In deference to another, rather infamous top 10 list on this great site, I would like to explain what the worst things you do as a patron that make your dining experience horrible for your waiter and the restaurant staff in general. This list will not be about tipping, paying your bill, or money in general, because none of those actually have anything to do with waiting on you or contribute to your dinner. Not tipping and not paying your bill is inexcusable, but maybe you were very nice, very polite, and just happen to be stingy, who knows? But after starting my waiting “career” at IHOP in Compton, CA, and currently waiting tables at Chart House in Malibu, I know exactly what the worst things anybody can do to ensure that I will want to punch them in the face. And here they are:
10. Seating Yourself
I don’t care if the host is missing, I don’t care if you’ve been here before, I don’t care if you know the owner. There is a rythym and reason for where you are sat. It’s about equality among the waiters, so no one person gets more tables than the other, and about who is available. If you’re rushing to sit down and can’t wait for the host/hostess, it’s a safe bet you want to get started right away, even if it’s just a glass of water. Thing is, you don’t know the restaurant sections and you don’t know who is busy, who is ready to serve you. Just because you’re ready to sit down, doesn’t mean I’m ready to bring you drinks. Maybe I have three tables already, maybe I’m in the middle of taking another order for someone who DID wait to be seated. What makes you so special? I can appreciate a bad host and I don’t want you to wait, but when you ignore the rest of the patrons who did wait, it’s simply being rude and not a good guest. Another thing, you don’t know what tables are reserved. Half-full restaurant with a table by the window open? Probably a reserved table, so don’t go just sit there because you think you ought to, or because you’re trying to impress your date that you “don’t need to be seated”. Yes, you do. There is an organization that starts with the host and ends with the bill, don’t screw with it for the sake of impatience.
9. Not Complaining
Things can go wrong during dinner. The food wasn’t cooked right, I took too long, I didn’t get the right order, you meant to order something else, etc. etc. Please don’t smile at me as if nothing wrong when something is. There are few worst feelings than when someone at my table is very nice and polite, then complains to the manager or online after the fact. If you’re not having a good time, I want to know about it right away. If I can’t fix it, I will find someone else who can, even the manager. It’s human to make mistakes and I make them all the time, don’t pretend I’m doing a great job if I’m not, I’m a professional I can take criticism. What happens when you complain later is that it makes me look really, really, really bad. It seems like I didn’t care or didn’t notice that you were having a bad time, and nothing is worse than your manager thinking you ignore your guests. You get yelled at, you lose shifts, you get smaller sections, sometimes you even have to go back training. All because you were too afraid/polite/nervous to speak up. But if you’ve been acting nice and not complaining, how would I know? Don’t be afraid to be honest with your waiter, and a truly good waiter will not take it personally, solve your problem, and we can all move on.
8. Offering Life Plans
Okay this one is tricky and people always do it with the best intentions. After a great meal and good service many guests ask me if I’m still in school, what did I study, what do I “really” want to do? And you know what, if I wanted to do something else I would be doing it, maybe I already am. You are not a guidance counselor and if you actually are, I don’t care. I appreciate you thinking that I can do more than “just be a waiter”, but you don’t know how hard the job is, or hard it is to wait on you. You know why you don’t know? Because I make it look easy and that takes skill. Waiting tables is not my life plan, but I take pride in what I do and I take extreme pride in doing it well, that’s just my work ethic and any good waiter feels the same. Please don’t bring into the conversation that waiting tables is below my abilities or not something to get “stuck doing”. I don’t like having to justify my job, and I don’t like having to explain my life plans to a stranger anymore than you do. I know you mean well and I know that it’s a compliment in many ways, but it feels like being talked down to, and it truly is. You wouldn’t say “so what do you really want to do” to a mechanic, a plumber, an electrician, or any other skilled-worker job. Serving tables is a skill-based job, and I am a skill-based worker, please regard me as such.
7. Examining other Patron’s Food
Every now and then I’ll have a tray food and someone stops to ask me what the dish is. Great question, I want to tell you about it, I want to showcase our menu. Then this someone will put their face to the dish, and smell it. Don’t do that. It’s not your food, it’s not on display. If I’m on the floor with food it’s because I’m bringing it to someone, someone who probably doesn’t want to see you stick your face in their food. Of course the solution seems easy, I just don’t let you do it, but how can I do that if you seem reasonable, if you seem polite. I like to answer questions and I like to help our guests, but people that do things like this make me paranoid. Use your eyes only please, no noses and, if you can believe it, no fingers. Yes it has happened, do not be one of those people.
6. Not Asking All at Once
If you want lemon, more napkins, a side of butter, and more water, great, let me do all that for you. If you ask me for each of these things one at a time in the same 2 minute period, go F&^% yourself. Everyone does this, I’ve done it, and it doesn’t seem like that big a deal but if you’ve ever uttered the phrase or been with someone who had to say “Sorry, I promise this is the last thing I’ll ask for”, then you or the person you’re with need to learn how to behave in a restaurant. Running me back and forth because you think of ten things you have to have right now is like a child asking for things from Santa Claus. And I will regard you as a child. If the dish is incomplete or the restaurant is busy and I haven’t been around, I’m sorry and I understand, but that goes back to number 9, just let me know as soon as possible, don’t wait until I’ve brought you food and then make me do laps. It slows down the dining process, slows down my pace overall, and makes you look difficult to me, the cook, the manager, and the other guests.
5. Getting Upset That I Don’t Sing Happy Birthday
When I worked at IHOP, I sang Happy Birthday. When I worked at a sushi restaurant and beyond, I didn’t. Not every restaurant is like that place your parents used to take you when you were a kid. Maybe it seems cruel and unfair that I don’t want to (and don’t have to) sing to you now, but we all have to grow up sometime. Don’t take it personally and don’t act like I owe you a song, this is not American Idol, this is a restaurant and we have our traditions and policies. If our policy is not to perform for you, not my problem and certainly not my fault. I’m sorry you’re disappointed but I’m not so sorry I’m going to sing or “make an exception”. If you go somewhere else next year because we didn’t sing or give you free dessert, by all means please do. Granted this is mostly an issue with college aged patrons, and when you’re in your early twenties and learning that the world does not revolve around you the way it did at home or in college life seems unfair. Because life is unfair, but I am not.
4. Not Understanding That We Are Closing
You have every right to come in and be served right up until our posted hours. However, if we close at 11, and you come in at 10:59 and ask for dessert around 11:45-12:00, guess what? We probably can’t do it because our pastry chef probably went home. Blame the restaurant all you want, you come in for “last call” at your own risk. Yes we are open and yes we are serving, but the longer you stay the least likely our full menu is available. It’s about controlling hours for labor cost, it’s about food safety violations for storage and cleanliness, it’s about basic electricity and gas bills. We are a business after all and unless you’re willing to spend the money to pay to keep everyone and everything on until you’re done, respect the fact that you came in at the last minute, so you get last minute options. Whether you came in or not we would be closing down because that’s how we run the restaurant. Don’t get mad, don’t be disappointed, if you want full service and full options, ask before you decide to order at 10:59.
3. Walking your Child
We are not a daycare, this is not a place to teach your children to walk. Do it outside or better yet, at home. Almost every night some parent either lets their toddler run around or holds their hands while they walk around. Not a good idea. Lots of people rushing, lots of plates, trays, glasses, forks, knives, and many other non-child-proof materials are flying about. I don’t want anything to happen to your kid, and you certainly don’t want anything to happen to your kid so don’t tempt fate by waddling behind your toddler in a crowded restaurant. Dangerous, careless, and rude to the other guests.
2. Customizing Your Meal
We have a menu for a reason. Chef offers specials for a reason. You are not the cook and this is not your kitchen. Making something vegetarian or switching the starch, no problem. Adding different sauces, baking instead of grilling, salmon instead of chicken, get out of my face with that stuff. Tell me what kind of meal you’re looking for and I’ll find it, or not. Just because you’re sitting at a table doesn’t mean I have to serve you exactly what you’re thinking of. There is a concept behind the menu and there is a concept behind the meals. If none of them are what you want go somewhere else. If you don’t want to leave, be brave and try something new. Telling me to go ask the chef won’t work either, trust me when I tell you we don’t make it this way and we don’t offer those options. It’s not good business to tell a guest “no”, so if I’m telling you we can’t do it, it’s not because we don’t want you to have a good time, it’s because we simply aren’t what you’re looking for. Respect that. Accept it. Don’t blame us for not being your mom’s cooking.
1. Snapping your Fingers
Honestly this happens pretty rarely, but it shouldn’t happen at all. I am not a dog, I am not a child. I am another person doing their job as best they can and there is no reason to treat me this way. If it’s busy and you can’t get my attention, I apologize. But if you snap your fingers at me, then you don’t want service, you want a slave. I have many other guests during the night, I don’t need you. The restaurant doesn’t need you. You are one among many, not the master of your table and certainly not of me. Snap your fingers and I might break them off, and I’d be completely justified. Try snapping your fingers at your significant other sometime, or your parents, or the police when you need them. Let me know how that turns out. If you can’t treat me with basic respect then you are a jerk, and I hope you don’t come back.
by Keith Watabayashi
184 Comments
And I dare ALL of you to work in a kitchen or dining room at a nursing home. You’ll find out what (or how little) you’re made of.
it’s really sad that people expect basically slave-like service from waitstaff. but it’s to be expected in a country that was based and built on the backs of slave labor. when legal slavery ended, the united states tried to reinstate it in any way possible– and it manifests itself in the modern-day service sector. notice how hours at work keep getting longer yet wages have remained stagnant? the u.s. is hellbent on bringing slavery back in some way.
related to one of the points in this list: i absolutely hate it when cashiers at the grocery store remove herbs from the plastic bag and lift them to their nose to SNIFF them in order to know what price to ring up! aaaggghhh!!! do not sniff my fucking food!!!! i’ve had this happen a few times, and it always makes me cringe. i even had to go ‘off’ on one person once because if it. people can be very rude, clueless and barbaric.
I was working on a busy Friday night during lent ( I work in Northeast WI and Catholics go out on Friday nights for fish fry, and ours is delicious) when a child who couldn’t have been more than two toddled in front of me at full speed as I was coming up the stairs. To avoid hitting the kid I leaned back an lost my balance. I had one of those moments where you know something is going to happen so I tilted my tray (with two coffees a hot tea and shake on it) towards me so it didn’t spill on the kid who stopped in the middle on the aisle. I wound up with coffee all over my chest and the floor. The busser who was out clearing a table ran towards me and started cleaning up the mess while the mom grabbed the toddler and walked away. She didn’t say a word. No I’m sorry or can I help? I walked in back, grabbed one of the uniform shirts in the closet, went to the bathroom, wiped myself off, and changed. Then I went back out there and did my job even though all I wanted to do was cry, I smiled while I waited on the table with the kid (who left a four dollar tip on on a fifty dollar check) and all of my other tables. Once we slowed down I asked the manager to get one of the other girls to cover my closing shift so I could leave. I had mild burns on my chest but mostly I was mortified and angry. How could someone let their kid run around like maniac and not even apologize then leave a horrible tip because they had to wait for their drinks that I spilled on myself instead of their kid. I love my job and I need it to pay my tuition, but I can’t believe how some people treat others sometimes.
People complaining about tipping is amusing and complaining about paying for the experience. Haha. You pay for all those people who wait on you in any industry you just don’t set what you pay.you pay the mechanic, department store clerk, grocery clerk, hairdresser, etc for their services but they set the amount you pay and make the same whether they give bad service, mediocre service or excellent service. At least with wait staff you decide what they deserve and they are more inclined to treat you well because their pay depends on it. Yes servers could be paid a fair living wage and then they would be less inclined to be polite. Restaraunts like this set up because one they pay less out of pocket but also it encourages the wait staff to put up with more crap from the customers and to turns tables faster so they makes more money. And what would this mean to all the customers.. well you would pay 50% to 100% more for that meal and have a waiter that would treat you like the department store, grocery store, or drive thru clerk does. Think about it. Why do companies offer performance based bonuses? Or telemarketers offer sales bonuses? How about debt collectors they offer collection rate bonuses. You always pay at least with servers you get a say in how much.
I’ve been a server the past two years and absolutely agree with this list. The restaurant i work at is an Applebees in a small town in SC and Applebees is the bottom of the barrel when it comes to a serving job. That being said i still do not hate my job. Yes i do serve rude people, cheap people, people who look down on me, but i have never let it get to me. Being a small town i serve these people repeatedly knowing at the beginning of the meal, there will be no tip regardless of the service i provide. I still put a smile on and serve these people the best i can anyway. Sure i’m basically not getting paid for my time on this table, but i know that when these people come back and have a different server they will then realize the difference between good and bad service. And while i may never have a tip from them (though i sure would appreciate it) i will hopefully have their respect. And from people like them thats all i really want. Some people just do not tip, i accept that. Who am i to judge what they believe in? The other truly great guests i serve more than make up for the bad ones. And to the people who try to offer life advice or guidance, thank you. It means alot to me that you saw how i worked and my attitude towards a sometimes thankless job and thought “hey kid, you could do anything you set your mind to.” Coming from a broken home with no adults to tell me what i needed to do to have a successful life its nice to know that some people out there care enough to offer advice to a young person who just might need it.
