I don't think I'm very picky when it comes to eating at restaurants. Their are only 2 things I ask. Keep my water glass full, and don't make me wait 10 minutes after we are done eating before you ask me for if I'd like my bill. Why can't they just bring the bill 10 minutes after they serve you, and put a pitcher of water at the table? I've bartended before but never been a server, so maybe there is something I'm not aware of for waiting to bring the bill, but if you can't keep the water glass full, don't expect a big tip from me.

maybe there waiting for u to be done and digest for desert?

About 75% of the time I ask for my bill halfway through my meal, just for the reason you stated alone. Funny story tho, I went to meet a friend and his gf for lunch a couple of weeks ago at this brewery downtown. I sit down, have a couple beers and what not. This waitress just looked like she had been in bed with a guy the night before and his roomate pissed all over them and then she had to come to work before showering kind of attitude going on, so i refrain from being friendly and just drink away. Well my friends show up and we decide to sit at the bar. She asks my friends gf if shed like a drink and she responds, "can i see a menu?". This bitch then says, "I didnt know a menu was a drink." loud and clear in the middle of the bar!!! I said, "excuse me?", and she just walked away, as did we, to a table where we didnt have to look at her troll-like self. Fucking people in the service industry, get a clue rtard.

Waiting for the bill does suck, but there is a fine line between the server being perceived as proactive and telling you to gtfo when dropping the check too early.

My personal pet peeve is the over personable server who wants to sit at the table and play with my kids for 20 minutes instead of bringin my shit.

I hate people who won't write down my order. Hate it.

I don't care if you think you have a great memory and you're showing off, just write the fucking order down so you don't screw it up. I'd say about 30% of the time they do this something ends up going wrong.

I don't go into restaurants looking to give people stone cold stunners, but when it's gotta be done, it's gotta be done. Don't give me a reason to kick you in the gut and then subsequently grab your neck, jump down and make you shoot back up because of the impact only to have you fall down for the 3 count and it won't happen. Simple as that.

Just write down the fucking order and the carnage is avoided, though.

Oh, and I like it when my water glass is full, too.

 

Originally Posted by HaightMeNow

Fucking people in the service industry, get a clue rtard.

Please elaborate on this dickhead. I work in the service industry and its not as easy as you would think. Think about all the people that get upset that you are dropping the bill too early as to imply that you want them to leave, or that they cannot have desert.

Everybody wants something different usually and its usually not easy to please everyone. We are told to make sure we check our tables every minute after the food drops which is usually annoying as hell to people, which is why I don't do it and sometimes the bill comes a little late.

Today at the end of my shift I got sat a 12-person table, 8 person table, 6 person table, and two two person tables all within an hour of eachother (we were understaffed cause we were dead earlier in the day). Well on a side note, its black biker week down here so bikers + having to wait usually does not go over to well. My one table (that was the 6 person table) whom I spent most of my time with because they were not ready (HUGE PET PEEVE FOR THE SERVER) for drinks after I gave them 2 min to look over our drinks and it was a huge disaster. They ended up asking to speak with my manager even after I apologized for being a little slow beings I had 24 other customers who all wanted food/drinks at the same time and that I am doing my best. I didnt even put the auto 18% gratuity on their meal which is our policy on 6 + person tables. Well they left me $5 on a $125! and thats after I had two of their meals voided off becuase they "didn't like" the ribs and the chicken alfredo came with a chicken breast instead of chicken pieces. Seriously a terrible ending to a great day becasue people don't even think about others and only worry about themselves so they can quickly pile pounds onto their waste.

As I quoted, you said "fucking people in the service industry" that is a statement in regards to everyone in it. Learn to type what you mean or quit being a douchenozzle.

Have fun im going out

Then stop ordering cumdumpling soup. I had the same problem, but if you take a proactive approach, you can beat this addiction too.

in nicer places they have steps of service. when youve got your food is the time servers get everything else done they need to. they have to clean up your table and then prepare for dessert. most servers have no choice but to pitch dessert to every table. its the industry. if you want to eat fast, eat fast food. servers work hard

Exactly. It depends on where you are. If you are in hurry, let the server know. I'll bet they would be happy to get you out of there and have someone else take your table. You should know if you are in a relaxed unhurried environment or not.

lol haightmenow, kindly gfy. i'm a server and nothing pisses me off more than ppl who talk to me like i'm a robot. i get this one all the time: (me) "Hello, how are you folks doing this evening?".... (them) "I just want a water with extra ice and a lemon".

yes, we are "servers" so our job is to give good service. obviously no one (at least not me) gives shitty service on purpose. the fact is, everyone has their own little "things" that make their dinner experience better. some like a full glass like the op, some like extra napkins, some like you to chat with them a bit, etc etc. i don't make shit hourly so 90% of my income comes from tips. since this is the case i try my best to please every table but thats impossible.

its easy to give good service if you only have 2 or 3 tables. but if you're trying to keep up with 6-10 at once there is a lot going on so cut us some slack. if you are pleasant and treat us with respect you will get good service. and if you do get good service, tip 20%. nothing pisses me off more than when someone says "thank you so much, this is the best service we've ever had here" and then they hand you a 10% tip. /rant

LOL at all of you who are taking my story way out of context. This bartender, who was a complete bitch, and not busy at all btw, asked the girl that was with me if she wanted a drink, and she responded with, "can i see a menu?". She followed that up by saying, "I didnt know that a menu was a drink.", while having a shit eating smerk on her face and walked away. If you think that i dont understand how it works than youre completely misinformed. I know that servers dont make much hourly, but wtf is so hard about saying, "ok, here you go"? The smartass bs doesnt get you very far when you make 4$ an hour, or in life for that matter. Now you can kindly gfy if you dont understand.

