Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Heath Ledger is an excellent tipper
We had a brush with celebrity greatness tonight...or celebrity hotness at any rate. The next Batman movie is currently filming in Chicago and as such we have had a few stars in our midst. Making his second trip to the restaurant, Mr. Ledger had the ladies (and the gays) in quite a tizzy. Within minutes the word spread that, "Heath Ledger is sitting in 311!" Also within minutes the side station two booths away had roughly 15 servers in - all doing outrageous things like polishing glasses and sorting papers so that they could look busy while gawking at our celebrity friend. Mind you this side station usually has about 2 to 5 people in it at a time. Like all gossip the news spread fast and soon we were all making excuses to walk past the booth and bask in his beautiful celebrity. "Oh my God, he took his hat off!" "He's eating ribs!" I felt the need to call my mother from the to-go room (and if any of my managers are reading this I assure you that I clocked out, made the phone call, and then clocked back in) to frantically shout at her, "Heath Ledger is here and he's eating ribs and he has beautiful skin!" I later laughed about this with a coworker only to find out she had text basically the same thing to her sister and several of her friends. And everyone wants to be the person waiting on the hot celebrity. "I don't know what I'd do...I'd swoon!" is what one coworker told me. Another paced the kitchen waiting for the ticket to come up so that he could personally deliver the food. "It's not fair, why didn't I get that table," was muttered several times from the side stations. And as you can imagine there were more than a few vulgar references made to inviting Mr. Ledger out back to recreate his famous Brokeback Mountain tent scene. Once he left we all wanted to know what tip he left. "Is he a good tipper?" "Did he hook it up?" The server at 311 was happy to report that Mr. Ledger left 30 on 70. Well done Heath Ledger - you are pretty and polite.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Is this the only menu?
Recently a woman asked me, "Michael, is this the only menu? Because I don't want any of this." There are roughly 50 different things you can order off of our dinner menu, but apparantly none of these looked enticing to said woman. "Sorry mam," I replied, "but that's the only menu we have." "You don't have any smaller steaks or maybe some other salads?" "Honestly no, though I would be happy to help you with a recommendation or we can also make most items to order if you have a food alergy or special request." She thought about this for a moment, and then further committed herself to the interrogation. "Yes, that's nice. But I'd really like a 10oz new york strip." "We do have a 16oz new york mam. As well as a 10oz ribeye and an 8oz filet." "You're not listening to me! I said I want a 10oz new york!"
what?
No Madam, it is you who is not listening to me. This bizarre scenario is one that plays out on a near daily basis while waiting tables. There are those guests who seem to think that if they ask a question multiple times, slightly rephrasing it each time, that they will somehow trick the server into giving them the answer they want to hear. I think that I was eventually supposed to reply, "you know what...we do have a 10oz new york strip, I just remembered!" Or perhaps I was supposed to reward her for her tenacity by presenting her with the secret expanded menu we only offer to the most clever of guests. These guests are tricky. If I take the bait and begin to argue I can usually say goodbye to a portion of my tip. I also have the option of giving in to whatever the outrageous request might, thus inviting the anger and disdain of the kitchen. What I want to say is, "no mam, there is no other menu. There are no other steaks and we will not be making you any special requests tonight because we have no reason to do so." Instead I politely offer a variety of my favorite dishes with the assurance that if they are not to her liking I will be more than happy to ask my manager to comp the dish accordingly. Suprisingly enough seeking out the "secret menu" usually goes hand in hand with a great love for comps and free meals.
Please do not ask us the same question eight times. And please do not expect us to cook a dish the way you cook it at home. If your meatloaf is so delicious perhaps you should have had your friends over to your house to eat it. And if you don't like steak than don't go out to eat at a steakhouse. Apply common sense to your dining out choices. Most restaurants now have their menu online. Do a little research before eating out - choose a restaurant that comfortably fits your price range and one that offers a variety of choices to your liking. And please try to remember that your server did not write the menu and he does not cook your food. He serves it you.
what?
