My Top 5 Restaurant Rants

Eating out is a normal part of life for many of us. And yes, it's often unnecessary, expensive, and not always as healthy as it should be. But with many families requiring/desiring two bread-winners, time and convenience often trump staying home to prepare and eat dinner.

Let's face it, some evenings you're just too tired to think about cooking and cleaning up afterwards.

Don't get me wrong, I know that the restaurant business is a tough business and putting on your best smile everyday to serve cranky and inconsiderate customers isn't for everyone.

I have no problem tipping well if the food and service is good. But it seems that, all too often, what you hope will be a pleasant dining experience can easily be soured by the little things.

And many of these restaurants really leave you wondering what, if any, training is provided to the staff.

Here are a few of my pet peeves when it comes to eating out at a restaurant. What are some of yours?

Please don't touch my utensils

This one really irks me. If you somehow forgot to place utensils at my table and I have to ask you for them, please don't hold them by the business end when you hand them to me. That's just wrong!

Wobbly tables

How is it that restaurants haven't figured out a way to ensure that ALL tables are stable? It really can't be that difficult. Ok, maybe I can make an exception if, say, the flooring is some kind of really uneven stone or tile. But all too often, that's not the case. So you have to resort to folding a napkin or grabbing a few sugar packets to jamb under the shorty.

The bad pour

It's bad enough that here in the US (especially in the over-priced East/West coast areas) that a tap beer can set you back a good $6 to $9 US dollars. Now add to that the fact that most restaurants have switched away from a true pint glass (i.e. 16 ounces) to 14 ounce beer glasses. And you're also going to then short the pour, seriously?

"Still pickin' "?

This one really bugs me. Now you've made me feel like an over-stuffed glutton so, yeah, I guess I'm done! But please, don't go from bad to worse by not clearing my plate for another ten minutes.

"Do you need change?"

Please, waiters and waitresses, don't ask us that question. The better choice, IMHO, is "I'll be right back with your change." This gives me, as the paying customer, the opportunity to respond with either "OK, thanks," or "No that's OK, we're good!"

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