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Waitress - would you complain about this?

158 replies

Soffit · 28/01/2022 17:53

I'm trying to understand who is wrong here. I visited a popular food chain restaurant yesterday (peri..chicken) with 1DC. Outside the restaurant was a largeish family group. They were hovering around near the menu, blocking the entrance but started moving inside when they saw us trying to get inside. Just inside the entrance was a hand sanitiser dispenser. We do not use it as we bring our own. They were taking turns on it so we went past them and walked up the long narrow passage to where you would usually wait to be seated (always the same spot - been many, many times).

The waitress, instead of offering us a table, bellowed out something to the effect of 'I think that group entered first didn't they so I'm going to seat them first'. At this point, the group is nowhere near the seating queue and still applying hand sanitiser. She called out to them to come along so they quickly finished, walked over and overtook us.
It felt as though she was going out of her way to make a point and make us feel rude. It strongly felt that this may also have been because she was of similar heritage to the group and wanted to make a social justice point but it seemed defensive, really weird and plain wrong in this situation.

This is not meant to be goady. I am just wondering if you would raise it.

OP posts:
FKATondelayo · 28/01/2022 18:16

Anyone fancy a cheeky Nando's now?

BringBackCoffeeCreams · 28/01/2022 18:17

I agree with you OP and I once got flamed here over a similar issue. In my case it was a cafe where you take a tray and slide it along, taking the stuff you want until you get to till. I knew exactly what I wanted. Elderly couple in front of me didn't. They were having a discussion about every single sandwich in the sandwich area. So I went round them, grabbed the cake I wanted from the next area and went to pay. Woman on the till wouldn't let me pay as I jumped the queue. I had to stand there for almost 10 minutes while they faffed about what they wanted. I could have paid, eaten and been out in that time. But apparently I was in the wrong too!

Teaandcrumpets95 · 28/01/2022 18:17

YABU

They were first, you could have patiently waited a moment or two but instead you went around them which is rude.

Size of group also doesn't matter- you and your dc were a table of 2 so assuming it wasn't busy you wouldn't have been waiting longer to be seated anyway.

I worked as a waitress for years and I'd have rather made a simple and polite comment to a queue pusher rather than get it in the neck from the other group by seating you first!

And bringing race into the equation, shame on you.

Soffit · 28/01/2022 18:17

@LetHimHaveIt

It is honestly - honestly - people like you who make me want to sink to my knees and thank god I'm not a waitress anymore. I bet you love leaving this BS all over TripAdvisor in the hopes of a twenty quid voucher.
Stop getting carried away with stupid speculations. I don't even leave reviews smh
OP posts:
NoSauce · 28/01/2022 18:18

Bloody hell.

Soffit · 28/01/2022 18:18

@BringBackCoffeeCreams

I agree with you OP and I once got flamed here over a similar issue. In my case it was a cafe where you take a tray and slide it along, taking the stuff you want until you get to till. I knew exactly what I wanted. Elderly couple in front of me didn't. They were having a discussion about every single sandwich in the sandwich area. So I went round them, grabbed the cake I wanted from the next area and went to pay. Woman on the till wouldn't let me pay as I jumped the queue. I had to stand there for almost 10 minutes while they faffed about what they wanted. I could have paid, eaten and been out in that time. But apparently I was in the wrong too!
Thank you! I'll know what to avoid in the future!!
OP posts:
KilmordenCastle · 28/01/2022 18:20

I'm a waitress. I would have probably smiled at you and told you to please bear with me then offered to seat the people behind you rather than making a big deal of it. But yes I would have seated the people behind you first. They were first through the door 🤷‍♀️ fair enough if they'd have told you to go ahead but they didn't so you are after them.

I would have predicted those people quite possibly kicking up a fuss if I let you queue jump and, frankly, I don't get paid enough for that so I would have tried to avoid it by doing the fair thing.

LaurieSchafferIsAllBitterNow · 28/01/2022 18:20

I reckon she should have sent you back to sanitise your hands...so what if you have your own? you'll be touching stuff before you are seated and sanitised

All it took was "do you mind if we go by?" while they were faffing, or for them to say to the waitress, "no go ahead with them, we're not ready yet"

It does not sound as if they was any major delay or they took the last table and you had to go elsewhere

A complete non issue on all parts imo.

