Joe90
Phoenix
Joined: Feb 24, 2010
Posts: 8234
Location: Great Britain
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 Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 2:50 pm Post subject: Anxiety asking for orders at restaurants? |
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Does anyone else have this? I always feel anxious when having to order something at a restaurant, or any eating place. McDonald's is one example. It's normally noisy in there, there's never any queue really, just a bunch of people pratically gathered near the order bit, and I've got to keep my eyes peeled for someone to yell, ''can I help?'' Because I'm quite deaf, I've got to really concentrate because people are so impatient in fast food restaurants, whether they're customers or workers, so often if I miss a worker yell, ''can I help?'', other people behind me get snappy with me and tell me to come on, or the worker yells, ''CAN I HELP???'' even louder and I just feel stupid after.
Then when I order, I always get tongue-tied, no matter how much I practice before going in. I always babble, like, ''uh...er....um...ca-can I have a...erm....plain cheese-burger, and....and....um....chips....and a small coke and....and....erm....a mcflurry, please?'' And I don't say it like some people who are indecisive might, I say it in a nervous way, like I'm trying to blurt it all out in a rush rather than take my time asking. I seem to get more nervous when I'm ordering from a woman than I do a man (don't know why). Then they usually ask for the money before they give me my order, and I give them the money, which makes me anxious too because I always forget what it comes too (since I usually slightly alter my order each time), and then after I get my order I forget that I have paid and I stand there waiting to be asked for the money.
Also in other restaurants I get anxious too, like when I go for an Indian meal or a Chinese meal with my family and there's a lot of us around a big table, I hate ordering then. I sit there getting butterflies in my tummy and going all sweaty, and constantly reading out in my mind what I am ordering from the menu, but I still have trouble verbalising it when he asks me for my order (and no, I do not have speech delays otherwise). And I always get embarrassed saying my order, especially when the waiter is standing right at the other end of the table and I've got to kind of shout across. My voice tends to go all funny, and I feel that people like my brother laughs at me. But if I get someone else to order, I then feel I am patronizing myself, and then people like my brother criticises and says, ''haven't you got a tongue in your head?''
Does anyone else have these anxieties when ordering food in restaurants?
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Venger
Seal
Joined: Apr 16, 2008
Posts: 2506
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 2:54 pm Post subject: |
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| Being a girl with a guys name sounds more embarrassing. |
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Cornflake
Rattles when shaken
Joined: Oct 31, 2010
Posts: 30333
Location: Hertfordshire, UK
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 3:00 pm Post subject: |
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That's no more her name than you look like your avatar.
Eat fish from a bucket, much? 
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Joe90
Phoenix
Joined: Feb 24, 2010
Posts: 8234
Location: Great Britain
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 3:01 pm Post subject: |
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| Venger wrote: | | Being a girl with a guys name sounds more embarrassing. |
What?
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Venger
Seal
Joined: Apr 16, 2008
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm the world's cutest animal. |
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jonny23
Velociraptor
Joined: Mar 28, 2012
Posts: 423
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 3:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Sometimes I can't even talk so I just point at the menu. |
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Joe90
Phoenix
Joined: Feb 24, 2010
Posts: 8234
Location: Great Britain
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 3:09 pm Post subject: |
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| jonny23 wrote: | | Sometimes I can't even talk so I just point at the menu. |
I wish I could do that, and it does sound a good idea, but I always worry of other people judging me if I do that, although I think I have seen people do that, if they are too shy to speak out, or find it too hard.
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btbnnyr
Rabbit In Cat's Clothing
Joined: May 19, 2011
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Location: Lost Angleles Carmen Santiago
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 3:12 pm Post subject: |
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I'm the world's qutest animal.
I don't like to order things with ridiculous names like Rooty Tooty Fresh N Frooty at IHOP. I like it when someone else orders my food for me at McDonald's, yum yum yum. I want Chicken McNuggets with Sweet N Sour Sauce, pleeez. |
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jonny23
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Joined: Mar 28, 2012
Posts: 423
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 3:14 pm Post subject: |
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| btbnnyr wrote: | I'm the world's qutest animal.
