One of my sisters told me that not too long ago they were at a restaurant chain and there was a very drunk woman with a man at a table near them. The woman sprawled herself out on top of the table then vomited. The police were called and they left. What upset my sister was that the staff just wiped the table off and in their eyes it was good to go again. They haven’t been back there since.
– yourothermotherhere
One day, back when I was working as a hostess at The Hot Spot, a woman strolled into the restaurant looking rather shifty. I cheerily greeted her as she came through the front door, but she continued on past the front desk with not so much as a glance in my general direction. As I hostess, I was used to being ignored by customers and I figured she was just too focused on trying to find someone she was supposed to be meeting for lunch. Discretely following her, I kept a few paces behind in case she needed my help, that is, until she finally came to a stop behind a nearby table.
“She stood there for a few moments, nervously clutching her purse and eyeing the man sitting in the booth.”
She stood there for a few moments, nervously clutching her purse and eyeing the man sitting in the booth. His back was facing her and as she ducked up and down to get a better view of the guy, I thought that maybe she was meeting him on a blind date and she was trying to size up the guy before deciding to take a seat or run out of the restaurant before he noticed. It was weird, however, that the man had only asked for a table for one when he entered the restaurant.
“May I help you?” I asked politely.
She shook her head, so I walked towards the front desk making sure to be a available if she needed a menu or not.
She finally took a deep breath and approached the table, quickly sliding into the booth to face him. No “Hello!” or “Hey! How are you?”. They started up in what seemed to be the middle of a conversation they had already been involved in. And it was quite the heated discussion, if I may say so myself. The man’s plate arrived to the table and their waiter asked the woman if she’d like anything. She shook her head and continued to stare at the man who was now picking up his fork and knife to eat.
“The man was trying to shush her, but she wouldn’t have it.”
After about 10 minutes, I could hear the woman’s voice more and more as the conversation grew more intense. The man was trying to shush her, but she wouldn’t have it. He finally had enough and asked the waiter for the bill. Their server placed it on the table and walked away to give the two of them some space. Before I knew it, the man was coming up to the front desk asking me to quickly get the waiter because he needed to leave right away. I got their waiter and the man paid, all the while as the woman stared angrily at him.
“She had that You’re Dead To Me look that Lily sometimes has on How I Met Your Mother.”
He walked out of the restaurant, saying a quick thank you, as the woman stayed behind still sitting in the booth. As I walked by, I was a little scared. She had that You’re Dead To Me look that Lily sometimes has on How I Met Your Mother. She was fuming, then suddenly she was up and running out of the restaurant. I went to the front desk to look out the window into the parking lot and saw her yelling at him as he was opening the door to his car. She continued to run towards him and then threw herself between him and the driver’s side door, slamming the door shut and preventing him from getting in.
“She tried to hold on for dear life he attempted to exit the car by the passenger side.”
The man then calmly walked around the car to the passenger side door and unlocked it and slid into the seat. The woman pulled the door open on her side and as the man climbed into the driver’s seat, she threw herself onto him, her legs dangling out of the car. He tried desperately to push her off, but she’d wedged her legs into the door of the car that there was no way he was getting her off of him. She tried to hold on for dear life he attempted to exit the car by the passenger side.
Meanwhile, people walking by were starting to watch the scene unfolding before them as the man finally freed himself from her grasp. He ran out of the car and started heading back towards the restaurant. I quickly ran to be behind the front desk so he wouldn’t notice me watching the craziness of what was happening outside. I saw the woman getting out of the car and slamming the driver’s door as the man asked me to (very politely might I add) to call him a cab. So I did.
He waited in the front lobby as the woman paced around outside waiting for him to come out. She had finally had enough of waiting and stormed into the restaurant and took a seat right next to him. I mean, she literally made sure that the whole side of her body was touching his. And then she just glared at him as he blankly stared ahead. She talked, he didn’t.
I finally saw the cab pull up to the front door so I told the man that his cab had arrived. He thanked me and got up to leave. The woman shouted at him to not go, but he wouldn’t listen. As he climbed into the cab with her yelling at him, she did the same thing as when he was trying to get into his own car. She threw herself onto him, making sure to dangle her legs out of the car so that the driver could not drive away. After 5 minutes, I could tell the cab driver was starting to get extremely angry. He yelled at them to both get out and drove away, never looking back.
