Most of the time when you go out to a restaurant, you’re not only paying for food, but also for service and ambiance. So even if the meal was perfectly prepared, there are still plenty of things about which diners feel justified to complain.
Over at the San Francisco Chronicle, food and wine editor Michael Bauer recently listed his 10 biggest pet peeves about restaurant dining.
Some of Bauer’s complaints are pretty universal — restaurants that refuse to seat parties until everyone is there; excessively loud music — while others — mismatched flatware; food in bowls that should be on a plate — may strike some as a bit nitpicky.
That’s why we want to hear what actually annoys you, the folks who aren’t professionally reviewing restaurants, the most when you go out for a bit to eat. So sound off in the comments!
The most annoying restaurant practices [SFgate.com]
My top five restaurant pet peeves [SFgate.com]
Servers that never check back to see if a drink refill is needed or the food is prepared correctly.
When we get our drinks and wait 45 minutes to order our food. That is my biggest peeve. My other biggest peeve is asking if the food is spicy, getting an answer of “no”, and when I receive the food in question the spices include cayenne pepper. That would be spicy. And since I can’t eat it at all, I peeve the chef by having to send it back and order something else.
Just actually got back from a restaurant dinner tonite and the service was what I would consider the epitome of perfection. The server came by just at the right times..not too hovering yet not too absent.
I left him a larger tip – he actually came back and said, “You guys made my night..” I told him, “No, you did that yourself!” He just smiled and walked back to the station.
I am generally a good tipper – most people aren’t servers by choice and they’re just doing their job (i.e. what corporate or the boss says to do). To everyone who says, “Well if you don’t like the job, get a new one!!!!!” have you noticed the job market? I believe that every server deserves to be treated with respect (after the “hi I’m ___ – I make it a point to say hi back) and should be compensated based on their level of service – with a minimum of a 20% gratuity. The person serving you is working to make money – just like we all do when we go to our jobs.
It’s no different.
But to the point – my biggest pet peeve in a restaurant is when other diners treat servers like crap.
Rude ass people from New York City who come here to Phoenix and think it is acceptable to behave and talk to people here like they do back home. Verbal abuse, insults, demanding, and whining might be the norm in NYC but we try to be civil and polite here in Phoenix.
Waitstaff: the longer my glass of water sits empty, the lower your tip gets. I keep track.
The Hovering at your shoulder. I hate that in any setting.
Plus, when I am enjoying a meal, I will take my time to savor it. I remember one place where everytime I paused, they tried to take my plate like I was done. Look, when the plate is empty and I sit my silverware and napkin over it, then I am done.
now i am not very calm about things like that i would have said “listen even if i pause a second or go to the bath room if the silverware is on the table i am not done if it’s on the plate take it away and do not put it on the plate and take it away or i will give you a big honkin ZERO for a tip” the zero is all caps because it’s a big honkin ZERO
I hate when chain restaurants do the “if the server doesn’t ask you if you want [some alcoholic drink we're pushing], you get one free” thing. I don’t like being hit with that kind of upsell.
I also don’t like TV’s in restaurants. If I wanted to watch TV over dinner, I’d stay home. I could understand if they were showing cartoons to distract kids, but it always seems to be sports.
When I specifically ask them to leave a particular condiment off (b/c I cannot abide the taste of it) and the inattentive assholes slather it on there anyway. Gross!
I have 3 pet peeves
1. offering me a box when I have barely had a bite of my food
2. leaving me the check with the comment “I’ll take that whenever your’re ready…no rush.
3. a server who constantly interrupts with how is everything. It was fine a minute ago I am pretty sure it is still fine now.
Ate at Crack today. At least, that’s my nickname for it. New or training manager came around and asked if my mashed potatoes were good. Really? How about instead, is there anything that could be better? What did you like the best?
I hate when I’m dragged to a new place and there aren’t any vegetarian entrees. Fair enough, but there are usually a few things on the menu that would require a simple omission or substitution to make them meat-free. I get really irritated when I ask the server what options I have, and they say, “We have salad.”
F*** salad. When YOU go out, don’t you want a meal, not an appetizer? Vegetarians eat real food, too.
lets see
-Parents letting their kids wonder/run around the place while they and their friends talk amongst themselves….having a kid come up to your table and ask if they can have a piece of your food (yes it happened to me once).
-Being told there is a 10 minute wait for a table when you see at least 4-5 tables ready to go!
1.Please let me get at least 1/2 way through my salad before you bring my steak.
2. Please do not seat me 5 feet from the front door in the dead of winter when the rest of the dining room is mostly empty.
