# Rude service at a restaurant



## larry_stewart (Aug 5, 2008)

So we had a long weekend and decided to travel.  Wound up in Scranton PA visiting the Houdini museum and a coal mine tour.  We decided to get something for lunch before we made our way to Hershey ( wish i would have known there was construction down to one lane on (81) which killed an hours travel time).  Anyway, the kids are kinda picky, and we are vegetarians, so it limits what we eat on the road to Italian/ pizza or chinese.  Since we had pizza the night before ( although we dont trust pizza outside of new york ( sorry) we actually ordered hoagies instead), we decided to go for chinese for lunch.  And this is how it went.

We got there about 3:30 for a late lunch.  It wasnt a fancy place.  A little nicer than just a take out place, but not as nice as a true sit down restaurant. We walk in, no one else is in there except a girl behind the counter and a few cooks in the back.  We wait there to be seated, and the woman just gives us a blank stare.  My wife says, ' should we just sit down anywhere? or do u need to seat us at a specific table?  ( remember, literally, no one was there, so there were about 15 or 20 empty tables).  The woman told us to take any seat we wanted.  We sit down, we are handed the menu's. No water, No chinese noodles, no pickled vegetables, but ok, maybe we are in a different place and things are done differently here. We wait and wait , nothing.  After being out all day, i needed to go to the bathroom, so i walked up to the take out counter where the girl was, and said " we are ready to order now", and i proceeded to the bathroom.

I came back, my wife had ordered 4 separate dishes.  We were hungry, and away from home, so we figured, whatever was left over, we could eat at the hotel.

This is where it gets interesting

First, vegetable lo mein comes out, relatively quickly. a few mintues later 2 other dishes come out.  about 10 minutes later the last dish and spring rolls come out.  All there on the original serving dish, but we have mo individual plates.  Usually, when we go to chinese around here, we each have our own plate, and take a little from each dish, but whatever.  So, my wife calls the woman over again, and asks if we can have plates.  The woman, even from the beginning, has that look on her face that she just doesnt want to be there.  She brings over 2 plates ( for the 4 of us) and walks away.  A minute later, a man/ cook walks by, my wife flags him down and asks for 2 more plates.  He brings them, we eat, and the food was pretty good.  

We finsih up, with left overs, as expected.  And wait, and wait, and wait.  I had to go to the bathroom again, but no one was at the counter this time, so while i was in the bathroom, my wife had to go and find the woman ( literally after 10 minutes or more of sitting there waiting for the bill).  and the woman said, that we just should come up to the counter to pay.  My wife then said we had some leftovers that we would like to take with us.  The woman handed her a bunch of take out containers, which my wife brought back to the table and we had to fill them up ourselves( which i dont mind, im just not used to it.  usually they clean off the table, take the food in the back, and come back to the table witha little bag full of the left overs).

Now, maybe it was just me ?  Or maybe things are just done differently here , then basically everywhere else ive eaten chinese food.  But I felt that she just didnt care that we were there or not,  made no effort to make us feel welcome, if anything, made us feel uncomfortable. At least smile once in awhile, and ask if everything is ok, or if we need anything ..... but none of this.  Ok, if it were busy, i could understand ( a little),  But we were literally the only people there from the second we walked in, to the second we walked out ( now i know why  )  ,  2 people did come in to pick up take out orders, and the phone did ring twice ( probably those 2 take out orders).  But, by far, it was the most uncomfortable ive ever been in a sit down restaurant.  If it were strictly take out, i wouldnt complain at all, but i would say 2/3 of the space was dedicated to sit down dining.

Anyway, this was the first time i went out to eat , and didnt leave a tip.  I feel they made no effort, so why should i.

But, the food was good.

Hope ya all liked my story 

The night before we ate at some crappy take out/sit down pizza joint new longwood gardens in PA.  The food was fair at best, but at least the guy was  nice , asked if everything was ok, and thanked  us for coming.  Now, i never thought atmosphere made much of a difference to me, but after this experience,  I would never ever go back to the chinese place, since i dont need to be treated like that anytime, and especially if it is my vacation time, even if the food was good.  And, i would have no problems going back to the place with just ok food, but at least they appreciated my service.
Just venting about my experience.


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## GB (Aug 5, 2008)

Sounds like a pretty lousy experience. You got a real bad waitress, that is for sure. You were right in not tipping her.