“He attempted to get back into his car, but she was a complete maniac and was one step ahead of him the whole time.”
By this time, the man was finally starting to yell. I could see him yelling at her to get away from him. He attempted to get back into his car, but she was a complete maniac and was one step ahead of him the whole time. I saw him trying to push her away from the car door and then suddenly he was off running.
“He had somehow grabbed her own set of keys and was running to her car.”
He had somehow grabbed her own set of keys and was running to her car.She chased after him and caught up to him before he could figure out which key was for her car and a screaming match began. All the while he was trying to fake her out by running back to his car and quickly spinning around to run back to hers. Finally, he gave up trying and it was a wave of screaming and crying from the girl. She tried to wrestle her keys away from him, but he held on with all his might and then he did something that made me think …
“Did he really just do that?”
I even asked it out loud to the two other waiters who had joined me to watch the crazy show in the parking lot. We were shocked. The man had thrown her keys into the middle of a busy street and made a run for it as she watched where they landed. She stared with her mouth hanging open as she realized what he’d done.
“She ran right into the middle, grabbed her keys like a football player running drills, and made a mad dash for his car.”
He ran as if running for his life and you could see the split-second-decision-making the woman was doing. Keys or The Guy? Keys or The Guy? She decided to make a run for her keys as the man jumped into this car. At that moment, no cars were driving down the road so she ran right into the middle, grabbed her keys like a football player running drills, and made a mad dash for his car. She was too late as he pulled out of his parking spot and headed towards the exit. She tried to run out in front of his car, but he had already pulled ahead of her before she had a chance to pretty much throw herself onto his moving vehicle.
She bolted towards her own car, got in to the driver’s seat and drove off like the dickens, heading in the same direction he did.
The whole day, the staff talked about what must have happened. Some thought that it was his mistress and he’d just called it off and she couldn’t let it go. Some thought it was his wife of girlfriend who was checking up on him to see if he was cheating on her. Some thought it was some Psycho Stalker. Whatever it was, it was one of the weirdest moments I’ve ever witnessed at work.
A lot of servers go through this at one point in their career as a server. It’s dreaded occurrence that will happen at one time or another, whether working as a server for your first time or if you’ve been doing it for years.
You will forget to send an order.
It mostly happens either when the restaurant is booming or when it’s disastrously quiet. Is it your fault as a server when this happens? Why yes, yes it is. But we can come to realize is that we are people,plain and simple. And what do people do? Well they make mistakes. It happens. The best we can do is try to learn from our mistakes so as not to repeat them (hopefully) in the future.
I’ve seen a few different approaches as to solving this problem when it happens. There are a few that I find to be sneaky and deceiving and another approach I find is the best way to resolve the problem of forgetting to send an order to the kitchen.
So, imagine you’ve just realized that you never sent out a table’s order. You scramble around to ring it up as fast as you can. After the order is sent and you know it will be another while before the food comes out, so you need to decide what to do next.
Here are some different possible scenarios with different types of servers and let’s see which one seems like the right way to handle the situation.
1. Skittish Steve – Avoiding the table until their food is served.
Skittish Steve is a waiter that will notice the customers waiting impatiently, looking around for their food and even stopping other waiters for information about when their meals will be arriving. Skittish Steve knows that avoiding the table means not having to answer to the “We’ve been waiting half an hour for our food” spiel. Of course, this type of waiter doesn’t want to confront that uncomfortable conversation, so even though they know it’s understandable that the customers will be furious, they’ll leave the plates on the table giving some half-assed apology of “Sorry, it was longer than usual tonight ” or even worse of pretending like nothing is wrong. The customers now have their food and can hardly believe how long it took. They’ll leave, reminding themselves never to return because the service was terrible and the kitchen was too slow at getting the food out.