3. The longer my glass stays empty the smaller your tip.
4. If you have paper napkins no mater how nice leave a few extras as I have a mustache that requires extra wiping.
5. At least fake a smile when I make a corny joke.
6. Don’t tell me how the black couple at the next table won’t tip because I have worked next to this wonderful guy for the last 15 years. (actually happened 4 years ago at a local steak house you should have seen her face when I tapped him on the shoulder and called him by name and told him to be sure to not tip because the waitress just told me how Black folks don’t tip. My wife and I had no problem waiting for the manager with them. We all ate free that night and I have never seen her at that restaurant again.)
Just to play Devil’s advocate – how did the manager not know that you weren’t kicking the hornet’s nest so to say just to get a free meal? Just sayin…
Now, I’m also going to detail how the reverse is true as well. I’m Native American and my partner is Caucasian – we went to the PFChang’s in Westbury,NY – which for whatever reason is primarily staffed with ethnic waitresses and waiters. Upon arriving, we were told we couldn’t have a booth because they reserve those for parties of four – fair enough – except for the fact that as we walked to the table waaaaaay in the back, most of the booths contained parties of two – with mainly ethnic couples. Hmmmmm… we thought…
We sit – and proceed to wait for 20 minutes before we finally tackled a busboy to bring us a waiter. One arrives stating the whole time that this wasn’t HER station. We got water and proceeded to wait some more. In the mean time a four-top arrived of the same ethnic persuasion as the waiters. Needless to say, the waiter appeared immediately, bringing not only water, tea and those chinese crispy noodles with multiple dipping sauces. WITHOUT ASKING FOR THEM. When we raised a ruckus about that, we were told that we had to ask for those items – when we pointed out that that table had it brought to them BEFORE they had even opened their mouths – they tried, well, maybe they’re friends of the waitress – ummmm, no I said – unless you have to tell you friends what your name is when you walk up, maybe?
Needless to say, it went downhill – with that table give us nasty glares the whole time since we were pointing out how they were discriminating against us the whole time. Needless to say, the meal was a shambles – stuff didn’t arrive for over 45 minutes – we had three different waitresses and one busboy had the nerve to try to talk to me in Spanish – I don’t speak spanish I had to inform her – and I got a “learn your culture” snide remark.
At that point, we had enough and my partner went after the manager explaining how time and again, the only tables that were getting adequate service were those with the same ethnic makeup – not the others. It was blatantly obvious – I give him credit for apologizing profusely, but in the end, he merely took off one of the main couses from the bill…
Shall I mention how we haven’t been back since?
I can’t stand #4, when the music is too loud. If I go out with friends, I want to hear what we’re saying to each other. I hate screaming across a table, and I can’t hear the server recite any specials. Before you say I’m an old curmudgeon, I hated it when I was twenty, too. So I was actually a young curmudgeon.
Walking into a restaurant and be told there are no tables available & that there is a wait time; while I can see anywhere from a handful of empty tables to a half empty restaurant!!!
maybe there reserved but wow
Re: Waiters/Waitresses too attentive/not attentive enough.
The Mexican restaurant I used to go to had this problem licked, and I loved it. On every table was a little flag. Unless the flag was up, they left you alone. Need a refill? Raise the flag. Need a new fork? Raise the flag. Ready for dessert? Raise the flag.
I just loved that concept, and I don’t know why more restaurants don’t adopt something similar.
Try going to a Brazilian Barbecue, they have a similar concept..They bring you lots of meat when your flag is on green and leave you alone when you turn the red side up.
all restaurants should have that i ate a place like that best service and good food
I hate when they set the “tables for 2″ up all in a row right next to each other (typically one long booth on side the tables and single chairs on the other). I know that every square foot in a restaurant needs to be earning them money, but when I’m on a date, I’d like to be with my date…not my date and two other couples. I’ve even had other couples join in on personal conversations…not sure if they were just that brash or if the table set up is to blame.
When I have to pay.
Pets (not service animals) in my local coffee shop…
I was in my regular coffee shop a few months ago and some people decided to stop in with their pet pooch. Never mind asking for papers…you can usually spot the difference, a service dog lays down at the owners feet until it is time to go.
These people not only did not have a calm dog, but they also let it roam around the store! I hate dogs, so when the thing comes over and starts to drool all over and want to ‘kiss’, I was so absolutely appalled over the matter.
That, and possible rambunctious children that are not kept under control.
The most? People staring for no reason while im trying to relax..But that happens everywhere in public these days. Kids running around while their fat, untrained, white-trash, inbred, mongoloid parents ignore them comes in second place.
I also hate tipping, and a noisy place is a first-class ticket of assuring I’ll never return again.
Oh, and when places use shit-quality ingredients..Like artificial maple syrup with HFCS..And speaking of HFCS, if they dont have any soda on the menu with real sugar then that’s another problem.