What I find truly hilarious about anyone..be it a *wait* staff…physician…..store clerk….a postal worker.. is that anyone would actually bitch…complain…whine and act out like some kind of spoiled entitled little weinie having a tantrum “because my job is sooooo hard Mommy”:(:(:( WTF? OK I get that I am privileged. I work with super-humans in a hospital……physicians……nurse practitioners….nurse aides….technicians….we see law enforcement daily in our Emergency Department bringing people in etc…..EMT’s bringing people in whose lives they just (barely) saved…..para-medics who have pulled little kids out of mangled cars and the kids have trauma wounds…..are you getting the picture? All of us are educated.skilled….experienced..some of us fought for and slaved for our educations andthe truth is that most of us would make more money in other hospitals or medical venues.The bottom line is in the years I have worked as a Critical Care/Psychiatric RN I have NEVER heard one complaint from anyone about how hard their job is. NOT.ONCE.EVER. And I am laughing because the *wait* staff that are good at their jobs? You know the ones who know about having a work ethic..like how to keep your head down and stay focused on that finish line….how to work smart..make yourself a valuable part of the team…….the ones who have pockets full of tips every shift? Guess what?THEY are not on here whining. It is the ignorant dysfunctional…lazy…sloppy..wimps that whine and want life to be easy for them Gag.
I hope you do see the irony in your own post.. Made me chuckle.
Some of these comments make me wonder what happened to humanity. I have had an extremely hard life but have managed to pay for coklege out of pocket while maintaining honors. This list does represent things that anger servers. Well some. But overall, no matter how bad you piss me off, i am always accomadating. Its my job. Hey you want your food special, no problem. I am on a diet and do the same. I never have a problem so long as i am respected. Yes you do pay my salary, and guess what? I pay the busser and bartenders. No.matter tge tip, my sales force me to tip out. About 100 dollars a week in fact. Im blessed to have a job, thankful. What i am not thankful for is how unsensitive and rude our society is . Its food! I get your paying for it and you shoukd have it how you want it in a pleasant manner. However, ask tbe kid down tbe street starvibg tonight if they would appreciate it. Wake up.people and look around. This whole country has a self of entitlement and its a shame we are blinded by what suffering goes on around us. O and if you want us to get paid by the reaurant, enjoy paying triple the cost. You get what you pay for. Setvice at Ihop? Normally not comprable to a nicer restaurant. I, and us college kids may be your boss one day, and one of the biggest busibess faux paus when out to a business meal is tipping poorly.
You have no idea what it is like to be on the serving side of the token. Don’t you understand that people’s livelihoods and their children’s livelihoods depend on the tips that we receive? My checks are worth ZERO. Every time. So if I have someone sit at one of the 3 or possibly 4 tables in my section, rack up a $30 bill and leave me $6, and proceed to stay there for the rest of my 5-6 hour shift, and leave me nothing more, that is fair? I should be happy with that? That I can’t pay my bills because you wanted to chat for hours? Something that you could have done at your house, or Starbucks? Or panera bread? Or any other establishment that doesn’t have lines of people waiting to sit at the table YOU are holding up? Think about someone other than yourself.
Brandon……you are working in a profession that requires minimal education and almost anyone can be trained to wait tables. WHY have you been doing it x 7 years? I just do not understand the people who are wait staff that come on here and whine about their jobs and those “meanies” (customers).Get a REAL job that requires an education and some skills IF you are not being treated well as a wait staff. To be honest if it were me I would be working on a degree so I could get a better career.Being narrow minded and limiting yourself to that work environment really reinforces a hopeless attitude IMO. Get some career goals and then just do it. Do you want to be some guy in his late 40’s waiting tables?Come on:) I worked in food service when I was young and as I pursued my educational goals to become a psychiatric nurse. I did what I had to do and the moment I was offered a job in a psych hospital while I was in nursing school you are damn straight I took it and NEVER looked back on the food service industry!
I completely agree, and I’m currently trying to find my way out of it. It is hard finding a job that pays as well though without having extensive schooling or training, especially in this crappy job market/economy. I have gone to school, racked up $80,000 in debt and am trying to work my way to paying it off now, can’t afford/get approved for any more loans, can’t find a reasonable paying job in my field. You make it sound like its incredibly easy to do it. But without family to help you, paying for school starts most people so far in the hole, they have to do anything they can to pay it off. And why should I work some crappy 9-5 job making 12-15 bucks an hour when I average about $25/hr when I work serving?
Sometimes you have to just be practical and look at where the demand is. I agree about keeping that $25.00 an hour job while you scout for a career that insures a great future and retirement. That sucks about the school debt. I actually paid for my own education because I did not qualify for any student financial aid etc.and I refused to take out any loans.What I mean about being practical is that maybe being in nursing is not everyone’s dream because yes it is a difficult gig BUT where I live here in California RN’s..especially experienced speciality RN’s make HUGE $$$$$$$$. Something to think about. AND there is a shortage. All the physicians and nurses I know say “Got to work smarter….NOT harder”:)!!!!!
I did want to add to my being practical blurp that when I made my career choice what my heart wanted was to attend the Culinary Institute in San Francisco and train as a pastry chef…Oh how I dreamed of that:) BUT I also compared and contrasted overall earning potentials…….work environments……retirement plans and decided on my other love nursing or in my case psychiatric nursing because there is no way I could have ever earned the amount of money I earn as a Psychiatric RN as a pastry chef not without starting at the very bottom and taking years to build a resume with it. I am fully satisfied with what that choice has brought into my life and the whole Pastry Chef thing lost its gleam and luster as I began accomplishing things in my field of choice.It was like a whim:) Keep working hard Brandon and keep your eyes wide open for each and every opportunity that presents itself to you to get ahead:)
I have been a server in various restaurants for about 7 years, and people’s stupidity still amazes me. I take pride in my work and I feel like I do a good job, but I do get frustrated when people do not tip accordingly. In my opinion, there should be an 18% gratuity added to everyone’s check, every time, no matter what. Then maybe a lot of these people would stop coming out to eat. Also, one thing this author did not put down, which would be my #1 pet peeve, when the restaurant is on a wait, DO NOT STAY FOR MORE THAN A HALF HOUR AFTER YOU ARE DONE WITH YOUR MEAL!!!! It is incredibly rude to the people waiting and you are taking money out of your servers pocket by not allowing them to turn that table over. Or, if you do want to spend all night at the restaurant, you should be leaving an extra $10-20 per hour that you stay.
Brandon
“you should be leaving an extra $10-20 per hour that you stay.”
That’s a bit much don’t you agree? I mean $2-$5 more but not that much considering you are probably only giving refills the rest of the time and probably minimal refills at that point. Also, if you don’t do ANYTHING MORE, you shouldn’t get ANYTHING MORE. Tips are for SERVICE, NOT for if you stay long. WHERE DO YOU GET THAT A TIP IS FOR STAYING LONG?
You are not paying for service at that point, he/she is suggesting that you cover lost tips from the people who he/she could have been serving instead.
I’ve been a waiter for the past 2 years and this post is spot on (especially #6).
A couple of things I would add. First, its really annoying when I walk up and ask if everyone’s ready to order and they say yes… and then they go back and forth changing their minds 15 times before settling on a salad. And second, when they ask me ‘what comes on the chicken carbonara?’ I seriously just move over to the side next to them and read off the f**king menu for them. I mean really.
I wanted to also give some wisdom for those *Mike* who think that because ‘it’s my job’ that I should nut-up or ‘look for another’ if I don’t like it. This will seriously backfire for those who use this line of logic. On the grand scheme, if you don’t tip servers well or treat them like dirt, they will go to restaurants that suits them — leaving your favorite restaurant with inept servers. That’s why good servers quit IHOP and Denny’s to go to PF Changs. The good ones leave, the crappy ones are stuck with you. But on the small scheme (let’s say you’re already eating at a fancy restaurant) it’s still not to your advantage. The cold hard facts are this, I don’t have one job, I have seven employers at any given moment when I’m on the floor (I average seven tables). If you think to yourself that I have to bend over backwards ’cause it’s my job’, then I’m giving you less than 100%. Keep in mind that I won’t ignore you, you just won’t be my top priority (in fact it’ll be minimum service). Simply put, time = money. You are not the only boss I have. If sacrificing a good tip (or any tip) from you means getting more from 6 others, then I’ll do it. It’s a simple case of supply/demand.
The truth is that unless the wait staff are exceptional in terms of excelling at their job…knowing how to treat customers and radiate warmth towards the customers then the customers are kind of annoyed and revolted at having to even interact with them.You sound intelligent and as if you know how to multi task and work a room. Customers can feel the gloomy negative vibes from the unhappy servers and truthfully who wants to even deal with that? Not me. I just usually say as little as possible…avoid eye contact and leave a minimal tip if and when the wait staff are unpleasant uncouth and not doing even a marginal job.I am a big tipper too. I always bring a large cash tip when I go out to dine because I want to personally hand it to my server while telling them thank you for such nice service BUT if someone is a piss-ant…I do not bother…I just write it on the ATM tip slip and get the hell out asap:) What I mean by being a piss-ant is like “How many times do I have to beg you for a spoon so I can eat my soup that is now cold?” Rarely have I ever had an unpleasant or unprepared server and the only food issue I ever encountered was the cook left the bacon off my BLT once and that was pretty funny…a BLT please..hold the bacon:) Ha!
The waiters that love their job and do it because they like being a waiter are the ones who get tips. The waiters that complain, hate their job and are miserable with their lives are the ones who don’t get tips. Positive thinking/attitude brings positive outcomes. Negative attitude brings negative outcomes. in the past when i worked at subway I made tips. not much but i still was leaving work with an extra 5 dollars a night on top of above minimum wage. I got those tips because I loved my job. The customers knew that and I had 3 customers who asked for me when they came in. 1 of the 3 never tipped but I still treated him kindly and he did the same. Just the fact that he came in asking for me to make his hoagie was a tip all in itself. he was just a friendly old man, never hit on me or anything. Work at a job you like. Life is too short to be stuck at a job that is killing you. I understand that there are circumstances like bills and kids to pay for and raise but there has got to be a way to take the time to make yourself happy. It’s your life make yourself happy god damn it!!!
Customers suck. I waited tables for years and most customers acted like they needed to be treated like kings for spending a couple bucks. Customers don’t tip and employers don’t pay. Mexicans may stab you. Children run around with steak knives. Don’t touch waitstaff in ANY way. Once a man started giving me a recipe and became infuriated when I told him he can only order from what is on the menu. Don’t even get me started on the sexual harassment that goes on in these places. Be nice and tip your waiter and everything will be great. If something is wrong with the food they will try and replace it. Don’t talk down to them, they aren’t your personal slaves. A friendly chat is ok but anything more is strange and creepy. Female bartenders/waitresses don’t think you are attractive. You are responsible for the junk you bring in getting lost. A tip is 20%.
Jorge
“most customers acted like they needed to be treated like kings for spending a couple bucks.”
But you want their money, so you have to treat them in that manner, otherwise, HOW can you expect a good tip, huh?
We want something, you want something. You want a good tip, you have to treat us like we are GOD when we walk in if you want a GOD like tip, UNDERSTAND?
I worked at a donut shop/diner off and on a little over 2yrs worth between 1998-2002 and when someone would walk in, I treated them like they were GOD walking in. I stopped sweeping or cleaning or restocking to take care of them as if they were GOD. THAT is what gets you tips and I did make pretty good tips for a donut shop/diner. Treat people like GOLD if you want them to treat you in that manner. I can’t say everyone will, of course there are always cheapskates, but I am talking about the MAJORITY of people are FAIR in general and DO TIP WELL. You KNOW IT that is the GOD’S TRUTH, so quit LYING now! Maybe you sucked as to why you got bad tips, isn’t it?
“Don’t talk down to them, they aren’t your personal slaves.”
While I agree 100 BILLION PERCENT don’t be mean, they are your slaves if you want that money at the end you have to get EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY THING they ask for if you expect that 20% or more tip. YOU ARE A PERSONAL SLAVE WHEN YOU ARE A SERVER, because you have to do what the customer TELLS YOU; they are your BOSS, UNDERSTAND?
“While I agree 100 BILLION PERCENT donâ??t be mean, they are your slaves if you want that money at the end you have to get EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY THING they ask for if you expect that 20% or more tip. YOU ARE A PERSONAL SLAVE WHEN YOU ARE A SERVER, because you have to do what the customer TELLS YOU; they are your BOSS, UNDERSTAND?”
No, they are my guests and they don’t tell me anything, they ask. This is not only a matter of semantics, its a matter of attitude. I oblige as long as I am capable to do so of course. Any excessive rudeness or other variants of self elevated crap is met with a finger pointed at the door. They make up a very small portion of the general clientele and they are usually bad for business in every way. If they want to be treated as gods and not as normal people, they can do so somewhere else.
saxojon
“No, they are my guests and they don’t tell me anything, they ask.”
Yes they ask, but they are still telling you what to do next.
I NEVER condoned being rude or anything like that. I am just saying that we are the boss of the server if the want our money. That means if a customer ask for 2 mayos, 2 ranches, 1 mustard, 1 bbq sauce, etc. that you are there to do it. If they ask for 5 refills, you are there to do it. It’s your job if you want their money at the end called a tip.