No Madam, it is you who is not listening to me. This bizarre scenario is one that plays out on a near daily basis while waiting tables. There are those guests who seem to think that if they ask a question multiple times, slightly rephrasing it each time, that they will somehow trick the server into giving them the answer they want to hear. I think that I was eventually supposed to reply, "you know what...we do have a 10oz new york strip, I just remembered!" Or perhaps I was supposed to reward her for her tenacity by presenting her with the secret expanded menu we only offer to the most clever of guests. These guests are tricky. If I take the bait and begin to argue I can usually say goodbye to a portion of my tip. I also have the option of giving in to whatever the outrageous request might, thus inviting the anger and disdain of the kitchen. What I want to say is, "no mam, there is no other menu. There are no other steaks and we will not be making you any special requests tonight because we have no reason to do so." Instead I politely offer a variety of my favorite dishes with the assurance that if they are not to her liking I will be more than happy to ask my manager to comp the dish accordingly. Suprisingly enough seeking out the "secret menu" usually goes hand in hand with a great love for comps and free meals.
Please do not ask us the same question eight times. And please do not expect us to cook a dish the way you cook it at home. If your meatloaf is so delicious perhaps you should have had your friends over to your house to eat it. And if you don't like steak than don't go out to eat at a steakhouse. Apply common sense to your dining out choices. Most restaurants now have their menu online. Do a little research before eating out - choose a restaurant that comfortably fits your price range and one that offers a variety of choices to your liking. And please try to remember that your server did not write the menu and he does not cook your food. He serves it you.
Monday, August 27, 2007
My first post
Recently on a trip to see family in California I was turned onto the world of blogging and the amazing online communities that exist by my cousin, whose blog, Mom Writes (http://marytsao.blogspot.com/) eloquently shares with us the ins and outs of motherhood. Reading her blog helped put at ease preexisting animosity towards blogs, after having the details of a relationship once broadcast in an ex's blog. Call me crazy, but I was uncomfortable with people knowing what we did the night before or how well our sex life was going - though it was somewhat of a boost to the ego to have everyone know it was going well. Nonetheless, I am now inspired to create a blog of my own, one that will share with the you the magic that is waiting tables. And what better place to start than the beginning...
I wait tables at a busy downtown restaurant in Chicago - one of the busiest in the city actually. And this is my first time working in a restaruant. It's been a lot of trial by fire, but a year and two months into the job I can safely say that I am one hell of a waiter and I have learned a few things about the restaurant industry. It has now become my mission to share my stories with others - there is so much that people don't realize about the restaurant business - how the money works, where your tip actually goes, the hierarchy of support staff, and so on and so on. It is my hope that as people learn more about the ins and outs of restaurants they will also come to see that the people working in them are just that - PEOPLE. We are not mindless servatrons programmed to bring your food and drink devoid of human emotion. We actually have feelings that can be hurt just as we are also capable of making your night out either the best or the worst you've had. So, as my posts progress I will share with you why your server does what he/she does and what you can do as a customer to keep from receiving poor service. But more fun for me, I will share with you some of my favorite tableside moments - the ones that constantly remind me of how much raw emotion is always at play at the table - and how your server is always in the middle of it.
For starters....
