When you come into a restaurant and your server walks up to you, the first thing you do is judge them. Judge them about their appearance, their voice, the accent in their voice or how proper they talk. Then, when they bring food and drinks, you look at how well they can balance the tray. But here's a few things you don't know behind the mask of a server:
1. Balancing trays is MUCH harder than it appears.
It doesn't matter if the tray is small or large or if it's full or only with a few things on it. It's always a struggle that is never completely mastered.
2. We are responsible for keeping your drinks full, bringing you food, and making sure you are enjoying your experience.
This DOES NOT mean that we are at fault if your order was messed up or it isn't to your liking.
3. We are there to take care of you and make sure you're enjoying your stay.
We aren't your slave. We want to be treated as equals. So, if you make us feel worthless for waiting on you, we are more inclined to give you less service.
4. Our name isn't "hey" or "yo" or "you there."
Even if we don't wear a name tag, if we introduce ourselves, we would like you to call us by it. If you need to ask again, we won't take offense.
5. We will treat customers with the same respect that we expect to be treated with.
Just because we are there to serve you and make your visit enjoyable, doesn't mean we are lesser of a human being.
6. We aren't your floor show.
We will talk and make conversation and maybe joke around with you but that doesn't mean we are there to entertain your humor.
7. We make $2.13/hour before taxes. Therefore, your tips are our income.
More often than not, we don't get a paycheck more than $20/$30- if we even get an actual pay check after taxes are taken out. We pay our bills with your tips, pay for our families, and pay for our education. Your tips matter to our livelyhood.
8. We aren't your fetch and call people.
We aren't there to run back and forth to get you things. Tell us everything you want so we don't have to run back and forth to get you all of your needs. If we can make it all in one trip, it would not only save us time but also, get you everything you want in a shorter time.
9. You and your friends/family are not our only table.
We are also responsible for taking care of other tables to make sure they are enjoying their stay as well.
10. We are only one human being with two hands.
We understand if you want us to grab your dirty dishes and grab you more drinks and split your checks a million different ways. But you must understand we are only one person and we may not be able to do all of that within the time you'd like it done. So, please practice a little patience.
10. Just because we work in the food industry, doesn't mean we aren't being successful in life.
This is just a stopping place for most of us. A job that will put money in our pockets. For others, it's a passion. They enjoy working in the food service industry and make their career out of it. But this doesn't mean we aren't getting anywhere in life. Most young people that work in food service are doing so to pay for their education or saving up for the next big move in their lives.
11. Undertipping is not only rude but it will also make you remembered- and not in a good way.
If you undertip or stiff your waiter or waitress, more often than not, your face will be remembered. This isn't just at that restaurant- employees at other restaurants and other owners all talk and communicate about their customers. If you undertip or stiff, don't be suprised if you get crappy service again at that restaurant or other restaurants close by.
12. We are more likely going to give you outstanding service if customers pre-tip or tip at the beginning and as you go.
If you tip us at the beginning or as you go, we are more likely to pay closer attention to your table. We will put more time into your table and make sure everything is how you'd like it.
13. When making a hundred changes to a menu item, you become much more of a hassle.
The chef puts food on the menu how they believe it should be served. When making changes and substitutions to huge extents, you become time costly. We are needed in other places. We can't afford to stand there in dinner rush and wait for you to decide what you'd like. Only after changing your mind a few times then finally settling on something but making a hundred of changes to it.
14. Asking "What kind of beer do you have? And how much are each of those?" when you have the menu in front of you.
We are there to give you recommendations and make sure you're satisfied. That doesn't mean we are your eyes. Most people, specifically adults, know how to read. We are not there to recite them from memory and take up more of our time when you can read what's directly in front of you.
15. Don't judge by appearances at the beginning or end of the shift.
Don't criticize your server because they may look fatigued or run down. For all you know they closed the night before or have more going on in their lives than serving people like you. We are human. We have to provide for ourselves and our families. So, in order to do that, we work until we drop.