Let’s say I ask “Can I get another coke please.” I am still telling you what to do next even if I am asking nicely, I am still telling you the next step to do.
Some of these comments are hilarious. I manage a restaurant, coming from a waitressing background, and I can promise you that it’s a difficult job. So are the other jobs that people have been boasting about here. I respect that you work hard as a nurse/builder/chef/sales assistant… I expect you to show the same respect for myself and my staff.
I get that some people might be put off by the blunt tone in this article, but all the stuff written in it is true. And this stuff isn’t difficult. Most of it is just basic courtesy and politeness. Some of it is going to help your meal get to your table quicker, some is about health and safety, and some is about not making the dining experience awful for other people in the restaurant.
Also, I love that people are going on about how they pay a waiter’s salary. That’s true, but if you come into my restaurant and treat my staff badly, your money isn’t worth it. I don’t want my staff to be dissatisfied, I don’t want other diners to be bothered by your horrible attitude, and I don’t want your classlessness to bring down the tone of my establishment.
Crabby, it wasn’t necessarily directed at you. On BOTH sides there’s a lot of negativity. Just a thought on the Golden Rule, for EVERYONE! : )
I can absolutely agree that being a waiter/server is a tough job and one that takes an incredible amount of patience and “people skills”. But I also think that this job, just like any other job, requires a certain amount of professionalism and exemplary service to warrant a tip. It should not be an automic. When I come to work everyday and do my job, I get a paycheck. When I do exemplary work at my job, I get a bonus. But I have to think about my actions every day if I want to receive an annual bonus. I don’t have a tip jar on the corner of my desk and I am not handed an evelope at the end of the day with my “cut” of the “bonus pool”. I don’t know why the public is expected to pay the wages of these servers. Maybe restaurant owners need to pay more. This expectation of leaving a 15-20% tip with oftentimes very poor service, is wrong! I believe the word T.I.P. originally came from the idea of recognizing good service and promptness (TO INSURE PROMPTNESS)… am I right?
In the States the tip is incorporated into the wage, meaning that the actual wage is piss poor. Below minimum wage, actually. So your comparison doen’t hold up. A better one would be if you went to work everyday and you might get fully paid if your boss wanted to. Also, you’d have 20 new bosses everyday. All with their own secret criteria for what constitutes as splendid work… Ok, that was not a very good comparison either since I don’t view my patrons as my boss, but you get the picture.
The money has to come from somewhere so if people tip less the resturants would have to raise their wages, resulting in higher prices for he customers.
Lou…I was not being negative. Realistic. I work in a profession that requires super powers moment to moment: nursing. We were taught in week one to park our egos outside the door before entering the work environment secondary to the reality of having to deal with physiicians with massive egos….demanding ill patients…..hopeless upset family members….omnipotent administrators…..other nurses who are surly rude and evil etc.Just trying to make a point that when the going gets tough the tough get going. I too worked in the service industry when I was younger.It was honest basic work that to me anyone can do well. That was my point…more complex professions require a much higher level of education and the ability to work autonomously…multi task…be creative…ethical and so on and so on.Most wait staff take pride in what they do aand the majority are organized enough to ask you at the onset:”Is there anything else I can get you”. No one wants to make them jump through hoops. If and when I dine out and I have to ask my server to bring me anything extra (please) I always thank them profusely and tip a bit extra for their efforts. We usually try to let them know how much we enjoyed their efforts and presence.Again I must add that when I was a service person my boss owned the business and he personally trained us how to serve the customers…how to market ourselves and that the customer is always right.He taught us the art of great public relations/diplomacy and so on. Stuck with me all of this time.He did me a favor:) Just by the whiney tone of the person who wrote the article I imagine he is not the world’s best server. That is my impression. Too bad because the majority of restaurant staff are fun….funny and want you to have a great time!
JESUS HAROLD CHRIST ON RUBBER CRUTCHES!!! WHAT’S WITH ALL THIS NEGATIVITY ON HERE!!!???
I’ve been both a waiter and a patron. Why don’t we all just agree to follow the golden rule, and not the one that says ‘Whoever has the gold makes the rules”? It’s simple and easy to follow.
Your an effin waiter…your job is to serve restaurant customers….WHY is your attitude so bad? Get an education and move up in the world if a job as simple as being a wait staff confounds you that much.You are in for one rude surprise if you ever get into a more advanced difficult profession such as critical care nursing…law enforcement….teaching…you know… jobs where you actually have to perform like a pro. You need an attitude adjustment from your supervisors.Again YOUR job is to serve YOUR restaurant customers NOT bitch because you have to work.
There is no better way of learning someone’s character than to eat out with them. “Someone who is nice to you but rude to the waiter is not a nice person.”
Well said. Being rude to people just trying to do their job is easiest way of spotting an a-hole.
I’m disgusted by some of the comments below this article. Arrogant people who expect the world out of people in the service industry are people who are completely miserable with their lives and need to take it out on someone else. If that wasn’t the case they’d understand the people serving obviously are doing it because they need to pay for school because the economy sucks or need to have a job in general and restaurants employ a good majority of people. I agree completely with this list and there are many other things that irritate me as well, but happy, genuine customers and people who actually know how to tip 20%, make the hellish day worthwhile. You don’t realize what the people who are serving your food are going through, if you can’t handle tipping or think you’re above people who work at restaurants then stay home and cook your own food, you’re not wanted in the restaurants either. I’d love to see one of these arrogant people switch lives with me for a weekend, and wait on me while i bitch at you to get me more alcohol, condiments, say the food was overcooked, the restaurant is too cold, everything is too expensive etc. *all things in which you CANT control and then tip you a dollar on a 100 dollar bill and see how YOU enjoy it. When it comes down to it the majority of people are nice, but you can always count on a few to ruin your night.
bee
“say the food was overcooked “*all things in which you CANT control”
The food being overcooked **CAN** be your server’s fault and *IS* in your server’s control at times.
1. They can put in the order wrong such as putting into the computer well done, when you meant to put medium well.
2. If the overcooked food is OBVIOUS to the server’s eyes that if they brought out the food, they could easily tell not to serve it to the customer.
“the restaurant is too cold,”
Lots of times I have had servers get the air conditioning turned down because I was cold for me. What a bunch of BS you can’t control the temperature inside the restaurant.
“think you’re above people who work at restaurants”
I am above them when I can see how to do the job *BETTER* than them when I have more KNOWLEDGE about the *MENU* and just the job in general more than they do. I have proven to servers as well as managers even things on the menu that I knew BETTER than they did. It’s sad, it really is, when there were times it was my first time at the restaurant even.
I am above them when they bring me onion rings when I ordered fries when it is MY SERVER that took my order, things like that, that are like DUHH, are you DINGY or what bringing me the completely wrong food?
When servers try to blame others or even the menu or the computer instead of themselves for mistakes they can control such as a wrong price. I don’t care if you can’t change the price in the computer, you can get your manager to fix it *BEFORE* you hand me my check wrong, DUHHH!!
“I agree completely with this list”
HOW could you agree with not customizing your order when it’s *OUR* money, NOT *YOURS* that you want, huh? You sound VERY LAZY and UNCARING to agree with that, you REALLY, REALLY DO!!
HOW could you agree with asking for things all at once when I truly bet you are just like all the other servers that don’t *********WRITE THINGS DOWN********** to try to remember all the things at once, huh?
^Who is this entitled trustfunder? And what’s with the brash use of capitalization on this board? Go back to school.
Alex
“Go back to school.”
I am just trying to EMPHASIZE my writing. I at least have COMMON SENSE which most servers today do not.
Well now you just sound redundant, buddy. But keep trying.
As far as the air conditioning is concerned, the person who told you they turned the air down lied. It is not possible for the entire restaurant to be noticeably warmer in the small amount of time that you are going to spend there. Your brain does this awesome thing where it tells your body that it’s getting warmer because you believe the air has been turned down. Nine times out of ten when a server tells a manager that a person would like the air turned down they just laugh and fully expect the server to go tell them that it was turned down even though it wasn’t.
Jo
“As far as the air conditioning is concerned, the person who told you they turned the air down lied.”
NO, they didn’t. At a restaurant, it was TURNED DOWN, FOR REAL, I SAW with my OWN TWO EYES THEY TURNED IT DOWN!
Quite a number of restaurants I saw they turned it down and even *HEARD* the air conditioning turned off even such as when it was slow at a restaurant so you could *HEAR* when it was turned off.
“It is not possible for the entire restaurant to be noticeably warmer in the small amount of time that you are going to spend there.”
NOPE, sorry, when they turned it off for me, GUESS WHAT, I WAS MUCH WARMER. Especially when you are underneath an air conditioning vent.
YOU ARE 100% WRONG, SORRY, YOU ARE!!
“Nine times out of ten when a server tells a manager that a person would like the air turned down they just laugh and fully expect the server to go tell them that it was turned down even though it wasn’t.”
They may lie at times, but most of the times, they turned it down for me, especially because other customers are complaining as well.
Firstly, there is no need to be rude and call names. I wasn’t rude, merely pointed out a fact in the vast majority of restaurants. Secondly, if they truly turned it down, it was the exception, not the rule. More often than not a manager will not allow a server to turn down the sure per the request of one person. If most people are complaining things may change but for one person they will almost never do it.
Your language is inappropriate and unwelcome and I hope that if I ever happen to come upon you in a restaurant I work in I can teach you how much bring kind to not only your server but people in general can get you.
“6. Not Asking All at Once”
Also, there are soooo many servers out there that won’t ask *EVERYONE* at the table if they need something else. Once, at Outback, I wanted to order another refill and another margarita, but the waiter ONLY ASKED MY MOM(we were in a party of 4). I couldn’t ask, because the waiter went away too QUICKLY.
Also, there are many times when you want to ask for a bunch of things at once, but the server walks away TOO QUICKLY to tell them your lists of things, which I think has EVERYTHING to do with being too lazy to WRITE the stuff down.
Also, good servers will *ASK* questions rather than wait for a customer to say they want a refill or a box or even asking if the customers want any condiments with their meal instead of not asking.
We aren’t always to blame, in fact, most of the time, it’s the SERVER’S FAULT WHY customers don’t ask for many things at once. Sure, sometimes it is our fault as customers that we forget, but the majority of the times, it’s the SERVER’S FAULT they aren’t WRITING THE STUFF DOWN WE ASKED FOR or if they do, they don’t REREAD their written lists.
Serves you right for eating at Outback. What else would you expect?
Alex
“Serves you right for eating at Outback. What else would you expect?”
I expect the servers to have COMMON SENSE, to make their job easier by them asking *EVERYONE* at the table, not just one person. To write things down so they will most likely remember multiple requests.
We have eaten at a fine dining restaurant where our bill just between me and my husband was almost $300, which the waiter forgot to get my margarita from the bar with NO APOLOGY.
You are IGNORANT to think that it has to do with the “RESTAURANT” when it has NOTHING to do with that restaurant, it has EVERYTHING to do with the “PERSON SERVING YOU” as to if you get good service or not.
Why does everyone think that the restaurant has to be expensive to get good service, huh?
Yes. This is a very poignant and emotionally-driven response. I can’t help but notice your use of annunciation on this comment board through capitalization. So that’s all I’ve read. And you don’t make an iota of sense. Sorry. Dilettantish; pedestrian at best. And you’ve no right to be upset about a $300 margarita. It was probably in your best interest.
Alex
“And you’ve no right to be upset about a $300 margarita.”
I didn’t say a $300 margarita, I said we SPENT almost $300, which the waiter forgot my margarita. READ next time.
U mad?
That’s funny!
“6. Not Asking All at Once”
If you want lemon, more napkins, a side of butter, and more water, great, let me do all that for you. If you ask me for each of these things one at a time in the same 2 minute period, go F&^% yourself. and I understand, but that goes back to number 9, just let me know as soon as possible, don’t wait until I’ve brought you food and then make me do laps. It slows down the dining process, slows down my pace overall, and makes you look difficult to me, the cook, the manager, and the other guests”
I agree, but the thing is most servers are TOO LAZY to *WRITE* EVERYTHING you ask down to *TRY* to remember what was asked for.
If you don’t write *EVERY* and I mean *EVERY* SINGLE SOLITARY THING that is asked for, you have ZERO rights to complain, ZERO!!
I am SO SICK of servers forgetting things when I ask for many things at once all because they *CHOSE* to be TOO LAZY TO ********WRITE THINGS DOWN**********!! All of these instances I will mention, NO servers have written things down, NONE!!
Once time I asked me and my husband’s waitress for a box, some containers for my condiments, a check, and a bag. She only remembered the containers. She could have easily brought all of that out in one trip(the containers inside the box). The box inside the bag. The check in her apron pocket.
I have had the same thing happen other times as well.
I asked for a box, the check, a bag, and a to-go coke, which our waitress forgot the bag.
I asked a waiter once for a refill of dr. pepper, some more bread, and some extra napkins. He forgot the napkins.
All of these people didn’t *TRY* their best to remember what was asked for by the first step which was to write things down.
