The five most annoying things about eating in a restaurant

Virtually every restaurant has similar things that are annoying. In this post we will explore what these things are and why they are a problem.

Published on 11/15/2019 by Philip Schönholzer

Practically at every restaurant there are similar things that are annoying. In this post we want to explorer what does things are and why they are a problem.

Eating in a restaurant is clearly a very nice thing. You don’t have to cook, you are served and you don’t have to tidy up. In addition, the food is usually very tasty. What is there to complain about?

But if we pay attention, there are always situations which are not so great. Most of the time we don’t lose any thoughts of it, simply because we’ve got used to it. Slowly but surely, we from Payflink are no more willing to accept this. With this blog post our search for ways to avoid these situations begins.

The five most annoying things

The following five things are, in our opinion, the biggest turn-offs at restaurant visits.

1. Wait for the waiter or waitress

After arriving at the restaurant, it is often necessary to wait for the waitress to see what is on the menu. If the restaurant is well filled and there are only a few waiters, it can take up to 10 minutes until the waitress takes care of you. In the worst case you will be overlooked and only served after you have intervened. These are extremely unpleasant situations for the guest but also for the staff.

Some take more and some less time to make a decision what to order. And even the same person can sometimes take longer or shorter to decide depending on the occasion, time of day and restaurant. As soon as you have made your decision, you want to be able to place your order right away. But if the waitress comes before you have made a decision, you are under pressure. However the waiter times it, it is often unpleasant for the guest.

3. Get the wrong dish

Finally, the food comes. But what’s this? You got the wrong dish! This is again an unpleasant situation for the guest and the staff. Either you accept what you got, or you have to insist on your order wherever the mistake happened.

4. Call for the waiter or waitress

No matter if you want to order another Coke or pay for it, the waitress has to be called. Therefore, it is necessary to draw attention within the restaurant. No matter how you do it, it is not a pleasant thing. Even if one has received the attention of the waitress, one is gladly put off with “I’ll come immediately”. If you are lucky, you can place your request after a minute. In the worst case you are forgotten and must intervene after a while again.

5. Payment processing

After you’ve enjoyed a good meal, it’s time to pay. Paying is always an unpleasant thing, regardless of the circumstances. But the way it is done in restaurants makes it especially more unpleasant. After you have successfully called the waitress and waited a few minutes, the waitress finally appears to process the payment. Often you just get a receipt and the waitress is gone again. It is now expected that the corresponding amount will be deposited. Then the waitress will return and collect the money. If you want to pay with a credit card, in some cases the waitress will first need to get the terminal. All in all, there can be up to four interactions before you can finally pay. It is even worse if everyone at the table wants to pay separately. This means that you have to wait at least an extra minute per person.

Is it really that bad?

I think these situations are at least not so bad that I don’t want to visit a restaurant anymore. But if I could choose, I’d rather be in a restaurant where these situations don’t occur. That means, if it is possible to prevent them, I would absolutely prefer such a restaurant. Could it even be better? I am of the clear opinion that all these situations can be made much more pleasant or even completely avoided. In a next post we want to show how this would be possible.

What are annoying situations that you experience?

Are you experience similar situation? Or do you have other annoying situations when you visit a restaurant? Then write us at support@payflink.com.