Before I jump into this rant, I want to let everyone know that many years ago I worked as a waitress. I know that it is some of the hardest work I've ever done, physically. The incentive is to "sell up" by selling alcoholic drinks, sides, pushing Desserts. They are making a living, and I respect that very much. That being said, can we talk about the art of listening to your customer?

Unfortunately, I come from family and friends who love getting together and eating out. And I should note most of them are at very healthy, ideal weights so I'm usually the "biggest" in the group. But whether they are extremely athletic or just have amazing genes, they can order the fried app, burger with fries and a few beers. I don't mind, the food is not the problem. I'm still in that great place where I'm rarely hungry and don't have cravings. Sometimes just seeing fried foods or the smell of greasy stuff can turn my stomach now. Call me lucky?

But what happens is that for some reason I'm the one the waitstaff likes to focus on. I'm the one that they ask, "Just the side salad with chicken? Are you sure that's all you want?" Or when I order the grilled shrimp appetizer, and ask them to hold the butter during cooking (please use olive oil) -- and they show up with the full entree with rice or mashed potato side. When I ask WTH, I get, "I'm sorry I thought that's what you wanted." When I'm thinking in my head, that I'm positive I said "appetizer" and even pointed to that section on the menu. Even when I order the side salad, I get the full meal portion. WTH? "I asked if it was going to be your meal and you said yes, so I figured you meant to order this one and not the side." They are all accommodating when I correct them, which I have to do in front of everyone, calling more attention to my new eating habits. They don't charge for the larger thing, take it back, etc. When they don't, I'm then trying to eat my 3-4oz of food, leaving what looks like an entire meal untouched on my plate, and I get the "Is everything OK with your meal?" question multiple times during the meal, again in front of everyone.

I get it. People are human, they make mistakes. But I do not remember waitstaff getting my order wrong so often before surgery. Of course, I'm presuming they're thinking, "The fat girl will not be happy with that little food, I'll give her more." But that's a slippery slope to presume their motivations.

I'm reaching a place where I don't look forward to these occasions, of eating out. It's not about the food, it's about how what/how little I'm eating is such a focus. I've used the "I don't feel well" or "I'm not that hungry" excuses, it gets me by, but it's getting old. Has this happened with anyone else?

I'm reaching a place where I don't look forward to these occasions, of eating out. It's not about the food, it's about how what/how little I'm eating is such a focus. I've used the "I don't feel well" or "I'm not that hungry" excuses, it gets me by, but it's getting old. Has this happened with anyone else?

I have not had surgery. I like to low carb even if not for weight loss, I just feel better when I am not on a carbo binge.

I go to this local place for lunch with my friend all the time. The waitress always get my order right. Whenever it is a waiter, they either argue with me about the order or bring me the wrong thing.

I always order the sesame chicken appetizer and a spicy tuna handroll. The chicken is about 4 ounces of bite sized pieces and the handroll is probably about 3 ounces of rice and 2 ounces of fish. So it is not a huge meal but it is enoughfor me.

Every single time they bring me a sesame chicken and spicy tuna bento combo which is an egg roll, miso Soup, a cup of rice, and cucumber salad. Once the waiter even argued me into getting the combo because "it's cheaper." I wasn't in the mood to fight and the food was already there

I think people, especially men, make wild assumptions about your appetite. It pisses me off because I should be able to order what I want without someone upsizing it because I am fat

I always find myself saying "please, no sides" or "please replace the mashed potatoes/fries/whatever with some vegetables," only to receive my meal with the sides and/or the aforementioned fries or whatever. It's irritating, since I think wasting food is stupid, but I usually just roll my eyes and ignore it. I've never been charged for a bigger serving, thankfully! That sounds EXTREMELY annoying.

She even had her son courrier over food one Saturday evening when Hunny was in cyprus - fish and chicken, hummus abd babba ganish (sp, I know), falaffel, rice pudding, backlavah, shwarmah with egg, couscous three different ways. lol.

Holy crap, forward it to me next time, yo.

It's because you're cut like Arnie. They're probably figuring, "This for the delts, and give her that for the abs..."

I always find myself saying "please, no sides" or "please replace the mashed potatoes/fries/whatever with some vegetables," only to receive my meal with the sides and/or the aforementioned fries or whatever. It's irritating, since I think wasting food is stupid, but I usually just roll my eyes and ignore it. I've never been charged for a bigger serving, thankfully! That sounds EXTREMELY annoying.

I have one, but have yet to use it when I'm with people other than my husband because he's the only one who knows I had the surgery. And I've done all the tricks: To-go box before eating, sharing with my husband (we do this at most meals), telling them it's quite delicious and I'm very satisfied. Once, we got the bento box at our fave sushi place -- I eat the sashimi and some edamame. The waitress asked if I wanted to order an extra soup/rice since it only comes with one. I was very nice, told her "No thank you, I'm not that hungry" and she brought it anyway. She said, "I don't want you to be hungry!" I was perplexed as though she thought I would get enraged and take it out on her after declining.

Ugh, I know it's something I'll always have to deal with. Maybe it has to do with where I live, customer service seems to be on the decline everywhere I go lately not just in the food industry.

I would chalk that up to Americans and their out-of-whack ideas of portions, plus the popularity of review sites like Yelp. People will write a terrible online review for a restaurant unless they get "big food", regardless of quality. More is better. Could the waitress have thought that more food = better tip, or better review? Soup and rice cost next to nothing, but probably make a good impression on most of Americans.

I have no desire to ask for a card or use a card. I just want people to respect my wishes and trust me when I say everything is fine.

Come to think of it, there was a time where we shared an entree, and we both received salads and sides, and it was irritating because we were asked about it ahead of time, and I declined the salad. There was no charge, but why not just listen?

Methinks it's time to try new restaurants. I've never had an issue and we eat out often. The card is a joke. Just ask politely to order from the kids menu. Usually I get a hesitation then I follow it with "I'm a good tipper" and all is well.

There's a trend where I live to charge patrons for splitting an entree. It's popping up in more and more places. How it works: let's say DH orders a $30 entree and it comes with 2 sides. I split the entree with him, and there's an $8 charge. DH receives his standard entree and his 2 sides, on his entree plate. I get an empty plate. Our bill is $38.

It's ridiculous. I could order a side of something for about $4, and eat off his plate as much as I wanted. But if we say, "We're going to share..." there's a fee for that. And most of the time it's a significant fee. $8 for a clean plate to eat off of is ridiculous.

There's a trend where I live to charge patrons for splitting an entree. It's popping up in more and more places. How it works: let's say DH orders a $30 entree and it comes with 2 sides. I split the entree with him, and there's an $8 charge. DH receives his standard entree and his 2 sides, on his entree plate. I get an empty plate. Our bill is $38.

It's ridiculous. I could order a side of something for about $4, and eat off his plate as much as I wanted. But if we say, "We're going to share..." there's a fee for that. And most of the time it's a significant fee. $8 for a clean plate to eat off of is ridiculous.

That is just ridiculous! But it's probably their way of covering the time the waitstaff spends on their table. Also sounds like their portions are (shocking) too big, and rather than address that they would rather pass the buck to their customers.

I've run into the issue of being asked constantly if everything is ok. I do have my card, but I haven't used it yet. Typically when we go out to eat, I order a kids meal for my 1.5 yr old, and nothing for myself. We share her meal, and she gets the drink. Thankfully it hasn't caused an issue... Yet. I know it's only a matter of time though.