How long will you/have you waited for seating in a restaurant?

My max wait time is controlled by the quality of my date. The more beautiful, charming and patient she is, the longer I will wait.
If I am just getting food on the road, 20 minutes is my max.
Family dining is in the control of the oldest female in attendance, if she wants to wait an hour, so be it.

I'll wait a while if I have to for a nice place. I don't want to wait more than 45 mins of so if I can help it, but I have waited over an hour before. But, these are all times that a woman was involved so if they want to wait, then I will wait.

There is no wait at Tarheel Q....can get a seat pretty quick these days.....

I have waited as much as an hour. I get very impatient!


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If it is somewhere i want to eat I will generally wait however long it takes. If I am just hungry and want food 10 minutes is about it.

Trophybucks said:

There is no wait at Tarheel Q....can get a seat pretty quick these days.....

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Tarheel Q opening back up Monday the 29th........first 300 customers get a free roll of toilet paper!

mudflap said:

Tarheel Q opening back up Monday the 29th........first 300 customers get a free roll of toilet paper!

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They might need it!

I'll wait like 10-15mins if just going out to dinner....have waited up to 1 1/2 hours for family stuff..

Food is food...30 minutes and I am done. I don't care if its the best food on the planet. It is still food and I can eat somewhere else...even food lion rotisserie chicken is better than waiting an hour or two to eat.

mudflap said:

Tarheel Q opening back up Monday the 29th........first 300 customers get a free roll of toilet paper!

Click to expand...

what was the word on their problem? If they are opening that soon it must have been easily fixable.

Guess it depends on how bad my wife wants to eat there, but we also try to go a little early or late to beat peak rush times. Most of you don't live in Greenville so I will tell you that on the weekends and most week nights from 6-8 your gonna wait just about everywhere and anyplace you don't have to wait you shouldn't be eating at anyways. Same goes for lunch especially on Sundays if you don't beat the church crowd then wait times are gonna be 30-45 mins. Usually though if its just me and the wife its never more than 15-20 mins , but big family groups have been 30-45 mins many many times.

I seem to keep finding that NCCatfisher and I have an awfully lot of things in common. LOL.

oldest school said:

what was the word on their problem? If they are opening that soon it must have been easily fixable.

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Salmonella is what TV news said.

15 max and then I'm out.

Good thread!

Wait to get seated? Not very long. In Raleigh there are TOOOO many options. In fact the MRS and I can drive by a place and tell if we are going to eat there or not based on their parking lot and commotion inside the front doors.

we HAVE waited up to half an hour say certain days where we had a hinkering.

I remember when Applebees had free dinner for Veterans, and her Father (Vietnam) wanted to meet and eat there. 2.5 hour wait. For Applebees!!. I lasted .5 seconds and bought the whole family dinner elsewhere.


I can tell though that some replies are from folks that don't have any restaurant experience. I have a little bit and I can tell you imho you would be hard pressed to find a more ridiculous customer base.
Imagine having to run a place that is open darn near 360 days a year. Staff a place that is open on weekdays, weekends, days, nights, wee hours. Imagine this staff earns $2.13 per hour PLUS TIP. Serving both food, and drinks (alchohol also), while trying to keep tables rotating to increase sales.

Now, lets add recent components into the mix such as reservations, call ahead seating etc. So say you are "outflack" restaurant. You have 8 tables called in for 5:30 You have 8 tables available at 5:15. 8 tables of people walk in at 5:16. Do you really turn those tables away, or start a wait? Can y'all imagine how many reservations or call aheads never show up? I'd say seat em! let the reservations or call aheads wait a little. Might tick them off, but a bird in the hand.... If a reservation has to wait 15 or so minutes, they are probably going to do so, as their options are limited.

Then lets add LARGE tables. Which I'll never understand. Why do you have to butt up (4) 4 tops so 10 people can sit together? As if they could all hear each other?

THEN, lets add cell cameras into the mix. (interesting quick read here).
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-phones-blame-claims-busy-NYC-restaurant.html

If I ran a restaurant, most of y'all would never visit because of the rules I'd enforce lol. No reservations. (2) 8 top tables, (4) 6 top tables, no calling ahead, redhead only staff.

I hate to say it, but I enjoyed our dining experience while abroad. In Greece, you walk into a restaurant, get seated, but thats where the similarites end. I got yelled at for "rushing (pounding beers)". There, if a table is available, they seat you. If one is not, you move one. That table is "yours" for the evening. No pressure to get you dessert, or get your check, in fact every dinner we ate lasted at least 2 hours. The tables NEVER turn over. The server only expects "you" at that table all night, when the restaurant is full, other diners move on down the road.

That probably won't work here I know that, but it was dang sure nice to see it in person. Turned an ordeal into a pleasant experience.

Was at the coast this weekend waited 20 minutes at the dead dog saloon and 45 at creek ratz. Had a drink and enjoyed the marsh walk while we waited both nights. Like someone else has said if you are in a busy place on a Saturday night and the restaurant has no wait that is a problem.


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Wait at Outback...first time at one about 8 years ago I told the waitress it was my first time. She asked what took me so long. Said I could do better at home. I was right.