The parts about not getting noodles and having to pack your own leftovers are (like you mentioned) because of other things. NY and FL are the only places I have seen noodles put on the table. I wish more places did this because I love those noodles, but it just doesn't happen in many other places that I have seen. Lots of places are now having you box up your own leftovers. I hate this practice, but it is a small thing in the grand scheme of things.


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## DramaQueen (Aug 5, 2008)

*Larry, sounds like the service you got was pretty bad and you had the good sense not to reward her for bad service by not leaving a tip.  Too many people still tip so why should she give good service?   However, in defense of the waitress giving you the containers to fill yourself, in many states, Nevada included, the waitress is not allowed to fill your container.  According to the health department, the waitress must touch the dish after you've eaten from it and can transfer bacteria from your plate to anything else she touches after that.  I can fully understand that and frankly I'm glad that rule is enforced.  But the rest of the service needs some real overhauling.*


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## larry_stewart (Aug 5, 2008)

Sure, and i figured it was more of a location thing, which is why it didnt bother me, it was just 'different'.  Its more the other stuff that i thought was rude.  And im a pretty reasonable guy, easy going .... I take thins in stride, but when im the only one in a restaurant, and treated poorly, i just see no reason for it. I actually felt bad not tipping her, but im sure ill get over it and hopefully it will be a learning experience for her ( although im sure it wont be).


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## LadyCook61 (Aug 5, 2008)

could you tell me what restaurant that was ?  My daughter in law used to live in Scranton before she married my son.


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## GB (Aug 5, 2008)

DramaQueen said:


> the waitress is not allowed to fill your container.  According to the health department, the waitress must touch the dish after you've eaten from it and can transfer bacteria from your plate to anything else she touches after that.


This makes no sense to me. Doesn't the wait staff touch the dishes when they clear the table? What is the difference between touching a plate in which someone has finished eating and touching one where they want the leftovers? Shouldn't the waitstaff have clean hands anyway if they are dealing with food?


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## GrillingFool (Aug 5, 2008)

Word's gotten around the industry about that soy chicken.....
You're doomed to bad service in Chinese restaurants!  (joke joke)

Probably another example of "hey lets open a restaurant we can cook"...
with no clue of running the place.


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## DramaQueen (Aug 5, 2008)

GB said:


> This makes no sense to me. Doesn't the wait staff touch the dishes when they clear the table? What is the difference between touching a plate in which someone has finished eating and touching one where they want the leftovers? Shouldn't the waitstaff have clean hands anyway if they are dealing with food?


 
*You're right of course, makes no sense to me either but in most restaurants it is the bus person rather than the waitstaff that clears the table.   Some thing just don't jive. *


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## Callisto in NC (Aug 5, 2008)

I have never, in my adult life, been to a restaurant where I didn't box/bag my own left overs.  NEVER.  Personally, I'd rather do it myself than have someone else do it.


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## Andy M. (Aug 5, 2008)

You had an unfortunate experience.  Fortunately, it's not your home town.

If I walk into an empty restaurant, I turn around and leave.


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## jennyema (Aug 5, 2008)

GB said:


> This makes no sense to me. Doesn't the wait staff touch the dishes when they clear the table? What is the difference between touching a plate in which someone has finished eating and touching one where they want the leftovers? Shouldn't the waitstaff have clean hands anyway if they are dealing with food?


 
I've had servers tell me that this is also the case in MA.  But more often than not the server handles the food and puts it into a container.


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## Constance (Aug 5, 2008)

Even nicer restaurants around here bring the cartons to the table and let the patron dish up what he wants to take home. 

It's a shame you got a grumpy waitress...that can ruin the whole meal.


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## Barbara L (Aug 5, 2008)

I kind of like putting the left overs in the box myself.  Of course some foods, like Chinese, are a little messier than what I typically bring home, so that could make a difference.  I haven't actually seen a place that did it for you since I was a teenager, and then they used those "doggie bags" rather than boxes.  I'll never forget one woman I read about.  She was embarrassed to ask for a bag for herself, so she made a point of letting the server know that it was for her dog.  When the server came back she told her that the staff loved dogs and wanted to help out, so they threw the other scraps they had in with her left over steak!

BTW, I agree that the way you are treated in a restaurant is definitely very important, and I would not have tipped in that case either.  

Barbara


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## Jeekinz (Aug 5, 2008)

You did the right thing Larry.  You should post the name of the restaurant.

