When you work in a restaurant as a server, hostess or even manager, you have come across so many different people during your time of working. I have only been a server for 7 months now but I have come across people I never thought I would ever interact with. I both love it and hate it. If you are a server then I know that you have come across one, if not all, of these people.
1. The restaurant regulars.
They are the people who probably have been coming to eat at your restaurant since its creation. They sit at the exact same table or booth every time they come to eat and you are on a first name basis with them. The restaurant regulars are usually very nice and you like serving them because it's always a guaranteed tip, however, they love to tell you about all of their business and sometimes they hold you up when you have other tables to serve.
2. The person who needs a refill every 5 seconds.
This person is unknowingly annoying. Usually, servers are trained to get the customer a refill when they see that their glass is about 1/3 empty. Refilling a drink, of course, isn't hard work, but it does become a tedious task when you have a full section of tables and Thirsty McThirster has guzzled down 6 Diet Cokes before their appetizer has hit the table.
3. The people/person who lingers at the table after you've closed them out.
There are two instances where a person like this is hella annoying. 1. On a busy night when you're trying to flip as many tables as you can quickly 2. When they are your last table of the night but you can't leave until they leave. When it's a slow night in the restaurant, sometimes, a person can get away with doing this because usually the server has other open tables that other customers can sit in. However, if its a Friday or Saturday night when a server usually has a full section and the restaurant is on a waitlist, having someone linger for far too long can potentially jeopardize the servers potential to make money.
4. The person who doesn't read the menu.
I have to admit that my Dad is like this and it drives me INSANE when we go out to eat and he's asking our server a million questions that could easily be answered if he just read the goddang menu! I get it, reading is something people hate doing, but I promise, if this person just read the menu that is right in front of their face it would help their dining experience exponentially.
5. The person who wants to talk to the manager.
When I'm asked if I could go get the manager by a table, I automatically get insane anxiety. It doesn't even matter if I know that I'm giving great service, it's just something about having to get manager is nerve-wrecking. When I tell my manager that I have a table that wants to talk to them, they usually ask me, "What's wrong?" or "What did you do?" and when my response is "I don't know," I know it doesn't look too bright for me in their eyes. Thankfully, it's usually never bad when the person wants a manager and they might very well be making your manager be aware of how great of a server you are. But I'm sure we can all agree that that 1 minute of manger-table interaction is pure mind torture.
6. The person who doesn't let you introduce yourself before trying to order.
I'll try to keep this short. This person is just plain rude. This type of person in a restaurant usually doesn't look at their server as a human being, but rather someone that's there to wait on them hand and foot. Don't be this person.
7. The person who doesn't tip.
This person is the worst kind of human being to all servers everywhere. I always, always say that if you don't have money to tip then you don't have money to eat out. Whatever your opinions are of tipping, just know that for servers to survive and make a living we depend on every tip that we make. The average server makes around $2.13 an hour that we never see in a check because it goes back to taxes. I find it hard to sympathize with someone who doesn't tip because at this point it's common knowledge the struggle that servers have to endure. If you are ever confused on how much to tip, then here's a simple guide: the average tip amount should be 15% of your subtotal bill, 20% or more for phenomenal service and maybe 10% if you have had service that was not up to par with standard.
8. The person who over-tips.
This person is usually a server or was a server themselves and they understand. Or, sometimes this person just truly knows that the service industry is a hard industry to work in and they try their best to help their server in the way that they can. If you are this type of person, I just want you to know that you are beautiful, loved and fully appreciated by all servers everywhere. Please keep being you and being great.
