Restaurant Pet Peeves
Hubby and I are both empty-nester’s and we do a lot of traveling. That type of lifestyle leads to a lot of meals being eaten at restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, sport’s bars, etc. While I typically enjoy eating out…I really do have some pet peeves about it.
Shelly’s Pet Peeves in Regards to Restaurants (no particular order)
1. Parking – I don’t like having to park several blocks away and walk to the establishment.
2. Wait Time – I’m sorry but when I’m hungry…I’m hungry! I won’t stand in line and wait an hour or more to be seated. I will take my business elsewhere.
3. Dirtiness – Every time we eat out I scope out how clean the establishment is. If the floors, tables, chairs, booths and restrooms are dirty…we walk out. If you can’t keep the areas that customers see clean…imagine what their kitchen and food prep areas look like! Ewww!
4. Sharing of Condiments – Like the majority of people I love using condiments except I won’t use multi-use (multi-person) ketchup bottles, mustard bottles, steak sauce bottles, salt & pepper shakers, etc. I want the one-time-use, disposables please! I don’t want to touch something that 7,000 other people touched! How do I know they washed their hands?
5. Piss-Poor Service – I expect the wait staff to be friendly, helpful and courteous. If they’re having a bad day and take it out on us…I report them to management. If they treat us the proper way…we leave them a really nice tip (more than the average).
6. Correct Orders – There is nothing worse being served something that you didn’t order and/or it wasn’t properly cooked. I’ll be the first one at the table to raise my hand and return the food back to them. This complaint is becoming worse and I’m not sure why? Are they not hiring the right people? Are they too busy and can’t keep things straight? Ugh.
7. Surprise Charges – I get really cranky when we’re handed the bill only to find a bunch of surprise charges on it! If you charge extra for a glass of water, for beverage refills, use of condiments or whatever…you need to give your customers this information UP FRONT!!! At one restaurant last month I ordered just a glass of ice water with my meal. They charged us $4.50 for that glass of water when I assumed it was free!
8. Atmosphere – Its the establishment’s responsibility to keep all of their patrons under control. When I’m dining out in a nice sit-down restaurant I don’t want to hear a slew of drunk patrons screaming & hollering. I don’t want to see a bunch of kids running around the place unattended. Employees need to step up and make sure customers are not ruining the dining experience for others.
9. Advertised HOT Specials – One thing that has always irked me is when they heavily advertise a certain type of special and run out early! I’ve went into places 1 hour after they’ve opened and the special was already gone for the day. What?
You would think with all of my griping that I don’t enjoy eating out. On the contrary, I do enjoy it but I’m picky on where I dine.
What kind of restaurant pet peeves do you have? I would love to hear them!
