OT: Kinda, not really...

"Doug Kanter" <[email hidden]> looking for trouble wrote in
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Quoted message said:

"sf" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Michael 'Dog3' Lonergan said:

What amazes me is driving down Watson Road at about 5:30 in the
evening. Patrons are lined up clear out the doors to get into
places like Red Lobster, Olive Garden and the like.

I'm not surprised. In some places, I bet they are considered fine
dining.

I suspect Red Lobster is responsible for the attitudes of 80% of the
people who say "I don't like fish".

LOL... Lessee... Wait 2 hours for a table, deal with throngs of children
and noise, get hurried service, mediocre food and a large check total. Yes,
I can see people saying they don't like fish.

Michael <- loves fish... doesn't care for Red Lobster

--
Send email to dog30 at charter dot net

Doug Kanter said:

"SD" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall said:

"Nancy Young" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
>
> "Boron Elgar" <[email hidden]> wrote
>
>> I go out of my way to avoid chain restaurants. It is not that they all
>> suck, but I can get a better breakfast at any random diner or coffee
>> shop and a better lunch or dinner at almost any local eatery.
>
> Sometimes they can be a lifesaver ... not every place has anywhere
> decent to eat and TGIFs looks darned good then. When I'm on
> the road, too, I really don't want any surprises. I'm still scarred by
> my tuna sub from a local place experience. Barely made it to the
> hotel some 8 hours later before having the most miserable vacation
> of my life.
>
> Tuna sub, what the hell was I thinking.
>
> nancy
Subway! We haven't eaten there in close to 15 years. But they didn't
lose a
heck-of-a lot of business from us anyway. It's terrible when one
employee's
conduct will turn your stomach enough to never go there again. The
sandwich
maker had that, what I call the "barking dog cough" and was coughing
into
the metal pans where they keep the condiments, as he was making the
sandwiches. We didn't say a word to him because the deed had already
been
done, but we paid and walked out of the shop and went to the nearest
outdoor
trash can and dumped them. (Tee hee - looking back, it would've been fun
to
chuck them inside.) I can't stand the thought of going into any Subway.
Dee Dee

It would have been more prudent to inform the manager about the
situation and demand the condiments be dumped and replaced or have the
health department pay him a visit.

Manager! He/she/it is probably too busy popping pimples to give a damn about
issues with mere customers.

Not at the Subways I've been in. The managers have all been middle aged
folks or the franchise owner. Simple call to the Dept. of Health solves
the problem if the manager doesn't want to deal with it.

SD

Boron Elgar said:

Try going to the theatre, ballet or opera in Manhattan....the average
age is 60+

Sounds good to me (I'm 51). The demographic that these cultural events
primarily cater to (at least in Manhattan, and this holds especially true
for theater) are middle aged and older gay men and married Jewish couples.
They have the money and the intellectual acumen to appreciate "cultchah"...

This is the same demographic that NYC cabaret shows cater too...I mean who
else listens to show tunes but gays and Jews of a "certain" age? :-)

--
Best
Greg

jmcquown said:

Dee Randall said:

"Boron Elgar" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 23 Oct 2005 21:49:32 +0200, Wayne Boatwright
<[email hidden]> wrote:

>>
>> Try going to the theatre, ballet or opera in Manhattan....the
>> average age is 60+
>>
>> Boron
>>
>
> A dream come true! :-)

Au contraire! Though I am only a handful of years away from that
myself, I find the oldsters as ill-behaved as the average unmannered
child.

AND they are much more likely to be rude when told to hush.

Boron

There is one thing I might add as an oldster. I tend to scout out
the place when I go in to see just how crazy the kids are acting
before I stay. I worry that they are going to knock into my chair or
if I get up to go to the restroom that they will run into me. One
time by time necessity we had to eat in this kind of atmosphere and I
asked the waiter to set me at another booth other than the one next
to where a child was jumping up and down on the seats. He looked at
me with a 'look' and asked, "What's the matter, don't you like kids."

None of his business. You're a customer; if you want to move to another
table and there is one, no comment should be made, just move you. He was
probably worried about *losing* his tip since the open table was in

another

Quoted message said:

servers' station. That shouldn't be a worry. They could swap tables
(happens all the time in restaurants).

