Waiter/waitress rants

The BBQ Pit
1

If you’re a waiter, waitress, or otherwise serve food at a restaurant or eatery, feel free to post here and let off some steam.

I’ve been waitressing at a restaurant in a very wealthy area of NYC for a few weeks now. The job isn’t the best and isn’t the worst I’ve ever had. But like every other previous job I’ve ever had that involved working with the public, I remain astonished at how badly people will behave in public. Rude, nasty, thoughtless behavior. People are so worried about what other people think of them, and yet they’ll go SHOW THEIR ASS in front of the whole world over nothing.

I mean, there’s the little annoying things, like the lady with small kids who looks at our menu, then asks me, “Do you have french fries?” Um, no. Sorry. This is a fine dining establishment. We do not carry french fries. If your kids will not eat ‘grown up food’, it is unlikely I can find anything here they will touch. I could sell you a slice of tiramisu for $10, I bet they’d eat that. Otherwise, I got nothin’.

And then there’s the things that really hurt my feelings. What can I say, I’m your waitress, I want to make a tip so I can pay my bills, but deep down inside I’m a sweet girl from the South and I genuinely want you to be happy and eat your dinner and go home smiling. Makes life easier for everyone. What gets me is that every time I try to go out of my way to be nice to a customer – such as take a special order – it inevitably blows up in my face.

Like tonight. I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off, taking care of a large number of tables by myself. I was taking orders, making drinks, preparing desserts, cleaning tables, setting silverware, etc. This family comes in, I seat them, take their order (including a special order for a sandwich we don’t usually make) and I’m so *nice *to them. I know I’m a good waitress. My mother worked in restaurants and hotels and bars my entire life, that’s where I grew up, and I’ve seen bad waitresses and I’m not one. I’m trying my best to give these people a great dining experience, with a lot of pressure on me.

So their food comes, and the lady complains about her special order sandwich. No problem, I run it to the kitchen and ask them to tinker with it, which they do. Sandwich is returned to her promptly. They continue eating, meanwhile I’m dancing as fast as I can dance. I think it says something that every other table was perfectly satisfied with my efforts and I even received a few compliments that evening.

I return to this family’s table, where the lady tells me that she’s still dissatisfied with the sandwich (obviously not too dissatisfied, as she ate almost the whole goddamned thing). I apologize profusely. I deliver their bill, and she flips a shit over the fact that she was charged extra for her special order. I gently remind her that I told her that any additional items were extra (this is a BUSINESS) and she replies, “Yeah, but I didn’t know it was $2 extra!” Jesus lady, you drop $90 on a dinner and you’re chewing me out over $2? What you’d think it was gonna be, ten cents?

She proceeds to tell me that I “represent this establishment” poorly, and claims I rolled my eyes at her (I do not roll my eyes at my customers. My mama taught me better than that. I listened to her with an expression of concern and confusion). I tell her, “Ma’am, I assure you I did not mean to upset you or offend you.” She pays, then demands, “Where’s my to-go bag? You forgot it, didn’t you!”

I tell her, “Ma’am, I took the to-go bag to your table and gave it to the gentleman sitting with you.” She actually looks pissed that she can’t bitch at me over it and leaves. I went into the bathroom and cried a little for a minute or two, splashed my face with water, and came back out and went back to work. This was the most hurt I’ve ever been at a customer’s reaction. I’ve had customers be snotty and callous to me, but what gets me about this one is that I went out of my way to try to be good to them, and all I got was yelled at. I called my boss and let him know that he might get a phonecall about me, and explained what happened. He told me, “THIS IS WHY WE DON’T TAKE SPECIAL ORDERS.”

Tomorrow, when I arrive for my shift I’m going to ask my boss what he wants me to say when people try to order off-menu, because that’s it, I’m not doing it anymore. I’m going to tell them exactly what he tells me to say, so if they call and complain he’ll know I’m following instructions.

2

Mississippienne, at least I bet you make excellent tips.