If you write all things down, THEN you have EVERY RIGHT to complain, but if you don’t have your pad and paper READY to write down numerous requests, most customers won’t risks asking for too much at once, because they know you probably won’t remember them. Think about it. When I see my server come up not having their pad of paper in their hand, I tend to not ask for all the stuff I truly need, because of my experiences with trying to ask for everything at once, but the server is too lazy to TRY their best by writing things down.
So when you complain about this, remember, if you aren’t willing to *WRITE* 3-10 requests, then HOW the heck can I expect you to remember all of that with other customers, huh?
If you write ALL requests down(everything, even the check) and also *REREAD* the lists you wrote down, then and only then do I have sympathy for you.
“Customizing your meal Just because you’re sitting at a table doesn’t mean I have to serve you exactly what you’re thinking of. There is a concept behind the menu and there is a concept behind the meals. If none of them are what you want go somewhere else. If you don’t want to leave, be brave and try something new.”
NO, *WE* are the BOSS of *YOU* if you EXPECT AND WANT that tip at the end, so you are at the CUSTOMER’S MERCY if you want their money, not the other way around. You sound LAZY AND VERY UNSYMPATHETIC to picky eaters.
I have a right to not try something new and to order the food the way ******I*********** like it, not the way the restaurant owners or chefs like it.
It does mean you have to serve me what I want if you want my money at the end UNCARING PERSON!
As long as the restaurant has the ingredients, I can make my own item up.
Wow. I am a server and people like you should go off to some Ayn Rand conservatory for the perpetually absent minded. Okay, maybe you have spent time in restaurants where the serving staff was poorly trained, or perhaps just plain lazy. However, you cannot generalize your comments to include all of the servers in the entire universe. I would have almost sympathized with you until you talked about being at the customers MERCY. It is people like you that make the rest of the world hate America. Just because you come into my place of business it DOES NOT mean that you have the right to treat me like a SLAVE. I am a FANTASTIC server and am told so quite frequently but it is piece of garbage, thoughtless, selfish and quite honestly ignorant. Most European countries add gratuity into the price of items or pay their servers a living wage on top of tips. Your generalizations hurt not only yourself but undermine any arguments that may be made in this vein in the future.
Charles Hillen
“Just because you come into my place of business it DOES NOT mean that you have the right to treat me like a SLAVE.”
WHO said *********ANYTHING************* about TREATING SOMEONE POORLY, HUH?
I am talking about if you want someone’s money, you have to do EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY THING the person asks for, otherwise, you can’t expect a good tip if you are lazy, understand?
I WOULD NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER CONDONE being mean to a server, *EVER*!!
“As long as the restaurant has the ingredients, I can make my own item up.”
Depends, really. If its a busy time in the kitchen and the mise en place (term meaning ‘everything in its right place’, basicly the setup made to make the items on the menu as fast as possible) doesn’t allow for it without it affecting general waiting time, you can forget it. Getting stuff off of the menu is not your prerogative, its our way of giving service outside of the terms we set if we can.
I must humbly state, this list is totally valid. And I honestly don’t see any argument against it, certainly not a violent one. I’ve been working in the service industry for too long at this point, front-of-house, back-of-house, sometimes both in the same shift. It’s gotten me through grad school and I’m still making twice as much serving tables than I would be with my accredited degree.
Anyone who may see this as a menial rant is either eating at the wrong corporate-driven “American Bistros,” doesn’t know how to dine, is being served by really crappy servers, or is just a damn Kromag.
I am informed on my service points. I check the pantry when I get to work. I know every single item on the menu and I can answer any question you may have without having to pester the chef. I take my job as seriously as anyone who sees a point in performing a job. This article was definitely informative and entertaining. Keep it up!
I laughed throughout this list. As a server/waiter for the last 12 years I have experienced all of these (or a variation of these) many times.
To the people that say that we shouldn’t complain about our jobs… I challenge you to find anyone who has worked in any field, be it in the service /industry, professional, domestic… Any field for multiple years and see if no one could come up with a list such as this about their job. This list is probably made of 1-3% of clientele. Hardly a reason quit. Mind you for a restaurant that serves several hundred people daily, these occurrences happen daily.
To the people who say that you pay our salary through your tips, so we have no right to complain… You pay our salary the in the same manner as you pay civil servants’ salaries when you pay your taxes. A small % that will not break the system if decide not to tip me.
To offer further clarification, if not another perspective:
10-Don’t seat yourself.
Yes the hostess is there for a reason. If she does not perform her job to your liking, then say something. If you seat yourself your might end up sitting in a dirty table and that just starts your dining experience on the wrong foot.
If you sit yourself in a closed section of the restaurant, no one may notice you’re even there. If you thought you waited long to get sat, just imagine how long you’ll wait when no one approaches your table. As a server, if I see guests sitting in a closed section, I assume the hostess assigned a server to them and since she didn’t tell me about it, it’s not me and someone else will take care of them; which is the exact thing that everyone thinks.
9- Not Complaining
If you don’t give us the chance to fix it, then you shouldn’t take it out on me. I am a professional. I genuinely feel bad when someone isn’t happy with their meal. If we screwed up (which we doâ?¦ a lot), then let us fix it.
8- Offering Life Plans
If I have built a rapport with a table, then it won’t feel like a total invasion of privacy. And I’ll give them a canned response.
The worst offenders of this scenario are the religious guests. A prayer card is not a tip. I turn religious solicitors away at my home, and I do so at work as well. I politely say ‘no thanks’ and it has worked every time. Other servers can’t say no and end up getting talked at for 10 minutes while the rest of their tables aren’t getting attention.
6-Not Asking all At Once
I have multiple tables. When I am at your table, I am there for all of you. Once I get you what you need, I go to the next table. Repeat this cycle as many times for as many tables that I have. Without sounding malicious, if you didn’t put in your request when I was here last time, then your request is going to the bottom of my priority list. I am timing not only your order, but all my other tables as well. If I was just at the bar getting drinks and was headed to the kitchen to get salads, then your drink will wait until the next time I’m in the bar.
5-Getting Upset That I Don’t Sing Happy Birthday
I do it. I just don’t like to do it. Yes it’s part of the job and I don’t let the guest see it. Why? Because the celebration and singing will put whoever is paying the bill in a better mood and in turn I will get a bigger tip. Simple.
BUT it’s not free. You are buying dessert, and I will sing.
4. Not Understanding That We Are Closing
Just think about it this way: How do you feel when your boss assigns you an immediate assignment 5 minutes before you were planning on going home? You can’t get out of it. You’re staying late to do it. You suck it up and you do your job. All the while you question: Why didn’t he give me this assignment earlier? Who the hell does he think he is just dumping this on me right when I was looking forward to going home to relax?? Then you submit your assignment with a fake smile on your face and say ‘No problem, boss!’
Well, it’s the same for us.
3. Walking your Child
You know that clumsy waiter? Earlier today he dropped a tray of glasses on the exact same spot as where you are letting your kids roll around. Just hope they got all the glass shards out of the carpet.
2. Customizing Your Meal
You tell me what you want, and if we have the ingredients in house, we will make it. And you will pay for it.
There is a science to designing menus. Restaurants do not make profit on certain items, and more on others. Menus items are designed to balance the cost of certain items. While the restaurant may not make a great profit on the steak, it makes up for it with pasta dishes. We will not take a loss because you want to design your plate.
The company has standards to meet and stands behind their recipes. The second you change the recipe, you lose any right to complain that ‘we didn’t make it right’ OF COURSE WE DIDN’T. You told us to change it.
1. Snapping fingers.
Ignorant. I am always looking at my tables. Making eye contact and a nod, is enough to make me come over. Look around and I will materialize tableside.
Stories similar to this list have been shared over many beers by me and I’m sure by almost every server out there. It’s what people do, we share our stories. Go to a cop bar, and you’ll hear cop stories. Go to any hangout where a group of professionals from the same field go to, and you will hear their stories. OMG someone put serving stories on the internet??? I think there may be books and movies out there too? shhhhhh don’t tell anyone, they may get upset.
I want to preface this by saying that I am a college educated individual (U.S. top 50 school) who scored in the 98th percentile on both her SATS and her GREs. I’m also a server, having recently graduated into a very poor job market. No, it’s not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I do work with people who do love the job and want to do it for the rest of *their* lives, and I respect that. For them, I do consider it to be a career. However, don’t make the mistake of assuming that all servers are uneducated or lack motivation; I personally have worked since I was 14 years old, paid my way through a private college education, and am now working to one day afford graduate school. And I bet you that almost none of my tables would think that about me. I perfectly well understand that people don’t want to feel as though they have an extremely highly educated person waiting on them, so I consciously choose not to let on to that aspect of my personality (unless they’re a regular who has become my friend). Many servers do this. So don’t assume your server is an idiot. You just might be making a fool of yourself in the process.
Now, I also want to state now (without being arrogant, although I understand that I will probably be accused of being just that) that I make exceedingly good tips. In general, I earn better tips than any other server at my establishment (on average 21-25% of sales). In other words, my customers like me, and I have many regulars who come back requesting my service. Nevertheless, I do agree with a lot of this list, although I also agree with many who have said that it’s best to just shrug it off — after all, things are unfair in every job, even if you’re the CEO of JP Morgan and Chase, you’ll deal with assholes.
Which brings me to my next point: for those of you who think that waiting tables is just bringing food to a table, you are wrong. It takes a lot of skill. I think that it’s very likely that, often times, clients feel that they are receiving deliberately bad service because their servers do not, in fact, have the skill level the job requires.
Basically, this is my feeling on the subject: servers do work hard. We work very hard. Yes, I make around $35,000 a year (before taxes), and I’m extremely grateful for that money, but I do think I earn it. And yes, customers obviously do irritating things — personally, I find it frustrating when customers are inattentive (e.g. “Can I get you some ketchup or hot sauce?” …. no answer, but a few minutes later I’m being waved down and [often somewhat irritably] asked for ketchup or hot sauce). I don’t think we’re wrong to complain about that. Just because we’re getting paid doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating.
On the other side of the coin, it’s not the hardest job in the world. Honestly, I love the hell out of my job. It’s the best job I’ve ever had, and I have had some incredibly kind and considerate customers. I also really love the adrenaline rush of being extremely busy, and I enjoy making customers feel well taken care of. Also, it’s not a thankless job: there are definitely people who say thank you, unlike people who work in factories (or people who work in grocery stores! I imagine they also have to deal with frustrating customers, but they receive less empathy).
In other words, yes, my job is hard. Is it the hardest job? No. Do I get annoyed with customers sometimes? Yes. Do I consider it my job to not show it, and to provide them with excellent service nonetheless? Yes, but when a man grabs my leg or makes a joke about having sex with me when I ask if i can get him anything else, it makes me feel like my job is hard enough to be worth a little griping later. Heck, I work with a girl who had a guy bring her in a bra and panties one day! (And no, I don’t work at Hooters. I work at a small cafe in an upper class neighborhood in CA, and we have the typical restaurant uniform of black pants and black shirts, no v-necks, etc.). So yes… some people are assholes, and I don’t think we’re so ungrateful if we grip about those people later. If you work in a sales job and gripe about your assholes, I won’t blame you. Heck, if you are the CEO of JP Morgan and Chase and gripe about your assholes, I won’t blame you. We all have to deal with rude people sometimes, and turning the other cheek can be difficult. Talking about it later helps a little bit. Can you at least give us that?
I laughed through this whole list. Waiters are waiters because either they’re working to get up the social latter, they can’t get a better job, or they own a restaurant (at which the customer makes their paycheck). Bottom line, you make the customer happy or your business does not last. Customer is always right may not be a good hard fast rule to stick by, but logic says: no happy customer or customer told what to do or when to wait or be seated, then no money in after that first visit.
I’ve been to restaurants that have reseated me in a new spot when I wasn’t happy with the other spot, or when I was seat up against drunks being loud and moved myself (which is much more mature than running and complaining). if I were asked to please sit where I was because it unbalanced the work load then I would have simply up and left.
Bottom line. there is no etiquette requirement for a customer besides what they already logically and socially know what to do, otherwise restaurants would not stay in business. I pay for good food, service, and being treated like a guest. If I have ridiculous rules like these in any establishment then I’ll simply cook at home and spare the ones that make them the inconvenience of getting paid out of my pocket
I’ve worked in food service before but I don’t anymore because I chose a good career path. I’m not knocking anyone that manages food service or restaurants at all, because my mom has done it for years, but the customer comes first. they may not always be right, but I business runs on them coming first. End of discussion.
Richard-
Never really thought about that. Thanks for the tip. : )
I am a fine dining waiter in Calgary, Alberta and this list made me chuckle. These are all minor annoyances I have with my job every day. They don’t tick me off (usually, I have bad days too and small things sometimes affect me more than they should.)
You want to know the ONE THING that really, AND I MEAN REALLY, no REALLY ticks me off at work? And luckily it has only happened to me twice in the last five years ( I have been in the hospitality industry for a dozen years but can’t think of it happening before about five years ago)
Please never take anything off, or put anything on my tray unless I specifically look you in the eye and say “Just put it right there.” or “Your glass of Pinot Noir sir, can you take it?”
