I was refused service in a dinner today, because I orderd a diet pepsi, coffee, and $5 worth of french fries: is this normal?

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The place was half empty and it was well past brunch/lunch time.
Location was Greenwich Village. The waiter literally told us to go away.

― Super Cub (Debito), Saturday, 1 October 2005 21:41 (twenty years ago)

That should read diner, of course.

― Super Cub (Debito), Saturday, 1 October 2005 21:43 (twenty years ago)

Go away.

― kurt broder (dr g), Saturday, 1 October 2005 21:51 (twenty years ago)

We can't evaluate this until you tell us how many "us" includes. If there were like ten of you, and you only ordered two drinks and a shareable plate of fries, then yes, that's normal. Really, more than three of you would make that normal, and even three's kind of a gray area.

― nabiscothingy, Saturday, 1 October 2005 23:53 (twenty years ago)

hell yeah. keep it real, nab'

― Peter Densmore (pbnmyj), Saturday, 1 October 2005 23:54 (twenty years ago)

Drinking Diet Pepsi and coffee together definately doesn't sound normal.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Sunday, 2 October 2005 00:07 (twenty years ago)

it may be normal (what do i know), but it aint right. a diner should accomodate the smallest orders of a coffee and slice of pie. i dont see what's wrong with your order at all.

― AaronK (AaronK), Sunday, 2 October 2005 00:33 (twenty years ago)

It's a reasonable order for one person. But if a whole gaggle of people comes into a diner and orders a couple drinks and a plate of fries, I think it makes people nervous about other things -- suddenly you've got a waiter wasting time refilling drinks for hours while a bunch of people basically loiter and make noise for what could be an endless length of time, all for like seven dollars. Loads of people + no food order is a pretty good way of saying "we're not customers, we're just using you as a place to sit."

― nabiscothingy, Sunday, 2 October 2005 00:36 (twenty years ago)

Hang on nabisco, I don't think Super Cub sat on the waitress.

― moley, Sunday, 2 October 2005 01:34 (twenty years ago)

Oh to be used, to be used is the eternal plague. This world is such a sad place. All takers and no givers. Just leave the damn diner and go & find another one. Most would love your service & some even like being used. It makes them look well-attended and happening.

― salexander (salexander), Sunday, 2 October 2005 02:13 (twenty years ago)

There were two of us. Just the two of us. The diet pepsi order was for my girlfriend, and I thought it was weird too. But that's what she wanted.

The place clearly sucked, so I'll try not to take it personally. To my mind, any order that includes an honest effort at eating should suffice. I would have tipped her well too. I always do that when the check is modest, because I'm a good customer like that.

We left and went to a nice little cafe, where we got no guff whatsoever. I gave that waiter a real nice tip. Five bucks on an $18 check.

― Super Cub (Debito), Sunday, 2 October 2005 02:19 (twenty years ago)

what the hell is so weird about ordering a diet pepsi? is this a soda thing? or a pepsi thing? or a diet thing? what?

― sunny successor (he hates my guts, we had a fight) (katharine), Sunday, 2 October 2005 02:23 (twenty years ago)

I partially understand, because maybe the place considers itself a restaurant and wants customers who eat full meals. But if you're going to sport a diner image, thus attracting diner-type customers, then you really have to serve those customers. We didn't go to the restaurants in the area, because we just wanted drinks and a snack.

If you want diner-chic image, you must accept diner-esque customers.

There's nothing too strange about ordering a diet pepsi. For me, it would be the soda thing and the pepsi thing. But they had pepsi, which is obviously the cola of choice for hipsters. I didn't give her any crap about though.

― Super Cub (Debito), Sunday, 2 October 2005 02:26 (twenty years ago)

Here's a question -- did you order your drinks and french fries, eat them, and then sit around for some time using your laptop or reading a book or something? If it was "well past lunch time" I'm guessing it was maybe... 4 PM?

Right around that time is usually when restaurants have their shift change. The lunch workers leave and the dinner ones come in. The lunch servers can't leave though, until they close out your check -- get your payment, tip, etc. Or, they can't leave until they clean up your table because you were there during their shift, and they can't leave the mess for the next server to clean. So, they end up waiting around for you to leave and cursing you to the other servers. They say things like, "That motherfucker has been sitting there for 2 hours, and I just want him to leave so I can go home. God damn it, I have to study for a test tomorrow!"

Or, in some cases, they may say, "God damn it, I have to wait for that guy to go home so I can leave. And he only bought 5 bucks worth of shit too!"

So, am I maybe right? ON THE MARK?

― Mickey (modestmickey), Sunday, 2 October 2005 02:37 (twenty years ago)

Or, if you weren't sitting around for a while, maybe it was just a really bitchy server who expected to not make much at all of a tip from your small order and would rather have someone else sit in that section, so she kicked you out? Lord knows that's what I think when I get cheap customers at my restaurant. Of course the management at mine is much stricter, and if I got caught kicking someone out, I'd be fired.

― Mickey (modestmickey), Sunday, 2 October 2005 02:39 (twenty years ago)

diners

― RJG (RJG), Sunday, 2 October 2005 02:44 (twenty years ago)

you should have asked the person refusing you service "why?". get one pair o' nads.

― amon (eman), Sunday, 2 October 2005 02:52 (twenty years ago)

Name the diner!

― Mendoza Lineman (Carey), Sunday, 2 October 2005 02:53 (twenty years ago)

Although, if that is all you wanted, find one bodega to get a snack.

