One thing I do when I get poor service is to find a manager and complain. I had a server at Olive Garden that was so horrific, I swore off eating there. I told her I wasn't leaving her a tip, but instead was going to tip off the manager that she sucked as an employee. I was given a $50 gift card to eat there again and I gave it to my mom. I did the same thing at Macaroni Grill and was given a $20 gift card by the manager who then started talking about how he was "gonna fire that girl cause she ain't Sh*t and has been f*cking up all night" I complained to corporate about HIS lack of professionalism and racked up three gift certificates for $20 each.
Bottom line, if the service sucks, complaining to your server is no good. Tell someone that can DO something.
I agree! I have little backbone and I keep my complaining via internet. I go to their website, send them an email, and they usually get right back to me. I have complained about our movie theater doing nothing about people that were disrupting a movie - even after complaints were made to the workers... and again about a disgusting tasting bottle of Arbor Mist who sent me a check to replace it... It seems underhanded, I know some people who do it just to get free stuff... I don't care about the stuff, it's a nice bonus, but really I feel like I have to put up with jerks all day, not say anything back to them when they are rude (sometimes screaming f- you over and over at me) and I don't say or do anything, I'm always polite and give good service to everyone and damn it I deserve the same!
as for kids - I had a mom who had three kids with her in this tiny little bagel shop. one was throwing a fit, running everywhere, screaming... and instead of taking care of the situation she had one of her older kids try to handle it while she ignored it. It was so unpleasant. Then, right next to us was a woman with two kids and they were sitting quietly, coloring, waiting for their food to be ready, talking quietly to mom... and looking appalled by the other kids. You never know what you'll get.
I know some people who do it just to get free stuff... I don't care about the stuff, it's a nice bonus, but really I feel like I have to put up with jerks all day, not say anything back to them when they are rude (sometimes screaming f- you over and over at me) and I don't say or do anything
LOL I used to go through Wendy's or Burger King's drive thru years ago for lunch near my job. I had to call them and complain nearly EVERY time. I'd get back to work and something would be left out of the order or it would be completely wrong. Another time I circled back through after checking the bag and everything was wrong. I heard the biotch in the window state to the other just before the window closed completely..."she does this every time." So I called in from work and let the manager know that blondie better never wait on me again.
EVERY time, they offered me a free lunch. EVERY time I told them I wasn't interested in free food. I wanted GOOD SERVICE! It takes awhile for it to sink in.
I have three young children (8, 5, and 6 months) and we always get so many compliments by servers, managers, etc. on how well bahaved our children are...
I hate sitting down for a meal, and having someone else with kids next to me-and the kids are totally out of control! We went to Fazolis a few weeks ago, and these parents had two boys-one was screaming, the other was just plain being BAD...and these parents don't do anything about it. Half the time these kids look like an episode of "The Nanny" in the "before" videos.
I also hate it when I am in the store, and you see a kid tell their mom "I HATE YOU!" because they won't buy them the toy or cereal they wanted...and the parents just let them do it. I was raised "old school", as in, my mom or dad would have spanked my rear end for acting that way-so I knew not to do it. I am not saying spanking is a solution (I don't want a spanking argument started here) but saying "Now Jakie, that isn't very nice...please don't bit Mommy's wrist any more, and we'll go for ice cream after we are done here" sure isn't either.
I just don't understand how these adults cannot control their 2 year olds, 5 year olds, and 8 year olds...what do they think is going to happen when these kids turn 15, 17, and 19???!!!!
I just don't understand it...
I worked in a hair salon for years, and you get the mom stuck in the chair with a perm on her head...and her three kids are running all over, completely tearing up the joint. Who brings a 3 year old with them for a 2 hour hair service????
I can see why moms with kids get the treatment that they do...all we can do is prove that there are still parents out there with decent acting children, tip well for good service...and frequent the same places, so the servers will know you, and that you keep your children in line.
ITA April. I just curled my nose at some woman and her kid in Wal*Mart yesterday. The kid kept screaming something unintelligable. Kid looked to be about 4. Mom screamed right back at them every time. At one point I even started thinking someone might look into calling CPS. The woman sounded like a nutjob. I started thinking poor kid more than misbehaving kid.
But I have the cousin who raised the two unruly kids. So much so that I banned them from my house. I had to "proof" my entire house before they came over and they STILL found things to destroy. Like turning on a Wagner paint roller and spraying white paint on my hardwood floor and mom didn't even offer to clean it or HELP clean it. That's the day she got banned for awhile. Once I let her back years later, they destroyed something else and a permanent ban went into effect.
