I’ve come across recent bitches about restaurant service and am absolutely disgusted by some of the whiny complaints submitted on here. You know who you are *cough* ‘I had to wait 5 minutes for my food while my friend got to eat’ lady.
So, as a server myself, I’m going to give some pointers to guide customers, who just have no fucking clue, on how to behave when dining in (be it a fine-dining establishment or a typical pizza place or pub, whatever place that has a specific individual serving a specific party).
(1) You have working eyes (unless you’re blind ie. you have a walking stick and seeing-eye dog) so you can see if the place is busy or not. If it’s busy, you will wait longer for basically everything, whether you like it or not. Don’t bitch at your server for taking 5-10 mins more than usual to get you your drinks if they are clearly serving other tables. Other tables need drinks too, and many of them arrived before you. On the other hand, if the place is almost empty, and you see your server standing around, you have a legit reason to be pissed for the wait of your drinks. But if the former is true, stfu and be patient. It’s not all about you!
(2) If you wait a while for your food, it is likely not the server’s fault. Yeah, I know some servers have fucked up orders (and I have myself, but not often) or are slow, etc. But a lot of restaurants have take-out and delivery as well. If several T-O and del. orders have bombarded the kitchen before dining orders, those orders will be made first (some kitchen staff live by the ‘first-come first-serve’ rule). Yeah I know, they should probably make the dine-in ones first (after all, dine-in customers are already there ready to eat), but sometimes they don’t—and this is not the my fault!!! Blame management for that one, as they should be enforcing this.
(3) Don’t stare at the menu and ask “What’s on the ‘meat supreme’ pizza?” when you have the menu open to the pizza section and are clearly looking at the ‘meat-supreme’ description. I know you’re not illiterate because you know (and said) it said ‘meat supreme’. Read what’s on it, because I have better things to do re-read the toppings to your lazy ass.
(4) Don’t tell me you’re ready to order when you’re obviously not! I do not want to hear a conversation about who likes green peppers and who hates them, or whether or not you want an appetizer… you decide this before I attempt to take your order. Don’t leave me standing there waiting to hear what the fuck you want to eat, I have other things to do!
(5) You want to know the cost of what you ordered so you’ll know if you have enough cash to pay for it? Ok, I’ll go to the computer and figure it out for you, but if I happen to do a couple of other things first (eg. Serve customers who have come before you, or get you your drinks first and then say I’ll be back to tell you the cost) don’t bitch at me for not telling you yet! Again, it’s not all about you. And it’s your own fault that you’re too lazy or too stupid to do the math and estimate how much it will cost (taxes and all), or that you didn’t bring your debit/credit card just in case you don’t have enough cash!
(6) Don’t tell me your life story. I don’t know you and, honestly, I could care less. This is particularly frustrating if you do this during the lunch/supper rush and I have other customers waiting for my service. And some of you don’t stop talking enough just to let me say “Excuse me, I have to pay out one of my other customers” w/o me interrupting you and coming across as being rude.
(7) Don’t want to tip? Fine, after all it’s up to you. But don’t run me off my feet, getting me to refill your drinks 5 times, sending your food back several times because it’s too salty or there’s veggies in it and you don’t like them (even though the menu clearly stated your dish had veggies), getting me to go back and forth to get you 3 extra sauces then 4 more and bitch me out for charging you for it, or fulfilling any other of your ridiculous requests. I’m not your slave. And I would like to be able to provide service to my other tables (most of whom *are* potential tippers but are not nearly as demanding as you) without you stopping me, yet again, for some other stupid request. If your child pukes anywhere in the restaurant besides in the toilet (not because he/she got food poisoning or is allergic, but simply because he/she ate too much) and you don’t even help me clean it up, I don’t care what anyone says, I DESERVE A TIP!
…That is all… —One hell of a long bitch but I just had to vent
This article appears in Jul 22-28, 2010.
Just being devil’s advocate but I work MY ASS OFF 8 hours a day 5 days a week and I DESERVE A FLIPPING TIP TOO!
And that’s all I have to say about that!
HOLY CRAP ON A STICK FLOATING IN THE RIVER NILE! I’m not reading this!
I will say (from glancing at the 7th commandment), anyone working in public service deserves a tip … I won’t leave a big tip (’cause I’m cheap) but you will get one.
another waiter/waitress bitching about her job….
nothing to see here…
I waited tables for 3 years when I was in school
One thing you said did hit a nerve… we would get insanely busy with tourists and when a table would flag me down and say “we’re ready to order!” and then umm and aawww over the menu while i stand there like an idiot watching my other tables get annoyed by my lack of presence… huge pain in the ass.
