100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do- Page 2
100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Q
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/3/05
#25re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 10:41am
A safe response to 'what do you recommend' is to identify the most popular items.
And the customer isn't always right, but they are always the customer, without whom there would be neither reason nor point (nor income, lest we forget.)
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#26re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 10:48amTrue, but even customers should be expected to treat their servers with respect.
#27re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 10:52amThe rude and self-important customers have, in my experience, been the minority. The majority of regulars at my restaurant were polite, friendly, good-tipping people who knew me by name and treated me like an equal. The others can keep their money and eat at home for all I care.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#28re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 10:56amI would imagine that someone who takes issue with being told the server's name (and has 99 other dining out pet peeves) runs into a lot of problems when he dies out.
Q
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/3/05
#29re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 10:58am
In my experience, servers who had consistant problems with customers were usually more involved in the creation of those problems than they were able to recognize or admit.
I feel that humans should ALWAYS expect themselves to treat each other with respect, whatever the scenario - but in a business interaction, some leeway can be appropriate to achieve your end goal. Are there people who can be just downright nasty? Of course - but I never internalized their choices, it only reflected on them.
#30re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 10:59am
"dies out"--wonderful typo.
And you'd be right: these are the people that servers/managers dread. They'll make a stink over anything.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Q
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/3/05
#31re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 11:03am
That was pretty funny to read 
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#32re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 11:19am
In my experience, servers who had consistant problems with customers were usually more involved in the creation of those problems than they were able to recognize or admit
Oh, I agree. Unforgettably, there are a lot of people who really do seem to LOOK for a problem whenever they dine out. My father and his wife are a prime example. They are poised to complain the second they walk in the door.
#33re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 11:32amPhyllis, my Aunt is the same way. I DREAD going home and eating out with her. I've heard the phrase "We'll get this for free tonight!" more times than I care to imagine. I usually just look at the waiter like Jim looks at the camera in THE OFFICE and mouth "I'm sorry" to them and shake my head.
Q
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/3/05
#34re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 11:46amJordan - have you ever confronted her about that? I couldn't participate in that scenario - she'd be sitting alone at the table, or at least without my presense.
#35re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 11:50amI remember reading in I think it was Timeout New York that being fussy will get you free stuff. I could never do it because I feel it would be completely rude, especially if there really is nothing wrong. If you don't want to pay for your food, don't go out. Plain and simple.
"I don't want the pretty lights to come and get me."-Homecoming 2005
"You can't pray away the gay."-Callie Torres on Grey's Anatomy.
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#36re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 11:51amNo, it's not worth it at this point. She's one of those "set in my ways" people. We all have them in our families, I'm sure.
#37re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 11:58am
I remember reading in I think it was Timeout New York that being fussy will get you free stuff.
It's one of the oldest grifts in the book. There was a couple who frequented one of the restaurants at which I worked and always ordered everything cooked rare, so that they could send it back and say that it came to them raw, thus getting a free steak. Some people have no shame.
Unfortunately, Jordan is right. Some people are just set in their ways. I confronted a friend of mine once who is an habitual low tipper--she tipped a flat 10% no matter the level of service she received--and it didn't do anything. I felt better having done it, but she still leaves ****ty tips. 
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#38re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 12:26pmI saw my father last weekend at my brother's wedding and he was complaining about some restaurant that actually made you PROVE it was your birthday to get a free meal or dessert or whatever. The nerve!
#39re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 12:40pm
Having worked in the customer service for more than 13 years off and on, I've grown to hate people.
I feel like I need this on a desk plaque. And I've only been here a year and a half. I had someone put me on hold to answer her cell phone today. She didn't even put me on hold, she just set the phone down and I had to listen to her innane conversation for a few minutes before she got back to me. It was someone at a company, not a random civilian. I was sorely tempted to ask for her manager, but of course, the customer is always right. Even when they're being completely unprofessional and rude.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Wanting life but never knowing how
#40re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 12:42pm
In the spirit of this thread (and the article that inspired it), I'll offer a brief list of things that customers should never do:
1. Don't be late. If you have a 7:00 reservation, arrive promptly. Your table becomes fair game for the wait list if you're more than fifteen minutes late.
2. Try to arrive with your entire party. Don't get angry if the hostess won't seat you straight away if your entire party hasn't arrived. This is a standard rule at most restaurants.
3. Don't grovel over prices. If you want top shelf vodka in your cosmopolitan, expect to pay a little more.
4. There is no such thing as "between medium-rare and medium". It's one or the other. Know how you like your food cooked.
