"Couldn't get served at the local diner so I left them a note"

Received from a friend.

Maybe all the hired help has fled in anticipation of the new law.

Good for you. 30 minutes is way too long, especially at the counter. You should have done that after 10 minutes.

That's beautiful, man.
It's what we've all wanted to do at one time or another, but didn't have the stones.

Man,
I've been there. In 1995 I was welding storage tanks for a living, and playing in a band, (drums), on the side. I had long hair and my beard came down to my navel. I was dirty from work and the people at the local hardware store mistook me for one of the Rainbow people who had descended upon our town. They just sat there and looked at me, then would look away. I had to go ask them if they would like to sell me $300.00 worth of triple wall stainless flu pipe. While I was paying, in cash, I told them who I was and where I worked. I think they were a little sorry because I was a home boy, but never apologized. Oh well.
Peace,
gordon

I went into a bar 30 years ago and they wouldn't serve me a beer.
I bet I wasn't there 30 seconds, I got threw out the front door!



I was 18.

GF

No Relish & Onion?

If the service was that bad, imagine what the food was like. Might be a good reason for why the help was preoccupied for more than a half hour.

I think you should have just left.

GF said:

I went into a bar 30 years ago and they wouldn't serve me a beer.
I bet I wasn't there 30 seconds, I got threw out the front door!



I was 18.

GF

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That gag does not work where I am from. The legal age is 18 in England. I think I got asked my age in a pub once after the age of 14.

To get back OT, I had something odd happen to me in the British equivalent of Denny's. I walked into this place about 830 PM wearing a button shirt, tidy jeans and a short haircut, the real average guy look. There were very few people in there and the closing time was 11PM. Soooo, I stood by the desk waiting to be seated. I waited some more while two of the staff who brought food out from back looked straight at me then disappeared again. A manager looking lady appeared, looked at me, then went out back again. More food came out, and this time the girl carrying looked at me a bit puzzled....and vanished out back again.

I took a deep breath, counted to ten, then found myself a seat facing directly at the cooking area and the door the girls had been using. After a couple of minutes, one of them appeared, did a kind of double take, went back up to the front desk and brought me a menu. I thanked her and passed some comment about her manager not wanting the business. She mumbled something I missed and blushed somewhat. Another more cheery girl brought me my meal and when I was about 3/4 done the front desk was finally manned again by the manager looking lady. She was still there when I went to pay and leave. To my delight, they had a comment book in which I wrote something like "Waited 10 plus minutes to be seated in an almost empty restaurant. Are you trying to get closed down?". Mrs Manager took my money without looking me in the eye, and when I suggested she read the comment the look i got made it was clear she thought I was a puppy kicking child molester for having an opinion.

To this day I have no clue what the deal was in that place, be it a serious staff problem out back, somebody getting hurt or sick or maybe an equipment issue. Whatever, you do not just bugger off and leave the front of the place empty then ignore new arrivals. If you are having an issue, tell them that there may be a delay due to a problem out back. No need for details, but do not leave folk hanging.

Beaver said:

I think you should have just left.

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Having been a manger of anywhere from 2 to 14 employees over the years, some in retail/service at times, I cannot agree with this sentiment. Some people simply abhor any type of confrontation and I understand that, and the OP's method (which I thought was great) is more direct than some of those folks are comfortable with.

However, having found myself on both sides of the situation where managed employees were not fulfilling their assigned duties, I've always taken the attitude that if the management is not made aware of the problems then the problems are not likely to be fixed. Usually in a case such as this the area has been assigned to an employee that has gone on break or has been distracted by other duties and has failed to have someone else cover their station, or personal animosity from other employees with bad attitudes causes them to ignore covering the missing employee's area out of spite; either way - not good for business and it needed to be called to their attention.

The attitude of "it's not my job" seems to be more prevalent these days than in the past. I had it painfully explained to me early in my working career that "my job" was whatever I was asked to do (within reason) since it all paid the same, and that if I felt what I was asked to do was beneath my dignity to perform then I was free to leave and pursue other opportunities. It made me mad at the moment, but after I calmed down I had to admit the man who imparted that to me had been right - and I've carried that with me for the last 30 years.