I don't like to order things with ridiculous names like Rooty Tooty Fresh N Frooty at IHOP. I like it when someone else orders my food for me at McDonald's, yum yum yum. |
I hate that. If it's a burger with some funny name I might just say the burger with whatever makes it special. If it's to tricky I just wont order it. |
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keira
Still not a morning person
Joined: Feb 17, 2011
Age: 29
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Location: misplaced
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 3:18 pm Post subject: |
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I do get anxious quite often and then I mispronounce the order or mix something up, so I end up pointing at the menu either way. Usually I speak too softly as well, so I need to repeat myself once or twice. Sometimes I ask my friends to order for me.
I'm less anxious if I'm at a usual place. And by usual I mean that I've been going there for lunch for two years now. |
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CanisMajor
Toucan
Joined: Feb 27, 2012
Age: 24
Posts: 271
Location: Miami Beach
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 3:22 pm Post subject: |
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| I have a lot of dietary restrictions, so if I don't make sure to explain everything, I might end up with a dish that they'd have to toss out and redo... which would make me feel 10x worse than the awkward situation of a crowd staring at me as I order. Though also due to the dietary restrictions, I get an extra burden put on me because I never know if the person ordering will actually remember them, or if the chef will actually prepare it right, not to mention the risk that I might be perceived as pretentious or picky because of my requests, possibly resulting in backlash (such as spit in my salad or something. Never know.) There are a lot of people out there with irrational hostility towards my lifestyle, even though I've never preached about it or pushed others to do it. But sometimes people get one bad experience with a certain type of person (or worse, only ever hear rumors), and they will assume everyone of that type is that way. Thus in addition to the stress, I have to be extra polite, be an excellent tipper, and pretty much try to be the perfect patron. So... yeah. Restaurants can definitely be bad. But it's not so hard when it's just the one waiter/waitress that I interact with... it's easier to make a good impression on just one person. I don't tend to go to places like McDonald's that have a team staring you down in the middle of a big room, asking you what you came here for... *Shudder* |
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CanisMajor
Toucan
Joined: Feb 27, 2012
Age: 24
Posts: 271
Location: Miami Beach
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 3:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Also, some people assume that a drive-through would be easier... Not for me. Sure, I don't have to look somebody in the eye, and I can pretend I'm in a hurry to avoid smalltalk, but now I have to talk through what is essentially a giant telephone, hoping that the person on the other end hears everything all right. Then when you get the bag, you either have to trust that what they gave you was correct, or sit there and take everything out of it before driving off... resulting in people behind you honking for you to get out of their way... |
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brickmack
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Joined: Mar 19, 2012
Posts: 183
Location: Indiana, USA
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 3:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Yea, it usually takes about 30 seconds after they ask what I want before I manae to respond. Fortunately, I go to the same restaraunts all the time, and get the same stuff always, so they normally dont even ask what I want anymore. |
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jonny23
Velociraptor
Joined: Mar 28, 2012
Posts: 423
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 3:52 pm Post subject: |
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| CanisMajor wrote: | | Also, some people assume that a drive-through would be easier... Not for me. Sure, I don't have to look somebody in the eye, and I can pretend I'm in a hurry to avoid smalltalk, but now I have to talk through what is essentially a giant telephone, hoping that the person on the other end hears everything all right. Then when you get the bag, you either have to trust that what they gave you was correct, or sit there and take everything out of it before driving off... resulting in people behind you honking for you to get out of their way... |
The worst is if you have someone with you and you have to relay their order as well. |
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jonny23
Velociraptor
Joined: Mar 28, 2012
Posts: 423
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 3:55 pm Post subject: |
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| brickmack wrote: | | Yea, it usually takes about 30 seconds after they ask what I want before I manae to respond. Fortunately, I go to the same restaraunts all the time, and get the same stuff always, so they normally dont even ask what I want anymore. |
There is one place I go so often that the other day I walked in, they made my stuff, I paid and left without saying a single word! Hmm wonder if I have routines. |
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