"I'm never shopping THERE again!" Share your story!

[Jocelyn]

Today's Fedex delivery

I hit the garage door opener as I came out of the house, got into the car, started the engine and started to back out when I suddenly saw a Fedex deliveryperson standing IN MY GARAGE. Apparently she had walked up the drive to deliver the package, but when she saw the garage door open, she decided to come into the garage and make her delivery.
I appreciated her not just going onto the porch and leaving it by my front door, but honestly! I almost backed into her, because, silly me, I didn't expect to see anyone standing inside my garage!
FWIW, she could have stood on the steps to the porch, and tapped on my car as I backed out, if she'd wanted to get my attention.

[Piratelvr1121]

I think I'd prefer the 70's.

Yeah, I'd love the late 60's and 70's to come back with the broomstick skirts and peasant style tops.  It annoys me when I see the boho style tops in stores and when I touch them, find out they're made of polyester.

[Redneck Gravy]

Can I say "the entire mall" because today I could not find a single thing I wanted to buy.   
I know it's totally a first world problem, not to mention a matter of taste preferences, but yeah, nothing looked even slightly attractive.  It made me sad since this is the first time in almost 6 months that I've gone shopping for myself, only to find that every store seems to have embraced the mid 80s.  My choices were neon skinny jeans + sheer tops over bustiers or with suspenders, or clunky nautical prints in flowy polyester or rayon.

Ah the mall - commonly referred to now as "teen h@ll for adults"

if you venture out of an anchor store (Sears, Penneys, Dillards) everything else is geared for teen dollars - loud music, half dressed sales clerks and young, skinny clothes

I will go to the mall if forced but will not venture beyond the anchor stores.  Nowdays I can order housewares/bedding online and have it shipped to my office for less than the drive there and the parking hassle  (and don't forget I got mugged at the mall two years ago  ). 

 So yes, the mall is out!

[Piratelvr1121]

I'm getting tired of the Yankee Candle store.  Ours in the mall is rather small and cramped and it doesn't help that the 3 employees on duty are always following you around introducing you to the candles that always seem to smell the worst.   I like candles, I like some of the ones they have and can get them elsewhere.   But I always get "Bahama Delight" or something that smells nauseatingly sweet. 

But then I like natural or woodsy fragrances like their Ocean Water, Beach Walk, Jasmine, Sandalwood and Patchouli sort of fragrances.  Not the "Hey you know you want your house to smell like a tropical bar!!" fragrances. 

[Kiara]

Pirate, if you're near one of the outlet stores (is there one in Hagerstown?  I know there's one in Leesburg), they have a lot more of the old non-sweet fragarances.  Plus the employees leave you alone. 

[Piratelvr1121]

Oh yeah, we have the Prime Outlets here but I don't think we have a Yankee Candle outlet. We do however have Bath and Body Works.  I wish they did, I do like Yankee Candle and some of the little accesories/decor they have but get annoyed with being followed!

[PastryGoddess]

The Gettysburg outlet might have a Yankee Candle as well

[Redwing]

Oh yeah, we have the Prime Outlets here but I don't think we have a Yankee Candle outlet. We do however have Bath and Body Works.  I wish they did, I do like Yankee Candle and some of the little accesories/decor they have but get annoyed with being followed!

The candles at Bath and Body works are great, too. 

[Piratelvr1121]

Now their candles I love and I have a few of them! And apart from a "Hi can I help you?"  when you first walk in, they leave you alone unless you genuinely look lost or confused or ask for their help. 

[chigrrl1]

It takes a lot to not frequent a place. I generally have bad luck eating out so I have become accustomed to my order never being right. Usually the 2nd time they get it right so I just don't expect anything the first time..and I am not horrible complicated ie plain meat/cheese bun burger or well done steak no pink ect..TGIFridays took the cake..We will not ever go back there or any of their locations..

