Loud, even boisterous, talking, laughing, and stupidity by other customers.
Wait staff that walk around in a daze and actively ignore customers.
"Did any of you guys order the chicken special?"
True story, I have got up and gone to the waitress stations, got a pitcher of water, and brought it back to our table, and there have been times when nobody on the payroll noticed.
And I hate it when a waiter/waitress lies about something going on in the kitchen. I've working in the back of the house in more sorts of restaurants than most of the dingbats that work in these places have ever been in. I know how a cook line operates. Just tell us you forgot to put the order in, or that the prep cook was too drunk to fix it and the dishwasher just got a sudden promotion, or whatever the truth is, and be done with it. Don't go into "Oh, they're making sure it is Just Right!"
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