Things That Make People Immediately Say 'No' To Eating At A Restaurant

The smell from inside a restaurant should draw potential customers in, not repulse them.

Unpleasant Odor

"The smell. General cleanliness but most importantly, is the bathroom clean?"

– ibetyouranerd

"Years ago I walked into a local restaurant and the smell killed my appetite. It reeked of cigarette smoke and mold. The restaurant was sold and the new owner abolished smoking and throughly cleaned the place. He said the hood in the kitchen had so much grease and crud it that it looked it had never been cleaned. Now, the place is spotless and is a great place to eat at."

– phred_666

An Establishment's Short Lifespan

"Yeah there was a new restaurant that opened about 10 years ago, the smell the moment you walked into the door was raw sewage, they said it’s a plumbing issue, we lost our appetite and left. That place closed in a month."

– Omegaprimus

Exterminators Have Good Scents

"Exterminators know a certain smell that’s an immediate no-go. Roaches in abundance give off a sweet type of smell and I will literally turn right around and leave."

– otterplus

Dirty tables are an instant customer-deterrent.

Sour Rags

"Ugh, yeah and when they wipe down your table (with some dirty old snot rag that's probably never been cleaned, it even rinsed out) and the smell fills your nose after the murky brown drops pool on the table where you are now expected to eat."

"That's after the waiter smears around the jelly from the previous customer and pushes all the table crumbs onto your lap."

"Pro tip: you are supposed to cup your hand as you wipe so the crumbs accumulate in the palm of your hand. You start on one straight edge and wipe from one corner along the edge to the other. Then you turn your cupped hand, ready to begin the next pass and so you kind of catch the crumbs."

"No one likes someone else's crumbs brushed onto their lap!!"

– Th3_Last_FartBender

Unsanitary Cleaning Supplies

"Sticky tables. Tells me they reuse their dirty wash rags and don’t change out the sanitizer water they use in the buckets and nothing is clean or sanitized in there. Oh and spots on cups and utensils."

– Known-Pop-8355

For some, ambiance is everything.

Conversation Drowner

"Loud sh**ty music."

– porpoisebay

"A small band or single person on a keyboard crammed onto a makeshift 'stage area' with a poorly balanced slightly sh**ty sound system so that you can neither hear nor enjoy hanging out with the person you’re a foot and a half away from."

– PillsburyDohMeeple

No Audio Control

"You ever been in a car where the musics too loud and you can’t hear what the person next to you is saying? Imagine that but you can’t turn it down."

– Northern_boah

Off-Key Performer

"We went to a family style seafood restaurant about a month ago on vacation. It had been a large fish-camp style eatery for years, at least since the 80s, with lots of tables with holes in them for the oyster and clam shells from roasts. Big with retirees and young families."

"The restaurant is shaped like a large rectangle. They had taken the middle of the back wall and turned it into a stage- where, that night, a man was playing a guitar and singing, 4 octaves off and the speakers cranked to 11. It was 6 pm. We asked how much longer he would be playing. 2 hours."

"We left."

"Old on top, new on bottom. https://ibb.co/LnXXd3r"

– GetYerThumOutMeArse

These observations are very telling.

Desperate Cry For Help

"A sign complaining about how short-staffed they are because 'no one wants to work.'"

"I'm out."

– TheVoicesOfBrian

"I stopped patronizing a small local tavern for this reason. I liked going for a few cold ones and lunch on the weekends. Owner was a royal douche. Food quality went downhill. And then he'd complain online about no help. I'm like dude, I wouldn't work for you either."

– mistlet0ad

Disgruntled Staff

"If most or all of the employees are visibly unhappy. I don't want to do business with a place that doesn't respect their employees or our community."

– deathByAlgebra

Absent Pricing

"Prices not on menu... and refusing to answer when asked what they are."

"This happened to me a couple of months ago."

– cheesewiz_man

“'Market price' equals 'you pay what we tell you to pay. Cause I don’t see anyone else selling fish at this restaurant.'”

– bigno53

I have a sensitive sense of smell, so all it takes for me to nope my way out of patronizing an establishment is a foul odor.

The source could come from mold or reused mop water or who knows what.

I don't care how good the food is. If businesses can't keep a properly clean restaurant, who's to say they don't have a sanitized kitchen as well.