Have you ever thought about what it is like to be a server? Or even considered what it is your server is thinking while taking care of you? Well, just like you, we are human and aren't really thinking about the extra lemon you asked to have with your water.
Try smiling while balancing a tray of ten drinks, some bread and plates all in one hand with a salad in one hand, then leaving the kitchen to find out you have two more tables on top of the party of eight and table of four you had just a second ago, all while trying to remember what exactly it is you have to do for your term project due at midnight.
At the end of your restaurant experience, try to think who it was that wiped down your plates, got ice so your water would be cold, who had to prep all of your meals, and who fought for that last roll in the basket so you could snack while you waited for your food. The server taking care of you does more than you think and it's about time people start realizing that.
1. First off, we are humans just like you, and we expect to be treated so.
Just because we are working a job that is intended to cater to your needs does not mean you can belittle us or act rude. We treat everyone with care and respect and only want to be respected.
2. We drop everything in our lives to make sure you have a good night out.
We don’t have the ability to call out of work when something comes up in our lives. Our best friend just died, our mom is in the hospital — sorry, you need to come into work. We work under all kinds of conditions so that we’ve become pretty great at hiding our emotions. We are not pretending to be nice to you; we are just doing our job.
3. We often work sick.
Being that we don’t actually get any benefits for sick days because we make less than $3 an hour, calling out sick means you’re going to be short on rent or you can’t buy groceries for the week. We count on the tips we make to pay our bills, and calling out sick is never accounted for.
4. We don’t keep 100 percent of our tips.
So many times I’ve seen people claim that leaving 15 percent is already too much. A waitress is responsible for tipping out everyone involved in the team (bartender, food runner, busser, etc). By not tipping at all, we are paying for you to eat at our table. By tipping just enough, you are helping me pay the rest of the team.
5. We see you trying to get our attention.
Yes, it is very important to us that you enjoy your stay and everything goes seamlessly. However, when we are with another guest, we are not going to go out of our way to see what it is that has you wiggling in your seat.
6. We don’t mind if you take your time.
When ordering, read everything carefully and be sure you know what you want. Having to change your order after it’s already been sent to the kitchen is a pain in the butt. The chefs have already begun prepping plates and figuring out how to time everything just right. We’d prefer you be happy with your decision.
7. Answer us when we ask you a question.
When we ask you how you’re doing or if you need anything, let us know. Staring at us until we walk away is in no way helpful or respectful. We are letting you know that we aren’t busy and have the time to get you refills, extra cheese, an extra fork and so on. Waiting until we are busy with another costumer is not the time to ask us for something. Yes, it is our job, but we try to give each guest the same care, and continuously going back and forth from your table changes the quality of our service for others.
8. This isn’t a career choice.
Many of us are in school or are only waiting tables to pick up extra cash for bills on the side. We are waitressing mainly because the hours are flexible. It is very likely that we’ve spent all day at work or school and most likely haven’t even had the chance to eat dinner ourselves.
There is a lot that goes into serving to make sure the guests have a good experience, and we want to do everything we can to guarantee that happens. However, we are human. We have bad days, we come in feeling like the plague hit us. Some days we know that even at the end of the night we will be short on paying the bills because some ass decided to walk out on their bill. We work hard every night we come in to work, whether you tip us or not.
