20 Secrets Your Waiter/Waitress Won't Tell You

[N.Bailey]

Not to side track, I agree the coffee was WAY too hot, but at the same time, you shouldn't be sticking a cup of coffee between your legs and trying to drive at the same time either. I think yes, the lawsuit wasn't frivolous, I think the damages awarded were.

Didn't the jurors conclude that both were at fault, thus a smaller amount awarded?

 

[shmoogrrrl]

Yes, most don't speak loud enough for you to hear.

My daughter is like this. If she were to order her food, the waiter would probably have to ask her ten times what she wanted to get it right, so I get her to tell me and I order for her. Of course, there is always a question (sides, how it should be cooked, etc...) that I forget so the waiter will ask me, I will have to ask her, she will answer, and I will repeat it to the waiter. I sometimes think that the waiter probably thinks that I am one of those overbearing parents when really it is just that my girly can be shy.

 

[Buckeye Princess]

On our recent trip to WDW we had 9 adults. And at most of our dinners, all 9 adults finished the meal with some hot tea. (We were on DxDP.) Oops! haha Well all of our servers never let us know if they were at all bothered. We actually had many servers who offered tea before we even asked. Especially at places like Jiko and Sanaa that have a large selection of specialty teas.

 

[Banzai]

I'm a server/bartender, and after reading that story I smiled

I agree with hot tea, it is the bane of my existence. However, there is one thing that is even more irritating than hot tea...when you order "decaf hot tea." When you do, I bring out the same tea caddy, with the same six flavors of tea. I just tack on the phrase "The decaf ones are marked."

Also up there with hot tea is an Arnold Palmer. I really do hate him...and his mixture of iced tea and lemonade. When you drink three of them, I will make it three different ways. And none of them will be to your liking.

I also can't stand when parents force the kids to order. But what really bothers me is when the parents force the kids to say "please" and "thank you" to me. Then, neglect to say it themselves. Or, when the kids order then the parents won't let them eat what they ordered and have me change it. Or, when parents don't listen to what the kids order, I bring out the food...and its wrong. Because, clearly, it is my fault.

I work in a restaurant that servers freshly baked, made to order cookies. Now, I ask you this when you food comes out. This is to make sure that the cookies are baked and piping hot and delicious when you are done with your meal. When you say no then change your mind, I'm irate...and no I can't hurry them along.

And for the record, I do enjoy serving

 

[luvsJack]

Many years ago (20+ years) I worked at a fast food establishment for a brief time. I still get grossed out when I recall watching a prep person make the cole slaw.

The prep person took a large plastic garbage can (one that was never used for garbage, obviously, but I still thought that was strange) and placed it under the cabbage & carrot shredder to catch the produce as the machine shredded it. Then she opened several bags of slaw dressing and dumped them into the garbage can. OK, this is where it got gross - - - she bent over and started mixing the slaw with her bare hands and the slaw mix went up past her elbows. When she was done mixing the slaw she stood up and scrapped the slaw off her arms and just flicked it into the mix.

I don't like cole slaw; but if I did I wouldn't order it when eating out after seeing that.

I worked at a fast food chicken place and that is the way the cole slaw was made. We did wear gloves though. The coating for the chicken was mixed the same way (except for not having liquid in it)

I tell some of my friends all the time that if the things they see in the dining room bother them; don't ever go to work in a restaurant.

Something are really just best left to the unknown.

 

[solotraveler]

I'm a server/bartender, and after reading that story I smiled

I agree with hot tea, it is the bane of my existence. However, there is one thing that is even more irritating than hot tea...when you order "decaf hot tea." When you do, I bring out the same tea caddy, with the same six flavors of tea. I just tack on the phrase "The decaf ones are marked."

I served at a fine dining place, and let me tell you... we all HATED hot tea service. It's just a chore... get out the caddy, go present the tea, help the person make a selection, go burn myself putting insanely hot water in a little metal tea pot (which would then also become insanely hot), get out the silly little doily with the pretty lemon... bah!

Even worse for the bartenders was attempting to make "cappuccino." Expert bartenders as though they were, there were terrible baristas. That sucker was "broken" more often than not.

 

[merryweather20]

I can't fathom the tea thing for the life of me. How is dumping hot water in a cup any harder than dumping coffee in a mug or soda in a glass? And since I'm steeping it myself I'm not going to complain that the tea is to weak or too strong. And in my experience people hardly ever want a re-fill on tea.

I also don't know anyone who blames the waitress when the food takes awhile. I don't doubt that there are some bad seeds, but a top 20 item?

 

[sunnyday123]

I waitressed in college, and we were only allowed to put out as many rolls as there were people; if they didn't eat them, we had to put them back in the bin. I refused to, and needless to say, lasted about 2 months there. We also had to fill ketchup bottles from old bottles so they looked new. I swear the ketchup was about 15 years old.

 

[amg35]

I'm a server/bartender, and after reading that story I smiled

I agree with hot tea, it is the bane of my existence. However, there is one thing that is even more irritating than hot tea...when you order "decaf hot tea." When you do, I bring out the same tea caddy, with the same six flavors of tea. I just tack on the phrase "The decaf ones are marked."

Also up there with hot tea is an Arnold Palmer. I really do hate him...and his mixture of iced tea and lemonade. When you drink three of them, I will make it three different ways. And none of them will be to your liking.

I also can't stand when parents force the kids to order. But what really bothers me is when the parents force the kids to say "please" and "thank you" to me. Then, neglect to say it themselves. Or, when the kids order then the parents won't let them eat what they ordered and have me change it. Or, when parents don't listen to what the kids order, I bring out the food...and its wrong. Because, clearly, it is my fault.