She and I used to go to lunch together. She always wanted Shoneys because kids under 5 ate free with each adult meal. And she needed MY adult purchase to feed both her kids free. My daughter was a little older. My daughter even tried to entertain her kids and help clean the messes, because my cousin would not. She'd get a $4 or $5 sandwhich, both free kids meals and leave a .50 tip on a table sitting atop a mound of spaghetti in the floor. I got so embarrassed for our table, I'd leave a larger tip to make up for hers.
Yet the ONE time my daughter acted up in Shoneys at the age of 7, I took her to the bathroom and spanked her butt. No arguments here on the merits of spanking. She NEVER did it again and we had a great meal. Usually you could leave, or you could stand a child in a corner. But when the problem is they don't want to eat there, leaving only strengthens their demands and the restaurant corners have tables in them.
I just don't understand how these adults cannot control their 2 year olds, 5 year olds, and 8 year olds...what do they think is going to happen when these kids turn 15, 17, and 19???!!!!
I have a friend who is definitely facing the music of lax parenting now that her kids are 14 and 15..
My mother thought my teenage years would be a good time to initiate discipline. Too bad for her that I'd lost all respect for her years before. (Not that I was a bad kid, but only by the grace of God.) She really expected it to work, though. I imagine that other parents think that there's plenty of time to institute discipline later. I will never understand the mindset that there's a such thing as too young for discipline. While it's true from a developmental standpoint that they can't control their impulses before 3 or 4, that's not an excuse for not guiding them, which is exactly what discipline is.
Of course, two of the biggies in this house are "Just because that other kid is __________, it doesn't mean you can do it," and "Oh well, we'll always need folks to flip the burgers."
At an early age I started taking my kids to nice restaurants (not chains--restaurants with chefs and linen table cloths and napkins). I would instruct them how they were to behave beforehand, and I would remind them if they were too loud or in any way disruptive. I never had to say it twice. I loved the compliments I would get (although if the servers didn't know me, they would sit is in a far corner). To this day, my children are very well behaved because I never let them get away with anything in a restaurant. I think the worst that was ever done was when my DS was 2, he got tired of sitting (we were still eating, and he had finished) and I allowed him to stand by his chair. No walking or running, just stand there. It was all he needed. Now mind you, I'm no tyrant. I run a tight ship with everyday rules that need to be followed, and the kids seem to respect that. I think the only reprimand they ever got was to have something they wanted taken away for an evening (like a favorite TV show or something). Even just the threat of taking something away was more than enough to keep them in line. Sometimes I wonder if I've just been blessed with extraordinarily patient kids.
I just had to share a story about going out to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings (definitely not a quiet meal) with my family and bf. We had been seated and were looking over the menus when a family with 3 small children comes in. Just to set the scene, we were sat near the entrance way where the only thing separating us from the family waiting to be seated was a wooden slatted barricade that a child could easily fit his arms through. Well my poor bf was sitting right next to it and one of the kids from the other family came up behind him and started punching him in the back. Repeatedly. For absolutely no reason. My bf looked really confused because he didn't know what to do and the parents didn't seem to care that their kid just randomly ran off. All I did was whip my head around, glare at the kid with the "You know you're not supposed to be doing that" look and he stopped immediately and ran back to his parents. I didn't expect such quick results... haha. I hope I'm not just a mean looking lady... :-p
If I am at a restaurant, and some kid runs away from his table and i sover bothering us, I tell him to get lost.
I was in a children's store shopping recently, and this kid (about 8) was standing in the middle of the store yelling "MOM!!! MOM!!! MOM!!! WHERE ARE YOU!!!!" over and over and over and over and over and over...
This was not a big store-it was a small boutique, about the size of a Gymboree store, or a mall sized Payless Shoe Source or something-small!
I finally look at him and tell him to quit yelling, and to actually walk around an aisle or two and LOOK.
. I didn't expect such quick results... haha. I hope I'm not just a mean looking lady... :-p
I have a tendency to glare at older children (5-10 years) who are misbehaving. They catch my eyes and usually stop. I don't THINK I'm a mean looking person, but perhaps I am!!
When we were little my 4 brothers and I ate dinner by ourselves and had NO table manners whatsoever. For example, if you had to "cut the cheese" you got up and did in front of the table like it was a big production.
Well my parents took us out to Weaver's cafeteria for dinner one Sunday and we cut up so bad that my father vowed to never be seen with us in public again. I couldn't have been more than 5 and the oldest was only 11. After that, my mom started eating with us every night, taught us all how to set the table, pass dishes, were to put our knives, napkins when we were finished, etc. and now we all have very good table manners. I started EARLY with my kids teaching them how to set the table, serve and eat. We have no problems in public and the very few times they tried to cut up I leaned over and pinched them.
"When we were little my 4 brothers and I ate dinner by ourselves and had NO table manners whatsoever. For example, if you had to "cut the cheese" you got up and did in front of the table like it was a big production. "