Visit one: Went in and ordered steak well done..no pink and fries with a drink..we wait and wait and wait..and after about 40 minutes we finally get our food..cut into the very tip of it and it was red..not just pink but red..let the waitress know and she sent it back..waited another 30 minutes and it came back out charbroiled..pitch black and hard as a rock..I was upset..it looked like the cook got mad at me and stuck it in the flames..complained again and left with the manager apologizing and gave us a free meal for next time

Visit 2: Glutton for punishment we went back and I ordered steak again same thing well done no pink..(I like steak what can I say) got it and shocking it was well done and tasted great..until I got to a hair imbedded in my steak..I picked up the hair and steak came up with it..and it wasn't mine...wrong color and length..Complained and showed the steak to the manager..offered another comp

Visit 3: Should have known better right? Well went back and ordered a burger..with fries and no ice in my drink..got my drink and ice same as every visit we have had..got my burger and it was cold after waiting for 40 minutes..got it remade and it came back lukewarm...complained again..offered a comped meal..said no thanks and left..


Visit 4: Well we went up to big cities and had a full day at very big mall..We were hungry and the closest place was TGIFridays..figuring our bad luck was local we went in...waited for about 30 minutes to get in because they were busy..ok no problem..we got seated..but where they seated us the table was in the crossroad of the aisle..someone nearly tripped over our daughter's chair..then actually ran into it bumping her..we moved her in further..then someone ran into my husbands chair...one waitress did come over and apologize and refill our empty drinks..our waitress was MIA a lot but finally showed and then we ordered our food..daughter had a cheeseburger kids meal..nothing special except no ice in her drink..mine was a cheeseburger with different cheese and sauce on the side (Specialty burger) we waited and waited..people seated after us got thier food...waited and waited..my daughter being 4 and 1/2 getting whiney because she was hungry..finally after 40 minutes we got our food..and it was cold..my daughters was fine..manager came over and we told him my food was cold and the wait was a long time and the other people who came after us got their food first..he grabbed my food AND my daughter's even tho we told him our daughters was fine..and we made to wait another 30 minutes..I  had a very hungry girl...then finally brought out our food and my order was wrong..we asked for the check and left..they let us know that it was comped and to please come back...after waiting for almost 2 hours and leaving hungry..we won't be back.

  I mean this in the kindest possible way, but in instances 1 - 3, you may have been the victim of well-done steak phenomenon.  This is not to say that you deserved bad service or food, but there's a pretty simple reason that this would happen. 

In the service industry, 9 times out of 10, a person ordering a well done steak is a specific "type" of customer to both the kitchen and the waitstaff.   The chef thinks you are low-brow for "ruining" a good cut of meat--the perception being you have an unrefined pallet, the waitress thinks you are not used to eating out or you wouldn't order your food well done which equals bad tip.  The chef and the waitress KNOW that people who order well done food are the most likely to complain and send it back for being over or undercooked because people have a very wide range of what they consider "well-done"---some people literally believe "well" translates to "good."  The chef and the waitress have to time their work to cater to your one item that does not take the same amount of time to cook as the others for the table, so they KNOW that you are more  likely to send back the other food for being too cold.  It is not nice to stereotype, but there's certainly one out there about the well done crowd.

On your first visit, you pegged yourself as THAT "well-done" steak customer, so my guess is that the hair the second time was not a mistake.  Just like you remembered all your bad situations at this restaurant, they probably remember you being a difficult customer.  As for your 4th story, customers with kids who get free refills generally are going to be at the bottom of the waitresses priorities.  It simply doesn't make sense to cater to a family of four whose bill is going to be less than a party of two who are most likely running up their bill with alcoholic drinks.  The party of four will be more work and a bigger mess, it's simple economy when one depends on tips for a living.

I want to reassert that I am not saying you shouldn't expect good service or food, but as long as servers depend on tips to earn a living, they will judge each and every table by how much they think they will get as a tip and service accordingly.   

[Mental Magpie]

I can safely say I never did that as a waitress. Everyone got the exact same service from me. Not all are like that.

