Was she a sucky customer?

[Kiwi]

I was talking on the phone with my Mum the other day and she told me something that has stuck in my mind because I just dont know who was right or wrong.My Mum and her BFF (my god mother) go out every second saturday night and have for 22 years now, they have never missed a week unless one is out of the country! They usually go to the same resturant but apprently changed when this new "Brazillion" one opened.

Its sort of a buffet style, they have a table for salads and hot dishes but serve the meats off a big fire pit, and bring it on massive platters to the table and serve you. It is supposed to be fantastic and as a result, mum and BFF have gone there 3 times in a row. Last time they were there for around 2 hours and were talking to the head waiter and he said "You ladies must really like it here" and they replied that they did and this was there new resturant of choice. Then he said "well thats great but most of our clients dont sit and chat for 2 hours" then walked off.

Now they had been at the resturant for around 2 hours, but that was from the time they had arrived and been seated and ate. Its not like they sat and chatted for 2 hours and then ate or vice versa. We also dont tip in NZ so its not like they were holding up a table for waitstaff earning tips. Its also $30 a person for dinner. Plus they had purchased some of the merchandise the resturant has on offer (2 brazillion steak knifes each at $10 a pop).

He said it in a joking way, but mum and BFF were a little unsure if he was really upset with them, paid and left and havent been back. They love the food and the staff but didnt realise that having a 2 hour dinner was rude (now my mum can be a right SC at times but she is getting better) and wanted to know what I thought.

I honestly dont know, I dont keep track of the time I spend in a resturant (unless Im on a lunch break) I eat my meal, talk for a bit and then leave but Ive never timed myself so I dont know if 2 hours is long or not. I wasnt there so I dont know how to take the waiters comment....

Is 2 hours a long time for a meal? Who was sucky, was anyone sucky or both were just a little out of order? What do you guys think?

[Foxglove8778]

I don't see how it's sucky to sit and enjoy company during & after a meal.

[katie kaboom]

The guy working there was definetly sucky. I don't think your mom and her friend were at all. I think this is a case where the guy should have thought before he spoke. Sure, i can see him thinking that to himself, but to say it out loud? That is just plain rude, in my book. I mean here they were telling him what a great place it is to eat and he essentially belittles them for having been there so long? That cannot be conducive to repeat business, so i hope this was just a one time thing, and this guy doesn't make a habit of treating customers like that.
There is nothing wrong with going out and having a nice, leisurely dinner, especially, since like you said, they didn't sit there and talk for two hours first and THEN eat their meal. Yeah that would have been a sucky thing to do. But honestly, people have a right to go out and enjoy a nice meal without having to hear that kind of comment. Whether he was kidding or not (and how would your mom and her friend know, since they don't even know this man?) it was still rude of him.

[AFpheonix]

It would have been one thing if they took up a table and only had a drink with free refills, but they had a full meal.

No, either the head waiter is a jackass or he totally put his foot in his mouth.

[Andara Bledin]

Two hours is not a particularly long time to spend eating dinner. Most of the time when my boyfriend and I eat out we take anywhere from an hour to two hours to eat. And that's just eating.

In a particularly social or group setting, we've taken up tables at a restaurant for upwards of 4 hours before. (we always left good tips, and this would usually be late on a Sunday night - post faire dinner before the long drive home) Two hours was about average, however.

^-.-^

[draftermatt]

The only time two hours is long for dinner is when there are other people waiting. If you see there are people waiting for a table and still sit and chat forever, then you are being sucky. Sure we all want to enjoy our dinner, but how would you feel if you were hungry and waiting, watching a table do nothing but talk long after their plates are taken.

[katie kaboom]

Sure we all want to enjoy our dinner, but how would you feel if you were hungry and waiting, watching a table do nothing but talk long after their plates are taken.

meh, i'd probably just go somewhere else if that happened. but that's just me.

[ContraCorriente]

Maybe he was trying to be friendly and he just said it wrong and it sounded sucky. Maybe when she said they really like it there, maybe he was kind of agreeing with her and he really meant, 'You must, 'cause we don't usually have people in the restaurant for two hours!' But that's a whole lotta maybes.

*shrug*

[Andara Bledin]

The only time two hours is long for dinner is when there are other people waiting. If you see there are people waiting for a table and still sit and chat forever, then you are being sucky. Sure we all want to enjoy our dinner, but how would you feel if you were hungry and waiting, watching a table do nothing but talk long after their plates are taken.

I'd just wait. I don't worry about how long it takes me to get to the table. For whatever reason, it has never been an issue. I try to not go out to eat when I'm in a hurry; that's just bound to be a less than enjoyable experience.

However, as a diner, if I'm finished and there aren't at least a few empty tables in the section I'm in, I tend to wrap things up and free the table.

^-.-^

[kibbles]

If he was serious then he was definitely a sucky employee, if he was joking then it still came off sounding very very bad IMO.

[mariamousie1]

Usually when I go to a food court or Tim Hortons or something there's a sign on the wall saying "Please do not linger for longer than 20-30 minutes" or something like that. I don't know if restaurants ever do something like that. I read somewhere that the polite way to get patrons to leave is to ask them if they want their check now *hint hint*

[Becks]

Your mom and her BFF were not sucky.

The employee was. Or he just sounded like he was.

[BusBus]

I suppose it would depend on the tone of the server. At the very best, he should have worded that better. At the worst, he was an ass.

[iradney]

Seeing as how it's buffet style restaurant, it's not unusual to be there for that amount of time. After all, you're not gonna wolf the food down and explode your stomach, you're going to take your time with the food and sample every little bit.
Or at least, that's what TTO and I do. We rarely buffet, so when we do, we make an occasion of it!

[JustADude]

Sounds, IMNSHO, like a case of foot-in-mouth syndrome. As ContraCorriente suggested, I'm pretty (70%~80%) sure he meant that as a joke, and it sounded funny in his head, but fell completely flat on delivery.