Is everything all right?

[mannyv11]

Originally Posted by gettocard

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.

While in highschool/college one of my jobs was waiter/bartender your points 1-3 are absolutely incorrect.

Also, in the "fancy" establishments I frequent in my local area the waiters/waitresses absolutely come over and check in on the meal, they confirm everything has been prepared to order, and if there is any issue they immediately take the food and correct the issue.

[cda555]

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!

Originally Posted by gettocard

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.

Since this is a "you" issue, maybe just let the waiter know that you don't want to be bothered unless you waive at them?

The only caveat would be that you can't complain when it takes longer for you to be addressed. The wait staff can't look at you nonstop for the duration of the meal.

[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.

[Brenngun]

Originally Posted by gettocard

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.

Gets my vote for the most cynical post ever.

[The Libertine]

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!

Seriously? You’re upset because the server actually asked how your meal was?

More often than not, I find myself bothered because the server didn’t even make the effort to stop by to inquire how our meal was, let alone ask if we needed any thing.

[rolexpatek363]

Originally Posted by The Libertine

Seriously? You’re upset because the server actually asked how your meal was?

More often than not, I find myself bothered because the server didn’t even make the effort to stop by to inquire how our meal was, let alone ask if we needed any thing.

Good service should be unobtrusive.

[LAFLARE]

Originally Posted by rolexpatek363

Good service should be unobtrusive.

How inconsiderate and rude of him. He should have lowered his voice with his head down when addressing absolute royalty.

[rolexpatek363]

Originally Posted by LAFLARE

How inconsiderate and rude of him. He should have lowered his voice with his head down when addressing absolute royalty.

I think he should treat everyone the same, "absolute royalty", or not.

Have a nice day.

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by rolexpatek363

I think he should treat everyone the same, "absolute royalty", or not.

Have a nice day.

Are you all right?

[sleddog]

Originally Posted by rolexpatek363

I think he should treat everyone the same, "absolute royalty", or not.

Have a nice day.

I really don’t see the problem, as with the majority regarding your conundrum.

I may suggest however, that given your location is ‘Up a Hill’, can you please walk back down, as it seems the air must be way to thin up there, for you to function correctly?!

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by rolexpatek363

I think he should treat everyone the same, "absolute royalty", or not.

Have a nice day.

Apparently, he did. Which begs the question, why did it so upset you?

[GSDLover]

Originally Posted by rolexpatek363

Good service should be unobtrusive.

I completely agree with this and the OP.
Interrupting a conversation is bad form, whether its your 6-year old or an adult that should know better. Better trained staff are taught more subtle ways to engage customers.

[pilotjim]

Originally Posted by GSDLover

I completely agree with this and the OP.
Interrupting a conversation is bad form, whether its your 6-year old or an adult that should know better. Better trained staff are taught more subtle ways to engage customers.

Nonsense. The point of going to a restaurant is to have a meal, not to engage in "uninterruptible" conversation. If you need that much privacy, stay home.

[GSDLover]

Originally Posted by pilotjim

Nonsense. The point of going to a restaurant is to have a meal, not to engage in "uninterruptible" conversation. If you need that much privacy, stay home.

Nonsense. Its not to have a meal. Its to enjoy the company of friends. The food is a special touch. The service should be too.

[rolexpatek363]

Originally Posted by GSDLover

I completely agree with this and the OP.
Interrupting a conversation is bad form, whether its your 6-year old or an adult that should know better. Better trained staff are taught more subtle ways to engage customers.

Thank you. A meal is indeed a social event, primarily. Most people talk through dinner.

But if you like having your conversation interrupted by a stranger asking a superfluous and insincere programmed question, then I hope it happens to you very often.

[GSDLover]

Originally Posted by rolexpatek363

Thank you. A meal is indeed a social event, primarily. Most people talk through dinner.

But if you like having your conversation interrupted by a stranger asking a superfluous and insincere programmed question, then I hope it happens to you very often.

Exactly. Well put.

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by rolexpatek363

Thank you. A meal is indeed a social event, primarily. Most people talk through dinner.

But if you like having your conversation interrupted by a stranger asking a superfluous and insincere programmed question, then I hope it happens to you very often.

Restaurants are usually fairly quiet places where people can enjoy a good meal. If you're looking for a conversation, go to Starbucks. Nobody will ask you if everything is OK there.

[Rock]

I seriously doubt that most 'waitpersons' have time to play games with the customers.
I think they probably grab the opportunity to ask when they get a small 'gap' in service.
If my mouth is full I'm just going to smile and nod/wink/thumbs-up.
I wouldn't want to discourage them from asking as sometimes you are ready for more drinks, water, order dessert, etc.

[Andad]

I.....I.......I.........I........got nuthin'

Insert 'shakes head' icon.

[tbonesteak]

I have no issue with the waiter asking this. 1/3 of the time I need something, whether another drink, one of my kids dropped some silverware, I've decided to add something else into the order, etc..

I'm much more upset when I can't find service in any of the aforementioned situations then someone proactively checking in.

Also, how does a 4 second interruption derail a conversation?

[imperio]

Just had an epiphany.

From now on I'll be letting my server know not to check in on me during the meal and I'll get his attention if I need service; save him the hassle and me the unwanted interruption. Win-win. Everything's all right now


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pilotjim]

If a two second inquiry from a waitress is too much for you to handle, you're just a bit too full of yourself.

[Watch This]

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!

It seems to me the waiter should have asked you if ANYTHING was alright.

[breitlings]

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!

they have to ask.