Quoted message said:

We stayed and ate at another location in the restaurant, but I
noticed that a group of 3-5 waiters were all talking looking my way
and wanting me to see that they were disapproving of my attitude.

They probably had kids who behave the same way and expect everyone to
tolerate it.

I would have left immediately and made my feelings known to the manager -
and the waiter. There is NO need to put up with that kind of behaviour from
resto personnel.

--
Best
Greg

Dee Randall said:

"Doug Kanter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"SD" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall wrote:
> "Nancy Young" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
> news:[email hidden]...
> >
> > "Boron Elgar" <[email hidden]> wrote
> >
> >> I go out of my way to avoid chain restaurants. It is not that they
> >> all
> >> suck, but I can get a better breakfast at any random diner or coffee
> >> shop and a better lunch or dinner at almost any local eatery.
> >
> > Sometimes they can be a lifesaver ... not every place has anywhere
> > decent to eat and TGIFs looks darned good then. When I'm on
> > the road, too, I really don't want any surprises. I'm still scarred
> > by
> > my tuna sub from a local place experience. Barely made it to the
> > hotel some 8 hours later before having the most miserable vacation
> > of my life.
> >
> > Tuna sub, what the hell was I thinking.
> >
> > nancy
> Subway! We haven't eaten there in close to 15 years. But they didn't
> lose a
> heck-of-a lot of business from us anyway. It's terrible when one
> employee's
> conduct will turn your stomach enough to never go there again. The
> sandwich
> maker had that, what I call the "barking dog cough" and was coughing
> into
> the metal pans where they keep the condiments, as he was making the
> sandwiches. We didn't say a word to him because the deed had already
> been
> done, but we paid and walked out of the shop and went to the nearest
> outdoor
> trash can and dumped them. (Tee hee - looking back, it would've been
> fun to
> chuck them inside.) I can't stand the thought of going into any Subway.
> Dee Dee

It would have been more prudent to inform the manager about the
situation and demand the condiments be dumped and replaced or have the
health department pay him a visit.

Manager! He/she/it is probably too busy popping pimples to give a damn
about issues with mere customers. Last week, my son went to Taco Bell with
a friend. (He knows it's a last resort, barely better than starving to
death, but anyway...). There was a poster advertising some sort of
special, but no price on it. It looked good, so he asked how much it was.
The [censored] behind the register said "Look up at the board - it's all
there". My son said "Ummm...no....it's not up there". [censored] confirmed
this, and then, realizing she had used up what little programming had been
injected into her, gave him a vacant stare. He said "Maybe if you hit the
key for that dish, it'll show the price". [censored] says "What we don't be
needin' is none of your attitude right now, mister". According to his
friends, he quietly told her that he thought he'd given her a slick way of
determining the price, but she wouldn't have any of it. He asked for the
manager....and to shorten the story, the manager punched in the order and
walked away. Period. End of story.

Prudent definition:
"showing wise self-restraint in speech and behavior especially in preserving
prudent silence"
Demand defintions: there are many.

Somehow "prudent" and "demand" did not seem to go along with my Subway
situation.
Re the [censored] scene: I can just see the manager punching in the order. You
know what he/she was thinking. I think he was racking up the score.
Dee Dee

So you feel it is more responsible to let other customers suffer
potential exposure to disease from a moron behind the counter? I worked
assisting in food service and market inspections for the military
version of the Public Health Department for a period of time (called
Preventative Medicine Department in the US Navy)..so it doesn't phase
me in the least to get in some [censored]'s face about contaminating food
supplies. Case in point with coughing all over the place onto food
stuffs: a meat cutter in the commissary at Naval Air Station Moffett
Field turned up with advanced tuberculosis and we had to skin test
every single person on the base, all of their dependants, and anyone
else who came in contact with either him or the contaminated meat. We
had to track down all of his fellow shipmates from his previous duty
station also. I take contaimination of food stuffs very seriously after
that little experience.

SD

SD said:

Nancy Young said:

"Boron Elgar" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I go out of my way to avoid chain restaurants. It is not that they all
suck, but I can get a better breakfast at any random diner or coffee
shop and a better lunch or dinner at almost any local eatery.

Sometimes they can be a lifesaver ... not every place has anywhere
decent to eat and TGIFs looks darned good then. When I'm on
the road, too, I really don't want any surprises. I'm still scarred by
my tuna sub from a local place experience. Barely made it to the
hotel some 8 hours later before having the most miserable vacation
of my life.

