I'll preface this by saying I panic when faced with crowds of people. I've got social anxiety out the ass.
So last year I went on a class trip to D.C., which was a fucking nightmare. Late buses, my friend and I got lost, people shrieking on the bus about god knows what-- But anyway, the worst thing was stopping to eat both times we were there.
For lunch we went to McDonald's in one of their museums. This is when I was in a panic, because it was fucking packed in there. By the time I got to the cashier to order, I was trembling and near tears. To make things worse, I held my hand out for change when I didn't have any. Not good to fuck up when you're already in distress. My friend ended up leading me off to the side to wait for my order, trying to keep me calm. The upside was that at least the food wasn't cold.
Then for dinner, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. Seems great, right? Well it wasn't. They wouldn't let us in to eat, saying we had too many people. (We didn't.) We all had to eat in a nearby park, and all of us had cold food, another one of my friends having an undercooked burger. My food was fine except for being too cold to be even remotely enjoyable, and of course, it was already really hot outside and was in no way a comfortable place to be when we could've been in an air conditioned building.
My mother went to a hole in the wall restaurant and came back and claimed that they had the best burgers ever so she took us there and I ate a burger and it tasted like onions and I got violently ill that night. Maybe the major factor was that I can't eat onions without having to vomit but my mother said the burgers weren't as good as last time so they fucked something up.
There's a weird family joke that I'm afraid to eat mashed potatoes because I went to my great uncle's house for Christmas and took several big scoops of mashed potatoes, ate some and discovered onions and I spent most of the night sick in the bathroom. Not really a bad restaurant experience because I wasn't at a restaurant but I still have to ask people "what's in the mashed potatoes"
I'm a supporter of stem-cell research and abortion, because I think that it's irresponsible to limit the avaibility of abortions without making a plan for the rising rates if children in foster care or institutional settings which will occur.
A side effect of banning abortion will be the experiential rise if child abuse, even institutional settings such as care centers, orphanges, and foster homes will run the risk of abuse occurring due to over-crowding .
Due to the rising rate if children who were either abondoned, or in unwanted homes, then the crime rate will rise drastically beginning in the next 10 or so years.
The other day at the restaurant I work at, this Asian lady flipped out on nearly the entire kitchen staff all because they were still cooking her food. She eventually yelled at the manager, who god bless him, politely assured her that her food would be coming out shortly. That apparently wasn't enough for her, and she continued to throw her tantrum. Not gonna lie, I was this close to making a "get the fuck out" gesture at her since she was causing quite the ruckus, but I didn't want to put my job in jeopardy.
Pretty short, but this was the first one that came to mind for me...
One of the very rare times I went to McDonalds, decided to eat in for once. Ordered a quarter pounder combo, waited, got it, sat down in one of the only free tables, over near the kids playground. I'd just bitten into my burger when I looked up and saw a kid waddling towards the ballpit pulling his shorts down- he looked like was maybe 8.
I thought to myself "oh gods, he's not is he? Please tell me his mum's somewhere around and will stop him"- but no women in site near the playground.
He climbed into the ballpit, sat down in the sea of balls and proceed to have audibly explosive diarrhea. I gagged, and went to go tell the staff about it.
After finally getting the staff to realise what had happened, I turn around to see a middle aged woman hurriedly exiting the door with the kid in tow, his pants firmly back up around his waist and complaining that he hadn't finished yet.
Needless to say, I didn't particularly feel like finishing my meal ...
Pretty short, but this was the first one that came to mind for me...
One of the very rare times I went to McDonalds, decided to eat in for once. Ordered a quarter pounder combo, waited, got it, sat down in one of the only free tables, over near the kids playground. I'd just bitten into my burger when I looked up and saw a kid waddling towards the ballpit pulling his shorts down- he looked like was maybe 8.
I thought to myself "oh gods, he's not is he? Please tell me his mum's somewhere around and will stop him"- but no women in site near the playground.
He climbed into the ballpit, sat down in the sea of balls and proceed to have audibly explosive diarrhea. I gagged, and went to go tell the staff about it.
After finally getting the staff to realise what had happened, I turn around to see a middle aged woman hurriedly exiting the door with the kid in tow, his pants firmly back up around his waist and complaining that he hadn't finished yet.
