And it is my generation that is largely to blame for the appallingly mannered, obnoxious behaviour of their off-spring and grand-children – although my age group is also often far from perfect manner-wise. Very few people nowadays seem to bring up their children to have any consideration for others; it’s all me, me, me, me – and, what is worse is that the bloody parents encourage such egocentricity……
While nobody in their right minds would wish to return to the cruelty of past centuries, today’s society has become far too child-centric in pandering to the little pests’ idiosyncrasies..
Last Friday night (23 September 2016), I was out to dinner with a friend. MY evening was ruined by the screaming of a child – probably around one year-18 months – at a table very close to ours. The bloody mother did absolutely nothing to even try to quieten down the blighter, who, in fairness didn’t appear to be having a tantrum; he was probably just over-tired and seeking attention. So, why the hell was the child not in bed? It was after 7.00pm.. And, even if the family had no access to a baby-sitter, why nevertheless, should the rest of us have had to tolerate its uncontrolled ‘exuberance’???
I was going to say something to the mother but my friend was really worried that this might escalate the situation; not helped by the fact that the mother was African-American, so you can imagine where that might have gone..
What really surprised me was that nobody else appeared to be in the slightest bit disturbed by the noise. And, even though it was a chain that represents itself as ‘family-friendly’, I still don’t believe that this soubriquet means that other diners should have to put up with excessive noise from children – especially in the evenings.
I did speak to the manager before we left; she said that she wished we’d talked to her earlier. At one point, my friend was all set to leave, but I didn’t see why WE should be the ones to go – although we might have been able to have been moved to another table had I spoken up sooner. Next time, I shall – and if my friends don’t like my doing so, well tough. The manager did give me two $5 vouchers for my next visit although, on reflection, I think she should have ‘comped’ us the entire meal.
I have written to the chain concerned about my EXTREME unhappiness because of this incident, so it will be interesting to hear what their response is – if they even bother to reply.
If they don’t and / or I don’t like their response, well, I simply won’t ever bother going to that chain again..