One day I had an interesting discussion with another server about our position in the restaurant.
As servers, we are nothing more than couriers.
We order drinks, and bring the drinks that are made for us to the table. If the drink is not made correctly...well, I didn't make it. Would you like me to bring it back so the bartender can make you another one?
We order food, and we wait for the kitchen to make it. Then we bring it out. We don't cook it. We are not responsible for how it tastes. We are not responsible for the forgotten walnuts, or the extra peppers. We are only responsible for the delivery.
Do you yell at the postman when he brings bills? No, because he is only a courier. Why are you yelling at me about your overcooked steak?!? I only delivered it.
10 comments:
"We are not responsible for the forgotten walnuts, or the extra peppers. We are only responsible for the delivery."
YES YOU ARE if you can ****SEE**** they aren't there when you are taking it from the KITCHEN to OUR TABLE. Think about it. Let's say I order some dessert that has walnuts ON TOP that we can both PLAINLY SEE WITHOUT HAVING TO TOUCH THE FOOD TO SEE the nuts on top. Let's say I specifically ordered it with no walnuts. If you are my server, you should be telling the cook to redo the food and you should NEVER, EVER, BRING OUT OBVIOUS things wrong to a customer. You have to remember, it's NOT the "CUSTOMER'S JOB" to be reminding you if we can both SEE something is wrong or missing WITHOUT having to TOUCH the food. WHY did you write my order down then if you aren't going to care about the **FINAL RESULT**? I will give you an example? Just last saturday I ordered a burger that came with bleu cheese and substituted it with cheddar. I also ordered a side of ranch for my fries. The SAME WAITER that took my order comes out with NO ranch on the plate(SOMETHING MY SERVER SHOULD HAVE VERIFIED WAS NOT THERE) and my open-faced burger had white chunks of bleu cheese, NOT orange cheddar(another blantly OBVIOUS thing). I did NOT have to touch ANY OF MY FOOD WHAT-SO-EVER TO SEE THESE MISTAKES. Anything that is MISSING from the plate can usually be detected as not being there unless it is covered up by something.
So when you say "We don't cook it" and that "We are only responsible for the delivery" that is 100% FALSE. My server is responsible for getting the correct food to me as MUCH as they POSSIBLY CAN. A pickle under a bun can't be detected by my server, but a wrong side dish can such as if I order fries and you bring me potato salad. You can know if my entree is correct or not. Like if I order ribs, don't bring me a burger. It's like DUH! I HATE you attitude when you say " We are not responsible for the forgotten walnuts, or the extra peppers.", because if it's not covered up by anything and you can *********SEE***********they aren't there, it's on my server to fix the situation BEFORE they WASTE MY TIME coming to my table, make me repeat my order, go all the way back to the kitchen, come all the way back to my table.
IF THE CUSTOMER CAN SEE SOMETHING IS WRONG WITHOUT HAVING TO TOUCH OR TASTE THE FOOD, SO CAN MY SERVER!
Now, with someone else bringing out the food, that's a little different. If another server brings the food out, no you can't control if the food is wrong UNLESS you put in the order wrong to begin with, which has happened to my husband at Applebee's once. My husband ordered a burger and another server brought out baby back ribs. Our waitress admitted putting the order in wrong. So you can't blame the other server on this one.
All I am saying is take some RESPONSIBLITY for your customer's wait times. If you can catch the mistake in the kitchen area, you will save TRIPS back and forth and you will probably get a MUCH BETTER tip because the mistake didn't get to the customer as it would have if you didn't verify the written order with the plate of food.
You have to make sure the food and the written order matches as MUCH as you can without having to touch or taste the person's food. My server can see missing condiments, wrong side dishes, and wrong entrees if MY server that took MY order brings out my food. NO EXCUSES!
"Why are you yelling at me about your overcooked steak?!? I only delivered it."
I agree that 99.9% of the time steaks that are cooked wrong are NOT the fault of the server, but it CAN be. If the server presses "medium rare" instead of "medium well", well gee, you CANNOT BLAME THE COOK FOR THAT. The cook is ONLY going by the ticket. So you cannot ALWAYS put the blame on the cook for everything.
"As servers, we are nothing more than couriers."
NO, you AREN'T more than "couriers." Think about it. Let's say the mail man notices that they have in their hand a piece of mail that doesn't belong to you. Should the mail man IGNORE what they see and put it in your mailbox anyway or actually CARE about if what they are doing is correct or not? SO YOU ARE VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, WRONG!
Think about it logically. As a customer, do you want your server to take you a steak dish with fries when you ordered a steak with mashed potatoes? Wouldn't you MUCH RATHER be given the side dish you ordered? If you can SEE it's wrong, WHY would you be so stupid as to bring it out wrong? Don't you WANT a good tip?