Haven’t read all the other replies, so I’m sure these are repeats, but here goes:
- “Parents” who make no effort to control their children.
- Dirty silverware.
- People (of all ages) who think that the whole restaurant needs to hear what they’re saying. This is why family outings with my brother are a f–king nightmare. I’m always shushing him and apologizing to people for his rudeness.
- Waitstaff that asks if you “need anything” or want dessert two minutes after they gave you your entree. And they’re nowhere to be seen when you actually DO need a refill on your drink.
I don’t eat out much, but that’s because I’m poor.
Ohhhh, and now that I’ve read the articles, I HAVE to agree with tables that are too small! We shouldn’t have to play Tetris to fit four plates on a table meant for four (or more) people.
Ditto here a 8 person table at some places only hold 4 plates not including apitizer and other items so small you can fit the in holes between some tables
Lighting so dim that it’s impossible to read the menu.
Menus with type so small or thin that they’re impossible to read even with proper light.
Restaurants so cheap that they never have enough menus for everyone in the party and you have to share.
Consumerist articles which copy articles from other blogs where people are asked to complain about things in restaurant.
Consumerist commenters complaining about things in restaurants.
No wait…
Being brought to a booth when I have to use the wheelchair. Ok, maybe that should just really, really dim hosts/hostesses.
Not really a ‘pet peeve’, more a matter of serious negligance: ignoring or forgetting allergy requests. My brother and I both have celiacs disease and while we obviously won’t order things that clearly contain gluten, we will always double check to make sure the meal is gluten free. The amount of times we’ve been told a meal is gluten free only to end up incredibly ill a couple hours later is staggering. My cousin also has a VERY strong nut allergy so very rarely eats out. The last time she tried she ended up in an ambulance, this is after she rang the place ahead to let them know she was coming to make sure everything would be entirely nut free and they assured her it would be.
Boarder on lies i hate that actually i think that is illegal next time you go out call ahead and record your phone conversion
Most annoying is having a server who won’t take “no, thanks” for an answer when it’s time for desert.
“Would you like to see our dessert menu?”
“No, thanks.”
“We have some really good specials!”
“I’ll pass, but thanks.” “
Are you sure?”
“I’m diabetic, okay?”
“We have no sugar added ice cream!”
Most annoying is having a server who won’t take “no, thanks” for an answer when it’s time for desert.
“Would you like to see our dessert menu?”
“No, thanks.”
“We have some really good specials!”
“I’ll pass, but thanks.” “
Are you sure?”
“I’m diabetic, okay?”
“We have no sugar added ice cream!”
I agree with what many have posted already… in addition, I get highly irritated with misspellings and bad grammar on menus… The more expensive the restaurant, the more irritated I am.
I hate it when you order hot tea and they expect you to reuse the teabag when you want a second cup.
1. Absentee parents, even though they are sitting there, with running around screaming children.
2. Loud patrons trying to get something for free because an imaginary person “told me everything was 1/2 off”; always *after* the bill arrives.
3. Inconsiderate people.
Jokingly 4. Watching to see when I am about to put food in my mouth then asking me how things are.:)
waitstaff who are so dumb that would sell me a alcohol drink when i am not 21 that is so stupid if your going to serve alcohol please get smarter wait staff
One of my biggest peeves is climate control. I know I live in the Midwest and that we have winter and it is cold outside, but I DO NOT want to have to wear my coat in order to be comfortable at a sit-down restaurant. I get the feeling they keep the heat down to save costs and because the wait and kitchen staff are hustling around, but to sit for an hour or so trying to enjoy a meal in your winter coat is not acceptable!
Other peeves:
Restaurants with bad accoustic design. Especially the whole “industrial” look/feel with lots of metal, no ceilings, exposed metal beams and corrugated ceilings, etc. Just designed so that the sound bounces around everywhere. Too Loud!
Too loud music.
Servers that perform poorly and still expect a 25% tip. Server recently forgot our orders, took ages to take our orders, bring a drink. Never refilled drinks or checked back – not even one time during our meal! I gave him a little over 10% tip because service was so bad, and I found out later that he crossed my tip out and charged my credit card for a 25% tip. That is outright theft.
do what i do tip in cash tell the server why they got a low tip so they can get better
Too much attention, server constantly putting arm across table, and in my face, to clear some items out of the way; if they are in my way, I will put them on the edge of the table, otherwise, leave them. We were in a place ther other day, server was doing this all the time, grabbing the used butter packets, cracker wrappers etc., I was getting ready to stab her hand with my fork. The best thing they can do, is just walk by my table every so often, look at us, and if I need you, I’ll let you know. Also, not coming back with-in 5 minutes of our food being served, in case something is wrong, or needed. Also saying “hows it taste” when they can clearly see I haven’t eaten anything yet. Also, too loud music. Can’t talk… just sit and eat, look at each other, this is fun.
