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[badly_spoken]

Question: Obviously, restaurants have posted closing times and you can walk in the minute before they close and be served. And you should be served with the same respect and efficiency at any time the restaurant is open

Comments

[seethingheathen]

I might be in the minority for saying this, but if a restaurant is still seating, then customers shouldn't have to feel guilty for going in.

[sobreviviente86]

Exactly.
A lot of them have a "last seating" as opposed to closing time, too.

[jsherlock]

Just because the restaurant is still seating, it doesn't mean you should sit and eat. It might be some jack-ass of a manager who is making the host seat five minutes before close, because they're not officially as-posted closed. This in turn, is sucky for the cooks, the servers, and the busboys.

OP:
If it's an hour before close, I don't go - unless I'm getting a small take-away order. Anything under that - I don't bother to go in. It's not fair to the people who work there. They want to go home.

And that cashier was way out of line. I hope someone told a manager.

[seethingheathen]

If they're open, they're open, jackass manager or not.

[deishaun11]

I agree with that but not to the sense where I, personally would feel welcome to sit down. I'd just feel like a total ass doing that because I know people want to go home. I'd just see if they could squeeze a take out order.

[seethingheathen]

I don't mean that I would go to a place that I knew was closing just to be a bitch, but if I'm out and about, and I happen to stop at a place that is closing in half an hour, I'll probably still eat there. It depends.

[deishaun11]

yeah i get what you mean.

[loveberry]

I agree. Also, when I am checking hours I ask, "How late are you seating?" not "What time do you close?"

It's not rude to go and use a service and pay for it within the constraints set by the people offering the service.

[ladytalon]

Customers shouldn't have to feel guilty for wanting to get service someplace that's open. I really agree with you. However, with everything that I've heard about from servers, I wouldn't go in a half hour from closing, solely because I don't want them to mess with my food. It's one of those things where you go, "Yeah, in an ideal world... I sure as hell wish it could be this way...." It really irks me. Especially because I tip well. But the fear outweighs everything. Watch the movie Waiting and then go into a restaurant near closing time. ;)

[seethingheathen]

I have seen that film. :D

Between that film and Kitchen Nightmares, I'm surprised I can actually still eat out.

[harmonyfb]

I agree! If they don't want customers ordering until close, then they need to close the kitchen early and tell the customers that.

[nomadzutroy]

Fair enough. Where the issue comes into play is when customers come in, often with 4 or 5 people, half an hour before close and then visit for 45 minutes before being ready to place their orders. Then say it takes another 15 minutes for the food to come out. We're now at 30 minutes past closing time. Then it takes them another hour to finish their meals (it's often a number of people who come in so they visit while they eat). We're now an hour and a half past closing time. Then another 20 minutes before they get up from the table and go to pay for their meals.

[morbidelirium]

Yeah, yeah, and yeah.

If you can get in and out before I'm done with my sidework, by all means, sit and eat. I can't tell you how many times, though, I've gotten cut or we've closed and people have just. fucking. sat. there. Talking, or picking at food, or drinking their (cold) coffee.