The Difference is Night and Day

Recently, I've been working daytime (lunch/brunch) shifts.  But every so often I work a night (dinner) shift.  In this type of restaurant, the difference is monumental.  It literally feels like working in a different restaurant altogether.  From my experience over the years, in the industry as a whole, this is generally the case.  It's all about the people, the guests.

Let's face it, people are cranky in the morning.  They need their coffee, their food and they need it now.  Maybe they had a light dinner the night before and their blood sugar is plummeting each minute they are without food.  It's possible they've just flown in on a red eye and they've been up for 28 hours.  Maybe they were out until 3 am drinking tequila and are enduring a massively hungover.  Whatever the case, breakfast diners are generally needy and irritable and they need everything as soon as humanly possible.  I'm not speaking poorly about morning guests, I'm simply stating the facts.  We see these types all the time.  And the worst part is, breakfast is cheap; therefore, tips are usually lower.  Guess who woke up early with you?  We did!  And we're refilling coffee, water, making your eggs to over easy/over medium perfection that you requested.  We're toasting your whole wheat bread to a golden brown perfection.   Bacon extra crispy?  Well of course!  Which side of the toast do you need that light butter on again?

Lunchtime is breakfast's awkward step sister.  Similar to breakfast in that most people are in a hurry; however, business hurry, not "I need my coffee and I need to wake up" hurry.  Lunch is a different ball game because of the dynamics of the people.  They usually only have one hour to eat, maybe an hour and a half if they're lucky.  They might be meeting a fellow business partner whom they've never met before.  When they meet there's always the uncomfortable pauses, the indecision about what beverage or entree they want.   "Should I eat light, should I order something inexpensive, should I suggest an appetizer... is ordering a beer inappropriate?...."  they're thinking.  Guests down their iced tea, their diet Pepsi.  They inhale their bread and quickly ask for another basket.  Sometimes they require their check halfway through meal because the food took so long because the kitchen is slammed during lunch hour because everyone is on the same time schedule.   Whatever the case, lunch is usually wham, bam, thank you for your service and back to the office.

Dinner.  Ahh, dinner service.  Already I feel more relaxed.  It's what the guest have planned for the evening.  This is it.  This is their big night out for the week, maybe even two weeks (at our prices and in this economy).  You can't rush this service, even if you wanted to.  People socialize, they get together, they drink, it's a birthday,  it's a Thursday night out with the girls, wine is uncorked (and unscrewed) all night long across the restaurant.  People are friendly, talkative. drinking more... and they want to eat well.  Appetizers, desserts, espressos.. bring the bill whenever, no hurry!  Bills are higher, tips are larger.  Cha-ching!  I actually have time to chit chat with my guests.  I can find out where they are from, educate them on San Diego's best beaches or explain to them what Balboa Park is all about.  I can connect with the dinnertime diners.  And this is what waiting tables is all about.  Because we are people people.  We are fascinated by them, their stories, they're adventures, where they are from
and what brings them to this restaurant, on this day, at this time.  And most of the time, the guests actually seem to care about me, about my story (and I do have a good one).  Ahh... life is good.

I need to start working more night shifts again.