2. Blamer Barbie – Blaming it on the kitchen.
Blamer Barbie, once realizing that she forgot to send the order, will proceed to approach the table in an apologetic fashion, informing the guests that the kitchen has somehow”lost” their order, so it will be another little while before their meals are served. The customers will be slightly irritated at the kitchen staff for their lack of professionalism, but but Blamer Barbie knows that they guys in the kitchen will be none the wiser that she’s placed the blame on them and since they have no interaction with the guest and the diners won’t get up to voice their disapproval, no one will know that she forgot to order their food. This leaves Blamer Barbie off the hook as long as no one finds out. The customers finally eat, pay the bill with a decent tip (since they figure it wasn’t Blamer Barbie’s fault that the food arrived later than usual) and leave, perhaps only coming back to the restaurant when they know they’ll have a lot of time to kill.
3. Humble Helen – Explaining the situation to the customers
Once they realize that they forgot to place the order, Humble Helen will approach the table and excuse themselves for interrupting. She’ll then explain that she accidentally forgot to order their food and promise that they are doing their best to rectify the error. She’ll go to the Expeditor and tell them that she fucked up (and talk to the kitchen if need be) in order to try and get the order out as soon as possible. Humble Helen will then offer to bring them some more bread while they wait and ask if they need a refill of their drinks in the meantime. Sure, the guests will be a little put off, but they’ll appreciate the fact that their waitress is being honest. Once they receive their food, they’ll realize that Humble Helen did the best she could in a crappy situation and they’ll appreciate the fact that everything was prepared as fast as possible to compensate for the error. Humble Helen will ask the manager what they can do for the guests (whether it be free coffee and/or dessert) and be overly nice to show the customers that it was not for lack of caring that they forgot to order their food. The customers will leave feeling like they were not forgotten about and will return because of the honesty of the staff of the restaurant.
There are, of course, exceptions…
Waiters and waitresses will of course react differently in certain situations. Mistakes will happen where the kitchen somehow loses orders, or technology fails and orders are erased. That happens, in case you didn’t know. But you can tell a lot by how servers approach you! If they seem sincere and they really care about what’s happening, chances are that they are telling the truth. If ever you’re unsure about what’s going on: ask to speak with a manager. They should be able to tell you what’s what.
As a server…
You should do your best to treat your customers with the respect they deserve. The best way to approach this situation is to tell your customers the truth. The honest truth. If you’re a decent human being and an honest server you’ll feel much better to do the right thing. Try it out and see what happens.
Think about it…
Last night, I was working a double shift at The Hot Spot . After my 15 minute break, I saw that the manager put me in a section that I’m not usually in (at the front of the house, near the hostess desk and the front door). Now, normally, that’s a pretty good section, but seeing as how it was a quieter night, I only had 2 tables.
It started off well and everyone was very nice and polite. I saw my table #6 lifting their hands to get my attention, so I walked over and asked if everything was alright. They were 3/4 done their meal and thought maybe they wanted to take the rest To Go. But, the girl asked me for another Coke and the guy asked for a glass of water. So, on my way towards the kitchen, I picked up the Coke, grabbed a glass of water, and headed back to the table.
As I got closer to the table, I noticed that no one was sitting there anymore. The plates were still on the table, so nobody had given them the bill in the few moments I was gone. I ran to the hostess desk and asked if anyone saw them leave. One of the hostesses said that they said they were going out for a smoke and would be back. I felt better, but when I looked outside I didn’t see them standing by the door. I thought to myself Maybe they went to smoke in their car…it is really cold outside, but I knew better. They had just dined and dashed.
I waited 15 minutes, just in case they’d come back, but they never did. I was furious! It was the first time this has ever happened to me and I couldn’t believe it. How can you just walk into a restaurant, order drinks, appetizers, two main meals and just leave without paying?
I told a coworker about it and he told me that Karma’s a bitch and that they’ll get what’s coming to them. He said that this happens from time to time and to just let it go, because there’s nothing you can do about disgusting people like that. He’s right. There’s nothing you can do.
So, I put on a smile for the rest of my customers and something amazing happened. I got the best tables I’ve ever had on a Saturday night. I was getting 20-25% tips all night. One table said that the next time they would come, they’d ask for my section. Another said that it was the best service they ever had. It was just amazing. Starting the night off with a bunch of thieves, I thought that maybe it would be “one of those nights”, especially since it was a full moon, but it turned out completely differently.
