Poll of the Day > Whats your biggest pet peeves for restaurants?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Mine is consistency. I want my food to be the same time every time especially portions.

And fast food or chain restaurants piss me off when something is different at some locations because the people there do it different for some damn reason.

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Thats a totally valid complaint. Consistency is one of the most important things for a good restaurant.

For me a pet peeve is when their iced tea isnt being made properly. I dont always order iced tea but when I do its easy to tell if they made it way too strong or if they were lazy and its old tea thats just been sitting around which is gross

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Yeah old tea is the terrible. Like popeyes, if its fresh i think they have the best tea. If its not, I would rather drink anything else.

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Rude Waiters/Waitresses...

Esp at iHop...I hate when they always wanna seat me next to noisy crowds/groups

pionear posted...

Rude Waiters/Waitresses...

Esp at iHop...I hate when they always wanna seat me next to noisy crowds/groups

I always ask for a particular waitress when I go to IHOP since my wife and I usually go the same time every week.

Servers that ignore you tick me off easily, now it's understandable when the place is packed or it's a trainee, and they're usually apologetic about their absence in those situations.

But when you get seated and noone waits on you or you go to a fast food counter and noone takes the time to say " be with you in a minute " , it best to just leave and try again another day.

$3 for a coke... I mean, srsly?

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Cutesy names, deconstructed items, or misnamed items(including meat fraud)

1. Dont try to name a milk shake a frozen betsy. Its stupid like baby talk between adults.
2. Deconstructed dont try to charge more due to a lack of plating skills
3. Selling anything under a widly used name that is not close to the item (callling an poached egg in broth egg drop soup) or selling rock lobster as main lobster, or saing you are using romaine lettuce but using iceberg)

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Menus not having things that I can eat.
I don't like mayonnaise, raw fish, dark greens or eggs. You'd be surprised how many places I've been where I've struggled to get something on the menu because every dish seems to have one of these things that isn't a salad, and usually those come with heavy dressings (Only dressing I really care for is Italian).

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ScritchOwl posted...

3. Selling anything under a widly used name that is not close to the item (callling an poached egg in broth egg drop soup) or selling rock lobster as main lobster, or saing you are using romaine lettuce but using iceberg)

Depending on where you are, that may be full-on-illegal. "Egg drop soup," less so, since there's some room for interpretation, but if they claim to be using one ingredient when they use something different (usually cheaper), that's false advertising.

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Scammers who try to get a free meal via trumped up complaints.

Karens.

Suppliers who leave out important items or send the wrong thing entirely (eg., a box of almonds instead of cashews when none of the dishes for for almonds, and never have).

Or with any food service job, bosses who have trouble creating schedules based on even the majority of workers' preferences. "Hey, you're going to work this odd shift you don't like because reasons. By the way I'm taking a two week vacation out of the blue, for the umpteenth time this year, without telling anyone until right now. Byyyeeeeeee~"

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When they don't serve booze

Running out of staple items. Last time I went to a local steak house, they were out of t-bones. That place has gone way down hill and I don't plan on ever eating there again. Wonder if rona killed them.

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dragon504 posted...

Running out of staple items. Last time I went to a local steak house, they were out of t-bones. That place has gone way down hill and I don't plan on ever eating there again. Wonder if rona killed them.

I went to a DQ once that was out of bananas , which should be # 3 or 4 on the list of supplies needed after ice cream , cones , then toppings or fruit mixings.

dragon504 posted...

Running out of staple items. Last time I went to a local steak house, they were out of t-bones. That place has gone way down hill and I don't plan on ever eating there again. Wonder if rona killed them.

robbobmur posted...

I went to a DQ once that was out of bananas , which should be # 3 or 4 on the list of supplies needed after ice cream , cones , then toppings or fruit mixings.

Sometimes suppliers run out. Sometimes they only have unripe bananas. Sometimes there are other circumstances.

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Menus not giving full descriptions of items on the menu. Like is a burger they described a special mustard, lettuce, bacon, cheese. But dont say there is ketchup, but there is ketchup.
For solid things, to me it isnt a big deal, as it can be removed, but any kind of sauce needs to he listed. Though everything should be for allergy reasons.

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Ogurisama posted...

Menus not giving full descriptions of items on the menu.

That's probably the most annoying to me. I don't want and shouldn't have to ask the waiter what's in it exactly. Plus they may not know which leads to double annoyance.

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Ogurisama posted...