When cleaning off a booth, the bus person sets the dirty dish bin on a seat. Clears the dirty dishes into the bin, wipes off the table without spray, just a damp dirty rag, thus pushing all of the crumbs/food bits onto the seats.
Takes his dirty dish bin, and departs the table WITHOUT cleaning the seats!!!
YuK!
Jumbo portions and the prices that go along with them, lack of healthy menu choices.
1. “Hi GUYS…” I’m 55 years old. I’m not your high school buddy. I’m paying big bucks to eat here. We’re not pals.
2. “Oh…good choice.” Wait…you’re making minimum wage… if you could afford to eat here why would you be working here?
3. Hanging around the table when we’re trying to talk. Especially the managers when they feel they have to socialize.
4. Waiters who have English as their second language.
i found a sign that said in english free learn english as a second language.
He talks about red wine being too warm, but I find that a more common problem is white wine that’s too cold. White wine shouldn’t be served near freezing…you can’t taste it if it is.
But my number one pet peeve will always be sitting around waiting for the check. At many busy places, you have to flag down your waiter to get the check, then they disappear again, come back and get your credit card, disappear again, and come back with the slip. I know they don’t like to make people feel rushed after a meal, but personally, if I want to sit around chatting with someone after the meal, I can do it just as well after the check is taken care of as before.
My most recent restaurant peeve was when I met friends for dinner at an NYU pizza/italian place.
I was sitting next to my wife, and then a family sits behind us, and their kids kept hitting my wife’s chair. she had to ask 3 times to get them to stop.
So then they started hitting my chair. I also had to ask 3 times, and they never did quite stop.
Really parents? I coulda shot you.
I’d say “loud obnoxious children whose parents were clearly broken like an old horse” but it appears that’s been covered. And I generally don’t go to restaurants that cater to children anyway. (If you go to Appleby’s you should probably expect it)
So instead I’ll say “restaurants that try to seat 40 in a space big enough for 20. I’m not a little guy, but I’m also not gigantorâ„¢. I can fit in airline seats just fine thank you. But if I’m going to shell out $150 for my wife and I to have dinner, I’d like to have enough space that I can move *both* of my arms.
Slow drink refills and loud kids that are old enough to know better.
making reservations and when you get there you are given the worst table in the restaurant even though there are better tables there.
When I order a drink and you don’t know if you have it, ask the bartender. Don’t come back and tell me “The computer says we are out of Proseco.”
Server disappearing immediately after dropping off the bill, when I have been waiting for you to bring it and have my credit card out and ready to go. It’s not a novel in that little book, and I’m not going to be determining if you calculated the tax rate correctly or anything.
People who photograph their food.
Oh and another one, when the bill does the math for you and show how much a 20% tip would be. I’ll give the server what I deem fit! On another note, I once actually did the math right there and they were inflated to be much higher than the percentage stated.
Noise is by far my top complaint. The source of the noise doesn’t matter. Often it’s loud music, other times it’s children. In either case, it needs to stop.
Kids.
The tipping system is bs. It’s just a way for the employer to pay less, while the diner and the waitstaff are pitted against each other. The thing is, the waitstaff don’t work in a vacuum, and they will be quick to point that out at tip time. Fine. Let’s cut out tipping altogether, make the employer pay them the same as everyone else, and adjust the menu prices accordingly.
+++++
Warm bread and ice cold butter – waste of both resources
Squatting next to the table to take the order
Serving beverages with a hand over the glass or near the lip? So gross!
Other customers, specifically those who can’t keep their kids under control (and it’s not a kid-friendly place like Friendly’s where I know what I’m getting in to), those who have extra loud conversations with each other/on cell phones despite others around them, those who monopolize the wait staff, those who refuse to tuck in their chairs even when it’s a small restaurant and sitting completely removed from the table means no one can get by you.
Also, wait staff who don’t write down your order. I just don’t trust you. Sorry.
One of my pet peeves is that many restaurants make no effort to design even one good vegan or vegetarian dish for their menu. Ordering a regular item without meat doesn’t usually produce a very satisfying dish. Most places have the ingredients on hand to design and offer a couple of things, but they don’t. Then, when I go, I have to be a pain in the ass orderer so I can get a dish with some substance. For example, most mexican restaurants could serve up black bean fajita veggie enchiladas with a tomatillo or ranchero sauce, spanish rice, and a side of guacamole. Places like Cheesecake factory could make endless dishes. I would give anything for most places to just have one dish listed that was actually filling.
Ordering unsweet iced tea and constatnly getting sweet iced tea, including the refills, since unsweetened iced tea is apparently an unoly abboration here in the South.