Sure, Karma’s a bitch. But, it can also turn around and send good vibes to a good person who deserves it. Thank you, Karma. Just one question to the couple who left without paying: How do you sleep at night?
So, to all those diners out there, please show some respect and actually PAY for the food and service you are receiving. Otherwise, you’re just a thief.
Throughout the year, and especially around Christmas time, people receive Gift Cards to either their favorite Italian restaurant or to a new Sushi Shop in town and are delighted by the fact that can use the Gift Card to either pay the entire bill – or part of it.
We all know that the standard tip a diner should leave the server is 15%. Now, there seems to be a lot of people out there who believe that if they have a Gift Card it means either
This is a big problem between Gift Cards, Servers, and Diners.
1. Paying the whole bill with the gift card
Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that your bill is $50 and you have a gift card for $100. You think “Wow, this is great! I don’t have to pay a cent for my meal plus I get to keep another $50 on my Gift Card for the next time I come to eat”. I know it sounds great, and it is, but you have to keep in mind that the waiter/waitress who served you is (in a sense) not working for free. S/he took your order, served your drinks, made sure everything was to your liking, cleared the table, brought you coffee and dessert, etc. Getting a “free meal” never means skimping out on the tip.
2. Paying part of the bill with a gift card
Let’s say that your bill is $50 and you have a $25 dollar gift card. You think “Wow! I only have to pay $25 for a $50 meal. This is great!”. And you’re right, it is. The thing is, when the waiter/waitress who served you takes your credit card and passes it at the remaining amount ($25) it doesn’t mean that your bill is suddenly only $25. The server doesn’t cancel half of your bill, they just declare at the end of the day that the bill was paid for by credit card and gift card. You must tip according to the full amount of the bill before the Gift Card amount is deducted.
3. Paying with a bank card and gift card
When using a gift card and a bank card to pay your bill, a problem can arise when using the hand held machine to complete the purchase. Let’s say that your bill is $50 and you have a $25 dollar gift card. The server brings the machine to pass your bank card and puts the amount at $25 (the remaining amount after the deduction of the gift card). The problem with this is that it will ask you what kind of tip you’d like to add (15%? 20%? Other?). If you choose the option of adding 15%, then it will add 15% of the amount put into the machine – which was $25. Now you’re leaving a lower than 15% tip on a $50 bill. Be careful to choose the “Other” option in order to add in the exact amount you want, or better yet you can always pay the tip in cash to avoid confusion.
A Note to Waiters: Be Kind
It is considered to be inappropriate to approach guests about the amount of tip that was left. Some mistakes are obvious and sometimes it’s easy to see when someone doesn’t understand how the system works, but please be kind. Don’t lose your cool and make a fuss about it, that won’t help anyone and is extremely disrespectful. Find a way to inform your customers of the original cost of the bill, or consult with the floor manager with the best way to deal with this kind of situation.
Have Any Questions?
Unsure of what to do when paying with a gift card? Feel free to ask a server (or manager). They should be happy to tell you the correct way to pay. If anything, feel free to ask by leaving a comment below.
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Remember to Tip Your Waitress: a Guide to a Better Dining Experience
[Hostess job description at The Hot Spot: answering the phone, greeting and seating guests, bussing tables, and saying “Goodbye” to guests]
About a week ago, I was getting into work and had just put on my apron and was heading into the Front of the House when I saw the morning hostess rolling cutlery for the day. For the sake of this post, let’s call her Cher.
The problem: she was blasting her own music from the bar’s radio at top volume and singing and dancing along with the song. None of her Opening Tasks were done and she had her cellphone next to her and was texting.
The rules: First of all, cellphone are prohibited in the Front of the House at all times. Waiters, bartenders, and hostesses are to keep them in the staff rooms. Secondly, the restaurant was opening in 5 minutes and she seemed completely unaware of that fact and seeing as how she’s in charge of unlocking the front door, it didn’t seem like she was going to do that any time soon. Also, the radio in the bar is for bartender use only, so not only was she breaking that rule, but also the volume level should be kept to a minimum so as not to bother other employees and customers seated nearby.
The story: The Ass. Manager was MIA so I assume she was taking advantage of the fact that our boss wasn’t there and was taking some time to do whatever she wanted before he came in to work. So, I took it upon myself to walk into the bar and turn off the radio.
