Lunch with my co-workers - Page 3

SXMGirl · ‎07-07-2010

@redwingsgal, I think that the light-hearted discussion is not going to happen!

The next time that I hear salt and ice together, it better be in a margarita!

Spurt · ‎03-20-2010

And one more thing....if they ask why Im not eating any of the appetizers and/or bread I tell them that it fills me up to much and I really want to enjoy my lunch/dinner.....(and its truth for me too)

Animals are reliable, full of love, true in their affections, grateful. Difficult standards for people to live up to.”

Trinity11 · ‎11-16-2014

@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!!!

LOL....Sounds like one big Happy Family!!

Irshgrl31201 · ‎03-18-2010

@redwingsgal wrote:
@SXMGirl wrote:
@redwingsgal, I would never eat an appetizer that was for the entire group as many people really have no concept of table manners, and many may not wash their hands.

I am interested if your boss has the same manners as your co-workers and eats the appetizers. If not, it might be beneficial in a light-hearted way to say something to the boss. If the boss was brought up with good table manners, or at least learned them at some point, then the boss might also be appalled.

I would order a small appetizer for myself and if someone asks for you to share, I would just say that I really like this and don't want to miss one bite.
Funny you should ask, @SXMGirl, my boss picks her teeth with a toothpick during the entire meal and certainly afterwords! I find that probably more disgusting than the food sharing!!!

I HATE THIS!!! I can't believe there are people who haven't learned this is unacceptable. It is right up there with blowing your nose at the table.

When I lived in Japan I remember if people used a toothpick they would that the free hand to cover their mouths while using it. I think you should just wait period until you are alone to use a toothpick but I'll never forget that. I was a young kid and when I first saw it, I didn't know what they were doing.

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
JFK

DiAnne · ‎09-22-2010

@redwingsgal

Can I ask what industry you work in? Just curious because in all my years of working in So Cal I have never encountered this behavior.

wonderfulworld · ‎12-05-2012

I am also a huge Red Wings fan! We need a good season.

The thought occurs to me that your preoccupation with other's eating habits

over shadowing the fun of the event might be an expression of anxiety. Kind

of OCD. Just a thought. It happens to me.

jeanlake · ‎03-10-2010

Ugh. Sounds like a nightmare lunch. Not sure how you can get out of this without saying -- I'm on a restricted diet. They don't have to know you're on the 'restricting myself from uncomfortable lunch group' diet. But knowing that boundaries aren't set -- they may bug you for details.

So glad our holiday staff luncheon at campus, when fall semester ends and before holiday break, is an afternoon movie, then we all go home. Our Dean is a theatre major and this works for him! One of the ladies in the office talks non-stop about her teenage daughter. Our creative Dean found a way around this.

Sounds like your work group enjoys these lunches. I'm with you -- wouldn't enjoy it at all. I'm so sorry you have to put up with this.

"I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees." Henry David Thoreau

suzyQ3 · ‎03-09-2010

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.

~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

sunshine45 · ‎03-09-2010

@suzyQ3

so wonderfully stated!

i eat at potlucks.

i go out with friends to eat at restaurants.

i sit at "dive bars" and eat at the bar.

i sit at outdoor cafes and restaurants where bugs are swirling around.

i eat at other peoples homes.

i eat gifts of food.

...still alive to tell about it......and happy i get to be around people i like to share and enjoy!

********************************************
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." - Albert Einstein

lkat · ‎07-23-2014

@sunshine45, @suzyQ3 I so agree with both of you. While I very much dislike eating with people who don't close their mouth when they chew, it doesn't bother me one bit if people pull off a piece of bread/roll from a larger piece or ask if they can have a tastje from another's meal. I really thought the comment about washing up after touching a menu was a joke, have never heard of that before! It's impossible to be out in the world and not constantly touch things that others have touched, I'd rather enjoy my life than worry about germs from every little thing.