Tuna sub, what the hell was I thinking.

nancy

I had one of those experiences with "local food" while traveling with a
1 year old. To make it short...food poisoning. I ended up taking a cab
to William Beaumont Army medical Center in ElPaso from the hotel at
which I was staying.I was so weak and dehydrated I passed out in the
waiting room before I was seen...the baby got out of her stroller and
was wandering around the hospital. They finally saw me...it was going
to be over an hour before I got my prescription filled and the meds
they gave me zonked me out. Finally some retired colonel demanded the
pharmacy officer get my prescription filled NOW and he and his wife
drove me back to my hotel...and left their phone number should I need
additional help before I was supposed to leave on a flight back home
the next day. The most miserable 24 hours I've ever spent in my entire
life.

One of the reasons for the rise of US fast food/casual dining chain eateries
is that they often offered a higher and better standard of hygiene than
local places...

Many years ago (pre - WWII) you often literally took your life in your hands
when eating at a local greezy spoon or roadhouse, especially in a rural or
small town area. Howard Johnson's, McD's, etc. were welcomed by many
because they were *clean*. Same thing for chain motels like Holiday Inns,
they offered a good overall standard of accomodation, you didn't have to put
up with the bedbugs, filthy bathrooms, etc. at the local Hot Sheet Moe -
tel. Even back in the 50's - 60's certain gas station chains (Texaco, etc.)
boasted of sparkling clean restrooms. One chain even advertised their
"White Glove Girls" who would travel around to the gas stations giving the
restrooms the company's "white glove" cleanliness test. If a particular
station repeatedly flunked the cleanliness test they would be in danger of
losing their franchise...

We have the luxury of sneering at chain places these daze but when they were
new they really were a wonderful boon to travellers...

--
Best
Greg

On Sun 23 Oct 2005 08:17:04p, Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote in
rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

"Doug Kanter" <[email hidden]> looking for trouble wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"sf" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 18:48:19 GMT, Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:

> What amazes me is driving down Watson Road at about 5:30 in the
> evening. Patrons are lined up clear out the doors to get into
> places like Red Lobster, Olive Garden and the like.

I'm not surprised. In some places, I bet they are considered fine
dining.

I suspect Red Lobster is responsible for the attitudes of 80% of the
people who say "I don't like fish".

LOL... Lessee... Wait 2 hours for a table, deal with throngs of children
and noise, get hurried service, mediocre food and a large check total.
Yes, I can see people saying they don't like fish.

Michael <- loves fish... doesn't care for Red Lobster

We used to frequent a Red Lobster in NE Ohio that was contrary to what
everyone has said. The food was really quite good, as was the service. I
always wondered why there was so much criticism of Red Lobster until I ate
at another one.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________

http://tinypic.com/eikz78.jpg

Meet Mr. Bailey

"Doug Kanter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

"Dee Randall" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Doug Kanter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> BTW -- what is a k-car?
> Dee Dee

Even better, here's a picture of one of the monstrosities. You've seen
them. You've smelled them. You've cursed at their drivers and wished you
could levitate them into the field alongside the road, upside down.
They've made you retch. :-) First picture on this page:

http://home.att.net/~planetgarp/badcars.html

Ha Ha Ha Ha! Yes, oh, yes I've seen mainly old people driving these cars
ever so slowly.
Now getting up in years myself, anytime someone fingers us, or honks, we
laugh at ourselves because we are an easy target, old and driving a
Buick -- sorta like an upscale K-car for eldsters. I kinda keep my
driving to a minimum now because I have a heavy foot and I don't want to
be one of those seniors who step on the gas instead of the brake,
confusing one for the other. Remember that oldster driving a Buick (I
think it was) 80 mph thru an outdoor market!!
Dee Dee

A few years back, an ancient around here hit 2 girls who were standing on
a curb. She said she thought they were trash cans, as if that justified
driving onto a 6" curb. Luckily, the girls were pushed onto a nice soft
lawn, and suffered only minor injuries. A school bus driver got the
license plate number and the woman was dealt with, although not the way
the girls' dad wanted, which led to him being physically subdued by the
police.

Over age 50, driving tests should be administered annually, and by
examiners who are impossible to please.