“Hey!” she said. “I was listening to that.”
“Well, the restaurant is opening in 2 minutes so we need to turn on the regular restaurant radio and unlock the front door.” I explained.
“Oh….yeah. I forgot.”
Nice. Way to do your job properly.
So throughout the day, other employees strolled in and started to work. As soon as on of the bartenders, Lancelot, came in, the hostess left the front desk, went to the bar to chat with her back to the door, and continued on as if what she was doing was okay. It was a Sunday so there weren’t too many tables at that time, but I knew customers would start coming in at around 1:00 pm. At that moment, I noticed a couple walk through the door and glanced over to Cher chatting up a storm with the bartender, completely unaware of the fact that two people were now looking around for a hostess to seat them. I waited to see what she would do. She never even looked towards the front once.
“There are people in the front.” I told her.
She dropped what she was doing and went to the front to seat them, only to come back and continue gabbing away. Then four people came through the door and Cher still didn’t notice them.
“Hey, Cher!” I yelled at her. ” Get to the front, there are people there!”
This continued on like this for another…oh let’s say 4 times until I started having to answer the phone for her because she was too distracted to hear it ringing. I finally went up to her and said “Cher, I’m tired of doing your job for you. Stay in the front and do your job.” That lasted for all but 15 minutes.
Imagine you’re a waitress, in the middle of taking and order and have to say “Excuse me one moment” to your table so you can answer the phone for a hostess who is doing nothing that talking all day. It’s infuriating. You could say “Just don’t answer the phone”, but if the boss calls and no one answers, everyone is responsible for not answering.
If the hostess can’t answer the phone, then the manager does (if there is a manager present). If the manager can’t answer the phone, then a waiter answers. If they’re all busy, then someone in the kitchen has to answer. With a limited number of staff on Sunday lunches, it’s a very short list of people able to answer the phone. Plus, with one cook in the kitchen, he can’t just drop everything and answer the phone while in the middle of cooking 6 table’s food, now can he?
How terrible will it look to customers if their waitress runs off to answer the phone in a middle of an order? Well, I can tell you now it looks completely unprofessional, especially with the hostess standing there yapping instead of doing her job.
What I thought about doing: Honestly, I thought that a way to get her to stay in front was to get my cellphone and force her to stay in front by continuously calling the restaurant, but with the amount of tables I had there was no time for doing something like that, but I have to admit that schemes like that did cross my mind (doesn’t everyone think like that from time to time?). It would have been sneaky and a little bit evil, but may have taught her a lesson.
The solution: So, what did I do? I told The Boss. Yeah, I know. I felt like a snitch, but seriously…enough is enough. He was extremely unimpressed. They took her off the schedule for Sunday lunches and put a competent, hardworking hostess who will do her job and do it well.
The importance of a hostess: This kind of “I don’t care about my work” attitude should not be taken lightly, because the first impression a customer gets is when they are greeted by a hostess. There’s nothing worse than walking into a restaurant and having to wait for 15 minutes while staring at a sign that says “Please wait to be seated” thinking How much longer do we have to wait? The hostess’ priority is The Door and any employee who can not understand that should be given the boot.
Restaurant Terms:
Front of the House – the front end of the restaurant, the dining room and bar where the customers are served and wait staff, bartenders, and dining room managers mostly work.
Opening Tasks – A list of tasks that need to be accomplished before the restaurant opens for the day.
Nowadays, there are such amazing varieties of restaurants you can eat at. Whether it’s for a business meeting, family get together, or a hot date the choices are endless. Anywhere from French cuisine to Fast Food! There are a lot of factors that make your experience at a certain locale either good…or bad. Music, ambiance, cleanliness, decor, seating, food quality, food portions, etc. The list goes on and on. But all of that means nothing if the service is terrible, right?
I think we can all agree that the most important factor, besides good food, is having a good waiter or waitress, right? No matter how much you love that cozy little breakfast place, you wouldn’t go back if the waiters didn’t even bother to refill you coffee. What a pain! As customers, we do deserve to be treated with respect and served politely.
