# Psst... Hey, restaurant employees (and other service workers)... C'mere. We need to talk. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 26, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907 "2012-09-26T17:55:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/81 "2012-09-27T17:11:47Z")
> [@Mann\_Slaughter](#): > > On the floor I saw discarded sugar packets, dust bunnies, and other debris. I called my lady’s attention to it, then said, “Well, at least they’re not pushing the sweeper around.” > > Why in the Hell did I say that? :smack: > > Within minutes our waitress came over with a broom and started sweeping that shit from under the table, TOWARDS US, and into the aisle. If the table with the debris is under a table across the ailse from you of fucking course it is going to get swept TOWARDS YOU!!!1111ONEONEONE where the fuck else is she supposed to sweep the debris? Into the fucking wall? Fuck you’re a retard. > [@](#): > > I set my fork down, and gave my lady my best Can-you-believe-this-shit? look. After the waitress got the garbage in the aisle about 3 feet from us, she came back with the FUCKING SWEEPER to pick it up! > I was done! I left half of my large, tasty omelet on my plate, uneaten. No way was I going to finish it after that woman had just stirred up enough dust to choke “Pig-Pen”! And a fucking drama lama. Please never leave your house. > [@elbows](#): > > _Nor_ should they be cleaning, near where you are eating. Agreed. Restuarants should never clean up trash on the floor while customers are in there. They should just let all the trash pile up through-out the day that way I have a footstool of trash to rest my feet on while I eat. I fucking hate clean restuarants. If I walk in and there isn’t trash on the floor I give my eating mates my best Can-you-believe-this-shit? look and walk the fuck out. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/82 "2012-09-27T17:14:21Z")
OP! My bruthaaaahhh. Man, gimme some skin! On the black hand side! In the hole! You got soullll. Oh shit, white customers coming, ixnay on the otherbray. I have endless patience for waitstaff. If they don’t ignore me, I’m happy. If they mess up my order, I cheerfully let them know it and they are happy to fix it. If they sit with me, I bite my tongue because, it’s only for a sec, no biggie. If they forget to fill my water glass, I shrug it off. If I try in vain to get their attention, and am being ignored, I talk to the manager. That is super rare, I can only think of one time I ever had to talk to a manager. There may be others. Tip never suffers, regardless of service. (I tip heavy out of black guilt, but the true reason tip never suffers is that if I have to talk to management about you, that’s enough. No need to fuck with the tip.) I realize everyone isn’t as relaxed about waitstaff as I am, but if I am dining with someone who is petty about stuff they should be able to shrug off, I do cringe for them a bit and I know I wouldn’t want to dine with them again. My sister is already on my ‘will not go to restaurant with’ list, due to the way she treats the service staff. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/83 "2012-09-27T17:23:52Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I realize everyone isn’t as relaxed about waitstaff as I am, but if I am dining with someone who is petty about stuff they should be able to shrug off, I do cringe for them a bit and I know I wouldn’t want to dine with them again. My sister is already on my ‘will not go to restaurant with’ list, due to the way she treats the service staff. I’m not quiiiite as relaxed as you (I tip less if I have to wait for the damn check because I hate that) but I am right with you on the picky people who treat service staff badly. I had a friend once who would start looking around as soon as we walked into a restaurant, running through her mental checklist of restaurant acceptability to see where this one’s failings were and deciding whether she needed to complain about them or not. No, she didn’t want to sit at a table, she wanted a booth. She thought her water should have been brought more quickly and she was upset because they didn’t ask her if she wanted lemon with it. Her steak was slightly underdone so she had to send it back. It took too long for it to come back. The table next to us didn’t get cleaned up quickly enough after the people sitting there left. And so on, and so forth. Most of this stuff she just complained about to me, but some of it she complained about to the wait staff also, not to mention sending her food back. (I don’t send food back unless it is literally inedible. I am just not a send-food-back kind of person.) After that, I suggested we go out for movies instead of dinner, because I just can’t deal with that kind of thing. It makes me cringe and then I feel like I have to overtip the waiter to make up for my friend’s behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/84 "2012-09-27T17:28:07Z")
I’m right there with these last 2 posters. If someone is that critical, eating out is just a gigantic pain in the ass. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/85 "2012-09-27T17:43:56Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I’m right there with these last 2 posters. If someone is that critical, eating out is just a gigantic pain in the ass. My husband can get that way. That’s one reason we RARELY go out to a restaurant. The last time we went out for a meal was for a funeral. Actually, the last TWO times. The third was my son’s last dinner before Boot Camp. That was in 2008. No problem with fast food - he tells me what he wants, he stays in the car, and I go in and get it. He can be really cranky at times and frankly, I would hate for someone’s day to be ruined because he was acting like a jackass. Me, I’m inordinately nice. Really. It’s a tough job - and it isn’t right to take my issues out on someone who is just trying to make a living. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/86 "2012-09-27T17:48:59Z")
