Customers Share the Most Unforgettable Bad Dining Experiences of their Lives

18. More Attention to Him

I took my husband (then boyfriend) out to dinner one night, my treat. When we sat down, the waitress was overly friendly with him, touching his shoulder, asking him what he wanted to order before me, and giggling at everything he said. At the beginning of the evening, I gave her the benefit of the doubt. I was a server at the time at a different establishment and had seen my coworkers flirt with customers. I figured she probably thought he was paying and assumed she’d get a big tip if she paid more attention to him.

The experience was awful for me but fantastic for my husband. His food came exactly as he ordered it, his glass was always full, and anything he needed, she immediately went to retrieve from the kitchen. All the while I sat there with an order that was made wrong, my glass empty, and my request for ranch dressing forgotten. This goes without saying that I asked her every time she came to our table for whatever I needed, only for her to neglect to fix or bring anything. Not only that, but who flirts with someone who is clearly on a date?

I made sure that I kept eye contact with her as I handed her the bill and the exact amount in cash. Her face fell when she realized she had been flirting with the wrong person throughout our meal.

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19. Pick Them Off

Was in an Italian restaurant, and waited 20 minutes before we were acknowledged, the owner finally came over and took our order, and we order a few starters and our mains, 40 minutes later no food, the owner comes out and gives us a bottle of wine and says it will be just a minute, 30 minutes later our mains arrive no starters, my pizza has mushrooms on and I’d asked for no mushrooms as I have a weird reaction with them. The owner says “it’s just a few, pick them off” and walks off!!

We were speechless.

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20. “That’s Not My Fault”

In Myrtle Beach. My wife wanted to eat at a restaurant that had seating in view of the beach. Found a neat place that was packed. Good sign. We had our ten-year-old daughter and our one-year-old son. Waited an hour and a half to get chicken wings and french fries while people all around us continues to get food. I had to ask the waitress several times about the status of our order. An hour after ordering she comes back and says she forgot what our order was. My son was hungry, restless and fussing nonstop at this point. I tell her we can just forget the food and go eat somewhere else. She apologized and begged to make it right. We allowed her to take another order. Thirty minutes later still no food. The waitress tells us the manager said that ‘they have waited this long they can just wait longer’ I was fuming at this point. Ten minutes later the manager brings the food out and sets it on the table. She asks If everything was alright. I told her it took too long she said “that’s not my fault”. I didn’t even eat. I was flabbergasted at the service.

We had ordered an appetizer before the meal. When the waitress brings the check out I tell her she can eat this meal. She says the manager is refusing to take off anything. Then she said she can take off the milk she brought for my son. My daughter points out she never brought any milk. I storm into the restaurant and demand that the bill be cut in half. The manager said I was trying to get a free meal. I showed her a receipt from a restaurant we ate at the night before for 120.00. She told me to pay and leave.

I immediately got on Facebook and TripAdvisor and relayed my experience. The first thing the next morning the owner calls me at 8 am. He is apologizing profusely and refunded my entire bill. He offers for me to come back and get a free meal and hats and shirts and everything. I told him that I wouldn’t be back but I did take down the scathing reviews.

21. Wide-Eyed and Shocked

When I was about 5-7 years old (can’t quite remember), me, my mother, my two older brothers, and my brother’s friend went into an Outback Steakhouse. Everything was fine, we got our meals, and we dug in. However, my mother had gotten the steak, and a tough one at that. Out of nowhere, she stood up and began to flail around, grabbing at her neck. She was choking on a hunk of meat and being my young self, I had NO idea what to do. I began to cry, and my brothers began to cry out as well, and I remember my brother’s friend’s expression being of dazed, desperate confusion.

Everyone in the restaurant merely stared at the spectacle like it was some kind of circus act. The 30-something hostess by the desk watched wide-eyed before ACTUALLY walking back towards the kitchen. Two adults in both pointed, doing nothing except watching as my young self watched my mother choking.

Thankfully, my older brother got up from his booth, got behind her, and pressed her stomach with his arms. The piece shot out of her mouth, and my mother was okay. If it weren’t for my 12-year-old-something brother, she would probably have to be carried off to the ER, or even worse.

The memory is very easy to remember in my mind. Seeing waiters and waitresses staring, dazed and confused, wide-eyed and shocked, but never acting. My mother then asked to see the manager, and we got out meals for free. My brother’s friend lightened up the moment, making a joke about how the steak was ‘to die for’. We’ve never gone to that restaurant again.

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22. Burget Patty Paper

23. Close Together

24. Silently Staring and Standing

Went to a diner for dinner with my wife. We’re seated and the waitress hands us our menus and proceeds to stand there, silently, while holding her pen to her notepad. My wife and I are exchanging looks but not saying anything.

It’s awkward.

After about 30 seconds I say to her, “We’re going to need a few minutes to decide.” To which she replies, “Ok.” And doesn’t move. She waited there a solid 5 minutes, silently staring, waiting for us to decide what we wanted for dinner.

Fast forward to bringing our meals out. She places our dishes in front of us and, once again, proceeds to stand there silently. I ask her “Is there something else?” to which she replies “How is your food?”. B*tch, I haven’t even taken a bite. But really I say “I don’t know, I haven’t tried it yet.” She waited there until we each tried our food and confirmed that everything was, in fact, all right.

The food was actually pretty good. Super awkward though.

TheUrbanMarmot

25. Terrible Grin

26. That’s not Icing

I dated a girl who worked at a local sit-down restaurant in the area. Her best friend was a waitress there as well. The girl and I had a nasty split after about a year or so and I thought everything was fine. One day a couple of months later my family and I go back to that restaurant.