Why is this such a HUGE deal? After all you are just trying to help. The reason is simple. I have my tray balanced perfectly and know exactly how it is weighted, taking your beer or glass of wine off my tray upsets this balance and can result in either me, or you wearing the other 6 drinks I am carrying. Now because I am a professional I will likely choose to wear the drinks myself, if I don’t loose the balance of the tray too fast to protect you.
About 5 years ago a customer took a full bottle of wine off my tray without asking (or even warning me he was about to do it) I managed to save the 2 or three beers on the tray, granted with some splashing on the tablecloth. but had one of the wine glasses tip over onto the floor and break. The mans son ( the son was about 40) was horrified at his dad and was about to apologize before I lost it and told the man to NEVER do that again, I will be honest, I was rude to him, I knew it, so did both the son and the father. The son apologized to me, the father complained to my manager. My manager politely told the father that she would talk to me about my”attitude”. Her words to me. “i admire your restraint.” The son paid the bill and tipped me 25%. On the way out he pulled me aside and apologized again for his father.
I’ve had an array of jobs, factory work (in wineries and aluminum processing plants, also worked for coke) manual labor, TA etc etc, including waiting, i also study at university. waiting was by far the easiest of all of these. you’re there to provide a service, yes, some people are douche-bags but to write a presumable few thousand word list on why waiting is so tough? my gooddness! quit the whinging would you!
Clearly, you are unfit for customer service. Fix your lousy attitude about serving people, child.
I think the reason why people complain to the manager instead of the waiter is because they are worried the waiter will spit in their food. If this practice was not so common, I doubt complaining to the higher ups would be as common either.
So about the salary thing I work in a restaraunt which my dad owns so I do EVERYTHING imaginable in a restaraunt and customers pay the owner and the owner pays the employees so customers don’t pay our salary because if there was no customers some days = no money so whos pocket does that come out of the owners
So if there were no customers you think you’d still be getting paid. No, the owner would shut the doors and point you to the unemployment line. Get it straight: Customers pay your salary and not only that, they keep the trucks coming in with supplies and the lights on and the stove cooking.
I’ve served people for years, and if you don’t treat them right, then get a job where you don’t deal with people (which mostly doesn’t exist even in upper management). A big lesson you need to learn is that more is going on than just what’s on the front end. sometimes opening a business requires a huge risk of one person’s savings account. and sometimes they do have to dig in their pockets to get things by through rough times, but if an owner was the only one paying you then the need for a business would be null and void. Customers pay your paycheck.
Hey, first time commenting but this article pissed me off enough to say something. I don’t know if it’s been said yet but I’m spending my hard earned money for this overpriced meal I can make myself, how about us “disrespectful” patrons just cook for ourselves and you can be homeless.
You’re lucky you have a job in today’s world, especially with that ‘assitude’ (legitimate typo that seemed fitting) If I’m paying for this food, it’s going to taste good, and if not- you nor the restaurant is getting paid- it’s that simple, you provide a service, you are not a holy person, you do not own the restaurant, you are a waiter- voluntary as well.
I swear waiters constantly whine and tamper with food, be completely rude to patrons and then have the nerve to publish these things, and they wonder why they don’t have respect- thank you for reminding me of why I don’t eat out anymore.
If you find it overpriced AND you can make it yourself, then keep on doing so.
The reason food costs more to eat out is quite obvious: the establishment needs to make money. And I can tell you that the margins are slim even with minimum waged staff. Its a hell of a market to operate in.
This list tries to tell two things; exercise some empathy and common sense while being in public places.
Don’t snap your fingers at Waitress. Great! That just reminded me of my dad from back when I was 12. We were up”state” in a smaller city and we were in a nice sit-down restaurant. The parents met some of their buddies and Dad was at another table than mom and her friends. Dad was with HIS buddy. They started goofing off. What dad did, now, waitresses here:
He raised his hand high up into the air and SNAPPED HIS FINGERS at the waitress. Mom was aghast! I knew mom would be aghast. I knew it was “funny, but Not Funny” like my mom loves to say. Heck, I was only 12 years old, but I was FLABBERGASTED! I think mom reamed him out in the car, or else at home. This yell came soon after the fact.
Agreed on all except #9 – don’t complain. YOU might be professional and want to sort things out. Not everyone is. People I know in the hospitality industry have told me actual true stories about what’s happened to the food of people who complain, even reasonably.
I completely agree with everything except for #2. While people can be ridiculous, the customer is always right. If they want to change a few things up on the menu why is that so awful? Why should a customer get an extra side of lugi in their food if they just want salmon instead of chicken in a certain dish. THAT is a bit ridiculous.
All I heard was 'wah wah' get a different job or learn to deal with the crap that comes along with the one you have. And I'm saying this while agreeing with 90% of what you said -the other 10% however makes you a douche bag.
The people eating have every right to ask you for something every single time you walk by, get over it -it's your job.
I always respect my waiter. I am never rude, and i dont complain to managers, even if my food is undercooked. Because if my food is undercooked, its the cooks fault, not the waiter. BUT, i do not tip. Have i been a waitress before? Yes. I do not believe in tipping, for the fact that, every other job i have ever done, i did not get tipped for doing my job. Why should waiters get tipped, but every other American who works hard doesnt? I think its silly. I understand that resturaunts pay crappy hourly wages, but if yah dont like it, then get a different job. Every job pays more then that hourly, and you dont have to rely on customers to pay for your work. Just my opinion.
That is really sad that you have been a waitress before and that you do not believe in tipping. You know that the servers do not get paid well hourly, (my state minimum server wages is 3.85 per hour) and that when a table does not tip, the server is PAYING to wait on you. Most restauraunts that I have worked for tip outs to bussers, food runner, bartender etc is based on sales. So if you come in and spend 150 dollars and not tip a server just paid (in my resturaunt that I currently work for) 4.50 to wait on your cheap a**.
The statement that you say that if the server does not like their hourly wages that they should get a different job. There would be no servers in restuarunts. Also if resturants just paid min wage then the quality of service would be effected because the quality people with a good work ethic would choose to do something else. Resturaunts cannot afford to pay servers what they make with tips. The resturaunts would have to charge way more for your food to compensate, you would end up paying more than you would have before even with a tip.
Tipping is thanking a server for their good service. Everyone knows that resturaunts pay very little per hour and that the servers lively hood depends on the tip. Just because you do not agree with that fact does not mean that you can punish the waiter for your ideals. American culture is not going to change anytime soon so you are just going to have to deal with it and tip your server. I bet that you are not a regular at a resturaunt. If you are, you probibly get crappy service because the wait staff knows that you will not tip. So you are the just the blow off table, the table that they do not pay too much attention to and try to get you out of there as fast as possible.
I do believe that a tip should depend on how good of a service you recieve, but you still go by the norms. Only on extriemes would you not tip a waitor. I can only think of one time that I have never tipped someone. That person truly deservied it and they know it, but Im not going to get in to that.
I really hope that you change your ways. If I was your friend, I would be embarrassed to eat with you if you were paying. Tipping is an American standard, if you dont like it then please do everyone a favor and dont eat out!!!!!
I probably shouldnt have said that i do not tip, more of that i do not believe in tipping being a requirement. I do usually leave something as a tip, and the service of the waiter is what determines the amount that is left. I have worked in the food industry, more then once. Call me an asshole, but i know how that shit works, and when the workers are not doing the job they should be doing, and slacking off, i do not believe they deserve a decent tip. If the waiter is honestly doing their best, you can tell, and then yes, they deserve to be tipped. But more times than not, waiters are slack offs who expect to be tipped for not doing their job as well as they should, so no, i am not going to dish out my hard earned money, to someone who is barely working up to par for it. The real driving force of a restaurant is the cooks in back. When you go back to a restaurant, its because the food was good, not because the waiter smiled.
i can tell this guy is or has been a real waiter because when talking about this stuff is writing started sounding really annoyed.
I actually thought this article was well done. I've read "waiter" articles before that infuriate me, but this one was clever and sensible.
The only problem I had was with #6, don't ask all at once. I usually try to have my list of needs ready, but often the waiter/waitress will run away before I get three words out. I've had to request refills on each individual drink at the table (family of 8)… Or when I do ask for napkins, ketchup, and spoons (what is it with restaurants not using spoons!?) the waiter usually forgets at least one item.
I agree with the commenter who said there should be a list for wait staff by customers.
I live in a country where tipping is not the custom in restaurants, and to get the attention of the staff, patrons whistle, snap, and shout they equivalent of 'waiter' to get their attention, often across the room. There is probably double the number of dining room staff and everyone is responsible for every table. I might see 12 different people in one meal. Anyone will bring you what you ask for, including the manager, and for some reason there is NOT A SHREAD of attitude EVER and the service is so much better than in the US. Sorry to say.
Guess I have come to feel that if I was running a business and any of the staff was acting in any way counter to the goal of the business they would be walking. A server making ultimatums and saying that they would deliberately give poor service for ANY reason would be shown the door before the complaint made it out of their mouth.
Yes I have worked as a server, it's hard. I also have a job now and am responsible for customers and accounts and I have to eat crow regularly. What do you think my boss would say if deliberately made a customer unhappy because of a personal sleight? Servers, sack up, do your job, and remember that any time you deal with people you have good experiences and bad, but it is NEVER ok to sabotage your COMPANY in the name of your pride.
I'm so glad to no longer be a waitress. If this blog were a restaurant it would be full of crazy hostile paranoid people. All jobs come with problems. I chose to think the people that were the rudest might have problems I was unaware of. You must learn early in life not to take others rudeness personally. This has worked good for me in any profession.
This was pretty much useless, I think its the uneducated opinions of one person who is a waiter at applebees or a chain. I wish I could get the 5 mins of my life back after reading it. Sounds like the author is a complete moron.
I have spent a LOT of time in restaurant kitchens and a fair amount of time eating in a dining room. I have a healthy respect for the waitstaff: they get yelled at by the cooks and hassled by the customers, all while trying to give the guests the best experience possible and oh yeah, they're responsible for selling the menu. It's a tough job and one that I can not do. So I try to be as 'low-maintenance' as possible when I go out to eat. And if I get exceptional service, I make it a point to tell the manager.
I am a little tired of wait staff that feels the need to put these lists out. I was a waitress for 3 years and I did my job and I went home. I also attended college full time and got a degree. Now, I no longer have to wait tables. I will admit that some customers are annoying but it is part of the job. These lists just serve to make people mad at waiters and waitresses. So, if you want to make your job easier, quit pissing off the people that are your potential customers by making lists.
How would you feel if you went to a psychologists that was sick of listening to other people's problems? You would expect him or her to find a new line of work. So, if you dont like your job as a waiter, quit someone else would be happy to have your position. If not, shut the hell up and do yoour job. Life is not about the world bowing down to make sure you have a pleasant experience.
Just for the record…What you said about a parent walking their child somewhere is probably the most inane thing that I have ever read on one of these lists.
Enno, Unknown to most customers is just how dangerous a restaurant really can be. A cup of hot coffee of a steak knife can be very harmful for a toddler. Even more so if dropped on his/her tiny head along with everything else on the vision blocking tray being carried by the rushing server who didn’t see the toddler heading toward her at shin level. We don’t dislike children learning to walk. We dislike dousing said children with hot coffee and sharp knives.
Yes… it seems like a silly thing for the list… BUT I actually saw a server trip over a little girl about 1.5 yrs old and drop a whole tray of steaming hot dinner on her and another table. It was fairly terrifying… the parents felt awful and of course, the server was extremely sorry and appologizing but it wasn’t her fault. Nightmare situation. I have twins… and if they can’t sit in the highchairs or at the table I take them outside or leave.
Along the same lines, people now are so sue happy that anything that goes wrong can result in at least an attempted lawsuit. I had a child at one point running up and down a ramp that was the main walkway to get to the tables. I was usually able to dodge the child but I had mom yelling at the kid from the table to come sit down. Stop yelling and remove the child back to your table. The kid ended up running into the wall multiple times and smacking his head. Again, totally the parent’s fault for not containing the child, but it becomes a hazard that could end very badly for a restaurant or server. I take that part of my job is to sort of be a babysitter (kids will do just about anything as long as it isn’t their parents telling them to do it) but I can only do so much when it comes to controlling them.
The best way to tick off a paying customer is a stuck-up primadonna waiter…
While I agree with some comments saying there is a bit too much whining and condescending in this post, I also have to agree with the poster since being a waiter and having assholes pissing you off with their over the top demands can drive any person crazy. I would never be a waitress. I'm clumsy and it really looks like a hard job (how come people don't see those huge trays full of food they carry?? I'd drop those the second I grab them) so I'm grateful for the people who do their job well and are nice to their costumers. I always leave a nice tip for those people; the minimum for the a–hole waiters (yes, a–holes can be on both sides of the spectrum)
Treating others with respect goes both ways.
if this were facebook, I would `like`it.