Menus not giving full descriptions of items on the menu.

There's a wing place called Pluckers that does crap like that. Weird names with no meaningful description on the flavor


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This isn't for the restaurants themselves necessarily, but one of my biggest pet peeves about their websites is them not listing the prices for the menu items directly on their website, and instead you have to "pretend" to place an online order to see them >_>

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Letting other people in besides myself.

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hypnox posted...

Mine is consistency. I want my food to be the same time every time especially portions.

And fast food or chain restaurants piss me off when something is different at some locations because the people there do it different for some damn reason.

are you a cook or something? noticed you really like food topics

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is pepsi ok?

if I wanted pepsi, I would have asked for pepsi.
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Not being able to order stuff online. I don't want to call for my order, I am ordering food because I am too lazy to cook it myself. Having to talk to someone to order food means I would rather skip a meal then order from you.

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When my drink is like 90% ice.
I don't care if there's free refills, half the time the server never comes around to check, and I want to drink Dr. Pepper, not Dr. Pepper flavored water.

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ScritchOwl posted...

Cutesy names, deconstructed items, or misnamed items(including meat fraud)

1. Dont try to name a milk shake a frozen betsy. Its stupid like baby talk between adults.
2. Deconstructed dont try to charge more due to a lack of plating skills
3. Selling anything under a widly used name that is not close to the item (callling an poached egg in broth egg drop soup) or selling rock lobster as main lobster, or saing you are using romaine lettuce but using iceberg)

Judgmenl posted...

Menus not having things that I can eat.
I don't like mayonnaise, raw fish, dark greens or eggs. You'd be surprised how many places I've been where I've struggled to get something on the menu because every dish seems to have one of these things that isn't a salad, and usually those come with heavy dressings (Only dressing I really care for is Italian).

Ogurisama posted...

Menus not giving full descriptions of items on the menu. Like is a burger they described a special mustard, lettuce, bacon, cheese. But dont say there is ketchup, but there is ketchup.
For solid things, to me it isnt a big deal, as it can be removed, but any kind of sauce needs to he listed. Though everything should be for allergy reasons.

Good ones.
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I'd agree with consistency. I went to one location and got this specialty pizza... the first one I went to loaded it up, the second place was too skimpy, and the third (second from second place) was in between. The problem was I expect it to be like the first one with all the stuff on it, so neither was adequate and I just lost my interest in that place.

This is sort of subjective, and I know they can't help it, but I find "country bumpkin" servers off-putting. Whenever I have one that's a middle-aged or older, clearly-straight-but-overtly-masculine farmer woman, it just kills the vibe for me. I have no ill will towards them, it's just who they are, but their demeanor rubs me the wrong way and it detracts from my dining experience. People sorta like Melissa McCarthy, if that description wasn't good enough.

SunWuKung420 posted...

Sometimes suppliers run out. Sometimes they only have unripe bananas. Sometimes there are other circumstances.

The restaurant was at less than half the capacity. This is Texas too, there's no damn way they couldn't have just gotten some more steaks. They more than likely just didn't buy enough, since they've been in decline and didn't want to risk it financially.

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dragon504 posted...

The restaurant was at less than half the capacity. This is Texas too, there's no damn way they couldn't have just gotten some more steaks. They more than likely just didn't buy enough, since they've been in decline and didn't want to risk it financially.

Your pet peeve is still rooted in your assumption that someone choose to not restock when in all likelyhood there was extenuating circumstances.

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Fries that are not hot

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When they sell some drinks in can and some from tap, but they don't tell you beforehand.

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Dumb assholes who look at the food you're eating.

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When the waitresses act all nice at first but then call the police when I follow them home.

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Cilantro and/or capers.

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Consistency is a double edge sword. In many cases when you are disappointed it's probably because they are doing things right by the book so your whole sandwich gets 2 pickle slices, your salad gets 3 croutons or your proportion are skimmed exactly.

Places like chipotle probably love it since they don't have to face customers as they give them exact proportions which they were never known for.

I'm struggling to think of any.
Having dated waitresses and been friends with a handful of chefs/bar owners, I'm pretty easy-going when it comes to eating out.

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It always bothers me when the owner decides to come out and ask me to use silverware and a table or leave because I'm "scaring the other customers." I'm the one paying them! Why can't I enjoy my food how I want!

Pop music playing over the speakers.

