>>When I go to Walmart (or any other retail/department store) I don’t have an employee of the store waiting on me, bringing me items from around the store so I can see if I want to purchase that/those items while I sit comfortably at a table.<<
One of the reasons my wife and I stopped going to restaurants is because it became more of a hassle than eating at home. First you have to find and pay for parking. Then you wait for a seat. Then you find you either get too little or too much service. I hate being asked every couple of minutes how my meal is. And then I want to leave, but first I gotta get the bill. Then they have to notice that I am ready to pay. Then they have to process it. Then, FINALLY, I can leave and go find my car and drive home.
More and more we do take out (which never includes a tip). If we want really good food, we make it ourselves.
Another way around the whole thing is to just go to a buffet. We learned to love those things when we visited our farm in Kentucky last week. We found several Chinese buffet’s that were, frankly, pretty good. Self serve and no tip. $13 for both of us.
Where I live we do not have to pay for parking (nor look for our vehicle once we are ready to leave). We also pick carefully the time of day we go to a restaurant to avoid having to wait for long periods (or make reservations). Most places we go to the service is generally very good (though at one of our favorite places the service and food has greatly diminished - we haven’t been there for a long time as a result). Most of the time our wait person has been prompt with the bill, though occasionlly they are slower than I would like (but, my wife takes longer to finish her meal than I do, so I have to wait around longer than I’d like anyway).
The best food I’ve eaten, by and large, is made at home (with the exception of the two times we went to Ruth Crist - wow, the food and service there is just outstanding). We don’t eat out often either. It’s way cheaper to make good food at home, and then I don’t have to drive to and from.
So do I. Don't even want to be asked once. If there's a problem I'll go to the manager and chew his head off. I prefer to order at a counter at a place with a self-serve beverage bar. No use for table service, ever.
Another way around the whole thing is to just go to a buffet.
I agree -- solves numerous problems.
I really don't understand why I get so annoyed by waitpersons recently asking me "how's your food tasting?"
Of course, you could say that it gives the appearance of stifling ahead of time any comment of bad service, missing items, and so forth; but that's not really the reason it bugs me. My annoyance is just mysterious.