Restaurant staff rushes patrons out door
(this article was first published in the LifeStyles section of the March 9, 2009 edition of the Lowell Sun. If you're interested in viewing other articles, click here.)

Stress Unit
By MICHAEL HAYDEN, Sun Correspondent
Lowell Sun

DEAR MIKE: I'm very angry about a recent incident at a restaurant and I'm not sure what to do about it. The other night I was to meet a couple of friends for drinks and dinner at a restaurant we have been frequenting for years.

For some reason, the waitress seemed to be in a rather foul mood but we just ignored it. The two of us decided to go ahead and order, since the third friend hadn't arrived yet. We did tell the waitress we would be joined by someone else and she seemed very annoyed by that.

A little while later, our other friend showed up. She ordered and the three of us sat there enjoying our meals and conversation. The waitress came over to the table to ask if we were all set and my friend Brittany asked if she could order a sandwich to go. Well, you would have thought she had just insulted the waitress's entire family. She responded "fine" and took the order in a huff.

As we sat there finishing our drinks and waiting for the takeout order, we noticed the waitress staring at us and talking to the host at the front door. Suddenly, the host approached us and said he would like to buy us a drink at the bar but he needed us to leave our table right away because he had people waiting.

We looked toward the bar, where people were lined up four deep. There was no way we were going over there to finish our conversation and, besides, we were still waiting for our food to go.

We politely declined the offer but the host still insisted he needed our table and that he thought we had been there long enough. The truth is we were there less than two hours and had spent over $100.

On the way out, I attempted to complain to the host but he did not want to hear it. When I told him we had been coming here for year, his reply was, "My brother-in-law owns this place and I really do not care how long you have been coming here. Good night, ladies!"

I was baffled by this treatment. I am not sure I could ever go back there. I feel I should do something about this but do not know what. Do you have any suggestions? -- Farrah

DEAR FARRAH: I have heard about rude people working in restaurants but this takes the cake. I do not blame you for being upset. The host and the waitress were totally out of line. I don't care how busy a place is you never tell people they have to leave. I do not imagine that there were any signs posted stating you can only occupy a table for a certain about of time.

I would suggest that you write a letter to the owner and let him know exactly what happened. Let him know your history with his establishment and tell him you believe an apology is in order. Let him know that you have enjoyed your experiences in his restaurant up until now. Let him know that you have never had a problem bragging about his place, so if you do not get an apology you will not have a problem telling people how poorly you were treated.

Word-of-mouth can make or break a business and in this instance, it is on the verge of breaking this restaurant. Good luck. -- Mike

Michael Hayden is a certified anger management counselor who runs Bay State Anger Management and Counseling in Chelmsford. Send questions to him at Stressunit@aol.com or send mail to: Stress Unit, c/o The Editor, Box 1477, Lowell, MA 01853.