Hi! My name is Christina and I’ll be taking good care of y’all tonight. ☺ Would you like to hear about our specials?
Good food is the number one greatest thing to come by, especially when it’s made and served to you by someone else. Who doesn’t like to go on a carefree dinner date, whether it be with a friend, a significant other, or by yourself at the end of the day? Relaxing whilst being waited on is truly the life. But have you ever wondered what it’s like on the opposite end of that transaction? The one who is completely disposable to a stranger’s beck and call? To have to rely on others for money when there is a tiny voice in the back of your head questioning the morality in that as well?
Being a woman in the workplace is already tough enough as it, dealing with condescending managers who believe our efforts to be trivial or demeaning customers who believe us to be inadequate for our jobs. Along with that, people are just creepy (ahem, I’m talking to you, ol’ two-teeth Joe lounging around at the bar). Before I began serving, I was impatient with the waitress or waiter that was drowning in tables, wondering why I wasn’t the only one they were going out of their way for! I mean, I’m paying for their service and “expected” to give a tip at the end, so they should be here RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. Four years of serving food later, I realized how irrational I and many other people were being. But, obviously, that can be said for so many other jobs. I still don’t understand why the Verizon call center is the absolute worst or the fact that the Comfort Inn can’t possibly squeeze in one more family for the weekend, but these jobs have difficulties just like waitressing, so I try to be patient. But boy, is it difficult.
I think one of the most commonplace thought processes that many run into when eating out is that they’re there for what they expect to be the same tableside service they may have had as a kid. For the most part, either your mom, dad, grandma, older sister or brother fixed you food and sprinkled in all that mushy gushy love and care. These people wanted to make sure that your wellbeing was looked after, that you left the table happy and full, nourished and content. Obviously, a restaurant wants you to leave in good spirits, but a different type of elated. The food industry is a self-servicing world of communication and advertisement, whether it’s by television or word of mouth, if the past customers are happy, then you’ll be more inclined to dine. But if the service sucks and the food has hair, then geez, you sure as heck would not want to go back! So, the waiter or waitress has to make sure your experience in that leather booth is about as enjoyable as your first time at the beach, something rememberable and remarkable. But the catch is that there are also six different other tables asking for that same experience, and I don’t think I need to explain how that’s physically impossible to do unless your Elastic Girl or quite literally the Supreme Mom of the World. Which, I’m going to guess, you mostly likely aren’t… unless you are.
So, you’re a waitress who’s having to juggle a lot of overly excited or possibly skeptical foodies now plopped down, ready to chow. One of the most important parts of having to look after your customers is making sure they know EXACTLY what they are getting. So, when they order the Swiss Oyster Mushroom sandwich, they realize that there is such a thing as an actual Oyster Mushroom, and no, there won’t be any type of seafood in this meal. Or, are they gluten free? Does Mrs. Johnston realize that due to the fact that she couldn’t eat the bread because of the “overwhelming amount of carbs,” she’s doing herself a disservice by ordering pasta? Plus, Baby Kimmie has an allergy to onion, but only shallots. Oh, also citrus, other than lemon. That she can have. Also, wash the ribs off in the dish pit, would ya? The dog has had a tough day at home and needs a midnight snack, but the gnawed-on meat can’t be stinking up the car on the ride home.
I think you get the point.
But honestly, it’s entertaining, to say the least. People are pretty crazy and extremely particular when it comes to what they’re paying money for, which is definitely understandable. I’d rather have someone send the food back, rather than be bombarded with complaints at the end of the meal after the plate is clean. If you bought the wrong kind of makeup, you’d return it, wouldn’t you? I mean, feel free to walk around with a foundation six shades darker than you were expecting, you do you. Anyways, problems and mistakes are meant to be fixed, I make them all the time (well, not all the time, but enough to make a point). Your waitress may have misheard you or was trying to steer clear of your husband’s leering gaze by standing two feet away from the table, there’s always a probability for error. I currently work in fine dining, and even those who have been there for years still occasionally forget fairly simple things, it just takes time and practice. I suggest standing in the middle of the student section at a football game and try to practice taking food orders there, it really helps with training your ear with both having to hear over loud crowds and dealing with incoherent drunks.
I could go on and on about my experiences in serving, these are just a few personal insights into food service, every restaurant is different with an entirely new sets of stakes (pun definitely intended). Just like it’s tough having to remake hotel beds or talk to every customer who has a problem with their iPhone 36X, waiting tables is not the super flouncy fun that movies make it out to be. It’s hard work, keeping people happy when you’re having a crappy day is never easy, and by the end of the night, you’re just crossing your fingers that someone enjoyed themselves and left you a decent tip. I realize that in a perfect work, wouldn’t it be nice to eat out and only have to pay the price of the already over-priced food? Believe me, I totally get that, I hate spending money as much as the next gal. But unfortunately, that’s not how society works, where servers make minimum wage unless tipped, and for the amount of effort that’s put in to make your experience the best it can be, I’d say it’s worth a little more than that.
My point is, treat your server like you’d want your mom to be treated, or whoever put food on the table for you as a kid. These people are going out of their way to make a complete stranger happy in the hopes that they’ll enjoy their night out and l possibly put money on their paycheck. I mean, this is one of the few jobs where you’re not entitled to anything above $7.25, yet people still continue to provide customer service. If you wouldn’t want to deal with people day to day, then think about being slightly more appreciative of the work going on behind the scenes in the places where those do work with the general public. I will never spit in your food and I will never take advantage of the vulnerability of having someone else make nourishing substances for you, because I realize that not everyone understands this type of work. But I will say, if you really want me to scrub the rib bones for your dog, please come in more than fifteen minutes before close.
Thanks for dining with us, I hope y’all enjoyed everything and come back again real soon. ☺
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