[The message on the bill reads: "SUCK MY DICK **** FACE" - click on the link
to see a copy of the bill. Maybe they had "cybercat" as their server,
lol...]


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...re/7253002.stm


Restaurant sorry over F word bill

"The message was printed in capital letters on the bill
A restaurant owner has apologised after diners had their very own F word
experience - without Gordon Ramsay.

Ten friends found the abusive and sexually-explicit message on their bill at
Joe Delucci's Italian restaurant in Bird Street, Lichfield, Staffordshire.

Diner Clare Watkin said she thought it was written after they complained
about poor service.

The party from Walsall had gone to the restaurant on Friday. Owner Nigel
Langsdon has begun an investigation.

Ms Watkin said: "I couldn't believe it. The bill read 'fish cakes', which
one of us had for a starter, and it was written right above it - absolutely
disgusting language.

"We actually booked the table for 8 o' clock in the evening, by the time
they had taken our order it was quarter to nine and we didn't actually
receive our food until quarter past 10."

She added: "I'd like a written apology from the restaurant and I'd also like
some compensation.

"I think that the way that we've been spoken to is absolutely outrageous."

TV chef Gordon Ramsay's foul-mouthed diatribes on his Channel 4 show The F
Word have given viewers an insight into the type of language often used in
the restaurant kitchen.

Joe Delucci's owner Mr Langsdon said the message had been meant to be seen
only by kitchen staff and he did not know how it ended up as an item on the
receipt.

He said: "That shouldn't come out on the bill, so we've got to find out
what's gone wrong there.

"But we have apologised unreservedly to the girls concerned and said that
they're very welcome to come back and have a free meal and we'd like them
to."

He has also offered to donate the bill for their meal to charity.

The cost of the meal came to £284.68, including a 10% service charge..."


</>

"Gregory Morrow" > wrote in message
...
> [The message on the bill reads: "SUCK MY DICK **** FACE" - click on the
> link
> to see a copy of the bill. Maybe they had "cybercat" as their server,
> lol...]
>
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...re/7253002.stm
>
>
> Restaurant sorry over F word bill
>
(snippage)
> Joe Delucci's owner Mr Langsdon said the message had been meant to be seen
> only by kitchen staff and he did not know how it ended up as an item on
> the
> receipt.
>

Why on earth should it have been meant to be seen by the kitchen staff? If
someone was irritated by a disgruntled patron (and it seems they had a right
to be) they can grouse about it (verbally) in the kitchen. Fer cryin' out
loud, why put it in writing for *anyone* to see?!

Jill

"jmcquown" > wrote

>> Joe Delucci's owner Mr Langsdon said the message had been meant to be
>> seen
>> only by kitchen staff and he did not know how it ended up as an item on
>> the
>> receipt.

> Why on earth should it have been meant to be seen by the kitchen staff?
> If someone was irritated by a disgruntled patron (and it seems they had a
> right to be) they can grouse about it (verbally) in the kitchen. Fer
> cryin' out loud, why put it in writing for *anyone* to see?!

The same thing happened around here a few years ago. People
were getting their bills with commentary ... nasty stuff referring to
their appearance, religion, etc.

Fat girl in ugly green dress ... stupid stuff like that. How it got
on their bill, I don't know.

nancy

jmcquown wrote:

> "Gregory Morrow" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
>
>
> > [The message on the bill reads: "SUCK MY DICK **** FACE" - click on the
> > link
> > to see a copy of the bill. *Maybe they had "cybercat" as their server,
> > lol...]
>
> >http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...re/7253002.stm
>
> > Restaurant sorry over F word bill
>
> (snippage)
> > Joe Delucci's owner Mr Langsdon said the message had been meant to be seen
> > only by kitchen staff and he did not know how it ended up as an item on
> > the
> > receipt.
>
> Why on earth should it have been meant to be seen by the kitchen staff? *If
> someone was irritated by a disgruntled patron (and it seems they had a right
> to be) they can grouse about it (verbally) in the kitchen. *Fer cryin' out
> loud, why put it in writing for *anyone* to see?!


Well, Jill, if you check the copy of the bill you'll see that the
charge for the malediction was only "0.00"...

;-)

This was a group of ten women, I'm wondering if it wasn't some sort
of obnoxious "hen" party group, e.g., a group of young gals who get
all tarted up and go out for a night on the town, typically with the
intention of eventually getting dead drunk and then laid...the male
equivalent is a "stag" party. A lot on this in the UK press, they've
spiked the alcoholism rate and are generally rowdy and disruptive.
With the advent of cheap European flights cities like Prague and
Tallinn and Budapest are over - run with these UK party groups.
They've become a scourge...

