On December 2 the Rocky Mountain News ran a feature article concerning server and diner complaints regarding each other.
The Diner POV
The Server POV
My favorite diner complaint "I don't like waiters touching my napkin when I go to the restroom." How does the person know that their server has touched their napkin?
After I'd read the article, there was an older gentleman sitting alone in my section. He'd left the table to use the restroom...and I walked over, placed his bill on the table and touched his napkin. He hadn't used it (that I could tell) and I just kinda poked it, but for the rest of the night I felt as if I'd done something wonderfully subversive and gotten away with it.
Amusing moment from tonight: Table 10
Two horribly annoying women "reserved" a table in my section then sat at the bar to wait for their friend. My manager wouldn't let me give away their booth, even though they weren't sitting at it nor were they ordering anything at the bar. Effectively losing seats in my section and another servers section. But you know, we aren't there to make money or anything. Eventually their friend made it in and they all sat at Table 10.
The Nice One listened while I told her the choices that came with the sandwiches and ordered without incident.
The Bitchy One made me repeat everything I'd told the nice one, asked if I could make a Guac Burger with a chicken breast instead of a burger, rolled her eyes when i told her we actually already had that on the menu and I'd be more than happy to get it for her and ordered breakfast instead.
The Crazy One asked if we had avocados. I told her that we did. She asked if I could give her a whole one. I told her I could. Then she asked, "What would you expect me to do with a whole avocado?" I told her I wasn't quite sure, but I guessed she would eat it. She looked at me like I was crazy for saying such a thing...then she said nothing at all. I asked her if she'd like another minute with the menu and she said, "No. I was just waiting for you to take my order." I was starting to loose my patience...just a little and I replied, "I'm sorry, I can't take your order if you don't tell me what you'd like. It's been a long week and all of my psychic abilitlies are drained." I laughed when I said it and her friends laughed with me. She just stared. Then she ordered a chicken sandwich with avocado slices. Not wanting to repeat the sandwich sides a third time, I asked, "Did you want to do the fries with that?" And she asked, "What else can I get instead?" "Mashed potatoes, baked potato, cottage cheese, fresh fruit or a cup of soup." (An amended list, but covering all the basics.)
She looked me right in the eye and said, "Is your fresh fruit from a can?"
I was stunned into silence.
"No, ma'am. Our fresh fruit is. Fresh. Fruit."
When I was back in the servers line I laughed maniacally for about five minutes.
It was that funny to me.
Sunday
Thursday
Table 66 (not my table, but story told w/permission)
Table 66 ordered hot tea (six bags), a carafe of water, a bowl of lemons and two cups with ice so that they could make thier own iced tea. A normal order of hot tea comes with two tea bags. Their server asked a manager how she should charge for this and the manager said, charge them for three hot teas. Table 66 then ordered two Ribeye and Eggs, well done steaks and over lite (super runny) eggs...and they asked for the cooks to cut their steaks for them. Let me repeat that one for you. Two healthy, grown people asked for the cooks, on a busy Sunday morning, to cut their steaks for them. They were both able to see, neither had casts on their hands.
Their server told them, "I don't think we can do that for you, but I'll check with the cooks." She rolled her eyes when they couldn't see her anymore...and told the manager what they'd just asked her...because she wanted to share the funniness. And the manager said, "Okay, I'll get the cooks to do it."
When their food came out, Table 66 complained that their steaks were over-cooked and that their eggs were too runny. When they got to the register, they complained that they were charged for three hot teas when they'd only ordered one. A different manager was up there than the manager who'd said to charge Table 66 for three teas, so she took off two off the hot teas and gave them a discount for their steaks being too tough and their eggs too runny.
Then they complained that their server had been "nothing but unhelpful. She didn't get us anything we asked her for. It was like we had to serve ourselves." I guess making up stuff about their server made them feel better for not tipping her.
I was so happy they hadn't been my table.