As far as the "doggie bags" are concerned: In Jersey the wait staff always packs the leftovers. Usually we just tell them what we want off the plate or wrap the whole thing up. Some places, say you had half a turkey club, they will pack the remaining half but put in a fresh pickle and cole slaw.

The DW (a waitress) likes packaging it herself so she just asks for the empty container.


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## roadfix (Aug 5, 2008)

The restaurant owner was most likely not present, the waitress works part-time, gets paid minimum wage, and obviously didn't give a hoot about quality of service.  She probably offers this level of service to every patron.
If this was a local restaurant in my town I would have definitely contacted the owner and explained your family's displeasure and dining experience with this particular waitress. You'll be doing the restaurant owner a big favor.


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## krichardson (Aug 5, 2008)

Sorry about your bad experience. I hate feeling disapointed when I pay good money and expect to get a good meal, service included. As for packaging the leftovers I cook and serve in a small restaurant inside of a Whole Foods Market and I always pack up the food for my customers. I also always put on gloves to pack up any leftovers, and wash my hands frequently. I feel that it takes little effort for me to pack up the food, but it is appreciated by the customer. As a customer when I go out to eat I appreciated being waited on from begining to end and that includes the server packaging up the leftovers.


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## CharlieD (Aug 5, 2008)

I hate waiting in the restaurants. But food is by far more important to me than service. And in all the truth the rudest waiting suff I encountered in NY. Which I hapily can be rood back.


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## Callisto in NC (Aug 5, 2008)

I've been thinking about this and I realize that I don't think of the wait staff as touching my food, that's for the cooks to do.  The wait staff touches the plates only, don't wear gloves, and I often see them grab a box from a pile of other boxes and you never see them wash their hands unless they go to the restroom.  I don't want those hands touching my actual food.  So I can see how some states have guidelines about who packages up left overs.  A lot of the places I eat actually have two plate, one that the food is on and one that the plate that the food is on sits on.  Another thought, in more than a few restaurants I've been to the wait staff doesn't remove the plates at the end of the meal, the bus boy does.  

About the rude waitress.  It could be a family restaurant and she doesn't want to be there in the first place so she treats customers lousy hoping to be fired.  Back home the only Chinese restaurants we went to were family run, no outsiders.


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## roadfix (Aug 5, 2008)

I believe either you do your own bagging or the waitress takes the food back into the kitchen and the food handlers do the bagging for you.


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## Callisto in NC (Aug 5, 2008)

roadfix said:


> I believe either you do your own bagging or the waitress takes the food back into the kitchen and the food handlers do the bagging for you.


I wouldn't trust food once taken out of my sight.  I can't remember even in California ever having them take my food and bagging it.  I worked at a restaurant at 18 and customers bagged / boxed their own way back then, 1982.  I guess that's why I insist I do it, it's been how it's "been done" forever in my dining experiences.


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## roadfix (Aug 5, 2008)

Callisto in NC said:


> I wouldn't trust food once taken out of my sight.



I feel the same.  I always ask for doggie bags or insist on boxing leftovers myself.


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## Andy M. (Aug 5, 2008)

Callisto in NC said:


> I wouldn't trust food once taken out of my sight...


 

You trust them out od sight with your food before it's served.

Around here, leftovers are sometimes boxed at the table and sometimes not.


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## BreezyCooking (Aug 5, 2008)

First off, while you definitely should NOT have experienced the level of service you did, I've unfortunately experienced the same thing when dining at restaurants during the "cusp" of lunch morphing into dinner, which 3:30 p.m. definitely is.  They normally have very limited staff & service is always awful.

As far as having to box your own leftovers, that's been the norm for YEARS here in Virginia, & I actually prefer it, as the few times the wait person does it they either save too much or too little.  I'd much rather do it myself.  I don't understand the big deal.


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## luvs (Aug 5, 2008)

i'm glad you didn't tip. lousy restaurant service can ruin an otherwise delicious meal.


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## larry_stewart (Aug 5, 2008)

to be honest, even if she was technically a lousy waitress, but smiled, was friendly and made an effort, I still would have given a nice tip.  But there was just no effort at all.  And as mentioned, the bagging your own just threw me off, as in new york, it doesnt work that way ( at least where i am from) but i figured that was just the way it was.  That didnt affect her ' no tip ' at all.  Her attitude did though.  

And yeah, I stayed away from the soy chicken!!!

Maybe i should stick to Italian, since my last 2 chinese outings have ended in disaster 

And the left overs were great for breakfast the next morning


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## Callisto in NC (Aug 5, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> You trust them out od sight with your food before it's served.