Some may not agree with the writing of the note on the counter but simply leaving without comment is not the way to respond to the situation. I used to have some business card sized cards that I would leave on the table under a single penny that said "The Tip Would Have Been Bigger If The Service Had Been Better".

Maybe they had been robbed, everyone was locked in the walkin cooler.

An old WHP Sgt and I went into a local restaurant for lunch one day. The place wasn't busy, but we waited 20 minutes for service.

When none came the Sgt went and asked the manager if he could use the phone. The manager took him to his office and phone. The Sgt. said, "Thanks, I'm going to see if I can get a pizza delivered, since no one here seems to want to wait on us."

Never had better service anywhere we went after that.

What! No Tip...

These are great stories, and I'll add one: after drenching me with a pitcher full of ice water at a Denny's when I was 16, the waitress looks at me and says, "Oh don't worry Hon, there's no charge for the bath."

However, while this may not earn me any points with the OP, the original photo that started this thread has been on the Internet at least since May 9, 2009: demotivational posters - Commitment To Excellence - The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor. commitment, excellence, restaurant, vincent lombardi 17581 (see photo attached).

What the hell, the some stories are so good that if they ain't exactly true, they sure 'nuff oughta be.


Bullseye

Well, this post is soured for me.
The original poster led everyone to believe he'd left the message. Now we find out it's an old Demotivational poster.
I've had my writing and photos stolen by others, who took credit for it, so perhaps I'm sensitive to such thievery. But then, I never take credit for what's not mine, or lead others to believe it came from my brain.
Every day, integrity and honesty are becoming foreign concepts to more and more.

bwickens said:

If the service was that bad, imagine what the food was like. Might be a good reason for why the help was preoccupied for more than a half hour.

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They were busy trying to hold the rats down for the hash

They won't understand it.... you wrote it in ENGLISH.

Good for you, I have had many similar experiences, and there is no reason for it. They should at least acknowledge you as soon as you come through their door. From my experience there seems to be a real lack of pride in those that provide services these day's, particularly in Arizona. It seems nobody gives a cr*p anymore. If you think I'm kidding I bet that mess is still partially visible on the counter days later.

Tech23

The older you get the more you notice or see of this. Someone see,s something they thought was cute and they use it. They must think we dont get around or read in other places. But as my mom used to say, "Theres nothing new under the sun". I bet she got that from her grandmother.
Years ago I had a buddy that put himself in every wild story. We were guards together and he was retired military. One night he told me a wild war story with himself as hero of course. Later I dug a old magazine out of a pile somewhere and read the same story.
Another time I had a airplane crash that three of us walked away from. We needed a ride home etc. I called a close friend and he missed work at his plant to help. Sometime later I found out from others that he claimed to be flying with me. Guess he must have thought it romantic to have survived a plane crash. I let him have his fun. But then I heard secound hand that a test pilot I knew, had heard his lie and rightfully conclueded I was a idiot, as I would have been had bill been along as we would have been highly overgrossed. (I worked for lockheed). Another time I overheard some other guys talking about flying a citaberia. I mentioned I owned one. This was a catering truck owner that also serviced a plant 60 miles away where my buddy was assigned. The guy said, oh yeah? I know another guard in burbank that owns one too! (My buddy bill, of course.!)
The trouble with all this, is that when people get caught in lies, no one belives the truth in other storys of theirs. Both guys in these storys were/are my best friends years ago. We all were closer than brothers and well knew each others history and in some cases had even been in some touchy situations together. One mentioned was about the worlds biggest BSer, and the other buddy was probley runner up! Both were older than me, one 10 years older and the other about 20 years older. With frank, the older he use to tell storys about joining the horse cavery before they were disbanned in the late 1930s. Some of our other officers called him a liar over it. Yet, I knew for a fact frank was telling the truth as I had been over to his house many times and seen all the old yellow pictures of him sitting on his horse in uniform with his fellow troopers etc. The same with bill on other deals. Both were some of the roughest old has beens that I ever knew, yet both got a bad rep at work because younger disbeliveing co workers caught them in exagerations etc. With bill in particular, we had covered each others back for real several times on some "misadventures" that were we to tell them we probley would be thought liars. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction!

feralmerril said:

The older you get the more you notice.

