Check Please!

Why I get lukewarm shoddy service, at best, from Indian waiters at any Indian restaurant I go to, outside India, I have never understood. With a few exceptions, I have found that generally, you will have a menu shoved into your hands on your way to the table, will have to do everything short of stand on your chair to draw their attention, your order will be dumped unceremoniously in front of you, your plates will get cleared before you've finished, and from start to finish you will have to contend with a surly, moody maitre'd and his similarly mannered retinue. It's particularly weird because you'll have a table next to you with non-Indian customers and the same lot of wait staff seem to be falling over themselves to please, and whether the restaurant is fancy and pricey, or cheap and cheerful, the same observations hold.

All that said, I probably haven't been to a multitude of Indian restaurants outside of India. It's a vicious circle for me. I anticipate the poor service and I don't want to go. I know that stellar service can more than make up for average food, but if the service sucks, the food had better be seriously good.