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Tell a story about your worst experience at a restaurant!
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#1
Seated in a restaurant I was distracted by drips of water that were splashing down onto me. It was coming from the men's urinals which were directly above me. I freaked out.
Final score:
33points
Steve Barnett (Submission author) 3 years ago
[Edit]. 'It was coming from the men's urinals which were * located on the floor * directly above me'
#2
My husband won a gift card to a new restaurant. So hubby, kids and me went. Sat down and was completely ignored by the wait staff. Sat there for 30 minutes and never saw anyone. No one took our drink order. No one brought us menus.
I went to the front and asked to see the manager. I explained to him what was happening and he promised he would get our waitress right on it. I walked back to my table as another foursome was just sitting down. The waitress runs over and (to them) says 'I'm so sorry you had to wait. What can I get you to drink?' I told her we were the ones that had been waiting and she curled her lip and told me to calm down, she'd get to us.
So, back to the manager. After I sat down she comes over (it has now been 45 minutes since we arrived) and took our drink order. Then, nothing for 20 minutes. When she brings over our drinks, the order was completely wrong and the ice was melted. I told her to redo them. Never saw another drink the rest of the time.
After being there for and hour and a half she comes over and takes our food order...but we still didn't have any menus. She pointed to the specials board and told us to use that. So, back to the manager.
Two and a half hours later we get our food...it's cold and wrong. Manager comes over and tells us he's comping our meal and giving us a gift card to boot. I explained we were here using a gift card and there was no sense in comping the meal or giving us a freebee because there were no circumstances imaginable where we would ever return.
Waitress ended up with a 7 cent tip...that what was left on the card after we used it to pay for the "meal".
The restaurant closed less than a year after it opened.
Final score:
30points
#3
I was at a simple restaurant in Vilnius and the waitress was really nice to all my male friends but super rude to me (I'm a girl). She would laugh and smile with the guys, but when I spoke she immediately lost her smile and seemed very unhappy that I exist.
Final score:
26points
#4
While vacationing in Florida we went to the same restaurant for breakfast because the waitress was so rude it was entertaining. One morning a guy I was with got his eggs and they were over easy. He told her he ordered scrambled and she grabbed his fork and ripped up his eggs saying "now their scrambled".
Best horrible service ever.
Final score:
24points
#5
Granted this is a server perspective BUT….had a family of 5 at a booth. Very sweet, kids were behaved. They order a ton of food & beverages. Everything’s going great! We’re chatting, all that. They get their bill & i run their card. Normal stuff. They gave me a hug on their way out. Said the service & food was great & they couldn’t wait to come & ask for me again. Get to the table. They left $2 on an almost $200 bill. It was less than the tax paid on the food. After i tipped out our busser & hostess i lost money on the check. Please be not only nice to your servers but if you think they did a great job, tip them for it. Especially during these times when most of them were out of work due to closures & are now running on 1/2 staff
Final score:
23points
#6
Business trip to Lima, hard working technician here and somebody has to do the job...
Anyway, went for a meal in downtown Lima, don´t remember what I had or how it was. But what I do remember, quite vividly in fact, was that after eating I saw the waiters washing the plates and glasses and knifes and forks in the basin where people washed their hands after using the loo, you could see it because the basin was outside of the loo and in the hallway to the restaurant.
Bare with me because it get´s as you could expect.
By next day I was erupting out of both ends. Never in the history of eating out has so much crap come out of so few holes at once.
The hotel I was staying with was great though, I was unable to walk or stand or go to the loo unaided, they kept me hydrated and make sure I was as comfortable as possible and changed the sheets every few hours.
I survived, obviously. On the bright side I have eaten at dodgy places all over the world and never been plagued by anything like it since then.
But it did take me ages to trust a fart
Final score:
23points
#7
I was at a Woolworth's counter and ordered a hamburger for lunch. When it arrived, the server had carried the plate with two of her fingers cutting into the bun. I refused the order and the manager came over: "Well, it's still edible, ain't it?" I left, and never returned.
Final score:
19points
More Thinking Needed 3 years ago
TIL that Woolworth's is still in operation outside of US and Europe. And from what I remember, your experience seems pretty accurate.
