[missypie]

That is one of the reasons that I love living here. People are having a good time, smiling, sharing and just enjoying life. There are times that I DO want quiet, and those are the nights that we stay home. That is also nice.

[gomoho]

Originally Posted by missypie

That is one of the reasons that I love living here. People are having a good time, smiling, sharing and just enjoying life. There are times that I DO want quiet, and those are the nights that we stay home. That is also nice.

now that's what I call logical, adult thinking!

[justjim]

Recently we were having lunch at Orange Blossom Country Club when 12 or 14 guys were seated nearby who just came in from (I'm guessing) their golf outing. They were very loud and "drown out" the four of us who were trying to have a casual conversation.

The restaurant was not that crowded (it was close to 2pm) and they could have been seated elsewhere. This incident made me think as I too have been part of a large group who no doubt must have disturbed others in the restaurant who were trying to enjoy their meals and have a "normal" conversation.

Unfortunately, most of the restaurants in The Villages do not have separate rooms to handle such groups. We all like to have fun but the hostess as well as the group should be more considerate of others when seating large groups who tend to all talk at once. OP, I can certainly identify with the point you are attempting to make but don't have a real good solution for the problem.

[CFrance]

Large groups are just not going to be attentive to being quiet. They are having too much fun, and I think it's unrealistic to expect them to be quiet. But the waitstaff could be a little more attentive as to where they seat smaller groups.

Sunday night four of us walked into City Fire at LSL. There was a group of almost 20 people at one long table, and the hostess chose a booth for us that was directly next to them. My friend said it was too close to the large group. She hesitated, but then gave us a booth only a little farther away, despite the fact that the rest of the place was empty. I think they divide the place up into sections, and if they have fewer servers they close off sections. But it wouldn't have taken more than ten extra steps for the waitress if we were seated in a booth in another section.

[Jaggy]

We have actually had a hostess tell us that a large group had just ordered and the wait time for food would be impacted.. so , we went to another place to eat.. not a big deal.. it's not like there aren't numerous places to chose from --- I personally love to see a large group eating.. makes me sorta jealous that I am not at the party !!!!!

[Bonny]

Originally Posted by ukgolfer

That was me who mentioned the bad experience, and as we are here with extended family we do have alcohol and have a great time , we all talk and all join in the conversation, we are not loud , but I'm guessing from your bitter comment that you find it hard to attract friends who want to dine with you , we normally eat after 8pm when restaurants are quiet and we will continue you to so , I suggest that you keep yourself to your 4 seats and sip your free water at 4.30pm and that will suit us fine

[sunnyatlast]

Originally Posted by ukgolfer

Didn't realise that it was fine to call somebody obnoxious and when you post a reply it was deleted ...

When the reply consists of going after the person by telling them they're so "bitter" that nobody else would want to dine with them, "so sip your free water at 4:30"…..it goes against the rules of addressing (and insulting) another poster personally. The use of "obnoxious" in the original post was not directed at a specific person.

The point of the thread in my estimation is that large groups at tables of 10+ often put other customers at the mercy of their noise that makes conversation in a normal voice almost impossible; and it ties up the kitchen with having to output all the large group's dinners at the same time while other normal-sized tables are given lower priority and have to wait as if they're inferior.

Cfrance's example at City Fire at LSL is a good one. We went there once on a busy summer weekend evening (not the height of winter season), and we wanted to be seated outside on the patio where there were at least 4 tables vacant and set.

We were told by hostesses that they could not seat us because there were several large groups inside, and the kitchen can only output so many dinners at a time. Therefore, they would not seat us and other twosomes/foursomes outside, because the kitchen could not keep up with outputting the numerous dinners simultaneously for the large groups inside.

So people who came for a normal-sized table were turned away. Not good business practice!

[dillywho]

We have a large group of ladies (previously Red Hats) that do something together at least once a month, including dining out. We don't show up unannounced, but instead book in advance and give them a headcount. This enables the restaurant to plan for it. We DO NOT conduct any of our club business at our outings. We are the only ones interested in those and public is not the place for it. Our "business meetings" are always held at someone's home on a quarterly basis. Anything in between is done via email or phone. Our outings are strictly for fun.

Whether or not we are seated at one long table or several tables together, we leave up to the restaurant. I personally like having several tables close together because you can interact with more than 4-6 people at a time. We normally have anywhere from 8 to over 20 depending on who is able to come. Our only purpose is to take a break from whatever stress any of us might be experiencing or just the same ole stuff day after day, and to form new, lasting friendships.

[golf2140]

Givre me a break. Join a group and you to will have fun !!!!

[Bonny]

Originally Posted by golf2140

Givre me a break. Join a group and you to will have fun !!!!

[ukgolfer]

Originally Posted by golf2140

Givre me a break. Join a group and you to will have fun !!!!

We can't all be obnoxious, loud and drunk!!

[dplars]

It does not take a large group to be obnoxious. Our family was out to our favorite Mexican restaurant, we were a party of eight seated next to a party of five. The five had been drinking and one of the men had a big mouth and he did not know how to keep it shut. Constant loud obnoxious babble. Finally asked them to cool it, but that lasted only a short time. Alcohol over came good judgment. Their volume made a civil conversation at our table impossible. There is a big difference between laughing and having a good time and being obnoxious.

[Bonny]

Drinking is not always the culprit to determine loudness, although it can enhance the decibel level. LOL I know several people who are very loud and rarely drink.

[Cathy H]

it's the culture of this "blue collar" place with too many ill-mannered and inconsiderate folks who think every one is like them

[jnieman]

Once of the loudest places I've been is the mexican restaurant at Colony when it is buy one large margarita mug get a second margarita free. It's a sea of lime green margarita glasses all over the place and it is sooo loud!! It's a great place to have a good time but very loud. I do think alcohol attributes to the noise.