Eating Out

People ask me often why I don't eat out, or if I do, I choose to eat at fast food restaurants like McDonald's. Well, today's experience is a clear demonstration why.

I went to meet some friends for lunch and we planned to have lunch at a cafe we'd eaten at before, for brunch, mind you, and we'd liked the service.

This time, the service was absolutely appalling. I won't name names, but I will give a list of check marks against them.

1. They have a Kids Menu, but adults are not allowed to order from it. First, they needed to add that disclaimer to the menu or else leave it off the menu, since it was pretty clear none of us were kids or had kids with us.

2. My friends ordered champagne. I don't know much about champagne, since I'm not a drinker, but according to my friends, it has to be chilled. It wasn't, hence it was not available. Their excuse that they ran out is not good enough.

3. Their choices on the menu did not clearly show what were the smaller meals, if any, and what choices they did have available for smaller meals was very limited, especially for someone with a fussy appetite.

4. Three of us got our meals together, yet one had to wait another ten minutes.

All in all, this adds up to extremely bad service and one major reason why we will not be eating at this particular cafe again.

Here's my suggestions to any cafe owners who might chance to read this:

1. Listen to your clientele. People do have different dietary needs and offering something like bruschetta for a person who a) doesn't even know what it is, and b) has to have smaller portion sizes just does not cut the mustard.

2. Service, service, service. When you have four people ordering at the same time, unless there is a reasonable delay, serve them all at the same time. Do not keep the fourth person waiting for their meal, particularly when they have ordered the same meal as another person.

I realise there is no profit in catering to a varied clientele and that cafes do have to limit their menus, but frankly, this is a poor excuse. Why not allow customers to order half portions, or if you're going to provide a kids' menu, allow adults to order off the kids' menu. Because I refuse to pay a lot of money for only half a meal. It is not only a waste of money, it is also a waste of good food. And I am not going to make myself sick trying to eat a huge meal just to make it value for money.

Let's be honest here. Cafes these days are trying to get as many people in, and in as short a time as possible, so they can maximise their profits. Fair enough. But if they refuse to cater to a varied clientele with varied appetites, then they won't get very far.

I'm trying to eat better, but if I can't eat out with friends, what's the point of eating out at places like this particular cafe if they cannot cater to my needs just as much as anyone else? I'd rather stick to fast food if that's the case. At least there I can order as much or as little as I need.

To this cafe, I say, FAIL