Discussion » Questions » Food and Drink » What was your worst experience at a restaurant?
Livvie

What was your worst experience at a restaurant?

My husband is cursed when we go out to eat which is why we hardly ever go out to eat.

Anyway, one time we were driving to Colorado and we stopped at a restaurant in Nebraska.  The sign said please seat yourself so we sat down and waited and waited and waited some more.  While we were waiting my hubby said the server would eventually come running over yelling Oh! Oh! I didn't see you two come in!  Hmm, he got it right, that's exactly what she said when she came running over to the table a few minutes later!

It was a buffet and my husband told me to wait at the table while he went to get something else.  I finished what I had on my plate so I went back to the buffet but my hubby told me he asked me to wait at the table.  I didn't know why he made such a strange request but when we got back to the table the server already cleaned off the table and dumped out our drinks.  She was holding his sunglasses and telling another server that someone left their sunglasses behind.

Posted - August 26, 2017
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Responses


  • 16797
    Getting fired. I was a waiter. It wasn't just me, the owner was an alcoholic and routinely fired people for imagined infractions, the place went bust a few months later.
      August 26, 2017 11:16 PM MDT
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  • 5451
    I never got fired but my step-brother got fired from Subway.  He really deserved it though.
      August 28, 2017 11:13 AM MDT
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  • 46117
    There are more than one.  And I was young and it's too embarrassing to even tell.  No, I didn't poop my pants or anything like that either.
      August 26, 2017 11:51 PM MDT
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  • 5451
    lol, That reminds me of when I was in Phoenix and I ate at a Denny's and it does involve poop!  

    The guy at the table next to us got up and announced to everybody sitting at his table that it was time for his afternoon dump!  How appetizing lol.  Yuck!  I got up to go the the bathroom and on my way there I saw the guys walking into the men's room and turning around and walking out right away.

    After I went back to my table Mr. Afternoon Dump went back to his table and said That bathroom is officially closed!  Then he told everybody that's what happens when he has the Santa Fe Skillet.

    I think he just ruined the Sante Fe Skillet for other people forever lol.
      August 28, 2017 11:28 AM MDT
    0

  • Umm...when I was younger I was sitting with friends and I got my meal at a diner and my waitress went and sat with her friends on the other end of the place and they were talking loudly and carrying on.
    I never did get my drink that I ordered, but I had a glass from earlier.
    She never came over to check on me or anything so I just took my glass into the bathroom and filled it with water from the tap.
    I don't think I ever went there again after that.
    They went out if business anyway.

    Another time in my teens my friend and I were at a pizza place and a waitress thought she knew us or something.
    She acted angry and she had an attitude and was rude to us the whole time.
    I thought it was a joke or something?
    We just got up and left.

    Another time the waitress forgot my order and I waited for a long time and then I think she came and asked me if I was ready to order.
    I already ordered like 20 minutes ago.

    Another time my wife and I waited to be seated for probably 5 minutes and no one even came to the front desk.
    We just left.

    One time they brought me burnt toast.
    Like really?
    I never send food back, but if they can't even make toast I'm not eating there again.

    Overall I love eating out and I've had way more great experiences than these few issues.
    Thanks. : )
      August 27, 2017 12:32 AM MDT
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  • 44622
    A couple of those sound like 'dine and dash.'
      August 27, 2017 7:35 AM MDT
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  • I always paid, but the time that the young waitress at the Pizza place was being rude I think we ordered or tried to order and got frustrated with her acting strange (like she hated us) then we just left.
    We were going to talk to the manager, but we were just teenagers so we said "Screw it" and went somewhere else.


      August 27, 2017 8:06 AM MDT
    1

  • 5451
    One time my husband and I ate at Denny's.  There were four servers behind the counter talking to each other but no one came to take the order so we left.  Two other people got tired of waiting and also left.
      August 28, 2017 11:32 AM MDT
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  • Stopped at a Pizza Hut, with a friend, for pizza and a cold drink. After finishing the meal, my friend said he wanted to use the restroom before we left. So while I'm waiting for him to return, I'm watching the traffic go by, looking around the restaurant, and he finally comes back. So we leave.

