((off topic))
Since this site seems to be the site for my complaints (usually about the dentist, the neurologist or the eye doctor), I thought I'd have Doug take a crack at one of his pet peeves.
Doug is not usually one to complain (shhhh, don't tell him I said that), that is my job. He normally lets things go - too often in my opinion. When something happens over and over again to the point where he actually wants to write about it - it's something, trust me. Especially when it happens more than once during one single weekend trip. Not that this sort of thing has not happened to us for years, but two or three times in as many days put him over the edge.
There was that one Valentine's Day when we actually were able to go out without DC, so we did not have to chose a restaurant that served burgers and or wings. The table for two was half the size of the table pictured above.
We got our drinks and appetizers (table - full). Within 5 minutes time they came out with our entrees (with sides). When we asked where we were supposed to put all of these plates, they offered to wrap our appetizers to go. Seriously. After removing everything from the table; salt and pepper, oil, candle, wine list - they managed to fit everything on the table. But of course now everything was getting cold. 10 or 15 minutes after that fiasco, they brought out the salad - you know, the salad that is supposed to come out after the app and before the entree. Again, they offered to wrap it so I could take it home. Who wants to take a dinner salad home, really?
(In my option, Doug is being nice with his 25% estimate - I do believe it happens far more often than that)
So here, first in the series I am going to call #DougSpeaks is:
Doug's Restaurant Pet Peeve
HELLO HELLO HELLO, is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can
hear me. Is there anyone at home?
Hello class and welcome to Basic
Restaurant Service 101. Let me start by mentioning that I don’t care much for
fine dining. I am much more comfortable in a 3 or 4-star setting. With that
being said, I also understand that I am going to get 3 or 4-star service as
well and that is just fine with me as most times the service is acceptable.
When I go with V&DC we usually order appetizers. My gripe is that
occasionally, I will say 25% of the time (usually in chain restaurants), the
entrees are delivered before we are finished with the appetizer.
Now class
let’s read from our dictionary –
APPETIZER: A small dish of food consumed before a meal to stimulate one’s
appetite.
Most menus list these items as ‘starters’ or ‘appetizers’, but in
many cases the headline should say ‘Slam these down as quickly as you can. Your
app will be served with a three-minute timer … Ready? GO!!’
Basic restaurant
service guidelines state that an entree should be served 5 to 7 minutes AFTER
the appetizer is finished to give time to clear the table and prepare for the
oncoming meal. Does anybody read this stuff? I found that information in less
than five minutes. Who trains these people? Maybe I/we have a target on my back
and it only happens to me, I don’t know, but it happens often enough to start
raising awareness.
Here is a typical scenario and a couple of lines you are
welcome to use if this happens to you: [table full of plates and appetizers]
[server (or someone from the kitchen) arrives with entrees while apps and
plates are still on the table]
Response #1:
OH GOOD! Please set those down directly on top of our ummm … APPETIZERS!
Response #2:
Excuse our ignorance, we don’t get out to eat much. Which of these items are we
supposed to eat cold?
Now a good
server would recognize that there is a problem here and make an effort to
correct or compensate the issue. This has been done at times, but again not
very often.
If your comment(s) go unnoticed or ignored DO NOT LEAVE A TIP ON
THE APP!
It is
possible that I am over reacting and it’s possible the way things are done has
changed over the years. After all, if I do have dessert I order it AFTER
dinner. (Otherwise it may show up half way through the entree and would
probably go something like this: [server shows up at the table with dessert in
the middle of dinner] ‘Okay, who had the chocolate sundae?’ ‘I did, just dump
it on top of my mashed potatoes and gravy please.’
That brings us to part two of our
lesson today which is entitled ‘Taking control of your dining experience’.
As
you can probably tell, I am tired of leaving these places feeling rushed and
disappointed so they can turn their tables faster. (My apologies to those many
servers who got it right)
Here’s a tip that allows you to take the control of
the pace of your dining experience and away from them – especially when it’s
busy.
Order your appetizers and drinks and
only your appetizers and drinks
first NO MATTER WHAT THE SERVER SAYS!!
Once you are about ¾ of the way through your appetizer go ahead and order the
entrees. Then wait until you are done with the entree, of course, to order
dessert if you are so inclined.
Now I’m not one to complain. That’s not how I
want to spend my night. I usually just walk out quietly when I’m/we’re done and
do my venting (and laughing a little) in the car. If you should run into an app
mishap at any time as described above, feel free to leave a copy of this
article on the table before you leave as a protest. I haven’t yet, but I may
start soon. That concludes our lesson
today. Thank You for your attention. ~ Doug
*****
This blog is used for shorter posts, off topic posts, for longer Facebook statuses and apparently complaints about dentists and doctors :) . Please visit my official blog site at: Taking it a Step at a Time
