{rant}Ok, it's your birthday, we're all impressed (1 Viewer)

[Dave_Brown]

Yesterday the girlfriend and I decided to attend one of the marginally nicer chains of sit down restaurants. In the hour and 15 minutes we were there, we heard the wait staff sing their version of a happy birthday "song" to 3 seperate people. Complete with the line of clapping waiters and the "can we have everyone's attention! We have a special birthday guest with us today" and ok, if it was a young kid, let them have their moment. But these are middle aged people grinning like a monkey for such a stupid reason.

There is a time people stop caring about your birthday, and I believe it is after you turn 12.

 

[DougR]

PARTY POOPER !!

 

[DaveF]

Uhmm... what? Oh, you left off a zero. I agree that you can stop caring about birthdays after 120.

 

[Bryan X]

Eh, we still have the wait staff sing when we go out for birthdays. It's just a fun way to embarrass the person.

 

[MarkHastings]

Really? That's kind of a sad thought.

I mean, people celebrate the end of the work week (i.e. happy hour) every Friday night...52 celebrations per year, for no other reason than "it's the end of the work week, let's destroy ourselves".

Kinda makes the annual birthday celebration seem a little less pathetic.

 

[Scott L]

If you actually requested the song for yourself or was looking forward to it I'd agree, but this is something you just have to embarrass your friends with.

I hate the whole process too but you have to admit it makes your bday more memorable than just another dinner at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Factory.

 

[Henry Gale]

Your girlfriend told me you took her to Chucky Cheese...and that this was NOT the first time.
You need to try a nicer chain Dave!

 

[ChristopherDAC]

Traditionally, the Japanese stop celebrating birthdays after about age 10. Instead, everybody counts his age by calendar years, and the whole country has a birthday party as part of the New Year's celebrations.

 

[Joel C]

his doesn't really bug me, though it's a running joke in our family that we have NEVER eaten at Olive Garden without at least one clapping session taking place during the meal.

I have to say, though, the atmosphere at Rainforest Cafe was annoying enough before they started selling these desserts called "volcanoes," which require the waiter to burst from the kitchen with a lit sparkler atop the mound of chocolate screaming "VOOOOOLCAAAAAANOOOOOO!" Of course, we were sitting right near the kitchen entrance.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I'm 34 (just turned Sat) and I like my birthdays, don't really care anymore wheather or not anyone gets me anything, but they remind me that i've managed to survive another 365 days on this miserable ball of dirt called Earth.

Didn't care for this past birthday, though, because I was sick, but it was still good, I got a cake, a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Restaraunt singing is not cool, though lol.

 

[MarkHastings]

Oooo! I might be going to the Rainforest Cafe this Thrus. for lunch. I think I know what I'm getting for dessert

 

[Eric_L]

Everyone at a restaurant should succumb to my evil will and slurp their grool quietly while I pay for the sex, er, I mean my girlfriends meal.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Well, at a lot of restaurants, birthday=free dessert. So, that's one good reason to put up with the singing.

 

[McPaul]

Been to Montana's lately?

They let you wear that lovely Moose Head while they sing happy birthday to you.

FREE Head Lice for Everyone!!!

 

[Jerry Almeida]

We happen to be taking my daughter to Rainforest Cafe tomorrow for her 6th birthday. Anyone want to make the over/under for the number of times I hear VOOOOOLCAAAAAANOOOOOO!?

 

[Lew Crippen]

At the risk of seeming elitist Dave, I suggest that places where the staff gathers to sing Happy Birthday or whatever is on the marginal side of nice.

But you never know the circumstances. I once attended one of my wife’s (then GF) family’s birthday functions and one of her aunts pressured me to take pictures with an old 8mm camera sporting a bar of 4 floodlights—lit up the whole place and drew murderous looks from everyone in the very nice place. I just wished that I could find a nearby rock. It was not very long before someone from the staff came over to have a quiet word with me (to both my chagrin and relief).

 

[Greg_S_H]

Benihana's does it, and they're more than nice.

The staff often doesn't like this practice either. Watch them sometimes. Teenage girl comes out singing and smiling. Turns around from party, smile falls off. Instantly.

 

[Zen Butler]

Am I doing something right? I have maybe been to two restaurants in my whole life that busted in to an impromptu birthday song. Olive Garden and Claim Jumper...both, only because I had to. I would never chose to eat at either of those two. One other time, it was my birthday and friends took me to a Thai restaurant. They came out with this bowl of ice cream and a poloroid camera singing this song in Thai. Cool? uh no....I love Thai food but sudden bursts of birthday song are annoying in any language.
Didn't really make me angry though.

 

[MarkHastings]

My brother told me a story about when he went on vacation with his friends family. His friends sister (who was a teen) had also brought a friend along and they are the two giggliest girls around.

My brother said that everytime they went out to eat (obviously every night), they'd tell the waitperson that it was one of the girls birthdays (which it obviously wasn't).

They said it was priceless to see the two of them giggling out of embarrassment every time.

 

[Jeff_CusBlues]

Which restaurants provide this for free? I've always had to pay for this service.