Re: Lunch with my co-workers

Ms tyrion2 · ‎05-08-2017

@suzyQ3 wrote:
I'm an outlier here. I just can't get worked up over some of the actions described, certainly not a person asking another person if she can have a bite. Hey, I had a boss once who didn't even ask. :-( And the washing of hands after touching a menu? Sorry, I just choose not to live like that.

And before anyone accuse me of being a big ol' slob, I was taught impeccable table manners, to a fault. And for the most part, they have stuck with me. But not all of them. I do put jars on the table...heaven forgive me, Mom.

My punctillious, manner-ish mother believed that you should never finish what's on your plate; you should at least leave one bite. So fast forward to adulthood and a dinner at a very high-end restaurant in Beverly Hills with my husband, my mom, and her SO.

I finished my plate! So my mother took her fork and put a morsel of her food on my empty plate (yes, now after reading here, I see that that would be apparently disgusting, but I digress).

I looked at her and said something the effect of "Uh-oh, was I not supposed to clean my plate"? She smiled yes. I ate her morsel.

With a group of people with whom you have close contact everyday, have fun at such celebrations. Your chances of getting sick from someone forking up a shared appetizer are very slim...probably no more than our regular office activities.

Well stated! I feel just the same as you. I also never,ever heard of washing your hands after looking at a menu. I've never seen anyone do it.

I'm a spotless (to a fault) housekeeper but I just can't get worked up over food sharing and picking up a roll out of a breadbasket.

Sometimes I wonder if the ultra-squeamish ever had a child or pet they had to clean up after. The stories I could tell about pet messes...

ROMARY · ‎04-28-2010

I haven't read all of the replies. I usually sit at the end of the table, just in case. Just in case someone is sick/coughing (more often than not, in my experiences) in the middle section, I have a bit more 'clean air' at the end. Lol. I'm thinking that, if it's a long table, sit on the end. Just say: 'No thank you' to any shared food items. Keep looking down, eating your lunch.

'More or less', 'Right or wrong', 'In general', and 'Just thinking out loud ' (as usual).

Bridgegal · ‎03-09-2010

Count me in with this group too. I would never worry about most of these things but then I'm the least germaphobe you'll ever see. I'm never sick either. Must be those menu germs that keep my immune system strong.

AuntG · ‎03-09-2010

They sound like fun people who are enjoying themselves. You obviously sit in judgment of them and are incapable of joining in for sanitary reasons. Just nibble at your own food and say you don't have much of an appetite when it comes to sharing.

Plaid Pants2 · ‎03-14-2015

I swear, some people should just wear a haz-mat suit every time they leave their home.

Germs are everywhere, on everything that you touch.

Do they bring their own utensils when they go out to eat?

Do they bring their own plates and cups too?

What about all the doorknobs that they touch, and everything that they touch at work?

I read about what the "offenses" were at the birthday parties, and it sounds like people relaxing and having fun.

They didn't do a single thing wrong.

But, if the o/p simply can't stomach their behavior, then she should be straight up honest with them and say, "I don't want to go out with you guys because you are all a bunch of pigs and slobs with horrible table manners."

Trust me, she won't have to worry about going to any more birthday meals after that.

september · ‎03-09-2010

@blondiechick wrote:
What really makes me sick is when people touch the menus at the restaurant and do not wash there hands afterwards.....do you know how many people have touched that menu before you! Yuck!!!

Is it common for people to get up from the table and go wash hands after reading a menu, then ordering? I've never done this, nor heard that anyone else I knew would think to do it.

I think most of should have immune systems that are healthy enough to deal with this.

Allegheny · ‎03-19-2010

Well rather then embarass your co-workers by telling the truth, you could decline going by telling you have a phobia about eating in front of others. Basically that is sort of true if dining with them makes you uncomfortable.

noodleann · ‎06-10-2015

@september wrote:
@blondiechick wrote:
What really makes me sick is when people touch the menus at the restaurant and do not wash there hands afterwards.....do you know how many people have touched that menu before you! Yuck!!!
Is it common for people to get up from the table and go wash hands after reading a menu, then ordering? I've never done this, nor heard that anyone else I knew would think to do it.

I think most of should have immune systems that are healthy enough to deal with this.

Actually, the rare times I go out to eat at a sit-down restaurant, I usually order and then excuse myself to wash my hands. By the time I've sat down, I may have handled the dirtiest thing in the world--money--to check my wallet balance. I've certainly handled my home and car keys, bag, steering wheel, door handle, knobs, and may have shaken hands with one or more people. I might have touched the seat back, or the table. I might have checked my phone. All of those are things that are either questionable or germy.

I wash my hands because I want the freedom to order something that might be finger food and don't want to ingest all the germs I've picked up.

That's just me. I have a dysfunctional immune system and see no reason to tempt fate by thumbing my nose at my reality. Leaving the table for a few minutes also gives the church ladies I'm lunching with the opportunity to talk about me behind my back and get it out of their system.

noodleann · ‎06-10-2015

@redwingsgal wrote:
I work in a corporate office setting, my department has 13 people, including out boss. We celebrate every birthday by going to lunch at a restaurant chosen by the birthday person. I am appalled at the lack of manners that all 12 of these people display, no matter where we go. For example, grabbing the rolls with bare hands to pull off the one they want, cutting part of the appitizer with their used utensils to get the part they want, asking for a taste from someone else's plate. I am no Emily Post, but the way the act every time we go out is disgusting to me! The boss always orders several appetizers to be shared by everyone, and if the plate is not place near me so that I can take the first piece, I usually do not eat any of it!
Any suggestions on how I can get out of these lunches without making it obvious??!! I even left work sick one day just before we were leaving so I did not have to go!!!
Thanks for letting me rant!!! Have a great weekend!!!

Quick question: Who's paying for this lunch?