Restaurant vent

[Beth76]

I think the thing that bothers me the most about the waitstaff at a restaurant is their inability to bring the check in a timely fashion. Seriously, is it that hard? Don't you want the people out of there so you can get another table in? Having two small, wiggly children, this bothers me more than not getting my drink refilled. When we're done eating we want to get out of there. I'm sure our table neighbors do too. OK, vent over.

 

[daisyduck123]

We always tell them we are ready for the check when they bring our meals....that way, there's no waiting involved.

 

[gigglesnort]

maybe waitress/waiter was busy with other tables?

 

[Aidensmom]

You want to borrow my son, he seems to get us our checks quite quickly!

 

[Beth76]

We always tell them we are ready for the check when they bring our meals....that way, there's no waiting involved.

I know. We always forget to do that.

You want to borrow my son, he seems to get us our checks quite quickly!

Uhhhhhhh, I think I'll pass on that one. But thanks!!!

 

[Lil_Tink]

That stinks. I agree, Ask for the check after your meals are recieved.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

maybe waitress/waiter was busy with other tables?

That was the RIGHT answer ....not in ALL cases, but in most

 

[minkydog]

Here's a sure-fire trick: Stand up... Gather your things... If they haven't made a bee-line(!)for your table by then, make for the door. Send the wife(or hubby) to the car with the kids. Stop at the desk and ask for the manager.Tell him you'd like to pay for your meal and leave(don't stiff the waiter just to prove a point). The manager will gladly take if from there.

We had this happen to us a Cinderella's Castle once. The check never came and we had lost hope. So we got up and left. You never saw a waitress run so fast to catch up!

 

[dis4me]

We did this at a Red Lobster once. three couples at our table. We all got up and walked out after waiting 30 minutes for a check to come. No one even stopped us.I did go back in and ask for the manager to explain what happened. He comped our meals.

 

[Christine]

I find it a common problem also, and my kids are no longer in the wiggly stage. Dinner always seems to run smoothly for the most part and then, all of sudden, service just lags and it takes forever to get the check. Then they drop the check off, disappear, and you wait again if you are paying by credit card.

 

[Quackmore]

maybe waitress/waiter was busy with other tables?

exactly!!!

 

[jennyl772003]

UGH! I hate that too! Nothing worse then sitting there with all of the dirty plates on your table just waiting for the server to come.

When I waitressed, I always made sure to bring the bills right away. I would drop them off before the customer was done eating. Maybe that is a little too early, but I never had a complaint.

 

[mickeyboat]

I waited tables in college, and it is a terrbily difficult job, so I have a lot of respect for those who can do it well.

It's only common sense that a family with small children would not want to linger after their meal - no matter how busy the server was with other tables. Part of what makes a waitperson a good one is being able to multi-task to make sure that no table has to wait a long time for anything. (I can't say I was very good at that).

The last time it happened to us, DH and the kids went to the car and I sat at the table waiting for the check for at least 15 minutes. The waitress's tip suffered accordingly, and I am typically a good tipper.

Denae

 

[Jeafl]

I agree, and it isn't always that the waitress is busy with other tables.

We were at Bennigans the other day and the waitress completely disappeared for about half an hour. There were only a few other tables occupied since we were there kind of late, so I can't imagine where she went. We looked for her for a good 30 minutes. She asked my husband if he wanted another coke, and I asked her for Splenda for my iced tea, but she never came back with either. When she finally came back she again asked my husband if he wanted another Coke and he just said, it's too late now, I'm already done eating. At that point we waited at least another 10 minutes before she brought the check.

I still can't imagine what she was doing all that time. The other 2 tables she was servicing were PO'd as well. The funny thing is, there was no manager walking around either.

 

[luvflorida]

I agree, and it isn't always that the waitress is busy with other tables.

I still can't imagine what she was doing all that time. The other 2 tables she was servicing were PO'd as well. The funny thing is, there was no manager walking around either.

Hasn't anyone seen the movie, "Waiting"? You might not want to know what the waitstaff is doing.

Waiting is a funny, but raunchy, movie poking fun at restaurants, waitstaff, and especially customers. It is definitely an adult, or older teen, movie. It's a movie that'll make you more conscious of how you treat any waitstaff, and it may just keep you out of restaurants altogether!

Seriously, though, I know what you mean and it IS annoying.

 

[lecach]

As a former server I know that you have to be careful about when to deliver the bill. Too early and the people feel rushed. Plus you want to try and get them to order dessert so your tip is higher. I used to go to the table and say "so what would everyone like for dessert" if they didnt want anything I would say "let me go ahead and leave your check for you then - there's no rush though, and if you change your mind about dessert just let me know". That way they knew I wasnt trying to rush them out - and they could pay when they wanted.

BUT being a Mom now I know how painful that wait for the check can be. We were at O'Charleys and had problem after problem. We waited forever for our check - and then forever for him to bring our credit card back. From the time we finished eating to the time we left was about 40 minutes! I complained but could tell that the hostess would not pass along the message. And we had to leave. So I emailed corporate and they sent us a $20 gift card and had the local manager call to appologize. There have been times that I have been tempted to guess at the total (pretty easy to do) and just leave cash on the table and go.

 

[RadioFanatic]

I used to work at a place where we had to give the check BEFORE the meal came out. It was a small diner so he wanted people to GO, especially on weekends b/c we always had a line - I hated doing it, but most people didn't complain.

 

[Marseeya]

When we get tired of waiting, we head to the front counter and either pay there or send somebody after our server if it's one of those places where the cash registers are in the back.

I've never thought of asking them to bring the check with dinner, but it makes sense.

 

[skiwee1]

My DD was a waitress for a while said the worse thing to do to the customer is make them wait for their check. You never let them wait.

 

[Keli]

I agree, and it isn't always that the waitress is busy with other tables.

We were at Bennigans the other day and the waitress completely disappeared for about half an hour. There were only a few other tables occupied since we were there kind of late, so I can't imagine where she went. We looked for her for a good 30 minutes....
...I still can't imagine what she was doing all that time. The other 2 tables she was servicing were PO'd as well. The funny thing is, there was no manager walking around either.

My dd is a waitress and I can easily tell you what the waitress was probably doing if it was kind of late then she was in the back filling up the condiments, rolling silverware, sweeping floors, mopping floors, cleaning the 'back of the house' (what they call it where dd works, it's essentially cleaning the area where the servers make the salads, serve the bread, get the soft drinks, etc). The servers also have to keep the salad making area stocked during the evening so in among all the serving work they are doing they are also running to the back fridge for lettuce, cheese, tomatos, veggies, salad dressings, etc. That salad bar area gets so messy with all the servers slapping salads together all night (they also prepare each salad theirselves) and it can easily take them 30-45 minutes to clean that area alone. You would probably be shocked by the amount of non-waitressing stuff the servers have to do every day. And they get paid $2.30 an hour to do it. I makes me so mad because it does limit the number of tables a server can take at one time, thus lowering their earning capacity, just so the resturant can get cheap labor.

Of course I feel that waitressing is good for my dd. Soon enough she'll be finished with college and hopefully she'll never have to give waitressing another look but she'll always remember how to treat the waitress on the other side of the table.