Needless to say, I didn't particularly feel like finishing my meal ...
Pretty short, but this was the first one that came to mind for me...
One of the very rare times I went to McDonalds, decided to eat in for once. Ordered a quarter pounder combo, waited, got it, sat down in one of the only free tables, over near the kids playground. I'd just bitten into my burger when I looked up and saw a kid waddling towards the ballpit pulling his shorts down- he looked like was maybe 8.
I thought to myself "oh gods, he's not is he? Please tell me his mum's somewhere around and will stop him"- but no women in site near the playground.
He climbed into the ballpit, sat down in the sea of balls and proceed to have audibly explosive diarrhea. I gagged, and went to go tell the staff about it.
After finally getting the staff to realise what had happened, I turn around to see a middle aged woman hurriedly exiting the door with the kid in tow, his pants firmly back up around his waist and complaining that he hadn't finished yet.
Needless to say, I didn't particularly feel like finishing my meal ...
I believe it, any sick fuck could hide any sort of dangerous thing in there and no one would notice until a kid finds it and gets hurt
The Mcdonald's near my house has a play zone or whatever but I don't know if they have a ballpit because I never go in there because I'm a grown woman with no children and it would be weird
I went to a at the time recently open restaurant one time and ordered some chicken. Half the plate in the food is not finished cooking. I complained and the told me to fuck off.
Before my family moved to Florida, we used to "vacation" down there (my stepdad would be looking for houses and my mom would be keeping my brother and I occupied) and one of the last trips we took before moving, we went to this really shitty diner that everyone in town went to. The place was absolutely packed and we had to sit at the counter, and our waitress openly ignored us.
I don't mean she was just busy, either. Like, she got visibly annoyed when we pulled her away from her conversation with one of the locals after waiting to get our drinks for a fucking half hour. She sat and talked to some old dude for another twenty minutes after that while we waited to order food. And then, when she finally came around to take our order, I tried to order a fish sandwich and she snapped at me, telling me they were out of that. I don't remember what I ended up getting, just that it was terrible.
The only reason we stayed was we were far enough out of town that it was literally that or Hardee's at some gas station. So we stuck around.
I noticed a pattern with a lot of the local hangouts in that town, though. Nobody seemed to realize or care that the food was shit, someone just decided that such-and-such place was good, and then everyone started going there. Even the "nice" restaurants were awful. If a place is trying to sell itself as high-class, you'd think they would kick people in bathing suits (and usually nothing else) out.
When I was 15, my school choirs took a trip to Virginia Beach. About halfway through the trip, we stopped for breakfast at a diner in Breezewood, Pennsylvania called the Post House. (For those unfamiliar with Breezewood, it's where interstates 70 and 76 split, but due to the configuration of the exit, you have to take a surface street for a half-mile to stay on 70. Said surface street is bursting with hotels, restaurants, and gas stations, naturally.)
The first thing I noticed upon walking in was that the place reeked of sewage. It was so bad that I fled back to the bus and scavenged my classmates' backpacks. (Warm Dr Pepper, cold onion rings, and Fruit Roll-Ups.) Nearly everyone agreed that the food was horrible and overpriced; my mom remembers paying something like $12 for two orders of pancakes, orange juice, and milk.
On the way back, we stopped at the same place again, and EVERYONE on the bus protested until they realized that we were just changing drivers. (This same driver turned out to be a bit of an idiot. We stopped at a gas station a little further into Pennsylvania so everyone could take a bathroom break, and he must've driven around in circles four times before he realized where the exit was to get back on the turnpike.)
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I used to hit up the local Burger King in my former hometown regularly. For a long time, I got treated well there, but over time, the service just got worse and worse. There were times when I was waiting a half-hour for my food when I was literally the only customer being served (and it's not like drive-thru was getting slammed while I was waiting in the dining room either), and half the time, my food would be cold, wrong, or both. But the final straw was this experience with some nasty chicken:
I presented a coupon for buy one get one free chicken sandwiches. I asked if it was also valid on the chipotle version they had at the time, and the cashier said "I think so", so she rang me up for two chipotle chicken sandwiches and a coffee. Two teenagers are in line behind me, and they order a bunch of cheap stuff. Their food comes out in a couple minutes. I wait. And wait. And wait. Finally, I see a haggard looking fat old lady slathering mayo on two chicken sandwiches. I say, "I'm sorry, I think those were supposed to be chipotle." She says, "No, the coupon was for the regular ones." I say, "That's fine", take my sandwiches home, and eat one. Cue the intestinal trauma a couple hours later, along with my body trying its best to get me to barf even though I have almost no gag reflex. I quickly inspect the other sandwich to see if there's anything visibly wrong with it. Nope, but I'm not taking any chances, so into the trash it goes.