Today is also the one year anniversary of my bitching about being a waitress. Happy Birthday little blog!! :-)
Table 66 ordered hot tea (six bags), a carafe of water, a bowl of lemons and two cups with ice so that they could make thier own iced tea. A normal order of hot tea comes with two tea bags. Their server asked a manager how she should charge for this and the manager said, charge them for three hot teas. Table 66 then ordered two Ribeye and Eggs, well done steaks and over lite (super runny) eggs...and they asked for the cooks to cut their steaks for them. Let me repeat that one for you. Two healthy, grown people asked for the cooks, on a busy Sunday morning, to cut their steaks for them. They were both able to see, neither had casts on their hands.
Their server told them, "I don't think we can do that for you, but I'll check with the cooks." She rolled her eyes when they couldn't see her anymore...and told the manager what they'd just asked her...because she wanted to share the funniness. And the manager said, "Okay, I'll get the cooks to do it."
When their food came out, Table 66 complained that their steaks were over-cooked and that their eggs were too runny. When they got to the register, they complained that they were charged for three hot teas when they'd only ordered one. A different manager was up there than the manager who'd said to charge Table 66 for three teas, so she took off two off the hot teas and gave them a discount for their steaks being too tough and their eggs too runny.
Then they complained that their server had been "nothing but unhelpful. She didn't get us anything we asked her for. It was like we had to serve ourselves." I guess making up stuff about their server made them feel better for not tipping her.
I was so happy they hadn't been my table.
Today is also the one year anniversary of my bitching about being a waitress. Happy Birthday little blog!! :-)
Tuesday
ma vie sur le patio
Table 73
A couple in their late 40's decided to have their lunch on the patio. I was their server. And This Is Their Story. We'll call them Jack and Diane since I didn't have a chance to catch their real names. They sat down and ordered their drinks and food without incident. While not overly friendly, they were pleasant enough.
Then Jack lit a cigarette. I informed him that we don't allow smoking on the patio and asked him if he'd please put it out. He asked, "Why can't I smoke out here? The smoke's not getting inside." I explained that our patio is too close to the front door and that makes it illegal to allow smoking on the patio. He took another drag of his cigarette and said, "Well, that's bullshit." I told him that, yes, it is kind of a bullshit law, but it IS THE LAW and if he continued to smoke on the patio I would have to talk to a manager and the manager would have to take action. I also told him he was welcome to hop the fence and smoke on the other side, where he'd still be able to talk to Diane. He glared at me and put his cigarette out, grinding it into the cement.
I brought their food and checked on them. They ate every last bite of everything. After I left their check on Table 74 I went to another table to take their order. Jack got up quickly leaving the check on the table. I was worried he was still angry and was going to dine-and-dash* but as I was taking an order I couldn't follow right away. When I got back into the restaurant, they were standing at the register talking with the manager. I walked up in time to hear Jack tell the manager that his food had been so horrible he couldn't eat it and his server (me) had never come back to check on him. I tried to talk to the manager at this point, but the manager decided to ignore me and instead just give Jack his meal for free and a discount on Diane's meal. And of course, like all people who get a free meal, they didn't tip.
After they'd left I told the manager that that had been the "smoking guy" and he'd eaten all of his food, as well as told me it was good when I had checked on them. The managers only response, "Oh well. Guess he pulled the wool over my eyes."
Table 71
Let me preface this story by telling you EXACTLY what we tell every table that asks to be sat on the patio. "You're more than welcome to sit on the patio...BUT. There are sometimes bees out there. Would you still like to sit on the patio?" It's much easier than every other table having to come back inside because a bee flew by their table.
After I greet the two young women at Table 71, and before I even have a chance to get their drink order, one of them asks me, "So, are you guys just trying to make sure no one sits out here? Because the girl up front told us there were bees and I don't see any bees." (It's very hard to convey the amount of attitude in this question over the internet..if you'd like to call me, I can say it like she did for ya...and you can feel the snarkiness for yourself) We'd just changed the traps or I'd have pointed out the 5,000 dead bees hanging in green canisters all around. Instead, I explained that we do have a bee problem, it's not horrible, but some people have a phobia or are allergic and it's easier to tell them about it first. They had a few margaritas and everything was fine.