― Mendoza Lineman (Carey), Sunday, 2 October 2005 02:54 (twenty years ago)

All you wanted was a Pepsi. Just one Pepsi. AND THEY WOULDN'T GIVE IT TO YOU.

― Trayce (trayce), Sunday, 2 October 2005 03:02 (twenty years ago)

"Just one Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me!"

X-post, god dammit!!!

― nickn (nickn), Sunday, 2 October 2005 03:08 (twenty years ago)

wait, wait a minute...a plate of french fries doesn't count as a real meal? i've gone into restaurants and ordered that like a million times!

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Sunday, 2 October 2005 03:25 (twenty years ago)

that suicidal tendencies song. thats a good song.

― huell howser (chaki), Sunday, 2 October 2005 03:37 (twenty years ago)

did the diner have a counter you could have sat at? traditionally, the counter is where you sit if you're ordering small (hence all the old guys you see up there drinking coffee and reading the paper).

― faith popcorn (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 2 October 2005 04:30 (twenty years ago)

"old guys" - hey screw you jody!

― j blount (papa la bas), Sunday, 2 October 2005 05:47 (twenty years ago)

hahaha i love sitting at the counter!

― faith popcorn (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 2 October 2005 06:09 (twenty years ago)

I'm glad I left new york

― lsg, Sunday, 2 October 2005 06:13 (twenty years ago)

I did ask why and she said, "we only do meals, we're a restaurant." Then I said, "French fries, aren't a meal?" Which is kind of a lame comeback.

Also, we weren't sitting around there for 2 hours; we had just sat down and were kicked out when we tried to place our order.

And finally, we didn't go to a bodega, because we wanted to sit down and have a rest for a half an hour.

I would name the diner, but I didn't think to remember the name. The place was weird. The staff were arguing loudly and using unsavory language.

lsg OTM

― Super Cub (Debito), Sunday, 2 October 2005 12:29 (twenty years ago)

Good lord, from now on I'll throw out customers who just want to have a look.

"Hello, just looking!"

"Well, you can fuck right off to the next shop then."

― nathalie, a bum like you (stevie nixed), Sunday, 2 October 2005 12:38 (twenty years ago)

Haha, we were just talking yesterday in the store I work in about how great it would be if we were appointment only or if we had a browsing surcharge, just so we wouldn't have to deal with all the people making us run up and down flights of stairs "trying things on for fun" or the people taking up room in our already crowded store to loiter and sit on the chairs to take a rest. We try to give them directions to the nearest Starbucks.

― Mendoza Lineman (Carey), Sunday, 2 October 2005 13:05 (twenty years ago)

what happened to THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT?

― Super Cub (Debito), Sunday, 2 October 2005 13:11 (twenty years ago)

NOT IN NEW YORK!

― Mendoza Lineman (Carey), Sunday, 2 October 2005 13:11 (twenty years ago)

yeah, it kind of sucks but usually this is why restaurants sometimes have a minimum order requirement on menus. People have to make a living and somethings are not worth the effort.

― Mendoza Lineman (Carey), Sunday, 2 October 2005 13:13 (twenty years ago)

plus if you were in that area I am sure the diner is sick to death of NYU students and tourists just looking for a place to rest and not really eat.

― Mendoza Lineman (Carey), Sunday, 2 October 2005 13:15 (twenty years ago)

It doesn't sound much like a diner, really, even if it had diner-y styling in some way, but more like a bistro. I can't imagine a diner not serving 2 people, I mean, hell -- they'll bring you a cup of coffee and a danish if that's all you want.

I might be making this up, it's not necessarily applicable to your sad afternoon, Super Cub, but...maybe it's a sensitivity you get for a city/locale, a feel for the nature of things and the different classes they fall into...? At this point in NYC if I just needed to rest the feet I'd home in on a cafe or something v casual by local definitions, going by certain hallmarks like the other clientele, the age/attire of the servers or counter people, whether there was table service AT ALL, a look at the menu, the decor in general, whether or not there were table cloths, etc etc blah blah. You know, signs that are only useful if you have a framework for them already. In, like, Berlin, I'd be fuckin' sunk -- I'd probably try to order falafel in a chocolate shop.

Written down like that it sounds like a lot of work just to get some fries, but after a while it's automatic, no work at all. You just observe and categorize to best meet your needs.

― Laurel, Sunday, 2 October 2005 13:39 (twenty years ago)

what happened to THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT?

As my mother always says: The client may be king, I'm the EMPRESS.

― nathalie, a bum like you (stevie nixed), Sunday, 2 October 2005 13:42 (twenty years ago)

I tried doing that, Laurel, but I was fooled by the diner decor. You're right, it wasn't really a diner. I'm new to the New York restaurant world, so I should just take my lumps until I know better. Still, that place ought to make things clearer, so customers don't end up sitting down and then get refused service. That would save the server aggravation and the customer humiliation.

I'd just go to a Starbucks, except those places are so unpleasant.

Alright. I'm over it.

― Super Cub (Debito), Sunday, 2 October 2005 13:46 (twenty years ago)

Are you ugly?

― shookout (shookout), Sunday, 2 October 2005 14:06 (twenty years ago)

― Super Cub (Debito), Sunday, 2 October 2005 14:51 (twenty years ago)

You guys trip me out.

― JKex (JKex), Sunday, 2 October 2005 15:49 (twenty years ago)

stfu

― ------------------------------, Sunday, 2 October 2005 15:50 (twenty years ago)

where's my diet pepsi?

― JKex (JKex), Sunday, 2 October 2005 16:17 (twenty years ago)

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