I don’t get why people on here bitch so much about waiting staff and their tips… blah blah blah i work 8 hours a day and don’t get a tip. yea well you probably don’t get run off your feet, covered in chowder, and yelled at by rude americans, all for minimum wage. tips are a perk of waiting tables, you want tips, wait tables. voila problem solved.
Thanks to all the people in the service industry who do their job well and don’t give attitude. I am a very good tipper…..and I believe you deserve that extra. (like the waitress at a certain 100 year old hotel on the water front).
To the servers who works in not-so-busy places and never show up to ask about the food, a refill, I’ll tip, but not as well. (A certain SG gourmet burger joint).
1) It’s not always readily apparent as to how busy it really is. A customer could walk in a see the place full and think: “Too busy. Better go somewhere else”, when in fact all those people have eaten and are just waiting to pay. So as a good server (which I think you fall a little short of) you should be telling them “Hi folks. It’s pretty busy in here right now and it’ll take maybe 15-20 minutes extra”. That is part of your job. It’s customer service and customer relations. Learn that and you’ll improve.
2) It doesn’t matter who fucked up the order (and as a former cook/chef/server/bartender I can say it’s 50/50 FOH/BOH). Telling the customer that it’s the kitchens fault is the oldest trick in the book and almost no one believes it. You are the only person in the restaurant that the customer deals with, therefore EVERYTHING is your fault. That’s part of the gig. Learn to deal with it and you’ll improve.
3) Explaining what is in a dish is also part of your job. If someone asks you, it’s probably because they’re unsure of something and/or want to ask you what it is. Describing what’s in a dish is part of your job. Learn this and you’ll improve.
4) I agree with this somewhat, but going to a restaurant isn’t just about getting something to eat. It’s about having an experience. Some people are unsure of what they want and can’t/won’t decide until the last minute. It’s human nature. Learn to cope with that and you’ll improve.
5) Carry a small calculator in your apron. It will come in handy, trust me.
6) Agreed. Who needs to be pleasant and cordial to your server anyway, right? It’s not like they’re trying to be friendly or anything, they just want a tip.
7) This proves that you are more concerned about getting a tip than about doing your job well. I tip on a scale. Great service = great tip. Shitty service = no tip. If I have to ask you more than once for something, expect your tip to go down. As for the vomit, well that’s a whole other issue. You shouldn’t be cleaning up some kids vomit, regardless of why it happened. Health Canada has some strict laws about this. Educate yourself on it.
jeez louise nw, that was almost as long as the original…good advice tho
I would love to see anyone with the lack of patience to wait for a drink read this list of rules for proper customer etiquite.
I used to have a deal with the kitchen… 15% of my tips if I could blame my screw ups on them! Worked out well, ’cause i was the one who got yelled at! 😉
Soup Nazi is that you?
NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!!
I worked as a waitress for close to 15 years. You either learn how to deal, with grace and dignity or you become a bitter ol’ hag. The more you communicate up front, the less problems you have. 99% of the time, if you adopt the right attitude and don’t take other people’s shit personally, you can brighten the mood of any table,change the attitude of any asshole and command the respect you deserve and ultimately make a good living off the kindness of strangers. It ain’t easy, but it can be done. If you take all that shit personally and never learn how to deal with all the difficult personalities,the business will crush you. Rise above it or find a new profession.
Great advice toots.
Hear hear toots!
yea I’ve been back of house for like 25 yrs. and toots has nailed it; some people are nasty assholes and their mission is to take it out on service workers; yea can’t take the shit get out of the storm 🙂
Great advice guys, I must say. I’m not bitter but some shifts are harder than others. One stressful shift I had the other night with a couple of demanding and rude customers, accompanied with memories of other specific asshole customers, prompted me to write this insanely long bitch. My 7 pointers stem from my experience with specific customers I’ve dealt with. I should have mentioned that this was directed to certain customers, not *all* customers (90% of my customers are very pleasant).
if i had toiled in the front of the house martym, blood would have spilled…i loved listening to the jerk customer tales. that’s how i met the bear. 25 years i cooked and the stories are priceless
hmmm 90% seems a little high; in my short stint in dealing with the public I found about : 25 % of people are foul; 50% are ok/not bad and 25 % are very nice 🙂
Sounds about right martym…
NW, I fall short of being a good server? Try telling that to some of the regulars who request *my* service and customers who’ve told me, and even went to the mgr to state, how exceptional I was.
1)Actually I *have* informed customers about any wait that may occur, and some of them still get pissy with me as if it’s my own fault. And how often does one go into a packed restaurant, with say 30 occupied tables, and all 30 tables are waiting to pay at the same time?
