A reader commented on my last post ‘Picky Water People’ and
it definitely rubbed me the wrong way.
In fact, I would say I was highly offended. For simplicity’s sake, I will refer to this
person as a female.
The statements she wrote criticized practically everything I
mentioned in regards to how I get annoyed with picky water patrons. But in my opinion, her comments were
completely inappropriate and offensive, much more biting than anything I
wrote. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have
deleted the comment because it is an
open forum, open for discussion, and I should have let her comment be viewed
and allowed for her opinion to be expressed.
But it’s too late for that. Once I deleted it, it was gone. Yet, for my own piece of mind (and for the
chance that she might read this) I feel it’s my obligation to write a
counterargument.
First of all, my point was not to say that I don’t like
people who just drink water. The main
thesis of the entire post was that this particular afternoon was filled with
unusual water requests; therefore, making it a difficult scenario serving
several picky water people right in a row.
One request for “water no ice” is never a big deal. But getting five or more requests at the same
time (along with water temperature and glass preferences) is definitely
noteworthy, and yes, an annoyance as well. Any seasoned server will tell you that.
Second of all, she mentioned that I “must not be cultured”
because everyone else around the world doesn’t use ice in their water. I am keenly aware of this fact as I did live
abroad for over three years and have traveled to Europe. Again, my point was not that I think it’s bizarre or rude to drink water with no ice, I was merely commenting that multiple
requests for no ice within a five minute period was odd.
Thirdly, she mentioned that she “feels bad for me” because I
must be a “desperate server” who tries to upsell at every possible opportunity
and must be “only about making money.” This
is the comment that got under my skin the most.
If this woman knew anything about me, she’d take that comment back. If she had read any of my other posts she’d
know I am much more about the entire serving experience than just about making
money. Would I have a blog about all of
the interesting people I meet if I were just about the money? Would I take the time to write about how much
I enjoy making connections with guests if I were just about making money?
Of course, at the end of the day, we do need money in our pocket. We have rent and bills to pay just like any
other person with a “normal” job. And
if we (servers) got paid a higher hourly wage (we get paid minimum wage without
any change of an increase) then it wouldn’t matter as much about our tips. But the truth is, our tips are our salary. The
public, our guests, actually do pay our rent and our bills. We solely rely on that money to make a
living. This is why the good servers,
like myself, want to give stellar service.
We know better service equals more money. So yes, if we have a day with all low check
averages (whether they’re just drinking water or not), we really do feel it in
our pockets. But that is the risk we
take as servers. It comes with the
territory and we accept it. Some days
are great, others not so good. Generally
speaking, if we have a shift in which most of the customers just drink water,
the check averages will be lower and we won’t make as much money that day. That’s just a fact. We won’t be annoyed with the guests
necessarily, just the situation.
Lastly, I want my readers to know that I don’t take this blog
too seriously; therefore you shouldn’t either.
I decided to start this blog because I enjoy writing and I love sharing
my stories. I never want to offend my
readers and if I do I apologize. I simply
want to share my experiences about the people I encounter and the fascinating
behavior of the human species. Simultaneously,
my purpose in writing this blog is to share the challenges we face as servers in
the restaurant industry to educate the general public on what we truly deal with,
day after day.
As a fellow server likes to say, “We’re not saving lives
here.” We’re just serving humanity, the
best we can.
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