# Why do restaurant servers screw up so often? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 28, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477 "2017-12-28T18:56:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/1 "2017-12-28T18:56:14Z")
I am not ragging on restaurant servers here. I know they have a hard job and are criminally underpaid. Furthermore, I always tip 20% to 25%, even when the service is mediocre. I never complain and I always treat restaurant staff very well. So my question is not a complaint, but more of an observation: why do restaurant servers screw up so often? When we go out to eat – which is usually a party of three to five guests once or twice a week – there is almost always some screw up, usually in forgetfulness. They forget to bring out an appetizer, they forget to leave off salad ingredients, they forget a side dish, they forget this, they forget that. Just last night we were eating at a restaurant in Columbus, and the server forgot about the appetizer (“I am so sorry – I forgot to enter it in the computer!”) and then forgot to bring us a to-go box for one of dishes. Yes, I know. “First world problem.” I am just curious why they can’t come up with a system to ensure the order is always perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/2 "2017-12-28T19:11:43Z")
I rarely have this problem, which may relate to the sort of places at which we eat (my main gripe would be them stopping by the table (sometimes seconds after the entrees arrive) to ask how the food “tastes”, which gives me the crawls). > [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Just last night we were eating at a restaurant in Columbus, and the server forgot about the appetizer May inquiring minds living in the area know which restaurant (or a broad hint would be nice)? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/3 "2017-12-28T19:28:06Z")
I rarely have this problem. It is annoying when it happens. If a restaurant consistently has poor service and mistakes like this I don’t return. (I’m looking at you local Outback). If it is a rare thing at one of my regular places, I understand mistakes happen. A few chains are trying to make these mistakes a thing of the past by having you enter the order electronically. Not my regular places, but a chain I went to near the corporate office with my boss did the ordering electronically. May have been Pizzaria Uno? Not a place I would go on my own, so I can’t really recall. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/4 "2017-12-28T19:29:29Z")
Do they write it down? Often managers have the idea that writing it down gives a bad impression, and it’s pretty tough to remember several orders all with slight variations on the menu, often from several tables because people stop and ask you stuff on the way back to pass it on. It does get a lot easier with practice, but staff turnover for wait staff can be crazy high. Also, it’s not always the server that makes the error. When I was doing it, sometimes the kitchen would mess up the order, especially for stuff like ‘no onions’, but the server takes the blame, at least from the customer, and sometimes from the management, if they’re told it’s their responsibility to double check. Personally, I’d suspect that if you’re getting that many errors from different wait staff from the same place, there’s some bigger problem with the restaurant, whether that be poor training, questionable management, or bad communication between staff. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/5 "2017-12-28T19:36:30Z")
It’s one of the highest turnover jobs there is, so there’s a relatively high probability you’re either dealing with someone on their first day, or they’ve been doing it a while and they just aren’t good at it. Also, in a lot of cases the person who brings out the food is not the same person who took the order, and things get “lost in translation” from one person to another. These two people may not have even spoke to one another, so the second person must rely entirely on the accuracy (and handwriting) of the first person’s check (and everyone in between them). . ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/6 "2017-12-28T19:40:56Z")
Because restaurants have gotten into the habit of not writing stuff down. Which is just insane considering they have POS devices that can fit into the palm of your hand. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/7 "2017-12-28T19:46:30Z")
When I think about how much work waitstaff do, on their feet, dealing with multiple people at once, in what can be a high pressure environment, I find it remarkable that there aren’t more mistakes. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/8 "2017-12-28T21:13:36Z")
We’ve had mistakes, but not all that often. Sometimes the restaurant is crazy busy, sometimes it’s a poor server. Stuff happens. Most of the time, they make good, sometimes we just don’t want to bother with it - like the night I never did get my carrots. It went from “Just a few minutes” to “It’ll be 8 minutes.” I’m pretty sure once I’m done the meal, I won’t want a dish of carrots as dessert… It wasn’t even worth trying to get it comped since it was a meal deal. For the most part, we get service that ranges from competent to outstanding (Lisa at Cracker Barrel is our favorite!) It’s been ages since we’ve had to complain to a manager, and we’ve only had to do that maybe twice in 20 years. I’m a pretty generous tipper - I appreciate people who do jobs that I’d never want to do myself. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/9 "2017-12-28T21:19:42Z")
I wonder if it’s the locale. Columbus has a bazillion restaurants. I suspect the talent pool is extremely watered down. Servers there might suck because they might all be very inexperienced. Same goes for the kitchen staff that might be missing instructions. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/10 "2017-12-28T22:42:20Z")
