Waiting in/on lines at food establishments

[Moopheus]

It sounds to me like that would eliminate nearly all non-high-end dining establishments of any sort of repute, unless you eat at off hours. Is that your strategy for those sorts of places?

Frequently it is. It doesn't bother us to go early or late if it means no waiting.

[jsmeeker]

People like to wait in lines because everyone else is waiting in line. Herd behavior and conformity I suppose.

I used to work at Houston’s and it was common for us to go on 3 hour waits on Friday and Saturday nights. Now I ran the kitchen, so being busy was good, but logically I could never understand why people would wait for so long. What was even more quizzical was many people, after that three hour wait, would just order a damn burger and fries. Why would anyone do this for?

Personally, I’m rather impatient and I can’t stand waiting. However, most of my meals out involve my 3 year old daughter and since she eats dinner at 5:30, I eat dinner at 5:30, and most places aren’t on a wait at that time.

Three hour waits for Houston's is exactly the sort of thing I am wondering about. Pesonally, I think Houston's is pretty good. It's much better than Olive Garden. But three hours? And only to order a cheeseburger? Houston's may not be as commons as the OG, but if you live in an area that has them, then there are plenty of times you can get in with minimal to no wait.

I think there is a distinct difference in waiting for a place that is common and easily acessible versus something not to commmon or really remote and not so easy to access.

[Jaymes]

Three hour waits for Houston's is exactly the sort of thing I am wondering about. Pesonally, I think Houston's is pretty good. It's much better than Olive Garden. But three hours? And only to order a cheeseburger? Houston's may not be as commons as the OG, but if you live in an area that has them, then there are plenty of times you can get in with minimal to no wait.

I think there is a distinct difference in waiting for a place that is common and easily acessible versus something not to commmon or really remote and not so easy to access.

Seems to me that no matter how mediocre these big chains are, there are at least one or two items on the menu that some people absolutely love. And when you've got your heart set on whatever it is, it's hard to talk you out of it.

A case in point...

I recently lived in a small city where there was only one Cheddar's. My father and I often took out to dinner the elderly couple that lived next door. This couple had been particularly helpful to us as my father and I dealt with the unpleasantness of the last stages of my mother's Alzheimer's. The husband really loved Cheddar's ribs. I found them mushy, but that man said in his opinion, they were "the best in town."

So off we would go to Cheddar's, where there was often at least a half-hour wait. I don't think any of the rest of us would have waited that long for Cheddar's, and I don't believe that man would, either, if they ever did away with that one thing that he always ordered. In fact, we talked about it once, as we were sitting around the restaurant lobby waiting with all the other poor souls. He said "I don't think the rest of the stuff is all that good, but I really love the ribs."

The first few times we went there, we'd ask how long is the wait. Once or twice, upon being told that the wait was "at least 45 minutes," I would suggest that we go elsewhere. But the husband's face drooped with obvious disappointment. "I don't mind waiting," he said. "After all, we don't have anything else to do. I've been thinking about those ribs all day long and if we leave now and go somewhere else, we'll probably still have to wait at least a while. And I won't get my ribs."

[jsmeeker]

There certainly a lot of factors that come into play that may make people wait. Frequently, it's done to accommodate someone else or for the so called "greater good" of the larger group.

[toolprincess]

I agree Jeff. Often when I go places where there is a wait it is with a group. One place my family loves to go is Outback steakhouse. I don't think it is worth a long wait but generally on the weekends (even getting close to 9pm) it's at least an hour. YOu can mitigate this somewhat if you use the "call ahead seating" option.

Recently on a road trip we stopped at Friendly's, the family had some nostalgia for Friendly's and we thought it would be a fairly quick meal. We stood at the entrance for 10 minutes even though there were a dozen tables empty waiting for them to "clear" a table for 5. Once we sat down we waited another 10 minutes for service and then the people beside us (who had just come in) were waited on. When we questioned the waitress she said we "were not in her section".

At this point (finally) the group was exasperated enough to give up and we ended up next door at Cracker barrel. Not spectacular food but we were seated immediately, waited on promptly and had a very pleasant server.

[Toliver]

There certainly a lot of factors that come into play that may make people wait. Frequently, it's done to accommodate someone else or for the so called "greater good" of the larger group.

Yes, this.

I was with a group of 10 waiting for Emeril's in the MGM Grand. I'd been before but many in our group hadn't been before. We had reservations for 7pm. We still hadn't been seated by 8pm. It turned out that the people who were at "our" table were just not leaving. They kept ordering wine and drinks and talking. It wasn't until 8:30 that management finally seated us...in the smoking section. Most of the people in our group were from California where there is no such thing as a smoking section anymore. Of the 10 of us only one was a smoker who never smoked in front of us out of consideration.

The management/staff didn't seem to give a rat's behind that they weren't seating us and said nothing to us the entire wait. I think they were hoping we would just leave which I is what I wanted to do (you can throw a poker chip in any direction in Las Vegas and practically hit a restaurant everytime). But because others in the group wanted the Emeril-less Emeril's experience, we couldn't leave.

I doubly ticked off because of the wait and then being seated in the smoking section. It definitely was not worth the wait, time and trouble.

[cmling]

Waiting in Europe is very unusual if you have a reservation, I believe?

I am not at all tolerant of waiting if I do. And I think most people would be practically insulted if waiting were expected of them and they had a reservation.

[jsmeeker]

Waiting when you have a reservation is whole thing on it's own. That really stinks. Though my initial thoughts here in this topic were waiting when you didn't have a reservation Places that don't take them, mostly.

[cmling]

Agreed, jsmeeker. However, not taking reservations is again something unusual in Europe. I always phone in advance, and if they tell me it might take xy minutes before I get seated, I have no problem with that. (Which means that I usually go somewhere else.)