One time at Denny's, you can substitute seasoned fries for 39 cents more instead of onion rings that come with miniburgers. As I was ordering, the waitress even reminded me that it was 39 cents more to add seasoned fries, which I had told her I knew about that already. She DID write down me and my husband's orders down. Anyway, SHE brings out the food. She hands me a plate with ONION RINGS ALL AROUND THE BURGERS. I have to tell her I had ordered seasoned fries. She takes the whole plate away. It comes back and they let me keep the onion rings and give me the fries. My burgers are cold by the time it comes back, but eat them anyway. My point is, WHY THE HELL WRITE THE ORDER DOWN IF YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE FINAL RESULT AS FAR AS OBVIOUS MISTAKES ARE CONCERNED? Don't you think a CARING waitress would have NOTICED I didn't have my correct side dish IN THE KITCHEN? SERVERS ARE *******NOT****** LIKE "COURIERS", because even "couriers" should look if they are delivering a package to the correct person at the correct address even and you feel you don't have to make sure the walnuts or extra peppers are there(as I said ONLY if it's NOT covered by something).
MY SERVER IS 100% RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING MY ORDER TO ME AT MY TABLE CORRECT AS THEY CAN POSSIBLY CAN! That means if I order a side of ranch, that if my server brings my food to me, they should be ***REREADING**** THEIR PAD OF PAPER THEY WROTE MY ORDER DOWN ON AND MAKING SURE ALL THE ITEMS ARE THERE THAT THEY CAN SEE WITHOUT HAVING TO TOUCH MY FOOD TO BE ABLE TO KNOW THAT SOMETHING IS MISSING ON MY PLATE.
I feel WHY WRITE THE ORDER DOWN IF MY SERVER ISN'T GOING TO CARE IF THE MY ORDER IS CORRECT OR NOT CONSIDERING THEY CAN NOTICE IF AT LEAST SOME THINGS ARE CORRECT OR NOT? My servers job IS to make sure they have the correct entree, correct side dish or dishes, and to make sure NOTHING is missing when they hand me my food. The customer's job is NOT to have to remind their server of something that is OBVIOUS is wrong.
"Do you yell at the postman when he brings bills? No, because he is only a courier."
I don't "yell" at my server for bringing me the wrong food nor do I yell at my mail man for bringing me the wrong mail. I do, however, feel the mail man can make sure they are delivering mail to the correct address instead of just putting things in the mail box without even VERIFYING ANYTHING just as a SERVER CAN DO! A server CAN NOTICE if walnuts are on top of ice cream as long as it's not covered up by anything. So NO, my server doesn't COOK or PREPARE the food, but at the same time, my server doesn't have to be uncaring and lazy that they can't COMPARE THE WRITTEN ORDER TO THE FOOD. My server CAN make sure at least SOME things are correct. WHAT is the "TIP" for if my server doesn't care if my food is obviously wrong? WHY should my server get a good tip for not REREADING the order they wrote down and comparing it to the plate of food, which is making ME have to repeat my order at the time you bring me my food. Also, it DOES make the server look like a complete IDIOT. Remember, ********WHO******** did I tell my order to and WHO'S tip is on the line? Did I tell the cook and does their income depend on customers? NO, I did tell my SERVER though. Maybe my server put everything in correctly into the computer, but the cook put beans instead of potato salad for my side dish on the plate. WHY tip someone well that is too lazy to REREAD my order BEFORE they take it to me? WHY tip someone well that DOESN'T CARE if the cook did their job correctly, therefore, it shows they MY SERVER DOESN'T CARE IF I HAVE MY CORRECT FOOD OR NOT? Why give someone a good tip to make me pissed off?
Remember, a "COURIER" STILL has to make sure they are taking the correct item or items to the correct address and correct person. Why do you think you get someone else's mail? It's NOT the sorters that sorted the mail that made you have a wrong piece of mail in your mailbox. It's the person that DELIVERS the mail that made that happen by NOT TAKING **NOTICE** SOMETHING WAS OBVIOUSLY WRONG. You have a VERY LAZY ATTITUDE AND VERY UNCARING ABOUT IF YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE HAPPY! Take CHARGE OF YOUR TIP AND MAKE SURE THE OBVIOUS THINGS ARE CORRECT! Correct entrees, correct side dishes, and most things that are missing CAN be detected by my server if they bring out my food to me. WHY WRITE IT DOWN IF YOU DON'T CARE IF THE FINAL RESULT IS CORRECT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN POSSIBLY TELL WITHOUT HAVING TO TOUCH OR TASTE THE PERSON'S FOOD TO SEE IF SOMETHING IS WRONG? Your attitude is LAZY! My SERVER IS RESPONSIBLE for missing condiments, wrong side dishes, and wrong entrees when they bring me my food.
Read this person’s blog, because it’s SOOOO TRUE!
http://www.red-shift.net/index.php?p=266
"Get the damn order right
Forgetful? Carry a frigging notepad and pencil! Strangely, it’s the upscale places that really seem to fuck this up. At the Chop House, a $40/pp steakhouse here in Denver, I’ve gotten sirloin tips when I ordered a steak, beef when I ordered buffalo, and mashed potatoes when I ordered rice."
"Would you eat it?
Look at the plate you’re about ready to take to the table. Does it match the order (you’ve got your notepad, right)? Does it look edible? I shit you not, an adult waitress at Chili’s served us salads with rotten lettuce."
