Posted: 10/4/2007 11:14:02 AM EDT
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Let's say M-T their 'closing time' is 2130. Does that mean: A - All customers are welcome until that time OR B - Expect bad service and food over the last couple of hours because we don't want to make any money since we're going to close in an hour and a half. |
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Depends on the day of the week and staff. When i was working in the restaurant industry, if it was a weekend and people came in close to closing, quality suffered as i (and most of the staff) was in a rush to get the hell outta there. On a weekday, i didn't give a shit. |
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Close means GTFO out when the closing hour hits. You can whine all you want about "we were hear before closing" Does walmart let you continue shopping when you get in the store one minute before closing...no. Does Kroger let you continue shopping when you arrive ten till closing....no. You can "exepct" the same level of service you want, but it is a fact of life you will NOT get it. Bitching to management is not going to solve the problem because anyone who as worked in a restaurant knows that we hate people like you (especially if you are a cyclist) who walk in at 9:50 after 45 minutes of no customers, and the grills are shut down and cleaned, the floor is being mopped and all the other tasks workers do before they can leave for the night. It is just rude to do. If you must do it, do it as a to-go order.... |
But does that really shorten the problem? It seems that every business closes at least an hour before their posted closing time. The local DMV is 'open' until 5PM, but don't you dare go in there after 4PM and expect to get any service. They actually lock the doors after 4:15. Restaurant story will come later... 
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Yea because you just lock the door and leave after cashing out the register. There is quite a lot of work to be done ni a restaurant after the doors are locked - far more than most retail stores. It is rude to do. |
EXACTLY!!! IF YOU HAVE WORKED IN THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY AT ALL YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND closing time means time to go home... If i get ta a restaurant and see that they close in a half hour I leave or if thats what i really really want then I get it to go.. There is nothing like being dead for an hour before closing then some asshole comes in 15 minutes before the doors get locked and wants to sit around and bullshit with his buddy or wife or whoever for an hour after.. realize the people at the restaurant have lives to. When you get off at 4 where you work do you feel like sitting around for an extra hour cause some ass hole wont leave-- NO |
While you may have been misguided in the bike thread, I wholeheartedly agree with you on this one. |
I was just being devil's advocate.... |
We know technically they can come in and do as you say, but mere fact they are coming in so late is just plain rude. Anyone who has worked in the service industry will agree with this. |
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OK, so here's how it went down... Wife and I get a late start going to town yesterday. Food choice are chinese or Golden Corral. Just stop at the Corral since it is closer. Posted hours are 1100-2130 M-T. We arrived at 2000. 1.5 hours before 'closing'. The place wasn't deserted, yet not 1800 crowded either. After paying, we visit the buffet and find nothing but the day's leftovers. The grill is off and half the trays are empty. All the while they have more people coming in (after church crowd). After much complaining to the GM (well known local guy), they do fire the grill up and start to fix a little more food. Not really enough though. Half the food was either cold or burnt to a crisp. This location is normally top notch. I heard the GM tell one of the AM's that something needs to be done as it seems like they're closing earlier and earlier every night. The thing is, I don't have a problem with the above. I realize that perhaps things are going to be a little less than fresh at that time of night (wow, 2000 is late???). What I have a problem with is being charged full price for a less than full spread. We left at 2100, there were still people coming in. I felt like telling them to not bother as there wasn't anything worth a shit on the buffet any longer, but figured I'd let them learn their lesson as well. The sad thing is that when we left, I noticed that they were putting out a lot of fresh food. Guess I was just fucked, eh? Speaking of the chinese mentioned above, we've went in there at an hour before closing on Wed. night before. The buffet was fully stocked and stayed that way until we left at closing. |
Actually no, I had to stay and clean up. Mop, sweep, etc. Why not state (on the posted hours of business) that the establishment will not accept customers after 2030 (if they close at 2130)? |
If you're going to go out to eat late, I wouldn't make it a buffet. Buffets are notorious for just leaving stuff out and not refreshing. And I'm sorry, but I ate at a Golden Corrall ONCE. Never again. It was the only thing open just after a hurricane in North Carolina. I work at a breakfast diner. WE close at 1pm. If someone walks in the door at 12:50pm, you have to serve them. But when they sit and linger over a cup of coffee, it pisses you off. We can't vacuum until the dining room is empty. It's just rude plain and simple. |
| The main goal is to begin breaking down within the last hour of service. Getting customers 4 minutes before closing (which we get practically every day) complicates the goal, but it says open until 11 for a reason. Just don't expect the entire wait staff to be super chipper. |
I WORKED IN A RESTAURANT. Yes, its rude. No, I'm not going to show my displeasure. I work there knowing that if you come in 5 minutes before close, I have to serve you. Thats the breaks. If the server is a dick because they came in 5 minutes before close, thats a shitty server. |
I don't make the rules. It just is rude to the staff inside. You can disagree all you want, but for those that have been those staff at one point, we take it personally. It is what it is. |
You're absolutely right. Working in the service industry changes your perspective, and you usually forget that. I think it would be rude of me to go in 5 minutes before close, but people are well within their rights to do so. |
At two local restaurants where the waitresses and I have become friends, they told me, since I like to sit and read and drink tea, that I could stay until about an hour after closing. This is because my little table is easy to clean up. |
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The best restaurants will tell you, "We stop seating at XX:XX." rather than saying, "We close at XX:XX." That's the way it should be. It's better for the customers, and it's better for the employees. If they want to generally close around 10:00, stop seating at 9:15 or 9:30. |
If an employee in the food industry takes something like that personally, I don't think the "issue" is with a customer actually being rude by showing up during business hours. It's far more likely that the employee is unhappy with the nature/terms/hours of his/her work and needs to find a new way to earn a living....rather than fault others. That's some seriously petty shit. Fault the owner for setting the hours. Fault yourself for taking a job that you find so easily annoying. But blaming the customer for showing up, late, during business hours is ridiculous. |
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At my restaurant as long as you were in before the closing time you could sit and relax and have a nice meal. What did bother me were the people who would come in at 9:55 when we closed at 10:00 and who would finish their meal at 10:30 but not leave until midnight... Pretty damn rude if you ask me. Even if people showed up past 10:00 I would make them something togo. |
that right there is the number one thing i hate bout my job... someone asks when you close, then stays one hour later then you tell them.... |
I worked in fast food for 3 years in high school. If you come in 5min before closing, and my grill is shut down and I have to fire it up for you that means I have to stay an extra hour. Which then means my boss is going to bitch-fit me for taking so long to close. That's why we take it personally. |