As I was walking back inside (from taking Jack and Diane's order :-P) the girl who hadn't asked the question about the bees stopped me. "Um, miss. I just wanted to let you know, she (points at her friend) just got stung by a bee." I asked if they needed anything and the stung girl said she'd be fine...and they were. Normally, we don't give people free stuff if they're stung by a bee (as we have no control over the bees, and people are nearly always warned first) but I gave them a free margarita each.
Now, these girls were actually very nice about it all. Great customers, aside from the opening bit of snarkiness...but I just had to share this because I found it so beautifully ironic that a girl that thought we were trying to scare people from sitting outside with imaginary bees was then stung by a bee.
*dine-and-dash (a.k.a. chew and screw) - ducking out of a restaurant before paying for your meal
Table 73
A couple in their late 40's decided to have their lunch on the patio. I was their server. And This Is Their Story. We'll call them Jack and Diane since I didn't have a chance to catch their real names. They sat down and ordered their drinks and food without incident. While not overly friendly, they were pleasant enough.
Then Jack lit a cigarette. I informed him that we don't allow smoking on the patio and asked him if he'd please put it out. He asked, "Why can't I smoke out here? The smoke's not getting inside." I explained that our patio is too close to the front door and that makes it illegal to allow smoking on the patio. He took another drag of his cigarette and said, "Well, that's bullshit." I told him that, yes, it is kind of a bullshit law, but it IS THE LAW and if he continued to smoke on the patio I would have to talk to a manager and the manager would have to take action. I also told him he was welcome to hop the fence and smoke on the other side, where he'd still be able to talk to Diane. He glared at me and put his cigarette out, grinding it into the cement.
I brought their food and checked on them. They ate every last bite of everything. After I left their check on Table 74 I went to another table to take their order. Jack got up quickly leaving the check on the table. I was worried he was still angry and was going to dine-and-dash* but as I was taking an order I couldn't follow right away. When I got back into the restaurant, they were standing at the register talking with the manager. I walked up in time to hear Jack tell the manager that his food had been so horrible he couldn't eat it and his server (me) had never come back to check on him. I tried to talk to the manager at this point, but the manager decided to ignore me and instead just give Jack his meal for free and a discount on Diane's meal. And of course, like all people who get a free meal, they didn't tip.
After they'd left I told the manager that that had been the "smoking guy" and he'd eaten all of his food, as well as told me it was good when I had checked on them. The managers only response, "Oh well. Guess he pulled the wool over my eyes."
Table 71
Let me preface this story by telling you EXACTLY what we tell every table that asks to be sat on the patio. "You're more than welcome to sit on the patio...BUT. There are sometimes bees out there. Would you still like to sit on the patio?" It's much easier than every other table having to come back inside because a bee flew by their table.
After I greet the two young women at Table 71, and before I even have a chance to get their drink order, one of them asks me, "So, are you guys just trying to make sure no one sits out here? Because the girl up front told us there were bees and I don't see any bees." (It's very hard to convey the amount of attitude in this question over the internet..if you'd like to call me, I can say it like she did for ya...and you can feel the snarkiness for yourself) We'd just changed the traps or I'd have pointed out the 5,000 dead bees hanging in green canisters all around. Instead, I explained that we do have a bee problem, it's not horrible, but some people have a phobia or are allergic and it's easier to tell them about it first. They had a few margaritas and everything was fine.
As I was walking back inside (from taking Jack and Diane's order :-P) the girl who hadn't asked the question about the bees stopped me. "Um, miss. I just wanted to let you know, she (points at her friend) just got stung by a bee." I asked if they needed anything and the stung girl said she'd be fine...and they were. Normally, we don't give people free stuff if they're stung by a bee (as we have no control over the bees, and people are nearly always warned first) but I gave them a free margarita each.
Now, these girls were actually very nice about it all. Great customers, aside from the opening bit of snarkiness...but I just had to share this because I found it so beautifully ironic that a girl that thought we were trying to scare people from sitting outside with imaginary bees was then stung by a bee.
*dine-and-dash (a.k.a. chew and screw) - ducking out of a restaurant before paying for your meal
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