I ran into one of those 'impossible to please' examiners in 1975. The first
time they said I was driving recklessly. After they failed me the first
time, the second time they said I was driving too conservatively. I assume
the 'conversatively' meant driving like I was old - good lord, I wasn't even
wearing 'spectacles' yet. I reported the woman's attitude to the manager,
and he basically wanted to do more than just fail me. What a station! They
failed my husband also. We were in one pickle. I attribute it to a couple
of things but rehashing this would certainly type-cast me. So as a result
of this control examiners have over drivers, I'm on the side of the drivers,
not the examiners, and that will have to (although I don't like it) include
all the people who don't deserve to drive -- and that includes more than
just eldsters.

BTW, I like the term, "ancient." I'm sure that would pass by most sr
citizens. I'll have to try it on my f-i-l. I'd have to explain it tho.
tee -hee.
Dee Dee

"Dee Randall" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A few years back, an ancient around here hit 2 girls who were standing on
a curb. She said she thought they were trash cans, as if that justified
driving onto a 6" curb. Luckily, the girls were pushed onto a nice soft
lawn, and suffered only minor injuries. A school bus driver got the
license plate number and the woman was dealt with, although not the way
the girls' dad wanted, which led to him being physically subdued by the
police.

Over age 50, driving tests should be administered annually, and by
examiners who are impossible to please.

I ran into one of those 'impossible to please' examiners in 1975. The
first time they said I was driving recklessly. After they failed me the
first time, the second time they said I was driving too conservatively. I
assume the 'conversatively' meant driving like I was old - good lord, I
wasn't even wearing 'spectacles' yet. I reported the woman's attitude to
the manager, and he basically wanted to do more than just fail me. What a
station! They failed my husband also. We were in one pickle. I
attribute it to a couple of things but rehashing this would certainly
type-cast me. So as a result of this control examiners have over drivers,
I'm on the side of the drivers, not the examiners, and that will have to
(although I don't like it) include all the people who don't deserve to
drive -- and that includes more than just eldsters.

Speaking of others who don't deserve to drive: About a year ago, a local
talk show guy mentioned that he'd been doing a very informal survey while
driving, and had noticed that when he was being tailgated VERY closely, the
drivers were young women most of the time. My son and I started paying
attention, and the guy was right. Then, when inquiring with my insurance
agent about how much my rates would go up when my son got his license, the
woman told me that girls were now considered a much higher risk than boys
(new drivers, that is).

Quoted message said:

BTW, I like the term, "ancient." I'm sure that would pass by most sr
citizens. I'll have to try it on my f-i-l. I'd have to explain it tho.
tee -hee.

Hey...look at my email address! I love "ancient", and I'm only 52. 🙂

"Doug Kanter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Dee Randall" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A few years back, an ancient around here hit 2 girls who were standing
on a curb. She said she thought they were trash cans, as if that
justified driving onto a 6" curb. Luckily, the girls were pushed onto a
nice soft lawn, and suffered only minor injuries. A school bus driver
got the license plate number and the woman was dealt with, although not
the way the girls' dad wanted, which led to him being physically subdued
by the police.

Over age 50, driving tests should be administered annually, and by
examiners who are impossible to please.

I ran into one of those 'impossible to please' examiners in 1975. The
first time they said I was driving recklessly. After they failed me the
first time, the second time they said I was driving too conservatively.
I assume the 'conversatively' meant driving like I was old - good lord, I
wasn't even wearing 'spectacles' yet. I reported the woman's attitude to
the manager, and he basically wanted to do more than just fail me. What
a station! They failed my husband also. We were in one pickle. I
attribute it to a couple of things but rehashing this would certainly
type-cast me. So as a result of this control examiners have over
drivers, I'm on the side of the drivers, not the examiners, and that will
have to (although I don't like it) include all the people who don't
deserve to drive -- and that includes more than just eldsters.

Speaking of others who don't deserve to drive: About a year ago, a local
talk show guy mentioned that he'd been doing a very informal survey while
driving, and had noticed that when he was being tailgated VERY closely,
the drivers were young women most of the time. My son and I started paying
attention, and the guy was right. Then, when inquiring with my insurance
agent about how much my rates would go up when my son got his license, the
woman told me that girls were now considered a much higher risk than boys
(new drivers, that is).

