How Close to Closing Will You Go to a Restaurant?

[Lorix2]

I know for me as a server, when I stay late (after closing) the extra hour isn't worth it to me, I'd rather give it up and go home for $2.38 an/hour + whatever gratuity the customer decides to give to me. This job is very physical and you're exhausted at the end of the night.

I think Chattyaholic's entire point was that after the restaurant has closed and you are still eating and enjoying you're meal (as you should), when you are done and no longer require the servers duties and you have paid, then please be mindful and considerate if it is way past closing because they would like to go home at the end of an exhausting shift, as which for me personally, is always around midnight. This can't happen until all patrons are out of the restaurant.

 

[caitycaity]

how many of you are happy when your boss walks up 2 minutes before you are done for the day with something that HAS to be done right away. After all, you are still on the clock for another 2 minutes, right?

i agree with bob slydell. i am also salaried, and i can't remember the last time i was able to go home at the time i was supposed to. and no, i don't get paid to be there extra. it doesn't upset me really, i mean, it's part of the job and i knew that coming in here. plus, the more work i put in, the better the company does, and the less likely there are to be layoffs.

 

[KrnB]

I am salaried as well - and I work in IT, so yes, extra hours are a part of the job from time to time. We always joke that our company could never afford to pay us by the hour. I work later when a project warrants it, and I accept on-call duties when it is my time to have them.

That being said, I also get paid a lot more than minimum wage. I didn't get paid OT pay for working extra time as a waitress because I was part time; I got an extra $5.25 (before taxes, of course!) for my effort - and I was one of the lucky ones who worked in state that didn't have a lower min. wage for servers that got tips. ND had a restaurant min. wage at about $3, which was then taxed.

And that doesn't meant that I have to like it when I have to work late. I value my time with my family too much to be happy when someone throws something at me at 4:55 and say it needs to be done now.

I'm not saying that employees should not be expected to treat customers well no matter what time they walk in - of course they should. That's not the issue.

The issue is a matter of respect and courtesy on the part of the customer. Those employees deserve just as much courtesy as you do as a customer because they are human beings as well.

If I see that a store closes at 9PM, as a customer, I will do whatever I can to leave the store as close to that closing time as I possibly can. I should be out by the time they lock the doors at 9; it's just plain rude to do anything else. I respect the people working enough to understand that they have families and personal lives to go home to too.

Most waitresses/waiters will understand if you are hungry at closing time and are willing to help you out. Just be considerate - order and eat quickly or take the food to go.

 

[faithinkarma]

If I have been seated late, I make sure to tip the server very well. And I would finish and leave as soon as possible.

I hate it when people who, once they have a table, assume they have squatters rights.

Same goes for patrons in a restaurant, when there is a huge line up waiting to get in, who linger over a third cup of coffee. I am sure many will disagree, but I personally find that just rude. Rude to the people waiting, and rude to the servers whose tips depend on how many seatings they serve.

 

[KrnB]

Originally posted by caitycaity
plus, the more work i put in, the better the company does, and the less likely there are to be layoffs.

Not necessarily. My company is a Fortune 100 company that is doing very well. They just decided to outsource their entire IT dept to someone else, and our dept has always been very dedicated to keeping this company running. I am fortunate to still have a job (it will be with the new company), but my husband, who had been here for 10 years and had knowledge of systems that no one else in this company has, was not so fortunate. Don't think for a minute that extra hours will make the company loyal to you; it's all about business.

 

[caitycaity]

Originally posted by KrnB
Not necessarily. My company is a Fortune 100 company that is doing very well. They just decided to outsource their entire IT dept to someone else, and our dept has always been very dedicated to keeping this company running. I am fortunate to still have a job (it will be with the new company), but my husband, who had been here for 10 years and had knowledge of systems that no one else in this company has, was not so fortunate. Don't think for a minute that extra hours will make the company loyal to you; it's all about business.

uh, please note that i said:

"the more work *i* put in, the better the company does, and the less likely there are to be layoffs."

i was talking about my specific job. in my line of work, this statement is true 9/10 times. you don't even know what i do, so i don't really know how you could snap to judgment.

i did not say that the extra hours would make the company more loyal to me. i have survived 3 rounds of layoffs here. i did say, the more work i put in, the better the company does, and the better the company does, the less likely there are to be layoffs. like i said, this is true 9/10 times in my line of work. if i am bringing in revenue and making my group profitable, then they are less likely to get rid of us. please also note i didn't say they wouldn't, just that they are less likely to lay us off.

 

[Maleficent13]

I'm not saying that employees should not be expected to treat customers well no matter what time they walk in - of course they should. That's not the issue. The issue is a matter of respect and courtesy on the part of the customer. Those employees deserve just as much courtesy as you do as a customer because they are human beings as well.

A very good point and one I try to follow.

