What should the restaurant have done?

[Globules]

I've just returned from a solo meal out in a restaurant. I was seated under the full blast air con.

I moved to each seat on the table before my drink arrived to try to avoid it. Each seat had an equal amount of wind factor.

When my drink arrived, I asked to swap tables due to the air con. They said to stay where I was and turned the air con off. Great result.

4 times whilst I was eating, it came back on. Every time I highlighted that it was on, they turned it off again.

I had finished my meal, contemplating a second drink and pudding when the air con came back on. Again I asked the waiter to turn it off. He said he couldn't as the table of 4 close by who came in not 5 minutes before had asked for it to be on.

I picked up my coat and drink, moved to the bar and immediately asked for the bill. The waiter could tell I wasn't impressed, but I think he'd been hamstringed by his manager.

If they'd only swapped tables at the start...

Who's right in this situation? Should the restaurant have left the air con off for me, the existing customer, or turn it back on for the 4 who had just entered?

I reckon it kept coming back on either as an automatic thing or the temp reached a certain point and kicked in

or

other diners or staff wanted it on!! And it had been on before you arrived. You wanted the restaurant temp to bend to you.

It may be a known fact, but as a rwgular solo female diner, it's not my experience... some restaurants may be dicks but not all of them!

Fair enough

you walked I. And this restaurant had the air con on full blast. You should have done a 180 and left

I am a solo female finer and for me… being under air con in this heat would be a GOOD seat.

That poster has assumed that what is crap for her must be crap for all women and therefore and indication of how poorly
women are generally treated. Which is crap.

The air con itself would not have been a problem it it was set properly.
It's not supposed to blow napkins about.
Turning it on and off constantly will only make things worse.

They should have moved you.

I wouldn't have stayed if they didn't, personally.

They treated you badly, AND they treated the rest of the diners badly by switching off the air con for one person. Crap customer service all round.

Yes, as I said the op should have been moved OR left if not offered.

The staff offered crap customer service to the OP by not sticking to what they told her, and also to the entire restaurant by switching off the air con for one person.

Yes, you should have been moved to somewhere more comfortable for you. But the treatment of solo diners is usually below par at most restaurants.

It was obvious that your request to have air con off couldn’t have “survived” for long - it wasn’t on accidentally, the restaurant needed it, it’s just this table had it too much. So the right way was to move you to another table straight away instead of switching air con off.
They clearly showed lack of common sense.

They should have moved you. I get you OP, I used to work in an office in a seat directly below the aircon. Pleasant for everyone else, horrible for me. Freezing, and gives you neck ache if blowing just on one side.

We’ve had really warm weather recently and most people struggle without air con. You needed to move to a different table.

This. How ridiculous to have a table that gets blasted.

My husband and I went to a restaurant in June and we were sat under the air-conditioning, it was a hot day but it was freezing cold. I never even asked, I moved us to a table away from it. The restaurant was practically empty so it never impacted anyone else us moving.

They should've moved you in the first place. One of my pet hates is being right under the air con in a restaurant. It is very uncomfortable and can be really cold even on a scorching day. Wherever possible the customer's comfort should come first. Sounds like they turned it into a properly daft fiasco for some reason.

This would not have been a problem if you had simply asked to move tables. You have said other tables were available and even if the restaurant had reservations to honour, its pretty rare that people specify which particular table they wish to reserve.

Been out for lunch today and requested to be as near to the air con as possible!

But to the likes of @JustPlainStanfreyPock this would be a crap seat and a sign that women are all side lined and given the shite tables. Why? Because she wouldn’t have like this table.

They should have offered to move you at tge start or swapped you with the other 4 who arrived. I absolutely hate sitting underneath air con which is usually turned up way too high - which in this case it obviously was. Solos usually get less than preferential treatment though - they were probably more worried that the 4 would leave, but it could have been sorted with a little bit of common sense from them.

Had the air con been turned on for the first time during your meal, I’d sympathise.

But very clearly this air con situation was
the status wuo and suited the restaurant as it was like this BEFORE you rocked up

I can't believe that neither you nor the wait staff decided this was getting a bit ridiculous before the FIFTH time you asked for the air con to be off. They shouldn't have had a table right under it in the first place, since they did they should either have shifted the table or, if not possible, moved you to another one. The constant having to ask for it to be switched back off was a terrible solution and they shouldn't have let it get to that point.

No doubt being asked by other diners… please turn it back on to what it was like when we arrived!!