Why is service so bad? they whined...

Seventy percent of diner complaints in the national Zagat surveys have to do with service, say Tim and Nina Zagat in The Atlantic's food pages here.

(And you thought it was just Charlotte!)

The Zagats posit that a front-of-the-house division in culinary schools would fix the problem. Commenters beg to differ. I agree that most servers aren't in it as a career (therefore won't likely pursue excellence over time), and with the idea that dining in this country has become an "entitled" experience -- diners feel they deserve the best, without participating in the process.

Also pretty good: the part about how most diners know when something's late or cold, but don't know whether it's well-executed.