A.) I would be making OT at the time and B.) if I was needed for a job and told them I couldn't stay and help, what chance would I have of sticking around the company very much longer?

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

bob, you make an excellent point. people who earn an hourly wage get paid for the extra time they have to put in. those of us who are salaried get to stay late for no extra pay.

I work in NY and many of my business contacts are in California and even hawaii. it's fun to hang around a dark office waiting for an important phone call from the west coast -- not.

 

[MICKEY88]

I'm salaried also and my work day is 9-5, however more often than not it's 6 or 7 'till I get to leave, it's also not unusual for me to have to work 'till midnite or after, I've already worked from 9AM 'till 7 or 8 Am the next morning..no extra pay...



I also worked retail years ago for the largest Camera chain in the US, we closed at 9PM,,but if a customer walked up to the counter at 8:59 company policy stated that you treated that customer the same as the customer who walked in at opening, you gave them as much time as they needed...