As a long ago (last century) terrible server in Columbus, my issue was that I just hated the job and all the employees and all the managers and all the customers. And it kind of seemed like a common affliction at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/11 "2017-12-28T23:02:43Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > Do they write it down? Often managers have the idea that writing it down gives a bad impression, and it’s pretty tough to remember several orders all with slight variations on the menu, often from several tables because people stop and ask you stuff on the way back to pass it on. Howzat now? Writing down an order gives a bad impression? What manager on this planet would think that? What customer would be offended by a server writing an order down? That’s crazy, especially if there are multiple diners at the table. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/12 "2017-12-28T23:13:09Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Howzat now? Writing down an order gives a bad impression? What manager on this planet would think that? I’ve seen this, too. There seem to be some restaurants / managers who do this as a matter of policy – for example, the Red Robin near my house seems to operate this way (though I don’t know if that’s a Red Robin policy, or just the local restaurant’s way of doing things). My suspicion is that it’s meant to make sure that the server is paying close attention (and conveys this to the customers), but I admit, it always makes me think that an error becomes much more likely. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/13 "2017-12-28T23:15:53Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > (I’m looking at you local Outback) Local Outback? I think it’s all Outbacks. I once ordered a beer to be served when my steak arrived. The steak came, and the beer was only sent to the table when I was finished eating and waiting for the check. I said that at that point I didn’t want it, and the waitress cheerfully said that not to worry, I wouldn’t have to pay for it. Yeah, thanks for that. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2017, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/14 "2017-12-28T23:21:50Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I’ve seen this, too. There seem to be some restaurants / managers who do this as a matter of policy – for example, the Red Robin near my house seems to operate this way (though I don’t know if that’s a Red Robin policy, or just the local restaurant’s way of doing things). > > My suspicion is that it’s meant to make sure that the server is paying close attention (and conveys this to the customers), but I admit, it always makes me think that an error becomes much more likely. I guess that makes it official. Corporations are run by idiots. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/15 "2017-12-29T00:37:25Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Local Outback? I think it’s all Outbacks. > > I once ordered a beer to be served when my steak arrived. The steak came, and the beer was only sent to the table when I was finished eating and waiting for the check. I said that at that point I didn’t want it, and the waitress cheerfully said that not to worry, I wouldn’t have to pay for it. > > Yeah, thanks for that. Damn, well for me it was the 2nd beer at least, but we had other issues also at other meals. Maybe it is chain wide. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/16 "2017-12-29T02:58:29Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > …My suspicion is that it’s meant to make sure that the server is paying close attention (and conveys this to the customers)… It conveys the exact opposite impression to me. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/17 "2017-12-29T06:59:06Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > It conveys the exact opposite impression to me. Me, too, but clearly there’s a different school of thought in certain restaurant management circles. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/18 "2017-12-29T07:21:03Z")
In my experience, they don’t screw up very often at all. In fact, I can’t remember the last time it happened to me. It might happen if I ate at big chains more often, or if I had really complicated substitutions, or if I had an attitude when I was ordering, but none of those things apply to me. I guess it’s like how I never get diarrhea from restaurant food, either, another thing All You Zombies seem to go on and on about: Either it’s me, and I’m some wonder-person with an iron gut who charms the servers into always remembering my orders, or a lot of other people have the constitution of quicksand and only order from places where the waitstaff is too stoned to remember anything the customers say to them. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/19 "2017-12-29T12:52:24Z")
We eat dinner out two or three nights a week. None of the places on our rotation are chains, they are all single locations with the owner on site. The staff recognizes us. Errors are exceedingly rare. At a local Italian restaurant, we always take the leftover bread home for use as French toast. One time the server forgot. The next time we saw him, three weeks later, he apologized. He told us when he realized his error, he ran out to the parking lot, but we were gone. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477/20 "2017-12-29T14:02:00Z")
Maybe it’s confirmation bias. You’ve come to expect screw-ups, so you pay specific notice to screw ups. Maybe it’s the way you order. Perhaps you have a particularly confusing aura. Maybe it’s confirmation bias. Those of us who expect some minor errors now and again experience the same high rate, but register them as a rare minor error. Maybe it’s the restaurants you go to, or the times you go, or the tables you end up at that have a higher rate of shiny new wait staff. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-restaurant-servers-screw-up-so-often/805477.md?page=2)