    Driving out of the parking lot, I notice the waitress running after our car. So we stop and she says, "You forgot to pay the check!"  I thought he had paid and he thought I had paid while he was in the restroom.  It was a little embarrassing. :))
      August 27, 2017 1:09 AM MDT
    5

  • 5451
    I never forgot to pay a check but yeah, that would be embarrassing lol.
      August 28, 2017 11:34 AM MDT
    1

  • 44622
    My wife and I and another stopped at a 'mom and pop' diner on our way to DC. We took seats and waited...and waited...and waited. In the meantime another group came in and was waited on immediately. We said to hell with it and started to leave, but I told the others to hang out for a moment and proceeded to find the manager and chew her ass. She made some phony excuses and said she would wait on us then and now. We just walked out.
      August 27, 2017 7:40 AM MDT
    3

  • 5451
    That happened to me at Denny's but when I got up to leave they didn't seem to notice.
      August 28, 2017 11:34 AM MDT
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  • 7280
    The worst server experience I ever had was at a Steak and Ale restaurant many years ago.  I was a regular customer, and most of the staff at the location knew me.  This guy didn't.

    I paid with cash and left him to bright shiny pennies as a tip.  I got his name, and I came in the following day and asked to be seated at his station. Normally, the server is told that he has a call party at a table---which implies he is going to see a friendly face.

    He walked around the corner and almost tripped when he saw me.  We never had a problem after that.  He's just been having an off night the first time he waited on me. 
      August 27, 2017 9:03 AM MDT
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  • 5451
    It's good that you gave him another chance.  I know some people who never go back to a restaurant after they get one rude server even if they liked the restaurant.
      August 29, 2017 4:48 PM MDT
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  • 7939
    I have a bad experience every time go someplace new, and subsequent visits are a crapshoot. A week ago, I popped by a new restaurant with a friend of mine. We have a "favorite" restaurant, and this one is owned by the same people, but is a totally different menu. Anyway, the place specializes in chicken and doughnuts, which, IMO is a nasty combo to begin with, but eh... my friend wanted to try it, so we did. Well, it was roughly 10am, and anyone who knows me knows exactly what I ordered. Yup, a cup of coffee. Simple enough. No. Apparently not. The girl behind the counter glared at me.

    Her: "We don't have any ready." (Yes, at 10am. I kid you not. A doughnut shop with no coffee. In. The. Morning.)
    Me: "You can make some, right?" 
    Her: "Yes, but you'll have to wait."
    Me: "That's fine"
    Her: *glares some more*

    My friend and I sat down in a booth and watched milkweed bugs and ants crawl all over the windows for a while. Most of them were on the outside, so that wasn't so bad. After about 15-20 minutes, I went back to the counter and the woman glared at me some more. 

    Me: Did you get to make the coffee yet?
    Her: No. I forgot. Do you want iced instead or do you want to wait?
    No apology. Nothing. Bah.

    A few days ago, I ordered Pizza Hut for my kids. They forgot to bring one of the pizzas. I called the store and they gave me the third degree, like I was lying about missing an entire freaking pizza. 

    The worst... that's a toss up between the time a waitress at IHOP dumped a plate of food on my lap and didn't even bother to apologize or offer me napkins or a towel to clean it up and the time I went to a McDonalds and a roach crawled across the counter as I ordered. I pointed out to the cashier and he borrowed a shoe from a coworker and squished it... on the counter. Without missing a beat, he turned back to me and asked me what else I wanted with my order. "Never mind," I said. "I've just lost my appetite." 
      August 27, 2017 11:57 PM MDT
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  • Things haven't been the same since they started calling "service stations" ... "gas stations."  Have they. :(
      August 28, 2017 12:08 AM MDT
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  • 5451
    Asker's Pick is for the McDonal's story lol.  One of the few times that my hubby and I went to McDonald's it didn't end well.  It ended with him cancelling the order and asking for a refund and the guy behind the counter getting fired.
      August 29, 2017 4:51 PM MDT
    0

