detlef Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 So, last night was "bring your little kid to Jujube" night it seems. We're not the sort of place that gets a whole lot of kids and I often catch crap from people because I only have booster chairs not high chairs. Frankly, it is simply not in my best interest to encourage family dining. To begin with, you make no money off kids and they make a huge mess. Secondly, the parents themselves rarely go for it terms of nice wine, etc. when they’ve got their kids with them. Lastly, the chance of them being a total pain and bothering the rest of your customers is unfortunately high. In short, they’re just not worth the effort. Of course, one can’t take a stance against kids without coming off as an a-hole and losing other business, so all you can really do is simply not position yourself as one of the first choices people have when they’re bringing out the youngins for dinner. However, we have a section of our restaurant that actually works great for kids. Our kitchen is surrounded by a large bar (picture a diner-style) but it is in a separate room from the rest of the restaurant. Basically, there was an existing kitchen that I thought was way too big relative to the dining area so we just made do and figured we could squeeze another 15 or so seats in there. It’s pretty much just used as overflow walk-in dining on busy nights. Or kids. I love to sit people with young kids over there because the kids dig watching the action and it’s already sort of loud in there so it’s not like they’re going to disrupt anyone else. So, back to last night. Two women (guessing mother and daughter) come in with a young boy (about 4 or 5). I show them the kitchen bar but they would “really prefer something nicer”. Off to the main dining room and Jr. proceeds to play drums with his chopstick the entire evening while his mother did nothing more than meekly scold him. Two more women walk in with very young girls. One is a toddler and she’s already squirming and fussing the minute they walk in. The one with the toddler gets bent when I tell her that all I have is booster chairs and I tell her that some bring in a car seat and that tends to work pretty well. Again, I show them the kitchen bar telling her that kids really enjoy it over there. “We’d like some quieter. I mean we’d like to hear each other talk.”, she says in a rather annoyed tone. It’s all I can do not to remind her that wherever I put her is going to stop being quiet the second I seat her and her little cretin there. None the less, off to the dining room I go and the little one proceeds to throw food and scream. To the woman’s credit, she continually takes her out of the restaurant rather than just allowing her to ruin the evening for all around them. The whole time I’m thinking, “If you’d only freaking listened, you could actually still be sitting with your friend “hearing her talk””. Of course, they spent way less than a typical table of two would have and it took my busboy like 10 minutes cleaning it up, freaking rice was everywhere. They also tipped like 10%. Yet another table, this time 4 adults and 4 very young kids (say 3-7) come in looking for a table. At that time, I didn’t have a table large enough in the dining room and it was going to be a little while until two adjacent tables got up so I could push them together. Thus, I was actually able to sell them on the freaking kitchen bar against their initial protests “until something else opened up”. They settle in and the kids, as always, are totally enthralled. The adults are having a great time and even when the kids got restless, they were the only ones over there so they could get up and screw around. By the time the tables opened up they said they were totally happy there and thanked me for the suggestion. Finally! I understand that people want to be able to take their kids out to nicer places. I just wish they wouldn’t be so damned entitled and refuse to admit that they should make compromises for the sake of everyone. I do have some customers with really cool kids who come in, have a nice time, spend money, and keep their kids in check. I wish they weren't the exception. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Beatings Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I wouldn't bring the kids to a nicer restaurant ever... when we bring them out to eat with us, its places like Chili's or Perkins. And even at those places, if the kids get out of hand I will take them out of the restaurant while my wife gets the check and boxes up the food. We will NOT be the ones to ruin everybody else's night out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goopster24 Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I wouldn't bring the kids to a nicer restaurant ever... when we bring them out to eat with us, its places like Chili's or Perkins. And even at those places, if the kids get out of hand I will take them out of the restaurant while my wife gets the check and boxes up the food. We will NOT be the ones to ruin everybody else's night out. I wish more people had that attitude. It is so annoying to go to a nice restaurant with my mom just to spend some time talking to her and all you hear is crying and yelling. Detlef, I am in the same boat as you and I would be feeling the same way. My family owned a restaurant but it was carry out only. I could only imagine if my dad was still alive and had a sit down restaurant how he would act towards families like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Just boils down to growing inconsideration anywhere. My wife and I don't dare take our young son anywhere really nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 I wouldn't bring the kids to a nicer restaurant ever... when we bring them out to eat with us, its places like Chili's or Perkins. And even at those places, if the kids get out of hand I will take them out of the restaurant while my wife gets the check and boxes up the food. We will NOT be the ones to ruin everybody else's night out. That's refreshing to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Why in the world would a parent even want to take a kid to even a half-way decent restaurant? I feel embarrassed if my kid starts acting up a little bit even at a place like McDonald's or Applebees and I can't even imagine thinking of taking a kid to a nice restaurant. Inconsiderate f*cks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Cornelius Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I wouldn't bring the kids to a nicer restaurant ever... when we bring them out to eat with us, its places like Chili's or Perkins. And even at those places, if the kids get out of hand I will take them out of the restaurant while my wife gets the check and boxes up the food. We will NOT be the ones to ruin everybody else's night out. same here we do go to a few nicer burger/steak joints that have good food... we usually tip 30 % when we have the boys with... they leave a mess