It’s unbelievable the disrespect people have for others around them and for the servers and staff who are there to serve them. It seems like practically everyday there is another cell phone incident I could write about. However, at this moment, the following four situations have come to baffle me the most.
About a month ago, I had a guy talking on his phone so loud
the table next to him had to move right after their lunches were delivered. From the moment he sat down at his table, his
voice was projecting so loud that even people at a few tables away were annoyed
and mentioned something to me. It was
embarrassing to watch and difficult to deal with. And the kicker? He was actually dining with his son, and
hardly ever said a word to him the entire hour they were there. This man was completely clueless.
Last week there was a guy sitting at the bar by himself
talking on his phone and using headphones (you know the ones with the
microphone on the wire near your mouth).
These devises are by far the worst in public places. Not only do the users feel like they have to
scream so the person on the other end can hear, they also can only hear the other person on the other
end because the sound is going directly to their ear drum. We’ve all seen people using this
technology. But I’m pretty sure these
headphones were meant to be used in a car, by
yourself. Sitting along at a bar in
a fine dining restaurant is the last place for this type of usage. Again,
this fellow was so loud that no one wanted to sit anywhere near him. My section was near the bar that day and therefore,
no one wanted to sit around him. I was
essentially loosing money during my shift that day because of this oblivious businessman; or perhaps he wasn’t oblivious, just arrogant.
A few days ago I had a table with a couple who shouldn’t
have even been in the restaurant for another 20 minutes. For about the first ten minutes, the male was
on the phone. As a server, we prefer to
wait for our guests to get off their phones in order to greet the table
professionally and as a group. But after five minutes or so, I went over to
the female at the table and she just waved at me to come back. I waited about five more minutes. Then I noticed, the female was now on the
phone and the male was giving me the “just a few more minutes” look. She was on the phone for a good ten minutes,
just like he was. Again, we as servers
could potentially be losing money in this situation. We could be turning the table over faster
(therefore, getting an additional table before the lunch rush is over) and
making more money. I literally didn’t
even get to say hello to them for a good twenty minutes after they sat down. And at that point, I just wanted to say, “Are
you sure you’re ready to listen to me
now? You promise you won’t answer the
phone in the middle of me telling you the special? Do you even really want to eat here?”
I had a guy a couple weeks ago that was literally on his
phone the entire time he was at the restaurant.
I didn’t go over to him for about his first 10 minutes because I assumed
he was going to get off the phone eventually.
He finally flagged me down (so rude), then held the phone down away from
his mouth long enough to order a glass of Merlot and a few sushi rolls. Then immediately he put his phone back up to
his ear, kept talking and pushed the menu to the edge of the table. This type of interaction continued through
the check presentation and my final thank you and goodbye. I’m pretty sure he left the restaurant still
deep into his conversation, in which sounded like an argument with his
wife.
Why do people want to share their personal business with
strangers? It baffles me. And since
when did it become “okay” to fight with someone on the phone sitting at a table
at a restaurant? Or when did it seem
okay to crunch numbers with a business associate via phone call at a bar by
yourself. It’s beyond rude, and as I
mentioned earlier, it just makes the person look so egotistical or clueless. Hang up and take your call outside.
I love my cell phone as much as the next person. It’s a miracle really. A hand-held computer is amazing and the technology is mind-boggling. But I think
the manuals should have a “ General Courtesy Section. “ Not that anyone would actually read it. Who reads manuals to anything anymore. I mean seriously.
Aside from the sociology of it all, it’s difficult for
servers to have respect for these types.
We are in the hospitality business of helping others. We treat you very well and we expect to be
treated the same. So when people are
disrespectful, we get feisty. We get
angry. And we will talk about you in
the side stations with other servers.
Guaranteed.
And we just might post something about you on Facebook, via our fancy little hand-held
computers.
~ HK ~
~ HK ~
No comments:
Post a Comment