*Her job is to serve w/ a smile, is it not? Not to give smartass comments to the people that pay her living wage. No matter what 'you expect people to say, or what you hate people say', it doesnt make one ounce of difference. I'm sure her manager wouldve loved to know how she treated my friend. You dont want that 10%, dont make comments like that, its unnecessary, thats MY POINT.

I also work in the service industry in an upscale restaurant off the strip.

People that come in 5-10 mintues before the kitchen closes.
Old people who are old.
Low class pieces of shit who think their high class and think there better than everyone else in the restaurant, demanding 10 different mods, the menu is there for a fuckin reason, not for you to add some shit that needs to be tracked down for 10 mintues in the kitchen.
People who bring their own tea bags or milk/soda.
Bad tippers after u bust your ass.

I've worked in the service industry and love going out to eat, so I can see it from both sides.

Looking at it from the OP's perspective, yes, having your water glass full over the course of the meal is nice. That way you're never thursty and can always take a sip whenever you want. But, to suggest every table gets their own pitcher is pretty stupid because I don't think there are too many restaurants that have enough pitchers for every single table. Not to mention in most cases it's horribly tacky and just plain lazy. Also, if all you drink is water, then I can tell you that you're probably not going to get as much attention as the table next to you drinking beer/cocktails. It's not always intentional, but if a server is busy then the table with soft drinks or alcohol will always be a priority because 20% on your free water is still $0. Look at it from their perspective, it's just how it is.

As far as the check, yes, nobody likes to wait for a long time when they're trying to get out of there. But as many people have stated, it many restaurants, it's considered rude to directly drop the check after the meal is finished. Also, many people lack general restaurant know how/ettiquette, and don't put all their silverware horizontally on their plate when they are finished. This makes it difficult to tell if you are still eating or not. I don't know about you, but I'd rather wait a few minutes for my check, then feel like I'm rushed while I'm eating. Thats why most servers will wait and make sure you're done before asking to clear your plate. Again, its what they are trained to do and it's how it is. If you are in a hurry or want to get in and out, then just ask for your check when your food comes out. Otherwise, the server is just doing their job.

Random things I hate when I'm eating out:

- When the server doesn't introduce themself or make small talk before asking for a drink order.
- Appetizers or out first soups or salads that come on top of the meal. So annoying.
- If I can see the server standing around watching the game or something when I've asked for another drink or have dishes/glasses stacked on the table. It's called pre-bussing, not very hard.

Other than that, I'm like the most easy going guest ever and tip very well, especially when I get above average service.

Random things I hated when serving a table:

- As someone mentiond, when you ask "How are you?" and someone responds with "I'll have a large water"
- When there is table set up for 6 and 2 people sitting there and you approach the table and introduce yourself or whatever and somebody says, "We're waiting for 4 more." Well no shit, I'm not blind. Would you like me to not acknowledge you until they get here?
- Teenagers who don't tip and take up your section.
- When somebody finishes their first iced tea/lemonade/soda before you have even left the table with their order. Seriously, would you drink that much soda at home?
- People who order extra crispy pizzas or burgers well done and complain after ten minutes about how long their food is taking.

I dunno, I could go on forever, but generally lack of common courtesy or being just plain stupid is what sets most servers off and puts them in a bad mood, which generally leads to poor service. Just because someone is serving you, doesn't mean they are less of a person and deserve to be treated poorly.

I wait tables at an Old Chicago. I dont know how many people are familiar but our main thing is pizza and beer. Its a nice laid back environment but much like any corporate restaurant it is rules and standards out the ass. However through all of that and all the bullshit I put up with from customers on a day to day to basis I really do like waiting tables to help get me through college. These threads are always funny to me as 95% of the people bitching about the service industry have never waited tables in their life and just assume it is easy bullshit work.

Now I'm not saying Im working a high stress 60 hour a week job, at the end of the day I work 30-40 hours a week hang out with my friends at work and bring people food and beer, but you can bet your ass that with almost all of my tables I am busting my ass to make sure they are getting the best service possible, and I worked very hard to become a great server. I just hate being disrespected by customers, its not getting bad tips that frustrates me, its people snapping fingers to get my attention when I am talking to another table, or making a big scene about getting a side of ranch when they have watched me run in and out of the kitchen running food to a party of 25, or just people that come in and just start treating me like dog shit from the beginning.

I am going to stop because there are so many things that I could go off about, but in the end I get to wait on a lot of good people, hang out with my friends and make $500-$600 a week in college.