Thread: More venting, this about restaurants.....

Originally Posted by jockeys

if i sounded european at all i'd be very afraid to eat in an american restaraunt. i saw waiters doing all sorts of dreadful things to food destined for the tables of people the waiters were sure weren't going to tip. you don't even want to know.

And by the same logic I'll never tip if I suspect the staff might have done dreadful things to my food. Sound fair?

I once went to a pizza place with a colleague. They arrived lukewarm, he complained and they were sent back to be reheated. That very morning I'd watched a TV show showing CCTV footage of what disgruntled employees do to food.

I did NOT enjoy eating that pizza when it came back. I would rather have walked out hungry and out of pocket.

Originally Posted by Rajagra

And by the same logic I'll never tip if I suspect the staff might have done dreadful things to my food. Sound fair?

absolutely it's fair. which is why i like, at the restaraunts i frequent, to have a reputation as an extremely generous tipper. the bored and angry waitstaff will loose their venom on someone else instead of me.

but all that aside, non-americans have a pretty well entrenched reputation at american restaraunts. (and a well deserved one, in my experience) and a lot of waiters won't give people the benefit of the doubt. i'd advise anyone visiting america to tell the waitstaff up front that you are one of the rare, nigh-mythical foreigners that knows how to tip. while this may slightly embarass the waiter (and yourself) it will go a long way towards making sure you get your food as it's intended to be, rather than altered in ways that vary from mildly unsanitary to deeply pornographic.

Originally Posted by jockeys

rather than altered in ways that vary from mildly unsanitary to deeply pornographic.

Haha, I watched "Waiting..." last night, and I'm having flashbacks. I don't even want to know how much of that stuff is true or even based on the truth.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Haha, I watched "Waiting..." last night, and I'm having flashbacks. I don't even want to know how much of that stuff is true or even based on the truth.

it was a well done movie. mike judge did a helluva job getting the jargon right ("oh, i'm in the weeds!" etc) but the actions and attitude portrayed are actually dead on. people watch the movie and assume it's a parody, but in all seriousness, it really could have been a documentary. really.

the restaraunts i worked at were nicer and did MUCH worse things to the food. on rare occasions, food was intentionally altered in a way that would make the consumer ill.

Originally Posted by jockeys

it was a well done movie. mike judge did a helluva job getting the jargon right ("oh, i'm in the weeds!" etc) but the actions and attitude portrayed are actually dead on. people watch the movie and assume it's a parody, but in all seriousness, it really could have been a documentary. really.

the restaraunts i worked at were nicer and did MUCH worse things to the food. on rare occasions, food was intentionally altered in a way that would make the consumer ill.

Yeah, I had a feeling.

Thanks for reading my disclaimer...

Forget about what they might do and consider what they already do.
I've been in a lot of commercial kitchens to fix their equipment and believe me, it's a rare restaurant that I will eat at these days! That "A" rating you see as you go into a restaurant means next to nothing!


YUCK!!

I couldn't eat out anywhere for a long time after watching Waiting simply because I knew it was true. I used to get on to SWMBO for being a difficult patron (don't put this on there, add this, this isn't what I ordered, etc) and on several occasions tried to tell her why she was making a mistake. Her biggest thing was taking off stuff from the order like tomatoes. Then Waiting came out. Now she takes the tomatoes off herself and asks for extras on the side.

He took one look at me and decided that I was going to walk the check, so he hovered over us to make sure I didn't.

VeeDubb65


VeeDubb, I had a similar experience around thirty years ago in an Automobile Dealership.
I usually showered, shaved and put on clean clothes at my workplace. On the days I would be cutting the grass, or something similar, I'd wear my work clothes home and do my chores. Then 'd shower and wear clean work clothes back to work the next day. I was headed home, in my work clothes this particular day. As I drove by a new car dealership, I spotted a pickup truck I liked. So I pulled over to the curb and walked in.
I was like the Invisible Man. None of the salesmen saw me. I began trying to flag one down. Nothin' shakin'. They wouldn't make eye contact with me.
I hadn't picked it all up yet. I finally got one stopped and told him I was interested in the blue truck on the lot. He acted like he had a really bad job ahead of him. I asked about the truck and he answered in as few words as possible. It was like he didn't want to be bothered. Then he blurted out "How do you expect to pay for a truck like that?" The light went on!
I asked him if he knew the Vice President at the First National Bank. He said he did. I told him to call the man and ask how I could pay for the truck. He started to open the phone book and I told him the number for the bank. He called and got the Operator at the bank. He asked for Mr. So-and-so, then he said "Yes I can hold." While he waited, he covered the mouthpiece with his hand and said, "We don't HAVE to do this, we can let it drop right here and nobody gets embarrassed." I told him, "No, I insist...fire away."
The VP picked up and the sales guy told him my name and described me. Then he said, "Well, he's here at the ****** Dealership and he is looking at a pickup truck. Will it be all right to continue with a sale?"
About then he sat up straighter and smoothed his hair. Then he straightened his tie. He told the phone, "Thank you, Sir." I asked what the VP had said. The salesman said, "Why he said you can afford anything we have on the lot and to let you have whatever you want...it's covered!" I stood and told him, "I am definitely going to buy a new truck, but I'll not buy the SOB here!" Then I walked out.
Another case of looking at the clothes and making up his mind.