#8
This has happened on more than one occasion, and it's grossed me out every time: dirty silverware. And if you think I'm a jerk for using a straw, well, that's because I've seen too many lip marks on my drinking glasses from previous diners. I'd rather eat at home, given a choice, but on the road it's unavoidable.
Also, there was time when my family and I were at a fast food joint that I think I was in some kind of "Karen" setup. The staff behind the counter got our order totally wrong, and when I went up to the counter, the one behind the register had this weird smile on her face like she was expecting me, and a couple of other workers were behind her, holding their phones and watching me with the same weird smiles on their faces, like they were waiting for me. I guess because I'm an overweight, middle-aged white woman, they were hoping to get some good material to post on the internet?
I set the tray on the counter, produced my receipt and calmly and politely asked her to correct the order. She and her coworkers looked disappointed, but they corrected things, and I thanked them politely with a smile and went back to my table. They looked disappointed, even when I gave them a smiley wave and told them to have a nice day as we left.
Final score:
18points
#9
I am allergic to bananas, really allergic to the extent that I go into anaphylactic shock if I eat any and carry an epi pen.
I was having a meal with friends in a very upmarket restaurant which was great, up until dessert. When ordering I checked with the waiter that my chosen dessert didn’t contain banana, explaining why. He was very quick to say it wasn’t…. I asked him if he would double check with the kitchen. He came back very quickly saying it was banana free. One of my friends ordered the same. When they arrived my friend started hers and told me not to have any. She said it had a strong taste of bananas. I had it swallowed any but had got the spoon to my mouth. Sure enough my lips started tingling and started to swell. I was unsure if I’d had enough to need my epi pen so we decided to take me to a&e to be checked. The restaurant were really shitty with us for wanting to leave straight away, we just wanted to pay the bill and get me seen but the manager was trying to delay us and kept saying that it wasn’t the restaurant’s fault, and trying to stop my friend taking part of the desert into a napkin so that we could have it tested for bananas if necessary. I was kept in hospital over night, but was ok. When I wrote to the restaurant I got a shitty corporate reply saying I couldn’t prove anything… which was untrue as I had had the sample desert tested. They could have killed me but were more concerned that I didn’t go to the press than have any sympathy or apologise.
Final score:
17points
Travis Hassig 3 years ago
I don't even understand why you'd lie about something so trivial. Like, person doesn't want bananas, just suggest a different desert, it's nbd.
#10
Went to a Cajun seafood restaurant that I had been to multiple times. We were asked to pay at the time of order. I figured whatever maybe they had a lot of people dining and dashing. However I noticed we were the only table being asked to do this. I was furious and asked to speak with the manager, he said that the wait staff had the ability to make this a requirement if they had concerns someone was not going to pay. I am not one to call out racism on anything and everything. But considering that we are the only black customers in the restaurant and being the only ones asked to do it I took great offense to it. We had been to this restaurant at least 10 times prior and each time our tab had been around $200, and I showed the manager those after pulling up bank statements. But he would not allow us to eat without purchasing our meal first. Needless to say we left and will never return, even though this place has great food. I would rather give my money to a place with horrible food than to one who allows this type of treatment to anyone.
Final score:
16points
PandaMoniKim 3 years ago
What absolutely disgusting , shameful behaviour on the part of the restaurant.
#11
Ok funny story, one time we had a very long layover in an airport and my family and I decided we should grab some food. We head to the restaurant, sit down, had a really nice waitress everything was going well. Towards the end of the meal there's a couple empty plates sitting on the table. Our very kind waitress came to take a few of them away. At the time, my family is in the middle of a conversation and she tires to grab the plates without disturbing us. So she comes up from behind my brother and starts to slide the plate off the table to grab it. My brother, seeing the plate starting move but not seeing the waitress thinks it's about to fall and whips around tp grab it. He ends up slapping the plate out of her hands and it shattered onto the airport floor. The waitress handled it like a pro and we left a huge tip, to this day I still tease my brother about his "spectacular reflexes".
Final score:
15points
#12
so i was just eating and as i was eating i see one of the employee sweeping then he uses the broom to clean the table.
Final score:
13points
#13
Once there was a nut in my enchilada. Not a tree nut, but a nut as in “nuts and bolts.” I found it by biting it. It hurt.
Final score:
13points
#14
Okay, I was with my parents at a restaurant in Disney World, I ordered Mac N cheese, and then after I got food poisoning so..