Quoted message said:

BTW, I like the term, "ancient." I'm sure that would pass by most sr
citizens. I'll have to try it on my f-i-l. I'd have to explain it tho.
tee -hee.

Hey...look at my email address! I love "ancient", and I'm only 52. 🙂

The young girls are really agressive. I always get out of their way -- but
usually after they let me know I'm in their way - tee hee.
I hope the insurance rates are at least comparable.
Goodbye, Ancient,
Dee Dee

Quoted message said:

Doug Kanter said:

Dee Randall" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

BTW -- what is a k-car?
Dee Dee

Even better, here's a picture of one of the monstrosities. You've
seen them. You've smelled them. You've cursed at their drivers and
wished you could levitate them into the field alongside the road,
upside down. They've made you retch. :-) First picture on this page:

http://home.att.net/~planetgarp/badcars.html

This is hilarious because we were discussing K-cars and said drivers of same
in the rfc chat channel last night!

Jill

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Sun 23 Oct 2005 08:17:04p, Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote in
rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

"Doug Kanter" <[email hidden]> looking for trouble wrote
in news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"sf" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 18:48:19 GMT, Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:
>
>> What amazes me is driving down Watson Road at about 5:30 in the
>> evening. Patrons are lined up clear out the doors to get into
>> places like Red Lobster, Olive Garden and the like.
>
> I'm not surprised. In some places, I bet they are considered fine
> dining.

I suspect Red Lobster is responsible for the attitudes of 80% of the
people who say "I don't like fish".

LOL... Lessee... Wait 2 hours for a table, deal with throngs of
children and noise, get hurried service, mediocre food and a large
check total. Yes, I can see people saying they don't like fish.

Michael <- loves fish... doesn't care for Red Lobster

We used to frequent a Red Lobster in NE Ohio that was contrary to what
everyone has said. The food was really quite good, as was the
service. I always wondered why there was so much criticism of Red
Lobster until I ate at another one.

As always, it depends on the store. I worked at Red Lobster when I was
going to college. The food was excellent. I always prided myself on giving
excellent service to the customers and never saw any of the other wait-staff
slacking off, either. It was actually a fun, albeit stressful, job, but at
$2.13/hour plus tips I just couldn't make enough money. "Families" don't
tip well. Neither do large parties of older women. But both will run the
shoes off your feet.

Jill

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Sun 23 Oct 2005 08:17:04p, Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote in
rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

"Doug Kanter" <[email hidden]> looking for trouble wrote
in news:[email hidden]:

>
> "sf" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
> news:[email hidden]...
>> On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 18:48:19 GMT, Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:
>>
>>> What amazes me is driving down Watson Road at about 5:30 in the
>>> evening. Patrons are lined up clear out the doors to get into
>>> places like Red Lobster, Olive Garden and the like.
>>
>> I'm not surprised. In some places, I bet they are considered fine
>> dining.
>
> I suspect Red Lobster is responsible for the attitudes of 80% of the
> people who say "I don't like fish".

LOL... Lessee... Wait 2 hours for a table, deal with throngs of
children and noise, get hurried service, mediocre food and a large
check total. Yes, I can see people saying they don't like fish.

Michael <- loves fish... doesn't care for Red Lobster

We used to frequent a Red Lobster in NE Ohio that was contrary to what
everyone has said. The food was really quite good, as was the
service. I always wondered why there was so much criticism of Red
Lobster until I ate at another one.

As always, it depends on the store. I worked at Red Lobster when I was
going to college. The food was excellent. I always prided myself on
giving
excellent service to the customers and never saw any of the other
wait-staff
slacking off, either. It was actually a fun, albeit stressful, job, but
at
$2.13/hour plus tips I just couldn't make enough money. "Families" don't
tip well. Neither do large parties of older women. But both will run the
shoes off your feet.

Jill

Red Lobsters existed when you were in college? <drum crash>
<now looking for a piece of furniture to hide behind>

Doug Kanter said:

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

As always, it depends on the store. I worked at Red Lobster when I
was going to college. The food was excellent. I always prided
myself on giving
excellent service to the customers and never saw any of the other
wait-staff
slacking off, either. It was actually a fun, albeit stressful, job,
but at
$2.13/hour plus tips I just couldn't make enough money. "Families"
don't tip well. Neither do large parties of older women. But both
will run the shoes off your feet.

