Not to freak anyone out, but there are lot of ways you could fuck up a date. You could, for example, break up with the person you’re on a date with, which would be pretty rude. You could also forget to perform the ever-crucial pre-date menu peep, or you could even straight up fall out of your chair on a first date (not like I’ve ever done that or anything). But all of these first-date faux pas pale in comparison to the ultimate dating fail: being rude to waitstaff.
Even Pete Davidson, a man who allegedly cannot boil water (but does, to his credit, have a pretty illustrious dating career) agrees. It’s no secret that Davidson has been on his share of dates with the world’s most beautiful and talented women, including, most recently, a couple of dinner dates in his native New York with one Ms. Kim Kardashian. (Perhaps you’ve heard of her?) Still, despite his star-studded dating history, Davidson’s number-one first-date red flag is surprisingly relatable. Speaking with chef and podcast host Ruthie Rogers on Tuesday’s episode of iHeartMedia’s River Cafe Table 4, the comedian said he would break things off “immediately” if a date was rude to a waiter.
Why? Because there is absolutely no reason or excuse for ever being anything other than polite to a waiter or service industry professional in any context, to the extent that I am literally shocked that anyone would ever fail to do so. Of course, as literally any service industry professional can tell you, people are in fact rude to waitstaff with staggering frequency. I don’t know who these people are or why they do what they do, but they are in fact out there (and as a former Nobu hostess revealed last year, many of them are rich and famous).
Still, rich and famous or not, being rude to a waiter is pretty deranged behavior. Not only is it just a bad look for you that will probably cause your date a great deal of embarrassment (assuming they’re not also an actual psychopath), but it also tends to suggest some other pretty dark character traits and tendencies, such as aggression, lack of empathy and narcissism. All in all, not great vibes to be giving off on a date!
That said, being rude to your waiter is not only the worst thing you could do on a date, but it’s also probably one of the worst things you could do in a restaurant, period. So if you want to date Pete Davidson — or any even remotely normal and compassionate human being — maybe try not being a dick in restaurants.
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