I have worked in restaurants since I was 15, and I have seen coworkers (and myself) make lots of mistakes.
But today I went out to lunch with two of my girl friends to an undisclosed steak house. Being diabetic and really jonsing for a soda, I obviously ordered the only options at most restaurants. Diet coke. My two girl friends also ordered diet coke. Both of these beautiful girls are larger then I am and are also trying to reach a healthier lifestyle. I can not tell the difference between diet soda and regular. All three of us ordered salads. After finishing our first round of sodas, our waitress came back and asked us for refills. We said yes, and she went back and got them, and that is when the problems began. "One coke and two diet cokes" she said as she sat them on the table, the regular placed in front of me. I said, "I'm sorry, but I ordered a diet coke, too."
Then she said, "I know you did, but you don't need to be drinking diet, its bad for you if you don't need it."
Our salads then come out. One girl ordered a caesar, dressing on it, it was fine, the other two of us ordered different salads with dressing on the side. She brought mine piled with dressing. i don't like that much dressing, never have. It makes me nauseous. I like my lettuce not drowning. My friend's was on the side, as ordered, and I got a similar response to the one i got with coke.
First, this cheesed me off because my blood sugar was good and the meal I ordered was "free" so I didn't have to do a shot. Then I did after drinking 20 ounces of regular soda. I really was happy at the prospect of an insulin free lunch.
Secondly, she was implying that my girl friends needed to be drinking diet soda and I did not. One of them was deeply hurt by this, because she heard that a lot from a family member. This was rude to them. And I am not over weight, but I am trying to lose weight that my DOCTOR suggested would be good for me.
Third, it is not a servers job to determine what is and what is not healthy for the guests. I often think twice about seating ht ewoman on oxygen in the smoking section or bringing a 20 ounce steak to a man who just finished saying he had a heart attack a few months back, but it isn't my place. I bring them what they want, that's part of the job.
Fourth, this was not a mistake, that the server thought I said coke, she acknowledged both that i had requested dressing on the side, and diet coke. The manager took my meal off, by not my friends who had been insulted by our waitress, one of them to the point of tears, and didn't really aplogize for her behavior...except he offered free dessert *slaps forehead* which we declined.
Thanks to our waitress I got to jab a needle into my stomach and my friend cried on the way home. i will never frequent any franchise of this establishment again.
sorry i had to rant. I'm writing cooporate because there is no excuse for this sort of behavior.
I have never heard of someone acting like that. She needs to find a job where she doesn't work with people. That's just sickening! She knew exactly what she was doing, and how insulting to ALL of you sitting there. I am appauled that there are people like that out there working in customer service! I am really sorry that happened to all of you! As if the struggles weren't hard enough just within ourselves, then add outside opinions in, UG!
That is just OUTRAGEOUS! Who does that waitress think she is? Part of being a server in a restaurant is serving people WHAT THEY ASK FOR! If a patron wants your opinion or suggestions, he or she will ask for it. Seriously, WTF?!
It is totally NOT her place to say things like that or treat you and your friends like that. I hope that you spoke to the management. Or if you didn't, it isn't to late to call up the manager of the restaurant. That waitress should be called on her inappropriate behavior. For goodness sakes, she could have killed someone if they were allergic to peanut sauce (or whatever) and she decided to put it in the (you name what food) anyway.
That is something to write into a newspaper about...wow! Who is a waitress to change the order, especially when she doesn't know about an underlying disorder...She could have hurt someone that way- there are people allergic to the ingredients in diet pop, or someone could have been allergic to something else- She could have hurt them very badly...Who does she think she is!?
I don't know what's worse - the waitress's appalling behavior or the manager's ridiculous solution! A server should cater to the customers' needs and wants without dictating behaviors. On the other hand, a manager should be able to size-up a situation and offer a reasonable response. Sounds like the waitress needs to re-read her job description (or find a new line of work), and the manager clearly doesn't have the critical thinking abilities to handle his position
Then she said, "I know you did, but you don't need to be drinking diet, its bad for you if you don't need it."
I swear - my eyes just popped out of my head when i saw this line.
This waitresses behaviour is outrageous at best and she should be disciplined. Not only for completely disregarding the customers orders (which you are paying for, not the waitress), but for her comments which are way out of line.
I would not hesitate in writing to their corporate office and telling them the entire story as you have here and furthermore stressing the point that food is not just food for you or your friends. You are making choices for your lifestyle as a diabetic and for your health. For someone who does not know you, to decide for you on what you shall be given is ridiculous.
Keep us up to date with what response you get and I hope your friends don't take this idiots comments to heart too much. What a moron!
That really annoys me! Who is she to judge what you should and should not have. She has no way of knowing why you are drinking/eating what you ordered! People are so rude sometimes! How dare she insult your friends! Do you think that she may have been jealous of your size and decided to try to "plump you up?"
I would have asked to speak to the Manager on duty at the time, and told him what was going on, there is NO WAY that anyone should be treated like that...who knows if you were the only ones either....I would definately not go back there again! How rude!!!! The nerve of some people.....GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
What I would say has already been said by all other chicks here! I wouldda given her a piece of my mind right there... I feel for your friends too! I know what its like to have someone make comments on what you are eating etc, that is sooo RUDE!!! I agree completely that you should definatly call that restaurant back and ask to speak to the Head manager of the restaurant and explain it all. That is totally uncalled for and I think she should be talked to, perhaps severly yelled at or canned. Who knows how many other people she has done this to?? thats downright dangerous when someone changes your order, no matter if she thought what she was doing was helpful. ARGGG!
I would still go back and talk to someone there...just to make sure things were clear, because that stupid waitress could really hurt someone. This is actually a huge deal...how horrible was that girl?
I would've told her that I was diabetic and made sure she brought you a diet coke! THEN she might've thought twice about bringing you the salad with the dressing! Sheesh!
But yeah, definitely make a song and dance about it, also get your girlfriends to write too, saying it was appalling behaviour to all the party there.
I can't believe that. It probably would have took all I had not to knock the teeth out of her mouth. She had absolutely no right to do that and when I was done, she would have been paying for all our meals. How dare she!
horrible restaurant experience
THEN she might've thought twice about bringing you the salad with the dressing! Sheesh!
