Waiting to pay at restaurants.

[Rageaholic]

I know I've mentioned this on other threads here, but it bugs me so much it needs it's own thread. The one thing I hate about eating out is waiting.

I can accept waiting to be seated since the restaurant may be busy. If it's too busy, I can always leave.

I can accept waiting for the food since hey, it takes time to cook the food.

However, I CANNOT accept having to wait for the check. Why the check? Because it puts me in a catch 22. If I don't pay, I am a dine and dasher. But if I don't have the check, I can't pay. By not giving me the check, they are not allowing me to pay and fullfil my obligation, thus holding me hostage.

And I know the reasons they take their time with the check and I think it's all bullshit.

*Some customers think it's rude and will feel rushed.
My response: They're fools to think that. Being given the check doens't have to mean get out, it just means here's the check, pay when you're ready. At least being given the check early would allow someone to leave when they want to.

*It's to keep them for deserts.
My response: So they're basically holding people hostage to get them to spend more? That's a dirty trick. And I don't know about anyone else, but it wouldn't work on me. When I'm being kept waiting, I'm not gonna wanna wait even longer for desert.

*Some managers have a policy where they must authorize all purchases before the check is printed.
My response: The stupidest thing I've ever heard. If those managers are going to be control freaks and not trust their employees to do the job they were hired to do, they better be on call at all times. Otherwise, LET THEM DO THEIR DAMN JOB!!

What's even worse is when you can't even pay up front. Not only do you have to wait for the check, but you have to wait for them to come back, pick up the tab, then wait for them to bring back the change. I've actually had a waitress just disappear for 10 minutes WITH MY MONEY.

And no, as much as this annoys me, I haven't been a jerkass to any cashier or waitstaff. I've acted impatient and antsy, maybe they overheard me saying "come on" to myself, but I don't make a scene. But that doesn't mean I'm not PISSED OFF having to wait to give them their money.

[Andara Bledin]

Have you ever actually tried asking your server, at a point when you'd be ready to take care of the check, to hurry if possible?

I guarantee it'll get you better results than just sitting and fuming to yourself. And a lot healthier.

^-.-^

[Rageaholic]

I usually end up asking for the check when I'm ready. The problem is that the servers are no where to be found when I want to pay and leave. Sometimes, I'll get ahold of them, and they'll still take a while to bring the damn check.

[linguist]

Or it could be because, you know, you aren't the only customer the server is waiting on. As for waiting after you've paid, that's often because most restaurants only have one register/credit machine, and if other servers are there first, yours has to wait until they've cleared their checks.

[Boozy]

When I'm in a hurry at a restaurant, I tell the server to bring me the check when they bring the food. It saves them a second trip to the table.

Some restaurants don't let the servers bring the check until they're asked for it. It allows the diners to consider having that second glass of wine, or think about having dessert after all.

[Rageaholic]

When I'm in a hurry at a restaurant, I tell the server to bring me the check when they bring the food. It saves them a second trip to the table.

Actually, that's not a bad idea. I should remind myself to do that and save myself some headache.

[Ginger Tea]

I do pub grub, so I've never had to pay after eating*, hell it seems a forign concept to me to pay after the fact.

But I too would not like to wait to pay if the place was seemingly quiet, busy I would accept a delay, not so busy I would want to be out of the door ASAP.

*OK pizza hut is a pay after eating and as I last ate there close to 5 years ago, I kinda forgot this.
A was friends with a girl at work, she myself and Captain Dickhead were going to watch a movie after a pizza and we were running late, not late enough to miss the film (and the cinema was only upstairs) but later than expected, I jokingly said
"Let's just cut and run." and made to stand up, the other two bolted for the door and the cinema without even noticing that I calmly sat back down and raised a hand and said "Check please."
I learned from this that paying for 3 pizza's is not cheap (I think I got my money back) and never to say that again unless I held up a sign saying "I am joking"

[boringscreenname]

I ask for the check in the middle of our meal, usually when the server comes back for the first time to ask how everything is, and if we need anything. That way by the time we're done eating, the check is already there, and we've filled it out, all the server has to do is take our debit card process the payment and we can leave quickly.

[lordlundar]

I ask for the check in the middle of our meal, usually when the server comes back for the first time to ask how everything is, and if we need anything. That way by the time we're done eating, the check is already there, and we've filled it out, all the server has to do is take our debit card process the payment and we can leave quickly.

I do the same thing. I order everything I'm going to have when they ask me first off (apart from asking about drinks) and when they come around to check up on me (and no, doing it once or twice is not pressuring, it's being polite. More than that unless it's a big meal group on the other hand...) I ask for the bill. That way it's ready by the time I finish my meal.

[Peppergirl]

I've noticed this lately too. Very annoying. At chain restaurants, I chalk it up to typical control-freak management who have started making servers have their purchases approved.

Slightly OT:

I ate with some co workers last Friday and my lunch tab came to $9.99. I actually had cash on me for a change, so I gave her a 20.00.

In all my years of eating out, I've never gotten big bills back as change. She brought me 2 fives. I mean, come on. I tend to tip generously, but not 50 percent. One of my co workers had some singles on her and broke one of the fives, but I was very surprised that I had to do that.

I should add that I'm not sure she was deliberately grabbing for a big tip that way and am leaning toward the fact that she probably wasn't. Her service was good and prompt and was without attitude.

[blas87]

That drives me nuts as well, Pepper.

I rarely if ever have cash on me (usually I get a 5 or 10 when I get my weekly gas fill up, for lunch money or a random McFrappe treat). Or, if anything else, it's emergency cab fare. I don't like to have cash on me, I'm always afraid of being mugged or someone having that easy of access to my money.

Babbling aside, whenever bf and I go out, we almost always use our debit cards (I'm so glad he finally got one, I wasn't a fan of him carrying around hundreds of dollars in his wallet, due to his severe ADHD and his inability to remember where he puts stuff). When he used to pay in cash, he'd almost always get 5s and 10s back, only getting 1s back that were a necessary part of the change. It almost did kind of seem at times like they wanted to make it so that it was either a $1 tip or a $10 tip.

[boringscreenname]

Whenever we pay in cash, we ask for the specific billls we want back, or we just tell them how much change to give us back.

My paycheck is direct deposited, so whenever I want cash I have to withdraw it from an ATM, and I've never received a bill larger than a $20 from one.