[jedikaiti]

I'd say it's less that PP pegged themselves as THAT customer, as that they GOT PEGGED. Steak ordered well done, takes forever and arrives bloody, they send it back and get a charred hockey puck? That's someone being snarky with their food. I bet there was a temper tantrum in the kitchen that day, too.

[chigrrl1]

I can safely say I never did that as a waitress. Everyone got the exact same service from me. Not all are like that.

I think it would be incredibly hard to put aside ALL prejudgement and treat every customer exactly the same.  Sure, it would be "nice," but when one gets busy and has to juggle their tables, it's simple psychology that one would use simple cost/benefit psychology to assess the biggest payoff for effort exerted.  Refilling toddlers free sodas or up-selling a single customer to a $15 martini that costs more than the child's entire meal....hmmm, that's a tough choice.

[CakeBeret]

I mean this in the kindest possible way, but in instances 1 - 3, you may have been the victim of well-done steak phenomenon.  This is not to say that you deserved bad service or food, but there's a pretty simple reason that this would happen. 

In the service industry, 9 times out of 10, a person ordering a well done steak is a specific "type" of customer to both the kitchen and the waitstaff.   The chef thinks you are low-brow for "ruining" a good cut of meat--the perception being you have an unrefined pallet, the waitress thinks you are not used to eating out or you wouldn't order your food well done which equals bad tip.  The chef and the waitress KNOW that people who order well done food are the most likely to complain and send it back for being over or undercooked because people have a very wide range of what they consider "well-done"---some people literally believe "well" translates to "good."  The chef and the waitress have to time their work to cater to your one item that does not take the same amount of time to cook as the others for the table, so they KNOW that you are more  likely to send back the other food for being too cold.  It is not nice to stereotype, but there's certainly one out there about the well done crowd.

On your first visit, you pegged yourself as THAT "well-done" steak customer, so my guess is that the hair the second time was not a mistake.  Just like you remembered all your bad situations at this restaurant, they probably remember you being a difficult customer.  As for your 4th story, customers with kids who get free refills generally are going to be at the bottom of the waitresses priorities.  It simply doesn't make sense to cater to a family of four whose bill is going to be less than a party of two who are most likely running up their bill with alcoholic drinks.  The party of four will be more work and a bigger mess, it's simple economy when one depends on tips for a living.

I want to reassert that I am not saying you shouldn't expect good service or food, but as long as servers depend on tips to earn a living, they will judge each and every table by how much they think they will get as a tip and service accordingly. 

So asking for a well-done steak is setting oneself up for failure? I'm sorry, I can't get behind that idea. People like well-done steak for a variety of reasons and to blatantly discriminate against those people is IMO silly and self-defeating.

And while refilling kids' sodas may not be as profitable as selling martinis, it is part of a waitstaff's job. I can assure you that if a server got snippy and/or avoided my table because I had children with me and s/he felt that free kids' drinks were below them, I would tip very low. If, however, the server kept both the kids' and the adults' beverages filled and provided good service, I would tip more than normal for the hassle. A server in the first situation would be lucky to get $6 on a $50 bill, while I would probably tip a server in the second situation $10-15.

I really think that the bolded is just poor service and, again, self-defeating. Sometimes I may order things that would suggest I'm a tightwad (basic entree and just water to drink), but if I receive great service, I tip accordingly. For my birthday I received a coupon for a free entree at a restaurant. My friend and I went, split the entree, and ordered waters; we accrued a $0 bill. The busy waitress could *easily* have neglected us. Instead she was fantastic, keeping our waters filled, bringing condiments, checking on our table and generally providing excellent service. The check would have been $10 but since we had my coupon, we did not owe anything. We left a $5 tip. If she had treated us according to what we ordered (i.e. no refills and little service, since we were getting a free meal) I would only have left $1.

[DottyG]

Sometimes I may order things that would suggest I'm a tightwad (basic entree and just water to drink), but if I receive great service, I tip accordingly.

You do.  But not everyone does.  In fact, I'm wondering if you (and probably most of the EHellions) might be in the minority there in the masses.