Jill

Red Lobsters existed when you were in college? <drum crash>
<now looking for a piece of furniture to hide behind>

You can run, but you can't hide! LOL This was back in the day when the
female servers had to wear blue "sailor" dresses with the navy-style square
white collar and a red bow tie. The male servers were much more elegant in
black slacks, white shirt and a short red waistcoat (you almost expected to
see tails). There were no "cheddar cheese biscuits". They didn't even have
fresh lobsters in tanks until shortly before I left for an office job; only
icelandic lobster tails.

This was one of the fun parts of the job: any time a new item was introduced
on the menu, we had a staff meeting and sampled whatever it was. This
*included* bar drinks. I don't know if they still do but they used to have
special drinks where if you bought one you got to keep the glass. The
'Lighthouse' came in a glass that looked like a lighthouse, etc. The staff
meetings started at 8 AM on Saturday and we had to start prepping for lunch
shortly after that. Half the waitstaff was tipsy by the time the place
opened at 10:30 🙂

Jill

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Red Lobsters existed when you were in college? <drum crash>
<now looking for a piece of furniture to hide behind>

You can run, but you can't hide! LOL This was back in the day when the
female servers had to wear blue "sailor" dresses with the navy-style
square
white collar and a red bow tie.

Oooh.....kinky.

Now, I wonder when this awful thing became acceptable to bad restaurant
managers everywhere: I'm at a table with another man and two women. The
server comes over and says, "Hi! My name's Kari <or whatever> and I'll be
your server tonight. Can I bring you guys a drink to start with?"

First of all, who gives a phuque what her name is. We're not gonna be taking
warm showers together, are we? But even more important, what's with "guys"?
Do women need to write "I am not a guy" on their foreheads before entering a
restaurant??? Breasts, hairstyle and skirts aren't enough of a hint?

Doug Kanter said:

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Red Lobsters existed when you were in college? <drum crash>
<now looking for a piece of furniture to hide behind>

You can run, but you can't hide! LOL This was back in the day when
the female servers had to wear blue "sailor" dresses with the
navy-style square
white collar and a red bow tie.

Oooh.....kinky.

Yeah, we were all looking hot (and definitely feeling that way!) in our blue
polyester double-knit dresses!

Quoted message said:

Now, I wonder when this awful thing became acceptable to bad
restaurant managers everywhere: I'm at a table with another man and
two women. The server comes over and says, "Hi! My name's Kari <or
whatever> and I'll be your server tonight. Can I bring you guys a
drink to start with?"

First of all, who gives a phuque what her name is. We're not gonna be
taking warm showers together, are we? But even more important, what's
with "guys"? Do women need to write "I am not a guy" on their
foreheads before entering a restaurant??? Breasts, hairstyle and
skirts aren't enough of a hint?

It was company policy to introduce yourself. I'm sure that's true in most
chain restaurants. I don't recall ever saying "Can I bring you *guys*"...
it was, "Would you like something from the bar tonight?" But I definitely
had to introduce myself. We didn't have "specials" so I didn't have to deal
with reciting a litany of items which, of course, no one ever pays attention
to. The only side dish choices were "baked potato, french fries or rice?"
and "coleslaw, salad or applesauce?" (Don't ask me why applesauce.) They
didn't do soups. They didn't do steamed veggies. I hope at least that much
has changed.

There are a couple of things I learned there that I notice isn't done in
most restaurants and they probably don't do them at Red Lobster anymore,
either. You don't reach over a table with a pot of hot coffee to provide
refills. You pick up the cup, turn away from the table and pour. Imagine
if the handle on the pot broke... we're talking the McD's hot coffee lawsuit
to the *extreme*! (It became a habit to do this with iced tea and water
refills, too.) And milk, if it's served in those little cartons (which is
tacky but hey, it happens): you fill a glass with ice. Put an empty glass
on your tray along with the carton of milk. Pour the ice into the empty
glass and then pour the milk into the chilled glass.

Just some tips (ha ha!) for those servers out there 🙂

Jill

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Doug Kanter said:

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

> Red Lobsters existed when you were in college? <drum crash>
> <now looking for a piece of furniture to hide behind>

You can run, but you can't hide! LOL This was back in the day when
the female servers had to wear blue "sailor" dresses with the
navy-style square
white collar and a red bow tie.