Or maybe this is not the case...

I'd be interested to read more on this...putting that on a bill is
pretty "severe".

Maybe some of our UK pals can chime in here with more info...


--
Best
Greg

Gregory Morrow wrote:

LOL! I saw this on The Register and posted about it too. WTF are you
doing awake so early again, Dammit?
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Food is an important part of a balanced diet. - Fran Lebowitz

ChattyCathy wrote:

> Gregory Morrow wrote:
>
> LOL! I saw this on The Register and posted about it too. WTF are you
> doing awake so early again, Dammit?


I'm with Animal Control and I'm out bagging "cybercats" very early...

;-p

A poster on rec.travel.europe posted the BBC link to this story, his
subject header was "Coming to Volendam?". He's a Brit expat living in
Holland and he's always commenting on the atrocious service in Dutch
restos...


--
Best
Greg

Michael "Dog3" wrote:
> "jmcquown" > dropped this
> : in rec.food.cooking
>
>> Why on earth should it have been meant to be seen by the kitchen
>> staff? If someone was irritated by a disgruntled patron (and it seems
>> they had a right to be) they can grouse about it (verbally) in the
>> kitchen. Fer cryin' out loud, why put it in writing for *anyone* to
>> see?!
>
> I'm guessing, and it's just a guess, the chit went from the computer back
> to the kitchen when the order was put in. The waiter probably had something
> going on with the chef, maybe a fight, maybe it was just a joke. The words
> obviously printed out on the receipt to give to the patron. Looks like a
> huge misunderstanding to me. The service *was* slow though and I think the
> woman that "wants compensation" should suck the dick.

But would he *really* want her to? That's the question <wink>

People are always quick to complain about "bad service", but certain
patrons deserve it, IMHO... That's why I never took a "holiday job" as a
waitress like a lot of my friends did in my high school days - I knew
that a few diners would have ended up with their dinner over their heads
if I had had to deal with some of the ones I've seen - and I would have
been out of a job real quick. <veg>
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Food is an important part of a balanced diet. - Fran Lebowitz

"Michael "Dog3"" > wrote in message
6.121...
> Gregory Morrow > dropped this
> :
> in rec.food.cooking
>
>> This was a group of ten women, I'm wondering if it wasn't some sort
>> of obnoxious "hen" party group, e.g., a group of young gals who get
>> all tarted up and go out for a night on the town, typically with the
>> intention of eventually getting dead drunk and then laid...the male
>> equivalent is a "stag" party. A lot on this in the UK press, they've
>> spiked the alcoholism rate and are generally rowdy and disruptive.
>> With the advent of cheap European flights cities like Prague and
>> Tallinn and Budapest are over - run with these UK party groups.
>> They've become a scourge...
>>
>> Or maybe this is not the case...
>
> I don't think we'll really know. Besides, it doesn't matter. Putting
> anything on a bill, let alone something like that, is inexcusable.
> Compensating them for their meal and drinks is appropriate but no more
> IMO. Sounds like the service was slow and things were backed up in the
> kitchen. I still think it was a computer glitch of some kind.
>
You shouldn't be allowed to type "commentary" to be added to a
computer-generated bill! Is this something new?

Jill

jmcquown > wrote in message
. ..
[snip]
> You shouldn't be allowed to type "commentary" to
> be added to a computer-generated bill! Is this
> something new?

The new resto software has a comments prompt where each server
"personalizes" a thank you to the customer, along the order of
"Thank you for dining at XZY. We loved serving you that quality
well-done veal without worry!" Conversely, I'd bet there's one
for the kitchen, too, where you note any special orders -- no
berries, alcohol-free, etc.

The Ranger

ChattyCathy wrote on Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:49:05 +0200:

C> Michael "Dog3" wrote:
??>> "jmcquown" > dropped this
??>> : in
rec.food.cooking
??>>
??>>> Why on earth should it have been meant to be seen by the
??>>> kitchen staff? If someone was irritated by a disgruntled
??>>> patron (and it seems they had a right to be) they can
??>>> grouse about it (verbally) in the kitchen. Fer cryin'
??>>> out loud, why put it in writing for *anyone* to see?!
??>>
??>> I'm guessing, and it's just a guess, the chit went from
??>> the computer back to the kitchen when the order was put
??>> in. The waiter probably had something going on with the
??>> chef, maybe a fight, maybe it was just a joke. The words
??>> obviously printed out on the receipt to give to the
??>> patron. Looks like a huge misunderstanding to me. The
??>> service *was* slow though and I think the woman that
??>> "wants compensation" should suck the dick.

