How long must we wait for our meal after ordering

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  • I'm sure they would really appreciate that you think they are not "proper" waiting staff. You get good and bad staff in both types of restaurant and I still stand by the fact at peak times, if there are 20 orders waiting to be "dinged" before your order comes to the front of the queue, then there will inevitably be a wait whether you like it or not.
    Make £10 a Day Feb .....£75.... March... £65......April...£90.....May £20.....June £35.......July £60
  • Pollycat
    Pollycat Posts: 34,541
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    I'm sure they would really appreciate that you think they are not "proper" waiting staff. You get good and bad staff in both types of restaurant and I still stand by the fact at peak times, if there are 20 orders waiting to be "dinged" before your order comes to the front of the queue, then there will inevitably be a wait whether you like it or not.
    I know a lot of the staff who work the floor (and behind the bar) at our local Wetherspoons.
    We often socialise with them when they're on their break.
    I have not - imho - denigrated them in my comments.
    I have not said they are bad staff, bad at the job they have been assigned.
    A couple of staff, working quickly, can easily shift food that is waiting to be delivered to tables.

    The majority are between 16 and 18 so they are given those duties as they are too young to work behind the bar.
    They take food out, come back with empty plates and glasses from other tables and condiments to be put back on the side table.
    That's a process very unlike my experiences in 'proper' restaurants.

    Perhaps when you said you worked in a restaurant you meant a similar establishment to Wetherspoons.
  • We had booked a table I'm an Italian restaurant last winter and waited 20mins for our table, the when ordering we asked if the food would be out in the next 30mins as going to a show at the theatre. Yes order would be out. 20mins later asked what was the progress and there was one other order before ours so we asked if we could just pay for the drinks and cancel our order. They spoke to their manager and it was all OK and we did not need to pay for drinks. We went round the corner to a chippy before our show. I think 30mins ordering time is plenty.
  • nomoneytoday
    nomoneytoday Posts: 4,866
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    IMHO the starters, breads or olives etc should be on the table within 12 minutes of ordering.


    The food should be prepped in advance, and if it's likely to be significantly longer, the waiting staff should let you know before ordering.
  • unholyangel
    unholyangel Posts: 16,863
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    I'm sure they would really appreciate that you think they are not "proper" waiting staff. You get good and bad staff in both types of restaurant and I still stand by the fact at peak times, if there are 20 orders waiting to be "dinged" before your order comes to the front of the queue, then there will inevitably be a wait whether you like it or not.

    Pollycat makes a valid point though, they aren't "proper" waiting staff. Waiting staff are there to wait on you, to attend to your needs. In chain places like spoons, they don't wait on you. You must go to them to place your order/if you need something.

    Just like in their kitchens, you'll find cooks and not chefs. No one is saying they're bad at the jobs they do, just that the jobs they do aren't the same.

    Then of course you have fine dining. Some restaurants seem to think fine dining means sticking a sprig of parsley on top of some weird combination of food, serving it in/on something kitschy like a slate tile and charging £10 extra.

    What can I say, I'm a food snob. If I wanted processed/frozen food, I could quite easily do that at home and save myself £20 and some time in the process.
    You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means - Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
  • serving it in/on something kitschy like a slate tile and charging £10 extra.
    .


    This is most annoying. There is a twitter account called @wewantplates * that delights in portraying all the ridiculous ways restaurants now choose to present foods to us.




    *if that's not the exact handle its something very similar.
  • Kantankrus_Mare
    Kantankrus_Mare Posts: 6,097
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    edited 20 July 2017 at 4:39PM
    The argument isnt about good or bad staff, or proper waiting staff though. It is about how long is appropriate to wait for food.

    I work in a very busy, independant restaurant that serves good home made food and whilst I realise that good food can take longer to prepare than "ding" food, at busy times when our restaurant is full, there is sometimes a little delay on food.

    This will be the case in all food establishments. Just because you have placed your order at the bar for a meal that takes 4 mins to ding in the microwave, doesnt mean they put your order on as soon as it is received in the kitchen. That order will be put to the end of the queue and take its turn so although I understand where you are coming from, and a lot of people that have never worked in catering will be of the same thought, your order isnt a priority.
    Make £10 a Day Feb .....£75.... March... £65......April...£90.....May £20.....June £35.......July £60
  • unholyangel
    unholyangel Posts: 16,863
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    This is most annoying. There is a twitter account called @wewantplates * that delights in portraying all the ridiculous ways restaurants now choose to present foods to us.




    *if that's not the exact handle its something very similar.

    :rotfl: Sounds like something I could get on board with. I've had both brownie & ice cream served on a slate tile and cake & custard served on a side plate. imo theres a reason we've used bowls for certain foodstuffs for hundreds of years. It would be like giving you a fork to eat soup!
    You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means - Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
  • Kantankrus_Mare
    Kantankrus_Mare Posts: 6,097
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    Totally agree with this. My husband was served pie and gravy on a slate and it didnt go down well when he asked for a plate. They said no-one else found it a problem.
    Make £10 a Day Feb .....£75.... March... £65......April...£90.....May £20.....June £35.......July £60
  • unholyangel
    unholyangel Posts: 16,863
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    The argument isnt about good or bad staff, or proper waiting staff though. It is about how long is appropriate to wait for food.

    I work in a very busy, independant restaurant that serves good home made food and whilst I realise that good food can take longer to prepare than "ding" food, at busy times when our restaurant is full, there is sometimes a little delay on food.

    This will be the case in all food establishments. Just because you have placed your order at the bar for a meal that takes 4 mins to ding in the microwave, doesnt mean they put your order on as soon as it is received in the kitchen. That order will be put to the end of the queue and take its turn so although I understand where you are coming from, and a lot of people that have never workied in catering will be of the same thought, your order isnt a priority.

    Ding food is mostly frozen. I'm sure you can appreciate that fresh food usually cooks a lot quicker than frozen for obvious reasons.

    However, if you read my first response (reply 4 or 5 in the thread I think), I said I wouldn't consider a 45 min wait at the weekend to be extensive and also asked if that was the time between ordering & main or ordering & starter. 45 mins wait for a starter to come out would be unreasonable imo. 45 min wait on a main would not.
    You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means - Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
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