Restaurants have ways to make you leave

   Turning tables is the name of the game in the dining  business.

   When I was a kid, my mother told me it was rude to eat and run, but your favorite restaurateur may not think that's so. When things get crowded, he wants you to gulp your dinner, pay and get out. Pronto. Leaving room, of course, for the next guy to do the very same thing.

   There are ways to make that happen.

 

  Cornell University restaurant design lecturer Stepohani Robson, whom I spoke with for a recent story, surveyed data and discovered that when guests are seated in a banquette attached to a wall where they are comfortable, they tend to linger longer.

   At a "bad" table (near the kitchen maybe), they leave fast. Admittedly Robson did the research in a  moderately priced restaurant, and if you've wondered why the seats in some  chains are so uncomfortable, now you know the answer.

   Not that upscale restaurants don't do the same thing if they have to, but they can be more subtle. If it's a busy night, you might not be offered dessert as a matter of course. Actually, you might have to make a special request for the dessert list.

   

   You certainly won't get an extra pour of coffee without asking. And how about those servers who whisk away your plate while you're still gripping your fork?

 

   And that's just the relatively polite stuff.

   I just heard from a diner who was asked to leave his table in a fine restaurant because his  "time was  up." I even heard from a woman (she insisted she was blameless) who was actually escorted out by the  cops. Those are certainly extreme examples, but I have a feeling this bum's rush happens more than I  realized.

Any horror stories? Any thoughts?

Comments

[Peigi]

I recall being at one of the city's better restaurants, where our table was needed and we were lingering over our coffee. We were politely invited to the bar for a complimentary glass of port. Classy.

On the other hand, I hate it when I arrive at a restaurant with a reservation and have to wait because a group at a table seems to think they are in their dining room at home and have no intention of leaving until the doors close!

[Kitty]

Friends of mine who were dining at a tiny upscale restaurant in Allentown were asked to leave because there was a "two hour time limit," even though there was no one waiting to be seated and no signs posted anywhere that mentioned such a limit (nothing on the menu either).

To my mind, the fastest way to chase people away from your restaurant is to ignore unsupervised children who are running around screaming, kicking the booths behind other diners, throwing food, and otherwise behaving badly while their parents sit there, oblivious. Just once I'd like to see a restaurant manager ask people (politely) to either control their kids or take them home. When I see this kind of behavior, I get out as quickly as possible--sometimes without ordering. I'll go somewhere else. Restaurateurs take note!

[remains nameless]

Well anyone who has worked at a restaurant knows that it can not survive with only one turn a night. First- you must make up for the sun., mon and tues where you lucky to get 10 tables. It's a business folks- it doens not exist solel for your dining pleasure. Also, if it's one of the best restuarants in town you do your absolute best to accommodate everyone who wants a reservation that particular night. Quite often to the point of bullying and manipulating the reservationist. Plus, I must admit there are a lot of American diners who WANT to eat and leave and are often quite testy if their check isn't dropped immediately after that last sip of coffee. It goes both ways.

[Jim]

I was at a McDonalds that has a sign for "No bringing your own beverages" and "You will be asked to leaves after 30 minutes". McDonalds of all places!!!

[Hodge]

Yes, a restaurant is a business, but if it doesn't exist for my dining pleasure, then why would I go there?? There should be a balance between the two objectives. Sure some people are in a hurry, maybe they are on their way to the theater or wherever; but that doesn't make it OK to shove people out the door in 30 minutes. McDonald's, maybe; that's the whole point of fast food. But if I'm going to a sit-down restaurant with a pricey menu, I don't expect to be rushed out the door. Why do people open restaurants in tiny little shopfronts that have room for all of 6 tables, anyway? Seems to me you get treated more like a pest than a guest these days.

[Maxine]

Here's one for you. I was with my sister and 2 friends at a popular Elmwood Restaurant. It was a busy evening, the place was packed. We asked for separate checks (one for me and Sis, one for the friends who are a couple) and were told no problem. Comes the end of dinner, and we are told the waitress was new, and made a mistake, and they don't do separate checks because it "confuses the cooks." We are then told we will have to figure out the bills ourselves. Had to ask them for a calculator, too. Nothing on the menu and no signs saying "no separate checks." OK, new waitresses make mistakes; but it confuses the cooks? What??

[Katie]

In response to Maxine - I think it's in bad form to request separate checks. If you like someone enough to dine with him or her, then you should be able to either 1) pick up the tab, or 2) split the check yourselves. Only amateurs request separate checks.