Mr. Rude

The rush hit my section like a bomb.  Within ten minutes I had six tables.  What just happened?  I asked the host, "Why did you just slam me?"  I tried to ask as nice as possible, but I know I came off rather graceless.  I couldn't help it though.  I was doing fine, then BOOM, slammed.  I hate that.  All servers hate that.  It's just not fair.  It's practically impossible to give stellar service in a situation like that.  Anyway, I think I managed it okay... for the most part.  Well, at least I thought I did, until this one man rudely told me otherwise. 

His table started off without him - it was just three women and a young girl.  I was thinking it was a casual ladies day out.  Easy.  The table flowed smoothly, as far as I was concerned.  They got their drinks, their appetizers and their main entrees in a timely manner.  Then, two men showed up.  One of the men told me he was in a hurry (Mr. Rude.. I'll call him... who ended up ruining my day).  My first thought was, "Oh great.  Of course.  Right in the smack dab middle of my rush, this guy is in a hurry." (A note to you diners out there: it's very annoying when people join a table and don't tell the staff that they might have joiners.  We have to stop everything, add tables, chairs and place settings, and then, of course, rush the food and drink out.  It completely throws everything off it's normal pace).  After demanding menus and drinks immediately,  they ordered a cheeseburger well done and lots of sushi (both of which, as you can imagine, take a while for a kitchen to prepare)."  I was going to say something and tell them to order something else, but I decided not too.  I continued to work my section, making laps over and over again, delivering drinks on trays, taking orders, clearing plates, the usual.  I kept eying their table.  The food seemed to come out in the average 15 minutes.  I checked in once and everything seemed to be okay;  no frantic faces or anyone eying me back.  The next time I passed, I noticed Mr. Rude waving me down for the check.  I told him I'd be back to bring him his check.  When I dropped it off, I had three other checks on my tray, as well a a glass of Zinfandel.  He fumbled around with the check, looking at the total.  I assumed he was looking for an automatic gratuity charge (because the rules stipulate the automatic gratuity is included for a party of 6 or more, which they ended up being).  I politely told him I didn't put it on because he was in a hurry and I couldn't find a managers card to add the gratuity.  I was saving time by not adding it (although this is risky behavior, I try to put the guest's needs before mine).  He told me he wanted me to add the 18%.  I told him, "Thank you," and that I would, and I'd be right back.  Of course, right then, I got stuck taking a very complicated sushi order, two tables away from his.  I also had to stop at a few other tables too as they all seemed to want to pay as well... of course! (this is inevitably what happens when servers get sat too many tables at once).  On my way back into the restaurant, Mr. Rude followed me in and demanded I run his card immediately because he had to speak at a convention (why didn't he tell me this sooner?!).  Thankfully the manager's card was there so I could add the 18% gratuity as he requested.   I swiped his card and printed the check, feeling a bit uncomfortable with him staring me down.  He bolted, "This is a quite a large automatic tip for such horrible service."  He made a frightening scene and stormed out. 

Guess he wasn't the speaker in an anger management convention.   

First of all, anyone who yells at someone who's providing a service for them is rude, inconsiderate and, well, ... (I can think of a lot of other words too)...  cruel.  Second of all, if he was in that much of a hurry from the get go, be proactive!  Don't just sit there and get mad that I haven't brought you the check.  Can he really blame me for being late?  He did show up a half hour late to his lunch with his family.  And, unless he was completely oblivious to his surroundings, he knew the restaurant was really busy.  Lastly, why would he ask for me to add the gratuity to just spit it back in my face?  What kind of passive aggressive nonsense is that?  UGH.  

Tip:  If you're in a hurry at a restaurant, don't do the following:
1.)  Order a frozen margarita
2.) Ask for one of the most time consuming food items on the menu
3.)  Wait until the last minute before you have to leave to ask for the check - especially when it's obvious the server is busy.

If you didn't catch that, Mr. Rude was guilty of all of the "don'ts" above.

As awful as he made me feel for the remainder of my day, I had to remind myself that it truly wasn't all my fault.