2)I lost count of how many times it actually *was* the kitchen’s fault I’m well aware that blaming the kitchen is the oldest trick in the book, so I’m always left to wonder whether or not the customer believes me when I tell them the kitchen fucked up. So just because I’m the only person a customer deals with EVERYTHING is my fault (If they run out of dough, that’s my fault, is it?)- so if someone else fucks up the customer is completely justified in blaming *me*? That statement basically depicts that they are. (Please tell me that’s not what you meant…). If a customer has any intelligence, regardless of whether or not they’ve been a server, they would be able to realize that certain things are not the server’s fault.
3) Ask me what the italian sausage looks like, ask me if the alfredo sauce is thick or spicy, ask me if the green peppers are sliced thick or thin… legit questions that the menu didn’t already answer… I’ll gladly fill you in. Don’t just simply ask me if there’s meat on a particular pizza when it clearly states it!
Tye is right I’d say it’s the kitchens fault about 80% of the time (especially mods they’re a nitemare when you’re getting smoked)
Tye, just as you may be a great server but not perfect, customers aren’t perfect either. Forgive them for being how they are, sometimes some people just can’t help but be that way. Just hope that those bad ones will never come back, and appreciate the good ones even more than you already do. Treasure the regular customers who love you and request your service, because when you are done working as a server or quit working at the place you do now, those are the ones you will remember the most. And that kind of memory can warm your heart for years. That’s my experience anyway. 🙂 And learn to give yourself a break!
5) This doesn’t happen very often so I don’t bother carrying a calculator. I wrote this particular pointer because of some twit who demanded to know how much her meal was going to cost. OK, fine, I’ll check the computer. She said she wanted her drinks immediately. Meanwhile, I had about 10 other tables. Apparently, while I was getting the drinks, she was darting around the dining room looking for me. When I served her drinks and said I’ll be back for your total. The idiot bitched at me for not having it ready then!
6) I don’t mind at all making small talk or having conversations with customers when it’s dead. I don’t mean to sound like a bitch, but when it’s busy and other customers are looking for something from me, I have no time to talk to you! I won’t even stop to chat with family/friends if I’m that busy.
7) I always offer to refill drinks and when I serve and appetizer or main meal, I’ll ask if anything else is needed. Drinks getting low= you probably need refills. You had wings with hot sauce and now you’re getting your pizza=you probably need new plates. I automatically provide napkins (and wetnaps if you’re eating something sticky), no need to ask. This is obvious, and a server would have to be very lazy or dumb to not address these needs. But how the fuck am I supposed to know you like to dip your pizza/garlic bread/whatever in ranch sauce or teriyaki sauce? Yup, you’ll have to ask for it. I don’t read minds. What, one sauce wasn’t enough? You need two more now? Ten minutes later, you want a coffee with sugar twin and milk only? I was supposed to know that, wasn’t I? I don’t know *your* preferences and since you had to *ask* for them, I’m a shitty server and gets a lower tip?
Thanks, newtohalifax, you’re totally right. Islary, I know of people who claim to be ready to order, when really they’re not, they just don’t want the server to walk away and have wait another 5-10 minutes to order. They rather the server stand there and wait for their(the customer’s) decision. Fucking pricks.
Argh, another server bitch.
I like the tip part. I never ask for refills, run the server off their feet, or ask anything of them, so I guess the OP’s bitch justifies my never tipping.
Restaurants could save even more money by reducing the number of servers. Customers can order their own food, pick up their own food, and take their dishes back. If a customer wants a server, they would pay a “Server’ fee of $5 or $10.
i work at the wtcc and i DO NOT agree with this whiny servers rant…it is your job to put up with customers,suck it up and act professional…the customer is right,you are wrong,period….
1) It’s called an example, not meant as something that acutally does happen. It’s used to make a point. If you missed that, then you’re lost.
2) As I said before, you are on the front lines. You are the person the customer sees. As far as they are concerned you go out of site, wave a magic wand and the food appears. You are the one who deals with them and EVERYTHING is your fault, regardless of whether or not you like it. It’s part of the gig, deal with it or move on to another job.
3) If you don’t like answering questions about the menu (part of your job) go get a new one.
4) Skipped this one huh?
5) I don’t care about specific customers/examples. You should be able to tell people what their meal will cost roughly. Some people have a business allowance for lunches and they don’t want to exceed it.
6) No one expects you to be their best friend while serving them.
