One notion we have come to understand in the restaurant is that our guests don't know how to read. I'm not trying to be mean, I know people can generally read. When it comes to reading a menu, however, it's a different story. It's one of our guilty pleasures; watching the guest get upset about what's in their food because they didn't take the time to read the description. Those two fragments underneath the menu item, describing what the item entails, may as well be extra room for their kids to draw on, because it's clearly just too much to read. Their lack of reading these two fragments almost always ends up in a complaint. As the server, we need to tell them what's in the meal they're ordering as often as we can.
Of course there are those random times when we just don't feel like explaining it or don't have the time, and it always pisses them off. "I didn't know the burger came with sauce on it." "What's this green stuff on my pizza?" "You didn't tell me this came with spicy cheddar." Well, if you would have taken about ten seconds to read about what you were ordering, we wouldn't be having any problems. But they act like we intentionally put ingredients in their entree just to spite them. Trust me, if we knew what they didn't like we probably would do that. But how do we know what they like and don't like? That's why the menu tells them what is in their food.
My favorite complaint happened last night when a woman ordered a drink off the page titled in big bold letters, "Cocktails." I came back a few minutes later and she says, "This drink is not what I wanted. Does it have alcohol in it?" Yesssss, hence the word "cocktails." "Oh, I didn't know that. Just bring me a Pepsi." I do my best to describe the ingredients every time, but do I really need to let a grown woman know that there is alcohol in a long island?
We all do it. I know I've skimmed over the ingredients before and got an entree that wasn't quite what I expected. But I don't blame my server for that and make her go out of her way to fix my mistake.
Rule of common courtesy: Own that you made the mistake, not the server, and eat your damn food. It never hurts to try something different. (Unless you're allergic, then bitch about it all you want!)
Any other servers have guests who can't read? Leave a comment :)
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
That One Bitchy Table
Many servers have come across that one table who just wants to bitch about everything. It's just the guest's personality. There's nothing we can really do about it but let it happen. Last night I had the lady from Waiting, the one who just picks on her waitress for fun and complains about everything while her friends sit there looking embarassed.
I greet the table of three middle-aged ladies, and tell them about our 2-for-1 margarita special. "Bitchy Lady" immediately told the other two ladies, "Oh we have to do that!" I'm thinking this will be a fun table. I was quite wrong.
Bitchy Lady and one of her friends order the 2-for-1 margaritas. Bitchy Lady asks for hers on the rocks, while her friend asks for frozen. The friend asks for salt, Bitchy Lady just nods her head and keeps talking. Off I go to fetch margaritas.
I bring the four margaritas to the table, (hence 2-for-1), and Bitchy Lady says they wanted to split the special between the two of them. I apologize. The friend says it's not a problem at all they will drink them. They didn't make a big deal of it. Bitchy Lady tastes hers and says "Uggghh! This tastes like a pina colada. That isn't a margarita. And that one has salt n it. I won't drink that." They both had salt on them, but it didn't stop her from drinking out of the first one.
Me: "I'm sorry, I misheard you. I thought you both wanted salt. I'll go get two new margaritas for you."
I bring her two new margaritas, and make sure they taste like freaking margaritas. Now it's time to order food. Between the three ladies they ordered two side salads and two thin crust pizzas. This is where it really gets fun.
Bitchy Lady made sure to tell me to bring an extra plate with their salads since they would be sharing. Then, one of the thin crust pizzas she ordered automatically comes on a five-grain crust. She said to make it traditional because she's allergic to sesame or something. The first thing I did was bring three plates to the table. I pointed it out when I brought them, "Here are extra plates for you." Bitchy Lady was on the phone and must have not seen. I brought the two salads out and again said, "Here are those extra plates." Bitchy Lady was still on the phone. Apparently, the radiowaves went to her head because she did not see the bright yellow plates in front of her and tracked down another server to get her a plate, because "Michelle forgot."
Next, their pizza, which I typed in "make traditional crust," came out on a five-grain crust. They hollered at me and I told them I'd get my manager to clarify if it was a five-grain crust.
