My family used to go on vacation to the same town every year. There was a restaurant that came highly recommended from local friends, but on our first visit we weren’t very impressed. Still, the next year we decided to give it another try.
We ordered and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Finally, after an hour and fifteen minutes, our appetizers arrived. Mine was burned to a crisp, and was literally inedible, so we decided we had to say something about it. We told the waiter that we’d have to send my appetizer back, and, very politely, my father said “You know, we waited for a very long time for our food, one dish came out ruined… is there something the matter?”
In what has become a classic family in-joke, the waiter immediately replied, “Not with you, sir!” I think the laughs we got out of that were worth the terrible meal. We didn’t give the restaurant a third shot.
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an hour and fifteen minutes? You are a very generous patron. And probably a very polite person….so I sort of understand.
I took a group of 20 people to a place with the words 'out' and 'back' in its name (now closed) and waited a similar amount of time, while watching tables of 2, 3, 4 people arrive and leave.
We eventually ate, but the meals were comped, and half the appetizers as well. Alcohol, of course, we paid for. Why any server would give up a possible $300 tip by not bugging the kitchen to get our stuff out faster is beyond me.