It was a rainy, stormy day in San Diego today. The news reports boasted about the spring storm battering the coast line (in San Diego terminology, this means it rained really hard for a few hours). In the restaurant industry here in SD, when it rains, most restaurants are usually dead. Dead meaning "no business whatsoever," because most San Diegans are scared to go out in the rain. Yes, I had a few tables today, but none too noteworthy.
However, almost all of my tables today demanded separate checks, which brings me to my first official F&B Industry topic (F&B stands for Food and Beverage, for those readers who didn't know): the dreaded separate checks request.
Separate checks are usually not an issue when a restaurant is slow, like today. However, I wish the general public knew that separate checks are normally a huge pain in the ass - especially when we're busy. If you're dining at a restaurant and you're server is slammed, not providing the best service you've had in your life, you can probably bet that asking for separate checks for a party of 6 (or more) is automatically going to annoy your server. And on top of that, you can add anywhere from ten to 15 more minutes of waiting, and that's time table is being generous. Now I realize that it's not always possible to get cash before you meet up at a restaurant. And I also realize there's not always going to be someone who's going to pick up the tab, and/or have people pay them back. I get it. Believe us, we as servers get it. The problem lies when the customers are a) rude about it and/or b) expect to get the check, followed by running a credit card and/or getting correct change within two minutes or less. That's when our stress hits an all time high. Sometimes it is physically impossible to complete this task in a timely manner. Not only do we have to first separate the items ordered in the computer (some computer systems are better at organizing this than others), we then have to print all of them (sometimes the printers are out of paper, or there might be a paper jam, etc..). Next we have to find check presenters for all checks (which on a busy day is sometimes impossible). Then we need to deliver them, wait a few minutes and pick them back up. The next step is to run all of the credit cards and/or make change if needed (making change, by the way, can be one of the most frustrating things to do when no managers are not on the floor (in the front of the restaurant), and/or the bar doesn't have enough money and/or we don't have enough cash in our own "bank" to provide accurate change). You can see how this process isn't an easy feat. It is extremely time consuming and tedious.
The worst separate check situation I've ever encountered was when there was a particular group in house (staying at the hotel the restaurant is affiliated with) that used our restaurant as a networking venue. Literally, they all met at our restaurant after their morning convention meeting and before their afternoon meeting. So they all arrived at the same time and they all left at the same time. And yes, you guessed it, ALL needed separate checks. Every single guests had corporate business accounts and needed to expense it for their business. Talk about wanting to just drop everything, walk out and quit my job. Holy hell. One minute I was busy refilling ice teas and sodas, the next minute, my entire station needed to leave and get back to their meeting... with separate checks. At this particular restaurant we work 9 table stations. Which, if my section was completely full, that would mean that 36 people needed a check at the same time (at 4 people per table). I know every seat wasn't full at the time, but I recall it was mostly full, leaving about 25 people needing their check at the same time. I seriously thought I was going to have a panic attack. The stress just imploded on me. All of a sudden, all of my efforts in giving these guests an amazing dining experience all went south. And the sad thing is, a guest remembers the last few minutes more than the entire meal or the overall experience. If we as servers can't get their checks to them (and back to them) in a timely manner, our tips drop dramatically. It's practically proven science. So of course we want to get your checks to you in a timely fashion. But in this kind of situation, timing, or off-timing is everything. And it's not pretty. We know. But we do our best, and sometimes, that's all we can do.
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