Posted on 08/30/2019 11:36:18 PM PDT by Morgana
LITTLE FALLS - Many restaurants promise fast service. But, according to one local customer, a Herkimer County restaurant promotes speed eating, with a 30-minute time limit for dine-in customers.
"In 60+ years I've never been thrown out of a public restaurant until yesterday. The local Little Falls, NY, McDonald's has a new policy to evict customers after 30 minutes. 3 of us having coffee and lunch following Sunday Mass were asked to leave the restaurant after 34 minutes. Another table of 4 women were also evicted. The dining room was essentially cleared," said Jane Malin in a public Facebook post on Monday, adding "Not only was it insulting and embarrassing, it was ridiculous."
The Facebook post quickly drew hundreds of reactions, comments and nearly 1,000 shares as of Monday afternoon. Some offered explanations for the policy, such as diners staying too long and taking advantage of free wifi; others called it horrible customer service.
Malin didn't want to be interviewed on camera. She says the employee who 'evicted' her was very polite, and she asked the worker to convey her displeasure to management.
A spokesperson for Tom Clark, who owns and operates several area McDonald's restaurants, says he does not own or operate the Little Falls restaurant, and does not employ such a policy in his restaurants.
A public relations firm out of Pennsylvania sent a statement, which they attributed to the owner/operator of the Little Falls McDonald's. It did not address our questions, which included whether or not the policy was enforced when the restaurant wasn't full, and how it is enforced; do employees note the time every party sits and watch a running clock to make sure 30 minutes are not exceeded?
(Excerpt) Read more at wktv.com ...
I’d say it all depends on how crowded the place gets at those times. If people who just purchased food can’t find seats, it’s ok to ask those who are lingering for the free wifi to move along.
This. Once or twice a week, I have lunch with a couple of friends. It’s usually an hour or so before lunch, or an hour or so after lunch. We sometimes eat and talk for a couple of hours. I also tend to order more food at times, and if the tables ever fill up, we finish up and leave, because people deserve a place to sit, and the staff works for tips. We also always leave a larger tip. Yesterday, the tip on a $20 meal was $10. We also don’t pick restaurants with limited seating and large demand, because the seating demands constant turnover.
I think this policy, if enacted, will find it’s own solution in a short period of time.
“Free drink refills until we kick you out”
It will. Customers will vote with their feet. They will go out of business and wonder why it happened
“I even saw someone who set up her office at a table and was doing business.”
I see this all the time in Panera. I have never been in one where I didn’t see someone with a laptop and clients. My local Panera is the go-to place for tutoring and Bible study groups on Saturday mornings, and I have never seen anyone asked to leave, even when they got busy.
The first one has her a$$ on backwards.
Not too long ago I saw a note posted on the door of Ole Times that said...
Customers, please do not stay longer than 2 hours. Thank You.
When I got inside I was still laughing and asked...do people really stay two hours? The lady said, you would be surprised.
LOL
Man look at all that shade comes in handy in the summer.
Plus, the waitresses were deprived of any tips the follow-ups would have left. Places like that, IMO, ought to set a reasonable time limit. A few times wife and I had a 1 1/2 hour lunch, but we always double-tipped to make up for it.
I'm ambivalent about fast food places - some seniors DO abuse the practice.
This time limit thing is
rediculous in a restaurant
setting, even for a McDonalds.
People go out to eat mostly
because they don’t have time
to fix breakfast, lunch, or
dinner at home.
I used to own and run a restaurant.
I gave free coffee and a donuts to
local police and sheriff. When I had
a problem with a customer, they were
there within minutes.
If people came in and there were no
tables available, it made my business
seem as if it was the place to be.
Customers would show up at hours that
wouldn’t ordinarily be busy, thereby
ensuring a steady stream of customers
all day long. It’s not to difficult
to adjust one’s mealtimes to coinside
with slow business hours.
If people are in that much of
a hurry to get food in their
belly at a McDonalds, there’s
always the drivethru.
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