I can understand why Bitchy Lady would be upset about that. She doesn't want to puff out and swell up and all that crap, but this was not my doing. This was her opening, however, to bitch and bitch and bitch.
She told my manager, "Michelle has got nothing right on our table. She brought us four margaritas, she brought us the wrong margaritas, I asked her for an extra plate and she never got me one," (PLEASE!!!!). "And now she got our pizza wrong." My manager explained to Bitchy Lady that the pizza was not my fault, the kitchen messed up and it was out of my hands. Bitchy Lady insisted back to her that it was my fault because I got everything else wrong. (Not to mention that a margarita tasting like a pina colada was not my fault either, or anybody's.)
Luckily, my manager realized that this was Bitchy Lady and that I was not being a bad server. She said to just finish them out and try to be nice. This is when I really wish I was allowed to speak my mind, because I think I would have actually stood up for myself. But, the damn guest is always right. So I did the mature thing- gave them the stink eye, refilled everyone's water except for Bitchy Lady, and gave them the check. The $2 tip in quarters was the cherry on top of a fantastic bitchy table.
I greet the table of three middle-aged ladies, and tell them about our 2-for-1 margarita special. "Bitchy Lady" immediately told the other two ladies, "Oh we have to do that!" I'm thinking this will be a fun table. I was quite wrong.
Bitchy Lady and one of her friends order the 2-for-1 margaritas. Bitchy Lady asks for hers on the rocks, while her friend asks for frozen. The friend asks for salt, Bitchy Lady just nods her head and keeps talking. Off I go to fetch margaritas.
I bring the four margaritas to the table, (hence 2-for-1), and Bitchy Lady says they wanted to split the special between the two of them. I apologize. The friend says it's not a problem at all they will drink them. They didn't make a big deal of it. Bitchy Lady tastes hers and says "Uggghh! This tastes like a pina colada. That isn't a margarita. And that one has salt n it. I won't drink that." They both had salt on them, but it didn't stop her from drinking out of the first one.
Me: "I'm sorry, I misheard you. I thought you both wanted salt. I'll go get two new margaritas for you."
I bring her two new margaritas, and make sure they taste like freaking margaritas. Now it's time to order food. Between the three ladies they ordered two side salads and two thin crust pizzas. This is where it really gets fun.
Bitchy Lady made sure to tell me to bring an extra plate with their salads since they would be sharing. Then, one of the thin crust pizzas she ordered automatically comes on a five-grain crust. She said to make it traditional because she's allergic to sesame or something. The first thing I did was bring three plates to the table. I pointed it out when I brought them, "Here are extra plates for you." Bitchy Lady was on the phone and must have not seen. I brought the two salads out and again said, "Here are those extra plates." Bitchy Lady was still on the phone. Apparently, the radiowaves went to her head because she did not see the bright yellow plates in front of her and tracked down another server to get her a plate, because "Michelle forgot."
Next, their pizza, which I typed in "make traditional crust," came out on a five-grain crust. They hollered at me and I told them I'd get my manager to clarify if it was a five-grain crust.
I can understand why Bitchy Lady would be upset about that. She doesn't want to puff out and swell up and all that crap, but this was not my doing. This was her opening, however, to bitch and bitch and bitch.
She told my manager, "Michelle has got nothing right on our table. She brought us four margaritas, she brought us the wrong margaritas, I asked her for an extra plate and she never got me one," (PLEASE!!!!). "And now she got our pizza wrong." My manager explained to Bitchy Lady that the pizza was not my fault, the kitchen messed up and it was out of my hands. Bitchy Lady insisted back to her that it was my fault because I got everything else wrong. (Not to mention that a margarita tasting like a pina colada was not my fault either, or anybody's.)
Luckily, my manager realized that this was Bitchy Lady and that I was not being a bad server. She said to just finish them out and try to be nice. This is when I really wish I was allowed to speak my mind, because I think I would have actually stood up for myself. But, the damn guest is always right. So I did the mature thing- gave them the stink eye, refilled everyone's water except for Bitchy Lady, and gave them the check. The $2 tip in quarters was the cherry on top of a fantastic bitchy table.
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