QOTD: Would you ever do this in a restaurant?

Original post by DjPiLL

Oct 11, 2004 04:14 PM

Would you ever go into a restaurant to sit down and have dinner. Have the waiter come over... pour two waters for you and your guests. He hands you two menus.

After reading over the menu you get up and walk out of the place without ordering anything!

Here is the story behind it.

Me and my FW went to Fridays in Manhattan on 42nd street last night to eat. If anyone has been to this particular Fridays... you know its probably the most EXPENSIVE Fridays in the entire country.

Just to give you a quick example ($18.95 for Blackened Chicken Alfredo dish, $11.95 for Seasame Jack Strips APPETIZER, $14.95 for the Three For All APPETIZER). Prices are INSANELY expensive. I had two coupons for two FREE meals for me and my FW so I didn't give a crap about the cash cause I wasn't paying anything.

Well... while we are sitting down this obvious looking 'tourist' couple (the girl had a IloveNY white t-shirt on) came in and sat down at a booth by us.

Low and behold after getting their drinks and menus and looking through it... they shortly after just WALK OUT of the joint!

Best thing about this story is... when they sat down before they left, my FW turned to me and said 'Man they are in for a huge shocker when they see that menu... and will probably just walk out. They probably saw how expensive restaurants were in the city and then saw Fridays. Oh I betcha we can get a cheap meal in there just like we can back in our hometown.' Ummmm... not.

We shared a good laugh on that one. But back to the obvious question... would you or have you done this? I find it extremely tacky and have never done this. My FW has done it in the past and would do it again if need be.

Oh... and I am more concerned if people here have left a place because of the PRICES on the menu. Leaving for reasons like cleanliness, overcrowding, or lack of menu options (maybe because you are a veg.) is understandable.

IrishTracy Posted: Oct 11, 2004 05:14 PM

Re: QOTD: Would you ever do this in a restaurant?

I've done it. I've also left places when there was nothing on the menu that I'd eat.

kpny622 Posted: Oct 11, 2004 05:18 PM

Re: QOTD: Would you ever do this in a restaurant?

I've done it twice. Once because the place was just disgustingly dirty. And once because they never came over to take even our drink order for 15 minutes after we sat! I'd do it again if there was nothing on the menu that I'd eat.

mlp924 Posted: Oct 11, 2004 05:36 PM

Re: QOTD: Would you ever do this in a restaurant?

I've left those restaurants with the booth running along an entire wall and lots of tables for two squished in. I hate that! Once they seated us between two 400 pound + people. It felt like an airline!

Dooodles Posted: Oct 11, 2004 05:43 PM

Re: QOTD: Would you ever do this in a restaurant?

I have walked out of restaurants more than once but never for pricing. I make sure to know what I am up against before being seated.
If I have waited a ridiculous amount of time for someone to come and take my order, walked out.
If there were reasons I felt things to be unsanitary, walked out.
Of course, I have walked out before ordering anything.

mrswask Posted: Oct 11, 2004 06:11 PM

Re: QOTD: Would you ever do this in a restaurant?

I have not done it - but I would. If I felt that the place was too expensive and I didn't realize that ahead of time - I would think about leaving. Why should I eat a meal that i am not going to enjoy because now I'm going to be upset about how much the bill is?

lvdolphins Posted: Oct 11, 2004 06:25 PM

Re: QOTD: Would you ever do this in a restaurant?

I walked out of a Friendly's once. Took them a few mins. to seat us, then a few mins. for water, then nobody wanted to take our order. I looked at DH and we just got up and left. Not one person tried to stop us either. Oh, and BTW the place was not even crowded. Just seemed like no one wanted to do thier job!! Oh well, they lost out, not us!!

skew Posted: Oct 11, 2004 06:56 PM

Re: QOTD: Would you ever do this in a restaurant?

if i wasn't happy w/ the menu selection i would. however, i would tell the waiter/ess that we were leaving.

jenny2penny Posted: Oct 11, 2004 07:04 PM

.

frosty Posted: Oct 11, 2004 07:31 PM

Re: QOTD: Would you ever do this in a restaurant?

I've done something similiar, but not because the cost of the restaurant.

My FI and I decided to go to a steakhouse for dinner one night. We walked into the restaurant and waited for the hostess to come up front and seat us. Tick...tick...tick...no hostess after about 7 or 8 minutes.