I LOVE how he points out "YOU'VE GOT YOUR NOTEPAD, RIGHT?" It's SO RIDICULOUS THAT IF THE SAME SERVER BRINGS THE FOOD THAT TOOK THE ORDER WOULD BRING THE PLATE OF FOOD WITHOUT VERIFYING ANYTHING ON IT? It's STUPID of servers to just put 100% trust into the cooks that are getting paid a good wage per hour. Servers can PREVENT MOST missing items from getting to the customer if they CARED about their customers and their tip.
Read this:
http://www.mtsusidelines.com/media/paper202/news/2003/10/01/Opinions/Tips-Are.Earned.Rewards.Not.An.Ordained.Right-508957.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.mtsusidelines.com
"Never, ever take food out that is incorrectly done (I had a waitress rip me a new one for something I goofed up on as a cook and she demanded I fix it then and there - and she was right and I learned). Explain about and apologize for the delay."
See, this was a SMART waitress that cared about her tip and her customers to bring out the food as correct as she possibly could without having to TOUCH the person’s food to know something is wrong or not with it.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR CUSTOMER’S FOOD. NO, you don’t cook it, but you know what, you still can take NOTICE of OBVIOUS things wrong just as the customer can. I DID NOT HAVE TO TOUCH A THING WHEN MY MINI-BURGERS HAD ONION RINGS ON THE PLATE. I DID NOT HAVE TO TOUCH A THING WHEN MY OPEN-FACED BURGER HAD Bleu Cheese instead of Cheddar and that I didn’t’ have my ranch on the plate either. Can’t you see a server’s job IS to make sure the food that are taking to the table is correct as much as possible without having to touch the person’s food to notice the mistake? WHY should I tip someone well to WASTE MY TIME BY HAVING TO MAKE EXTRA TRIPS TO MY TABLE FOR OBVIOUS THINGS THEY COULD HAVE CAUGHT IN THE KITCHEN?
Wow - When I wrote this, I was merely sharing an encounter with another server.
Contrary to your belief, I am actually a good waitress. I write all of my frustrations out here because there are usually no other outlets for any of my comments.
I am not LAZY. Far from it. I am simply frustrated with many customers that I deal with on a daily basis.
As for the "forgotten walnuts or extra peppers" This quote came from several of our salads that have had complaints about these very things. And unless I picked the salad apart, I would not notice either item. I do everything that I can to ensure that a meal arrives at my customers table as ordered.
waitress4life
"As for the "forgotten walnuts or extra peppers" This quote came from several of our salads that have had complaints about these very things. And unless I picked the salad apart, I would not notice either item. I do everything that I can to ensure that a meal arrives at my customers table as ordered."
I AGREE COMPLETELY that if you would have to move around the salad to SEE the walnuts or peppers, there's NO WAY you'd know if the food was wrong. I was talking about things my server can SEE without having to touch the food. Just as the examples I made, I just was talking about OBVIOUS things. You can see if I don't have ranch or if I have onion rings instead of fries without having to touch anything.
It just got me mad that you were basically saying "We are only responsible for the delivery", because for A LOT of mistakes can be caught by my server. I am NOT saying all mistakes, just A LOT of them seem to be obvious that ends up coming to my table and I have to repeat my order when my food arrives with things that are really obvious that are wrong. It's just really frustrating. You may say not to go out to eat, but I do like going out to eat and really don't like cooking. I just want my food as right as it possibly can be from my server, that's all.
Every waitress strives to be sure all orders are correct on the way out of the kitchen- our paychecks depend on it! But when you are busy busy, and the cooks are hollering to move the plates, and your customers are starving, moving quickly sometimes overrides your thought process on the little details. You'd be amazed, dear customer, how many of your dinners were wrong and corrected in the kitchen without your ever knowing. The few that made it out the door incorrect were simply human nature- imperfection. If you've never waited tables in a busy restaurant, you should give it a try. You'd be amazed at how difficult it can be to please lots of people at once- no matter how adept, experienced, and hard-working you are, there's always somebody who was not pleased with something. You can't please all the people all the time.
To the first poster....all i can say is...good lord...rant much? You went on and on saying the same thing. It exhausted me reading it!
teal fucking dear. omg. get a life, springs1
oops, that's deer, not dear. still, get a life.
Springs1 is a retard and obviously has never worked the buisness before.... probably the same dick that has come in to places right before close and keeps everyone at work for an extra hour and a half. guarantee that with his attitude he has digested more then his fill of bodily fluids from the waitstaff and cooks the last 10 years.
This is still my favorite rant comment listing of all time. Springs1 just totally proved my point. I don't even need to say more - her attitude and obvious inability to play well with others, take a joke, or show compassion speaks for itself.
After years of going back and forth between waitressing jobs, I finally lost the passwords to this blog... But I haven't given up! Or lost my absolute desire to share the JOYS of the restaurant world!!
Join me on the blog I CAN access and will be updating (hopefully!!) far more frequently in the near future!!
It's great to be back... I really need to vent! Waitress4Life
waitressagan.blogspot.com
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