Thanks
Hi there,
I just wanted to say that, although I do see what you are saying, I found this to be an incredibly rude way to lay it out there. Many points were condescending quite frankly. I completely agree that waitors and waitresses absolutely deserve respect. However, YOU also need to understand that if I am standing at the counter waiting over 5 minutes for you to seat me in a non or semi crowded establishment, you bet your ass I will be seating myself or walking out. No, your customers should NOT have to wait for your attention when they walk in the door. If there is a wait to be seated during a rush, that is fine, but you still need to have the hostess/host there ready and available to take names and whatnot. If I have to wait more then a minute, I walk out. Sorry, that to me is a prediction of the poor service I will most likely receive. The majority of restaurants hire a host specifically to perform this job. If the host cannot feasibly seat 1 group and return to greet the next within 1-2 minutes…that is a fail. Second, if someone tells you about "life plans"…ACCEPT THE COMPLIMENT! I am sorry, but if someone thought enough of you to point out your potential, appreciate that. No, being a waitor is no dream job nor is it a career. It is a j-o-b. That is the first time I have seen someone complain about compliments. Third, if your hours are from 10-11, that menu best be serving me, even if I do come in 5 minutes to closing. It is not my problem that your hours are what they are. Restaurants that shut down the fryers or grills half hour before closing piss me right off. If you have customers, you accommodate them. If you cannot do that, don't run a restaurant. You lock the door at closing, and continue to finish up with the last of the clientelle. I assure you, these customers are normally the best tippers if treated and served properly. Fourth, if I have to actually snap my fingers for your attention, kiss your tip good-bye. Most people do not snap, whistle, yell, until they have had an empty glass on the side of the table for over 10 minutes waiting for a refill, or you have not come by in half hour since dropping the plates off. Yes, some people are rude, however, this is not the norm. And if it does happen, chances are it is your fault.
I am sick and tired of terrible service. You whine, bitch, and moan when you should be greatful for that job and that experience to begin with. I felt the overall tone of this article to be completely rude. If you don't like your job, hand over the apron, there are 10 others who would be jumping all over it. How ungreatful! I bet you are someone who does not get many tips.
I certainly hope the door hits you square in the butt on your way out.
If you are this impatient and cranky walking into the restaurant then nothing a waiter, host or any other person can do will please you. If you have so little time that you cannot wait more than 1 minute then clearly you do not have time to dine in. Visit a drive through.
Prying into the life of strangers is not a compliment. Service professionals may enjoy their customers and love to chat with them as such, that does not make them friends. You think this work beneath you and you are entitled to your opinion. You are not entitled to judge others for earning a living. Service staff pay their bills and taxes just as you do.
Cooking equipment being shut down is not under the control of the wait staff. You may try taking this attitude to the chef but it would likely result in you being permanently banned from that restaurant. You should try it; I'm sure the front of house personnel would be eternally grateful.
Clearly you have not worked in a service profession. Yes, these are professions. Many people make lifetime careers in service, and this does not just include wait staff. To suggest that this is lesser work than yours reflects far more about your than you will ever likely acknowledge. A person who chooses to make a respectable living, regardless of your opinion of their profession, does not deserve to be demeaned and does deserve to be adequately compensated for it.
I was NOT demeaning waitors/waitresses. But I am telling it like it is. Am I impatient? I certainly can be when I have left my home to come to a restaurant and pay 4 times for a meal that I could have had at home. I am paying for the service. That is the bottom line. I was not saying I was unwilling to wait. I am unwilling to be ignored by a host. My point was if you cannot acknowledge me within at least a few minutes (and MAJORITY at least say hello) then I am gone. Because it is totally a prediction of how the evening is going to be. I do not care what you say…service is absolutely terrible these days because of the attitudes of servers. I will never be rude to a service person unless I have a reason to be. Why should I tip you for garbage service or a bad attitude? Servers need to get real.
I have worked in the service industry which is why I feel that much more validated to have these opinions. I was treated very well by customers simply because I did not cry and whine and actually provided them the service that they came for. If you want to be tipped, that is all you need to do. Provide good service. If you cannot do that, gtfo.
The reality is, I do complain to managers if the restaurant is garbage. I also do not pay for bad food and have no qualms walking the hell right out. It is my right to express disappointment when necessary. If I return the food because it is terrible, I am not going to pay and I am not going to be nice. And I do not care what you say…waiting is a JOB, not a career. Those who make it a career most likely were not meant for anything better anyways.
Peace.
you must be black!
Anna,
I think I’m in love. well said.
For every complaint a server can give me, I can give them two back. Being in the Food Service industry for well over 30 years, I get tired of servers who think they know everything. Let's look at #6. Learn how to manage the table. If a person has to ask for something then YOU aren't doing your job. Have the condiments and extra napkins out. Keep their glasses full. When one person asks for something, look at the other guests and notice their position. Will they need anything in the next two minutes. Quit complaining about the guest and learn your job.
And when they pay the bill,
kindly leave a little tip,
for the next poor sucker,
on they're one way trip.
fz
As a former waiter I have to agree with most of this list. I think the main point that the writer was trying to get across is that there is a limit to everything, and that we aren't your personal servant. We are there to serve you, and we want you to enjoy your visit because we do want that to reflect in your tip, because if we don't get tips, we can't pay our bills (you try paying your bills with an hourly wage below minimum wage). I always enjoyed doing what I could to make someone's experiance as pleasent as possible, but at the same time if you were going to treat me as less than human or with disrespect, why should I go out of my way for you, or be willing to bend the rules a little bit? Also the point of at least 4 and 5 is that sometimes we can't accomodate you because it is out of our control. Also, I always wanted to know when someone had a complaint so that I could work to improve it, why should you eat a meal that you don't like, or sometimes I was so busy that I missed a mistake that the cook had made, and want to know so that you can have the meal you ordered. Overall, I think the list is a better reminder that waiters are still human and deserve to be treated with respect, not like your personal slave.
While I agree with some points here, I do have to say that servers always make it sound like their job is the hardest one in the entire service industry. Sorry to tell you this, but it's really not. Try being a dealer and dealing to drunk angry people losing their money while having to be fast, efficient, and doing math quickly in your head. You pretty much have to watch everything you do at a casino when you're a dealer, and customers bitch you out like you're personally responsible for every dollar they lose.
I don't think it's so wrong that people ask what you're planning on doing instead of serving, it's a fair question, no one assumes anyone wants to work in the service industry. The vast majority of servers are there to make money to either survive or to go to school etc. Not that it's polite of them to grill you, but a simple conversational question isn't rude. Hell you never know you may find a better job that way.
You can bitch about your job all you want, but don't assume that you are the only one who deals with crappy customers.
I don`t think that this was written under the assumption that it is the hardest job in the service industry, because I will acknowledge that there are many difficult jobs.
I think that this article was written to make people aware of the effort that goes into service for those who have not had experience in the field. You should write an article on being a dealer, I would read it, and could compare it to my experiences as a server and spokesmodel.
I completely agree that being a dealer – I am assuming you mean at a casino, is a difficult job and I commend you for it. Also, I dont find the questions about what I`m planning for the future rude at all, although for those who are unsure of their future it may seem rattling. However, it is not the most difficult job as you seemed to imply, it is difficult, although there are many professions in the service industry that are stressful, as you have noted.
It just seems to me like whenever anything about being a waiter comes up they act like it is the most difficult job in the world. It's a certain tone I get from these types of articles.
Dealing isn't the most difficult service job, but it's up there. There are so many variations on jobs, so it really depends on where you work and who you work for. It also depends on what kind of person you are.
I've been considering writing a list or article about dealing (not that I'm the expert!). It will have to wait until I have more time away from school though, now graphic design school there's some stress for you! haha!
I would also like to read a piece about the difficulties of being a dealer. I have never come across such an article but I would be interested in reading it. More people should write these types of articles so that others can gain new perspective.
You, sir, must be really sad with your life… with that kind of attitude towards clients, please tell me where you work so i can skip that surely awesome place….
Great list. I used to be a server, and I really like the job, but some of these are really right on. I worked in a small, neighborhood place, and people thought that since their kids couldn't go far, they were free to run around as they pleased. I nearly stepped on a few when I was carrying large, vision-obscuring trays of food.
Also, I would dread those last 10 minutes before closing for the inevitable drunk folks that would stumble in and ask, "Are you still open?" If you have to ask, then you should probably not plan to stay. Usually I would respond that we were still open, but that they might consider ordering something to go.
I've also worked in my fair share of offices, and I can tell you that if anybody had the nerve to treat office folks the same way they treat waiters, people would flip out. I can't remain friends with people that are rude to servers. I think it's a real indicator of a person's class–and I mean that in a attitude way, not a socioeconomic one.
I will admit I have gone into places usually very late to order something to go, although I try to make it something not too complex.
My pet peeve when I was a server were the customers who would come in intoxicated, 10 mins before close, leave a mess, order a whole whack of food and dine and dash, or not leave a tip. Its disrespectful.
"I am not a dog" Over finger snapping? We want a slave? Restaurants are crowded places, we just want the attention we pay for. Stop whining. If a simple finger snap makes you cry like this and sends you in a violent rage, you're in the wrong profession.
snapping is unbelivably disrespectul and shows your character that you consider it acceptable. if you want your server’s attention, try waving your hand or actually calling them by their name, as 99% of servers will greet you by telling you their name…wow.
Snapping your fingers is a horrible way to get someone’s attention unless that someone is named Fido. This goes for any profession, not just waiters. You have a voice and are, I assume, perfectly capable of saying “Excuse me. And yes, restaurants ARE crowded places at times so it’s far better to vocalize.
great list! I could never be a waiter.
I think people forget that those of us that work in any service industry are NOT servants. We want to do a good job, we want to help, but you need to work with us. Treating someone that wants to help badly is not going to result in better service, it will only increase your chances of having a bad experience and ruining that persons day, which can domino and effect how the next customer is treated.
Try treating people, waiters, librarians, store clerks, etc how YOU would want to be treated if you were in their shoes. It'll make the day better for everyone.
I totally agree. As simple as the job seems, it’s not. We are impeded by management trying to save money, sometimes an angry kitchen staff who takes out changes on us, (I’ve started bribing my cooks and bartenders with cookies and cake so they leave me alone when people order weird things) we really do want to help you but there does come a time that there is only so much that we can do and you as a guest need to understand that as well. You either quit or grow a really thick skin to deal with a lot of what goes on. Just like in any job you have your really good days and your really bad days. I personally try my best to go back to thank people who leave me an exceptional tip but I will thank people EVERY SINGLE TIME no matter how awful they may have been to me. The only time that I will be openly rude to a guest is when they are rude to another guest by interrupting me at another table. I will be there and move as quickly as I can but each person does need to get their own time.
I never waited tables but my daughter has, and it's a hard job. She comes home exhausted from work. The worst part, though, is the customers who think that because this person is bringing their food they get the right to treat her like she's subhuman. It takes a special kind of person to put up with all the idiots who come in to a restaurant, and I have a lot of respect for them now.
Wow, a lot of high handed responses. Guess what people, just because waiters are there to do a job, they are not there to be demeaned. What kind of justification is “Shut up and do your job, I have a right to treat you like a lackey”? Just because you are sad and pathetic in your lives does not mean you can be obnoxious to anyone. No, I’ve never been a waiter, but mostly because I would NEVER want to deal with idiots like you. You come at me with that attitude, you’re gonna find yourself missing body parts. Wait staff are doing their job, and having to deal with jerks is part of it, as apparent by you whiners. These are valid complaints that you all would have if you had the same job. But no, you just want to be a bunch of trolls so you can feel in charge. You all have inspired me to because even nicer to any wait staff I ever run into. Because if they have to deal with even one of you, they deserve every ounce of kindness they can get.
Thank you,
this is eloquently worded, and I hope to serve more customers like you.
🙂
thank you so much, it's people like you who make our jobs worth it!
Tom needs to get over it. It's written that way on purpose. Read #8. Hello?
Many of the points on the list hit home.
I didn't think much about these things until I worked as a waiter in an upscale hotel as a work-experience intern. By the 3rd day I was ready to kill the next customer who treated me like I was supposed to bring their food by carrying it on my back while I crawled on my hands and knees.
For those who say being a waiter is an "unskilled" job has obviously never worked as a waiter before. Try carrying 5 full dishes on a tray one handed. Seem easy? Walk with your load at a brisk pace. Still okay? Go around a table and place each dish without spilling or dropping even the slightest bit of food. If you think you can handle that, repeat with 5 bowls of soup. Then repeat with 5 tall glasses of water. Repeat each load 10 times an hour. At the same time, memorise 20 different orders (especially customised dishes), who ordered them, and in which order. Answer all questions about various menu items from memory. And dodge other waiters, customers, and small children running around. And everything must be done as quickly as possible.
For those who say "put up with it because it's what you're being paid to do", there is nothing in a waiter's job description that says "be a slave" or "put up with bad customers". Waiters are providing a service that, admittedly, most of us would not want to do. Waiters should not have to act sub-human to earn their wages and tips, and we should not treat them as such.
Like Erin, I now respect wait staff much more than before. They don't want your sympathy: most of them are not embarrassed to be a waiter. Just don't treat them like they're below you.
Thanks!
I agree completely, I worked at a restaurant where just because I was a girl I had to do all of that, and I had to do it all in a miniskirt and 4 inch heels.
It`s a skill based profession!
How much time have you spent posting comments to people who weren't addressing you?
Also, I don't think the miniskirt and skank heels justify an extra attagirl. It sounds like you were paid to dress as a trollop, and you were probably tipped and treated as one too.
