Have you ever walked out of a restaurant?

Hi Hately Gosh I have done that a lot, I always assume that nobody is low enough to take money off the table or the counter, but of course that is a bit naive... I would think that any waiting staff worth their salt would be eager to get to your cash to see what sort of tip you had left (I usually leave a good one!) so there's not much chance of anyone stealing it. You were good to pay again, I think really it is their lookout if they didn't keep a hold on your money..

I feel bad because I didn't have chance to make it clear to them that I was leaving because I genuinely had to go to work. they may have thought I just got annoyed and walked off, but it was not really like that at all. I have worked in retail and customer service a lot and did not like to do that to them, in the end, time dictated that I just had to go...

Thanks, I feel a bit better about it now. Funny it must have been more than ten years ago, but it just suddenly popped into my head when I read a discussion on a related subject... I think I remember that it was steak that I ordered and I must have been gutted to have to make do with a snack. the good news is that I used to get a food allowance at work regardless of how much was spent, so I probably saved myself quite a bit of money...!

I've been a waitress, and worked in other areas in restaurants. As was said in another response, your waitress should have come up and offered you an alternative. You don't leave customers sitting unattended all that time.

You understand the situation very well - the meal was probably steak with veg and gravy, so they could nit very easily have put it in a doggy bag for me - plus I would not have had time to eat it anyway. I just had my lunch hour to find a place and get my food, and it took me the first fifteen minutes to find a place to eat. I was working in different places every day so there would not realistically have been time to order ahead as lunch hour varied from day to day. I did feel guilty, but less so now as everyone has been supportive and made me feel better.

It would be cheap except that where I worked would buy your lunch if you paid for it 'on the road' and it doesn't come cheaper than that! A lot of my co-workers would take their own lunch and still claim the payment, I preferred to play by the rules...

ya .. do one thing carry your own lunch with you to your work place. Its healthy. ts cheap. And you will never be late again.

Normally I would just put up with it. I was getting anxious about getting back for work and had the prospect of complaining and getting even more worked up or just walking out. In the end it was a great relief to walk out and just get a substitute lunch that I could eat quickly.

I think I probably went and grabbed chocolate... If you are expecting steak and have to settle for a poor substitute... a burger or sandwich just wouldn't do for me, it would have to be chocolate!

Maybe you are just too nice.

I understand not wanting the confrontation, but I see it as a challenge when it reaches a level where I think I am being taken advantage of. I do not mind waiting a reasonable time and will always give the benefit of the doubt. When it reaches the point where I think I am being walked over or ignored, I dig my heels in and am quite prepared to cause a scene if need be - my own self-esteem demands it otherwise i am going to feel like a doormat. I have worked in customer-relations related jobs all my life, so I know what it is like to be on the other side. I have a good idea what is in their power to grant me and what would be reasonable recompense for whatever bad service I have received. Twice I have been in a hotel where a party has been held and I have not been able to sleep properly. On both occasions I arrived at the front desk and asked to see the duty manager (dressed in only my boxer-shorts and a T-shirt for effect) on both occasions I was offered the nights' stay for free. Each time I was staying two nights and reasoned that I was more than happy to pay for one night. It would have been wrong to ask for more, and I had an idea that it would be in the managers power to offer me one night for free. On the second instance I found myself saying to the manager 'what are you going to offer me to attract me back to your hotel again?' (I honestly surprised myself with that one...) He gave me his name and offered me a free upgrade to a better room the next time I stayed there (I could tell from his manner that this was going to be the best offer I was going to get) so I thanked him and felt quite pleased with myself - there was not arguing or shouting just a reasonable discussion between a vendor and a client. Don't forget that you are the client and you should make your views known.

That might just be my problem...I have no self esteem ;D I take my hat off to you for having such strong convictions and stand up for them. You are definately right. If you pay for a service, you have a right to demand satisfaction when treated badly and/or unfairly. The one time that I do get very close to raising the roof, is with the telecom's company but I never get so far as to scream at them becayse they are the only fixed line service provider in this country and they know you can't walk out, so they just don't give a hoot, meaning it would only be a waste of energy. I have had to deal with one or two clients that was just totally un-reasonable. This one guy phoned up, complaining that he couldn't access our web-site. I told him politely that the international connection was down and there was nothing we could do about it and that we were in just as much a predicament as he was. He went ballistic and shouted that he didn't want to know what was wrong and that all he wanted was for us to fix it...and now. Talk about abuse of power. In the end, I must admit that there has been a couple of times that my mind had long since stormed out of the store/restaurant and it's just my body, too stupid to react to being walked over, left standing at the till ;D

Thanks, I felt it was the only thing I could do - It was reasonable as most people have agreed, but I did feel guilty about doing it. As I walked round the corner to find some chocolate they were probably trying to deliver my hot steaming meal to my empty table..!