I work in a restaurant that servers freshly baked, made to order cookies. Now, I ask you this when you food comes out. This is to make sure that the cookies are baked and piping hot and delicious when you are done with your meal. When you say no then change your mind, I'm irate...and no I can't hurry them along.

And for the record, I do enjoy serving

Do you work at Grand Luxe? We always order the fresh baked cookies first!

 

[Banzai]

Do you work at Grand Luxe? We always order the fresh baked cookies first!

Nope, Max & Erma's.

 

[happygirl]

Nope, Max & Erma's.

Doesn't Perkins do the baked cookie thing

 

[luvsJack]

I waitressed in college, and we were only allowed to put out as many rolls as there were people; if they didn't eat them, we had to put them back in the bin. I refused to, and needless to say, lasted about 2 months there. We also had to fill ketchup bottles from old bottles so they looked new. I swear the ketchup was about 15 years old.

Yep, one of the places I worked did the ketchup thing. Everyday we took all the bottles off the tables and placed them on a tray, then filled them up from a pitcher of ketchup (which came from a #10 can of ketchup). They were never emptied and washed out nor were new bottles ever put out, although there were brand new bottles in the pantry? Same new bottles were there when I left.

They don't do it anymore but many years ago a lot of the all you can eat fish places would take uneaten food back to the kitchen and reserve it (uneaten from the serving dishes put on the table) and I also worked at a place that served family style at a huge round table that had a large lazy susan in the middle; they did the same thing with the bowls of veggies and such.

 

[manning]

I've never seen anybody do anything to your food, but I have seen servers mess with your credit card. If a server doesn’t like you, he might try to embarrass you in front of your business associate or date by bringing your credit card back and saying, "Do you have another card? This one didn’t go through."

I had this happen to me once except it was true the card didn't go thru.

So, I call the 800 number and after a few minutes of discussion I call the manager over to inform him that the credit card company cancelled the restaurant's account. The restaurant didn't even know.

 

[manning]

Yep, one of the places I worked did the ketchup thing. Everyday we took all the bottles off the tables and placed them on a tray, then filled them up from a pitcher of ketchup (which came from a #10 can of ketchup). They were never emptied and washed out nor were new bottles ever put out, although there were brand new bottles in the pantry? Same new bottles were there when I left.

They don't do it anymore but many years ago a lot of the all you can eat fish places would take uneaten food back to the kitchen and reserve it (uneaten from the serving dishes put on the table) and I also worked at a place that served family style at a huge round table that had a large lazy susan in the middle; they did the same thing with the bowls of veggies and such.

That's why I cut up everything I don't eat into little pieces.

 

[TaraLee4]

oh geez. please don't believe these lists. Most of this list is a bunch of carp.

I've worked in several restaurants for many years...

.....our specials aren't because our items are about to go bad. Heck, where i work now our special for lunch is half priced salads, soups and deli sandwiches....we can't keep them in the kitchen long enough for them to GO bad!

And speaking of soup, ours comes delivered frozen in a bag. and it's been a loooooooong time since i've worked somewhere that had soup made on-site (granted, I work in a sports bar/grill)

We wash our lemons where I work currently. and we use tongs.

I like where I work because I work with a bunch of compulsive neat freaks! I never lie to a customer, even if they ask if I like something that I don't. (mostly they ask about our sea food and I don't eat it) My managers encourage this, because we change our menu 2 times a year, and if something is crap, we don't keep it.

Lists like these are why people are afraid to speak up when their dinner is wrong and just tip less. They think that some is going to spit in their food or do something nasty to it if it gets sent back. I might swear at your burger, or the cook, or both. but i would never do anything to anyone's food.

On another note, i don't mind serving hot tea, but it does involve gathering a few items which can be a minor pain when your busy.

ETA: i agree with tipping on the price before your coupon. I still have to tip out the bartenders and the hostess based on your actual bill.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I've worked for 5 different restaurants and a catering company and the worst thing I have ever seen someone giving a customer a paper cup that just fell on the floor... and this was when the customer REALLY insisted that he didn't care.

All of my restaurant friends would back me up when saying, a lot of those stories are either completely BS or over exaggerated.

Amen! I have waitressed at 3 different restaurants and worked in a grocery store kitchen. I have never lied to a customer. If I don't know, I'll tell you and try to find out. I never tried to embarass a customer or have seen any of my coworkers do so.

The "hot tea" one was new. I will have to tell my wife that one. She doesn't drink coffee in the evening - prefers tea.

I never minded it. You just pour hot water in the cup from the coffee maker and then bring out the teas for them to choose from. It's so rare that people order it that it really is not a big deal.

Not to side track, I agree the coffee was WAY too hot, but at the same time, you shouldn't be sticking a cup of coffee between your legs and trying to drive at the same time either. I think yes, the lawsuit wasn't frivolous, I think the damages awarded were.

She was not the one driving! Her son was driving. She asked him to pull over so she could add the sugar/creamer and when she opened the lid, it boiled over. So not only was she not driving, the car was not even moving.

I did feel that way when I took my very first job ever. It wasn't tea though, it was those horrible milkshakes. Boy were they ever a pain! It was a little diner that reminds me a LOT of the Prime Time Cafe at Disney. They do make those milkshakes there too (though I would never order one because I hated them so much). We were so understaffed all the time and it was hard to keep up with anyway, but you could be assured, if someone ordered one of them, you were so far behind you couldn't think straight.

Oh my gosh- milkshakes! I hated them. My first job was as a waitress at Steak-n-Shake. We sold a lot of milkshakes. I had a hard time reachin the ice cream when it was low in the tub. It was cold, sticky ,and it took forever, particularly if multiple people wanted one. I couldn't even look at a milkshake for a year after I worked there!