> [@Missy2U](#): > > My husband can get that way. That’s one reason we RARELY go out to a restaurant. The last time we went out for a meal was for a funeral. Actually, the last TWO times. The third was my son’s last dinner before Boot Camp. That was in 2008. > > No problem with fast food - he tells me what he wants, he stays in the car, and I go in and get it. > > He can be really cranky at times and frankly, I would hate for someone’s day to be ruined because he was acting like a jackass. > > Me, I’m inordinately nice. Really. It’s a tough job - and it isn’t right to take my issues out on someone who is just trying to make a living. Wow. That sounds like…it really sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Mann\_Slaughter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@Mann\_Slaughter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mann_Slaughter)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/87 "2012-09-27T17:56:23Z")
I’m on my way to work, so I’ll have to come in later to post a proper reply, but it’s nice to see that a few posters understand where I’m coming from. My OP was not a cry for some help to get this stick outta my ass, just a rant about some petty annoyances I find becoming more and more common in the service sector. I’ll explain more later. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/88 "2012-09-27T17:59:14Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > What is this? Some kind of after dinner mint? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/89 "2012-09-27T18:03:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by elbows View Post > Nor should they be cleaning, near where you are eating. > Agreed. Restuarants should never clean up trash on the floor while customers are in there. They should just let all the trash pile up through-out the day that way I have a footstool of trash to rest my feet on while I eat. I fucking hate clean restuarants. If I walk in and there isn’t trash on the floor I give my eating mates my best Can-you-believe-this-shit? look and walk the fuck out. What’s wrong with you? The items could have simply been picked up, and the sweeping could wait, till the seated table is leaving. In 24hr restaurants, one section is shut down, and not seated, while it’s being cleaned, so as not to disturb guests meals. ‘Dust bunnies’, sounds like the opening and closing side duties are being neglected, possibly not _this_ server’s fault, by the way. If something has been dropped during service it’s the person busing the table who’s responsible to see everything is tidied up, not necessarily the person serving you. If he didn’t want it addressed right then, he should have mentioned it _after_ he was done eating. Fine Dining rooms never permit staff to clean in front of customers, (unless it’s a spill, say), and yet somehow they are remarkably cleaner than your average diner. They must be magic! ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/90 "2012-09-27T18:09:43Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > My favorite experience was at a IHOP in Shreveport, LA where the server seated my wife and me next to her deadbeat ex-husband (he dropped off the grid to keep from paying child support). It was one of the banquette seats where there’s two tables next to each other but you share the same bench seat. Yeah, I should have asked to be seated somewhere else, but I wanted to be classy. A very uncomfortable 30 minutes. > [@PoorYorick](#): > > ETA to my post above: Not that I’m saying the server should have known this. Just a weird story is all. That is actually pretty funny. I am guessing that he did not offer to pick up the tab? ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/91 "2012-09-27T18:27:15Z")
> [@](#): > > My pet peeve- when they wipe down a nearby table with some strong smelling cleaner. The astringent, chemical smell does not mix well with dinner! Yuck. Not their fault - it’s a health code requirement that tables be wiped down with a sanitizer. It’s possible that they didn’t dilute it properly, though they’d know it if they stuck their hands in it. They also can’t wait - our company has a TWO MINUTE window for cleaning off empty tables. This includes sweeping under the table. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/92 "2012-09-27T18:37:19Z")