Well, yeah, before it's served I haven't made demands on my waitress or complained that I've had better or questioned the cook.  For the same reason I never accept substitutions for undercooked/over cooked food.  I just make them take it back and take it off my check.


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## Maverick2272 (Aug 5, 2008)

I think in her case not only would I not have left a tip, I would have left a pile of pennies as well. We used to do that growing up to let the person know they were not doing a good job, it was embarrassing at the end of the evening if the other wait staff saw you with a bunch of pennies, incentive to do better. Even worse if the owner saw you get a pile of pennies left to you.
As for leftovers, doesn't bother me either way. They can box it or I can box it, no big deal to me. Since I don't treat anyone rudely during my stay, I don't think I have much to worry about. If I have to send something back, I do so politely and apologetically and they never seem to mind. I don't make excessive demands on the wait staff, but if I need to get their attention I do so politely. Again, what I think of them is voiced in the tip at the end of the night, not loudly while seated at a table.


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## babetoo (Aug 5, 2008)

rude service is rude service. if everyone complained about it at the time it occurs, it would probably stop. ask for a supervisor or the manager and tell them what the problem is. 

i would rather box up my own food. my pet peeve is not enough boxes and you have to ask more. 

the customer has a duty to be polite as well. to often these days we accept rude behavior as the norm. 

i always let them know if i found the service lacking. i really don't care about the state of the wait persons emotions or life. they are there to take care of customers in a positive and polite way. if they don't they are being paid for nothing.

i do not shout, or yell or call anyone names but the managers will know why i am not happy.

babe


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## B'sgirl (Aug 5, 2008)

About the plates, I don't know how authentic this place you went to is, but in China that is how they serve food. It's usually put on a lazy susan in the middle of the table and everyone just grabs their chop sticks and digs in. If she was Chinese it probably would never have occurred to her to put plates on the table. Maybe she was new. 

Sorry, it just didn't sound like that horrible experience to me, aside from the waiting.


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## larry_stewart (Aug 6, 2008)

horrible, maybe not,  rude and unprofessional, in my opinion, yes.  I shouldnt have to ask to be seated, find the waitress to ask to order,find the waitress again to  ask for plates, ask for more plates, leave my seat to find the waitress to ask for the bill, ask for something to take home my left overs in , especially if i was literally the only one in the restaurant.  If they were being professional, they would have been keeping an eye on us, asking if we were ready to order, asking if everything was ok, or if we needed anything.  asking if we were done or wanted desert, asking if we were ready for the bill, and asking if we wanted to take home the left overs ( whether they did it or we did it doesnt make a difference) .  But as mentioned earlier, i just felt totally ignored.  Trust me, I didnt let it affect me at all, because the food was good and i was hungry, and i also knew id never be back again, since this was a one time thing.  I just figure that in any job, where u deal with the public, just good business practice is to be friendly and accomodating.  Was it horrible, no, not at all.  But was it rude, unpleasant and unprofessional, well, in my opinion, absolutely  
But, I have since forgotten about it, since i went out for lunch today, at my favorite Indian food restaurant.  Which was an all you can eat buffet, with plenty of plates, plenty of food ( all at once), friendly waiters and bus boys ( who noticed every time the water glass was empty, asked several times if everything was ok, with a smile I might add),  didnt have to ask for the bill, no leftovers to box ( since not allowed at a buffet to do that) and graciously asked as we were leaving how we liked our meal by the Greeter ( with a smile I might ***).  A generous tip was left , since they made me feel welcome, and I was treated as I , and anyone else should be treated by someone providing a service for you.


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## B'sgirl (Aug 6, 2008)

Indian food is sooooooooooooo good!

Yes, it was ridiculously unprofessional. I guess I just wanted to mention the no-plate thing because at least that part of it could really have just been a culture thing. I had to laugh (because it wasn't me experiencing it) that she only brought two after you asked for plates though. What would you do with just two plates?


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## Callisto in NC (Aug 6, 2008)

Maverick2272 said:


> As for leftovers, doesn't bother me either way. They can box it or I can box it, no big deal to me. Since I don't treat anyone rudely during my stay, I don't think I have much to worry about. If I have to send something back, I do so politely and apologetically and they never seem to mind. I don't make excessive demands on the wait staff, but if I need to get their attention I do so politely. Again, what I think of them is voiced in the tip at the end of the night, not loudly while seated at a table.


