So, my hubby's homeboy came over to get a haircut. Some how or another, my kitchen also serves as his barbershop, but whatever. So while he was cutting his homies hair, they started talking about any and everything, as they always do. Tonight, they got on the subject of going out to eat. I was watching something on tv, while simultaneously playing referee to my son and daughter, when I heard my husband say my name in his conversation. For some reason, he'd decided to bring up old ish, and tell his homie about an incident we had at Applebee's one time, where the customer service was really bad...so bad, that I left the restaurant without touching my food or drink. Of course, my husband was trying to make me look like I just got an attitude for no reason, but I told him if he's going to tell the story, then tell it right. So, here's what really happened:
A year or so ago, we went out to dinner. It was our anniversary, and it was on a Wednesday (that's not important, I just remember what day it was) So anyway, we have only been to Applebee's to eat twice in the 8 years we've been together- that time being the second and last time. We get in the restaurant, and the hostess (a black girl) shows us to our table- so far, so good. So, once we're seated, our waitress comes over with menus to take our drink orders. She's a white girl, and she seemed cool...at first. I ordered a sweet tea, and my husband got water like he always does when we go out, because he usually ends up ordering a few Corona's at some point. So, while she's gone to get our drinks, we're looking over the menu trying to decide what we want. I had seen some surf-n-turf type dish on Applebee's Facebook page earlier that day that I wanted to try, and my husband- who always makes his order more complicated than it has to be- wanted a couple of different things off the menu.
The waitress comes back with our drinks and asks if we're ready to order. I am, but as always, my old man is still undecided. He finally tells her what he wants. I think I wanted to order an appetizer as well. So, the waitress starts telling us what we should order, instead of what we asked for. She was trying to tell us we should order some appetizer platter, which had items on it neither of us wanted, which is what I told her. She got a little snooty with me and said, "Well, it's cheaper..that's all I'm trying to say."
Okay, first of all, I didn't ask her what was cheaper. If I couldn't afford to come out to eat, I would have stayed home and cooked (which is what I should have done). It wasn't so much what she said,it was that little attitude she had when she said it. On this particular day, Aunt Flo had decided to pop in for a visit, so her little attitude only caused me to get one in return. I told her, I didn't ask her what the food costs, I told her what I would like to have. She didn't say, "Whatever," but I read it all over her face as she turned around and walked away with her nose up. Okay, so before I go further, let me back up. When she came to take our orders, I'd told her the sweet tea wasn't sweet at all...as a matter of fact, it tasted like they forgot to add the sugar, so I'd asked if I could have a coke, instead. In the south, when we say sweet tea, it should taste like they poured a whole bag of sugar in it. After she got all snooty with me over my order and walked away, she had the girl who had been the hostess bring me the coke to replace the tea. Obviously, she had told her what happened, because the black chick walks over with the Coke, slams it down on the table a little harder than was necessary, and walked off without saying a word.
Okay, ladies...men might pretend not to notice shade being thrown around- like my husband did- but I peeped it. And there was no way in HELL I was going to take a sip of that Coke. Who knows what they could have done. I've been a waitress before, and I know how some people who work in restaurants can get when they have a customer they don't care for. Nope, they weren't gonna get me...not that day. Not only did I not want the drink, I didn't even want the food I'd ordered. The little snooty waitress and the hostess had both left a bad taste in my mouth. And even though my husband was trying to tell his homie that I was just going off for the sake of going off, I really was trying to keep my cool...so I wouldn't go off. By that time, I really just wanted to leave, but I looked up and here comes the waitress bringing our food to the table. I told her- as nicely as I could- that I wouldn't be eating the food, after all, and that she could take it back to the kitchen. I never touched my food or drink.
She must have really gotten in her feelings then, because she said something like, "I really don't know what your problem is, I was only trying to help you earlier," but she got a little louder with me than I cared for. I took another deep breath, and told her AGAIN that I didn't want the food and that she could take it back. Let me add that while this is going on, my husband- who I call Mikey because he'll eat ANYTHING- was already chowing down on his food...and probably trying to stay out of it. She gave me the 'whatever' look again, and went got her manager. He came over to try to diffuse the situation, and I will say that he was very nice. I told him what had happened and explained that while she may have been trying to be nice, I know what I wanted to eat, and rather than she bring me what I asked for, she got all huffy because I didn't order what she THOUGHT I should have ordered, instead. He apologized and not only did he tell me to take the food for free, he gave Mickey his food for free too. And after all that, I still never ate the food, although I think Mickey did. We left there and went to Chili's Bar & Grill- our usual place- and I ordered my usual meal. The white girl who was my waitress there was very nice, and didn't have a shitty attitude- and I was equally as nice to her. I left her the tip that 'lil Ms. Thang back at Applebee's would have gotten.
Now, what I was trying to explain to my husband and his homie is this: It's expensive as hell eating out these days. But it seems that the higher the price of take-out, fast food, and dining out, the worse the quality of the food and service is getting. If I'm going to a restaurant to spend my hard-earned coins, I would like to have what I want to eat, since I'm the one paying for it. The rude waitress' argument was that by buying that damn platter she kept trying to sell me, I would save a few dollars than I would if I ordered things separately. Okay, I got that. But, there were several items on that platter that neither me nor my husband would have eaten. It would have been thrown away- or whatever they do with uneaten food- and we still would have wasted food and money. The money wasn't coming out of her pockets either way, so I really didn't know why she got so pissed off about what I was spending my money on.
In hindsight, I realize that Aunt Flo's unexpected visit may have had a lot more to do with my attitude than that little girl did, and maybe she just caught me on the wrong day. As I told my snitching husband, I'm always nice in restaurants, because I know waitressing can be hell, sometimes. Leave it to him to bring up another incident at another restaurant where I was a little...less than nice; but luckily, I had my kiddos to back me up on that one, because they were there with us that time and even my son was like, "Yeah, that place was just bad." "And the food was nasty," my daughter chimed in. Again, I have acknowledged that I can be a witch...sometimes; but I've rarely have bad experiences in restaurants. Other than these two minor incidents, we've always had nice waiters & waitresses and food. And I'm a foodie and a fatty, so I get real picky about my food. Like, I will be ready to cry if I order something and it's not right. But I, like most people, are tired of subpar customer service, especially when dining out. I guess next time, I'll keep my ass at home and cook. Mickey would love that, because while I might be picky and a little rude, he's cheap and cooking at home is so much cheaper. And I can stop embarrassing him in public!
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