Restaurant's "Well Behaved Kids" discount goes viral....
 

http://www.today.com/moms/restaurant...-her-1B8271012









Laura King expected a tally of good food on her restaurant tab. A credit for her children’s good manners, on the other hand, came as quite a surprise.


King, her husband and their three children, ages 2, 3 and 8, recently feasted on pizza, pasta and mushroom ragu at an Italian eatery near their home in Kingston, Wash. The kids – no strangers to restaurants -- quietly enjoyed their meals.

“They were just being their normal selves,” King told TODAY.com. “Our server came to our table and just really thanked us for having exceptionally behaved children.”

Then, the server brought out a bowl of ice cream for the children to share and when the family checked the bill, it turned out the dessert was on the house. The restaurant had applied a “well behaved kids” discount of $4, which covered the ice cream.

An image of the receipt quickly went viral after one of King’s friends posted it online.


Rob Scott -- who owns Sogno di Vino, the restaurant King visited -- said he routinely offers complimentary desserts to customers with well-mannered children, but this was the first time he had actually typed the discount on the receipt.

He fondly recalled the King family, describing the children as the epitome of good behavior: they were very polite, didn’t neglect to say “please” and “thank you,” and stayed seated during their visit. That’s often not the case when kids come to his restaurant, Scott said. Many end up shouting or running around the eatery unchecked.

“So we go to the parents and say, ‘I’m sorry but we really need little Johnny to sit down and not run around and yell and scream… because he’s bothering some of the patrons.’ And parents will take an attitude to the point where we’re almost afraid to say something,” Scott said.

“Sogno di Vino means ‘to dream of wine’ (in Italian), it doesn’t mean Chuck E. Cheese. We love Chuck E. Cheese, they do a great job. That’s why you go to Chuck E. Cheese, so the kids can play.”

Unruly children are an ongoing source of friction in the restaurant industry. One Pennsylvania eatery simply announced kids under 6 are no longer welcome.

Other restaurants have posted signs on doors and menus reminding parents that children should use indoor voices and stay tucked in chairs.

The issue is packed with emotion for both sides, said Peter Post, etiquette expert and director of The Emily Post Institute.

Parents want to be able to take their children out to a restaurant and feel stung if they perceive their little ones aren’t welcome, Post said. Many interpret comments about their kids’ behavior as someone else trying to discipline their offspring.

“They don’t want it to appear that they are bad parents,” Post said.

On the other hand, people paying for a special night out expect an experience that doesn’t involve unruly kids, he said.

Post urged families to practice good table manners at home before ever taking children to a restaurant. He also advised parents to choose the eatery carefully: a five-star establishment probably doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Restaurant patrons being bothered shouldn’t criticize the parents directly, Post said. Rather, they should ask a waiter or a maître d’ to deal with the situation.

King’s rules for restaurant-ready children are simple.

She doesn’t take her youngest kids out if they haven’t napped that day.

They get a snack before the family heads out -- taking very hungry children to a restaurant where they have to wait for their food is not a good idea, she said.

Finally, King and her husband engage the kids, talking about the people around them, the art that’s on the wall and the music that’s playing.

“Just try to enjoy your kids when you’re out with them and I’ve found that our kids usually respond pretty well to that,” King said.

I've been in a few restaurants where I would've liked to have charged the family double for their unruly kids. :#

Nothing ruins an outing more than little hoodlums running amok while the parents let them.

Belligerent drunken morons.

I shouldn't have to use the same patience with adults that I use with kids.

When I opened my gameroom(we entertain a lot) we even thought ahead and built another room very kid friendly but hell no the kids wanted to run amok in the gameroom and so I quickly started a kid ban.Granted,I lost more than a few football fans who quit coming but at least I enjoyed the games without curtain climbers everywhere.

Yes,the mrs and I never had kids. :)

Worse thing is that the parents act like the kids are doing nothing wrong and they know they're bothering the whole damn restaurant or where ever they are.

I hate it when they're out in public acting like little rotten bastards at the grocery, whatever.

The worst is when you get on a plane or in a restaurant and they stand up and turn around facing you and stare at you the whole time.

It's OK for about a minute then TURN THE **** AROUND.

The parents know this but still let them.

I don't have kids but if I did they would learn to respect other people and their space and privacy.

I used to be a server in a couple different restaurants, and I wanted to beat parents senseless. They would be eating/drinking at one end of the restaurant and their kids would be running between the tables screaming at the other end of the place. They felt like everyone should enjoy and be happy to babysit THEIR kids, and would get very offended if you mentioned something to them about how their kids were causing a scene.

Simple truth about life. Your kids are awesome, and amazing, and truly wonderful gifts.......TO YOU!!! No one else gives a ****, and certainly doesn't want to have to put up with other peoples misbehaved undisciplined brats.

Another fun story.

My wife and I got married two years ago. We made sure that in the invitations we said that this was an adult affair, and that children were not welcome.

One lady that we invited went apeshit. "I can't believe that my kids would be such and inconvenience to you at your wedding, blah blah blah..." Should be noted that this bitch made us look at videos and pictures of her kids all the time. Anyways, I was polite, but made it very clear, this was an adult event, and that she had infants under two years old, I don't' want crying babies at my ceremony or reception, and I don't want other people bringing their kids either, it's not a daycare, it's a wedding, on top of that, I don't want to pay $130 for each of your kids to eat chicken fingers and mac n' cheese. And if finding a babysitter is too much of a hassle, then by all means please RSVP unable to attend, I expect your kids to be much more important than our wedding to you, and hold no hard feelings what so ever.

She didn't show. I smiled in victory.

Good for you.....people like that are stupid

I do this as an adult. Are you saying it's a problem?

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I F-ing hate going out only to have kids turn the place into a playground. Unfortunately my sister has some, so family gatherings have gone from adults sitting around talking to chasing little brats around the restaurant and telling them to be quiet and stop interrupting.

With four kids we very rarely ever go out as a family to eat. NO matter how hard you try, one of them has to be stubborn.

We usually take them out individually to the restaurant of their choice as special father or mother time.

Obviously, you don't have kids if you think that.

Obviously you're a shitty parent if you think otherwise.