Is everything all right?

[rolexpatek363]

Call me an old curmudgeon, but I am becoming less and less tolerant of this redundant question from waiters in restaurants. Last night, we were out for dinner, halfway through and in the middle of a conversation, the waiter actually interrupted us with this. I gave him what I thought was a withering look, but my girl was polite enough to say yes. Conversation nicely derailed, thanks a lot, chum.

What are they thinking? Do they really imagine that people just chow down food they don't really like without saying anything? If we want anything, we'll wave at them!

Grrrrrr!

[Knappo 1307]

You sound pretentious. It's their job...

[Kostas]

is this in America ?

[Star Ferry]

Are you a Brit? I've noticed they like to complain about things like this.

[AzPaul]

You're an old curmudgeon.

[rudestew]

Grinds me to , you can almost set your watch by them

[Brenngun]

It's their job to make sure you have everything you need to enjoy your meal. When I'm dining out I expect the wait staff to check periodically. If they don't then they're not doing a good job. If they asked every 5 minutes then maybe it becomes an issue but otherwise waiting until you wave at them is a ridiculous idea. They have other tables to tend as well. They can't just stand around waiting for the wave. If your conversation was broken because of this simple and expected follow up then it couldn't have been very engaging to begin with.

[mannyv11]

Gotta love when people get angry at others for actually doing their job. It’s a lose lose for the waiter if he doesn’t ask this question people complain about lack of service if he or she does ask then they ruined the conversation. If answering yes to the waiter or waitress, which takes 3 seconds derails your conversation I think it’s more of a you problem.

[Abdullah71601]

You’re going to the wrong restaurants. Find a place where the staff leaves you alone and stick with it.

McDonalds comes to mind.

[MonBK]

geezz.

[Nicoleinfl]

They’re supposed to do that. Now if they’re doing that every 10 minutes, that’s a different story. I guess they can’t win with some.


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[.brian.]

Originally Posted by mannyv11

It’s a lose lose for the waiter if he doesn’t ask this question people complain about lack of service if he or she does ask then they ruined the conversation.

I came here to post this. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[brandrea]

Having them ask is MUCH better than the alternative

[superdog]

Can’t win.

Too little service. Complaints.

Too much service. Complaints.

[bdex75]

I want them to check in to make sure and keep the drinks refilled. If they come back to refill drinks/water and clear the table I can ask for something if I need it.


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[twitch54]

I agree with you.......... you're a curmudgeon !

[Terrakot]

Originally Posted by superdog

Can’t win.

Too little service. Complaints.

Too much service. Complaints.

actually win - liked or not but you obliged to tip

[rudestew]

The service is different in the USA in fact the service industry is full stop you guys would feel let down with a Big Mac lol

[Dr. Robert]

Originally Posted by AzPaul

You're an old curmudgeon.

A compliment, bah humbug......it’s good to be a curmudgeon

[KrismanX]

I think this is what Uber Eats is for. No conversation. No pants. No problem.

[BBL]

Originally Posted by rolexpatek363

Call me an old curmudgeon, but I am becoming less and less tolerant of this redundant question from waiters in restaurants. Last night, we were out for dinner, halfway through and in the middle of a conversation, the waiter actually interrupted us with this. I gave him what I thought was a withering look, but my girl was polite enough to say yes. Conversation nicely derailed, thanks a lot, chum.

What are they thinking? Do they really imagine that people just chow down food they don't really like without saying anything? If we want anything, we'll wave at them!

Grrrrrr!

Kudos to the lady for friendly manners.

[mjclark32]

“Delicious, thanks!”
Shouldn’t derail a conversation...

Sometimes they get me when I have a mouthful and I just go with the thumbsup...

[Danny83]

Dont be so grumpy man

[imperio]

Originally Posted by bdex75

I want them to check in to make sure and keep the drinks refilled. If they come back to refill drinks/water and clear the table I can ask for something if I need it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Yes, I agree with this. Just stop by, no need to interrupt the diners. My kind of perfect service! OP, I get you. I find these check-ins annoying too at times.

[blufinz52]

Can you post a pic of your 'withering look'? Just curious.

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by blufinz52

Can you post a pic of your 'withering look'? Just curious.

X2. I’d love to add it to my slow guy in the hammer lane repertoire.

[gettocard]

Originally Posted by rolexpatek363

Call me an old curmudgeon, but I am becoming less and less tolerant of this redundant question from waiters in restaurants. Last night, we were out for dinner, halfway through and in the middle of a conversation, the waiter actually interrupted us with this. I gave him what I thought was a withering look, but my girl was polite enough to say yes. Conversation nicely derailed, thanks a lot, chum.

What are they thinking? Do they really imagine that people just chow down food they don't really like without saying anything? If we want anything, we'll wave at them!

Grrrrrr!

I am absolutely with you for the following reasons :

1) they honestly don’t give a damn if everything is really ok or not,they are out there to hustle tips,period.

2) many of them,or actually MOST of them say that while your mouth is full just for the fun of seeing you gulping on your food while trying to answer or while you’re busy in a romantic conversation. They can spot that ! They are just out there to bust your balls..

3) they only say that to sell you another beer/soda so that all adds up to the final bill,which means more tip for them.

Ask yourself this : why they never have this pushy behavior in fancy restaurants?


When visiting USA at first I felt it was a fantastic gesture,something long lost here in Europe,now it just bothers me a lot,that’s why I have all my meals at Wholefoods when traveling. Fresh food and no obnoxious fake waiters to deal with
I sometimes stumble upon the 40 something lady working at CPK or chili’s for dinner shift,obviously she has bills to pay and she’s busting her ass instead of being at home with her family,usually she is genuinely nice and professional and not pushy. That’s the kind of waiter that gets a big tip from me.

[run23]

Servers should be doing this. Yes, believe it or not, there are plenty of customers that are unhappy with their meal, don’t say anything, and then leave a nasty review on Yelp about a problem that could easily have been fixed on the spot. Even the best restaurants make mistakes, and the good ones fix those mistakes quickly if the customer isn’t happy.

May be the Gen Xer in me, but I found this to be truer of younger patrons, who feel more comfortable complaining online rather than telling their server that something isn’t right.

When I owned a restaurant this would infuriate me to no end. Like someone will have noodles that are overcooked (can literally be fixed in 3 minutes with a new dish), the customer doesn’t say anything even when asked how he meal is, and then writes a nasty review on Yelp saying that the noodles were over-cooked. So yeah, a server should go out of his/her way to make sure the customer is happy during he course of the meal. And you may complain that the server ‘is just trying to sell you another drink’, but plenty of customers actually do get pissed when they have to flag down a server to order a drink— you get your meal and your beer is empty, and you have to sit there the entire meal hoping someone asks you if you’d like another drink(?!?).

Of course their are annoying and non-annoying ways to do this.

[SpeedyTuomas]

I'd hate to be your waitress or SA...grow up.

[locutus49]

I take the side of waiters. Sorry.

They are low on the power dominance spectrum, they have to scrape and bow to the whims of customers, some who treat them badly. And many foreign or older customers give them low tips. It is a tough job, so I go out of my way to treat them nicely and leave them good tips.