[andyakb]

Wow, this really isnt that difficult of a situation and half the people here are acting like idiots.

The hostess [censored] up. The owner wants to create a new image for the restaurant and sticks to their policy. The owner should have been more polite in the situation, and I agree with that, but this isnt that big of a deal.

They did not enter a legal binding agreement, and saying that the family should not pay for the meal is equally as ridiculous. They did not say "I will buy dessert if you will sing." They didnt barter at all about specific items and instead simply talked about the TIMELINE. "_When_ you bring out the dessert [i.e. they were planning on buying them anyways], could you please sing happy birthday?"

This is definitely an inconvenience, and, taking things at face value, the owner didnt handle the situation with the proper decorum; however, the family and friends should have just sang happy birthday to the kid and made him happy. If they were so outraged about it that they didnt want to go back, then ok, dont go back. To make it seem like it is the end of the world, though, is ridiculous.

Finally, to all the people saying "I hate when a [censored] restaurant ruins my [censored] dining experience when they sing to some [censored] kid for 30 seconds." Stop going to [censored] applebees and expecting a great experience like you'd get at the french laundry. I mean seriously, you know full well what they do when you go there. If you dont like it, stop bitching.