One of the downsides of having a large family is the discrimination. Tonight we went to a casual restaurant that was less than half full. We waited about 15 minutes for them to give us a table, even though there were plenty open and no one else was waiting to be seated. When we were allowed to sit, we were taken to the far rear corner of the restaurant, though there was at least one available table in the main area that was just as large as ours. We had written out our orders before leaving home to save time, but no one came to take even our drink orders for another 10 minutes after we were seated. Finally, the server came and took our orders, and for the next half hour or more we tried to entertain six very hungry kids. We watched as several smaller parties received their meals - even though they had arrived much later than we had. Dessert (which comes standard with the kids meals and was ordered along with everything else) was brought out after we were given the check, and well after our plates had been cleared. Surprisingly, the kids handled the wait very well. Zeke had to spend some time alone to cope with his hunger, but no one did anything that could be deemed at all abnormal or unacceptable. We even managed to have some real, quality, family fun. But because our dining experience took so long, we had to cancel our plans to go to the library afterward. A long-overdue trip to he library was the real reason we went out in the first place. Needless to say, a couple of the boys are struggling now. (autsim + unexpected change of plans = a very bad time) Now, I understand that service can be slow during peak hours, when many restaurants are dealing with more customers than they have room for. However, there were at least a dozen empty tables visible from my seat the entire time we were there, and no one else was asked to wait for a table. I also understand that being understaffed can slow things down. However, two servers plus kitchen staff plus a manager should be more than sufficient for serving 4-10 tables, each seating 2-8 people, in a reasonable amount of time. I understand that some food takes a while to cook. However, we ordered things such as chicken fingers and kid-sized pizza that only needs reheated, a wrap sandwich, salad, and fries that are kept ready to serve, and one bun-less burger with no toppings. All together, our meal should have been ready in under 20 minutes - certainly before other customers build-your-own selections were taken to them, or at least at the same time that our neighboring table (one of the parties of 4 that was seated after us) received some of the same items that our children requested. As a mom of many, Ive grown accustomed to the callous comments of strangers, the gaping-jawed stares of singles, the finger-pointing counting of the elderly, and the lighthearted comments of children. But I will never grow accustomed to my family to being discriminated against on what was supposed to be a fun occasion. I will not allow my children to grow accustomed to being treated as if they are less than simply because they have more siblings than the average child. Yes, we ate our food without raising a stink. Yes, we made the most of the special time out as a family. Yes, the kids had a blast piling toppings on their ice cream and eating way too much sugar. Yes, we laughed and got messy and cleaned up after ourselves. Yes, we paid our bill. Yes, I gave a decent tip to our server. But will we go back? Definitely not to that branch, and perhaps never to the chain again.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 02:05:09 +0000
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