Terminology

Ok, I want you all to study these terms...there will be a quiz next week. :) Just kidding!

In the weeds = Servers use this term when they have so much to do and they get behind and can't seem to get caught up...therefore you are "in the weeds".

86 = "We're 86'd ranch dressing!" ---it just means that the kitchen ran out of ranch dressing, or anything else that could potentially run out.  

Slammed = Extremely busy in the restaurant and generally this is when every table is taken and there is now a wait to sit down and eat. 

Pop = Used to describe a busy spurt, not necessarily "slammed" but busy enough. :)

Canadians = This is used to describe people who tip bad.  They could really be Canadian though, which is where the term originated because Canadians generally don't tip well. 

Stiffed = This means that you received next to nothing from a table...usually the change that they don't want.   

There are others but these ones are used the most...if anyone can think of anything else feel free to let me know in your comments!

Happy, Happy Birthday...

Singing 'Happy Birthday' to one of my guests is always humiliating.  How ironic that EVERY table that served yesterday had a birthday!  At least I have my fellow co-workers beside me when I'm doing it.  Everything about it is no good.  It's not your traditional birthday song, and whenever we have to do it at work we have to hoot and holler and pretend like we're excited it's your birthday.  The thing is, it's almost as humiliating for the guest because more than likely one of their friends pulled me aside and asked me to do something special for "the kid in the white shirt" because it's their birthday.  

Here are ways to make it less awkward...join in and sing with us! Hoot and holler yourselves!  It's always better when the whole table gets involved, or even parts of the restaurant!  So, let's make a deal: you sing along with us the next time you're out for a birthday celebration-and I'll make sure that we at least all clap on rhythm and all sing in the same key.    

It happens to the best of us

It was a busy night, every table in my section was taken and two of the tables sat down at the same time.  Being double or even triple sat can be one of the most stressful occurrences for a server.  It's easy for me to picture the two separate tables as one big table...getting all the drink orders and appetizers in at the same time.  One time however, I forgot to put the order in for one of the tables.  It's one of those things that you don't really know how it happened because you remember writing everything down.  I kept walking by the table you know to make sure that their drinks were full and going back to the kitchen to make sure that their food was on the line.  Once 20 minutes had passed I then realized that I had not put the order in.  I panicked.  Not only did I forget, but I also threw away the slip that I had used to write down their order.   

As embarrassing as it was I walked up to my table and in the most apologetic way possible explained that I had forgotten to put their order in and that I also forgot what they had even ordered.  I of course was expecting the worst possible reaction but to my surprise they were very patient and didn't even complain.  I lucked out, they even left me a decent tip.  

It happens to the best of us...

Tipping Etiquette

How much should you leave as a tip when you dine out?  Everyone's opinion is different when it comes to this.  I'll let you know out right that my opinion is biased because of the fact that I am a waitress.  I know plenty of people however that don't waitress and feel the same as I do.  Here is a breakdown of how you should tip your server. 

It's really quite simple, good service deserves at least 20%, if you were really impressed go up from there.  An easy way to find %20 is to first find %10 and double that.  For example if your bill is $30.00, ten percent is $3.00.  So, a $6.00 tip would be acceptable.  

A lot of people find that %15 is good enough, but if the service was outstanding or even just decent...it is NOT acceptable.  

%10 is NEVER acceptable.  If your reaction was, "Well I never tip %10." that's great, but you would be surprised the amount of people that I've served that have given me ten percent tip after they told me that I did a good job.  This left me confused and frustrated.  The only time ten percent is okay is if you're in Canada.  This is only because servers in our neighboring country make minimum wage...not $3.75 an hour.

I think one of the greatest things in life, and I could be wrong, is going out to eat.  You don't have to cook anything, worry about doing the dishes, and best of all it is served to you.  I'll be honest though, as a server I don't necessarily always want to serve you.  Actually, about 90% of the time you are out to eat, the server is faking it.  Their attitude, their smile...everything.  I'll talk more about this through stories later on though.  Don't get me wrong, there ARE instances where customers are pleasant to wait upon.  

Oh the joys of working in a restaurant, you get your butt kicked when it's slammed and you make no money when it's slow (On a side note, waiters and waitresses only make around $3.75 an hour-so they depend on customers to get paid through tips...again, more to come on this as well!)   Customers are always picky but for the most part it truly is a love/hate relationship.