Asking Eric: Here’s how I warn a restaurant about my father’s bad behavior

Dear Eric: You ran a letter from someone whose father likes to complain at restaurants (“Out to Eat”).

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My father is very similar and says the same thing about the restaurant wanting feedback, but he does it in a disrespectful way toward the servers.

What I do when my dad goes to a restaurant with me is call ahead to the restaurant and speak to the manager or send an email explaining what they can anticipate from my dad.

I’m not sure what they do in the background, but I notice that they typically assign a server who is experienced with diners like this. If my dad leaves a small tip, I will pretend to go to the bathroom and give the server some additional money to make up the difference.

Unfortunately, having a direct conversation with my dad is not an option, but I do