Great food and cleanliness with cleanliness being number 1. Nothing worse than going out to eat and seeing bugs etc in a restaurant. In college, I waited tables and I witnessed some things in the kitchen such as people dropping food on the floor and putting back on a plate to be served. People spitting in potatoes, etc and this stuff does happen often.

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I don't like when the plate is warm. The food can be warm, but heat doesn't transfer to ceramic that quickly, especially not the whole plate.

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SpeedDemon20 posted...

I don't like when the plate is warm. The food can be warm, but heat doesn't transfer to ceramic that quickly, especially not the whole plate.

Warm plates keep the food hot.

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Menus with no prices.

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I look around cautiously. Nobody is nearby, so I take a bite of food.

"How is everything?"


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having an embarrassingly small selection of beers

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When you get a medium burger brought to you when you asked for well and the waitress specifically asked if you want it with "no pink"....

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My peeve is that I haven't been able to eat in restaurants since March. In this strange new world, my new peeve is restaurants that give you a time that your food will be ready for pickup and don't view that as a real commitment.

Receipt: "pick up your food at 5:40".
Me thinking I'm clever: "I'd rather have cool food than wait. I'll get there at 5:50".
Cashier at 6:05: "we're working on the 5:40 orders now".
Me feeling wronged: *looks at phone, then back at cashier expectantly*
Cashier: Silence. No apology. Nothing. I should expect my food to be a half hour late.

I used to love Chipotle, but they seem do this consistently. The worst was when I was waiting in the store and - back when walkups were still allowed - I watched people come in the door ten minutes after my food was promised, wait through the line, and leave with their food ten minutes before I got my food. With 25 other people standing around waiting for a call-in orders! That resulted in the one and only time I ever raised my voice at a restaurant employee:

Me: "I have nothing against these good people in line, but given that the rest of us over here had out food promised 20 minutes before they even walked in the door you need to ignore the line for a few minutes and complete our orders first"
Cashier/manager on duty: "There's nothing I can do."
Me: "Oh, but there is! You can tell the three people in your assembly line - those good people right there listening to me - to make our food and not theirs! You don't even have an electronic system: just move our slips of paper in front of theirs! Easy peasy: the problem is solved!"
Cashier: "There's nothing I can do."
Cashier 10 minutes later (35 minutes late): "Food for wpot". No apology/no discount.

I'm easy to please - I never complain/hold grudges - but I haven't gone back to Chipotle since and doubt I will anytime soon.

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I'd take that complaint to corporate and see what they have to say on the matter. They may or may not differ.

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Krazy_Kirby posted...

is pepsi ok?

if I wanted pepsi, I would have asked for pepsi.

That is the most stupid complaint. You kniw a place only sells one or the other ussually of course they will try to make the sell. What are they supposed to say? "Ok no drink for you then"? Average person doesent care that much they may have a preference but with no choice a cola is a cola

That said when I say cola and they ask im slighty annoyed cause i said cola speficaly for the point of meaning I dont care which brand

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Entity13 posted...

I'd take that complaint to corporate and see what they have to say on the matter. They may or may not differ.

Maybe I could get a gift card that way, but nah...I'll vote with my wallet. There are other places that can make a burrito. :)

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Krazy_Kirby posted...

is pepsi ok?

if I wanted pepsi, I would have asked for pepsi.

Pepsi is better than Coke.

Zareth posted...

When my drink is like 90% ice.
I don't care if there's free refills, half the time the server never comes around to check, and I want to drink Dr. Pepper, not Dr. Pepper flavored water.

Ask for low or no ice. I don't like really icy drinks in general so try to just get low ice. They probably think I do it to get more product which I honestly don't give a shit about.

SunWuKung420 posted...

Your pet peeve is still rooted in your assumption that someone choose to not restock when in all likelyhood there was extenuating circumstances.

Citation needed.

wpot posted...

Maybe I could get a gift card that way, but nah...I'll vote with my wallet. There are other places that can make a burrito. :)

In that case it would be justified to get them fired.
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Revelation34 posted...

In that case it would be justified to get them fired.

It's been a while now: I'd be surprised if she managed to last this long. If she managed to get ME upset she must have been taking abuse daily: we mild-mannered Minnesotans have our limits. Especially when hangry.

But again, I don't have much interest in finding out. I went to another location and had more or less the same 20-30 minute delay issue even though they didn't have a walk-up line. It appears to be a systematic problem around here.

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Having to wait, rude and improper people

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