Thewolvesarerunningagain · 28/01/2022 18:20

They did physically enter before us but were by no means queueing

I’m baffled by this. Is there another reason why a large group would go into a restaurant and sanitise their hands other than to eat? They were clearly about to approach the waitress to be seated. I’m sorry OP but I think you did push in

iloveyankeecandle · 28/01/2022 18:20

I'd have said to the family "are you in the queue?" Then they'd know you was waiting and you could move ahead?

stuntbubbles · 28/01/2022 18:21

I visited a popular food chain restaurant yesterday (peri..chicken)
You were being cheeky

marcopront · 28/01/2022 18:22

If there were two of you and more than two of them, then you wouldn't be on the same table, so why does it matter?

Doesn't the queue start at the hand sanitiser station?

LetHimHaveIt · 28/01/2022 18:22

'Stop getting carried away with stupid speculations. I don't even leave reviews smh'

No, that's right; you were going to complain straight to HO. My mistake smh (whatever the fuck that means).

Soffit · 28/01/2022 18:24

@marcopront

If there were two of you and more than two of them, then you wouldn't be on the same table, so why does it matter?

Doesn't the queue start at the hand sanitiser station?

It does? Well if that is the new etiquette then I have learned something new. Thanks
OP posts:
ittakes2 · 28/01/2022 18:25

They were at the restaurant first - nothing wrong with them seeing you and realising they were going to be behind you if they didn’t hurry up. It’s racist of you to think the waitress was making a decision on what their heritage was.

Soffit · 28/01/2022 18:25

@LetHimHaveIt

'Stop getting carried away with stupid speculations. I don't even leave reviews smh'

No, that's right; you were going to complain straight to HO. My mistake smh (whatever the fuck that means).

Yes, I would complain directly. You obviously don't
OP posts:
HomeHomeInTheRange · 28/01/2022 18:25

Oh, for goodness’ sake!

As far as the waitress could see, you walked past them while they were doing what the restaurant wants everyone to do: sanitize.

She might have been mistaken but why make such a big deal if it? Especially your ‘same ethnicity’ insinuation. FFS.

WorriedGiraffe · 28/01/2022 18:26

They arrived before you, entered before you, applied hand sanitiser before you… except you skipped round at that bit, might not have been a queue but you still pushed ahead of your turn to be seated. Stating the waitress was making an issue because of race is ridiculous regardless of wether YWBU or not though. You just sound racist.

sillysmiles · 28/01/2022 18:28

Did you speak to them as you went past and ask them if they were queuing or waiting for people?

Sometimes the easiest solution is to just talk to the people beside you.

HomeHomeInTheRange · 28/01/2022 18:28

‘Complain’ . I despair. What has happened to people to be so grumpy, sensitive and huffy?

CraftyGin · 28/01/2022 18:28

Have you lived in the UK for a long time, OP?

Just wondering why you don't understand queue etiquette.

Soffit · 28/01/2022 18:29

@KilmordenCastle

I'm a waitress. I would have probably smiled at you and told you to please bear with me then offered to seat the people behind you rather than making a big deal of it. But yes I would have seated the people behind you first. They were first through the door 🤷‍♀️ fair enough if they'd have told you to go ahead but they didn't so you are after them.

I would have predicted those people quite possibly kicking up a fuss if I let you queue jump and, frankly, I don't get paid enough for that so I would have tried to avoid it by doing the fair thing.

Do you mean that you would have bellowed across a five meter corridor telling them to finish what they hadn't finished doing just so that you could seat them before a customer with a child who was already there?
OP posts:
StopForAMinute · 28/01/2022 18:29

The waitress probably saw the large family come in, then saw you walk straight past them to be seated and was trying to be fair as they were first through the door.

I probably would have just waited behind them.

Sally872 · 28/01/2022 18:30

You pushed past. Skipping the hand sanitiser is skipping in front. You should have waited there to sanitise or taken your own out there, sanitised and put away so it was clear you weren't avoiding sanitising to skip queue.

They were there first, they went through the door first then you walked past them while sanitising as requested by the restaurant. Really rude. And if must have been obvious for waitress to comment. It is obvious from your own description ffs.

WorriedGiraffe · 28/01/2022 18:30

What’s having a child with you got to do with anything?

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