C> But would he *really* want her to? That's the question
C> <wink>

C> People are always quick to complain about "bad service", but
C> certain patrons deserve it, IMHO... That's why I never took
C> a "holiday job" as a waitress like a lot of my friends did
C> in my high school days - I knew that a few diners would have
C> ended up with their dinner over their heads if I had had to
C> deal with some of the ones I've seen - and I would have been
C> out of a job real quick. <veg> --

This is a topic that has been discussed from time to time over
the years and I suppose a *complaint* to the waiter for slow
service, as the nearest representative of the restaurant, is in
order. If waiters have any sense they will apologies to the
patrons but they don't deserve berating for something that is
probably beyond their control, even you are tempted and I'll
admit it is hard to resist. The berating should be reserved for
the manager!

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

"Michael "Dog3"" > wrote in message
6.121...
> ChattyCathy > dropped this
> : in rec.food.cooking
>
>>
>> But would he *really* want her to? That's the question <wink>
>
> I wouldn't care but her hubster might
>
>>
>> People are always quick to complain about "bad service", but certain
>> patrons deserve it, IMHO... That's why I never took a "holiday job" as
>> a waitress like a lot of my friends did in my high school days - I
>> knew that a few diners would have ended up with their dinner over
>> their heads if I had had to deal with some of the ones I've seen - and
>> I would have been out of a job real quick. <veg>
>
> Quite a few of my friends own restaurants and I've actually worked in
> them now and then when they experienced staff shortages.

hahaha! They had "staff shortages," so you were good enough to help out,
is that how it was?

They may have been having "staff shortages, " but I think you were having
cash shortages, Michael.

James Silverton wrote:

>
> This is a topic that has been discussed from time to time over the years
> and I suppose a *complaint* to the waiter for slow service, as the
> nearest representative of the restaurant, is in order. If waiters have
> any sense they will apologies to the patrons but they don't deserve
> berating for something that is probably beyond their control, even you
> are tempted and I'll admit it is hard to resist. The berating should be
> reserved for the manager!

In some cases, yes - but lemme tell about a friend of mine... We met at
work and became friends; very nice guy, until you got him into a
restaurant....

We used to go to for lunch/dinner fairly often; didn't matter if we had
booked a table or not, about two minutes after we were seated, he'd say
to the server, "I don't like this table, can we please move to another
one?". If it was possible, the server would move us to another table.
If that was not possible, he'd call for the Manager... Once we were
seated to his (dis)satisfaction it was time to peruse the menu. He'd
*always* ask for something that wasn't on the menu - and demand to see
the Manager (again) so he could demand *why* whatever he wanted wasn't
on the menu... And of course they never had the wine he wanted on the
wine list, or the soft drink he wanted, and the service was always too
slow, etc. etc.. The thing that finally ticked me off completely was the
arguments we had about how much to tip the server. I always ended up
'slipping' a decent tip to the server myself (with an apology for his
behavior) - sigh. Do you get the picture now?

Anyway, eventually I refused to go to a restaurant with him unless he
"behaved himself". He was indignant when I told him this ("Who moi?
Difficult?"). <lol> But I had some "peaceful" meals with him after that...
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Food is an important part of a balanced diet. - Fran Lebowitz

> wrote in message
...
[snip of North-end-of-a-southbound-Mule Behavior]
> Anyway, eventually I refused to go to a restaurant
> with him unless he "behaved himself". He was
> indignant when I told him this ("Who moi? Difficult?").
> <lol> But I had some "peaceful" meals with him after that...

Yeah on you! I applaud your willingness to tell him that he was
an embarrassment to civility everywhere. I wish more people
would tell those simple-minded associates that pull nonsense
like that off. More often than not when called on their boorish
behavior they will pull in their horns.

The Ranger

"cybercat" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Michael "Dog3"" > wrote in message
> 6.121...
>> ChattyCathy > dropped this
>> : in rec.food.cooking
>>
>>>
>>> But would he *really* want her to? That's the question <wink>
>>
>> I wouldn't care but her hubster might
>>
>>>
>>> People are always quick to complain about "bad service", but certain
>>> patrons deserve it, IMHO... That's why I never took a "holiday job" as
>>> a waitress like a lot of my friends did in my high school days - I
>>> knew that a few diners would have ended up with their dinner over
>>> their heads if I had had to deal with some of the ones I've seen - and
>>> I would have been out of a job real quick. <veg>
>>
>> Quite a few of my friends own restaurants and I've actually worked in
>> them now and then when they experienced staff shortages.
>
> hahaha! They had "staff shortages," so you were good enough to help out,
> is that how it was?
>
> They may have been having "staff shortages, " but I think you were having
> cash shortages, Michael.

