Attitude

It's been a while since I wrote last...and for that I apologize. It's been crazy lately with starting school and such. But now that I have my schedule under control I should be able to write more frequently.

   

  Today let's talk about attitude. You can go into life with a good attitude or a bad attitude. It shows. As servers/hostesses we can tell when you have a bad or good attitude. We can't always tell why..you could just be having a bad day. But taking it out on us, well we will just assume that you are a mean person. I was watching a TV show the other day and it was described like this. A circle of screaming. Someone screams at your boss who screams at you, then you scream at the next available person under you...say an assistant, a spouse, or a server. Okay, maybe not a circle. But you get the point. This is giving people the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes people just have bad days. But some people are just plain mean. If you are mean to us, you're quality of service will go down. It's not a good thing, but if you are unpleasant to be around and/or deal with, we will want to spend the least amount of time possible dealing with you.
     However, attitude is a two way street. Sometimes we as waitstaff have bad attitudes. Maybe we have had a bad day, or dealt with a mean costumer before you. But that is no reason to have a bad attitude and take it out on you. Sometimes, you're bad attitude can trigger ours. Sometimes it's the other way around. In short, try to be conscious of you're attitude, and don't take it out on us, and we won't take it out on you.

What is the worst experience you've had with a server with an attitude problem....or as a server with a customer?

Quick Note......

I'm not sure how many people are reading this blog.....but to those who are, leave comments! I would love you're input on you or a friends restauaunt experiance (dining or working), and spelling errors I made-I'll admit right now I'm not good at spelling, bring on the grammar nazis!. Let me know what you think of this blog, so I can make it better.

-  Hostess-with-the-mostess

Where you're sat and things like that

Resteraurants generally have different sized tables, for small, medium, and big parties. And they're that way by design. Not only does it save space, but it makes things easier on the wait staff.

 

 Another one of my pet peeves as a hostess is when people don't sit where they're sat. If it's slow, and there's lots of four-top tables open, go ahead and ask. But if it's a busy night or there's only one or two four-tops open, just sit where you're sat. Unless you are very, very uncomfortable, just stay. Whats worse, however, is when people try to justify moving to a larger table....for me. Things like "Well you're obviously not very busy", "Well I was here first and I don't see any larger parties" or "We'll eat enough for four!(although it may be true)" just piss us off. You are then labled as unpleasant....and I'll probably tell the rest of the staff. The absolute worst is when people decide that because they cannot sit at a larger table, they can no longer eat at the restauraunt. Working in a small restauraunt, things can get pretty hectic durring busy season. As hard as we try, we can't always accomadate everything and everyone. Sure, I would love to move you to a bigger table, and if I can I will. But just like we teach our children, throwing temper tanturms will not get you anywhere. If you really want to piss me(and I'm sure many hostesses/hosts around the globe) off however, go over mom's head when she says no and ask dad. In other words, when we say no, asking the servers. I've had more than a couple people walk out half way through a meal (after paying of course, but not finishing their meal) on busy, and somewhat busy, nights. In my mind, they are just spoiled brats who through a temper tantrum becuase they didn't get what they wanted. In short, I will do my best to give you the most comfortable, pleasant dining experiance possible, but don't make a big ordeal out of where you're sat. Just go with the flow.

And so we begin.....

Every night at work my coworkers and I gripe and moan about crazy customers, and share stories about those who touched our hearts. We spend the better part of an hour laughing our butts off, sharing our stories from the night. So I figured that if we found the actions (conscious or not) of these people so funny, others might too. Thus I ended up here, sharing my stories and others, and hopefully making the world of wait staff a better place. Let's start with one of my biggest pet peeves as a hostess.....

I work in an upscale restauraunt. We don't require collared shirts and closed toed shoes, but ratty pants and t-shirts are a big no-no. Now, living in a town where more people vacation than actually live full time, I understand just getting out of the car after a five hour trip and wanting nothing more than to eat and then get to bed. But please, please don't bring you're children into the restauraunt in their P.Js!! I even had one family with four kids come in, the three older kids in their pjs, and the youngest one in nothing more than a t-shirt and diaper! I was appalled, but since we don't have a set dress code, or at least not that I was informed of, there was nothing I could do. Honestly, no matter the restauraunt, be it burgers or caviar, you should not let your children (or yourself for that matter) come in p.j.s.