7) You missed the point entirely. If I ask you for a glass of ice water with lemon and you bring me just ice water, say goodbye to 10% of your tip. If you don’t bring me lemon for my ice water after I’ve reminded you about it, say goodbye to 50% of your tip. Too many servers these days don’t want to write anything down. That’s fine by me, because the more your forget, the less I tip.
aH FACK, here we go again…
I have to agree with the OP. but you should know your menu though. maybe she is half blind and can’t see the toppings because it’s written so small. or she is just completely illiterate and just orders what ever she sees a picture of. i have had that happen. i believe there is usually an explanation for someone’s behaviour. 99% of people you see in food service are just there to have fun and a nice meal. but then there us that 1% of total self worshipping Nimrods. who are out to make everyone else life a living hell. i have been a server for about 10 years. 10 different places. and when i was married 3 restaurants my ex and i went to, they refused service the next time, because he was so disruptive the last time, and i have a friend of the family who is just-never-satisfied-no matter what. the food is cold, too much sauce, not enough this. too many of those. never happy. it never fails. she finds a flaw and sends her food back at least twice. and then she will tip maybe 50 cents. once you let go of the need for the tip. and realize you get paid to be there, your confidence will build a little. customers pick up on that. you don’t have to be so delightfully phony, but a smile is nice. and people are being dicks here going “oh another server bitch” well everyone has complaints about their job, but because we are in the service industry we are not entitled to get frustrated! go fuck yourselves. you don’t think anyone else complains about their jobs. you think vets like it when they have to put down nice animals because the owners bastard kids tortured the poor think till it finally snapped and shredded one of the little darlings. you think cab driver like chauffeuring these drunken ho-bags around and find out that they mysteriously have no money. you think bell/aliant and telus love listening to stupid twits who are oblivious that someone was using their phone after they didn’t report it lost in the dome but they shouldn’t have to pay for it.
the solution isn’t getting a better job, the solution if getting other people to have a little more respect and fucking tolerance for service staff and let go of this idea that i am there to serve only you.
Six Stars: We don’t hear from people who work for Telus/Bell/Rogers/vets/etc at least 5 times a month. If these people want to come on here and bitch, fine, that’s the point of this place. BUT, if they want to bitch with no comments they can post it on their own shitty blog. This is not the place for bitching without comment.
OP is bitter and needs a vacation or new job. Toots FTW!
Oh, Never Wrong, I’m sorry, I didn’t know there was a limit on how many times waitresses were allowed to bitch. next time waitresses will discuss it with you first. 5 times a month? really, that’s hard to deal with. what about the “clean up your dog shit” “transit drivers are dicks” “learn to use a cross walk” and “you jerk! you stole my bike” there are about 40 of those. so the people who watch where they’re walking, take the earlier bus to avoid being late, use a cross walk and/or have our own bikes just aren’t allowed to get pissed either. sorry, next time iw ill talk to you about it first.
Holy fuck. First of all I am sick of the title “server”. There is nothing shameful or degrading in the titles “waiter” or “waitress”. Second, the people waiting tables do not deserve a tip, they deserve a better wage. This is the employer’s responsibillity and if the people waiting tables depend on their tips to survive, then they should take a serious look at their life choices and move on to a better career. Third, people who pay money to eat in a restaurant expect the people who serve them to do just that… serve them.
@ Never Wrong: …this poster wasn’t soliciting your advice. You’re giving somebody else lessons in attitude and poise, when it’s clearer with each sentence you type that you are pretty much insufferable. You mock Tye for not reading your drill sergeant monologue, and can’t even spend enough time reading what Tye said yourself to absorb what she’s specifically saying. Not to mention your chosen black/white philosophy on customer service is ridiculously unreasonable.
@halifaxmentor: What is it about the poster coming here to vent anonymously that says she is anything but professional when serving these people while they’re in front of her? You would have anyone else believe you’re above registering any animosity towards your customers at any time ever? You’ve never clocked out at the end of your shift and complained out loud to a single person? Good for you, you are the greatest most unsung server in all the world. Your pin is in the mail, it’s sharp but at least you won’t worry about puncturing your heart when you put it on.
……and pssst…I’ll tell you a secret…the customer is not always right.
citEme: This is a public forum. PUBLIC. Meaning that if you post a bitch here, you WILL get comments. If you don’t like it, start your own shitty blog that no one can comment on. No one will read it anyway, but at least there’ll be no comments on it. And my “Drill Sergeant Monologue” as you call it, is no worse than the OPs original bitch, so you’ve got no leg to stand on there.
Six Stars: Wow. You really put me in my place there didn’t you? You just proved my point that repeat bitches are annoying and we will shit all over them as we please. Don’t like it? Good. I’ve been exactly where the OP is. I worked all aspects of the restaurant industry for 10 years and it’s the same shit all the time. “Woe is me, I’m so hard done by”. Serving is by far the EASIEST job in it’s pay range. Tell you what, I’ll make you a deal: When all servers/waiters/watresses start claiming ALL their tips AND paying tax on them, plus back taxes for all the tips they didn’t claim in the past, then they can bitch all they want and I’ll never say a word. But in the mean time, they’re making 60-75% of their income tax free, so they’ll just have to suck it up.
NW watch it or Oldhand’ll get on your ass.