To all of the waiters, waitresses, carhops, and delivery drivers out there, I would like to give you all a shoutout for being so awesome and putting up with so many things that you should (in a world filled with decent people) not have to put up with. You are the epitome of patience even if you don't feel as if you were blessed with that virtue.
The truth is we have a lot of things that we want to say to people who get on our nerves. The fact that we struggle through the urges to rip into customers in the middle of their full course meal while we cater to their every need is, in fact, a testament to how patient we truly are.
To all of you customers out there, I would also like to give you a shout out for giving us the tools needed to learn and thrive in an environment where there is nothing but complaints and unappreciated work. While some servers may want to take that freshly made bowl of soup and serve it to your lap, we recognize the fact that you are unwittingly helping us to become better people.
Whether we admit it or not, we do in fact care about the customer experience at a restaurant and we want to make it the best experience possible for you and your company. What we get hung up on is when you do not take into account that we servers are in fact *gasp* human beings, too! Sometimes, you do something as simple as forget to say please or thank you, or something as drastic as tip us three cents after we do our best to make sure your wine glasses and rolls stay full throughout the evening.
The point is that waiters and waitresses (really anyone in the dining sector) are affected by what you do and say. Something as simple as saying please or leaving your table in a somewhat clean manner makes us appreciate what we do and makes us feel like we matter. We want to make sure that people have a wonderful experience. Every time we get met with complaints or rude comments or lack of any manners a little bit of that spark that we all have dies a little inside.
Not all of your servers are the great wonderful people that many of us are but there are a few bad apples in every bunch, right? Just know that we are doing our best and we want (and in some cases need) you to keep an open mind.
So next time you visit a restaurant (even a fast-food restaurant), say please and thank you. Understand that the people that are serving you want to feel appreciated, even if it's a small gesture.