Geez,
I do think the tone of this list is very whiney and actually demeaning to the customer. But I don't think anyone has the right to treat other people with anything other than dignity. Most of the faux pas that customers may have are harmless and you hav e to remember that the customer you're so pissed at that you want to smack may have had a terrible day and this is the time where they want to forget that and be able to relax. Remember that in that situation, you are working but they are trying to relax. Chill out and stop being so angry and if you carry around all that anger from your job, hell, find something else to do. Life is too short for that.
honestly i think this list is for other servers to read and get a laugh about. I read this and yeah most of it is annoying but I also know that a lot of people do not realize that it is annoying to the servers so I just shrug it off. The only time I really get irritated is when someone knows that they are running me around and does not try to fix that. People please tip though, your little contribution is my way to survive through college.
Hmmm a lot of these aren't unjustifiable. I really don't want someone sticking their snotty nose or filthy fingers in my food that I am paying for, so all you that keep saying for the contributor to shut up whining how about I come over to your house and sneeze into your food while I have the flu or something worse.
Crude and rude customers shouldn't burden the rest of us with their holier than thou attitudes. Keep your backside at home please.
I think most of these are pretty reasonable, if not a little whiny. I've worked in the service industry and I know people can be inconsiderate assholes, but that's part of any job. My only beef comes with number 2. All my favorite restaurants are usually pretty cool about switching things around like sauces or protein if it's not a problem. Is it so hard to ask the chef? If they don't have time, you can come back and say sorry, no. But most places I've been to are happy to customize a bit.
Agreed!
Most of the time if you show the extra effort people will recognize it and I found I got better tips when I went the extra step!
Yes, this is true. My mom is the chef at our restaurant, and we try to meet our customers needs as much as possible when it comes to what they’d like to eat, even if it does mean straying a bit from our Menu. Shows that you care.
Add in with snapping fingers the guests that yell for your attention while you are helping another table. It's rude to the waiter and to the other guests. I've been waiting tables for over 5 years now and a lot of this list is mostly a minor annoyance. The most annoying thing is when guests are just plain rude. "Hello my name is"-"I want a tea". A lot of it is just part of the job. The only other complaint from me is people not tipping accordingly when they did receive good service. I get about 0-10 on bi-weakly paychecks. Always tip %15-%20 unless your waiter really screwed something up.
This is one of the worst lists I have ever seen on this site. It's just someone complaining. This guy needs to get over himself and grow a pair. If you work with the general public this is the kind of thing you have to deal with, it comes with the job. While I was in college I worked as a bartender and had all sorts of jerks but it didn't bother me because the amount of money you make for doing such an unskilled job that does basically nothing, such as being a waiter, is ridiculous. Stop complaining!
You haven’t been a waiter and show your ignorance plainly.
You spoke of talking down to people, well, you're doing it.
You are a waiter, and yours is a job that a (skilled) monkey could do. You are NOT a professional, you're moving food from the kitchen to a table, and working a smile to a bunch of starving customers.
Waiting tables is not a career, it's something you do because either you couldn't do any better, or because you need to money to pay for something else, but let's not pretend it's something else. It's a respectable job, no doubt about that, but please, don't use that tone.
I am sure yours is a respectable job too. Tell me do you get use of the big shoes and red nose on weekends?
LMFAO!!!…that is some
funny sh*t!
Nice Article.
We are the one's who pay your salaray, We Eat what we like We have the right to ask to have items taken or put on our trays. Just because you wanna complain about being a waitor. Ha ha ha ha try being a janitor and maybe you'de realize what the hell a real hard and non respected job you have. Im a janitor and i can tell you now it's alot harder and more underrespecting than a waitor, And i almost never complain about my job. Why?? Because it's what your getting payed to do!!! SO shut up put on a smile and DO YOUR JOB.
damn straight ;D
And theyr the ones that sometimes walk out of restaurants with 2 or 3 hundred dollars in their wallets just from tips, and yet they still complain – _ –
It`s not that this article is specifically complaining, I work in a restaurant and I found it rather entertaining.
John, you spelled waiter incorrectly.
Lots of people don`t understand the effort that goes into making a restaurant run smoothly, and a bunch of the things I was responsible for included cleaning the bathrooms, tables and chairs, messes around the restaurant, and many tasks similar to those janitors perform.
And no, you`re not the ones who pay our salary, that would be the caring patrons, and the ones who appreciate our service. You would have been kicked out long before you got your food if this was the attitude you gave me or anyone in my restaurant.
And by the way, Mookie, we work hard for our tips, and earn them fair and square.
And yet here you are complaining about my work and correcting people. Your a hypocrit. And i tip freindly waitors quite fairly but if you were my waiter i think i’de leave sipt as my tip. So dont try to give me that crap. And oh yeah if it wasnt for our business at your restraunt you’de be out of work, thus we do pay your salary.
Go get an education.
says the waitress
Obviously, some people on here never waited tables before. Or have a severe lack of empathy. Whatever.
The only one here I may have been guilty of is #6. But, if I know that someone has been working hard to help me, it's always reflected in the tip. After that, it seems to all come out in the wash.
"Do unto others . . . ". It's a pretty simple rule.
There is nothing worse than these waiter lists. It seems to be the only job where the person involved puts the blame on everybody else. I can’t do that in my job, I find the solution and do not push it off on someone else. You say stay at home and cook for myself; how about instead we just fire all waiters and I can just walk up to a window tell the chef what I want and then come back in 20 minutes and get it myself. Your task is to carry a tray and talk at the same time. Don’t make it seem more than that.
Listen numbnuts, there is a hell of a lot more to the job than that. The waitstaff are the public face of a restaurant. They do many other things than just "carry trays and talk". They form relationships with customers insuring repeat business, as just one example. It is obvious that you have never actually had to do any kind of real work for your living, for if you had you would have a little more compassion for those who do.
Well let’s just start by listing all of the “fake” work that I did before leaving college.
13 – Detassled corn for the summer
15- Hung drywall for the summer
16 – Worked as a cashier/stocker at a dollar store
16-18 Worked as a Prep Cook at a Restaurant
19 – Hung gutters for the summer
20 – Worked at a car parts plant making plastic parts
21- Until I left college – Worked as a cashier at a 7-Eleven
Those were just the main jobs I had before I left college and not the odds and ends ones. Oh sir I have worked so many “fake” jobs that there is no way I could show compassion for your profession. Thus I see that in your bonding with the customer my guess is that you bring these customers food on a tray and then talk to them. I never said that being a waiter wasn’t real work just not as grandiose and needed as you all seem to make it. You can be the nicest person in the world but if the food on that tray is long john silvers then the customers are not coming back. How many times have you ever heard someone say “Damn the food was awful but Steve, damn Steve was the best waiter ever I can’t wait to go back” Answer, not never. You are a delivery system who I have to wait on to see my drink is empty. And once that drink hits the bottom the tip comes of the top. Defintion of gratuity – : something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service; especially : tip
Dude,
you are so rude. You would think that from your working as a prep cook in a restaurant that you would be much more empathetic towards waitstaff, but evidently not. KennyPo65 was not saying that the work you have done was “fake`but rather you do not understand the effort that goes into making your experience memorable.
And actually, I know several of my customers who come back for the service, I will admit that there are better restaurants than the one I work at, but you have to admit there is something to be said for the service you receive and provide.
Nothing against prep cooks, without them our job (cooks) would be 1000 times harder, but they usually know next to nothing about the service aspect of the job.
As for Dougie’s comment about going straight to the Chef, there is a reason we are shut off from the rest of the restaurant. We are not usually people who play well with others, and if you are trying to interrupt us while we are busy the best you should expect is some vicious verbal abuse, if no an actual physical attack.
You need the servers as go-between’s. They know how to talk to us.
I think the servers out there will back me up on this.
THANK you dougie, finally somebody telling it like it is! granted, there are many great waiters and waitresses out there, but in my 20+ years in the food service industry, the majority have been whiny rich(parents have money) crybabies going to college and whining the whole time about everything under the sun in the restaurant,from their hours to the tips, the kind of whining only rich a–holes with a sense of entitlement can do..
There seems to be a lot of talking about the tipping situation in the comment section. This list is about annoying stuff some (witch cannot be stressed enough) patrons exercise. Most guests I encounter are nice people with empathic abilities. Sadly, there are also manipulative and psychopathic lunatics disguised as people among us. Its almost always these degenerates that can’t seem to comprehend how to act in public (hence the diagnose). The ones snapping their fingers because them paying for a product gives them right to play your boss for an hour, the ones who has insane tantrums in public over some trivial bullshit, the ones who treat you as a retard just because you work as a waiter. All loony bin prospects.
Now, I’ve come to expect this kind of shit from people. Statistically speaking, you cannot get away from it. Some people are so entitled its borderline retarded. Luckily for me I work in a place where I can, with my managers blessing, tell these people to go shove it. We don’t want you here and our regulars most certainly don’t want you here.
You see, you don’t make the business go round. The ones we care about do.
then you wouldn't have to worry about forking out extra money for tips lol, like cafeteria style, except people are so lazy now they need waiters lol.
I gots full respects for you waitress peeps. Dem bees a hard hard job, specially workin wit nitwits
What a great list! I have never waited tables because I just don't have the personality or patience for it, but have always appreciated what goes into the job. I have always taken care not to do any of the things on this list and hate when people do.
I'm getting so tired of wait people whinging on about their jobs. If you don't like it, find another profession. You seem to forget that, while your employer signs your checks, customers pay your salary. You certainly don't belong in your chosen line of work with an attitude like this. It's self-righteous pepole like you that made me stay home and learn to cook better than most restaurant "chefs". When I do go out, I prefer a buffet style place, solely in order to avoid the bitchy waiters and waitresses with their rude manners and second-rate service.
Plus, if someone was with me and you tried to break their finger, I'd shove a steak knife in your temple…and I'd be justified and probably no-billed by the grand jury.
The steak knife thing sounds totally reasonable. Sometimes these pesky waiters get rebellious and start considering themselves fully human… you just have to kill those ones before they get too powerful.
But don't forget about the tip. I'd say run the blade through a dollar bill before you stab the guy.
It's just as reasonable as threatening to break someone's fingers for snapping at them. Shove your sarcasm.
I dont think thats sarcasm, hes probly just from /b/
Oh crap my aunt does that lol but i do not care if you break her finger, she’s a b**ch
You are exactly the type of person that this article is written about. I am not (nor have I ever been) a waiter. However, I respect how difficult it is to basically serve other people all night long and have to be attentive to multiple tables of multiple people. We all have things that we don't like about our jobs. I bet you could make a list of 10-20 if asked. It is not whining; it is reality. And it is not cause to find another career.
Granted, some wait staff are just plain in the wrong job as is evidenced by their attitude. After all, I have frequented certain restaurants that I know have one or two bad staff as they are like that every time I am there. However, treating a person as a subservient is a surefire way to bring about bad service. These people are not below you and if you think that the things on this list are just whining then you probably should stay at home. As a restaurant patron I also don't appreciate seeing staff treated poorly by other patrons. Why? because your bad attitude puts the wait staff in a bad mood for the rest of us who are respectful.
Way to go, thank you for recognizing the effort that we do put into our jobs!
You have made valid arguments and I appreciate your opinions.
I think there is much validity to it. Keith is wrong by saying "we don't need you" but perhaps it would have been better said that we don't need brats, leeches, people who are determined to take as much as they can without giving back politeness.
Exactly, and you will get that in every line of business. I find it incredibly rude that they are overgeneralizing based solely on this article.
I totally agree…I'm a waiter in Cape Town & earn good cash! I give good service & expect a tip…I'm not a monkey & should not be tipped in coppers, or ur warm wallpaper personality…Treat me with respect I'm also human.U are nothing more special than anyone else!!! Its hard work & u would not have any idea how much effort we go thru to serve u u'r meal,from finding teaspoons,glasses etc…Its always short in a restaurant..I understand its part of the job,but iI should still be tipped.. The best off all must be when customers fight over who is paying the bill, but just conveniently forget about ur tip! We have to pay breakages, runners, sponsored uniform, tip commission, accountant for payslips, clothes! So if u can afford to eat out, be decent enough to leave a tip!! It doesn't mean because I'm a waiter I live like a peasant & that u can decide if u want to tip me or not! I will return ur 1% to 5% tip + a few extra coppers..On a more positive note, not all customers are challenged when it comes to manners & respect! So to the decent customers out there…THANK YOU!!
we dont have an idea of how hard is to wait on people??? PFFFFF you guys talk like youre working the mines or something, IT IS YOUR JOB!!!!!! and guess what?? it is not that important!!!!! just bring me my food, if its such a hard work for you tell the cook to put a fork and a knife in the plate, put napkings everywhere and voila.
the idea of tipping is the stupidest thing everer, why do i have to PAY for your work, hey maybe i also should tip the cooks and construction workers and the owner for giving me food!!!!!!
You’re supposed to tip because in some resteraunts they take 10-20% from the meal away as the tip money. And some places the waiter pays the restauraunt to work there but they get huge tips.
