- Hey everyone, I'm Taylor and welcome to Debatable,
the show where we take
extremely opinionated comedians from Twitter
and have them debate the most polarizing topics.
Our panel of expert judges will weigh in on each argument
and finally declare a winner.
Putting an end to years of discourse.
Today's resolve is,
it is okay to stay at a restaurant
for as long as you want after you've paid.
Lacy, you're on the affirmative
and you've got 60 seconds starting, now.
- Yes, it's okay to linger at restaurant after you've paid
because ultimately, I've paid.
Going out to a restaurant is not just about consuming food.
I can do that standing in front of my open refrigerator
and I don't even have to put on pants.
It's less expensive and it's more convenient.
Which means that,
going out to eat is more about being out than eating.
It's about the atmosphere and the experience.
It's where you take weird social obligations.
If I'm paying for a experience,
part of that is hospitality.
Which means, not being rushed out the door
while my bad date tells me again,
how I have to watch The Wire.
I don't like it anymore than you do.
But, that's why we're all here.
I'll add that waiting for my table to free up,
and lines in general can make higher profits for businesses.
According to a 2018 Dartmouth study.
Getting a table is a cutthroat business,
and now that I have one I'm going to take my sweet time
like the rude little piggy I am, thank you.
- Okay, rude little piggy Lacy says,
eating out is an experience.
Okay Otto, you're on the negative
and you've got 60 seconds on the clock, starting now.
- Ah man, (beep) Dartmouth.
Okay, all right.
It is absolutely not okay to just stay as long as you want
after you have already paid at a restaurant.
There's rules to this.
You know what I mean.
Like, you go out, and you're right,
there is hospitality, you're paying for that,
you're paying for the service,
you're paying for a nice quality meal.
But, after that, after you've paid,
it's sort of like, you know, there comes a point
when you're like, at a house party,
and it's like 3:55 a.m,
and your boy Devin has to work in a few hours.
And you're like, you know, you gotta go.
There's a certain socially acceptable bubble
before you cross from okayness to rudeness.
And, you did mention, oh yeah, you know,
longer lines lead to higher profits,
but does it lead to higher satisfaction?
Does it lead to more people getting a chance to eat?
I say no.
- Otto with the hard no.
I wish you would've given that opinion
to the people who stayed too long at my New Year's party.
Okay Lacy, are you ready for your rebuttal?
You've got 30 seconds on the clock starting now.
- Otto, it leads to higher satisfaction for me.
Okay, and there are no rules,
we're making the rule right now.
And, I say, human beings are vengeful by nature.
And, getting a table means status and power.
I was weak waiting in the line to get in here
and now that I have the power of the table,
there's no way that I'm letting that go.
I'm not going back to the girl that I was before.
I don't know her anymore.
- Otto, you've got 30 seconds
for your rebuttal starting, now.
- Lacy, have you not heard of a pre-game?
You drink a little bit before going out to drink,
eat a little bit before going out to eat.
That way, you don't spend 20 minutes, half an hour,
40 minutes after you've already paid,
looking looking like some King Arthur type mother(beep)
waiting for people to just cater to you
even though you've already finished, no.
Let people come in.
If you're on a date, go to another bar,
if you're eating by yourself, go to another bar.
It's pretty, you know, it's pretty chill.
- All right, the word from Otto is,
develop a casual alcohol addiction.
All right judges, are we ready for our results.
- Absolutely.
- Okay John, let's hear from you first.
- So, great job, both of you.
I think Lacy, you made some very convincing arguments.
However, I'm gonna give this one to Otto.
There are societal norms, as you mentioned,
and rules about dining.
And, you just should not stay after, as you alluded to,
you can always go to another location.
And, I think while you said, yeah, it is profitability.
But ultimately, a restaurant's gonna be more profitable
if you help yourself out and get some new people in.
So I definitely, I think Otto won this one.
- John is a capitalist.
One vote for Otto.
Okay, Kat, let's hear from you.
- Yeah, you guys both had really good arguments,
Lacy, I'm glad that you could cite sources.
That was very convincing.
But, Auto, what you said about having a party
and people over staying their welcome
that's definitely the feeling that,
as a former waitress, I would say I have experienced
the feeling of someone over staying their welcome.
So, I'll give it to Otto, as well.
- Okay, let's hear from our final judge,
what do you think?
- I actually have to agree,
I think, this is one of the great unwritten human contracts,
is that you are supposed to kind of finish up your business,
and get out of the restaurant.
As someone who's worked for two decades
in the hospitality industry,
from pretty much every job you can imagine,
it's pretty heartbreaking to see someone sit there.
Even if they've enjoyed your meal,
and enjoyed their drinks,
kind of just wasting time and spent revenue
on someone who's just sitting there
and hogging up real estate.
So, I have to give this one to Otto as well.
I think you made a very compelling argument.
- Take that Dartmouth.
- All right, so that's three votes for Otto.
Which means, Otto
you're the winner of this round, congratulations.
A round of applause from the capitalists
who we call our judges.
Okay, so today we learned, once and for all,
that it is in fact not okay
for you to stay at a restaurant
after you've already paid.
Thanks so much for joining us
and we'll see you next time on Debatable.