Check please

I am not one of those superpicky people when I go to a restaurant. I rarely change my order, (with the exception of removing any and all tomatoes), I never send my food back, and I am usually a generous tipper. (This is based on the Los Hermanos incident of 1998--ask Julie) All I really ask is that the server give me between 1-4 drink refills, answer any questions I may have, and occasionally wink at me if he is a man.

This weekend, I went to two restaurants that have treated me well in the past, but not so much this time. On Friday, I walked in and found that my favorite menu item had been removed. So we asked the server if it was still on the menu, and if we could still order it. His response was, "No and no." Um, okay. He then proceeded to give us the silent treatment and plunked down my single drink refill without a word and walked away. He did the same thing with the bill. So, since he didn't even try to earn a tip, I wasn't going to give him one. I ended up tipping $1, which I NEVER do. But I felt it was a) deserved, and 2) time to teach him a lesson. You work in the service industry, sir, and if I have to be nice to cranky people all day at work, then the least you can do is flirt with me, and bring me another Dr. Pepper!

So Saturday, I went to an old stand-by, and we were immediately seated in the bar, which is one of my pet peeves. The reason the bar is always available is because the server/bartender ignores you if you order food rather than booze. So when we sat down, our server was sitting at the bar talking to the bartender, and he turned to see that we were seated, and actually rolled his eyes. Oh no you didn't! This fool at least gave me a couple of refills, and spoke around 12 words to us, but he couldn't wait for us to leave. So he earned $2 from me, but I wasn't happy about it.

Because I am a forgiving soul, I will be strong and continue to go out to eat. And to any server that will give me ample refills and the occasional smile, you will be handsomely rewarded!