Monday, November 22, 2010

A Rant about Dining Out

DISCLAIMER: THIS POST HAS NO USEFUL WRITING ADVICE.....HOWEVER IT MIGHT MAKE YOU LAUGH....A LITTLE. ;)

I wanted to take a chance to enlighten those of you who do not have the pleasure of serving others in a dining environment.....

When you first walk into a restaurant, you will definitely notice the age of your host or hostess. They're generally under 18 and this is probably their first job outside of fast food. They might look similar to deer caught in headlights. Please don't take advantage of this.

Going out to eat is usually a great time. Please do not come into my restaurant in a sour mood and take it out on me before I even get your drink order. Wendy's is next door and McDonald's is down the street and there is limited interaction in a drive-thru. Perhaps that will better suit you tonight.

Do not go to a popular restaurant, and especially one with a bar, to have a quiet and intimate conversation with your friend that you haven't seen in years. Corporate chains of restaurant actually have a policy about the volume of music in their restaurants...LOUD. It's a marketing ploy. If you're happily bopping to music, or even mildly irritated to distraction-you might spend more money.

Servers have a ton of responsibilities. Not only do I take your order and bring you food, I also take food that is ready out to other tables, fill ice buckets, run dishes through a dishwasher, roll silverware (yeah, those cute little cutlery wrapped in napkins-generally done by your server), stock things like RANCH DRESSING which seems to disappear at a rate of 16 oz per five minutes, and then we come to you each time with a smile to meet your needs.

Which brings me to the most important part of dining out. How you tip your server. The number one thing to remember is that we make 2.13 an hour. Yes-unless you are in a few other select states like CA or NV or WA, your server only makes 2.13 an hour. Should I say it again in a clearer manner?

I MAKE 2.13 an HOUR.....2.13 per hour....TWO DOLLARS AND THIRTEEN CENTS.

The general rule is to tip 15% of your bill. And it's okay to tip more. I'm generally understanding if a family leaves me 10% with a heartfelt "thank you" because times are tough. But, they're tough on me, too and this is my job. If you had me bring you more than 2 refills, and you and your thirteen friends asked for them at different times-my tip should go up. If you think it's okay to snap your fingers at me, tug on my shirt while I'm at another table, or simply yell at me across the dining room-my tip should go up.

I make 2.13 an hour and there are generally 1-3 hours of a shift that I don't make tips because I'm doing all that other fun stuff that servers are responsible for. And because what we have control of is very limited. In fact, we are the peons of the restaurant. Yup, I said it. (Deanna, hope you aren't reading this right now.....)

If your food is burnt; I apologize and will have it re-cooked. This does take time. I did not cook your food, nor am I the one that tells the cook how to do his job. I am the one that communicates with the cook.....*evil grin* (I have never, ever in any restaurant where I've worked had food spit in or otherwise compromised. Nor have I ever, ever known of another server/cook to do that. Big, scary myth to keep our guests in line.*wink*)

I do not have control over your wait time, either. That's partly the doe eyed hostess and the insane servers snapping at said hostess every time they get a "bad" table or if the timing of when our guests are seated is all wonky. And the rest of it is just the business....

Food taking a long time, thinking we forgot about you? It's fine to ask, but when I come back and tell you that my kitchen is slammed with 200 plate orders, don't act like it's my fault.

And I giggle at the thought of your face if you were back in the kitchen and saw all of those orders come in at the same time.

Now, let's say all is well and you aren't having any problems at all. You have been served your drinks, food, desserts and the bill is delivered all within a 20-30 minute time period. There's a reason for that. Each table is money. The faster you leave, the faster another(possibly more generous)guest arrives. It's a vicious cycle.  Will I tell you this to your face as you sit at my table for hours? No. I feel like it's rude. I have had plenty of guests stay and end up tipping me really well and I enjoyed their company. Will I curse you in my head if you leave me 2 dollars? Yes. *If it's my fault that you sat there that long because I didn't get your orders right while taking them and inputting them-by all means, leave 15% only*

One last thing you should know about tipping. At the end of the night, your server does some tipping of his/her own. As servers, we tip our hosts/hostess or bussers AND the bartender(s). And it's 3% of our SALES. Not our tips, but our sales. Which means that if my guests rack up a lot of money in their check-say 150 dollars-$4.50 of that money goes straight to my bartender and host. It used to be that we tipped according to our total tips at the end of the night-but it came down that too many people were "stiffing" their co-workers. It's the business....

And it's a business I love. I don't feel like I'm a peon or lower than anyone because I serve others as a living. I feel honored. I meet a lot of really great folks that end up becoming friends. On Veterans Day, I had the highest honor of serving our men and women in uniform and heard so many fascinating stories-it was a lot of fun despite the chaos-it was a controlled chaos.

So, when you go out to eat, keep in mind that your server is kind of like....'just the messenger' and you aren't supposed to shoot the messenger.

Have a great week!!! It's my Friday today and I'm hoping to get a lot done over the next few days off. If you can't tell-the business is ruling my brain right now. ;)

12 comments:

  1. Ha ha!! This is all so true!! I worked a lot of positions in restaurants through college, and it's greatly influenced how I act in restaurants.

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  2. Very enlightening as I've never worked in the service industry. That will make me think twice next time I go to a restaurant.

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  3. Yes, yes, and yes! You are exactly right about all of it. I waitressed in high school and college and it was the hardest job I've ever had. My mother has thalasemia and works herself to death waitressing so she can try to live on her tips. She makes less than $10,000/year. Tip well and be nice! :-)

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  4. It's so important to recognize that it is so much more than "front of the house" that makes for a good dining experience. Thanks for the reminder...though I work in a food shop where we make sandwiches and serve prepared food and aren't allowed to take any tips...