I firmly believe EVERYONE should be required to take a job in the service industry for a small point in their lives. I served through college as well as just after. I now how two Bachelor’s degrees and a Masters and after all of my professional experience, waiting tables was still the hardest, most tiring, emotionally exhaustive, mentally draining job of my life. The reason you can go into a place like Applebees and get the poo-on-a-plate special for $8.99 is because they don’t have to pay the servers: you do. They price everything so low because they can. Hell, I never even received a paycheck outside of training. Usually everything was eaten up by taxes before I saw a dime on it. So if you want that food, angry little man, you’re going to actually have to pay for it.
Until you’ve experienced it, I am going to immediately disregard anything you say. There is no way to describe how degrading it is to be a fully grown adult with people snapping at you like a dog for attention. I look at this when hiring people now. When I see service industry experience on a resume, I know they are a hard worker who can handle stress and (sadly) the BS from overgrown man-children.
You are ignorant. When you go out to eat, you are not only paying for food, but also the experience and the staff does just that, makes your experience an enjoyable one.
Like said previously, if you can afford to go out to eat then you should be able to afford to tip also.
If it is an issue for you, then stick to your drive thrus and frozen dinners.
The audacity you had to post such crap is beyond me.
Tipping should be required and is just basic manners, if you are to cheap to leave even a couple of dollars for a tip, then please, stay home.
paying for an experience??? haha! come on, everything is an experience, cashing a check, buying groceries, going to the theater, and EVERY JOB demand that you make the costumer experience and enjoyable one, i now work in a catering company, sometimes as a waiter, sometimes bar tending, and i NEVER expect a tip for doing my job.
Clearly, you’ve never worked any position at all in a restaurant. Do you really think serving food is the only thing the serving staff is doing?
Sure, feet hurt at the end of a shift and the base of your spine feels like it’s on fire, but surprisingly – or not – the physical discomfort is easy enough to ignore.
Emotional exhaustion is the big thing. I have gone home after work too tired to even read a book. Not every day, but there have been times where I’ve gone to bed feeling numb.
Time to admit that though the majority of customers are good people, there are quite a few who are rude. Ignorant. Obnoxious.
Stupid comment further up about finding a new job . . . like jobs are flying out of the woodwork. There is such a thing as being stuck in a job; yet I somehow still manage to be pleasent and agreeable with the good people AND the bad ones.
Except chefs do get tipped, generally 4-8% of each bill so when a tip is 15% they are not actually making as much as you think. When a waiter doesn’t get tipped, he pays out of his own pocket. Waiters make less than the minimum wage, they don’t work to pay for you to eat there. There is a lot more service required than simply bringing a plate of food, you have to know the multiple names and ingredients for all the dishes on the menu, drink mixes have to be memorized, wine list has to be known, common and able substitutions must be known in order to perform tasks efficentely.
You’ve got more crap in you than a Christmas turkey. I’m respectful to everyone who gives respect first and I try to give it first.
I was offended by the breaking finger comment, that’s all. I know these people have hard jobs, but there’s no need to threaten violence. If your job makes you want to break someone’s fingers then you’re in the wrong profession.
I have worked in the service industry as both a server and a hostess, and people like you are the exact reason I got out of it. You are selfish and rude, as evidenced in this comment. I was working there as a student to pay for my school, and most of the time, I loved it! however, there would be the occasional customer who lacks the self awareness to recognize how rude they are being.
`You certainly don’t belong in your chosen line of work with an attitude like this“
you certainly cannot claim this, most of the time we are working several jobs to pay for our ultimate goals and dream jobs.
`You also stated that you would rather “stay home and learn to cook better than most restaurant “chefs”` and that you prefer buffet style places, which leads me to believe that you are not only a) cheap, because you will take advantage of getting as much food as you can, which if you keep eating once you are full is not healthy. Also because you won`t dish out the money to go to an actual restaurant with high quality food and chefs.
b) overreacting. Are you currently constipated or having marital issues? because that would explain your lack of insensitivity, and not realizing that the breaking your fingers comment was sarcastic. No one would ever actually do that, that would be overreacting on our part. the steak knife comment was you overreacting. probably due to not being laid in a while.
Also, how dare take on that all `high and mighty` attitude thinking that you are paying our salaries, etc. Most of us get great tips because we give great service to great people, we don`t have to serve you just because you show up, in fact, two of the places i have worked stated we have the right to refuse service to customers, and have practiced this rule. If you were one of our patrons, my manager would have asked you to leave for treating any of her staff like you have expressed.
I suggest you try being a server for a day, I guarantee you will realize how much work and effort and chaos the job is comprised of, and then on will be a lot more understanding to the effort we put into making your stay a good one.
Hee hee hee… “Are you constipated or having marital issues?” that’s the best line EVER. Love it!
It’s good that you got out of the business.
I DO pay their salaries, who the heck else do you think pays them?
Me overreacting? Pot, meet kettle.
@Mike, you are the exact reason why this article was created. I have been serving for about 20 years and I have been in and around enough restaurants to know that your food has been messed with at one time or another. I do not condone or do this myself but there are a lot of crummy servers that will slip a pubic hair into your meal, or they will suck your ice or lemon. There was this one kid that would double dip your drink if you were rude, he would dip his sack not once but twice. Servers make sure that your time out is special and they will forever remember the person that tips good, hence, they will make each future visit that much better. Servers have just as much ability to bring a guest back as the food and in every state that I have worked at the pay scale is far below minimum wage for other jobs, I currently make $5 an hour. So while you think your measly 5% tip pays a servers salary your dead wrong, it’s the person that comes in with manners and respects us enough to give us no less than 18% that does. Oh and even if you tip 15%, please do not think that is acceptable, 15% is for the 80’s, dig a little deeper people!!
So people who can barely afford to go to a restaurant should no longer be allowed because they can’t tip? How about making a decision to pick a job based on the actual pay and not the generosity of strangers. How many people are nice/help you in the run of a day and how many of these do you tip for doing what they’re supposed to? It’s quite simple, if your actual pay isnt cutting it, move on. Again how many of these “double dipping” scumbags and people like them have f’ed with kind innocent people who just cant afford to tip them I shudder to think. Heaven forbid the less fortunate try to live like the rest of us. I like how you’ve come to see the tip as a direct relay of respect. Why dont you respect people for struggling to get by like you are. I bet you don’t tip people at walmart; they get paid terribly, put up with idiots all day and no one cares. Come to think of it sounds identical to your problem. Before you make the assumption, I tip 20% when a server is clearly overworked, or going out of there way for me. It’s far less/nothing depending on size of the meal and if they’re just doing there routine job.
I was here replying to another comment that hit my inbox.
No, this article wasn’t written for people like me. I’ve always tipped fairly, never snapped my fingers at the wait staff or run them ragged just because I can.
eh i agree with the article about customers being ignorant sometimes, because that happens a lot, I agree with the kids running around and all and people coming in at the last minute in all shouldn't be done, but I think that waiters should be somewhat slaves i mean dang if a customer wants something they should get it no matter if the waiter is running back and forth. And the thing about the requests on specific changes on a order on a menu, unless its a five star restaurant they should do any change request if you want a specific thing with your food. One thing I cant stand is when the restaurant isn't busy and the waiters are sitting on there buts not checking on the customers regulary. Someone needs to make a list on TOP 10 THINGS WAITERS SHOULD NOT DO TO CUSTOMERS lol.
And i'm sick of people like you with their, "i pay your salary" bit. I heard that all the time from bitter people like you. If you pay my salary, fine do it yourself. It's easier than listening to your inane complaints.
You can cook better than most restaurant chefs? Good for you, that's nothing to brag about. Most restaurants use frozen or pre-packaged food. So what do you do? Go to the grocery store, buy a Stauffer's frozen meal, shove it in the oven, heat it, and than eat it? That hardly qualifies you as a good cook.
I'm going to assume your last comment about the steak knife was sarcasm. Really? You think due to a broken finger you're justified in committing murder? Since when did a broken, easily healed finger equal murder?
Lastly, please stay home for all of us. You're probably one of those self-righteous people who is a jerk to everyone and doesn't understand why everyone else is a jerk back to you.
You’re sick of it, so you have to vomit your BS all over a message board?
Wasn’t sarcasm, assault on me or mine gets a magnified response. Of course, you’re one of those who think they can do anything and get by with it. Not around me, horsefly.
Self-righteous? No, but you certainly are.
Seems to me mike that you’ve invested quite a bit of time on OUR message bored….vomiting…hmmm
You have to reply two years later and I’M the one investing time?
It’s an excellent article and the author is telling you these things in this article to make you think about your behaviour in restaurants. The reality is that all servers face and have to deal with these kinds of behaviour. In the workplace the majority of us would grin and bear it and attempt to give you the best experience possible but that makes it no less inconsiderate. Thinking you are a better chef than most restaurant chefs displays incredible arrogance. I would think if you receive second rate service it is a reflection of your own behaviour.
It seems that waitstaff would have a decent salary regardless of your presence in any restaurant.
Also: what an unsettling thought, knowing that your altogether lack of tact and empathy is the reason articles like these exist. On the other hand, you are plainly oblivious to it.
“Self-righteous”? The pot calls the kettle black. No– actually, this waiter is rightly frustrated and disillusioned from reaching a breaking point. You are reading words on a page, making staggering generalizations from your sedentary, lazy, entitled ivory tower.
And you are projecting.
Just a warning. Most servers talk to the cooks, are in fact friends with the cooks. If you are rude to the servers they will tell the cooks. Ever watch Waiting? Cooks LOVE messing with a**holes food, and are willing to do it to anyone!
Trust me on this one. I’ve been a cook for well over a decade now, and we all do this. I don’t care if the place is a five star establishment, or the diner connected to a bowling alley. If you are rude to the servers and later wonder what gives the food that unusual tang, more than likely you are tasting the salty goodness found under every sweaty cooks genitals.
Again just a warning. Being polite never hurts, and guarantees that you’re food won’t be contaminated with bodily leftovers.
Zac, what restaurant are you working in that the cooks LOVE messing with peoples food? I am guessing a Mcdonalds? I have never witnessed a real, experienced, chef/cook, to LOVE to mess with someones food. The joys of being a chef is to give the customers eating your dish satisfaction. The only time i ever saw someone mess with someones food in a restaurant, was when it was some young, and immature kid who just got the job, to have a job. I am sure it happens, because people are disgusting, but it deffinatly is not being done by a serious chef who fully understands and loves their job. You become a chef to cook, not rub your balls on peoples food, thats juvenile.
I see your point and respectfully disagree on a few basic points.
Yes, one of the true joys of being a good cook is having a guest that truly enjoys my cuisine. Unfortunately those wonderful people are a rare minority. I’d say a good 85% of the quests have no idea what good food is, or even know how to properly read a menu.
For those people we have nothing but disdain.
We will do anything to please someone who truly enjoys what we do, but if you have no understanding of food or service we can be unusually underhanded and devious.
Being rude to the Servers is a sure sign of a person with no Appreciation. And as such are fair game.
And as for being juvenile. . . Yep. sure is. If we were normal grownups we wouldn’t work in small pressure cookers sweating our asses off while everyone else had fun. Every night, weekend and holiday.
I guess your views on someone being fair game makes you a different kind of cook than myself then. I would never screw with someones food. Whether someone is rude or not, they are still paying for your dishes, and you are still being paid on the clock to cook it. I have never met someone who is truly passionate about cooking have an attitude such as yourself. Not all chefs are as bitter as you. Cocky maybe, but not so disrespectful and bitter. And i didnt realize that working in a kitchen under the pressure and in the heat, on holidays and weekends, made you a juvenile and act like a little turd by messing with peoples food. I thought it just came with a job that you enjoyed doing, cause yah know, dont become a chef if you dont enjoy it. But thats just me, i guess. I cook because i enjoy it and am passionate about it, not to be a bitter fool who messes with peoples food because i “disdain” them. Oh, well.
Well said.
I Hope you the best.
I have been working the field long enough to become mighty jaded, but there is still hope. While my experiences have led me to be quite the asshole, that is probably the result of a small minority of experience.
I really hope you find work at a place that understands the your passion. But I will say that nothing can kill your passion quite like a customer with no appreciation.
I envy you. I really do. You’re hope hasn’t been diminished. And I hope it never does. Do better than me. Please.
You deserve to be castrated by every waiter and waitress in the world.
As big as my testicles are, it would take them all.
I think you’re really cool. *Whinging?
No one is complaining about their job, the writer is simply pointing out the extreme lack of courtesy people extend to service persons. Being a waitress myself, I can honestly say that most customers are agreeable and usually leave me generous tips. However, those individuals who are inconsiderate to many duties of the waiter need to know how their actions effect the occupation well-being as well as the wallet of their servers. Furthermore, you are extremely wrong in prompting the writer to quit waiting because he is complaining about 10 aspects of his job. Are there not at least 10 things about your job that you don’t like? Further-furthermore, i assume that you have never worked in the service industry based on your insensitivity. Everyone should, it teaches one how to interact appropriately (play nice) with others. Further-further-furthermore whinging is not a word.
Whinging is British slang, ‘tard.
I bet you’re a waitress because you can’t do anything else.
You’re kind of late to the thread, sweet cheeks.
Probably like you are bringing people’s orders to their tables.
And, has been pointed out to you, whinging is a word. Of course, if you weren’t so stupid and have to wait tables for a living, you’d know how to Google something.
Stick your sensitivity in your ear. Spit in my food and I’ll gouge out one of your eyes.