Going out to dinner at a restaurant can be a lovely experience, unless you’re seated next to people who just don’t know how to behave. There are some unwritten rules of dining out and it seems a lot of folks are clueless about them, or just don’t care. A recent survey from YouGov asks 1,000 Americans about the restaurant customer behaviors they find the most unacceptable.
- While there’s some debate among respondents about a few of them, a solid 90% agree on the most annoying thing you can do at a restaurant - refusing to pay for a meal you ate, but claim you didn’t like.
- Just as many people (90%) say the worst restaurant behavior is to let your kids run around freely.
- On the flip side, half (51%) of those polled think it’s totally acceptable to leave no tip after getting bad service and 75% think it’s fine to take photos of their food.
- The least offensive things restaurant customers can do are asking for a to-go container for leftovers and sending back a dish that wasn’t made as requested.
The 10 Worst Behaviors Of Restaurant Customers
- Say they won’t pay for a dish they didn’t like but ate (90%)
- Allow their children to roam freely (90%)
- Debate menu prices with the staff (84%)
- Stay past the restaurant’s closing time (83%)
- Snap their fingers to get the waiter’s attention (81%)
- Bring outside food or drinks into the restaurant (71%)
- Show up 15 minutes late to a reservation (66%)
- Leave a mess at the table, such as spilled drinks or food crumbs (60%)
- Occupy a table for an extended period during busy hours (58%)
- Flirt with the staff (57%)
Source: Fox 8