My Number One Pet Peeve In Restaurants!
I have worn a few different hats in my life. Writing, furniture, movies, real estate, and currently social media, to name a few. Traveling is something I have also done and done quite a bit of.
That also means that I have frequented my share of establishments that serve food, especially coffee shops. While I have written and complained enough about the crappy bathrooms and dirty restaurants, the one thing that irks me in coffee shops and restaurants alike are the damn rocking chairs… No wait, the rocking tables… Yes, that’s it. How many times have you been to an establishment where the food and service are to be exceptional and sat down at a table and placed your arm, elbow, or hand on the table and it rocked or moved 1 cm or more?
It Pisses You off!?
Well, it pisses me off because I immediately begin looking for napkins, menus, or some form of shim to fix the table instead of taking in the peace and ambiance of the meal to come.
It immediately makes me upset that restaurant owners don’t care to keep their patrons’ minds at ease. To go a little further, the out of kilter floor or table can only be made worse by a tabletop that is also loose.
With the combinations of these minor, no… Major imperfections my meal is somewhat ruined because I keep wondering if I will spill my drink or my coffee when the rocking table rocks or when the rolling top rolls.
It makes me think the owner never checks the actual dining experience in his restaurant and possibly does not care about the experience. Maybe he is focused on the food, or his managers and staff are not checking on such things. The best examples are the tables that are already stuffed with paper napkins to keep them from rocking but the table has moved and now you try and lift the table and kick in the shim while your drinks and food are on the table.
Buy Three Legged Tables.
The worst tables are the ones with a flat plate on the bottom. It’s a disk of some sort and sometimes they have little adjustable knobs and sometimes they don’t. The four-legged tables warp or are uneven. Even if they are even, the floor could be out of whack. Large tables with round bases suck as they are usually off and have a heavy rock to them.
So the solution is three-legged tables restaurants and coffee shop owners.
I know this is hard to grasp. I know you hired an interior designer for thousands of dollars and they went and picked the most amazing table they can at your expense. If you are opening a coffee shop or a restaurant, pay great attention to the table. Why? Because if someone spills their drink, or coffee, I mean coffee drinkers are a picky bunch. Especially latte drinkers like myself. Oh gosh, they will leave you a one-star review even if the food and service were impeccable. However, you the owner decorated with shitty tables, and now your restaurant will get bad reviews and you will go bankrupt. You are welcome!
