Restaurant Dilemma: What would you do?

[Knuckle Ball]

Update: Though I admit no actual wrongdoing, I broke down and bought some ear pods.

You’re welcome.

 

[Climberx]

I went out to lunch yesterday at a busy restaurant…it was a mid-priced pub style restaurant.

I am on my own and the hostess seats me at my table. The waitress brings me a pop, I put in my order, and then I start scrolling through Tik Tok on my phone…as one does. The restaurant is kinda loud and busy with music playing from speakers in the ceiling so it was kinda hard to hear some of the vids but…whatev.

Anyway, sitting diagonally across the aisle from me is a table of 6 elderly women. One of these women calls to me across the aisle and asks me to turn down my phone. I looked at her for a moment and then turned the phone off. The lady then told me again that the phone had been very disturbing to her. I was like…WTF…there are noises coming at us from everywhere and yet you are disturbed by my phone??? And she was completely indignant and condescending in her attitude and tone of voice.

I sat and pondered my choices? I considered standing up for myself but quickly concluded that getting into a public standoff with a table full of elderly Karen’s would not produce a favourable result. So instead I just cancelled my order and left…I didn’t feel like eating my lunch surrounded by that shitty, angry energy…so I explained the situation to the waitress who was cool about it and retreated to the combination Wendy’s/Tim Horton’s drive thru for my lunch.

I feel that I mare the mature choice.

What would you do?

You did the most politically correct thing. Some other options to consider the next time:

1) ripping a massive fart on your way out of the restaurant directly in front of and in the direction of those group of Karen's.

2) politely giving said Karen's the finger and continuing your ticktock doomscrolling. This option prevents making a public scene but will really get the Karen's going. And once the Karen's get going, it is they who are always in the wrong (thereby canceling your initial wrong by playing videos loudly for the world to hear).
3) The last (and slightly more risque option). Is to pretend to trip and knock over the glass of whatever said Karen is drinking. Hopefully it ruins her food AND her Karen dress.

NOTE: only choose one of the above options. Mixing them cpuld prove to be futile. Although, if executed with precision, option 1 and 3 could in theory by combined.

 

[xmontrealer]

But tbh you kinda are the problem if hearing someone else’s tik tok is causing you this much distress. I can understand how it may be mildly annoying to others and perhaps I need to break down and buy some ear buds…but you claim that there is literally “nothing more annoying” than this sound and that people who do it are “the worst” which seems like an awfully strong reaction.

Thus, I get the impression that you may have a sensitivity to certain sounds…perhaps you are on the autism spectrum? Regardless, it sounds like it happens rather often in your life to the point that it has become your “biggest pet peeve.”

From what you describe, it seems like there are thousands of people out there in the world listening to their tik toks without ear buds- I’ve never noticed them because it doesn’t bother me but you clearly have. Sadly, unlike me, I doubt any of these people care about your feelings and they are going to keep doing what they do.

So at some point it becomes a choice: you can go around crashing out every time the world doesn’t align with how you think it should be or you can invest in a good pair of noise cancelling headphones…and if you keep choosing to crash out over it then I think at some point it’s fair to question whether you are the problem.

Jeez. Knuckleball you really don't seem to get it, do you?

Defiance until death! (as one political TikTok poster always signs off)

Btw noise cancelling headphones are generally only good for cancelling continuous somewhat stable background noise.
Not so good for intermittent higher frequency spectrum sounds like TikTok posts coming out of a tiny phone speaker.

 

[superstar_88]

Social norm



There's no right or wrong.
Choosing to be an asshole and lack consideration for others is always ones perogative.

 

[Knuckle Ball]

You did the most politically correct thing. Some other options to consider the next time:

1) ripping a massive fart on your way out of the restaurant directly in front of and in the direction of those group of Karen's.

2) politely giving said Karen's the finger and continuing your ticktock doomscrolling. This option prevents making a public scene but will really get the Karen's going. And once the Karen's get going, it is they who are always in the wrong (thereby canceling your initial wrong by playing videos loudly for the world to hear).
3) The last (and slightly more risque option). Is to pretend to trip and knock over the glass of whatever said Karen is drinking. Hopefully it ruins her food AND her Karen dress.

NOTE: only choose one of the above options. Mixing them cpuld prove to be futile. Although, if executed with precision, option 1 and 3 could in theory by combined.

I think combining option 1 and 3 seems to obvious…either one on its own might work.

I thought about Option 2 but that would result in an instant complaint to the Manager and I don’t like my chances if it comes down to me vs 6 old ladies.

 

[Climberx]

I think combining option 1 and 3 seems to obvious…either one on its own might work.

I thought about Option 2 but that would result in an instant complaint to the Manager and I don’t like my chances if it comes down to me vs 6 old ladies.

I think the way you could get around it is intermittently listening to ticktock instead of a steady stream. That way they think they finally have peace and quiet to talk about whatever Karen's talk about and then BAM they get hit with the noise again.

 

[Knuckle Ball]

Jeez. Knuckleball you really don't seem to get it, do you?

Defiance until death! (as one political TikTok poster always signs off)

Btw noise cancelling headphones are generally only good for cancelling continuous somewhat stable background noise.
Not so good for intermittent higher frequency spectrum sounds like TikTok posts coming out of a tiny phone speaker.

Sure…I think it’s more a matter of degree. I get how it may be mildly annoying to some…but if this is the epitome of everything you think is wrong in the world then at some point I think maybe the problem is you.

 

[The Mechanic]

What I would’ve done, I would’ve given her of face expression like I just fucked the neighbour’s cat and, tell her mouthwash isn’t working. And then smile. I’ve come across these new Canadians shopping at Walmart you can hear the conversation from the next aisle over I continue to do my shopping and then when I passed the guy just before I take out my phone and I have a little conversation with myself “ tell me did you really enjoy again fucked up the ass last night and when I pulled out comes all over the bed sheets!, Just say it loud enough that the person on the phone here is it and then smile and move on to get some real good looks. It just boils down to insecurity, the louder they talked the more insecure they are.

 

[Birf]

Good on the lady for speaking up and I wish restaurants would enforce some type of noise rule for phones. Everyone is considered a Karen when they speak up about something. I wear dollar store ear buds inside because of etiquette, most people simply don't have etiquette.

Plus i can hear everything better and make phone calls easier to hear.

 

[Jenesis]

There was no way that saying No was gonna work. She was quite insistent in her tone. If I said No it would escalate to the other ladies joining in, a complaint to the waitress, a visit from the manager. There was no realistic option for me to say No so I’m left with the choice of acquiescing or leaving…both of which suck.

This is your answer though. Management would have ask you to lower the volume because etiquette is to not play phone media where it can disrupt others. So it is good you got headphones.

I keep a pair in my purse all the time. I use them all the time. Waiting for car repairs, doctor’s office, restaurants, etc. You don’t realize how many places you can use them until you get them.

I think you may be straying awfully close to becoming a Karen…and I’m guessing this is probably not the first time this has been pointed out to you.

She is not the first or only person to say use headphones. Why are you coming down on her so hard?

 

[skiierelite]

I would have stopped watching videos on my phone and stayed to have my lunch.

 

[oakvilleguy]

My view is there is nothing more inconsiderate than someone talking loudly on their phone or watching videos or listening to music in public without headsets. The rest of the world doesn’t need to hear you.

 

[The Oracle]

Only if you tell me the secret location of the newspaper

 

[massman]