 

[Alice28]

30 minutes....I too used to be a server. 30 minutes or even 15 minutes before closing time was okay, cause you could get their food served quickly..then I would do my cleaning duties while they ate. *Most* people got it---to eat and then scram...I would hate it when people would come in 5 minutes before though....just when you thought you were going home....nope!

 

[Pooh's Pal]

I was traveling in Arizona with my cousin, a fellow New Yorker. After a long day of driving and touring, we stopped for the night in Flagstaff on our way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We went to a nice little restaurant in Flagstaff and talked for a long time while lingering over coffee. At one point, the waitress came over, purse slung over her shoulder, and said she was leaving for the night, but had put on a fresh pot of coffee and "would we mind locking the door on our way out for the evening?" I still laugh about this. I guess coming from New York we were used to places staying open late, and if they wanted to close we would hear a not so subtle "Ay! Get a container, we're locking up"

Oh my....wouldn't I love to use those lines!!! Doesn't it make you wonder what they say at the Prime Time 50's Café' at closing time!!???
Night now....I must take an afternoon nap, as I am the "late" gal tonight!!

 

[Lucky4me]

http://www.stainedapron.com/

This a great site for all servers and former servers.
It's a bit rough as they don't hold back their feelings. I got a few laughs from it...

Warning: It may be scary for anyone who wasn't ever a server.

 

[faithinkarma]

wow...that was a bit scary. Not for the feint of heart.

But I guess all professions talk about their "customers" that way to some extent, although many will never admit it.

I vividly remember sitting in a school staff room listening to a bunch of teachers blaming all the problems they were having with kids on " the working mother ". Latch key kids, they called them.

I had to wonder, who was at home to let THEIR in when they were sitting there complaining about others?

 

[mum4jenn]

OK...maybe in some terms the"other" folk might come closer to understanding........

You are 5 minutes away from starting your vacation to WDW...you are taking a flight with your family that night and you are all meeting at the airport. You have non-refundable seats in first class because you have been planning this special vacation with staying at the Grand Floridian concierge level.....someone walks in right as you are getting ready to walk out of the door and hands you a project that should only take a moment....you miss your flight......understand now??

Everyone has a life away from work and try to make plans for the time they are not scheduled. There is not a single high and mighty person here that can convince me that they have NEVER had any plans ruined and have NEVER been upset because of a customer causing this. Maybe you don't show it in front of the customer but I am sure you have complained about this afterwards.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

Originally posted by mum4jenn
OK...maybe in some terms the"other" folk might come closer to understanding........

You are 5 minutes away from starting your vacation to WDW...you are taking a flight with your family that night and you are all meeting at the airport. You have non-refundable seats in first class because you have been planning this special vacation with staying at the Grand Floridian concierge level.....someone walks in right as you are getting ready to walk out of the door and hands you a project that should only take a moment....you miss your flight......understand now??

your analogy is faulty at best. if you're already at the airport, you're no longer on duty, so no one's going to hand you a project.

 

[faithinkarma]

Why don't you try looking at it from another viewpoint ?

Your restaurant closes at 8. You know that means in all likelihood that your shift ends at 9. If no one comes in during the last hour, you get to leave an hour early.

I'm sorry, no matter how you say it, ( and I agree with Briar Rose 7457, that last analogy was right off the charts ) it is not the customers' responsibility to determine what is a suitable seating time. That comes from management. And that is where you should be lodging your complaint.

 

[mum4jenn]

you are taking a flight with your family that night and you are all meeting at the airport

someone walks in right as you are getting ready to walk out of the door and hands you a project that should only take a moment

the "YOU" is still at work.

 

[mum4jenn]

I still say there is not a single person out there that has not been upset when a customer has caused them to get off from work later than they expected. Whether it is a "part of the job" or not I know it has happened.

 

[sha_lyn]

Originally posted by faithinkarma
Why don't you try looking at it from another viewpoint ?

Your restaurant closes at 8. You know that means in all likelihood that your shift ends at 9. If no one comes in during the last hour, you get to leave an hour early.

I'm sorry, no matter how you say it, ( and I agree with Briar Rose 7457, that last analogy was right off the charts ) it is not the customers' responsibility to determine what is a suitable seating time. That comes from management. And that is where you should be lodging your complaint.

Well said...

I agree with faithkarma and many here. the posted closign time is usually the time of last seating, it is not the time that the employees will be walking out the door.

Yes I have worked in the restaurant industry and in retail. Every place I have worked it was policy to wait on every customer as long as they came in the door before it was locked. Did I hate it sometimes? Of course I did, but it is a part of the job.

 

[year2late]

I guess I am still not understanding.

Allowing seating up to the stated closing time is not uncommon in the industry. There is precident for this all over the place.

Why not post a sign saying "No seating after.....".

If the boss does not want to do this or your boss does not want you to say no to latecomers, the problem is not with the customer. It is with the boss. The person isn't barging in and demanding service, they are asking.

A repetitive theme in this thread is the assumption that the patron is rude. I say it is more rude to let them with a smile on your face and complain about how awful they are later.