8 Ways the Waiter Can Ruin Your Meal

4) Being Negative About What You Order

On the opposite side of not knowing the menu, there’s knowing the menu but being a prick about it. I once had a waiter refuse to let me order shrimp scampi because he said that “scampi is for old people.” Another time a waiter rolled his eyes and practically spit on me and my friends when we ordered a bottle of wine he felt wasn’t suitable for our meal. Okay, we get that you work here and are knowledgeable about the menu, but sometimes you need to just bring us what we want and remember that we’re the ones leaving you twenty bucks at the end of the night.

3) Trying to Get Rid of You Too Soon

Some waiters treat you like you’re the last thing standing between them and their precious smoke break back behind the dumpsters. They try to unload you so fast, you feel like as soon as you stand up they’ll instruct a busboy to clear your table. The worst is when a waiter abruptly drops off your check without checking to see if you’re interested in dessert, an after-dinner cocktail, or if you just want to sit and chat with your friends for a few more minutes before getting ushered out the door while you’re still chewing the last bites of your entree.

2) Acting Like You’re a Burden

These waiters roll their eyes and sigh like they’re doing you a favor instead of treating you like a paying customer. Asking for extra sauce is like pulling teeth, and god forbid you commit the ultimate cardinal sin: splitting the bill with your buddies. I once ate at a place where the woman sighed with exasperation and said she didn’t have time to figure out how to split a $100 tab five ways. Guess she never got past second grade math.

1) Making You Feel Cheap

Ah, the posh waiter with a palate that is clearly more refined than your “Average Joe” tastebuds can ever hope to be. These are the snooty guys who offer you bottled water as soon as you sit down and say “Oh…all right” when you ask for tap. They recommend a $130 bottle of wine with your meal and seem confused when you order a $38 alternative. They wonder why you’re content to share a side rather than shell out $14 for another dish of creamed spinach. They’re clearly better than you, and they make you feel guilty for attempting to have a nice meal out without breaking the bank.