Those of you who follow the Itzl diaries already know about the horrible, terrible, awful treatment we received at Applebee's in Ardmore just off I-35 last January.
Well, we ate there again last night - let me tell you about it.
We spent yesterday at IzumiCon on a table trade. I'd given the table and 2 passes to friends who would advertise OctopodiCon - and also sell their hats and things. They were at the convention all weekend, I went to Texas on Saturday, but I went to help them on Sunday. I had to pay for my pass to the convention since I'd given them the free passes. In exchange, they bought my dinner.
Their choice of dinner restaurant was Applebee's. Not the Ardmore one, but the one off I-40 and MacArthur in OKC.
When the waiter seated us, he put down a menu and flatware for Itzl.
Now, Itzl is a very bright dog. He can indeed read, but his vocabulary is very limited. He can read his name, my name, Xoco's name, "bear" "alert", "go" "trip", "stay", and they have to be large, in black, and on a white background. Menu reading is beyond his skill level, so I chose his meal for him.
As for the flatware - Itzl doesn't use that, either. Still, it was an extra napkin, and perhaps that was the point.
When the appetizer was brought, our waiter put a plate and a glass of water (no ice) down for Itzl. Huzzah! I was dressed in my steampunk clothes and didn't have my purse with me, wherein Itzl's food and water dishes resided. We didn't ask for water for Itzl, nor did we ask for a plate for him. They simply provided them.
So Itzl got to have a smidge of artichoke dip on a piece of bread, and a nice drink of water.
When the meal was brought out, the waiter provided Itzl with a fresh plate, so I cut up his share of the steak, added a dollop of mashed potato and a a chuck of chopped broccoli. Itzl licked his plate clean and followed it up with more water.
Most of the time, when Itzl and I eat out, we are treated as second or even third class citizens. We get arguments, and dirty looks, and often slow or sloppy service.
The best we've usually been able to get is to have the waitstaff ignore Itzl.
This is the first time Itzl has been treated as if he were a valuable member of our party.
So, now we've had the absolute worst treatment and the absolute best treatment - and both happened at Applebee's.