Next Time, Serve All
I found a good Chinese Buffet. First time since before the pandemic. The second visit to a new to me restaurant is always a bit of a letdown. The food was as good as ever. The service was not.
As a single man I am accustomed to receiving bad service. Too many servers assume that I won't tip. There is no reason to reward poor service. A tip is a ballot. If you tip anyone sight unseen you are part of the problem.
I have more apathetic waiters than bad ones. In history I thought about writing a book about how to win over customers. Also- if you receive good service and do not tip- you are the problem.
I enjoy knowing there is tip worthy service within fifteen seconds. At this establishment I am my own food runner and the server brings drinks and clears away empty plates. Last time they did this simple task easily. It was my pleasure to tip. I enjoyed the composite experience.
领英推荐
This time I was ignored.There were large parties and they received all their attention. The bigger the bill, the bigger the gratuity. Since she was there, why not check on everyone in your section?
They never refilled my drink or even asked. Some servers hide until the absolute last second with a refill. Where were you twenty minutes ago? They also did not remove my dirty plates. I don't mind looking at a dirty dish. It shows they were not around and merely tolerated my presence.
I left before they could bring a fortune cookie. Seeing that other people were respected and I was disregarded- there was no reason to reward that service. They put all their faith in the other, larger parties. Obviously they did not want my money.
The experience was good otherwise so I shall return. Servers are hit or miss. I have gone to restaurants where there is a vibrant server and I am stuck in the section with a stiff. Seeing an exuberant server reminds me of the luck of draw. Why can't everyone do well? Every customer has the potential to tip. Never presume anyone is not going to make your shift worthwhile.
Senior Lecturer at University of Kentucky
2 年On a related note: On several recent occasions, and at more than one restaurant, the server has left our entrée plates on the table after bringing dessert. Did I miss a sea change in serving customs? Is this now a thing?
Independent Thinker and Writer
2 年Many years ago, I waited tables to fill in between my other (more rewarding) part-time jobs. Not discounting your clear point about the individual and sometimes prejudiced attitudes of wait staff, Thomas Jackson, I want to point out that every restaurant is different, even from one week to the next. And that has a lot to do with leadership vs. management vs. mismanagement. In your example, it sounds like neither good leadership nor good management were being practiced. I remember how well I fit into three small restaurants, where we had a true teamwork culture, so everybody took responsibility for the overall customer experience, we all helped and encouraged each other, and we shared tips at the end of each shift. Our energy, commitment, job satisfaction and tips were all excellent. In a couple of other, larger, restaurants, the managers only knew how to manage, kind of like leading from behind. The focus was on individual servers rushing customers through their meals and making their tables available for the next customer. Because of the managers pushing from behind instead of pitching in and encouraging the team, I didn't feel like a team member in those places. Same work, less energy, job satisfaction and tips.