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction!

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Feral,
Ain't it the truth...Well it ought to be!


This really happen, or so I'm told!
One of my cop buddies tells of an officer that just didn't like those dang new tasers things.

Four officers sitting in a 'local diner' waitin' about 29 minutes for order...One of the guys, (not the sharpes knife in the draw), thinks it will be funnier that all get out to slip the cartridge off the muzzle of his taser and hold it under the table pointed at the officer that dislikes the things.

Well you guessed it, didn't pull cartridge - just cover. Officer Funny Stuff pulls trigger thinkin' snap, crackel, pop.

But oh no, shoots the second officer square in the straddle with the two barbs and a gazillion volts.

Hell of a deal to follow...

Glad I wasn't there!

Su Amigo,
Dave

Personally, I don't see why anyone would get upset. I seriously doubt that anyone ever really left that message at a diner. Probably was written on the counter especially to be photographed. So, someone sees it and uses it in his joke. Y'all people really believed he wrote it? Wow.

I've seen this picture, in several jokes, on various boards. Sometimes the signs say Men and Women. And always the poster says, "This is the outhouse in my backyard".


Same thing. If you say it happened to you, it makes the joke better.

Well handled. I love it.

Like I say, some stories are so good that if they ain't true, they oughta be! And it is the first rule of humor to make yourself the butt of the joke.


Bullseye

As I have gotten older, I have learned to believe every thing that everyone tells me.

I believe some of it is the truth and some of it ain't, but I believe it!!

Iggy said:

As I have gotten older, I have learned to believe every thing that everyone tells me.

I believe some of it is the truth and some of it ain't, but I believe it!!

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I believe that

I showed this thread to my wife. She pointed out that since unemployment around here topped 14%, service has improved quite markedly.

keith44spl said:

Feral,
...Hell of a deal to follow...

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Yee-ouch!!!

LVSteve said:

I showed this thread to my wife. She pointed out that since unemployment around here topped 14%, service has improved quite markedly.

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Good point and true. Even drive thru fast food places,
have better service.

Lot more thank yous and polite people, a lot less rude
teenagers. People can give correct change, now.

Iggy said:

As I have gotten older, I have learned to believe every thing that everyone tells me.

I believe some of it is the truth and some of it ain't, but I believe it!!

Click to expand...

I have a story for ya, and it's no urban legend with a cute picture. It actually happened to me and it is one of the many reasons I have my opinion about service (or lack of) providers here in AZ.

I was out on the Harley and happened to have a craving for a taco salad. I pull into the Old Pueblo Restaurant. I sit down and order a ground beef taco salad, and my food is promptly brought out. They got the order wrong and brought out a pulled beef taco salad. The waitress takes it back and in a few minutes brings out another taco salad (correct this time). Just as the waitress walks over and asks me if everything is OK, I feel something in my mouth that isn't right. While the waitess is looking right at me I pull out of my mouth what appears to be a piece of a coffee cup plastic lid, that was obviously in the food. She asks me "what is that?" I said it looks like garbage...she takes it and goes back to the kitchen. When she comes out it is like nothing ever happened and she went about taking care of her other tables. I call her over and I told her I think I'm done and push the food away from me. To my surprise she brings me a check! I take the check over to the register and there is this sweet little old lady and she politely asks me how everthing was. I set the money on the counter and slide it toward her hand and say...Once they got the order right, and after I found garbage in my food...it wasn't all that good. She gives me this horrified look, and there's a momentary pause and silence like she was wondering if she should charge me for eating their garbabe...LOL. She slides the money back over to me and applogizes. I said...I'm glad you did the right thing and I will never be back. True story.

Tech23