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I recently started my first waitress job in a popular family restaurant, and nothing could have prepared me for the levels of stupidity I encounter on a day to day basis. I love my job, but sometimes it takes all of my willpower to not just stare at a customer in amazement.
So, here is a list of ten things you will probably have encountered if you’ve ever worked in food hospitality, or for those who enjoy a meal out, here’s 10 things you should never do…1. When a table interrupts your greeting with their drink order…
This just immediately throws off the whole conversation and makes things awkward for both sides. As a customer it just comes across as rude and impatient. If people want to have an enjoyable experience out then they should be nice to the server and it’ll put everyone in a good mood.
2. When you’re lucky enough to have a comedian on your table…
How would you like your steak cooked?
In the kitchen
Hilarious. Never heard that one before.
3. When customers try to make polite conversation…
“Lovely weather we’re having!”
I wouldn’t know… I’ve been here for ten hours… I haven’t seen the sun in days…
4. When you bring food out to a table and call out the order…
“I’ve got X food and Y food here?”
“I ordered [completely different meal]”
Me, through gritted teeth: “Congratulations, do you want a medal?”
Seriously, this one is just common sense. Those plates are hot as hell and heavy to boot; all this does is slow down the process of getting everyone their dinner. So if it’s not yours tell me who at the table ordered it, jeez!
5. When you have a mountain of plates on your arm and customers start throwing drink orders at you…
You can see that my hands are full, so I obviously can’t write your orders down! Just wait one minute for me to dump your dirty plates out back and I can make sure I get your drinks right, instead of trying to remember six different orders and potentially getting them wrong.
6. The comedian strikes again with their blessed wit…
How would you like to pay?
Can I wash dishes?
Me: No. You can’t.
7. The urban legend of the credit card tip…
“I would leave you a tip on my card, but it just disappears into nowhere! Don’t want to let the big bosses take the credit!”
That’s not what happens… please tip me… I’m on minimum wage…. I’M BEGGING YOU…
8. The unknowing thief…
This happens when a group pays individually and leave you card tips, but then the last person says “I’ll pay what’s left over.” In the eyes of the customer this is a fair enough request, but all you’re doing is using what should be my tip to pay for your meal. Don’t be lazy, work out what you should be paying and state the amount you expect it to be – this also avoids the awkward situation of you paying for the side order one of your friends forgot to add up.
9. When they complain about the food, after they’ve eaten it…
“My steak was too tough. I want my meal discounted.”
“But you’ve eaten the entire thing…”
“But it was tough!”
It doesn’t work like that. If you alert your server to the fact that you’re unhappy with your meal as soon as possible, we can fix the situation for you free of charge without any hassle. If you don’t mention it till the end, we won’t believe you, you won’t get that discount and then it’s just awkward for everyone.
10. People that snap their fingers to get your attention…
I hate it when people do this, it’s rude as hell. Even if it looks like we aren’t doing anything, we’re usually waiting on the rest of a food order to be ready,for a bill to be paid, or just taking a second to gather our thoughts on a busy night. If you really need to be seen to, eye contact or a small raise of the hand will be more than enough.
Each of these ten things may seem small, but they can all make a big impact on the service we give. Waiting tables is a difficult and exhausting job that pays very little; being rude, even by accident, just drags everyone down. Next time you go out for a meal, try smiling at your server; it makes a huge difference and will make them like you, meaning that they’ll go the extra mile to make sure your meal is fantastic!
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As someone who has been both on the receiving end on 7, I implore you to not leave a tip by credit card. Sometimes it gets shared out to all the staff, which let’s be fair, isn’t always fair in the first place. If I work more hours/harder etc than a colleague, I want to be acknowledged for that. Furthermore, it’s not an urban legend, it absolutely happens that the tips get skimmed, noone would ever really know.
The best thing to hope for is to get it in cash. Sometimes those will get shared out as well, but at least you know what you should be getting!