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Service time in restaurants doubled in ten years -customers on their cell phones are to blame
dailymail ^ | 13 July 2014 | By David Mccormack

Posted on 07/13/2014 9:43:52 PM PDT by dennisw

After comparing the videos, they found that cell phones have become a large distraction for customers which are preventing them from ordering as efficiently as they once did.

Nowadays customers are too per-occupied with taking photos upon entering, telling the waiters they are having problems connecting to the WiFi, taking photos of their food once it’s delivered to them and bumping into other customers and waiters as they enter and exit the restaurant as a result of texting while walking. Restaurant customers nowadays are too preoccupied with taking photos and telling waiters they are having problems connecting to the WiFi

Anonymous restaurateur reviewed surveillance videos from 2004 and 2014 to discover why service has got so much slower

A manager at a ‘busy NYC restaurant’ claims that customers constantly using their cell phones are to blame for a dramatic increase in the amount of time it takes to be served in restaurants nowadays.

In an anonymous post on the Craigslist 'rants & raves' board, the restaurateur claims to have reviewed surveillance videos from 2004 and 2014 and found a staggering difference in the averagtime it takes to service a customer.

Following their research, the poster found that the average time that a customer spent in the restaurant from start to finish in 2004 was 1 hour and 5 minutes, while in 2014 the average time was 1 hour and 55 minutes. An anonymous restaurant manager claims to have reviewed surveillance videos from 2004 and 2014 and found a staggering difference in the average time it takes to serve a customer because they spend so long on their cell phones

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Food; Society
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To: Foundahardheadedwoman

“Agreed. Once went to pick up a pizza I had ordered. There were four other people waiting all four were texting or playing some kind of game.”

What are they supposed to do? Say hello and strike up a conversation? This ain’t the 1800’s. Everyone gives everyone space, as it should be. In restaurants especially here in L.A., I’m not rude enough to whip out my cell once during the dinner. I converse which is different from waiting for a pizza you pre-ordered.


21 posted on 07/13/2014 10:55:15 PM PDT by max americana (fired liberals in our company last election, and I laughed while they cried (true story))
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To: Foundahardheadedwoman

Order delivery next time.


22 posted on 07/13/2014 10:56:04 PM PDT by miliantnutcase
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To: allendale

I find it very rude to use a cell while dealing with anyone. I believe that this is some kind of show of authority by very insecure, low-esteem individuals.


23 posted on 07/13/2014 11:02:31 PM PDT by The Antiyuppie ("When small men cast long shadows, then it is very late in the day.")
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To: allendale

I find it very rude to use a cell while dealing with anyone. I believe that this is some kind of show of authority by very insecure, low-esteem individuals.


24 posted on 07/13/2014 11:04:13 PM PDT by The Antiyuppie ("When small men cast long shadows, then it is very late in the day.")
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To: max americana

‘What are they supposed to do? Say hello and strike up a conversation? This ain’t the 1800’s.’

What I was really saying was that they were not there, not aware of their surroundings and what was going on around them. They were zombies, and that is not a smart way to be in this world today.


25 posted on 07/13/2014 11:31:01 PM PDT by Foundahardheadedwoman (God don't have a statute of limitations)
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To: laplata

‘It’s pretty disgusting.’

Hope you are referring to them and not my comment.:)

I am one of those guys who sits in a corner booth with a wall at my back and only one way that I can be approached and I watch who or what walks into any restaurant I am in or anywhere else I might be. It is an old habit and has become second nature to me. Not paranoid and not stupid and not interested in being a victim.


26 posted on 07/13/2014 11:38:16 PM PDT by Foundahardheadedwoman (God don't have a statute of limitations)
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To: Foundahardheadedwoman

I know. I hate people who look at their phones every second like their lives depend on it. Most of the time even if I;m on the train (just like most people who ride it) I have it on MP3 mode so I;m listening to music but I can visually scan my surroundings and still be alert.


27 posted on 07/14/2014 12:17:09 AM PDT by max americana (fired liberals in our company last election, and I laughed while they cried (true story))
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To: HiTech RedNeck

That high a percentage of diners taking photos of themselves and their meals has convinced me this restaurant is actually a tourist trap and those aren’t NYers engaging in that behavior.


28 posted on 07/14/2014 12:31:45 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: max americana

I was standing in line 2 back from the a lady at the register trying to buy a pack of cigs while talking on the phone. Instead of stopping her call and telling the clerk what she wanted she pointed towards a rack that must have had 50 different brands on it then grunted when the clerk got close. She finally managed to say ‘green’ the clerk put on the counter a green and white pack the phone lady shook her head and pointed some more, it was like a game of charades or something. After 3 different tries the clerk got it right, the woman, still talking, finally dug out her card. Soon as she got her receipt and card she turned, still talking and went out the door.