My FI says, 'Let's just go to the bar and order drinks and food.' Okay, so we head to the bar. The bartender comes over and (acting like it was some huge inconvenience that she had to serve us--the place was empty) gets us our drinks. FI says that we want to order food. Bartender sighs and grabs menus.

We decide what we want to order and the bartender is no where to be seen. We wait about 15 minutes, and in the mean time, finish our drinks. Still no bartender! My FI puts down some cash (we have no idea how much our drinks were) and we walk out.

The worst part of all, a friend highly recommended the place to us. She couldn't believe it when we told her about the crappy service. Needless to say, we never went back.

Jen_n_Dale Posted: Oct 11, 2004 07:37 PM

Re: QOTD: Would you ever do this in a restaurant?

I have seen that in that Fridays. I think for the prices they serve you can better food at smaller restaurants, you just have to go down the side streets.

My husband & I were going to walk out of a place once becasue we were decieved from the outside. 'The west side restaurant' was really a diner. When we walked in they sat us at one of the larger tables but when we saw it was a diner we just ordered something small like a muffin and soup. Dale wanted to leave but I thought it was rude.

THEY MADE US GET UP AND MOVE TO A SMALLER TABLE. And trust me NO ONE WAS even in there. Maybe about 2 tables had people in it. We were treated like dirt. We did not even eat because we did not know what they did to our food. But we were embarassed when the guy treated us like 2 kids and gave us the hitched thumb to move to a smaller table.

The moral: I wish we would have walked out.

LIJuneBride Posted: Oct 11, 2004 07:51 PM

Re: QOTD: Would you ever do this in a restaurant?

We did once. We went to have dinner at one of DH's favorite restaurants - he goes there all the time, knows the owners, etc. We didn't have a reservation and it looked crowded so before we decided to wait, he asked how long the wait would be. We were told five minutes - they'd get us right in. So, we valet parked the car and went inside to wait. Besides the fact that we were starving, I was on antibiotics at the time and I had to eat because I had to take my medicine and couldn't do so on an empty stomach. So we waited - and waited - and waited - and watched as people who came in after us were seated. We asked again how long to wait - again we're told five minutes. By this time, I had to take my medicine so I went next door to get a shake and fries from Checkers, and ate them in the lobby while I waited. We finally got a table after waiting almost 90 minutes - and it was the worst table in the place. DH was not happy, especially when no one came to take our order, and people who were seated after us were getting their food. We just walked out and never returned. He wants to give them another chance but I refuse to go back.

BriBri529 Posted: Oct 11, 2004 08:12 PM

Re: QOTD: Would you ever do this in a restaurant?

I definitely do NOT think it is tacky!!!!! What if these tourists had a certain amount of money left or just didn't want to spend a fortune on a meal? I have never done it, but not for nothing if I was going to spend that at a Fridays I would probably walk out myself because there are a lot better places in the city than Fridays that charge the same prices for a way more decent meal.

heidla Posted: Oct 11, 2004 08:21 PM

Re: QOTD: Would you ever do this in a restaurant?

I've done it a couple of times for different reasons. Once because there was nothing on the menu for me (a vegetarian) to eat another because I am not going to pay $20 for a grilled cheese sandwich and fries. I think charging that much is tacky. I have lived in NYC for a long time now and I am used to the inflated prices, but I am also not a fool.

ETA: I have worked in the resturant industry for longer then I care to mention and it is not an uncommon situation. I would rather have people leave then have sticker shock at the bill and get a crappy tip.

tray831 Posted: Oct 11, 2004 08:38 PM

Re: QOTD: Would you ever do this in a restaurant?

I've never done it but I probably would! I've left from waiting in a waiting area to be sat many times, from various reasons, too crowded or the type of patrons in there were somewhat revolting and if someone looks greasy to me, I become instantly nauseated and I cannot eat in that place.

So other than crowds, and cleanliness, would I leave if the prices were that expensive? Probably not.......but I wouldnt put it past me either........

belle31125 Posted: Oct 11, 2004 10:23 PM

Re: QOTD: Would you ever do this in a restaurant?

I have been so tempted to do this at that particular Fridays.. the first time my friends and I went.. we ordered the cheapest things and then were broke!