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  5. Oh, so exactly right on!

    I'm a server at Applebees and this post basically described my day today! At least I'm lucky enough to be working in CA, so I get a decent hourly wage.

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  6. "I do not have control over your wait time, either."

    Actually, you can. If you put in the order wrong, forget to put in an order, forget to get an order, overcharge a customer, and/or bring out the wrong food, YOU have delayed the NEXT set of customers to get seated, you sure do have that control over that.

    "If your food is burnt; I apologize and will have it re-cooked. I did not cook your food,"

    If you brought food to me and could SEE it burnt without touching anything, that's YOUR FAULT you SERVED it to me like that, NOT THE COOK'S FAULT.

    "*If it's my fault that you sat there that long because I didn't get your orders right while taking them and inputting them-by all means, leave 15% only*"

    NO, more like a stiff or 8%, something like that. It depends on how you handle it. Do you ask for a comp? Do you say you are SO sorry? How long does it take to get fixed?

    15% is when you have ok service where the food was correct mostly(maybe just a minor error like forgetting something that can quickly be fixed). It is NOT getting your orders wrong, NO WAY are you crazy?

    I am not going to pay server well that isn't going to TRY their best to PAY ATTENTION to WHAT(things you wouldn't have to touch to know it's wrong) they are bringing me by comparing their written order to my plate of food. You should be able to notice if something is burnt or not unless it is covered up by something.

    "I also take food that is ready out to other tables, fill ice buckets, run dishes through a dishwasher, roll silverware (yeah, those cute little cutlery wrapped in napkins-generally done by your server), stock things like RANCH DRESSING and then we come to you each time with a smile to meet your needs."

    All of this is NOT part of the customer's service though. Side work is just that, SIDE WORK and NOT ANY PART of someone's service, which doesn't count as part of a tip of any kind since it's not part of anyone's service.

    As far as taking food ready out for OTHER tables, that means not OURS, which doesn't count as part of your tip.

    So WHY mention this stuff, huh?

    Continued next post:

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  7. Continued:
    "keep in mind that your server is kind of like....'just the messenger' and you aren't supposed to shoot the messenger."

    NO, this is 100% NOT TRUE is MOST SITUATIONS. How can you say such a lie?

    Servers have SOOOOOO MUCH CONTROL over what they BRING YOU and even at times WHEN they bring it to you.

    If the kitchen staff didn't plate my side dish right, that doesn't mean you have to be stupid enough to bring me the wrong side dish. COMPARE THE WRITTEN ORDER TO THE FOOD and that way, mostly all the times you will be able to SERVE it to me correctly.

    You aren't just the messenger, you are the SERVER, which means ***SERVING**** correctly, NOT just bringing me anything to my table, especially talking about burnt food. If you can CLEARLY SEE something is burnt, WTF would you serve that to me? ACT LIKE **YOU** are the customer.

    "As servers, we tip our hosts/hostess or bussers AND the bartender(s). And it's 3% of our SALES. Not our tips, but our sales."

    That is YOUR ISSUE, NOT the customer's, so it's up to YOU to EARN YOUR OWN TIP.

    "It's fine to ask, but when I come back and tell you that my kitchen is slammed with 200 plate orders, don't act like it's my fault."

    It can still be your fault.

    You can forget to put in an order, put in the order wrong, forget to get things in my order, forget to bring my order entirely, delay putting in my order unfairly(such as bussing a table first instead or serving others that came after me) and even drop my order.

    WHY is it that a person that has never served before knows more than one that has, huh?

    "And because what we have control of is very limited."

    NO, you have PLENTY of control of WHAT you bring to our table as far as obvious mistakes are concerned and you KNOW IT!!

    "I did not cook your food"

    You aren't blind, right, so if my food looks burnt without you having to touch it, WHY would you be that stupid to serve it to me?

    My point is, use some common sense and quit being lazy to rely on your co-workers for most issues that you have full control over.

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  8. Springs;
    I would love to have your email address in order to give you a proper response.

    All in all, my main point is this; the above "RANT" is just that...a "RANT" and it's assuming that I have done everything right and in my power-which I usually do. Am I perfect? By no means!! I do make mistakes. I do not bring out food that is OBVIOUSLY wrong.

    And...the simple statement you made about not being a server tells me all I need to know. *wink*

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  9. Oh-and you really don't know me personally, Springs, so it's quite unfair to accuse me of being stupid and lazy. I was writing a light hearted, humorous release. I actually work very hard and would have every manager in my restaurant back me up.

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  10. I had no idea servers earn so little. I never tip less than 20%, unless I've had just terrible service (which hasn't been often, thankfully). I don't think I could be a server in a restaurant; I'd probably end up in tears under a table - LOL! More power to you!

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  11. Kristi,

    Springs1 sounds like one a difficult kind of customer that recently received burnt food. Hope they never wind up at one of your tables.

    I beg to differ with them about the side jobs. Ice, clean dishes, rolled silverware, etc. makes the whole process run smoothly and THAT is part of the service to the customer.

    I've been a restaurant cook for the past 8 years and oh boy, we've had our share of cheap and very difficult customers. They usually want things exactly the way they want them, at half price, and NOW! With extra sauce, please.

    I thought it was an entertaining rant and really, most people have no idea what goes on in the business.

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Your spotlight on R.A.W. :0) I strive to respond if you have your email address attached!