Not sure I like the implication that how I ask for things is rude.  I can be as nice as possible but I won't accept food twice.  I just won't.  I worked in a restaurant and if anyone ever sent anything back, you really don't want to know what we did to it, didn't matter why but if it had to do with how it was cooked, you wouldn't want what the guys sent you back.  I've held that image in my mind for 25 years and it's why I don't accept substitutes unless a plate shows up with something I'm allergic to or just can't stand the sight of, like cold slaw.  I'm just too used to the mentality where even a simple request is an annoyance no matter how it's asked.  Unless you are adding to your bill, i.e. another beer, I know many waitresses that think you're making "demands" and that includes asking for extra or different sauce for your calamari.  Asking them to box your food?  No way.  Just never going to happen no matter how polite I am or how much I tip.

As for the pennies.  With the advent of the Coin Star Machines, pennies wouldn't bother my friends.  They'll take what they get and move on to the next person.


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## GB (Aug 6, 2008)

I did not read Mavs post as implying your were being rude. I read it as since you are not rude then you have nothing to worry about. I guess it is just a different way to look at it.


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## quicksilver (Aug 6, 2008)

Always, a large part of my vacations are based on good dining experiences, as I don't eat out much at home.
So I would have been disappointed too, Larry.
Although I have more options, not being a vegan.
Eating "off-hours", can sometimes be a bummer, but I like to chat with locals, if the place is slow and quiet.
Becoming more familiar with your server sometimes helps.                                                                     
As far as them or me putting leftovers in containers, no matter to me, and have had both happen.


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## sattie (Aug 6, 2008)

I like quicksilver and Mav's responses.  In any dining experience, I believe you need to be polite, calm, and professional when it comes to dealing with bad service/food.  No need to get all bent out of shape and make a scene.  If it is not a total disaster, we will wait till the end of the meal and have a chat with the manager.  Sometimes we chat with the manager to let them know what a great job they did.

Quicksilver... we do alot of off-hours eating and do frequent the same resturants.  We know the managers and wait staff and have rarely gotten bad service or food.  And if something was amiss... I felt comfortable enough to mention it.

Larry.. sorry about the experience that you had, sounds like you did the best you could with it.


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## Callisto in NC (Aug 6, 2008)

GB said:


> I did not read Mavs post as implying your were being rude. I read it as since you are not rude then you have nothing to worry about. I guess it is just a different way to look at it.


I guess since he emphasized the I in his post, it implied to me that he wasn't rude and I was, or he assumed I was.  My experience is with having friends that are wait staff and having been a bartender.  I can be as polite as possible, but I just don't accept replacements or demand above and beyond general service at the locations that serve food I enjoy.  Let's just say Outback is as fancy aka expensive as I enjoy and that's because I like the Bloomin' Onion.  I'm cheap and prefer wings at the bar over a 4 star restaurant.  The food's just as good at the bar as it is at any froo froo restaurant I've ever been to.  If I want great food, I'll cook it myself.  I grew up on take out, the corner Chinese food place, and hole in the wall Mexican restaurants.  I'll take that over 4 stars any day.


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## larry_stewart (Aug 6, 2008)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/nyregion/04pennies.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

About the pennies thing, last year a chinese restaurant refused a mans payment because he paid with 10 pennies instead of a dime.  It was a bizarre scene.  The interviewed the restaurant woman who refused the pennies on the news and she was crying  and demanding she didnt do this.  It was a crazy scene.  read the article, and ill see if i can find it on youtube.  Actually, she kinda looks a lot like the woman we had the other day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2QLHacPyH0

Different video, but actually kinda funny and clever


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## sattie (Aug 6, 2008)

That is crazy!!!  Over pennies!!!  Heck I pick up pennies all the time and spend them!


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## B'sgirl (Aug 6, 2008)

I paid for my kid to get into the zoo the other day with pennies.


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## Barbara L (Aug 6, 2008)

I've heard of places not taking pennies, but I have also heard that that is illegal.  I'm not sure, and it would be a pain taking pennies to pay for a car or something, but 10 pennies instead of a dime?  That's ridiculous!

Barbara


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## larry_stewart (Aug 6, 2008)

yeah, and it was a big enough story that it made the new york times, and all the major network prime time news.  Sure , as an attraction getter, but still.