Final score:
12points
Gogeta Blue (Submission author) 3 years ago (edited)
I really don’t understand why this has negative points :/
#15
Once me and my family were at Nandos, and first of all, after we sat down, they took a ridiculous amount of time to notice us and come over and take out order. Then when the food arrived, the server accidentally tipped hot sauce all over the table and directly after, spilled our chips on my mum. They didn't even apologise or anything, just quickly walked away without saying anything.
Final score:
12points
Stephen Branley 3 years ago
Every Nando's I've been to you order at the counter. Are you sure this isn't your mistake?
#16
Waiter perspective, I was serving a girl, she was rude, arrogant, and looked like she hated me. She ordered a $350 meal, had us work 50 minutes longer than closing hours, and tipped 4 DOLLARS! Screw you Olivia Betterton (Girl that tipped $4 only)
Final score:
12points
#17
I was at a Chinese buffet at Christmas time with a group of friends to exchange gifts. I ask for a refill of coffee. My cup wasn't completely empty yet but needed to be warmed back up. The waitress looked in my cup and said that I had to finish what I had before I could have a refill. REALLY????? I am the one paying for my meal and refills are free. A few minutes later, a clean up guy came to vacuum the floor, not around where we were sitting, but under our table. There was literally nothing on the floor. I never did get my refill of coffee and have never been back since.
Final score:
11points
#18
My better half took me to a really expensive restaurant on my birthday, supposedly the best place in town. The waiter was very snotty and rude to me, patronizingly explaining why my food choices were all wrong. He didn't treat my partner like that.
I've had far better food at other restaurants. It wasn't even that good, considering what it costs. I just feel bad that my partner spent his hard-earned money on the meal.
Final score:
11points
#19
Went to Nando’s one day circa 2014-15 and the restaurant smelt absolutely horrid. I shrugged it off, no clue if the smell was just some bad B.O. or something at the restaurant. I ordered my food and while I was waiting I needed to use the bathroom. I found the source of the smell - there was human poop smeared all over the walls and floor. Haven’t been back there since then. :/
Final score:
10points
#20
I have a few.
1) I forget where we were eating, but basically they made everyone's food at the table but mine, they just forgot to even make mine. Took for ever to get someone's attention, and another 45 minutes just to get my food (it was chicken strips, so it's not like it was an incredibly difficult meal)
2) I'm the server here. I accidentally dumped someone's pizza because apparently our stands can't hold our small pizza and I hadn't been told (it was like my 3rd day there).
3rd) I'm also the server here. Big group with kids comes in, takes up our one seating area that can fit about 12 people. Order a bunch of food and beer (it was seriously maybe 150+, if not more for the total). Kids CONSTANTLY come up to ring the bell for assistance before rumning back to sit down. No tip, and the table was absolutely drowned when they left. Beer and water and ice splashed everywhere, bits of food in the puddles, just disgusting. We had to hurry and clean it during a rush because we obviously couldn't let other customers walk in and see it just sitting there.
Final score:
9points
#21
Small restaurant with one waitress for the inside tables and one waiter for the outside patio. They argued with each other the whole time, YELLING at each other across the room/patio.
When our drinks arrive I notice that my straw has lipstick marks on it - obviously not mine. I mention to the waitress. She just pulls the straw out, throws it in the floor and walks away.
Final score:
9points
Dandelion Patch 3 years ago
I hope you left after that, because who knows what would be in the food!
#22
Finishing my meal then noticing they have a grade "C" the lowest rating by health department as I'm walking out the door.
Final score:
9points
#23
After some late night partying, some friends and I went to Waffle House at about 3:00 AM. it was pretty dead, but after I got my coffee a busload of church choir members pulled into the parking lot and filled that place up. All was well until they were done eating, but at the time customers would receive their check and take it up to the register to pay, well this one woman wasn't having it. She yelled at her waitress who explained the way things were (pay at the register). Then the customer grabbed a napkin dispenser and threw it at the waitress, and missed, it landed right in front of me and almost spilled my coffee. The waitress then jumped over the counter and a two-woman fist fight began complete with clothes tearing and hair pulling. Eventually, the cops came and got everyone's statement. I sided with the waitress. Also, I lied, this was my BEST experience at a restaurant.