Two days later, my gut is still bothering me, and I'm drinking Pepto Bismol like it's water. I bring the receipt in and politely ask for a refund, because I got sick. Lo and behold, the manager on duty is the same woman who prepared my sandwich, and she rudely says "No, I'm not refunding you. You were rude to me when I made regular ones, and besides, we don't refund purchases made with coupons." After I get home, I file a complaint on their website. The next day, I get a call from corporate, with a nice lady who inquires about my complaint. As soon as I hang up, I get a call from the store itself: it's a different manager, who says she talked to the rude manager, and will also take action to make sure nothing like this happens again. The shits didn't subside for at least three more days.
Since then, the store has been remodeled and gotten new owners. I went back in not long after the renovation, and got good service. But another trip since then has them back to their old ways of taking an eternity to give me cold, wrong food again. So I'm glad that I now live in the next town over, where their Burger King is consistently good.
I haven't really thought about it but I too am biased against restaurants old people like. The restaurants themselves almost always end up being poor quality.
Also, asian restaurants that are primarily frequented by white people. If I'm the only white person there it's a pretty good sign the food will be good. If everyone including the staff are white it's usually crap.
Around here, the "old people" restaurants are Big Boy and Ponderosa Steakhouse. I've found both to be incredibly hit and miss. Also, every Arby's I've ever been to has been full of old people for some reason.
The Chinese place in my town is run by actual Chinese people, but is total crap. EVERYthing is way too freaking sweet and/or bland. I had one friend tell me he ordered Kung Pao chicken with triple the usual amount of spice, and it still tasted like nothingness.
The Mcdonald's near my house has a play zone or whatever but I don't know if they have a ballpit because I never go in there because I'm a grown woman with no children and it would be weird
The only McDonald's near me that had a playplace closed down last year. It was in a very small town where the only other fast food is a cramped Subway with no seating, in a gas station. This town couldn't even keep an IGA supermarket open.
The Mcdonald's near my house has a play zone or whatever but I don't know if they have a ballpit because I never go in there because I'm a grown woman with no children and it would be weird
They're probably a standard feature. The small city I lived most of my childhood got a new McDonald's with the, big indoor playground when I was seven or eight (and it was a big enough deal to have the grand opening featured on the local news) and it had a ballpit. It was one of the smallest I remember seeing, and it was fenced in on three sides. It also had a huge sign on the entrance stating the ballpit was only for kids 3 and under. There was always at least one employee in the playground area as well, and they did not hesitate to chase kids away who so much as looked at the ballpit. I never did see any kid in the ballpit.
I just found out our local Home Town Buffet has closed down, and I remembered a story that my mom and I still like to tell.
It was around 5 or 6 years ago and we had both decided we were going to get in shape and start running. We went to HTB as our last hurrah of bad eating before cleaning up out diet, which turned out to be a very good idea. So I don't know if this is a standard feature at every HTB but the windows have these weird curtains so you can't see the inside of the restaurant. I think it's intentionally designed so you can't see the people inside. Now back then I was about 30 pounds heavier then I am now and I was still the skinniest person in the building. Everywhere you looked was either morbid obesity, advanced age, or some combination of the two. As I watched these people piling more and more food onto their plates I found my appetite running for the hills. My mom saw a woman put what looked like a piece of fudge on her ranch-enshrouded salad. I witnessed a woman near the drink stand that had what I can only describe as cottage cheese elbows. We couldn't have been more eager to start a diet and excersize routine.
It was such a lasting impression that even now when we've been eating too much junk food, we joke that we should go go HTB just to watch people eat. That will scare us back into eating right.