Myself, I’m a waiter at a Japanese steakhouse. I don’t have any horror stories, but last week a Brazilian-Japanese man pissed me off. We both spoke semi-fluent Japanese. He asked me what was in the special. I made it clear that it was steak, chicken, and shrimp. He said OK and ordered 3 (He was with 3 guests). I asked what he wanted for himself, and he just repeated, “3 specials, ok!”

So, I go about my business, and the chef comes to the table. The chef says, “where’s this man’s salmon?” He never ordered any. I talk to him, and the Brazilian-JP guy says I forgot it. OK, so no big deal; I go and get some.

When the bill comes, he claims he never ordered any salmon! He says he told me it was a substitution for the shrimp in the special. No sir, you did no such damn thing! We both spoke enough Japanese for there not to be any confusion over such a thing… He never even said the word for salmon until the chef came out. In the end, we had to take it off his bill and my boss was super pissed at me. Says I should have called her over b/c of the confusion, but there was no confusion! It was just this guy’s bullshit.

There was a slim chance there was a language mixup, but I still think this guy pulled a fast one on me. Not to mention that Brazilians always come in to eat 20 minutes before we close!! Argh! :mad:

3

I hear you, Auto, about those fucking Brazilians. Savages, all of them.

I’ve never worked in the food industry but I’m letting all the waiters and waitresses in this thread that I’m especially nice to you folk whenever I get the opportunity because I know how much your jobs can suck.

4

My worst waiting gig was at the Holiday Inn in Madison, WI. Loved the summer, nothing but good things to say about the town. It’s the damn foreigners that sucked. Yeah, you heard me–foreigners. Sure there were plenty of exceptions, but man, did those outsiders piss me off.

See, being that we were in a hotel, it was a pretty safe bet that most of my customers were from outside the metropolitan Madison area. Brazilians, hah! Fucking Iowans. Fucking Appletonians. Whatever.

Sarcasm aside, that was a pretty shitty gig. There was some promotion (don’t know if it’s still on) in which kids ate free. Great deal, added up to some real savings. But fuck me with a cheese-topped apple pie did it make for some shitty tips. Practice was to bring them their bill, then deduct for the little ragamuffins. Which meant that even though I busted ass to bring the little ragapieceofshits just as much food and plates as an adult–even though I typically put in more effort for the little ragarat’sasses–cheap parents based their tips based on the discounted amount. Imagine a six-top, two adults and four kids, but just getting tipped on two breakfasts. Assholes.

It was a summer stint, and room service made up for a lot of the grief (note to occasional travelers: most hotels include the room service tip in the bill–adding a percent when you sign means we just got a bonus. Sometimes it was deserved, sometimes it was nice, but mostly it was a bonus.)

5

Tips? Please! The people are so fucking stingy! I take heart in that at least it’s not just me, the people I work with make shit tips, too. A lot of the women in this area don’t work (their boyfriends and husbands give them spending accounts) and I assume they don’t understand the worth of hard work. The men, from what I understand, its a cultural thing, as several people who live here have told me (this area is heavily populated by one ethnic group). One of my friends here is a firefighter and a member of this ethnic group, and he was *so embarassed *when he found out what I take home in tips.

6

Where I work, 18% gratuity is included automatically, and it’s calculated before deducting for any discounts. Y’all can add me to your list of rants too :stuck_out_tongue:

7

She was looking for an excuse to reduce whatever tip you were getting, or possibly trying to get a discount on the entire bill.

There are some people who WILL NOT be made happy by anything you do. Once you accept that, and realize that they have to live with themselves, but you only have to interact with them for an hour or two, you’ll be happier.

8

Missippienne, as a 33-year NYC resident, I apologize. I hope this does not sour your outlook on my hometown. That being said, there are reasons I moved to sunny FL. :smiley:

Without being too specific, or naming your workplace, where in the city is it located? I am curious as to which “ethnic group” you are referring to.

