31 Things Your Waitress Might Want You To Know.

Haha thanks...I needed a good laugh tonight...

www.chevy.com

I like #'s 1, 9, and 30. Haha, do you hate your job as a waitress now?

Oh I love this post! Everything that you said was so true!

Hello!

Your list is quite impressive! Much of what you have written is familiar both in a positive and negative sense.

Having been in my career of choice as a professional waiter for over 25-years I'm glad that you are continuing your education so you can get out of the restaurant business to stop giving career professionals a bad name.

While this profession is not for everyone... everyone thinks they can do it. But not many can do it well. There are many customer service challenges faced by all employees and businesses that deal with the public; no matter if you’re hawking computers, medicine or food/beverage.

However, most customers are no different than you or I. If we get "attitude" we give it right back. We tend to "mirror" the hospitality (or lack of it) back at the source. And we usually won't continue to do business with individuals/companies (they are one in the same) that don't make us feel good about doing business with them.

Customers are customers and not all of them are a treat to engage. Your list of "31" exists in the office place, government, and even college. Either you learn to deal with that part of life or you end up playing the role of the "victim". If you become a victim you are doomed for failure because every thing that doesn’t go your way will be someone else's fault.

Attitude is a choice. We choose to continue whatever attitude we display including being angry. The only person that can keep us angry is looking at us in the mirror every moment.

Good luck in finding your successful career path. In the meantime, Make It Fun, Make It Easy, Make Some Money (TM).

Paul C. Paz
www.WaitersWorld.com

Hello...

I missed the "for fun" portion in your original list of "31".

Good to see that you clarified your politenees and that you didn't carry a grudge from table to table.

I'm sure your experience as a waitress will be of great benefit to you in your future business situations as a CEO engaging key account executives who will also present "15" of your "31". Jerks are jerksand they won't change in our lifetimes.

People are people and it really doesn't matter what they do for a living. Professionaly the only thing that matters are you any good at what you do.

That "fake smile" you refer to. Below is an article I wrote about smiles and how professionals understand its impact on customers doing business with us (restaurant or not).

Enjoy!

Paul www.WaitersWorld.com

TIPS ON TIPS #9
Smiles… The Eyes Have It! ©
By Paul C. Paz
www.WaitersWorld.com

"Smiles everyone!" That was the opening line by Ricardo Montleban in the old television show "Fantasy Island". A story based on the premise of hospitality. As if hospitality and smiles were a fantasy! A recent article in The Oregonian (Portland, OR - 1/14/01) got me thinking about smiles and how they relate to the hundreds of one-to-one encounters each waiter experiences with diners every week.

Per the Oregonian, "It's the most powerful of all facial expressions and the most radiant. Some say it's one of the things that make civilization possible. The smile is a universal expression of peace and willingness to cooperate - a vital message to communicate in an often hostile world."

Recent studies indicate the smile is the oldest form of expressing the desire and willingness to cooperate. It is a potent facial expression that can be detected from as far away as the length of a football field making it the most visible facial expression from a distance. New York author (The New Secrets of Charisma) and psychologist, Doe Lang says, "Any tension in the mouth when you're not smiling is very, very rapidly picked up." She says," People assume that you are mean when you purse your lips".

Given that impact that's why it's so important to acknowledge diners visually with a SMILE. It makes folks feel welcomed and that we're glad they've joined us. But a smile on the lips only is not enough.

The Oregonian continues, "Lang says, "A smile can heighten your magnetism. I teach people to do the secret smile that's seen in ancient statuary. It's a pleasant smile but noncommittal. It looks like you have a wonderful secret that you will tell or will not tell. First you smile with your lips then you leave the smile on your eyes and on your cheekbones but drop it from your lips. Eyes are essential to a good smile".

A smile of true enjoyment is difficult to fake. A true smile is connected to the muscles surrounding the eyes. These muscles cause the cheeks to raise and the crow's-feet at the eye's edges. In the words of the 19th century French neurologist, Duchenne de Boulogne who discovered this, "The emotion of frank joy is expressed on the face by the combined contraction of lip and eye muscles. The first obeys the will, but the second is only put into play by the sweet emotions of the soul…" The eyes have it!

Lang states further, "Smiling is a universal sign of acceptance. In American culture smiling holds an honored place. We had vast spaces and new frontiers, and people had to show that they were friendly. The smile was considered a necessary component of social skills". So at the beginning of each shift remind yourself with that famous line, "Smiles everyone"!

In the meantime, Make It Fun... Make It Easy... Make Some Money!!! ™

I thought that was really cute! I enjoyed reading it!

"2. If it's taking too long to get your food, do not dock my tip. Its not my fault. I'm not the cook. I'm the one running around making sure you are otherwise content, remember?"

This is where you are WRONG, WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!
1. Putting in the order correctly is important as far as how long you wait for your food. I cannot count the number of times my order is brought with OBVIOUS mistakes wrong from the SAME SERVER(NOT ANOTHER SERVER). Just recently my husband had ordered 2 side dishes, which each side dish is a separate menu item. Our waitress totally forgot it when she brought it out. She actually didn't apologize even and read the ticket on the menu at our table which was EXTREMELY STUPID. She should have verified that written order IN THE KITCHEN BEFORE taking it to us incorrectly. It was HER fault the side dish was missing even if she put in the order correctly, because it's a mistake that the server doesn't have to touch, break open, or taste the food to know there's a mistake with the order. Even if the cook messed up, it was up to HER to take notice of this. She made the tip, NOT the cooks. She's responsible for bringing out ALL COMPONENTS as long as it's a visible mistake that she doesn't have to touch my food to notice the mistake.
2. Not forgetting to put in the order is important. I have had appetizers forgotten twice due to the SERVER ADMITTED they FORGOT.
3. Putting in the order as soon as you can as long as there is nobody else's food or drinks that were ordered BEFORE the current customer's order and that there aren't any mistakes you have to attend to first. I feel if someone else's table's food is ready, since they ordered BEFORE I did, they should get their food first, especially because food gets cold. I also feel if someone has a mistake, that takes should take top priority over putting in a current customer's order as well. I have seen a server one time take our entrée orders, then greeted a table of 6. By the time he put in our order, it was probably a good 3 or more minutes later, which probably was even longer of a wait due to other servers or the bartender putting I orders BEFORE ours, meaning, other customers food was next to get cooking and it beat our food. I feel when you take a food order, you should IMMEDIATELY go put it into the computer as long as no other orders are ready or mistakes have been made. The LONGER my server waits to put in my order, the LONGER I WAIT.

