Rose-tinted glasses?

[mrph]

Sometimes I wonder if I've got a skewed view of the world (other times I'm quite sure that I have... :).

Over the weekend...

• I failed to get served at a busy bar in Bristol (we gave up and went elsewhere after a couple of minutes) - I viewed it as one of those things that happens when you've got three barstaff and twenty jostling customers, the alternate opinion is that "our custom wasn't wanted"
• We went for a meal at a rather nice restaurant, and the waiter said something along the lines of "you don't want starters, then?". I took the question at face value, the alternate opinion is that we were being 'tutted at'.
• Another meal, another restaurant. We were served - and empty plates were taken away - very swiftly. I thought this was a good thing. The alternate opinion was that they were trying to get rid of us as swiftly as possible.

So am I really a hopelessly deluded optimist? I don't know. I don't think so, though...

Comments

If one of the restaurants was Budokan

[mina-laury.livejournal.com]

No, they always do that. Unless they're always trying to get rid of us, but other groups seem to cycle through just as fast.

That's why I booked relatively late in the evening despite it being near Christmas when we'd have had more chance of getting a table and it would have been a bit more convenient for people to come straight from work if I'd made it seven rather than eight. Otherwise we end up standing in the road outside Budokan at nine thinking 'Well, this is a bit awkward'.

I've also occasionally had the 'very quick service' thing happen whilst out in Bath with my Mum - we asked a waitress once who said it was because a lot of their clientele were Americans who were used to being served more quickly than is normal over here, though I don't know how true that is.

Re: If one of the restaurants was Budokan

[mrph.livejournal.com]

Nah. Both were in Bath - the one with the starter was the Moon and Sixpence, the other was the Martini Restaurant.

Budokan seemed nice - pleasantly informal/chaotic, not unreasonably priced and good food. Will have to find an excuse to go back again... :)

[wildeabandon.livejournal.com]

*shrug* Without having been there and heard tones of voice, or seen how crowded the bar was or whatever, I couldn't really say. But does it really matter? If they were were in fact being subtly rude, then that's their problem, and the last thing you want to be doing is getting upset by it. And if they weren't, then there's no point in getting het up about nothing.

If being a deluded optimist means feeling less stressed about things that really don't matter at all, then I'm all for it :)

[mrph.livejournal.com]

Pretty much my view on things. The only case where the 'rudeness' impacted the evening was the pub. Maybe they were going to serve me eventually, maybe they weren't (I'm sure it would've become clear if I'd chosen to wait) - if I was being deluded then I might have had a very long wait...

Then again, given how busy they were, that might have been the case even if I wasn't deluded. :)

[giolla.livejournal.com]

If there's somewhere else to get a drink what does it matter why you're not getting served?

Did you want starters? If not *shrug* who cares.

I like people removing empty plates quickly as long as:
1) they are finished with
2) they didn't hurry the eating
3) and they then don't hurry you onto the next course,

who wants to look at a bunch of empty plates, one of my favourite restraunts does silver service and doesn't leave plates hanging around for long at all.

[duranorak.livejournal.com]

I suspect it's not that your glasses are rose-tinted, but that some other people's have got "They're behind you" printed on the inside of the lenses.

E.
x

[lostdreamer666.livejournal.com]

In the last case, I would take that as sign of good service, and if you had no other complaints about the place consider it a Good Thing[tm].

Has anyone any idea how pubs that can't be bothered to serve you beer actually stay in business anyway? I go to a pub to have a drink, not stand at a bar for half an hour.

And in the second case, it is entirely possible he was rushed for other reasons [large party due in soon/end of shift approaching/etc], and/or just plain crap at the whole service thing.

Remember, never blame on malice anything explainable through stupidity.