In my family, we sort of, sometimes, occasionally, well ... live for eating out. Although my mom and I both cook, she definitely raised me to believe an amazing, mind-blowing restaurant meal is worth every penny. Then again, for that to happen, all stars need to be aligned ... Besides delicious food, impeccable service, and an enjoyable atmosphere, the people around you in a restaurant matter in a major way.
Here, 10 of the most annoying types of people who can totally make or break a restaurant experience ...
- The loud talker. Everyone's encountered this guy (or gal). There's nothing like trying to enjoy your bruschetta with a side of someone else's life story!
- The Duggars. Okay, not really the Duggars, but huuuge families that take over the restaurant are always a good time. Rrright.
- The manager who's angry with the wait staff ... and taking it out on them in front of the customers. Take it out back!
- The texters. People who are so busy tweeting/Instagramming/texting/Facebooking, etc. that their heads are buried in their smartphones throughout their entire meal aren't directly wrecking others' experience, but that behavior is still annoying as hell.
- The overtly flirtatious waiter. Friendly is fine, flirtatious or touchy-feely is an appetite-buster for sure!
- The screaming baby. Or more like parents of any screaming baby who act unaware of their kid's meltdown. I know it's not their fault (necessarily) that the baby is imploding, but bringing a little one into a non-fast food establishment after a certain hour (likely aka the child's bedtime) is just asking for trouble. These folks may be better off ordering in, no?
- Irate staffers. True story: I recently overheard a couple of staffers at a fast casual Asian restaurant complaining by the soda machine that they deserved a longer break, and they were going to sue the management. Awwwkward.
- The tweens. "Like, OMG!" If this bunch isn't silently glued to their gadgets, they're chatting face-to-face, which might actually be even worse ...
- The girls' night outers. Middle-aged yentes loudly swapping gossip that would make Christian Grey blush, you know who you are!
- Obnoxious drunk guys. If you're lucky, they'll be confined to the bar, but as long as there's liquor present, you never know when you might run into someone feelin' the depressive, crazy-making effects of one too many Johnny Walkers on the rocks!
What are some other annoying types of people you've encountered while dining out?
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Comments 33
Somehow, I get this feeling that you're not always a real peach to be around either, Maressa.
I think tables of loud, annoying, and very drunk adults are much worse than tables of tweens. What always annoyed me the most was as soon as there was an audible peep from a teenagers' table, the management would rush over and shush them, but adults can whoop, holler, and guffaw without interference. The teens' money is just as good as the adults' money.
^Agreed. I hated going out in high school with these families looking at me like my presence would ruin their night out, when I was always quit, polite and well behaved, more so than many of the older patrons.
Heck, when I was in band, if we stopped somewhere on our way to or from a competition (we always called ahead to make sure they knew we were coming, how many, and if it was ok) every single one of use was quiet and polite, said thank you, and cleaned up after ourselves while the people around uswere loud, rude to staf and messy.
If we came at night we all had to stay and clean the buiding, we would actually do most of the closing work for the employees.
The parents who let their kids run WILD and all they keep saying is "stop it, stop it, stop it, do you want a spanking, sit down, get over here..........I don't blame the kids. They'll do what they can get away with. It's the parents that I think are rude.
I hardly ever pay that much attention to other diners unless they're AT my table making a scene, who cares, really?