Customers that are rude to a server. If the service is bad, I do my talking with the tip. I always leave something, usually too much, but I've been known to leave a very small amount of loose change. Didn't want the server to think I'd forgotten to tip. However, there is absolutely no reason to berate the server and make everyone around you uncomfortable.

A lot of the complaints I've seen here are well beyond the control of the server. Servers put the orders in, the cook fixes the meal. If the main dish sits over a certain amount of time regardless if the customer is finished with their salad, the server is written up for leaving the food sitting. Some restaurants don't allow servers to bring pitchers of water out. And so on. Before chalking things up to bad service, look around and see if your server is hustling. If so, cut 'em some slack.

And I totally hate runners delivering the food. Think this is the worst practice ever devised but I blame the restaurants, not the servers.

8 pages of pet peeves for restaurants including mine
Makes one wonder why anyone would even bother to go out to dine

I agree. Sometimes the host(ess) over seats a server. Sometimes customers demand too much attention wanting to chat like they are best friends. We never tip based on food quality. That's just wrong. Don't punish them; they didn't cook it.

I guess the desire to go out and socialize coupled with the desire not to have to cook trumps poor service at restos. Plus... these are pet peeves. They don't apply to all of us or all restaurants combined and simultaneously.

Restaurant owners/managers are in business to make money. To help accomplish this goal they are prone to understaff the premises to keep salary expenses ( paltry as they are) to a minimum. They walk a thin line, maximizing income vs. annoying patrons.
So if service is slow, you can't get your water refilled, it takes too long for the check, etc., etc.,....don't blame the server. Take it up with management.
And if you can't get service that's to your liking, go somewhere else!

By the way, noise levels here seem much louder than I'm used too. Maybe it's because we're so old we can't hear. So we have to shout!!!

I also have an issue with those wiping rags they use. From what I understand they are supposed to have them in bleach water when not in use. I was at a certain Chinese restaurant about a year ago. The server wiped the table with a rag while we were sitting there. It was the stinkiest rag I've ever smelled. I asked her to please use a clean rag that that one was smelly. There was a language barrier. Instead she used the same stinky rag and gave me a disgusted look. We should have gotten up to leave but instead we stayed. Five minutes later our soup was served. I thought it tasted funny even asked my friend to taste her soup to compare and hers tasted different from mine. About 20 minutes after eating my soup I was sicker than a dog. I was in the bathroom constantly and had to stop three times on the way home and was sick all that evening. This was the only thing I had had to eat all day except buttered toast that morning and 2 other people at our table had the same entree as I did and none of them got sick. I was feeling fine when I went in. To this day I believe she put something in my soup and have never gone back.

Top Ten Pet Peeves
 

After reading most of the posts here I decided to compile my list of Top Ten Peeves.

#10 - Servers repeatedly saying "No Problem" to every question/request.

#9 - Servers that never check back to see if you have everything you need especially the drink refills.

#8 - Restaurants that have the air down so low it feels like you are sitting in a cold storage locker.

#7 - Waiting and waiting and waiting for the check long after the meal is complete.

#6 - Ordering an appetizer to tide you over while waiting on your meal only to have it delivered with the main course.

#5 - Helicopter servers who seem to check back every 30 seconds only to ask if everything is OK just when you have a mouth full of food.

#4 - Being seated by the hostess only to be ignored for the next 30 minutes until someone finally says "Have you been helped?"

#3 - Two or more of any of the above items in any one sitting ='s poor service and possibly poor tip along with a conversation with the manager.

#2 - Cell phone conversations from the adjacent table! Get up and walk outside if it is that important, PLEASE!

And the #1 Pet Peeve of this decade is............

#1 - Out of control children running around and crawling under tables while the parents sit and talk completely oblivious to their screaming, crying, whining kids. Oh, and how about the little ones that stand up in the booth next to you and stare hole through your head while you try to have a nice, quiet meal. I love children but come on parents...take control at least in public. Shish!

I'm done!!!! :rant-rave:

My pet peeve is loud music. Have left because we knew we could not have a conversation.

I agree. Applebees comes to mind at the moment. Why would you play current up to date hard rock music to a bunch of retirees?

My wife often comments that I'm overly generous with my tips. As someone who had jobs in his younger years where I hustled tips, I understand well how much the restaurant staff depends on our tips. That's why for breakfast I usually tip at least 40%, often more. The server of your breakfast works just as hard, sometimes harder, keeping your coffee cup filled, as your dinner server. It seems fair to me that the tip should be a larger percentage of a minimal check.

Alternatively, you could tip the non-breakfast servers less.

What gets me is that some of the bills have recommended tip amounts based on 15%, 18%, and 20%, but use the after tax cost as the basis. To me that is scamming.

Oh no!
 

I am a breadie too. Hate to bear bad news, but read online last night that Olive Garden was going to start bringing out 1 breadstick per person and 1 "for the table". You can request more and they will bring out 1 breadstick for you at a time. Yuk![/QUOTE]

I wonder if all Olive Gardens will do this...if not, we'll search out another one. One time I was with a group of 10 at O.G. (and yes, they were pretty loud) and three bowls of salad were placed on the table and the server disappeared! I didn't say anything because I didn't want to draw attention as it was my first time out with them, but how inconsiderate was this?
Enjoyed the lesson on what tipping means and what tip stand for...it will make a difference on how much we tip. My husband lets me set the tip and I always erred on the side of generosity.

Good job.
 

Oh I hate that "nat a problem" stuff...typo intentional

Yikes! I never hit my kids and I was always complimented on their good behavior. There were consequences they knew could be carried out after only one warning, like having to go to sit in the car with either mom or dad while the rest of the family got to finish. And there was a reminder that next time they would do better. This gave a pretty clear message. If they did it again then they simply were not ready to dine out with the rest of us and I could get a sitter for them until they were "ready". I always said that they weren't ready rather then "Bad". That behavior was unacceptable for what ever reason and that was that. This went for running away in a store etc,. Sometimes you just don't know that the child isn't up for it until it's too late or you just aren't up for the challenge. We all have our good and bad days as parents, it's not a job for wimps. :o

When someone says that to my son in law, he replies,"is that something like you're welcome. Lol
I like friendly, courteous service but my pet peeve is when some are so overly friendly and intrusive that I feel I should invite them to join us. I guess it's hard to balance not enough with too much.