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## Callisto in NC (Aug 6, 2008)

If I could have paid off my car in pennies, I would have because they made me so mad over the life of the loan including but not limited to repossessing the car after the payment had been received, cashed, and cleared.  Their error, my inconvenience.  Unfortunately they have a no cash policy so I couldn't.  Not taking pennies is ridiculous, are they vending their food out of a machine?


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## Maverick2272 (Aug 7, 2008)

Callisto in NC said:


> Not sure I like the implication that how I ask for things is rude.  I can be as nice as possible but I won't accept food twice.  I just won't.  I worked in a restaurant and if anyone ever sent anything back, you really don't want to know what we did to it, didn't matter why but if it had to do with how it was cooked, you wouldn't want what the guys sent you back.  I've held that image in my mind for 25 years and it's why I don't accept substitutes unless a plate shows up with something I'm allergic to or just can't stand the sight of, like cold slaw.  I'm just too used to the mentality where even a simple request is an annoyance no matter how it's asked.  Unless you are adding to your bill, i.e. another beer, I know many waitresses that think you're making "demands" and that includes asking for extra or different sauce for your calamari.  Asking them to box your food?  No way.  Just never going to happen no matter how polite I am or how much I tip.
> 
> As for the pennies.  With the advent of the Coin Star Machines, pennies wouldn't bother my friends.  They'll take what they get and move on to the next person.



I was only speaking of myself, and not trying to imply anything on your end. My own experiences in the restaurant business taught me that our polite customers had nothing to worry about, but rude ones better hope they had a strong stomach. I took those experiences with me and it is how I interact with wait staff to this day.
I think if I had seen experiences where even polite customers got treated badly for returning something, I might think differently as well.
I just see it as two different life experiences, thats all.


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## MJK (Aug 7, 2008)

Too bad about your service Larry.  Scranton is usually a pretty friendly town.  Even to long islanders.  There are a lot of good, no mkae that great restarants in the city and surrounding area.  Do some web homework before the next trip and you might be surprised.


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## DramaQueen (Aug 7, 2008)

*I have to say what I'm feeling about the subject of what the waitstaff does when a customer sends back an unsatisfactory meal. If this gets me kicked off of this site then that's it.*
*How filthy a person do you have to be to spit, urinate or whatever into someone's food REGARDLESS of the reason it was sent back? In my wildest dreams I couldn't do anything that low to anyone. Is the customer supposed to accept and PAY for a meal that is not right? It doesn't matter if a person is rude or not, people can be rude, they don't deserve to have their meal contaminated by a disgustingly classless person in the kitchen. Who raised these scumbags? And why isn't someone supervising these people when they are aware that this kind of thing happens? *
*I am aware of it too, so if I have to send something back, (I'm always polite about it since it's not the waitstaff's fault) I never accept anything else.  I know that not all restaurant employees do this, but it's so widespread that I can't trust any of them.  So the restuarant is out the price of a meal, I am an unhappy customer, and the waitstaff loses out on the tip since I didn't order another meal.*


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## Robo410 (Aug 7, 2008)

1)there are those Chinese places that have real table service.
2)there are those that are the grand buffet
3)then there are those that look like little family take outs with a few tables (even 10 or 20) but operate really as take outs whether you eat there or go home with the food. 
So that's what you got...order at the counter, no continuity as to how the food comes out and each plated as a single entre for one person.


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## Callisto in NC (Aug 7, 2008)

Robo410 said:


> 3)then there are those that look like little family take outs with a few tables (even 10 or 20) but operate really as take outs whether you eat there or go home with the food.
> So that's what you got...order at the counter, no continuity as to how the food comes out and each plated as a single entre for one person.


That's kind of what the place sounded like to me.  We have a lot of those in California.  You order at the counter, seat yourself, and then wait for them to call to you.  You never sit before ordering, I just hadn't seen one of those in my PA travels.  Not that they aren't there, they just aren't in my dad's podunck town.  The meal you order is not shared, it's yours and yours alone.  

Here we have a great buffet but you definitely don't go at off hours.  The reason for this is that they don't fully stock the buffet because the food ends up sitting there and going bad so it's wasted.  I always go at lunch time or between 6 and 7 to get the freshest food.


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## elaine l (Aug 7, 2008)

In this big world there are rude people.  They drive, wait tables, eat in restaurants, work with the public etc.  It's difficult when it's your hard earned money that is on the line and we, as consumers, expect nothing but the best for ourselves.  I waited tables many moons ago and would like to think I was always at my best.  Was I?  I am sure I had a bad day here and there and my performance wasn't up to par.  Rude, no never.

