What do you hate most about the places where you dine?

[Bentley Green]

Ok guys, let's hear it. What do you hate most about the places where you eat?

One of my pet peeves is when a friend and myself go into some of these places to eat, some of them put us where we don't want to be seated, such as small tables and those high tables and chairs!

In places where there's a bar, we like to sit at the bar because we think the service there is much quicker. Also, I like to rest my feet on the long foot rest that's there because of poor blood circulation in my legs which causes them to go to sleep!

[Food Network Fan]

I don't think I go places I hate.

[Bentley Green]

But you don't really know what might happen until you go in there.

[Food Network Fan]

I pretty much only have big chains to choose from here. So you pretty much know what you are going to get there. Maybe that's what I hate the most. Nothing special to choose from.

I do like a Mexican Place that isn't a chain.

[Bentley Green]

Most of the restaurant chains are franchised, and with that comes a sharp decline in the service as well as the quality of the food.

For years, ever since I visited my youngest brother in Fort Myers, in the mid '90s, I used to LOVE to go to the Outback Steakhouse and enjoy their Baby-back Ribs. Last summer while spending a weekend in Stoughton, a friend and I went to and Outback Steakhouse there.

I ordered the Baby-back Ribs there, and found out that they are NOT like they used to be. it tasted as though someone there fell down with the salt, because the ribs were so blasted salty!! Never again with I eat there!!

Several years ago, I visited a friend out in Detroit. He took me to an Outback that was there. And the service there was horrendous, not to mention being poor and distasteful!! We waited at least 20 minutes even before we were offered menus and something to drink!!! We should hav gotten up and walked out!

[Chefnot]

We just don't eat out much. Well maybe just me as wife takes the girls out every time they go to the city.

[Bentley Green]

A friend of mine eats out all the time and he invites me to eat dinner with him, but I can't go all the time. I'm usually tired from all the work around the house, so I often respectfully decline.

[PicBuddy]

Well, I don't dine anywhere I don't care for, and if the food or service is bad, I don't go back. Too many choices. We used to eat out 3-4 times a week, but lately it may be once a week if that.

What I dislike about every restaurant in the U.S. is the "tipping" system. There should not be a tipping system at all. If a restauranteer can not afford to pay his employees, he should not be in business. And if a person can't make enough working as a waiter, he should find another job. See, all of those factors are someone elses problems, and totally out of my control.

The way I see it, if I have to pay a tip, the owner needs to take my advice about how the restaurant is laid out, what's on the menu, how it could be varied, etc. Because once I am paying his employees because he refuses to, that makes me a business partner at that point. But I don't want to be anyones partner, nor analyze their eatery, not give advice, I just want to eat. And the prices should be plain and clear.

I always tip $2. That's it. And if people don't like, (fill in the blank here)....

[Bentley Green]

I judge the tip according to the service.

In other words, crappy service gets a crappy tip.

[PicBuddy]

Well I guess in my case then, even the best of service gets a crappy tip. And I don't really care. Not my problem.

Besides, there shouldn't be a very large variation in quality of service. If someone is providing poor service to customers, that's the owner/managers problem to deal with. If I get poor service a few times I don't go back. And it's not my job to evaluate service, and give a tip based on it, as I am not one to judge others that way. I just want the food I want, at the proper temperature in a timely fashion. In fact, I don't really need someone to take my order to the kitchen, I wouldn't mind just going back there myself and telling them what I want. In fact I have done that once when no one seemed to be waiting on us... They acted like no one had ever done that before. Hahah!