I need your help... I need you to tell me if I was in the wrong.
This past weekend my wife, our two kids (ages 6 & 11) and my mother-in-law went out to eat at a local pizza parlor, Bella Pizza in Bensalem, PA. It was around 4:30PM and there exactly 3 people in the place which holds probably upwards of 40-50.
So to say it was a tad slow would be an understatement...
Upon entering the establishment my wife inquired if we could partake of a larger booth located toward the back. She was initially told yes by one employee then no by another. I was lagging a few seconds behind the others and came in to see my wife, kids and mother-in-law seated at a table/booth which was a bit cramped shall I say? It was then my wife told me of the yes/no larger booth discussion.
I then went to inquire of the owner (at least I think he was the owner) as to why we could not sit in the larger booth. Truth be told, I am 6'3", 250 lbs and my wife is 5'11"...so we are not small people by any means.
I was told by the man in charge that the larger booth was for parties of 6 or more people and he couldn't let us use it because "it's going to get crowded soon," a reference I assume to the dinner rush which was about to ensue at any moment.
Keep in mind there were 5 in my party and there were 3 people in the entire place not counting the employees.
I responded to the owner: "That doesn't make any sense... we're here now. And no one else is here. Why would you not take care of the customers you already have as opposed to those who might come in later?
"That's our policy... has been for the past 10 years," came the very belligerent reply.
It immediately reminded me of a story my brother Michael once told me. He wanted to buy his employees digital cameras as holiday gifts. He went to the nearest Best Buy, found one he liked and told the salesperson he wanted to buy 10 digital cameras.
"No, you can't buy 10," said the salesperson.
"Why not?"
"Because then I won't have any left for customers who may come in later."
True story...
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So, was I right or wrong in thinking we should have been able to sit wherever we wanted? Or should I have appreciated and respected the policy of the pizza parlor?
'Til next time...
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