I would describe your experience as a disinterested type of hostess.  Too bad.  I am sure you will have many many pleasant experiences in life and phooey to her.


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## Mama (Aug 8, 2008)

Callisto in NC said:


> ... I worked in a restaurant and if anyone ever sent anything back, you really don't want to know what *we* did to it, didn't matter why but if it had to do with how it was cooked, you wouldn't want what the guys sent you back. I've held that image in my mind for 25 years ...


 
I'm sorry...am I reading this right? Did you participate? Did you allow food to be taken back out to customers that had been tampered with? Oh my......


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## Callisto in NC (Aug 8, 2008)

Mama said:


> I'm sorry...am I reading this right? Did you participate? Did you allow food to be taken back out to customers that had been tampered with? Oh my......


I was 18, I was the bartender, and I did participate one time, but it was the girl that stole my boyfriend and she deserved the anchovies the guys put on her pizza.  

As for allowing, it wasn't my place to allow or not to allow, I wasn't a server.


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## GB (Aug 8, 2008)

Callisto in NC said:


> As for allowing, it wasn't my place to allow or not to allow, I wasn't a server.


I am not blaming you. We have all done things in our past, especially at that age, that we would never do later in life and wish we could take back. G-d knows I have. I do have an issue with the above statement though. If you see someone tampering with food then it *is* your place to do something about it. Tell a manager or owner. Confront the person who was doing it. Send an anonymous letter to the owner or manager if you are not comfortable doing it face to face. If you see a wrong though then it absolutely is your responsibility to do something about it.

Again, I am not laying blame on you. I want to make sure that is very clear.


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## deelady (Aug 8, 2008)

I've had a waitress ask where her tip was while half our party was still eating and we just ordered a new round of drinks!!! You know how they always bring the bill early well since there was about 6 of us we were going to split it ealry to get it out of the way, we literally almost payed it to the penny then went back to finish our meal and drinks.....less than 5 mins later she comes up and asks where her tip was.......you can only imagine how dumfounded we were!


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## larry_stewart (Aug 8, 2008)

Robo410 said:


> 1)there are those Chinese places that have real table service.
> 2)there are those that are the grand buffet
> 3)then there are those that look like little family take outs with a few tables (even 10 or 20) but operate really as take outs whether you eat there or go home with the food.
> So that's what you got...order at the counter, no continuity as to how the food comes out and each plated as a single entre for one person.


 
I would agree, if the restaurant wasnt broken up into two obvious sections.  There was clearly the take out section with a few tables, then another room, carpeted, nicer tables which is where we ate.  I agree in the sense that, it was run like a take out place with a place to eat , but it appeared, at least to me, as sit down waiter/waitress served place.  Obviously i was either wrong, or she was having a really bad day.  Doesnt matter, the food was good, I had plenty of left overs to take back and eat at the hotel, and I didnt let it ruin my vacation at all.  I was just curious about everyone elses opinion.  As for scranton,PA.  We had a nice time, other than that, treated well, and I have nothing bad to say about the city.  I am treating it as an isolated incedent.  No big deal at all.  As far as doing my web homework, I created a list of chinese/ italian places within a very reasonable distance of the museums/ things we visited, since im not familiar with the city and didnt want to base my mini vacation on eating and driving around looking for a place to eat.  If I were expecting to have a really fantastic dining experience , i definately would have spent more time  searching for a more ideal place.  This was just a quick, eat and lets go to the next place type of thing, but even that, I expect to be treated with a smile and good attitude, weather at a take out, sit down, gas station.....where ever


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## GB (Aug 8, 2008)

That is crazy deelady. What did you say to her?


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## deelady (Aug 8, 2008)

I was afraid to say anything more than we are not finished with our meal and we had not planned to leave yet, I wanted to ask for a manager but I was afraid they would say we were trying to start trouble because we had been drinking. Looking back I wish I had spoken to the managment, the only thing I did say was to another waiter who refilled our water...I asked him if it was normal routine for their waitresses to ask their tables for their tips, he studdered and stammered and I apologised for putting him on the spot but I was just wondering, next thing I know al the wait staff had their heads poking out the kitchen! lol So even if she didnt get reprimanded we at least gave her co-workers something to gosip about!


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## toni1948 (Aug 8, 2008)

Maybe there's a reason why the place was empty..


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