Our waitress is my ex’s best friend. We recognize each other, exchange pleasantries and go about ordering our food. Everything seems fine, but the girl just did a poor job of waiting at the table. She rarely checked on the table, never filled drinks, and some food came out wrong, all in all, a pretty rough night. But then came dessert. We ordered a bag of doughnuts that come with cream on the side to dip them in. The doughnuts arrived, but with no cream.

We asked for the cream and she brought it out. My sister took a doughnut, dipped it in and took a bite, and burst into tears. My mom, wondering why, did the same and almost threw up. Of course, I tried it next.

What should have been vanilla icing tasted more like spoiled mayonnaise, ranch and paprika mixed into a paste. It was horrendous. Needless to say, when the manager passed by our table and asked how our meal was we held no punches. The manager even tried it and his exact words, with a puzzled look on his face, were “You’re right, that’s not icing.” He had a word with that server after, and while I didn’t want anyone fired, I think that’s what ended up happening.

27. Everyone Stopped

I went to eat at a small restaurant in town. It was one of those where you could see in the kitchen. The owner started yelling at the chef. The argument got more and more heated until everyone stopped eating and was watching it. Then the chef punches the owner, I mean clocks him hard in the face. They yell some more, then GO BACK TO WORK as if nothing happened. It was so surreal.

28. Took a Drink

My worst experience was at a chain in Charleston called “T-Bonez”.

I was with my aunt, her boyfriend, and a couple of friends from theirs. The waitress had a few tables but nothing that appeared overly busy. We were seated for 15 minutes before she even introduced herself. When she did we had already looked at the menu and, after giving our drink requests (2 sweet teas and Cokes), said we’d like to go ahead and order. She said, “Wait on that I’m a bit busy.” That seemed odd but whatever.

After another 10 minutes, she brings our drinks and takes our order. I don’t remember what the rest of the table ordered but I asked for some chicken, veggies, and mashed potatoes. Our friends who ordered the sweet tea took a drink and found it to be regular tea. They flagged the waitress and asked for her to bring sweet tea because that’s what they wanted. She insisted that she brought sweet tea; our friends disagreed. The waitress then picked up one of their glasses, took a drink, then slammed the cup down and said, “Tastes sweet to me.” She walked off without fixing the drinks.

When we got our orders there was something wrong with everyone’s plate except mine. I got a beautifully cooked piece of fish, crispy fries, and coleslaw…except for the fact that I ordered chicken, veggies, and mashed potatoes, it was a great meal. At this point, we didn’t feel like dealing with the waitress anymore except that I told her she put in the incorrect order which she then said she got the orders right I just didn’t remember what I wanted.

We didn’t see her at our table again that night. A different server brought our check. I certainly made a complaint to the management that night and left the tip she earned.

29. Conversation Ensues

I went to a restaurant that just opened its doors and ordered a razzmatazz martini. It tasted like cough syrup. It was awfullll. I thought I might have been exaggerating so I asked my friends to try it and they agreed it was terrible. I told the waiter (the drink was still 95% full). Instead of taking it back and saying I will get you a new drink, the waiter went to get the manager. This was the first time I have ever sent a drink (or food) back. I worked in restaurants for many years and didn’t want to be that customer. However, this drink was terrible and I was not about to shell out $13 for it. Getting a free drink was not my mission, I just simply wanted a new one (that I fully expected to pay for). The manager walks up and conversation ensues:

Manager: Just curious why did you not like the drink? Me: Well, it tasted like cough syrup. Manager: Like cough syrup? Me: yes. Manager: I’m just curious, why would it taste like that? Me: I honestly have no idea. Had I known it would taste like that, I definitely wouldn’t have ordered it. (conversation continues back and for like this for 2 minutes…skip ahead). Manager: I’m just wondering have you ever had raspberry liqueur? Me: Yes, I have. Manager: Well, do you like it? Me: Yes, that is why I ordered a drink with it. Manager: Well, I am just trying to figure out why you don’t like the drink. Me: Because it didn’t taste good. I liked the sugar on the rim. Manager: Sooooo you have had raspberry liqueur? Me: Yes. Manager: Well, so what have you had exactly that has had raspberry liqueur in it? (So I start to explain some of the martinis at the restaurant I worked at in college and my favorite shot that has it). Manager: So how long have you been drinking? Me: Tonight? Manager: No. In general. Me: For a while now. Manager: Well, like how long? Me: Well, legally or before that? Manager: In bars. Me: Well, Like I said. Legally? or before that? Manager: Legally, I guess. Me: Two years. Manager: Well.

I would continue the conversation but it is pissing me off just thinking about it again. Not to mention, you get the point. (I wrote an old blog post about it right after it happened). Lady was a bitch, the waiter eventually brought me a different drink and then they charged me for the drink I sent back that was FULL. My table of friends refused to let me pay for that drink so they called over our waiter and asked for another manager or the owner. The new manager came out and apologized for the whole thing and said they sent the other girl home because she was in a “bad mood.” So dumb. We went the week the restaurant opened and within three months it was closed for good.

30. A Mean Look

Late to the thread but the relevant story. When I was a little boy, around 3 or 4, my now stepdad took me out to eat chicken nuggets at McDonald’s. This was so my then-single mom could have a break. When my dad and I sit down I get ready to dig in and eat one nugget, and my dad tells me we have to go. I had a really bad attitude problem when I didn’t get my way as a child, but my dad told me we had to go, and we ended up leaving the food on the table.

Later my dad explained to me, when we sat down to eat three guys walked into McDonald’s and he recognized one of them. The one he recognized was giving him a mean look because this was a guy my dad, a police officer, had locked up a while ago. My dad wanted to leave because if he got into an altercation with them I’d be in danger. So we left and I found out why my dad sits where he can see entrances and exits to restaurants.