So, I have been working at a bar in my college town over the summer, and I absolutely love it, but there are also quite a few things that piss me off about the service industry. I am offering these to you so that you can have a better experience the next time you decide to go out, which seems a little backwards, but it leads me to my first point:
1. If you are a good customer, you will get better service
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This seems obvious, but a lot of people are actually pretty bad customers, even though it is so easy to be a good one. When I come to the table, be at least a little bit sociable, otherwise this is how this situation will play out:
"Hey folks! How are we doing today?"
"Uh, just water please."
"Okay, guess I'll go f**k myself, then."
Additionally, it is not difficult to look at me and respond to a simple, "are we all doing alright here?" when I return to the table a few minutes later. If you are communicating with me what you need, I can actually know what to get you, (since I can't, you know, read minds) and that, in turn, makes your experience better! What a concept!
2. If you snap your fingers at me, you can guarantee I will automatically be pissed off
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Chances are, I was probably just about to get to your table within the next two minutes. Your snapping fingers make me not want to get there for at least ten. Snapping your fingers tells me that 1. you're kind of inconsiderate of other customers and 2. you're almost wholly concerned with yourself and your plans. Look, I get it, you need to be somewhere, your plans are important, and it is my job to help you, but if your plans are so set in concrete that you can't wiggle in two minutes here or there, don't come into a restaurant during lunch rush.
3. Unless you want your order to be taken incorrectly, please don't mumble
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This one is obvious. I am not going to ask you seven times what your order is if I can't hear you because I simply don't have the time. I'm going to just write down my best guess on the first try, repeat it back to you, and hope that I am correct.
4. Please don't just shout your order at me
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When I am at your table trying to write down what everyone wants to eat, it doesn't do too well to tell me what you want when I still haven't written down the last order. I have a pretty good memory and can probably get it down, but then I have to backtrack to the previous customer if there is any special instructions for their order like, breaded or grilled chicken? What kind of dressings for the salad? Are french fries okay with that or would you like a different side?
5. Clean up after yourself at least a little bit
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I say this mostly for people that work in small bars and restaurants that have to bus and clean their own tables, because it is a huge hassle. Unless you are under the age of 10 when you come in to eat and leave a giant mess all over the table, I am going to have such a gross impression of you when I go to clean it off. Especially if it over lunch rush, the last thing I want to do is have to take five minutes to clear off your table when you could have easily just put your silverware and napkins on your plate instead of leaving everything thrown all over. It doesn't need to be spotless, just enough so that I can mostly just grab plates and run them back to the kitchen quickly.
6. If you have an uncommon drink order and I haven't served you before, explain what that is
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Yes, I am serving as a bartender/server. No, I don't know what a reverse-pressed backwards is. However, if you tell me that it's just your liquor topped with 7-Up and a splash of water, I can make that. It makes service a lot quicker as well because I can just make it immediately after entering into the system instead of asking another bartender, or even worse, Googling it. This one is just bothersome with the amount of people have told me to "just get another bartender to make my [very easy] drink".
7. Cash tips make your server happier than a credit card tip
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I say this for two reasons. The first being that a cash tip means I get to leave work with cash in hand at the end of my shift. The other, and probably most prevalent, reason, is that I am not required by my employer to claim all of my cash tips (I do have to claim most, though). This is huge for someone who doesn't even make minimum wage, yet still has to pay full tax on tips. Which leads me to the final thing I want to say to customers.
8. Leave me a decent tip
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This has become my biggest peeve since beginning my job. A gratuity is defined as monies given over and above payment for service, as to a waiter or taxicab driver and a 20 percent gratuity is the MINIMUM amount of tip you should leave your server even if they weren't very good. If you want to show your server that you appreciate the work that they have done, give them a larger tip. I will make this so much easier for you to know how much to tip right now. For every $5 that your bill is, you add $1 in tip. MINIMUM. If you cannot afford to pay at least that in tip, don't go out to eat. Simple as that. That is a point I am wholeheartedly set upon. Servers remember the people who are terrible tippers, and will, most of the time, not put in as much effort to give you decent service when they know you're only going to leave $2 on a $40 tab. Where I work, everyday after the lunch rush, we print out our tip report of credit cards that shows the percentage of tips to sales, and in the three and a half months I have been working there, that percentage has never been over 12 percent. Twelve. Percent. I also realize that I have a kind of privilege in that I am paid $6 an hour, which is the highest I have ever heard of a server being paid, but that is still $2.55 below the minimum wage in South Dakota, and I am trying to live off of that and trying to save money for the future.
Look, I love my job, I love everyone else that I work with, and I love the customers that come in. Every day that I work, I get to talk with people who are everyday regulars, people from the community, and people who are just strolling through. And every conversation that I have gives me a little bit of a window into what makes people tick and how everyone deals with this crazy life journey. But honestly, sometimes it seems like people suck because of tiny things like these that they might not even realize they're doing. I just thought letting the world know about some of my frustrations might help some customers improve themselves, and give my brothers and sisters in serving some solace. Now, have a great day, and thanks for stopping in!