It’s a problem, however, when people start to treat their waiters like their own personal servant. I’ve seen it many times, a gentleman snapping their fingers angrily at a waitress instead of politely saying “Excuse me, Miss?”, a woman calling out to a waiter while he’s in the middle of taking another guest’s food order, customers ignoring waiters when they ask questions like “Would anyone like some more coffee?”.
A little friendliness from yourself (as a guest in the restaurant) can go a long way.
Here are a few tips on how to treat your waiter with kindness and respect.
TIP # 1
Learn your waiter’s name. It’s encouraging for waiters to hear their name from their guests. It lets them know that you respect them (ex: Thank you, Jessica) and it also makes your dining experience all the better. You’ll know who your waitress is and be able to get his or her attention better when they are walking by your table. If you say “Excuse me, Michael” as they pass, hearing their name will definitely grab their attention!
TIP # 2
Smile. Many experienced servers can tell in the first greeting whether their guests are happy, nervous, angry, frustrated, etc. If you don’t smile at them, they may pick up on some bad vibes coming from the table and limit themselves to basic monotone service, anxious about upsetting you more. Smiling will let them know that you are open to hearing what they have to say (whether it’s about the evening specials or the daily desserts) and in the end your server will feel relaxed and give you an even better service.
TIP # 3
Be understanding. Waiters are first and foremost people and what do people do? They make mistakes. It happens. They order your steak Medium-Well instead of Medium-Rare (they sound pretty close in a crowded, loud dining hall on a Saturday night). They forget your refill of Pepsi. They order a small beer instead of a large. I’m sure it’s happened to you and trust me, it will happen again. The thing to remember is that people make mistakes. Now, I’m not saying that if your server makes 10 mistakes in a night that you should be 100% okay with it, but maybe that waiter just went through a divorce and has other things on their mind, maybe it’s just “one of those days” for them, or maybe their car broke down on their way to work. You never know what could be going on in their lives that could be affecting their work. It’s good to try to give them the benefit of the doubt. The only problem with that is that there actually are waiters out there who really just don’t care. You do have to watch out for that. But if you have a waitress who’s smiling and you can tell is doing her best to satisfy her guests, if she forgets to bring you bread …try to be understanding.
TIP # 4
Be polite. Say “Thank You” and “Please” when addressing your server. They are there to help you, and if you are getting good service then it’s important to let them know you appreciate it.
TIP # 5
Compliment them! If you just dined at a restaurant and had the BEST service you’ve ever had at that restaurant, or even any other restaurant you’ve been to, let them know! Don’t be afraid to tell them. You may notice they suddenly feel shy or even surprised. Many people don’t open up enough to let people know they are doing a good job. Hearing that from guests will give good servers a reason to stay that way.
TIP # 6
Leave a good tip. If you go to the same restaurant every other day, every other week, or every other month and the staff recognizes you, it means that you appreciate the staff, quality, and food the restaurant has to offer. It means that they must be treating you well! Make sure that you let them know that you appreciate their hospitality. When it comes to paying the bill, be sure to calculate your tip correctly. There are many apps for your phone that are designed for calculating tips. You can always ask your server to add on the correct percentage. The average tip should be 15% of the bill and an excellent tip for excellent service should be more if you really want to show your appreciation. Money isn’t everything, but you must remember that your servers are making under minimum wage and rely a lot on their tips as their income.
TIP # 7
Ask for your favorite server. When returning to a restaurant that you love, learn the names of each waiter you’ve had and ask the hostess/host in the front to be seated with your favorite server. If there’s one in particular that you trust to make your dinning experience a pleasant one, ask for them. They will feel ecstatic to know that they remember you. A bonus in asking for the same waiter/waitress every time is that they get to know your likes and dislikes and should know them by heart. If you order a beer to start every time you sit down and you ask for the same server every time, they may already order one for you so that it arrives as you sit at your table. They may give you something on the house. If there’s a problem with your meal, they will try their hardest to right it because you are now a regular customer. There are major advantages to asking for your favorite server.
All these tips can really help you with your dining experiences. Remember to recognize the difference between those servers who just think of serving as another job and those who do it because they love it! You’ll notice a huge difference. Be kind, understanding, and treat them with respect and they should do the same!
The Waitress Confessions 