THAT being said, fuck’em…working with the public causes one to grow a very thick skin very quickly. However, if you are new to NYC, there is a certain amount of, well, abrasiveness that takes some getting used to if you are not a native, I think. NYers are not all entitled douchey assholes, but it always seems that it is exactly those people that get us the reputation that we have had, oh, I dunno, for like EVER? :rolleyes:

I can’t say it will get better, but you WILL get the hang of how to navigate these customers.

9

I have absolutely nothing against servers, but what kind of fine dining establishment is snooty enough not to make french fries, but never the less makes sandwiches and supplies to-go baggies?

10

Those that don’t have deep frier’s, or chippers and so would have to hand cut and shallow fry. This really disrupts a kitchen that is not set-up or prepped for it.

Sometimes its better to say no.

11

The last time I was in a restaurant, (up to and including Michelin three star/Mobil five star), that did not provide carry home containers was 1974.

12

Maybe I’ve lived a sheltered existence :slight_smile:

13

There are some people who are never happy until they have haggled down prices until you scream. Anything less and they think they paid too much. We had a lady in the store who bought a couple dozen bottles of stuff, then wanted me to go through them and see if any combinations of them was the same as our pre-packaged gift boxes so she could get a lower price.

I am almost always accommodating to customers, but that was way, way over the top.

14

Say it. Making a good french fry (chip) take lots of time. You need to blanch them at a lower temperature, let them sit, then fry them at a higher temperature.

15

I have an in-law with whom I always dread dining out because I have never been to a dinner with that person that food was not sent back at least once. Even when neither this person nor this person’s spouse is footing the bill, this person simply has a need to call attention by claiming poor cuisine and generally being less than pleasant.
Some people are just like that.

16

A potential customer asking a representative of a place of business about the products and services they have to offer?

Nooooo! When will it end? The horror! How dare they!

17

Indeed. There is a special kind of person out there that takes pleasure in making someone else miserable. I mean, they actually get a frisson of pleasure out of seeing the look on some poor person’s face when they go out of their way to be mean to them. If they can make them cry, that’s a real bonus.

These people are not wired right. There is something fundamentally wrong with them. I worked with a person like this for number of years - it was very weird to see the look of absolute bliss on her face when she sent a poor person away from her office after screwing with their entire future. It’s more than a power trip - she went out of her way to try to make people cry. She got off on it.

The reason these sorts order off the menu is to give them an additional excuse to be mean, complaining pricks, and to make someone else feel bad. Unfortunately for those who like to/need to order off the menu, these people are the reason why establishments will not accommodate - they are tired of the pricks looking for reasons to complain.

18

Well, note that it was one of those “annoying **little **things.” There are all sorts of things in all sorts of professions that are arguably reasonable, but nonetheless can be annoying–particularly depending on the time/manner of the request.

19

The french fries thing took me aback a little, because, well, this isn’t a restaurant you’d walk into and reasonably expect would have french fries. Customers ask me all the time what we have for kids, but we don’t really have any ‘little kid food’; chicken nuggets, french fries, that sort of thing. I might could cut up some avocado or sell you a slice of tiramisu, that’s about it. If your kids won’t eat ‘grown-up food’ or don’t like ethnic food, this probably isn’t the restaurant for you.

20

I’m pretty sure Ruffino’s could make a sandwich, as they have excellent bread. And when I haven’t been able to finish my meal, the server always takes my plate to the kitchen, where it’s packaged nicely, and I’m given the package in a bag. I’m not sure they even have potatoes in the kitchen, though. I haven’t been to Bonnell’s as often, so I’m not as familiar with the menu, but again, if there are any leftovers, they’ll take the plate and package them up. Sandwiches are on the lunch menu, but I don’t know if they come with french fries.

If a kitchen isn’t set up to make french fries, then it really can’t make them effectively. Sometimes a diner has to decide whether to try something new, or to go back to McDonald’s, which WILL have chicken nuggets and fries.