  • 10026
    Hi Livvie  :)~ There are so many, it's hard to grab one and call it the worst.  Please remember, 3/4 of my life has been in the restaurant business  I have been  a waitress, a bar tender, a manager, and a partial owner of a restaurant, so, the moments are abundant.
    I think I'll take your question from a customer's experience.  This is what happened to my husband Don.  He would like to tell it himself.  ( I hope this is allowed :))

    There was a time at Benihana Japanese Restaurant.  Sitting around with the Ginsu knives entertaining all of us was fun and memorizing.   We were served all kinds of different spices with chicken and sauteed veggies.  We sat and laughed for ate and drank for hours.   All of a sudden, the sharpest and hugest cramps began.  HOT FLASHES! DOUBLING IN SCREAMING PAIN to the point of not being able to breathe.  HUGE amounts of fluid started spewing from any Orpheus it could find! Out my mouth, my nose, my bottom, I think my ears and eyes even got in this action.  I have never dehydrated so quickly in my life.  OUT! OUT! OUT! my body was screaming from head to toe.  Walking was out of the question.  Crawling to the toilet took every ounce of energy I could muster.   Should I sit on the toilet or turn around and stare at the bowl?  What a mess.  I was rushed to the hospital.   They took one look at me and stuck IV's in me immediately.  Totally dehydrated, I lost (NOT Kidding or exaggerating here!!) 20 lbs in 3 days.  I wasn't a heavy person to begin with. The doctor said I had Salmonella.  He suggested it was from the chicken.  Salmonella is a form of food poisoning.  It has made me very Leary of eating chicken at any restaurant ever again.  You do not want to experience this.  Please make sure you cook your chicken through and through.


      August 28, 2017 1:26 AM MDT
    3

  • 16797
    Salmonella rarely hits that quickly, are you sure it wasn't poisoning? Japanese eat blowfish ...
      August 28, 2017 1:56 AM MDT
    1

  • 2500
    Very unlikely that it was tetrodotoxin poisoning.

    You're not going to find a "delicacy" like fugu at the McDonalds of Japanese food. The poisonous variety from the  western Pacific is fairly rare and very expensive. (The Atlantic puffer fish lacks that nasty tetrodotoxin in sufficient concentration to do any damage.) She also made no mention of tingling around the mouth which is one of the first symptoms.

      August 28, 2017 1:04 PM MDT
    1

  • 10026
    Thank you Slartibarfast and Salt and Red Pepper~ You both have brought new light to this very unfortunate experience.  It goes to show that sometimes, the docs aren't always right.
    To the day, Don says it was the most horrifying experience he and his body have ever been through.  He literally thought he was going to die.  Losing that amount of weight in that short of a time must take a tremendous toll on your organs.  His liver and kidneys must have been in total shock.
    It goes to show, we all should be a little more aware of what we put in our bodies.  
    Thanks again to both of you.  Have a great day :)
      August 29, 2017 9:13 AM MDT
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  • I can relate a little bit.
    I had food poisoning one time and it was crazy, LoL!
    It only lasted for like an hour or two, but my body was desperately trying to force everything out.
    It's the only time I was ever sitting on the toilet contemplating calling an ambulance.
    For a little while I thought I may die.

    This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at August 28, 2017 9:17 AM MDT
      August 28, 2017 2:31 AM MDT
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  • 10026
    I am so sorry Truthseeker.  I can only imagine it is one of the worst experiences anyone could "live" through.  Don thought he was going to die too, literally!
    It's great to see you!  Have a great day :) :)
      August 28, 2017 9:34 AM MDT
    1

  • 5451
    I know the feeling.  My hubby and I got sick from eating at a Chinese buffet but that time the vomiting didn't strike until the next day.  We were sick for about two or three days.

    We decided do give it a second chance but the second time was worse than the first.  I couldn't even finish what was on my plate and I was so sick my hubby had to carry me out to the car.

    We're not going to give that place a third chance.
      August 28, 2017 11:09 AM MDT
    1