No one will read this, but just for completeness, most of mine aren't even mentioned below: * When the waiter doesn't write things down. I guess someone told them that if they don't make "eye contact" they get smaller tips. I say, you mess up my meal because you didn't write it down, you get a much smaller tip. * When they discard special instructions right in front of you -- you ask for "hamburger, very well done with extra onion", and they turn to the kitchen staff and say "hamburger!" * When the restaurant is pretty much empty, but they insist on seating you at the smallest possible table, like a table for two because there are two of you -- give us a table for four so we have room! * It's been said a hundred times before here, but waiters interrupting conversations is unacceptable to me. It's simple: just walk up to the table, and if nobody looks up at you expectantly after like 5-10 seconds, just walk away! * The entire annoying "fresh ground pepper" thing. There's a whole thing of ground pepper already on the table -- if that's not fresh enough, throw it out and put new pepper in it. * Eating with someone who asks way too many questions about the dishes, like they're trying to build a complete picture in their mind -- 3-5 minutes of "the vegatables, they're on the side of the steak, or in a separate bowl? Are the mushrooms on both sides of the steak, or only one? Are they sliced or chopped?" * Eating with someone who thinks the waitstaff is there to be their buddies: "So, I was thinking about a nice red wine with the lamb, would this go well with it? How about this one? Which would you pick? Have you ever tried Australian wines? We had this one last week it was just wonderful! Would you like a glass of wine too, if they allow it here?" The waitstaff has their own lives -- as a customer, your job is to order the food, enjoy it, and leave, not to build personal bonds. * Ordering food spicy and getting it not spicy -- my theory (besides racism, figuring that the fat white guy can't possibly handle real vindaloo) is that the restaurants have had customers who ordered maximum spiciness, and then couldn't even eat the dishes when served, got irritated, insisted on them being remade, or walked out, etc.. That they consider this a disaster. Well, if you serve bland food to someone who asked repeatedly for burning pepper heat, and they don't complain but just don't come back, that's a disaster too.