I need your "free" bags!

[greensinestro]

This Sunday at Applebee's, we ate where the King's Point residents eat. For those who don't know, King's Point is a retirement community in Delray Beach, FL, similar to Century Village. It's also one of the rare places where you these days see people sitting outside waiting to get a table.

Anyhow, in the middle of our meal, one of the waiters went by and suddenly said to this lady at another table, "I gave you plenty of bags! What else do you want from me?" He was speaking to a table of blue-haired women who first wanted to-go boxes for their unfinished meals, then they wanted a couple of plastic bags to put the boxes in. The "leader" at the table had been given at least ten plastic Applebee's bags and was bitching at this waiter that he didn't give her enough of them. And, as other patrons like myself were witnessing this, he walked by and was saying to everyone, "I deal with this every day". Most likely, this lady and her gang frequent this Applebee's and do this on every visit. It's probably their way of saving money on Hefty bags for their waste baskets.

So, I say again, if you are wondering why it is so expensive to eat out now, it's because restaurants are having to hike up their prices to cover the costs of free to-go boxes, plastic bags, bottles of ketchup these people put in their purses, etc. No wonder the economy is the way it is.

[Athaelia]

My first job was a server at a "country cooking" type restaurant that attracted the over-70 crowd. I found it annoying that after every table left, the sugar caddies would be empty--no sugar, sweet-n-low, or equal anywhere--and I'd have to refill it 15 times a day instead of once a night! And yes, sometimes the salt and pepper shakers (!) would come up missing, Ketchup bottles, etc. I'm surprised they just didn't take the whole table with them when they left.

[Kyree]

And yes, sometimes the salt and pepper shakers (!) would come up missing,

I was out eating lunch with my mother a while back, and the table next to us, I saw them trying to do that. When I eat I kind of gaze about the restaurant staring off into space. But my eyes happened upon the table as the woman was sneaking the shakers into her purse.

First of all...I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd rather not get salt and pepper all over the inside of my purse/bag/backpack. Those places are really hard to get clean once you have something spill in them!

It was a slow time, so it was quiet in there. Without turning my gaze, I told my mom in a very loud voice, "Hey Mom, I didn't know Denny's was giving away free salt and pepper shakers! Should we ask for our own set?" The woman froze, saw I was looking right at her, turned beat red and put the pair back onto the table. For the rest of her meal she refused to look in my general direction.

/end threadjack

Wow, can you say greedy old witch? I know times are hard, but if you have the money to go out to eat, you have the money to buy your own damn garbage bags. If you don't have the money for both...maybe you should re-think what's more important.

[One-Fang]

That's what I was thinking Kyree. Spending money on lunch at Applebee's every day is NOT a way to "save money" on garbage bags! LOL

I used to take the sugar sachets and things from restaurants when I went. I don't any more. Just frankly can't be bothered. I guess probably cos I never used them at home either, so they just went to waste.

[Becks]

Plastic grocery bags are pretty snazzy to use as garbage bags. No need to harass the fine folks at dining establishments.

[fireheart]

Plastic grocery bags are pretty snazzy to use as garbage bags. No need to harass the fine folks at dining establishments.

I have a sucky side and a funny side to that one:

Sucky: With the plastic bags, most people will take their own, but then I get people wanting extra bags or for me to double-bag their LIGHT ITEMS (I kid you not). Also since we stopped offering plastic bags on some of the lanes, people have bitched about not getting their "free garbage bags" in addition to the million and one customers abusing us. (and I'm not gonna start the plastic-bag-free argument)

Funny: Last Christmas, I was working a rare day shift and had 3 beige coloured plastic bags and the rest were all grey. The lady I served had my 3 beige bags and then she wanted my coworker on the checkout in front of me to hand her a few more beige bags because they matched her kitchen decor!

[RootedPhoenix]

Funny: Last Christmas, I was working a rare day shift and had 3 beige coloured plastic bags and the rest were all grey. The lady I served had my 3 beige bags and then she wanted my coworker on the checkout in front of me to hand her a few more beige bags because they matched her kitchen decor!

*raises eyebrow* What is this woman doing, hanging them up on her wall?

'Cause nothing says style like grocery bags that match your kitchen. Grey must have been too tacky.

[mattm04]

At the coffee bar at my supermarket we only put out 15-20 sugar packets, and even less sweet and low. Splenda is behind the counter.

