There are a large amount of people that work in the restaurant business. It's a good job to have, especially while going through school. However, it's not always sunshine and rainbows. Customers can be either the most awful human beings or so nice you never want them to leave. There are very rarely any in-between. They think all the job consists of is seating them and tending to their every need and that you should do this flawlessly and immediately. Here's everything you should understand before dining.
1. Bad tippers.
Okay, there is no excuse for this. Even if your server was the worst you've ever had, there's no excuse to give them no money at all. That's how they live. Not to mention, in some restaurants they have to share their tips with the bussers and the hosts. You're not only making them suffer, remember that.
2. Closed means closed.
Don't be this guy. We can't give you special privileges just because you didn't realize we closed five minutes ago and you've been in the parking lot for 20. We're sorry, rules are rules. By the time we've been closed for five minutes, all appliances to cook your food are off and people are leaving. Even if we wanted to let you in, you wouldn't be able to eat.
3. Wrong orders.
In case you hadn't noticed, I don't work in the kitchen. Hard to believe, I know. When I bring your food I don't know that it isn't cooked correctly or that it has mustard and you despise mustard. If there is something wrong with your food and I can see the mistake, I'm going to fix it. Yelling at me and telling me I need to fix it or that I did something wrong only makes the situation worse than it really is.
4. Yelling.
We don't know each other, so what makes you think it's okay to yell at me? I'm sure you wouldn't be very happy if I was walking over to check on you and I started screaming at you. I'm also sure the host at the front didn't appreciate you getting hateful and rude because you had to wait 15 minutes. That was completely out of their control. They have a system in which they have to do things just like I do. Don't question them and be rude. If they say there's a wait, there's a wait.
5. Sure, sit wherever you'd like.
Not. There is a system in which you are seated and when you want to move halfway across the restaurant, that messes the system up. Each server has their own section of tables and booths and those servers are in a rotation of who gets a table next to make things fair. You wanting to move to another server's section or to a closed one can put another server behind in waiting on you, and another behind in tables. We make accommodations for what you want to the best of our ability, but there is a limit.
Working in restaurant is incredibly difficult, and is even more difficult when people don't understand.