Final score:
9points
#24
1992 in a Vietnamese restaurant in Berlin, Germany:
Ordered a vegetarian dish, found pieces of different kinds of meat/chicken in my stew.
I was 15 years old then, very timid, and had no guts to complain.
A friend sitting next to me noticed and was diplomatic about it: tried to adjust/change my order.
My bowl was taken away and brought back a few minutes later - SAME stew, only the meat/chicken had been fished out.
I felt so embarrassed and did not want to offend anyone - so I forced myself to swallow the dish, with as much rice I could.
Did not do me well - out of disgustment I threw up on the way back home and felt even more embarrassed :-(
I had been avoiding Asian Restaurants for a long time - but I am a great fan NOW:
There are fantastic vegetarian dishes on most menus nowadays!
Final score:
8points
Kari Panda 3 years ago
A general advice: Places near large universities often have a rather varied menu in that aspect due to accomodating to foreign students.
#25
Many years ago we went to one of the chain steakhouses which is no longer in business. We took my MIL who was visiting from out of town. The waitress was the most incompetent person I have ever seen. She was very rude. My MIL is very picky and takes a long time to decide. The waitress was very rude to her about ordering. Plus she made us wait for a long time to get our drinks. Then on the way out with out food she dropped my plate so I had to wait until they remade it.
The interesting part that a few days later I wrote a letter to the manager. He called me a few days later and apologized and told us to come back for a free dinner. He also said that he posted the letter on the employee bulletin board.
My wife and I went back a few weeks later and it was almost weird how royally we were treated. The set us up in a private corner and could not do enough to please us. Our table was about 20 feet from the kitchen door and every once in a while someone would peak out of the door and stare at us for a second just to see who these people were. The best part was that one guy stood about 10 feet from our table with a pitcher of water and every time we took a sip of water he would dash over and refill out glasses. I got to the point where I was drink water just to see him come over and refill the glass. Never been treated so royally before or since.
Final score:
7points
#26
I asked for plain rice in a Chinese restaurant. When I got near the bottom of the bowl, I saw that they had picked out most of the pork. I have never been back.
Final score:
5points
Lucas Gonzalez 4 months ago
What do you mean why is there pork in the first place if you ordered plain rice
#27
Group of about 10 went to a pizza restaurant, good waiter, took our order, then disappeared. After an hour and a half asked another waiter if he could check when our food would be ready. Owner came out apologetic and told us
our waiter just started and had quit without placing our order. We had a good laugh and eventually got our food
Final score:
5points
#28
I stopped in a restaurant for a lunch during my business travels. They had a lunch menu from which I picked “chilli con carne”.
I was given a microwaved can of beans and corn with cut sausage and a slice of bread. One of the worst food I’ve ever had.
Final score:
5points
#29
40 years ago I went to a large popular steak restaurant with 7 friends. We ordered drinks while looking at the dinner menu. The waitress approached the table with all the drinks on a tray, stood next to me and leaned over to place my drink in front of me. As she leaned, the tray leaned with her and she dropped 7 iced tall drinks, glasses and all in my lap (of my white skirt). She dropped the tray on the floor, burst into tears and ran away. We never saw her again and had to flag down another server to help find a mop, many towels and a dry chair to sit on. I ate the whole meal in a soggy skirt and she apparently ran out the back door of the restaurant and never came back. No dancing that night, but the restaurant comped my meal, gave us free drinks and covered dry cleaning.
Final score:
5points
#30
I can't say I've had many dreadful ones, but the worst must have been when I was in Ecuador and went to a restuarant with a couple of friends. After ordering, we waited for an hour until they brought the food, except for mine. They said they weren't aware of my order, so I had to bite my tongue while the others could finally eat and I had to wait another half an hour, starving.
As a vegetarian, I've had issues in some countries (Spain and Slovakia) where I'll ask for something withouth meat then get it and see it's got little bits of bacon in. When I point this out that I can't eat it, they just say "They're only small pieces."
One that made me smile was also in Slovakia, where I ordered a veggie pizza and got one that obviously had diced carrots and peas from a tin on it.
Final score:
4points
Jayne Kyra 3 years ago
As a Slovak, yea, we suck at this. There were people complaining recently that my city´s University cafeteria would offer more vegan and vegetarian meals. "Just send them out to a pasture!" was a common idea from those people. Sorry.
