I recently stumbled upon this Reader’s Digest article that lists some of the tips/secrets that “servers” have brought to light. Some of these secrets were actually quite helpful, however some were downright crazy!
What We Lie About
If you’re a vegetarian and you ask if we use vegetable stock, I’m going to say yes, even if we don’t. You’ll never know the difference.
Um really??!! Where do these people work! Not knowing if something is actually vegetarian or not and “just saying yes” is seriously NOT COOL! I’m not a vegetarian or anything but, get your ass to the back and ask the Chef, I would never mess with anyone’s personal belief system like that. Not cool bro, not cool!
What We Want You to Know
In many restaurants, the tips are pooled, so if you have a bad experience with the server, you’re stiffing the bartender who made your drinks, the water boy who poured your water, sometimes the hostess, the food runners, and maybe the other waiters.
The tips are always pooled, in every restaurant I have ever worked in we tip out on our sales. So a bad tip definitely has the trickle down effect, everyone feels it when someone decides they want to leave a sub-par tip even if the workers did not have direct contact with your table they had a part in creating your dining experience. If your dining experience if not up to snuff then fine tip badly or not at all, but if it is just a personal preference that you tip bad/less than norm then think about all the people you are affecting financially with that sub-par tip.
What We Want You to Know
People think that just because your food took a long time, it’s the server’s fault. Nine times out of ten, it’s the kitchen. Or it’s the fact that you ordered a well-done burger.
Now this one rings true for me in so many ways, I work in a restaurant in a large city where during construction they did not make the kitchen large enough to accommodate the whole restaurant when it is fully seated. (Great idea guys) So most of the time we have no problem, but during our lunch rush and weekend brunch we are screwed. When the restaurant is not fully seated our food takes anywhere from 10-17 mins depending on the order, but during lunch because our kitchen is so small the orders can take up to 35 mins. I don’t want you to wait that long for your food, I feel really, really, bad when people wait that long..hell, I even get pissed at my kitchen for you!! Please don’t take it out on me verbally because my kitchen, based on my owners decisions cannot serve you your food in a timely manner.
How to Be a Good Customer
If the restaurant is busy and your child is shy, please order for him. Kids can sit there forever trying to decide, or they whisper and you can’t hear them. Meanwhile, the people at the next table are yelling at you to come over.
OMG YES!!! If your kid can’t get it together and order a freakin kid’s pizza don’t waste my time. I do not have the time to wait for Jr. to overcome his childhood shyness, my other tables need me and I have shit to do! I’ve had people literally not even awknowledge their kid at the table, I’ll have to remind them to order for their 5 year old. One instance I tried to get their attention after they had placed all their orders, so they could order for their child and they ignored me so I assumed the kid was sharing. When the food came out the mother goes. “Hey! Jr. where is your food!?” She realized that he hadn’t ordered anything for himself and immediately was pissed at me! The kid was like 4 or 5! She left it up to a four year old to order his food without supervision really!!??
What You Don’t Want to Know
When I was at one bakery restaurant, they used to make this really yummy peach cobbler in a big tray. A lot of times, servers don’t have time to eat. So we all kept a fork in our aprons, and as we cruised through the kitchen, we’d stick our fork in the cobbler and take a bite. We’d use the same fork each time.
Again, REALLY??!! Where do you people work? Disgusting! I can tell you that the kitchen I work in is so clean! Yes, we try the food because we have to sell it, but our chef makes us tasters it is never straight from the guest’s plate!
What Drives Us Crazy
The single greatest way to get your waiter to hate you? Ask for hot tea. For some reason, an industry that’s managed to streamline everything else hasn’t been able to streamline that. You’ve got to get a pot, boil the water, get the lemons, get the honey, bring a cup and spoon. It’s a lot of work for little reward.
Ahhh, the hot tea controversy! It’s not that I’ll hate you when you order hot tea, but I swear people who order hot tea have a 6th sense for knowing the WORST time to order it. I’ll be triple sat, have two orders to ring in, need to make like 700 drinks, and as I’m taking a drink order at the last table on the last person, it never fails, “I’ll have a hot tea!” FML
These are just a few of the 50 tips/secrets, here is the link for the article in full…50+ Secrets Your Waiter Won’t Tell You
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Wow……
I had to reply.
Springs no disrespect, but calm down. No one has said that your experiences didn’t happen.
I do have to disagree when you say things like most servers are Lazy. I personally go out if my when time allows to help achieve a smile from my customers.
In respects to you complaining and saying that servers should ignore there managers to serve a refill or give a check, I would gladly sacrifice a tip to keep my job. That isn’t laziness its just the world I and many others live in.
I personally double check my orders before sending them through. Having worked in a kitchen I know how frustrating it can be if something with special prep is it in wrong and have to remake it. I then triple check reading out the order as it is served.
I work in a restaurant where, most evenings you not only have to cater to your section but also other peoples and resent being labeled lazy because as company policy I have to take all orders within 5-7 mins being sat down, I do not get the chance to put each order instraight after I have taken it because, at peak times I get 5-6 tables all at once, I do however get round this by asking if people need extra time those who are in a hurry get served faster. I can then put orders in the system quicker. To nullify your argument about dirty tables not being a priority, If we don’t buss some tables and get some pots clean you can’t eat your “highly modified” order as there’s nothing to serve it on or a table to sit you at. So get off the high horse and don’t eat at peak tims.
Waitresses and waiters serveon average 30-40 tables on any given weekday in a6 hour shift not including the refils and payments to be room from other sections, the last thing they need is customers complaining they are lazy because they forgot one dip or a salad which can be easily rectified in 2-3 mins including the time you’ve taken to bollock them for it.
Holy shit, I am going through these old posts (just found this site) and I almost never comment online but springs1 is nuts, like actually mentally unhinged what a whack job!
Omg most of those are spot-on!
Although, I’ve never eaten from a customer’s food or dropped or spit into anything I’ve ever served in my 9+ years in the industry, that’s disgusting and gives honest servers a bad name.
My biggest problem with hot tea is not so much that it’s time consuming and, therefore, a pain during a dinner rush, it was that people frequently wanted to know all the flavors herbal tea that we carried. I’m sorry, but my brain is full of salad dressings, menu options, side dishes and common substitutions. It never failed that I would list a few and then draw a blank. After I went to check in the back we never had the specific flavor they wanted. And the sports bar/family restaurant I worked at ONLY carried Lipton black tea, which made a few little old ladies crabby and was obviously my fault.
I think Springs1 should stop eating out so much LOL!
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