Stuff that bothers n Bugs me #3 – A-Hat Customers Whining For The Sake Of It

The Weber Grill – Chicago. As my account of the restaurant may well indicate, I like the place. Great service, good food, great atmosphere. Amazes me how some people can’t help themselves but complain.

We got in, me and herself went to the bar to get a have a well-earned drink (lots of walking). The kids pulled themselves up on the bar stools. The bartender comes over, takes our order, and very politely informs me that children are not allowed at the bar – it’s fine if they just stand behind us – they just cant be leaning on the bar. No problem – that’s the rules. So the kids backed off – everyone was happy.

Just about then, another family walked to the bar – exact same process – bartender told the parent that their kids would have to move. They did.

Anway, just as their (and simultaneously our) tables were ready, the mom took it on herself to inform the bartender that down the way a bit a child was on a barstool, and had been there “since we arrived”. She then proceeded to ask why they were treated badly (i.e. their kids were not allowed to sit at a smoky bar), when someone else’s kid was allowed to. She was really quite arrogant about it all – and totally unnecessarily so.

Obviously she assumed the bartender had nothing better to do than watch for kids climbing bar stools, and that he had something against her kids. As it happened, her daughter and my daughter hit it off quite well while NOT at the bar.

The bartender, being the professional he was, acted courteously, and apologized to her, explaining that if he would have seen the child, he would have acted, as it is not a house rule – it’s a city law. She then backed down.

It just bugged me – she had no need to be annoyed with the bartender about something that had absolutely nothing to do with her. People like that are self-important attention seekers – I think her integrity was inversely proportional to her diamond ring size.