Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Travel&Dining > DiningBuzz
Reload this Page >

Red Lobster waitress: "will you eat them if they live on land and crawl in backyard?"

Community
Wiki Posts
Search

Red Lobster waitress: "will you eat them if they live on land and crawl in backyard?"

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jan 9, 2015, 7:54 am
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 205
Red Lobster waitress: "will you eat them if they live on land and crawl in backyard?"

So.... we went to the local Red Lobster to burn up about two $100 Red Lobster gift cards. The gift cards were also good at their sister restaurant, Olive Garden. Should have gone to Olive Garden instead, because I've lost my appetite for lobsters forever!

The reason? When the waitress brought out our cooked live lobsters, she said: "will you still eat them if they live on land and crawl around your backyard or attic?" (wish I had my phone on and recording her comment so I could post the video on YouTube.... it would have been priceless)

She said it as a joke, but it made me physically sick while ripping apart my lobster. It was like I was eating a giant cockroach... Yes, I know lobsters and cockroaches are remotely related, biologically.... I ended up swapping my lobster with my friend's shrimp dish. Same difference, but at least the shrimps are breaded and fried, so I couldn't see what I was eating.
TENYKS is offline  
Old Jan 9, 2015, 8:18 am
  #2  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Either at the shooting range or anywhere good beer can be found...
Posts: 51,076
I'd have asked for the manager and explained that you no longer wanted your lobster dish, and would've asked for something else.
kipper is offline  
Old Jan 9, 2015, 8:20 am
  #3  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: About 45 miles NW of MCO
Programs: Acapulco - Gold, Panama - Red, Timothy Leary 8 Mile High Club
Posts: 29,277
If you're that squeamish about your food, you might want to consider becoming a vegetarian.

I remember buying whole shrimp and cleaning them with my 16 year old daughter. The experience put her off shrimp for a year. She could handle the thought of eating the critters until she had to cut heads and pull off those little legs. She's over it but I'm sure she doesn't ever buy them whole.
BamaVol is offline  
Old Jan 9, 2015, 8:46 am
  #4  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Either at the shooting range or anywhere good beer can be found...
Posts: 51,076
Originally Posted by BamaVol
If you're that squeamish about your food, you might want to consider becoming a vegetarian.

I remember buying whole shrimp and cleaning them with my 16 year old daughter. The experience put her off shrimp for a year. She could handle the thought of eating the critters until she had to cut heads and pull off those little legs. She's over it but I'm sure she doesn't ever buy them whole.
I hunt, so I know where red meat comes from, but the comment about the lobster would make me a little uneasy.
kipper is offline  
Old Jan 9, 2015, 8:48 am
  #5  
Flyertalk Evangelist and Moderator: Coupon Connection and Travel Products
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Milton, GA USA
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum Elite, Hyatt Discoverist, Radisson Elite
Posts: 19,041
I agree with Kipper, I would have had a conversation with the manager. It is not proper for any waitstaff to make that type of comment before one is going to have their dinner.
wharvey is offline  
Old Jan 9, 2015, 8:53 am
  #6  
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: CLT
Posts: 7,249
That comment just seems so random. If you have such an issue with lobster and people eating lobster...then why do you work at Red Lobster? Work at Sweet Tomatoes or something!