I recently waited on a family from Detriot - Mom, Dad, Daughter, Son, and Son's Roommate. It became clear over the course of the meal that Mom and Dad were seeing off Son to his first year of college and this was to be their Last Supper before he ran off to a night of binge drinking and partying til dawn. I listened as they reminded Son and Roommate not to spend all their money right away and to be responsible. There was talk of what classes they would be taking and what extracuricular activities sounded interesting. Finally, after Son finished his last bite, they were off in a flash (no doubt to begin the binge drinking). I came back to the table with dessert as Mom dabbed her eye with her napkin. "You're saying goodbye to a child for the first time aren't you," I asked. "Yes," Mom replied, "and I'm trying not to lose it." I relayed to them some of my own college exploits and impressions on leaving my parents for the first time. "He'll have so many stories to tell you when he comes home," I told them. "I hope so!" chimed in Dad. "And even more to that he won't tell you," I joked. "Even better," Dad echoed. I like this Dad. He is ready for his little boy to get into some trouble and have a few wild nights away at school. I assured them that even though their son was chomping at the bit to get out of the restaurant things would change in the next few months. "Give him time. Come Thanksgiving he'll realize how much he loves you and how lucky he is to have parents that let him go away to school." Mom and Dad thanked me for the conversation and I wished them well on their trip back to Michigan. As they left the restaurant I reminded myself how lucky I am to be a part of such moments. After all the walk outs and rude guests there are countless times such as these in which servers become part of another person's most vulnerable and intimate moments. Thank you for letting us see you like that. Don't ever apologize to your server for these moments either. We'd rather watch you cry as you say goodbye to someone than have you explain to us why after eating an entire meal it was unsatisfactory. Keep them coming and help us remember that we are not defined by what we do - we are people just like you.
I wait tables at a busy downtown restaurant in Chicago - one of the busiest in the city actually. And this is my first time working in a restaruant. It's been a lot of trial by fire, but a year and two months into the job I can safely say that I am one hell of a waiter and I have learned a few things about the restaurant industry. It has now become my mission to share my stories with others - there is so much that people don't realize about the restaurant business - how the money works, where your tip actually goes, the hierarchy of support staff, and so on and so on. It is my hope that as people learn more about the ins and outs of restaurants they will also come to see that the people working in them are just that - PEOPLE. We are not mindless servatrons programmed to bring your food and drink devoid of human emotion. We actually have feelings that can be hurt just as we are also capable of making your night out either the best or the worst you've had. So, as my posts progress I will share with you why your server does what he/she does and what you can do as a customer to keep from receiving poor service. But more fun for me, I will share with you some of my favorite tableside moments - the ones that constantly remind me of how much raw emotion is always at play at the table - and how your server is always in the middle of it.
For starters....
I recently waited on a family from Detriot - Mom, Dad, Daughter, Son, and Son's Roommate. It became clear over the course of the meal that Mom and Dad were seeing off Son to his first year of college and this was to be their Last Supper before he ran off to a night of binge drinking and partying til dawn. I listened as they reminded Son and Roommate not to spend all their money right away and to be responsible. There was talk of what classes they would be taking and what extracuricular activities sounded interesting. Finally, after Son finished his last bite, they were off in a flash (no doubt to begin the binge drinking). I came back to the table with dessert as Mom dabbed her eye with her napkin. "You're saying goodbye to a child for the first time aren't you," I asked. "Yes," Mom replied, "and I'm trying not to lose it." I relayed to them some of my own college exploits and impressions on leaving my parents for the first time. "He'll have so many stories to tell you when he comes home," I told them. "I hope so!" chimed in Dad. "And even more to that he won't tell you," I joked. "Even better," Dad echoed. I like this Dad. He is ready for his little boy to get into some trouble and have a few wild nights away at school. I assured them that even though their son was chomping at the bit to get out of the restaurant things would change in the next few months. "Give him time. Come Thanksgiving he'll realize how much he loves you and how lucky he is to have parents that let him go away to school." Mom and Dad thanked me for the conversation and I wished them well on their trip back to Michigan. As they left the restaurant I reminded myself how lucky I am to be a part of such moments. After all the walk outs and rude guests there are countless times such as these in which servers become part of another person's most vulnerable and intimate moments. Thank you for letting us see you like that. Don't ever apologize to your server for these moments either. We'd rather watch you cry as you say goodbye to someone than have you explain to us why after eating an entire meal it was unsatisfactory. Keep them coming and help us remember that we are not defined by what we do - we are people just like you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)