You know who you are. You're the person who interrupts your server by shoving your glass (or pointing at it, I do love the pointing) and demanding a refill. Or the person who rolls your eyes at me when I offer you a box, dessert, or an alcoholic beverage. You may even be the person who openly mocks me while I introduce myself to you. You- I really don't like you. And lets explain why.
The Customer Who Knows ALL About Serving (But has never actually done it)-
I get at least 3 of you guys a week. You cut me off before I offer you a refill and treat me like I'm a moron by saying, "Aren't you going to at least ask if I need more water?" No, I expected you to eat your Buffalo Wings with three sips of water ma'am. And no napkins. The thing about me- I used to watch children for a living. I praise the almighty power of the napkin and worship at the altar or Wetnaps. I will drop them off at your table after I place your food in front of you. I do NOT carry them in my apron. That thing can get really gross on a Friday night. At least wait for me to finish dropping the last plate and ask how everything looks before you ASSUME that I am going to leave you napkinless with your extra ranch, fry grease covered hands.
Do not tell me that you know our companies coupon policy better than I do unless you have worked there before/ or work there now. Most of the time when I tell you something is not covered by a coupon I am not wrong. I am not trying to STEAL from you. I know what it's like to not have tons of money. I have used coupons plenty of times.
And then there is my favorite part. When you LITERALLY tell me how to do my job. It usually happens on a Friday or Saturday night. When I come to check on you, you ask me why I did something a certain way, and then tell me I should have done it THIS way. And without fail, they don't leave a tip either. I do things in a certain way, step by step. I never waste a trip in or out of the kitchen. But most of all, I do things to make the customers experience better. That is MY job, I'm a server.
The
Customers That Treats You Like Dirt
Ok, little ones, story time. Once upon a time, when I was a brand new server, all squeaky and bright eyed, I had a table with a Mom, a Dad, a daughter, and a son. They were all very nice as they ordered their drinks, and then starters for the table. I brought them the appetizer and noticed the sons soda was empty. I asked him if I could bring him another and he said, "Yes, may I please have another." And this is when the ranch hit the fan. The father went from nice to livid in seconds. He grabbed my arm (A NO, NO!! by the way) and asked me to stay for a second while he taught his son a valuable lesson. The dad then looked at me and asked me what my job was. I told him that my job was to make the customers who came into that restaurant happy and have an enjoyable experience. He cut me off before I could finish and screamed, "NO! Your job is to serve! You are a SERVER! This means that if my son wants a refill he doesn't have to say 'may I', or 'please'. Isn't that correct?" I looked at him blank eyed and barely managed to nod. He released my hand and said, "Good. Now go get me sons drink. Then you can take our order." When I went into the kitchen my manager was waiting for me to ask what was going on. I explained the situation and told him that I was fine. But I really wasn't. What I really wanted to do was to go into the walk-in and cry. Why? Because even though I am a server, I am NOT a servant. I deserve things like please and thank you. I'm a human being, with feelings. Please treat me like one.
The Customer That Runs You Into The Ground
Oh, this is one of my favorites. This is the table that acts like they are the only table in the whole restaurant. They will never ask for what they need all at once, no matter how many times you ask. They always need something new. Ranch, refill, more gravy, mustard, more chips and salsa, more ranch, box, one more box, to go ranch, ONE MORE BOX, oh, and a to go dr.pepper. But this is after the paid their bill, and of course they want a big one.
First of all, all of my tables deserve the same amount of service from me whether they are a party of 1 or 40. When I come to your table, please pay attention to what I am saying. My time is precious, and I have other tables that I am taking care of as well. I want to know all of your requests at once. I come around to all of my tables about every 10/15 minutes to check on refills. DO NOT send me back and forth into the kitchen. It will piss me off and I will start to resent coming to your table. I understand the occasional not realizing you needed something and waiting until I come back, but when you have a new request everytime I come back to your table? You are being rude. Please stop. And when this table leaves a 10% tip on the table? I make it my mission to remember your face so that when you come back in, I will wait at your table and make sure I get everything in ONE trip. And I may not be so friendly about it.
To every rude person out there who brings their 'joy' into my restaurant: Remember that I am here to help you have a good lunch/dinner. I want to make money, therefore I will not be rude or mean. Please and thank you will take you far with your server. In fact, if you're actually a decent human being to me I have been known to give you my own coupons for free desserts and appetizers. Why? Because I'm signed up to the email club and I'm not allowed to use company coupons myself. I always have at last five on me at all times. And I love to share them.
~TOWIE