Apparently the concept of helping out a friend is beyond your comprehension.
Staff shortages in restaurants most definitely happen. Consider the fact
that many servers are teenagers or in their early 20's. A night partying is
vastly more appealing. I was pressed into service by the owner (a friend of
mine) of a small neighborhood bar & grill one gorgeous Sunday afternoon.
His bartender called in sick and none of the others had returned his calls.
He had an appointment he couldn't cancel. He asked; I helped him out. I
wasn't paid for it (except tips) nor did I expect to be. He finished up
what he had to do and I went on my merry way.

Jill

jmcquown wrote:

> Apparently the concept of helping out a friend is beyond your comprehension.
> Staff shortages in restaurants most definitely happen. Consider the fact
> that many servers are teenagers or in their early 20's. A night partying is
> vastly more appealing. I was pressed into service by the owner (a friend of
> mine) of a small neighborhood bar & grill one gorgeous Sunday afternoon.
> His bartender called in sick and none of the others had returned his calls.
> He had an appointment he couldn't cancel. He asked; I helped him out. I
> wasn't paid for it (except tips) nor did I expect to be. He finished up
> what he had to do and I went on my merry way.
>

I don't understand why you would not accept pay, or expect to be paid. You were
replacing employees your friend would have been paying. Sure you were helping
out a friend, but just showing up to fill in for a paid employee would be favour
enough. I used to help out a friend who had opened a bar and I always got paid.
He was very grateful to any of us who baled him out when he needed help. And
FWIW, that bar is stilll thriving more than 30 years later.

On Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:52:51 -0500, "jmcquown" >
wrote:

>
>"cybercat" > wrote in message
...

>> hahaha! They had "staff shortages," so you were good enough to help out,
>> is that how it was?
>>
>> They may have been having "staff shortages, " but I think you were having
>> cash shortages, Michael.
>
>Apparently the concept of helping out a friend is beyond your comprehension.

Most things are out of her comprehension. Like good cooking.

>Jill

Lou

In article >,
ChattyCathy > wrote:

> James Silverton wrote:
>
> >
> > This is a topic that has been discussed from time to time over the years
> > and I suppose a *complaint* to the waiter for slow service, as the
> > nearest representative of the restaurant, is in order. If waiters have
> > any sense they will apologies to the patrons but they don't deserve
> > berating for something that is probably beyond their control, even you
> > are tempted and I'll admit it is hard to resist. The berating should be
> > reserved for the manager!
>
> In some cases, yes - but lemme tell about a friend of mine... We met at
> work and became friends; very nice guy, until you got him into a
> restaurant....
>
> We used to go to for lunch/dinner fairly often; didn't matter if we had
> booked a table or not, about two minutes after we were seated, he'd say
> to the server, "I don't like this table, can we please move to another
> one?". If it was possible, the server would move us to another table.
> If that was not possible, he'd call for the Manager... Once we were
> seated to his (dis)satisfaction it was time to peruse the menu. He'd
> *always* ask for something that wasn't on the menu - and demand to see
> the Manager (again) so he could demand *why* whatever he wanted wasn't
> on the menu... And of course they never had the wine he wanted on the
> wine list, or the soft drink he wanted, and the service was always too
> slow, etc. etc.. The thing that finally ticked me off completely was the
> arguments we had about how much to tip the server. I always ended up
> 'slipping' a decent tip to the server myself (with an apology for his
> behavior) - sigh. Do you get the picture now?
>
> Anyway, eventually I refused to go to a restaurant with him unless he
> "behaved himself". He was indignant when I told him this ("Who moi?
> Difficult?"). <lol> But I had some "peaceful" meals with him after that...

I've heard it said that you can tell a lot about people by how they
treat people they don't have to be nice to, such as people in service
jobs -- waiters, checkout operators, etc. If someone's nice to YOU, but
an arsehole to the waiter, how nice are they really?

