[Dianna]

One was a Friendly's (I think I'm spelling that right), which I believe is a national chain, even though I'd never run across one before. The other was a local place... not a Mom and Pop... they had hired managers.

This is your problem in a nutshell! I've NEVER been to a Friendly's which had good service. Never! And we've vistited quite a few in a number of different states.

We finally decided the corp office must demand bad service.

[visualops]

I worked at a Friendly's for about a month, and quit. Between the terrible tips and terrible management, it was one of the worst jobs ever. You had to spend hours learning the exact presentation (I think they cared more that the food look like the picture than taste good). What that mattered if you weren't the one cooking I never understood. And, because of a lawsuit (gotta love lawyers) if someone asked for a Coke or Pepsi, you had to remind them it was "Friendly Cola". The place just had a bland lousy atmosphere, and it seemed no matter what you did, it didn't get any better. No wonder business was bad and it was depressing to work there.

[07055]

There is a famous hot dog restaurant just off Route 3 in Clifton, NJ that has the *worst* service in the world. Even worse than Friendly's (And I concur with your opinion of their service.)

At this restaurant, the waitresses are too busy sitting at a table smoking cigarettes and counting their money to bother taking your order.