Ah, the joy of being a server. Personally, I think everyone should be a server at least once. It really is a difficult job even when people say it isn't a "real" job, it is. Being a server teaches you amazing people skills, it opens doors to great opportunities, and it makes you have a TON of patience. I never thought in a million years I would ever be a server. I watched my sister do it for years and I couldn't believe the stories she would tell about rude customers and coworkers. Or when she would talk about having a huge party with children and 6 other tables on top of that. I thought absolutely no way in hell would I ever be able to have and maintain a job like that. Well, surprisingly, I'm a server now and everything she talked about when she was a server, hasn't changed. Although I've only been a server for a little over a year, there are definitely things that irritate servers, and things I wish customers would understand and not take out on the servers. We are honestly trying to make this the best experience possible for you. A huge thank you to my select few coworkers who helped me with this article, and who keep me sane during busy nights at Quimby's.
1. When we come over to the table and ask you how you're doing, please do not say "I'll have an iced tea".
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Oh, I'm sorry I didn't realize the beverage you wanted was now a feeling? I will get to the drinks I promise, forgive me for wanting to ask how you're doing today. We're going to be spending at least an hour or more together so I just wanted to make sure you knew my name. It is in my job description to be friendly.
2. Don't stiff us because the food is taking a little longer than normal.
If you go out to restaurants, you can normally tell right away if it's a busy time period. Whether it be a full parking lot, a line at the door, or whatever the case, you can normally tell. If you see the restaurant is extremely busy, with servers running around all over the place trying to catch their breath, please don't get an attitude about how long the food is taking. You are not the only one in this restaurant, and the fact that your food is taking a while is not my problem. I do not cook/prepare your food. But what I actually do is make sure to let you know the issue, and how much longer it'll be, and that I really do apologize for it taking longer than normal. That's all I can do.
3. Please do not let your children run around the restaurant like it's McDonald's Playland.
This is something I've never understood. It's a restaurant. Children are supposed to be well behaved in a restaurant. I can deal with them screaming for a hot second or throwing a little tantrum, but when children start running around the restaurant causing servers to constantly watch out for them wondering if they're going to accidentally trip over them and spill the food or drinks on their tray, then it becomes a problem. Please just have them sit in their seats during their meal.
4. Please tell us everything you need when we ask.
If you need 3 or 4 extra things, just tell us all in one sitting. Don't keep us running around for you because you think we're going to get angry. We won't I promise. We'd be angry if you told us something different every time we returned to the table. I know sometimes people do honestly forget about something until we come back, but if you're afraid we're going to get upset when you tell us 3-4 things at a time, we won't, It's our job to make sure you have everything you need, but it's also our job not to keep you waiting.
5. If you plan on inviting more people or drinking all night until close, please let us know.
It's always nice to give your server a heads up if you have more people joining your table so that way he/she knows to accommodate accordingly. Or if you and your party plan on drinking all night, it's always nice to mention that. Sometimes you might have the server that is first off(which means they get cut first) instead of the closing server. Then it's a hassle for both of us because you might really enjoy your server and then get upset when we have to transfer you to our closing server because they're the one that's going to be there all night, not the people that are first off.
Thankfully, these things don't happen often but when they do I'm sure all servers get a little irritated. This article is not to offend anyone or tell people how they should act when they go out to restaurants, just to give you a little insight about the food industry if you don't have any already.
