Hearty eaters no longer wanted at buffet

[CaroPhoenix]

http://by124w.bay124.mail.live.com/m...649331&gs=true

Unfortunately, I'm exactly one foot shorter and 2 pounds lighter than the gentleman in the article. That's neither here or there, other than the fact that I love to go to buffets (especially chinese ones) and so does my husband! (And for those who've read my posts about him know he's 5'10" and 450+ pounds).

I sorta see the frustration of the restaurant because of the "big appetites" of the customers. However, if you run a buffet, you're going to have to count on that. There are those (and I'm one of them) that believe they're paying X amount for the food, they're going to get their money's worth.

Maybe the 2 gentlemen should have realized that their large appetites were getting on the nerves of the restaurant. But I couldn't see, from the article, if anyone spoke to them about it.

It's sad, really. The restaurant chased away their 2 best customers, and with the publicity, some more customers might not go back. I know if it happened near where I lived, it'd be one buffet marked off our list as I'd feel uncomfortable because of people watching us every time we'd go up to get more food.

[Boozy]

The restaurant chased away their 2 best customers...

No, they just chased away 2 people who enjoyed eating there often. If you asked the restaurant, they'd tell you that their best customers were profitable ones. These guys were costing the restaurant money.

However, I do agree that if a restaurant wants to offer a buffet, they need to count on big eaters. That's why I don't eat at buffets...they charge too much. There's just no way I can eat my money's worth.

[Lace Neil Singer]

The link's not working for me. :?

[crazylegs]

The link's not working for me. :?

Nor I

Crazylegs

[dendawg]

I have no sympathy for the owners. If they put a sign up that says, "All you can eat," then they'd better be prepared to live up to it or be sued for false advertising.

[thegiraffe]

try this link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22477703/

It's more direct.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I have no sympathy for the owners. If they put a sign up that says, "All you can eat," then they'd better be prepared to live up to it or be sued for false advertising.

Homer pays a visit to Lionel Hutz's ``I Can't Believe It's a Law Firm''
law firm.

Homer: All you can eat. Ha!
Hutz: Mr. Simpson, this is the most blatant case of fraudulent advertising since my suit against the film, "The Never-Ending Story''.

Homer: So, do you think I have a case?
Hutz: I don't use the word hero very often, but you are the greatest hero in American history.
Homer: Woo-hoo!

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Frankly, if they are running a buffet, then they ought to know they are going to attract big eaters. Too bad, you know? That's the risk you take when you invite people to eat their fill for a fixed price.

Anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant knows how much food gets wasted. I dont' care how much this guy was eating, he wasn't breaking the place. They throw out more food than this guy was eating every single night.

Insulting him was not cool, either. Billing him extra was absolutly outrageous.

Yeah, he probably was taking a bit of an advantage, but still.

People probably look askance at me, too, when I'm at a seafood buffet. I CAN eat my money's worth...and probably come out in the black. I LUB me some crablegs.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

I suspect there was more going on there than the articles say. My very first job was working at a Golden Corrall. The things people do at buffet bars are disgusting and blatant, and they really do take advantage of the all-you-can-eat advertisement.

We used to have teenage girls who would come in and eat 4 or 5 plates filled up with food, then go into the bathroom, throw up, and come out and eat all over again. When the management banned them their parents came in and theatened to sue us.

We used to have little old ladies come in, argue with us over the price of the buffet, stating they were old and couldn't eat very much. They would then go to the buffet with a plate in hand and their purse on their arm, and stuff rolls and other food in their purse until they were caught and thrown out.

We had a big group of guys who would come in and ignore the entire rest of the buffet, filling up their plates with all the hot food items, leaving none for the rest of the customers. We'd hurry to try and get some more out, only to have them come rushing up and fill their plates up all over again, before anyone else got to have any. We finally managed to ban them when one of them pushed 2 kids out of the way in their rush to get to the fried shrimp and one of the kids fell, hitting his head on the corner of the buffet and needed stitches. Even then they still bitched up a storm to the cops as they were being thrown out, stating that 'all you can eat means ALL YOU CAN EAT!'

We'd have teenage kids who would come in and start food fights with the buffet food. We'd have families who would load up multiple plates and give their small children one plate to eat and one plate to play with, who would of course throw it everywhere. We'd have people in wheelchairs come in and pull entire bins of a certain food from the buffet and take it back to their table. When we'd go to retrieve it they'd argue that they couldn't reach things at the buffet easily so they had a right to just take stuff to their table. We'd have people who would eat several plates of food, and then go load up another plate, eat a few bites, and then bring it up to the hostess, complaining everything tasted terrible and they wanted their money back. God I was so glad to quit that job.

Buffets often attract customers from the lowest rungs of society, and they of course act accordingly.

[Rapscallion]

I remember TonyDonuts (I'm certain it was he) telling of how a couple came into the buffet he was working at and brought with them a 55 gallon cooler on wheels, or something along those lines.

They didn't get their fill.

Rapscallion

[Linda]

There are 2 Chinese buffets locally we sometimes go to. Both of them have notices posted outside with the rules. If you waste food you will be charged extra, and there is a maximum stay of 2 hours.

[CaroPhoenix]

There is one chinese buffet we like to go to when we're in Manassas, it's called Wok 'n Roll.

Their only rule says that if you take the food, you must eat it. They don't like it when you waste the food. Which I can understand. Some people might say they're "just sampling" the different foods and they've never had it before. But if you're sampling, then you just take little bit of it to try not a huge mountain.

And yes, there are disgusting people at buffets, but the buffet places need to plan for them. And these people were eating there 3 times a week; loyal and consistent customers. And I had worse customers when I worked at Roy Rogers. The fixin's bar =/= free buffet salad.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

According to the article what they were doing was going in three times a week and cleaning out the seafood portion of the buffet, while ignoring all the other food. They were eating so much of it that the employees were having to refill the seafood portions just for them. The seafood portion is obviously the costliest part of the buffet; the business model there is the assumption that the cheap price for the seafood will lure customers in, and the other food laid out (salad, soup, etc)will make up for the cost of the seafood. If these guys are going in 3 times a week just to clean out the seafood, it is cutting into the profit margin.

See, from my experience working in a buffet I don't see them as loyal and consistent customers. I see that behavior as taking advantage of the business. I don't agree with how they handled it---they shouldn't have charged them more without telling them that up front, and they definitely should not have insulted their size. But the business has every right to tell them not to come back.

Also, considering the signs the article said were posted on the wall, the buffet is obviouasly having a problem with people taking advantage of them. They may have adopted a zero tolerance policy recently, and these guys just ran afoul of it this time.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

We used to have teenage girls who would come in and eat 4 or 5 plates filled up with food, then go into the bathroom, throw up, and come out and eat all over again. When the management banned them their parents came in and theatened to sue us.

My heart bleeds for the people who had to clean up the bathroom after they were finished in there.

I love buffets. Shit, when I go to Las Vegas I get more enjoyment out of the buffets than from gambling. But I take a little bit of everything and don't load up specifically on the pricier stuff, I eat what I take, and I don't smuggle food out of the buffet.

[blas]

To be honest, I can understand that a buffet is a privilege to eat more than normally allowed at a restaurant.

Having said that, the other day at OCB, I almost did throw up when I noticed several people had gotten 6 or 7 heaping plates, and the buffet had turned into.......a feeding trough for them instead of a buffet that people share!