Even as a joke it's not funny. I'd ask the server if he/she realizes what poor taste the comment was, then depending on the response I'd talk to the manager.
gj83 is offline  
Old Jan 9, 2015, 9:22 am
  #7  
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 34
Yes, with clarified butter.
OrcaSnack is offline  
Old Jan 9, 2015, 9:38 am
  #8  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: About 45 miles NW of MCO
Programs: Acapulco - Gold, Panama - Red, Timothy Leary 8 Mile High Club
Posts: 29,277
Originally Posted by kipper
I hunt, so I know where red meat comes from, but the comment about the lobster would make me a little uneasy.
The comment was weird and inappropriate and probably should have been reported to a manager. It wouldn't have kept me from eating the lobster I had ordered. There are subjects that might put me off eating, such as a server saying "I just came from the men's room and I didn't wash my hands", but the fishing magazines I read often affectionately refer to lobsters as "bugs" and I think the southern version without claws looks even more like an insect.
BamaVol is offline  
Old Jan 9, 2015, 9:50 am
  #9  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Ontario, Canada
Programs: Aeroplan, IHG, Enterprise, Avios, Nexus
Posts: 8,355
If a comment that innocuous is enough to make you "physically sick" and lose your appetite for lobsters "forever" then do not ever go to a place where any of your food is processed. Some people do not have the stomach to learn where their food actually comes from and the path it takes to get to your plate.
Badenoch is offline  
Old Jan 9, 2015, 9:56 am
  #10  
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: gggrrrovvveee (ORD)
Programs: UA Pt, Marriott Ti, Hertz PC
Posts: 6,091
Originally Posted by Badenoch
If a comment that innocuous is enough to make you "physically sick" and lose your appetite for lobsters "forever" then do not ever go to a place where any of your food is processed. Some people do not have the stomach to learn where their food actually comes from and the path it takes to get to your plate.
As long as you don't know how the sausage is made, as they say.

What was the context of the comment? Was it just out of the blue from the waitress? I have a hard time believing that one would make such a comment without it being a response to something. If she said, "Will you still eat them...?", there had to be something to which she was responding.
gobluetwo is offline  
Old Jan 9, 2015, 11:27 am
  #11  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: SMF
Programs: Hilton Diamond-Marriott Platinum-life
Posts: 1,015
Originally Posted by TENYKS
So.... we went to the local Red Lobster to burn up about two $100 Red Lobster gift cards. The gift cards were also good at their sister restaurant, Olive Garden. Should have gone to Olive Garden instead, because I've lost my appetite for lobsters forever!

The reason? When the waitress brought out our cooked live lobsters, she said: "will you still eat them if they live on land and crawl around your backyard or attic?" (wish I had my phone on and recording her comment so I could post the video on YouTube.... it would have been priceless)

She said it as a joke, but it made me physically sick while ripping apart my lobster. It was like I was eating a giant cockroach... Yes, I know lobsters and cockroaches are remotely related, biologically.... I ended up swapping my lobster with my friend's shrimp dish. Same difference, but at least the shrimps are breaded and fried, so I couldn't see what I was eating.
What a strange comment by a Server who I assume is hoping to receive a 'tip'
mike2200 is offline  
Old Jan 9, 2015, 11:48 am
  #12  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: YYC/MNL
Programs: Marriott Bonvoy SE
Posts: 520
My question is, why the server made that comment in the first place. That's oddly specific for a 'random' comment.
flipstah is offline  
Old Jan 9, 2015, 11:52 am
  #13  
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Central Mass
Programs: Independent
Posts: 4,829
There had to be more to the conversation than that, so it is hard to judge. It sounds like a commen I would make myself. Of course, I can't even be around the table when someone is cooking or eating lobster because of the smell and looks. My mother used to talk to them when she cooked them in the big pot...

Originally Posted by BamaVol
If you're that squeamish about your food, you might want to consider becoming a vegetarian.
Ewww! Just thing about that-eating food that has been sitting in dirt, has been covered in animal excrement to help it grow! The little cells all grow outward surrounding that stuff, too - ever see all the sand in a leek?
Cloudship is offline  
Old Jan 9, 2015, 12:36 pm
  #14  
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: BNA
Posts: 1,798
While that's a weird and offputting comment, it's no worse than what the hostess probably said: "Welcome to Red Lobster!"

dolcevita is offline  
Old Jan 10, 2015, 11:40 am
  #15  
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,508
Hell yeah, I'd still eat it. I'd eat a lot more of it too since lobster would cost a lot less if they crawled around in my backyard and attic.
KoKoBuddy is offline  


Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.