'Oh okay. Good luck with that, bud': Waiter calls out "we have somewhere to be in an hour" diners

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Aug 17, 2024 5:00 PM EDT

Oh, you have to be at the airport in 90 minutes, but you have time for a sit-down meal at a restaurant? Tell me more. Tell me why you think that's a good choice. International flights can cause long lines to get through security---these notoriously take ages to get through. Oh, you're only 25 minutes from the airport? I'm sure there will be no traffic, red lights, or slow drivers to stop you from getting on your flight. Truly, if you decide to have a sit-down meal outside the airport when you have a flight leaving imminently, any resulting consequences are all on you. 

That won't stop this type of diner from blaming everyone else but themselves, though. U/WooWhit calls them the "we have somewhere to be in an hour" crowd, which is a great moniker. This kind of customer is well-intentioned---they just want to eat before their movie, show, or flight---but they're going to go about it in the most stressful way possible. They won't be able to relax and enjoy the conversation and food; they'll likely be glaring their waiter down the whole time. 

Commenters enjoyed the topic, with others mentioning the lunch rush crowd. One person had a woman come into their restaurant at lunch time, only to continually remind them that she was in a hurry due to her lunch break. That person, u/Riley_locket, replied "Everyone does as well." As another commenter pointed out, it's not a waiter's job to make sure you get to your destination on time… that's all on you. 

Next, read about these employees who got so very tired of their jobs that they quit on the spot, like one person whose manager "started yelling at me for using soap." Eeek! 

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  • 01
    MISHIGUENE MISHIGUENE
    via Henrique Felix on Unsplash
  • 02
    The "we have somewhere to be in an hour" people drive me crazy!
    via u/WooWhit
  • 03
    Let's do some quick math. 60 minutes in an hour but you have to drive 20 minutes to get to whatever venue you're going to. That leaves us with 40 minutes.
    via u/WooWhit
  • 04
    Oh look, we're currently on a 15 minute wait so now we're down to 25 minutes. What was that? It's you and FOURTEEN other people? No ma'am, we're not doing this. There's a Mickey D's and a Subway right up the street.
    via u/WooWhit
  • 05
    Equally annoying are people with flights to catch sitting in a restaurant 25-30 minutes from the airport. Your international flight leaves in an hour and a half but you just got sat at a restaurant? Oh okay. Good luck with that, bud.
    via u/WooWhit
  • 06
    [deleted] We have to leave in 45 minutes. Ok, I need your order right now. Can we have a minute? Not if you want to leave in time.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 07
    lowfreq33 The more frustrating part is these people acting like their poor planning is somehow your responsibility.
    via u/lowfreq33
  • 08
    Riley_locket I use to get a woman eat in and the first thing she would say was, "I'm on my lunch break. I only have 30 minutes to eat." In a full restaurant during lunch rush. I would just respond with, "Everyone does as well." If she keep pushing on the matter, her food would just 'take a little longer'.
    via u/Riley_locket
  • 09
    Another situation that I hated regarding time, would be the table that say they are in a rush but ends up sitting an extra 30 minutes after paying out.
    via u/Riley_locket
  • 10
    Rani Phoenix The flight thing is weird to me. Don't pretty much all decent-sized airports have at least one place to eat?
    via u/RaniPhoenix
  • 11
    Difficult Minute I've eaten lunch at the "fancy steakhouse" in the Indianapolis Airport a dozen times, but I always get there plenty early, as I plan it as a part of the trip.
    via u/Difficult Minute
  • 12
    Nothing says, "I'm going to have a good flight", like a 10 oz strip and some shrimp cocktail before boarding. I can't imagine what they'd tell me if I said "I board in an hour, can you speed it up?"
    via u/Difficult Minute
  • 13
    Draco_Siciliano Wife and I were in London and getting ready to tour the Globe Theater. Stepped into The Swan restaurant attached to it. Told the lady our tour would start in 30 mins then ASKED HER if we had enough time. She was honest and said probably not so we didn't eat. We went to
    via u/Draco_Siciliano
  • 14
    the tour and came back. Food and service was great and had a wonderful time. Glad we didn't rush it. Never make your problem the server's problem, just ask nicely if you can be helped and be understanding if the answer is "No".
    via u/Draco_Siciliano
  • 15
    WooWhit OP I'm really glad she was honest!
    via u/WooWhit
  • 16
    subtleglow87 I've literally refused service to people for saying they had a flight in an hour and they checked-in via the app. I asked them if they were serious, then proceeded to tell them that the airport was 45 minutes away in perfect traffic (it's 12:30pm in a major city, it isn't going to go perfectly) regardless of
    via u/subtleglow87
  • 17
    their check-in status they would have to stand in line through the security check point for 30 or more minutes. I said if you leave now, you might make it and there are at least a dozen fast food places you can stop at but if I were you I wouldn't stop to eat until I was in the terminal because that's how close it will
    via u/subtleglow87
  • 18
    be. Then I walked away before they could argue. I've also had people say, in the height of our season, that they had to be at a championship baseball game in an hour (10-15 minutes away), is it possible/could I make recommendations on the quickest things they could get. I said
    via u/subtleglow87
  • 19
    challenge accepted and had them fed, paid, and out the door in under 25 minutes. They tipped me great and came back and requested me for dinner the same day.
    via u/subtleglow87
  • 20
    [deleted] Tip: don't go to a popular/busy sit-down restaurant when: you're on your 30 minute lunch break • you have something important in less than an hour
    via u/[deleted]
  • 21
    you are an entitled and impatient person
    via u/[deleted]

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waiters airport waiter customers flight food service kitchen Travel food eating tales from your server dining airplane vacation
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