and the place we go to regular the waitresses want us in there section because they know we tip well.... plus i am hot so the like to look at my nice ass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 (edited) I'll take my kids out to eat. And if they misbehave, we're off to the bathroom for a chat. If it happens again, it's time to head for the bathroom for a whuppin'. Kids are perfectly capable of eating like a decent human. And my kids know to behave well enough so we don't have to visit the bathroom. Edited July 27, 2007 by CaptainHook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 I'll take my kids out to eat. And if they misbehave, we're off to the bathroom for a chat. If it happens again, it's time to head for the bathroom for a whuppin'. Kids are perfectly capable of eating like a decent human. And my kids know to behave well enough so we don't have to visit the bathroom. That's pretty much how it was when I was a kid. We didn't go out much but it was pretty freaking clear that we were going to get away with absolutely nothing. A trip outside was just going to be the beginning if we started acting like little a-holes. Thing is, I don't ever remember my father raising a hand to me, but dude had one of those looks that told you not to push it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDFFFreak Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 (edited) I am determined to get out with my 1 year old kid (and possibly more someday). I will leave if she is being too disruptive, but she's very good as of now. It's interesting to hear the other side. Edited July 28, 2007 by TDFFFreak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 I wouldn't bring the kids to a nicer restaurant ever... when we bring them out to eat with us, its places like Chili's or Perkins. And even at those places, if the kids get out of hand I will take them out of the restaurant while my wife gets the check and boxes up the food. We will NOT be the ones to ruin everybody else's night out. More power to you. That's exactly the attitude we always took. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 Oh yeah......Detlef, when we finally get around to visiting your fine establishment, I promise my kids won't be a pain in the ass. Well, they are in their twenties..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 Why in the world would a parent even want to take a kid to even a half-way decent restaurant? I feel embarrassed if my kid starts acting up a little bit even at a place like McDonald's or Applebees and I can't even imagine thinking of taking a kid to a nice restaurant. Inconsiderate f*cks. When the boy was 17 months old, he threw a fit in Applebees and I was mortified. It's a bad age for restaurants because they don't sit still, and they don't really respond to harsh looks and quiet words. I took him outside, but it was a lost cause. We packed up our food and left and haven't been back to a dinner meal out in a while. He's much better at lunch though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 We had dinner tonight at IHOP with our two-year-old. That's about the highlight of our dining experiences these days. Mrs. Egret and I are going out for our anniversary on Sunday sans Egret Jr. I'm looking forward to having a nice meal... seared tuna. Yummy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 kids eating sushi can be cute though sushi chopstick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh 0ne Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 We've taken ours with us from day one. Going out is common for them. The older one, who is 2 1/2 knows that any type of deplorable behavior will not be tolerated. He gets that message at home, and knows it applies when we're out. We have never had to go outside, and we have never disturbed other diners. Parents who chose to try and discipline their children when they're out and let thme do whatever the f*ck they want at home are wasting their time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh 0ne Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 And FWIW detlef, I'm totally with you. There is nothing worse than sh*tbag kids out in public, it drives me flipping nuts. But, you can't blame the kids, it's the a-holes that brought them in that are really to blame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 When the boy was 17 months old, he threw a fit in Applebees and I was mortified. It's a bad age for restaurants because they don't sit still, and they don't really respond to harsh looks and quiet words. I took him outside, but it was a lost cause. We packed up our food and left and haven't been back to a dinner meal out in a while. He's much better at lunch though. The difference between lunch and dinner is tiredness, of course, but you knew that. We've taken ours with us from day one. Going out is common for them. The older one, who is 2 1/2 knows that any type of deplorable behavior will not be tolerated. He gets that message at home, and knows it applies when we're out. We have never had to go outside, and we have never disturbed other diners. Parents who chose to try and discipline their children when they're out and let thme do whatever the f*ck they want at home are wasting their time. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 (edited) Typically my son does really well when we go out to eat. He is 19 months now. We haven'ttaken him to a really nice places. Just places like Chili's, Applebees, etc. We had one time when he was around 6 mths old where he just freaked and we had our food boxed up and left. Other than that he has been good with it. We were aware of how long he could sit before getting restless. It was all about timing for us. We knew how long he would stay calm before getting restless and tried to make it so we were done before the "internal timer" that kids have go off. When they reach a certain time they will start to get a little restless or a little louder when very young. We were fortunate enough to figure that out pretty early. Another thing that we do that helps keep our son calm is we order his meal right away when we order drinks and appetizers. He takes awhile to eat his meal anyways and it keeps him occupied longer. Edited July 28, 2007 by max Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 We've taken ours with us from day one. Going out is common for them. The older one, who is 2 1/2 knows that any type of deplorable behavior will not be tolerated. He gets that message at home, and knows it applies when we're out. We have never had to go outside, and we have never disturbed other diners. Parents who chose to try and discipline their children when they're out and let thme do whatever the f*ck they want at home are wasting their time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 The difference between lunch and dinner is tiredness, of course, but you knew that. Well... duh. 6:30 to 7:30 is the cranky hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.