After
blogging about terrible restaurant service and their receipts, I wanted to
share this story, which was quite the opposite. Let's be honest, I'm not a
parent yet, but when I go out to dinner with my fiancée, I have to admit that
we frown upon those families who have kids that are way too rambunctious at
restaurants. You know the ones who are always running around and being
obnoxiously loud or constantly crying. Don't get me wrong! I love kids! I love
my niece and nephews, but misbehaved kids? Not so much! The thing is you can't
really blame it on the children. You have to blame it on the parents who allow
the children to act in this manner.
That
being said, you have to appreciate it when you're in a classy restaurant and
you see some well-behaved children sitting with their parents enjoying a
peaceful meal. One Italian restaurant in Poulsbo, Washington, appreciated it
enough to warrant a discount on such a family's bill. Laura King was delighted
to see four dollars deducted from her receipt for "WELL BEHAVED
KIDS." King says that this was definitely a random act of kindness and
that they didn't go to the restaurant expecting any sort of reward. She expects
her kids to act this way whenever they are out and about. Yes, it was only four
dollars, but just the simple recognition that her children were well-behaved
should go a long way, and she should be proud that she is a great parent.
Servers
at Sogno di Vino were pretty busy on February 1 when King, her husband Chris,
and their three kids walked into the sophisticated hot spot, with a wine bar
and picturesque fireplaces. Restaurant owner Angela Scott, who also happened to
be serving that night, and two other servers were so impressed with the kids'
manners that they wanted to congratulate the couple somehow. Scott said,
"You would never even know that children were in the dining room. We just
wanted to say, 'Awesome! You guys were so good!" So, they gave the kids
free ice cream and a small discount on the bill.
King
was so pleased that she snapped a photo of the kindhearted message and shared
it on her private Facebook page, but then a friend took the image and posted it
on Reddit.com where it went viral. Scott recalled how much easier three polite
children made her job that evening. I'm not saying kids shouldn't be kids, but
there's a time and place, and a when you're at a really nice restaurant, it's
clearly not the place. Did King take a risk here? Or did she trust her kids
enough to behave? I think the latter. Like they say about dogs, there's no such
thing as bad kids, they're just bad parents. Chris and Laura King = good
parents!
I can TOTALLY relate. I have 4 kids, 14, 13, 6 & 5 and sometimes right when I start to order, I say "BRING ME FRIES AND CRAYONS ASAP!!" Don't get me wrong, my kids are good, and I'm a firm father to manners & respect, but sometimes dinner becomes a mosh pit! I almost enjoy these moments that can be remedied with an iPod or smartphone :)
ReplyDeleteSoooooo true!!!
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