#31
I was a 16 yo busser at a very fancy, expensive restaurant in NYC & almost killed a family of four. Well, two of the four anyway.
One of my responsibilities was to keep the salad bar stocked with dressings, croutons, cheese, other condiments etc. It was a very busy restaurant, I was new on the job & basically learning on the fly. Anyway, I entered the dining room from the kitchen & my manager & wait staff were helping a man & wife off the floor, trying to get them to sit down. It was chaotic & scary. These poor people were obviously sick, but nobody knew why. An ambulance took them to the hospital & they ended up ok, thank god. After a thorough investigation, it was determined that someone (guess who) had mistakenly filled up the vinegar dispenser with industrial grease cutter. Oh. S**t. Why grease cutter was stored under a salad bar is beyond me. I fessed up, admitted my mistake, but my manager told me it wasn't my fault. It should never have been there. I feel bad about it to this day.
I've always wondered how much it cost to settle that lawsuit. I'm not even sure if there was one honestly.
Final score:
4points
#32
When we were on a city trip in Rome, we chose for our first evening a random little restaurant to have our dinner. We were the only customers when we sat. We ordered and waited for our food when a whole typical Italian family came and the chef started to rearrange some tables, set them up, carrying bread, bottles, cutlery… by the time the family sat they ordered and got their food immediately! We were waiting for an hour… in was about to pay for the drinks and leave when they brought us burned meat without many vegetables. I complained, but without any result and we got the cheque we were expected to pay a service as well… I do understand Italians have a whole different way for serving food in restaurants, but this was low in effort to give a good meal to paying customers… fortunately we found other small restaurants who gave us a fantastic Italian gastronomic experience.
Final score:
4points
Concept-Peter Roosdorp 3 years ago
A restaurant without customers is a bad sign. (unless you are early or late)
#33
Was at a small nice restaurant about halfway through my meal. Then this horrible smell comes out of the kitchen. I mean it was gag inducing. Several people just stopped eating, got up and left. Found out later it was some kind of really foul smelling cheese dish. First time on the menu and they took it off afterwards.
Final score:
4points
#34
This is harmless compared to the other entries, but still disappointing at the time: It was my husband’s birthday and we went to an American diner (pretty rare where I live). We had already ordered food from there once or twice before so we knew their burgers were amazing, but this was our first time actually going there. On the menu, there was a pina colada milkshake. My husband loves pina colada, so of course he ordered it. Well. They refused to make it because apparently no one ever ordered it and they planned to take it off the menu. Outright refused. I felt so sorry for my husband - he had been excited as a pina colada milkshake sounds pretty delicious, and as said it was his birthday of all days.
Final score:
4points
#35
I'm vegetarian, so, I usually struggle in my hometown finding something in the menu when I dine out with my family. Saw a "quinoa and vegetables patty, with a side of salad" and ask the waiter about it. He said that the only animal product where a little egg, so I order it.
It was like pure yolks with a little quinoa sprinkle over it, and some sad pieces of shredded carrot. The "salad" was iceberg lettuce with three thin slices of tomato. After showing my utter disappointment, the waiter went to talk with the kitchen, and then said "I can get you s dessert if you want, some carrot cake maybe?" Well, I was hungry and that "quinoa patty" was the only meatless item on the menu, so I said yes.
Carrot cake was dry as hell, and like older than my grandma. When bill arrived they charge with the patty and the carrot cake!! At that point was fed up. Paid up and never came back.
Final score:
3points
#36
2 quick ones..
1.Got fired after a week from a country club w 3 employees, the chef, me(Sous), and a dishwasher.
I’d thrown out a handful (250g?) of shrimp that had gone off, and chef called me into his office and claimed I’d ‘stolen’ said seabugs. I’d put them down the disposal, so I couldn’t dig them out of the trash (they reeked!) and chef was having none of it. I was fired as of then (off season at a resort, there was zero money coming in, which I’m guessing was the actual reason).
2. Open kitchen, nice lady comes up and asks for help deciding what to get due to her “salt allergy”. I walk her through our low-sodium options, adding I can make most of our stuff sans-sel. She thanks me, returns to her table and orders the cheese omelette (appx 1500mg sodium, because, cheese). She loved it and didn’t die (and actually, without sodium, you really will die) so I’m guessing she just wanted some attention.