No I didn't think to ask because I never had service that was that slow before. If they had told me how long it would be I would have told them that I did not have that long. I was gutted because I like my food and would have had to make do with a snack instead of a nice cooked meal..

I think if you ask for something specific and they agree, you are certainly within your rights to walk away. However business customs vary widely across the world and it may be that your request was not taken at face value but thought of as a bargaining tool. IE. you would ask for a discount if the food was late? Any service industry should certainly be seen to put their customer first and ignoring a customer is a big no no in any establishment in my opinion. I hate that and would like to think I would do the same as you. I used to be far more self-conscious about this sort of thing, but I find I am more confident with age..

I like to go to places that I know I will get good service. I was working that day away from home and just had to find somewhere quickly in my lunch hour. I would not have done this if I had been with someone, I would have gone and asked how long the meal would be, and if I had plenty of time I would just have put up with it...

I wonder how many times people have said that to the same manager? He probably sells loads of chocolate bars!

Too right I wouldn't go back again... I did not make a fuss about time at the beginning as had no idea it would take so long. I really don't like to walk away, but I left it so long (in the vain hope that the meal would come any second...) that there was no time even to explain rationally as I would have to find myself something else to eat and eat it within 10 minutes or go hungry all afternoon.

Thanks, I felt bad about doing it especially as I also felt very hungry too, but it got to the stage where I was forced to do something and I could not be late back to work.

Good for you - I would rather have explained to someone what I was doing, but there was simply nobody in sight.

If you are the person in your avatar I don't se a problem with getting a mouse in your food, sounds like a bonus to me... Seriously though I think I would call the Police if I got a mouse and have them done for assualt...let alone have a quiet word of complaint - I would be really livid if that happened!!! In the circumstances I could not have called ahead because I was working away from home without knowing what eateries would be suitable - I just had my lunch hour to get out into the town find somewhere to eat and get it down my neck. I use to do this a couple of times a week for about three years and this was the only time I had to leave because the food didn't turn up in time.

Ha Ha Ha the cheek they should have been too embarrassed to offer a free meal - I will eat pretty much anything, but a mouse in your food tells a whole load of things you didn't want to know. The kitchen is not clean, they kitchen is not regularly checked for vermin, they don't even look at the food whist they are making it - honestly I would want to beat someone who had served me with that in a restaurant, in fact I think I would like to ask the chef to come to my table and eat it in front of me...

Cute avatar! My cat probably would have enjoyed the mouse...my Grandma did not. The restaurant actually offered to take it off the plate (leaving the food)!! As they were walking out the door the owners offered them a free meal...NO WAY! (I'll have the taco platter and hold the decomposing mouse, please) **AT PEACE WITHIN** ~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~

You can't have a little one waiting for that length of time, it would be just too stressful - You did the right thing. If a restaurant is busy or not, they should always try to give the best service and should prioritise those with small children - let's face it if you have kids in your establishment it pays to keep them happy for everyone's sake!

I hadn't paid otherwise I would have had a real problem. The rules for claiming meal payments where I was working at the time dictated that I had to spend the money. A lot of co-workers would take a lunch with them and still claim the money - I felt obliged to follow the rules to get the payment... Also my day often started at 6am, so not a lot of time to organise lunch before starting.

Was it the fault of the restaurant - if you not you could find yourself in a big lawsuit....

I have been to a few comedy shows in my younger days, and some of them pushed the boundary a little. One guy (reasonably famous now..) thought it would be hilarious to get a girl up from the audience and get her stoned - she was not used to it and they had to carry her out where she was sick, then take her home in a taxi. Not really THAT funny to watch after the first few minutes, the guy was lucky not to be sued for assault. The best thing you can do with that type is get up very deliberately in front of everyone and leave. Clever comedians can work with the crowd, but not all comedians are clever enough to do it well.

Nice way to get out of a tricky situation... pity that the long wait was fruitless... Maybe you could have said look we only have 10 minutes before our movie starts, can we just have a starter and then go??