> [@stegon66](#): > > Not their fault - it’s a health code requirement that tables be wiped down with a sanitizer. It’s possible that they didn’t dilute it properly, though they’d know it if they stuck their hands in it. They also can’t wait - our company has a TWO MINUTE window for cleaning off empty tables. This includes sweeping under the table. There are choices that don’t smell like that because not every restaurant uses stuff that smells so bad. The staff have noses and can imagine that if it smells strong to them, it’ll smell strong to the diners. The choice isn’t no hygiene or smelly stuff. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/93 "2012-09-27T19:48:55Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > After that, I suggested we go out for movies instead of dinner, because I just can’t deal with that kind of thing. It makes me cringe and then I feel like I have to overtip the waiter to make up for my friend’s behavior. Sounds like Daddy’s Little Princess I dated in college. She was chewing the waitress out because of the size of the tuna salad (like the waitress had something to do with it) when I told the waitress that it was fine. As the obviously relieved waitress was leaving, DLP turned to me and snarled, “Don’t fight my battles for me!” Listen, you little bint, you were fighting a “battle” with a someone who couldn’t fight back for fear of being fired. Coincidentally, I spoke with her (DLP, not the waitress) about 20 years later, and the reasons I broke up with her all came back. Her poor, poor husband, he should have talked to me first. Later I found that she divorced him because “he wouldn’t let me grow as a person.” ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/94 "2012-09-27T19:53:38Z")
The OP and \*\*kayla’s dad \*\*both sound like jackasses. And for the record, I prefer bourbon to scotch, but they both fall into the whiskey family, and all whiskeys are fine by me. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/95 "2012-09-27T22:05:27Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > No, she didn’t want to sit at a table, she wanted a booth. I guess I annoy waitstaff myself, because I strongly prefer booths (the seats are a bit easier on arthritic hips and a back that can get a bit sore as a result). I do try to ask politely and explain the comfort issue. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/96 "2012-09-27T22:13:56Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > I guess I annoy waitstaff myself, because I strongly prefer booths (the seats are a bit easier on arthritic hips and a back that can get a bit sore as a result). I do try to ask politely and explain the comfort issue. In my friend’s case, it was just one small thing out of a lot of other small-to-medium things. I don’t think that asking for a booth is outrageous, but when it goes along with complaining about the water, the speed of service, the cleanliness, the food, etc., it becomes ridiculous. If you’re that picky, either go to a higher-quality restaurant or stay in. IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/97 "2012-09-27T22:17:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Cat Whisperer View Post > the server falls off the face of the planet when we’re waiting for our cheque I’m pretty easy going. This is the only behavior mentioned in this thread that absolutely makes my blood boil. I was eating with a guy once who asked for his check when he placed his order (“you guys aren’t going to want dessert, right?”) I might start doing that. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/98 "2012-09-27T22:53:42Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > OP! My bruthaaaahhh. Man, gimme some skin! On the black hand side! In the hole! You got soullll. Oh shit, white customers coming, ixnay on the otherbray. > > I have endless patience for waitstaff. If they don’t ignore me, I’m happy. If they mess up my order, I cheerfully let them know it and they are happy to fix it. If they sit with me, I bite my tongue because, it’s only for a sec, no biggie. If they forget to fill my water glass, I shrug it off. If I try in vain to get their attention, and am being ignored, I talk to the manager. That is super rare, I can only think of one time I ever had to talk to a manager. There may be others. Tip never suffers, regardless of service. (I tip heavy out of black guilt, but the true reason tip never suffers is that if I have to talk to management about you, that’s enough. No need to fuck with the tip.) > > I realize everyone isn’t as relaxed about waitstaff as I am, but if I am dining with someone who is petty about stuff they should be able to shrug off, I do cringe for them a bit and I know I wouldn’t want to dine with them again. My sister is already on my ‘will not go to restaurant with’ list, due to the way she treats the service staff. I like you! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_In_Black)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/99 "2012-09-27T23:01:00Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > What’s wrong with you? > > The items could have simply been picked up, and the sweeping could wait, till the seated table is leaving. In 24hr restaurants, one section is shut down, and not seated, while it’s being cleaned, so as not to disturb guests meals. Not always true. I am a cook at a 24 hour restaurant. The servers are required to sweep there section at the end of there shift. So the 6AM-2PM server is sweeping the front section at 1:30PM, and people still sit there. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907/100 "2012-09-27T23:17:04Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > Listen, you little bint, you were fighting a “battle” with a someone who couldn’t fight back for fear of being fired. This has limits though, are you really willing to (literally) swallow any kind of crap food or treatment just because the server is minimum wage? I get that the chick at the fried chicken place is minimum wage, but I’m still going to demand a different piece of chicken when I get fried ribs sans breast. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-restaurant-employees-and-other-service-workers-cmere-we-need-to-talk/635907.md?page=6)