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At the airport the other day the barmaid carded every soul, including all the old graybeards and women over a certain age. Instructed by the boss to disregard common sense, the barmaid was following the rules. I expect that being instructed to chill at the bar in a restaurant full of empty tables is par for the course at Logan (rules are rules), but not at anyplace in the hospitality business.

I'm not one who's willing to wait very long. Never have been, and never will be. I've never understood those who are willing to wait an hour/waist an hour of their life away, just to eat at a crowded establishment. I'm always willing to come back at a better time, and go elsewhere for the time being.

I awlays ask how long the wait will be, if the place is crowded, and if it's more than 15 minutes, I'm out of there. If Do wait, and it starts to go longer than I was told, I politely tell the hostess to remove from the list and that I will try back another time. I won't just up and leave without letting someone know, so they're not standing there yelling out for my party for no reason. That's wasting their time.

It's not that I'm always in a hurry. I just don't like to eat at places when their extremely busy. Too much can go wrong during a busy rush. There are so many options in my area, that it is just plain stupid to waist time in waiting so long just to eat somewhere.

Hannah, you handled that extremely well. The woman was a bully no different than a sixth grader on a playground. I'm sorry you had to go through that. A person should not be treated as a second-class citizen upon putting on an apron.

Reading these boards always gives me an interesting look into the perspective of those whose experience in restaurants is limited to being a guest. Servers don't make policy. If she didn't like a policy she should have talked (like a grown-up) to the manager.

Honestly, I could probably go on forever about this. But, I think the important part was about how people treat each other. The hostess was apathetic to you and you didn't feel valued as a guest. You were kind to the bully and she couldn't muster appreciation. People responding say the guest is always right but they don't want to be the person waiting to sit while someone is holding a table. A little more focus on the Golden Rule would have been nice.

Hannah, this is a good opportunity to tie in a post of yours from a few weeks back, where you described two diners sharing only one entree and one drink but occupying the table for hours. When there are people with reservations waiting to sit, is there any attempt to (gently or otherwise) persuiade the table hogs to leave? It would obviously be in the best interest of the restaurant, the server and the waiting party.

Yeah, it's all about transparency. If there's going to be a long wait, please tell me, so I can decide whether it's worth staying. I'm a pretty understanding person, I just want to know what I'm getting into.

On a side note, I wish restaurants took reservations for brunch, at least for the peak brunch hours. As a second best, please give me coffee while I wait, like one of my regular places does (they even give samples of baked goods).