So I have NO CLUE WHY you don't know these things or WHY would you act like an expert when you don't know ALL things that can happen. My husband and I have experienced many situations, so we know WHAT IS and ISN'T in the server's control. Servers DO HAVE VERY MUCH CONTROL OVER HOW "LONG" YOU WAIT FOR YOUR FOOD. The ONLY WAYS that they have no control over how long we wait is if they put in the order as soon as they could(meaning no other people's orders are ready or no mistakes have been made, which if any of them have, I would completely understand my server putting those other people first since they ordered BEFORE I did) and either my server or another server went get the food as SOON as it was ready as long as they weren't occupied by another customer of course. Also if my server busses an empty table before putting in an order, that is making the customer wait longer for a dirty table, which is EXTREMELY RUDE and UNCARING about customer's wait times. Do you want YOUR food to take longer when it's not necessary? I doubt you would, so WHY would you treat SOMEONE ELSE that way? Customer's request come BEFORE clean up work.

"8. If there are only 2 in your party, and it is self seating, do not, I repeat, do not sit at a table for 6 or 8. Sit at the smallest open table that can accomodate your party. If we're packed and that's a table of 6 or 8, only then is it okay to sit there."

Sorry, I have to disagree. If it's "SELF-SEATING", if I want to sit at a large table, that's MY OPTION as a customer. I have EVERY RIGHT to want a lot of room regardless of if it is busy or not. Those people that are waiting to sit came in AFTER I did, so I got first dibs, just as they would have had first dibs if I got in after they did. What's fair is fair.

"14. If you are a regular, I am required to A) Rememeber what your "usual" is, b) Know what condiments you use without you asking, C) Remember what you drink without you asking D) Not forget any of these things, because that is an ultimate sin. So why, pray-tell, do you still only tip me a quarter?"

Remembering what I like doesn't mean I want the same food or drink EVERY SINGLE TIME, so WHO CARES if you remember? What matters the most is getting the order correct THIS TIME, NOT what happened in the PAST.

"23. I don't know why someone ordered after you but got their food first...Oh wait...It's because you ordered a well done steak and they ordered a chef salad! Shut up! I don't have time to explain this to you! If you don't get your food in the time it should take to cook it, then start asking questions."

I disagree in that you COULD have FORGOT to put my order into the computer system, which HAS happened to me and my husband TWICE with appetizers at different restaurants, because the servers ADMITTED forgetting to put in the orders. I agree if the other customers get a chef salad and I get a well done steak, that I won't be getting my steak first.

"29. Kids are messy. If your kid leaves a huge mess, I don't expect you to clean it up. But I expect a tip for my service while you were here, and a bonus for all of the stuff I am going to have to clean up after you leave."

I couldn't DISAGREE with you more. HOW can you expect to get PAID for a "SERVICE" the customer ISN'T going to be RECEIVING if you are cleaning AFTER they left? Is that going to benefit THAT customer? HECK NO, so WHY should that customer tip you more? Tips are for SERVICES RENDERED, NOT SERVICES THAT HAPPEN AFTER CUSTOMERS HAVE LEFT THE RESTAURANT. Be honest here, do you HONESTLY GIVE A CARE at ALL about what happens AFTER you have left a restaurant? If you say you do, you are LYING. WHO CARES WHAT YOU HAVE TO CLEAN UP AFTERWARDS, that's WHY you get $2.13/hr, which is service for the RESTAURANT'S UPKEEP, NOT for the customer that has left or is going to sit there, because either we have left which means our service has ENDED or the new people that are going to sit there haven't STARTED their service yet.
WHO really CARES what mess there is if the customers have left the restaurant already? I sure don't care. Why should ANYONE pay for A "SERVICE" they DO NOT "RECEIVE?" Is that really fair to act like you deserve more money for something that does NOT BENEFIT the customer that has left in ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM? Of course it's NOT FAIR.

"31. If I smiled at least once, didn't cuss you out, didn't forget more than two things, and still brought them to you as fast as I could when you pointed it out that I forgot you better LEAVE A TIP! Or I swear, I will find out where you live and...well...just leave a tip, ok?"

It depends on what those 2 things were. Did I have a side dish completely missing? Did you completely forget to get my refill or what I have asked for? Did you APOLOGIZE for doing these type of things, WHICH DOES MATTER VERY MUCH SO when it comes to tipping? Did I have to ask twice for the same thing 2 times? Did I see you didn’t write my order down and you forgot something or got it wrong, because you were TOO LAZY to WRITE the order down even? Those things matter, so if you forget more than ONE thing, you need to start WRITING ALL ORDERS DOWN AND ((REREAD)) that pad of written requests and orders. Do you want your server to forget what you asked for? Then WHY not TRY at least to remember what was asked for?