Just in time for the weekend...50 things servers hate

I disagree with Bill. Manners matter. Think about Lindsay's customers from the other week. By that logic if they hadn't walked out on their check their behavior would have been totally acceptable. No way.

I have sat here silent ...I have only worked in the business for a very short while in college...but as a nurse if I spoke of my patients with the mean spirited way the servers have spoken of their customers I would have been fired.
Makes me question staying on this forum.

The only things that might be interpreted as mean spirited had to come from that article. But everyone has issues with their work environment. If there was an article titled "50 Things Doctors do to Annoy Nurses" I'm sure you would have a lot to say. It's more about how people interact with each other in certain situations rather than bitching about their jobs.

Sorry it has taken me a while to respond to everyones comments and I accept the points given...I know everyone complains about their jobs...I was just feeling yesterday that ,maybe wrongfully so, servers would just as soon not be bothered with customers. I love eating out, and now I feel that the very people that are so key to my having a good experience are in some cases judging me as I walk in the door based on if I am with a group of women or with my husband,who never decides the tip by the way, just puzzleing.

I disagree with Bill. Manners matter. Think about Lindsay's customers from the other week. By that logic if they hadn't walked out on their check their behavior would have been totally acceptable. No way.

Jeremy- You are correct that manners matter, but Lindsay's extreme example aside, almost every successful business overlooks relatively minor breaches in good manners from paying customers. I bet you do it every day.
BP

Sorry it has taken me a while to respond to everyones comments and I accept the points given...I know everyone complains about their jobs...I was just feeling yesterday that ,maybe wrongfully so, servers would just as soon not be bothered with customers. I love eating out, and now I feel that the very people that are so key to my having a good experience are in some cases judging me as I walk in the door based on if I am with a group of women or with my husband,who never decides the tip by the way, just puzzleing.

Well I don't serve anymore, but speaking for myself when I did serve, I always gave everyone the benefit of the doubt. Everyone is going to find things to bitch to their co-workers about, but I always tried to reserve judgement until I was actually serving someone.

No one likes dealing with a douche. Whether it's a customer, friend of a friend, distant relative or person sitting at the next table you want to reach out and bitch slap for treating the server like an indentured servant.

No one likes dealing with a douche. Whether it's a customer, friend of a friend, distant relative or person sitting at the next table you want to reach out and bitch slap for treating the server like an indentured servant.

Word....

I love it when customers/guests let servers do their thing (y'know first they get your drinks, then they tell you the specials, then they bring the appetizers, etc).

I also love it when servers can read my mind
(Servers that read body language, are intuitive, remember my drink order or my favorite sauce)

Great servers possess super powers that will never save the world.

For instance:

Super Hearing: A server that can hear your plates hit the pass before they hear the kitchen yell their name or the server that somehow overhears just enough of your conversation from across the room to recognize that you just whispered to your friend that a a little extra bread would make dinner perfect.

Super Memory: Somehow your server remembers your name, drink, allergies, & favorite meal (including the temp on your steak) amidst the hundreds of other customers they serve.

Super Resilience to Heat Inflicted Pain: The server holding the hot plates while you move your cell phone from the dining area would have suffered serious burns and blistering in any other profession.

Super Reflexes: The fast on their feet ballet dancer of a server who dodges children and chairs while balancing heavy plates and glassware over your head or the server who somehow just caught the glass that slipped from the top of the bar.

The Telepathic Server: The server that brings you something (drink, dish, sample, etc) and says "I know you'll enjoy this" and 99% of the time they are right on the money

just thought i'd chime in as well

Shawn

I've said it to salted servers. If you don't like your job, get a new one. There is venting, and there is venting with venom. Don't take an article from SF weekly and throw it at us. If we smile when we see you whether we know you or not, it doesn't mean we have some hidden bitching agenda lurking underneath. Sorry to break it to you, but i'm made to understand you'd like to hear from our side. So hear it is. I like my job. Sorry. I've tried other ones....I LIKE MY JOB. I f/n smile when I don't wannna, and when I've got tons of orders to put up in the rain, and I refer people to other restaurants that I know can give them want they want re: catering or large parties. But when it comes down to it....I LIKE MY JOB. Used to be it was a respected profession. And btw, it doesn't involve child care, it just really suits me best.