A pet peeve of mine

I have worked in the restaurant business for 6 years, mostly as a waiter, server, order taker, etc. I always get people that say they are ready to order, but when I ask them what they would like, they magically don't know and start reading the menu again.

I get so annoyed by these people mainly because I have other tables to take orders from and when I'm told to stop and wait when people aren't ready when they said trey were, then other people have to wait and pretty soon all my tables are pissed.

This is something that every person in the restaurant business comes across, and something that would occur to me at least once or twice every shift.

How upset would people become if they are attending an event and the main attraction, which indicated it was ready to perform, suddenly said, "I'm not ready." It gets worse when I try to say I'll be back to the table in a few minutes because they are obviously not ready and the customers say no, no, no, just wait a minute.

I understand that the whole point of going out to eat is supposed to be relaxing, and some people might just want to be sure of what they are going to eat.

Another scenario: A table has been sat, the people immediately call you over to take their order because they are in a rush, and then they end up sitting in your station (camping) for 4 hours!