5. Don't complain about split charges. Again, they are standard in almost every restaurant, and they are there to (slightly) make up for the money they're losing because you don't want to pay for two full entrees.
6. Don't try to impress me (or your dinner companions) with your knowledge of food and wine. We've all watched an episode of Top Chef and can rattle off terms like "heirloom tomatoes" and "oenology".
7. Don't act like your server is below you! Look me in the eyes when I talk to you, say "please" and "thank you," etc. It's called manners!
8. Don't walk into a busy restaurant on a Saturday night without a reservation and expect to be seated right away. You have a better shot at getting Rush Limbaugh to officiate a gay marriage.
9. Don't tell me that you're a regular. If you were a regular, I would know who you are.
10. Don't tell me you're friends with the owner. See above.
11. Don't ever touch a waiter/busser/host, unless it's to offer a friendly handshake.
12. Don't scream my name (or worse: "WAITER!") across the dining room. If you want my attention, politely signal me over to your table.
More to come, I'm sure.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#41re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 1:10pm
"I know that 17 is generally a staple in fine dining establishments, but there are just as many people who demand you take their plate as their are who expect you to leave it until everyone else has finished the same course."
Phyllis, there might even be more than just as many who demand their plates be taken away. However, I think it's very wrong. I would hate to be the one who's still eating and see that the table is being cleared. I mean, HELLO!
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#42re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 1:12pmThen you better eat faster!
#43re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 1:13pm
Truth be told, I'm a very fast eater, and this has almost no chance of happening to me. However, I still think it's rude. 
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
#44re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 1:15pm
Sometimes I think people see you behind the counter or the notepad and assume you're uneducated. You only have a job like retail or waiting tables because you're not smart enough to do anything else. I was in retail for a long time and I just often got that impression from people. I strive to treat waitstaff and retail workers with respect. But at the same time if I feel like I'm being wronged I'll stand up for myself and I have the right to. As do you.
On a recently trip to Rite Aid I had a not so pleasant experience with a woman who turned out to be the assistant manager. I went to the front to pay for my purchases and she was on the phone and stayed on the phone while ringing me up. When I went to swipe my card she put my finger in my face to stop me because she had to push a button first. When the little machine asked if I wanted cash back she reached over and clicked "no" before I could. She also accepted the amount for me as well. Everything she did for the entire transation was wrong. I might have let the phone call slide. I might have even let the finger in my face slide. But to decide what happens with my money? I don't think so. As the owner of the money it is my right to decide if I want cash back. Maybe I needed some cash. How was she to know? At the end I said "Thank you. Have a nice evening" and got no response so I marched myself back to the pharmacy and asked to speak to a manager. I was told she was up front on the phone. I explained what had happened and they said they would tell the store manager. The next day I got a call from the woman who had rung me up. She said she had been on the phone with her district manager and it was important. Um, wouldn't your DM want you to perform your duties?
"All our dreams can come true -- if we have the courage to pursue them." -- Walt Disney
We must have different Gods. My God said "do to others what you would have them do to you". Your God seems to have said "My Way or the Highway".
StockardFan
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/19/08
#45re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 1:26pmI can't believe she clicked "no" on do you want cash back! I'd have been P*SSED!
KFTC!!!!!
#46re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 1:27pm
63. Never blame the chef or the busboy or the hostess or the weather for anything that goes wrong. Just make it right.
Translation: take the blame for anything that goes wrong.
69. If a guest is having trouble making a decision, help out. If someone wants to know your life story, keep it short. If someone wants to meet the chef, make an effort.
Didn't this tool just tell us five minutes ago to never give our opinions about dishes?
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Updated On: 11/6/09 at 01:27 PM
StockardFan
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/19/08
#47re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 1:38pmYes, he did!
KFTC!!!!!
#48re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 1:42pmGod bless the people who work for him. He must be one bitch of a boss, with his 100 draconian rules.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
NYadgal
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/04
#49re: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Posted: 11/6/09 at 1:55pm
#17 has always been my pet peeve.
I know there are differing opinions, but, I never like main dinner plates to be cleared while someone is still eating. In fact, I don't like it when they clear even the side plates while we are still eating. It's ok to take away unused plates when serving the next course, but, once I'm eating, don't bus the table.
My other pet peeve has been when they don't seat you when you have a reservation and the entire party hasn't arrived.
But, I love nothing more than a wonderful meal shared with interesting company in a restaurant when everything goes smoothly...
"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."
Updated On: 11/6/09 at 01:55 PM
