Eatiquette

Have You Ever Experienced Restaurant Rage?

The “wing-nut” flight attendant isn’t the only person whose freak-out is going viral this week. In Toledo, a woman smashed a drive-through window when she couldn’t score some McNuggets (video of the New Year’s Day incident just hit YouTube). In Kansas City, another woman recently heaved an ice bucket over the counter and trashed some registers when she wasn’t given a refund for a burger she complained about (video of that incident is also below). And Saturday, a Florida man experienced “restaurant rage” at a Boynton Beach Olive Garden, of all places.

Richard Bennett tells the Sun-Sentinel he was celebrating his son’s 5th birthday when a neighboring man complained that the kid was being noisy. When Bennett explained that his son was autistic, the man said something to the effect of “F— your autistic son” and then charged Bennet and threw punches. And you thought New Yorkers were impatient about kids in restaurants

Is “restaurant rage” really a thing? Several years back, the Washington Post said it was. The article isn’t online anymore, but a pointer to it quotes the definition: “Anger in a restaurant setting over food, service, or ambience [sic] that has gone out of control and manifested in irrational or violent behavior resulting in disturbance of the peace, damage to property, or outright physical assault on another person.” But why do these freak-outs so often occur at McDonald’s? Even when fine-dining customers, say, march into the kitchen to give chefs a piece of their mind, they end up getting their food comped.

Anyone ever witnessed restaurant rage in a fancy restaurant? Bonus points if you have video.

Raw Video: Enraged Over McNuggets [YouTube]
Raw Footage: Beef About A Burger [YouTube]
Autistic Miramar boy’s father talks about restaurant rage attack [Sun-Sentinel]

Have You Ever Experienced Restaurant Rage?