It is amazing to watch older customers walk by, not even get a coffee, and grab all the sugar/sweet and low and stuff it in the purse or even better, take a pastry bag and use that.

I will give them the evil glare if i see them do that, or all of a sudden decide to clean the condiment area. That usually stops them. We have a few SC who do that daily and we can confront those.

[Meganjo23]

We've been having kind of a similar issue at the pizza place, lately. We give out small clear cups for water, which comes from the soda fountain. Some people will ask for out larger cups, which are not clear, and then get soda. The lids to the larger cups are clear, though, so you can tell if it's water or coke. Lots of our older customers rip us off this way. A few nights ago, a large group did this too us. Awesome front girl says to me, in a LOUD (and very disdainful) voice that its pathetic that they have to steal soda just to be 'thrifty'. She was like one step below shouting. Kicker: the group is sitting on the other side of the lattice that seperates the dining room from the front counter. They heard her loud and clear. Earlier, when she had been cleaning a table near them, one of the ladies asked for a refill of water for her husband, handing the used cup to her. Uh, we don't do table service, except for those that we REALLY like. She threw out the cup, and told them that they were welcome at any time to get a refill of water. (Purposeful misinterpretation FTW!) We were waiting for him to come up and complain about the rudeness and lack of service so that we could present them with a bill for all the soda they stole, but they seemed somewhat cowed by that time. That didn't stop them from taking up one whole side of the place standing around talking while they were leaving... for about twenty minutes. Can you tell that I am sort of sick of people acting like they're entitled to be rude and stea-- oops, 'be thrifty', just because they've managed to not die yet.

On a brighter note, we have a couple that comes in two or three times a week. They are, without a doubt, everything that I hope to be when I am old and gloriously wrinkled. Seriously, the nicest people you could ever meet. Awesome front girl from the above story has vowed to never make them come get their food, we will always bring it out to them. It helps that they bring us chocolates sometimes =). They, incidentally, have found a more legal way to be thrifty- they share a soda, with two straws and everything.

So, uh, I kind of wrote a book, but... stealing it bad, yo. If you can't afford soda/sugar/plastic bags, try not going out to eat. Budgeting ftw!

[Lace Neil Singer]

*raises eyebrow* What is this woman doing, hanging them up on her wall?

'Cause nothing says style like grocery bags that match your kitchen. Grey must have been too tacky.

I can beat that; the carrier bags at my local supermarket went from white to orange... and this woman put in a complaint cuz *gasp!* they didn't match her kitchen! She must have wanted to hang them up on her wall, and couldn't cuz they didn't match.

[greensinestro]

At the coffee bar at my supermarket we only put out 15-20 sugar packets, and even less sweet and low. Splenda is behind the counter.

It is amazing to watch older customers walk by, not even get a coffee, and grab all the sugar/sweet and low and stuff it in the purse or even better, take a pastry bag and use that.

I will give them the evil glare if i see them do that, or all of a sudden decide to clean the condiment area. That usually stops them. We have a few SC who do that daily and we can confront those.

I was at a Ruby Tuesday's a while back, and none of the tables have anything on them, like sugar packets or bottles of ketchup. When I asked my waitress for some ketchup to put on my fries, she went into the back and brought out a small container used for sauces or mayonnaise. My curiosity got me, so I asked her why she didn't bring a bottle, and her reply was because of the older patrons who would come in and do their "grocery shopping" while dining. They also had to stop using linen napkins because of the women who thought they were at Publix/Linens And Things, stuffing those in their purses.

[AirHostess]

People take loads of stuff off the plane...the scratchy blankets, little pointless pillows, soaps...apparently it's illegal to remove safety cards and lifejackets etc as people want to steal them. Oh and the nice china cups we have in business class!

[cinema guy]

My brother, back when he was a poor drama student, used to get his salt, sugar and ketchup from restaraunts.

[blas]

I was never a waitress at the Norwegian restaurant, but at the truck stop I was, briefly.

The number one sidework task I hated the most was refilling the sugars and creamers and jellies and butters four or five times per shift.

The thing was, they somehow always thought I didn't notice that they stole ALL the jellies or creamers or sugars or butters. Um..HELLO! They were plenty full when you sat down, now all of them are gone!

[SnarkyPie]

I confess! I have once stolen from my school's cafeteria. I stole a cup... for use in my material science lab.

My TA for that lab actually recommended that I do so. We were doing compression testing, and our cafeteria's cups are a very hard polymer. That thing took over ten thousand pounds of force before exploding spectacularly.