Don't show up with a friendly smile, act like you are somebody,because you are. Attitude works both way, and put a pen behind your ear,put cell phone at reach, look like you are restaurant critic. You don't have to try too hard, just have some fun with the the staff, and they are only acting too. LEARN TO COOK AND SAVE MONEY AND STRESS.

A host is the face and front door of your night out at a restaurant. If the host can't even be bothered to show some semblance of decency then 1 star that shit on Yelp.

I've lived here for a decade and still can't figure out why people always complain about "bad attitudes" and "shitty service" as if it were a universally-experienced-Portland-dining-inevitability.

In my experience, the service in Portland is average at worst, and it's usually better than than that. Do you really want someone to blow cocaine up your ass with a Silly Straw just because you were brave enough to sit down and order off the happy hour menu?

I get the feeling that complaining about restaurant front-of-house is about as original and thought-provoking as complaining about airline food.

This is "too yawn for i, anon."

When I was a host for a very busy restaurant, the customers waiting for a table would put their name on a list, and I didn't typically interact with them at all until I was seating them. It wasn't due to hostility -- there just wasn't any need or time for me to be involved until I had an empty table and I called their name from the list.

The only people who I did interact with before then were generally being a pain in the ass. Waltzing in with 8 people in the middle of the brunch rush and expecting a table immediately because you're in a hurry when others have been waiting patiently for an hour type shit. These people don't seem to grasp the physical limitations of a two room restaurant with a line around the block, and tend to camp on their table forever once they get it.

I basically have to assume that if you're consistently having problems with hosts before you've been seated, you're probably a bigger pain in the ass than you realize.

I agree with Chunty. I've not been here long, but I find the service pretty good to better. If the place looks crowded I don't go in. Anon, maybe your'e walking in thinking, "I hope this place isn't as bad as the last one." Start fresh see what happens. if it persists get therapy.

Why don't I ever have this problem with restaurant people?

Probably because you aren't nursing an intense sense of entitlement that you're somehow oblivious to?

Good point, Chunty McHutchence. And why is airline for so bad? My Sharpies at work taste better.