Miche

--
Electricians do it in three phases

On Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:11:35 GMT, "Michael \"Dog3\""
> wrote:
>
>Quite a few of my friends own restaurants and I've actually worked in
>them now and then when they experienced staff shortages. I've been host,
>bartender, busboy and waiter. I've even done prep work in the kitchen and
>been a dishwasher a couple of times. In one of the restaurants, no shit
>is taken from customers and unruly brats are not tolerated. I've seen
>waiters throw tips back at lousy tippers and I've seen patrons thrown out
>of the place. The place has been around 28 years and will most likely be
>around another 28 years. The regulars know the score.
>
>Michael

my favorite tip story of all time:

i was sitting at the bar of a place that some outdoor tables. a
waiter came in and handed a camera to the bartender and said 'put this
in the lost and found. i hope they reclaim it and develop the film,
because i took a picture of the nickels and dimes they left for a
tip.'

your pal,
blake

"blake murphy" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:11:35 GMT, "Michael \"Dog3\""
> > wrote:
>>
>>Quite a few of my friends own restaurants and I've actually worked in
>>them now and then when they experienced staff shortages. I've been host,
>>bartender, busboy and waiter. I've even done prep work in the kitchen and
>>been a dishwasher a couple of times. In one of the restaurants, no shit
>>is taken from customers and unruly brats are not tolerated. I've seen
>>waiters throw tips back at lousy tippers and I've seen patrons thrown out
>>of the place. The place has been around 28 years and will most likely be
>>around another 28 years. The regulars know the score.
>>
>>Michael
>
> my favorite tip story of all time:
>
> i was sitting at the bar of a place that some outdoor tables. a
> waiter came in and handed a camera to the bartender and said 'put this
> in the lost and found. i hope they reclaim it and develop the film,
> because i took a picture of the nickels and dimes they left for a
> tip.'


hahaha!

The Ranger wrote

> The new resto software has a comments prompt where each server
> "personalizes" a thank you to the customer, along the order of
> "Thank you for dining at XZY. We loved serving you that quality
> well-done veal without worry!" Conversely, I'd bet there's one
> for the kitchen, too, where you note any special orders -- no
> berries, alcohol-free, etc.

Also "double spit" and "pubic hair"
--
Vilco
Think pink, drink rose'

"Michael "Dog3"" > wrote in message
6.121...
> Dave Smith > dropped this
> : in rec.food.cooking
>
>> I don't understand why you would not accept pay, or expect to be paid.
>> You were replacing employees your friend would have been paying. Sure
>> you were helping out a friend, but just showing up to fill in for a
>> paid employee would be favour enough. I used to help out a friend who
>> had opened a bar and I always got paid. He was very grateful to any of
>> us who baled him out when he needed help. And FWIW, that bar is
>> stilll thriving more than 30 years later.
>
> I pretty much got paid in food and drink. No way was I going to do all
> the
> W2 and tax bullshit just for a once a year deal, nuh-uh. Gimme food and
> booze and I'll work for no wages
>
> Michael
>

Exactly, Michael. I didn't want to become an "employee" for what amounted
to a couple of hours mixing a few cocktails but mostly serving beer.
(Fortunately I still had my "license" to sell alcoholic beverages; it's long
since lapsed.) I kept my tips and he bought me a couple of glasses of wine
the next time I met my girlfriends there after work. That was fine by me.

Jill

Vilco > wrote in message
...
[snip]
> Also "double spit" and "pubic hair"

That's a little too avante guard, cutting-edge, for me.

The Ranger

Nancy Young wrote:

> The same thing happened around here a few years ago. People
> were getting their bills with commentary ... nasty stuff referring to
> their appearance, religion, etc.
>
> Fat girl in ugly green dress ... stupid stuff like that. How it got
> on their bill, I don't know.

A duck goes into the drugstore for a tube of ChapStick. He finds what
he wants, and goes up and puts it on the counter. The cashier says,
"Shall I put that on your bill?" The duck says, "No...I'll put some on
when I get home."


--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org
Blinky: http://blinkynet.net

One time on Usenet, "jmcquown" > said:
>
> "Gregory Morrow" > wrote in message
> ...
> > [The message on the bill reads: "SUCK MY DICK **** FACE" - click on the
> > link
> > to see a copy of the bill. Maybe they had "cybercat" as their server,
> > lol...]
> >
> >
> > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...re/7253002.stm
> >
> >
> > Restaurant sorry over F word bill
> >
> (snippage)
> > Joe Delucci's owner Mr Langsdon said the message had been meant to be seen
> > only by kitchen staff and he did not know how it ended up as an item on
> > the
> > receipt.
> >
>
> Why on earth should it have been meant to be seen by the kitchen staff? If
> someone was irritated by a disgruntled patron (and it seems they had a right
> to be) they can grouse about it (verbally) in the kitchen. Fer cryin' out
> loud, why put it in writing for *anyone* to see?!

My reaction was the same as yours, Jill. You'd think he'd be upset
that they were playing with the bill instead of doing their jobs...

--
Jani in WA