People Share Their Biggest Pet Peeves About Dining Out At Restaurants

Kids. Don't bring your kids out to eat. Unless you've taught them how to be silent. They are my biggest pet peeve. They scream and shout. I can't.

Quiet!

"When they have wicked loud music that you can't hear anyone talking over." ~ Imagenerum

Don't Touch

"When the table is sticky." ~ BronzeGutlet

"I worked in a place where the finish on the tables was starting to really wear off, and on a hot day the humidity would just make every single table soooo sticky, no matter what you did. It so freaking annoying for everyone involved. The day they were refinished was such a relief." ~ Im_Probably_Crazy

Back Up

"Spacing. I get it, if you own an establishment (a good one) you want to get as many seated as possible. I hate having to lean and whisper to have a conversation." ~ m1ster_grumpee

"I worked at a PF Chang's for a couple of years and there was already limited space, but on holidays they would split tables to get more people in at once and I have never witnessed anything like it in a restaurant."

"The customers would have to squeeze in as tight as possible and still be chair to chair with other people and then us servers could not get in between the tables. We would be squeezing, pushing people, and moving tables and chairs all while holding a heavy tray of food and drinks right over these customers heads, every year we would tell management not to, but they didn't care." ~ Tato_creator

"Its this price at the liquor store!"

"Menus without prices. Tables that are too small and too tightly spaced. Tables that are not cleaned well." ~ wanted_to_upvote

"I have so many people at my bar order drinks and complain about the price when it's clearly on the menu. The most common I get is "Its this price at the liquor store!" Well yeah, the liquor store is in a crappy part of town and doesn't have an on-premise license, and doesn't pay people to make your drink or prep your ingredients. If you are on a budget, ask prices or look at a menu!" ~ showMeYourPitties10

Bad Sounds

"I was a cook for 15 years, anytime I am seated too close to an open kitchen and I can hear the demonic buzz of a docket printer, my meal is ruined." ~ quaswhat

I hate sitting near the kitchen. Like, why did you even design this place to have seats near the back of house staff? Of course room is always as issue. Too many places are too cramped.

Yuck!

"Not properly cleaned utensils, plates and cups/mugs." ~ jay-ar55

Everyone know what they want?

"Great meal, great service, then when we're ready to pay and leave, the server is nowhere to be found." ~ ShrekTheHallz

"We were in a place in Tokyo where the table had a small button on it. Pressing it told the staff you were ready to speak to the server. Everyone know what they want? [Press] Need more water? [Press] Ready to pay? [Press]"

"I had the North American "That's kinda rude, demanding people come to you" feeling but we were told it's more efficient - staff can do other things in the kitchen (like folding napkins or helping with prep) instead of wandering around the floor in case someone needs something." ~ DulceEtBanana

So Krafty!

"As a mac n cheese lover, when they have "side of baked mac n cheese" on the menu and then they bring out Kraft mac n cheese." ~ ham_alamadingdong

"Before I had a kid, I had NO IDEA how prevalent this was. They literally just charged me 5-6 bucks for a 30 cent microwaved bag of pre-cooked kraft. I guess I should know better though, because unless there's mac and cheese in the adult menu somewhere then there's no reason for the place to actually prep and cook it." ~ Lamprophonia

I wanna be deaf...

"The noise level." ~ vieniaida

"So many restaurants just don't give a crap about acoustics. It is such a simple thing to consider, to make the ambience just right: Bustling energetic type of 'foodie' place - buy hard furnishings."

"Makes everything sound loud, echoey, and vibrant. Romantic candle lit spot - lots of soft furnishings. You can have a deep conversation with the person across from you, without hearing everyone shouting from all directions. Bad acoustics ruins so many dining experiences." ~ IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI

Bow Down

"Customers who act like they are a Roman emperor and the wait staff are their slaves. We've all seen these people at restaurants." ~ genghismom71

I may never eat out again. This thread has ruined it for me. Be better people. Whether you're a customer or staff, be better.