Final score:
3points
Susie Elle 3 years ago
I don't think people can be allergic to salt, but one can have high blood pressure and thus refrain from eating high-sodium dishes. I think you could've told her that her order was high in sodium (if you did, then I retract my comment)
#37
Once won $40.00 on a scratch off lottery ticket. This was a good many years ago, when 40 bucks bought a pretty nice meal. Restaurant in a mall, always busy, rave reviews. My husband at the time and I went for a nice steak dinner. I got food poisoning.
Final score:
3points
#38
Getting decent food for kids can be a challenge. We were traveling up the East Coast and stopped at a chain sit-down restaurant known for their ice cream, and I ordered the kid menu pizza for my son. It was literally half a burger bun with ketchup spread on it and a slice of Velveeta, only slightly softened. Another time, took the same kid to a birthday party at a child-oriented national chain and there was vomit in all the sinks in the ladies room. Never been to either place again.
Final score:
3points
#39
Many years ago, I was out to dinner with my BF’s family, about 10 people, for dinner. I was never served my entree, the server told me it was coming. The meal never came so I ate the apps on the table. The server never returned until the bill. I quietly leaned over and told my BF father that it never came and not to put for it. The server came back and argued that I did in fact receive the meal making a big scene. I said if that were true where is my plate. Server said Ohhh and took it off the bill. BF tipped her well as it was a large group but suggested another profession.
Final score:
3points
#40
Went to this upscale restaurant for the first time. We waited 30 for a table (no problem, place looked the normal busy for dinner time). It took 20 minutes for someone to take out order....ok, not too bad I guess...Our dinner came 1 hour and 30 minutes later... we were starving by this point. My husband cuts into his stuffed chicken, or at least tried too when he noticed it was RAW inside. My ravioli was frozen cold in the middle. Told the waiter about it. He agreed the chicken was indeed raw and apologized, but then told me that the reason my ravioli was cold, was because the inside always cools down first....really dude?? Needless to say we left, but I still had to pay for my dish, my husband’s was comped. Oh! And they also threw in a coupon for a free appetizer for next time. Restaurant went out of business months after.
Final score:
3points
#41
Just one? Ok, probably being screamed at by people at a table not my own; "We don't care, we just want our food" while the EMTs were trying to recesitate their waitress who lay unconcious at their feet.
Final score:
3points
#42
So one time i went to ( i forgot ) and it was nice, like really nice, only problem is that we had to wait an hour for our food to come, i went insane, i was STARVING, food wasnt bad tho
Final score:
3points
#43
Ok, the majority of these are, bad service, bad food, dirty restaurant, etc. So I'll skip those bad experiences and give you this one!
Years ago I was out of town at an art show. I get up early, and stop at a Waffle House for breakfast. And I am wearing my usual: mens cargo shorts, baggy t-shirt, mens athletic shoes, and socks. No make-up. Self cut hair. Not exactly a fashion plate, but I'm in my comfortabe clothes.
Since I'm by myself I decide it would be most polite to sit at the counter and not take up a whole booth.
Old fart sits down next to me, ( plenty of seats Not next to me)
Leans over and ask me ( I kid you Not)
" are you a working girl?"
Well I have a Job.
Thankfully the waitress had dealt with him before and threw him out.
But to this day I can't help thinking
What the f**k?
Final score:
3points
#44
Best/worst time at a restaurant. Anyway, almost 25 years ago my dad, sister and a family friend and I had all just come home from a wonderful and strenuous church trip, walking across Wyoming. We were hungry and didn't want to make dinner. An older man with three innocent looking teenage girls probably didn't exactly look threatening to the workers. But we were so excited about our trip we were laughing and apparently not talking quietly. About five minutes after our food arrived, the staff came to our table with doggie bags and kindly asking us to leave! None of us had ever gotten kicked out of anywhere before (or since). I still feel a little bad for the staff and other customers, but sinfully prideful. It is still one of my favorite memories!
Final score:
2points
#45
There's been a few bad ones.
I think the one that took the cake was a restaurant called "The Armadillo", a sort of Mexican, western sort of restaurant that served "bloomin' onions". "How about some bloomin' service", one of the guy's in my party said. We waited for so long for the waitress, who was so busy eyeing up her fellow waiter, she lost the order slip. .... Not sure if that was just an excuse but she did offer us that appetizer while we waited.. over an hour. The table next to us got seated after us and dug into their food before us. We got so fed up waiting and hearing apologies and excuses, we paid for our drinks and bloomin' onions, and headed across the parking lot to Red Lobster.