The clerk made a rude comment, obviously p.o.ed, and that started me off, I had a black guy in front of me and I said, “She be an impotent person, she a bizness woman gots to stay in touch with her peoples alls the time.” using my best ghetto accent. The black guy laughed the clerk did and I thought it was kind of funny. I get waited on and happened to notice the same lady sitting in her car 90 degree day and it not running still talking away. Must have been trying to raise bail for her busted boyfriend maybe. It was an interesting few minutes and I am sure my comment was racist as hell but it was funny.


29 posted on 07/14/2014 12:52:02 AM PDT by Foundahardheadedwoman (God don't have a statute of limitations)
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To: Foundahardheadedwoman
...not aware of their surroundings and what was going on around them.

I chuckle at the airport when I hear the PA announcement about 'See something, Say Something.' Piece of cake for anybody intnet on doing harm.

30 posted on 07/14/2014 12:56:34 AM PDT by QT3.14 (USA born 7.4.1776 fathered by geniuses, died 11.4.2008 (Suicide) by idiots and traitors)
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To: Foundahardheadedwoman

Nah, it was funny ;)


31 posted on 07/14/2014 1:27:42 AM PDT by max americana (fired liberals in our company last election, and I laughed while they cried (true story))
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To: Foundahardheadedwoman

I didn’t even want a cell phone but my family kept harping on me about it. So I got a cheap plan and as I figured, have now kind of found a “security” in it, seeing as I drive an older car half hour to work at night. It IS convenient but I’m not attached to it whatsoever. One time I was in line at JcPenney and accepted an important call I had been waiting on from the pharmacy. I ended up being waited on and paid for my 2 shirts while on the phone. The male cashier was very rude to me and when I got off the phone, said “Thank you” and walked away with my bag I was all set to call customer service to complain. Then it hit me that it was probably the fact I was on the phone during part of the transaction and he felt that was rude. Well “I” felt it was rude of him to just assume I’m one of those people who do it often, an take it personally. I remember sitting in a doctor’s office with 5 other people and all of them had their noses buried in their phones. I miss the days when you could actually strike up a little conversation with someone.


32 posted on 07/14/2014 1:57:27 AM PDT by kelly4c (http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/post?id=2900389%2C41#help)
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To: laplata; HiTech RedNeck

>>Sometimes my “Excuse me” is in a rude tone of voice.<<

I channel my late USMC Drill Instructor father and bellow, “MAKE A HOLE!”


33 posted on 07/14/2014 4:54:59 AM PDT by ItsOurTimeNow ("Scheming demons dressed in kingly guise, beating down the multitudes and scoffing at the wise.")
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To: Foundahardheadedwoman

It’s a strange kind of need for constant entertainment, I just don’t get it. No one can seem to just sit quietly and think anymore.


34 posted on 07/14/2014 4:57:04 AM PDT by ItsOurTimeNow ("Scheming demons dressed in kingly guise, beating down the multitudes and scoffing at the wise.")
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To: Foundahardheadedwoman
Cell phones should be outlawed.

Do you own one?

35 posted on 07/14/2014 6:03:01 AM PDT by Larry Lucido
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To: laplata
Sometimes my “Excuse me” is in a rude tone of voice. Screw them.

I've had to go from "Excuse me" in a polite tone, to a bolder tone, to a "MOVE!" to get the attention of some.

36 posted on 07/14/2014 6:49:41 AM PDT by IYAS9YAS (Has anyone seen my tagline? It was here yesterday. I seem to have misplaced it.)
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To: max americana
What are they supposed to do? Say hello and strike up a conversation? This ain’t the 1800’s.

It's certainly a good way to become a statistic. I can't stand people who bury themselves in their phones. I've actually had to grab one by the coat to prevent them walking out into traffic.

37 posted on 07/14/2014 6:53:09 AM PDT by IYAS9YAS (Has anyone seen my tagline? It was here yesterday. I seem to have misplaced it.)
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To: dennisw

The customer is always right. Restaurants need to adapt.


38 posted on 07/14/2014 6:59:58 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: dfwgator

Disagree.

I see many of these cellular folks on their phones, oblivious to others while they are blocking aisles and shelf access in the grocery stores.

The only thing worse is Annie and Sally running into each other in the store and stop with carts blocking mid-aisle for a conversation, since they hadn’t seen each other since last Saturday.

I have considered buying one of those cellphone jammers and using it inside the stores — just for aggravation.


39 posted on 07/14/2014 7:11:39 AM PDT by TomGuy
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To: mlo
posted from Iphone at Waffle Hut.

:)


40 posted on 07/14/2014 7:20:29 AM PDT by TomGuy
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