Posted on 05/05/2006 12:54:09 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
DES MOINES, Iowa - Wendy Dershem may think twice before leaving that egg roll on her plate at her next Chinese buffet. The Des Moines woman, her boyfriend and her two children were kicked out of a restaurant last week after management accused her of leaving too much food on her plate.
"They told us we are not welcome there anymore," said Dershem, a repeat customer at the Dragon House buffet. "We waste too much food. But the buffet is all you can eat. And you know kids. They won't always eat everything and they want something else."
Dershem said she paid her $5.95 fee on Saturday but was abruptly told to leave after eating one plate of food.
Employees said they had been watching her family on previous trips to the restaurant and were fed up with her habits.
"They just take one bite and throw it away," said cashier Lin Huyen. "They take four egg rolls and crab ragoon, take one bite of egg roll and throw the whole plate. That is wasting food."
Dershem said she was shocked by the scolding and complained to management when she paid her check. "It was embarrassing. ... If it's a one-stop buffet, post it," she said.
Dragon House manager Kent Cao said his restaurant offers all you can eat buffet, not all you can waste. Dershem's family took food, didn't finish it and then piled on the same food again, he said.
"Shes done that too many times," Cao said. "We would welcome her back if she has respect and knows what she wants."
Bob Oberbillig, an adjunct professor at the Drake Legal Clinic, says the patron would have no legal case against exclusion from a business unless there are other factors such as racial discrimination or mental health issues.
"An establishment can exclude people if they smoke or waste food," he said. "It's still a private business."
Someone is a jerk here. My vote's on the food wasters.
"Wife say we no make money when you here"
I used to work in a buffet restaurant when I was in high school. One family would come in every Saturday afternoon, stuff themselves to the gills, then fall asleep at the table. After about a half hour or so, they would wake up and start all over.
Is that Shaquille O'Neal after his career?
"Bob Oberbillig, an adjunct professor at the Drake Legal Clinic, says the patron would have no legal case against exclusion from a business unless there are other factors such as racial discrimination or mental health issues."
Ya wanna bet a whole family is going to suddenly be diagnosed from the DSM as "compulsive overeaters"? I predict this Chinese Restaurant is going to pay for some therapy.
Me...me...me...me....
What a jerk she is (and bringing up her kids to be the same way too). Good riddance.
"Hey, the sign says 'All you can eat' not 'You can eat it all'!"
So were they charged for one meal or two?
Not fair. It's all about meeeeeeeeeee.
Do I smell lawsuit?
Exactly. All you can eat, not all you can put on your plate.
Did they try the old "There are people starving in China!" guilt-trip first?
Why, if the staff at the restaurant had been watching them previously, did they let them come in and pay up front, then confront them?
What kind of doofus takes one bite of an eggroll, throws the rest away, then goes and gets another eggroll? Does she take one bite of eight eggrolls in order to eat a full eggroll portion? If so, why???
You go home now. You no come here no more!
I'll have to go to that place and leave a big tip.
God bless America.
/johnny
"Mr. Simpson, this is the most blatant case of false advertising since my lawsuit against the movie 'The Neverending Story!'"
-Lionel Hutz, Esq.
Sounds like some kind of experimental art project.
Everyone in the place gets up, grabs a plate of food, returns to their tables with the food, pays for the food, but then everyone mysteriously leaves the restaurant en mass, immediately.
The wait staff is not impressed, but Warhol would have enjoyed it.
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