Oooh.....kinky.

Yeah, we were all looking hot (and definitely feeling that way!) in our
blue
polyester double-knit dresses!

Quoted message said:

Now, I wonder when this awful thing became acceptable to bad
restaurant managers everywhere: I'm at a table with another man and
two women. The server comes over and says, "Hi! My name's Kari <or
whatever> and I'll be your server tonight. Can I bring you guys a
drink to start with?"

First of all, who gives a phuque what her name is. We're not gonna be
taking warm showers together, are we? But even more important, what's
with "guys"? Do women need to write "I am not a guy" on their
foreheads before entering a restaurant??? Breasts, hairstyle and
skirts aren't enough of a hint?

It was company policy to introduce yourself. I'm sure that's true in most
chain restaurants. I don't recall ever saying "Can I bring you *guys*"...
it was, "Would you like something from the bar tonight?" But I definitely
had to introduce myself. We didn't have "specials" so I didn't have to
deal
with reciting a litany of items which, of course, no one ever pays
attention
to. The only side dish choices were "baked potato, french fries or rice?"
and "coleslaw, salad or applesauce?" (Don't ask me why applesauce.) They
didn't do soups. They didn't do steamed veggies. I hope at least that
much
has changed.

There are a couple of things I learned there that I notice isn't done in
most restaurants and they probably don't do them at Red Lobster anymore,
either. You don't reach over a table with a pot of hot coffee to provide
refills. You pick up the cup, turn away from the table and pour. Imagine
if the handle on the pot broke... we're talking the McD's hot coffee
lawsuit
to the *extreme*! (It became a habit to do this with iced tea and water
refills, too.) And milk, if it's served in those little cartons (which is
tacky but hey, it happens): you fill a glass with ice. Put an empty
glass
on your tray along with the carton of milk. Pour the ice into the empty
glass and then pour the milk into the chilled glass.

Just some tips (ha ha!) for those servers out there 🙂

Jill

Now, if only servers were trained to work better with the kitchen, and
arrange for the main course to not arrive 2 minutes after the soup. You
*know* that if you ask them to keep it warm, it's gonna be ugly, in some
cases.

Doug Kanter said:

"Michael "Dog3" Lonergan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What amazes me is driving down Watson Road at about 5:30 in the evening.
Patrons are lined up clear out the doors to get into places like Red
Lobster, Olive Garden and the like.

Quoted message said:

Around here (Rochester NY), it amazes me that Olive Garden draws anyone at
all. It's not bad food, but this town's got a huge Italian population. There
are Italian restaurants all over the place, all cheaper and better than
Olive Garden.

Here in rural Virginia the local newspaper did a survey to find out
what new business most people wanted to see locate at the local
shopping mall area. The top choice was Olive Garden. I sighed at
the thought. I know of a new Italian restaurant opening about 2 miles
from the area. In fact I just got a tour of the place yesterday from
the young chef. If people only knew how good some of the locally
run places are, but Olive Garden is a known quantity.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.

Doug Kanter said:

Now, I wonder when this awful thing became acceptable to bad restaurant
managers everywhere: I'm at a table with another man and two women. The
server comes over and says, "Hi! My name's Kari <or whatever> and I'll be
your server tonight. Can I bring you guys a drink to start with?"

First of all, who gives a phuque what her name is. We're not gonna be taking
warm showers together, are we? But even more important, what's with "guys"?
Do women need to write "I am not a guy" on their foreheads before entering a
restaurant??? Breasts, hairstyle and skirts aren't enough of a hint?

You went to the wrong restaurant. You should
have gone to Politically Correct Lobster. :-)

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] wrote:
(snip)

Quoted message said:

the thought. I know of a new Italian restaurant opening about 2 miles
from the area. In fact I just got a tour of the place yesterday from
the young chef. If people only knew how good some of the locally
run places are, but Olive Garden is a known quantity.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.

I think a new restaurant's owners/managers/people in charge need to
devote a huge amount of their first two years' budget to well-placed
advertising - and most don't. The advertising isn't inexpensive but I
truly think they're doomed without it. And when they get the customer
seated at the table, they need to be accommodating of the customer's
needs. That kind of attention will soon make me a regular. JMO.
--
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 10-20-05 with a note from Niece Jo.