Me and my kid were looking for a nice, casual place to eat while shopping. We decided to try Mongos Grill. We went in and ... it definitely different to what we thought it was. But not a problem. Seemed like a fun place. We ordered our drink, got promptly seated and everything. Another waitress came around and had to explain the ordering process to us. It was sort of like a well-organized buffet. She went over the menus. The prices were a bit much for what my budget could afford to get us both separate plates and I told the waitress we'll just share a bowl. A typical thing we do. The waitress said the portions were huge, enough to take home leftovers, so why not. Her tone changed to this snotty, huffy attitude. "Umm, we don't allow people to share. In fact, if we catch you sharing we'll charge you double."... Uh, what? Why? What's the big deal? "I'm going to tend to this table, here, and let you think about it." .. k, wtf? It was a while before she came back. Just like at The Armadillo, the table next to us was seated, tended to within minutes and in 10 minutes they were eating. Me and my kid were taken aback and just wanted to pay for our drinks and leave. When the waitress came back we told her we'll just pay for the beverages and eat elsewhere. She had the gull to ask "Is it because I said you can't share?" Well, yes. Yes it is. Because at the end of the day, if I'm paying $25 for a heaping bowl of food that is too much for me to eat entirely on my own, what's it to the restaurant if I'm sharing one with my daughter. I'm still paying for it. If I go to Montana's, not only do they not mind me sharing a plate of food with my kid, they'll place it on 2 separate dishes and charge me like it was just the one plate. That's service. That's what inclines me to tip. We never went to Mongos again.
Final score:
2points
Thecoolbonnie 3 years ago (edited)
Sharing a plate at a buffet or most restaurants in fact is frowned upon. A 'plate charge' is often added to the Bill. It may seem like 'no big deal' to you, but there are plenty of customers who would take advantage in a Heart beat if they could
#46
Husband and I were secret shoppers for a chain of steak houses and we're called in for a lunch shop, at a time that wasn't busy. Our waitress was excruciatingly slow in ordering and bring out the food. Once served, she plopped down into a booth behind us and proceeded to make phone calls trying to off-load a shipment of drugs she'd just received. We were interviewed by several people about that shopping report.
Final score:
2points
#47
Drive thru at In-N-Out Burger. So the line was long (understandable) and this was around the middle of the pandemic so only drive thru (again, understandable). What was NOT understandable was the girl who took our order's thought process. She took the orders of the cars behind us first, like she literally started with the last car in line and worked her way up. Then, she proceeded to see a car full of people (me, mom, sister, and dog) and tried to walk off and charge us after only taking my sister's order! As though me and my mom didn’t want food and were just there for aesthetic purposes. So, we’re now hot,, hungry, annoyed, and finally make our way through the never ending line only to learn that due to the girl's inept process our orders were mixed up with the cars behind us. We also got cold food (because of course it was ready before we could make our way up there). My mom was so mad that she has sworn off the chain for life.
Final score:
2points
#48
30 years ago at Joe T. Garcia's (a Tex-Mex staple in Fort Worth), a server spilled a tray of a couple dozen small bowls of salsa down my back. Mind you, this was after waiting in line for almost 2 hours. He didn't apologize (may not have known English), but left to get cleaning gear. We had to call the manager over, and all he offered was to pay for the cleaning bill for my clothes, if we sent it to him. No meal comp. No free drinks. If I was more mature then, I'd have demanded more. I have never been back and never will. Truth be told, I've found a lot better Tex-Mex since, with greater variety of dishes, lower prices, and less wait. Stuff it, Joe T. Garcia's! Do I hold a grudge or what?
Final score:
1point
#49
I have two! The first one was a a one off "mexican" joint that was the most white washed food I have ever eaten. The food was absolutely horrible, I swear they used mission flour tortillas Velveeta cheese and bland tomatoes and called it Mexican. I literally couldn't eat it.
The second was at a Claim Jumper years ago where they served me chicken breast that was still raw in the center and the manager tried to argue with me that I deserved the meal comp'd because I didn't want a new dish. The whole reason I asked for it to be comp'd was because this was the second time it had happened at the same restaurant.
