More pointless flameyness...

[conuly]

My god, people. She's not asking for the world on a silver platter, despite what you appear to think. Strangely, I believe that asking for your waiter to say "you're welcome" when your son says thank you isn't asking for special treatment, especially when everyone else got that reply. And I grasped her request just by reading her first post, not to mention her many responses. Can some of you folks just, y'know, grow up?

Comments

[maladaptive.livejournal.com]

I heard a great story once of a waitress:

Mom: "My son wants the kiddy quesadillas."
Son: "I want french fries."
Mom: "And milk."
Son: "Apple juice."
Waitress: "French fries and apple juice. Check! Now your order ma'am?"

Don't remember where it was (and the food has been changed because I only remember the gist) but it was royally great.

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Whilst I sympathise with her in her cultural situation, I remember how bloody sick I was of hearing "you're welcome" by the end of my last trip to the States. The place it really got to me was in Death Valley, though I couldn't tell you why. Maybe it's 'cos the place we stayed there was 5 star so service was superfawning *shrugs*

[wetcircuitry.livejournal.com]

Wow, Uly.. you're right. Why can't these people say "you're welcome" when anyone says "thank you" regardless of age? It's just good manners. The guy that said "your son is six years old, do you expect us to discuss politics with him?" No.. just be polite, since we're paying you for your services.

[zarriq.livejournal.com]

As someone who has worked in the food service industry for a while, I can see where the servers are coming from. I really wouldn't consider their responses "flames" (unless your working with David Gonterman's definition, which is "disagreement"); some are strong-worded, yeah, but not insulting to the poster for the most part. It is just good manners to say "you're welcome" when somebody thanks you, but it is easy to sort of miss it when you've got so much on your mind, and I don't necessarily think it's fair to cut a tip considerably for one itty bitty mistake. If the service was otherwise lousy, fine.

I don't expect to hear "you're welcome" from service employees. When I work, I say it, and each and every single time the customer doesn't hear it.

I think it's silly to demand constant smiles and rainbows and puppies from someone who's been working his/her ass off for hours. News flash: servers are human. They are not genetically engineered creatures with a gland that constantly secretes happiness even when the guys at table nine grab start playing grab-ass and the kid at table seven starts throwing blunt objects around. Food service has a habit of driving people slightly insane.

And children are often... er... trying in restaurants. Some are very nice. I guess that suggesting that children aren't inherently perfect and failing to have multiple orgasms whenever I see a kid makes me some kind of horrible child-hater, but my bullshit detector goes off when anyone makes their kid out to be an angel.

[conuly]

I don't expect to hear "you're welcome" from service employees. When I work, I say it, and each and every single time the customer doesn't hear it.

I don't care about that myself, BUT if you're saying "you're welcome" to the mom, and to her boyfriend, but you're NOT saying it to her kid when he says thanks, that's not right.

[firingneurons.livejournal.com]

Up until the time I was 13 or 14 I got looked down on, and treated as inferior. I wasn't spoken to, I was spoken at and it infuriated me. Grant you the child is six, and at that age I don't expect he'd be infuriated by being ignored but I can certainly see how it could annoy both him and his mother. There really is no excuse for a person being slighted when they are being polite whether this person is 6 or 36. And if the waiter or waitress cannot stand kids in her place of work, well I'm sorry, but they need to find a new job.

[maladaptive.livejournal.com]

I heard a great story once of a waitress:

Mom: "My son wants the kiddy quesadillas."
Son: "I want french fries."
Mom: "And milk."
Son: "Apple juice."
Waitress: "French fries and apple juice. Check! Now your order ma'am?"

Don't remember where it was (and the food has been changed because I only remember the gist) but it was royally great.

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Whilst I sympathise with her in her cultural situation, I remember how bloody sick I was of hearing "you're welcome" by the end of my last trip to the States. The place it really got to me was in Death Valley, though I couldn't tell you why. Maybe it's 'cos the place we stayed there was 5 star so service was superfawning *shrugs*

[wetcircuitry.livejournal.com]

Wow, Uly.. you're right. Why can't these people say "you're welcome" when anyone says "thank you" regardless of age? It's just good manners. The guy that said "your son is six years old, do you expect us to discuss politics with him?" No.. just be polite, since we're paying you for your services.

[zarriq.livejournal.com]

As someone who has worked in the food service industry for a while, I can see where the servers are coming from. I really wouldn't consider their responses "flames" (unless your working with David Gonterman's definition, which is "disagreement"); some are strong-worded, yeah, but not insulting to the poster for the most part. It is just good manners to say "you're welcome" when somebody thanks you, but it is easy to sort of miss it when you've got so much on your mind, and I don't necessarily think it's fair to cut a tip considerably for one itty bitty mistake. If the service was otherwise lousy, fine.

I don't expect to hear "you're welcome" from service employees. When I work, I say it, and each and every single time the customer doesn't hear it.

I think it's silly to demand constant smiles and rainbows and puppies from someone who's been working his/her ass off for hours. News flash: servers are human. They are not genetically engineered creatures with a gland that constantly secretes happiness even when the guys at table nine grab start playing grab-ass and the kid at table seven starts throwing blunt objects around. Food service has a habit of driving people slightly insane.

And children are often... er... trying in restaurants. Some are very nice. I guess that suggesting that children aren't inherently perfect and failing to have multiple orgasms whenever I see a kid makes me some kind of horrible child-hater, but my bullshit detector goes off when anyone makes their kid out to be an angel.

[conuly]

I don't expect to hear "you're welcome" from service employees. When I work, I say it, and each and every single time the customer doesn't hear it.

I don't care about that myself, BUT if you're saying "you're welcome" to the mom, and to her boyfriend, but you're NOT saying it to her kid when he says thanks, that's not right.

[firingneurons.livejournal.com]

Up until the time I was 13 or 14 I got looked down on, and treated as inferior. I wasn't spoken to, I was spoken at and it infuriated me. Grant you the child is six, and at that age I don't expect he'd be infuriated by being ignored but I can certainly see how it could annoy both him and his mother. There really is no excuse for a person being slighted when they are being polite whether this person is 6 or 36. And if the waiter or waitress cannot stand kids in her place of work, well I'm sorry, but they need to find a new job.