A Dinner Table Tale

Over a recent holiday weekend, my spouse and I, along with another couple, spent a long weekend in the Texas Hill Country wine tasting. One evening after a long day of sightseeing, we went to a local restaurant in Johnson City. The restaurant was crowded, and we had to give a name to be placed on the waiting list for a table. The hostess told us it would be a 30-35 minute wait. No problem.

About 25 minutes into our wait, four people were seated at their table. Another party of 4 believed it was their turn for the table. Someone from the group went to the hostess to ask why they were not seated. While we did not hear the response from the hostess, we did hear a response from one of the folks waiting. She intently walked up to the hostess with her glass of champagne and started yelling at the hostess. She said, “this is bullsh*t,” and your “fuc*ing lying.” She continued this rant in full view of other patrons, several of whom were children. She was so angry and belligerent that she took her glass of champagne, turned it upside down, and poured the contents on the floor. Then placed the glass on the bar counter and stormed out of the restaurant, leaving her companions behind. What a waste of perfectly good champagne.

We watched in startled bewilderment at the outrage this individual felt for what she thought she was entitled to, the next available table. Several guests at other tables stood up in defense of the hostess, us included, and we all did our best to calm the situation. 

Ultimately, the disruptive party left the restaurant to the applause of the guests. Ironically, about 4-5  minutes after the disruptors left, we saw one of the men headed back to the restaurant’s front door. Several of us quickly alerted the staff. We were all very concerned that he was angry and was coming back to vent again. We also thought, does he have a gun? We were all too stunned to even consider that option in more detail. He walked into the restaurant and right up to the hostess, and said sternly, “you just paged us that our table is ready. We want to come back in and have dinner.” The hostess said, “absolutely not.” The man left. We all laughed, yet our anxiety level was still high, thinking about the potential of an active shooter situation. What a world we live in when an active shooter scenario comes to your mind.

In another bout of irony, we were “next on the table list” and wound up with the table the disrupters were to have. How funny is that?

It has been several weeks since this event occurred, and I cannot get it off my mind. When did this behavior of entitlement become accepted? None of the other guests in the disrupter party tried to calm their friend down. Instead, they played along with it. They caused such a scene that guests seated nearby feared punches would be thrown at some point. All because of a perceived oversight of who was to be seated next. 

The hostess was as professional as she could be in trying to diffuse the situation, but the champagne woman would not listen to any explanation. She felt she had been slighted and wanted everyone to know about it. 

The only good news here is that the party left the restaurant. While we were seated and enjoyed a lovely meal, our table discussion was about four people’s rude, drunk behavior and their willingness to disrupt an evening of fun for most people in the restaurant within earshot of the vulgarities being shouted.

Unfortunately, for the kids seated about 3 feet away from the disrupters, they were able to witness an awful example of adult behavior. What a shame! While there are many teachable moments from this scenario, the sad thing is that it should never have happened. There is a way to stand up for what you believe is right without the drama of what we had to watch. Too bad we did not see that happen with this group.