Final score:
1point
#50
First post:)
Anyways, not me but my mother. She ordered hot and sour soup and got chicken soup. (My entire family is vegetarian). Like how???
Also not related but can y'all know the difference between veganism and vegetarianism. Like my friends ask me if I'm vegan and I say that I'm vegetarian and they say "yeah sAmE dIfFeReNcE".
Final score:
1point
H.L.Lewis 3 years ago
Vegans do not eat any items from animals. So no eggs, milk, or cheese. And duh, no meat. Vegans Only eat vegetable matter. Vegetarians can eat animal products as long as they do not kill the animal to get it. So eggs, milk, and cheese are good! BIG difference. What vegans do Not understand, is that a small dairy, or someone who has a small flock of chickens for eggs, knows that the health and well being is UTMOST in producing a quality product. I get it if you don't want product from a giant company. But a small farmer is very close to their animals. They are treated like their greatest assets. Which they are.
#51
I was travelling across the USA and stopped in Casino Falls. My son (then 5) wanted something to eat before we checked into a hotel. I decided to get the food to go. I ordered a sandwich and got him a kids cheese pizza. After an hour and a half waiting, I asked the waitress what was taking so long. She said the cook was training two new line cooks and that she had to run home because her two sons were home alone and had managed to set her house on fire with fireworks. After we got our food and went to the hotel, my son took a bite of the pizza and spit it out. They'd used BBQ sauce instead of pizza sauce. And my sandwich was soggy because the veggies were freshly washed before being put on it. We had vending machine food that night.
Final score:
1point
#52
When I was about 11 years old we went to a really posh restaurant as a birthday treat for my grandad’s 60th. I went to the bathroom with my younger cousin and saw 2 of the servers having sex right on the baby changing station, in full view on anyone walking in.
We went and told my parents about it and my dad was pretty angry but didn’t want to cause a big scene. That is until the male server came out of the bathroom obviously disheveled and grabbed some plates for our table still wearing the gloves he’d had on in the bathroom. My dad later asked to speak to the manager only to be directed to the same man. We got a meal voucher after my dad wrote a formal complaint but we never went back to that restaurant.
Final score:
1point
#53
I ate some nice food at our local restaurant. As I stood up to leave the table, I saw a fat rat running across the floor. I threw up ....
Final score:
0points
SilentBob731 3 years ago
Fat rats are are an indication of quality food. I'd be more concerned if they were skinny or sickly-looking. ;-)
#54
I was with a friend who had a successful job completed and wanted to blow it all on a fancy-schmancy dinner for two. All was fine until - until I got the key lime pie for dessert. "Jean! I've never seen you look like that!" - so I turned it to face him: there was a live cockroach crawling in it. My buddy there screamed and threatened to call the tv news and made such a fuss - well, they comped our entire meal.
Final score:
0points
#55
i was dining at an outdoor restaurant with my family in Florida. we had to wait a little bit to be seated so we went up to the bar to grab some drinks. we sat down at our table with our drinks. no service or anything for 15 minutes. then a waitress walks over and but then turns away and says to the hostess, “are you sure?”. um we were thirsty and got drinks at the bar, lady…
Final score:
0points
#56
Not my experience, but happend to my parents. They where either in Turkey or in northern Africa and found a quaint little restuarant with lots of locals. After being seated they noticed that they waiter would knock on a cabinet/box that contained the bread, before they opened the door. Every time the waiter would get bread he would knock on the box.
My parents thought it was a bit strange, but found out when they looked inside on their way out. The box was full of cockroaches and the knocking "scared" them out of sight long enough to get bread.
Final score:
0points
What do you think ?
Anne Nielsen 3 years ago
I was the waitress! I am the world's worst waitress! I have ADD! I could not remember the requests.
Sapna Sarfare 3 years ago
I never understood that in this age and time, how is still difficult to get vegetarian food? How can you not understand the concept? And yes, veganism and vegetarianism is very different.
Anne Nielsen 3 years ago
I was the waitress! I am the world's worst waitress! I have ADD! I could not remember the requests.
Sapna Sarfare 3 years ago
I never understood that in this age and time, how is still difficult to get vegetarian food? How can you not understand the concept? And yes, veganism and vegetarianism is very different.
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