I would like to say thank-you to the family I served for being so understanding when I *accidentally* spilled a glass of pop on their table and some landed on them when I was balancing a tray of drinks. (It was my first time ever spilling a drink during my 2 years of serving).
Accident or not, some assholes would have lost it on me. But *you* just laughed and joked around a bit (and still gave me a decent tip).
(PS. Had you been visibly upset, I would have definitely compensated you for it, either by giving you a discount of some sort or paying for your dry-cleaning or something. But I did take your drinks off the bill because I figured you deserved something for taking the drink spill so well.)
Also, I’d like to thank the many customers who have patiently waited when it was insanely busy, especially those who have told me “You deserve this, you worked your ass off and did a good job” when giving me a tip.
Anyway, tip or no tip, any customers that treat me with any amount of respect (and take into consideration that a lot can happen in a restaurant that is out of my control) make my job more tolerable (and sometimes enjoyable). —Hard-working Server
You guys make us servers forget about the entitled assholes!
This article appears in Jul 15-21, 2010.