Good people DO still exist

It was a busy Wednesday lunch shift.  Convention attendants filled the restaurant on their brief hour and a half break.  I was working in fifth gear, in my flow, feeling proud of my impeccable multi-tasking abilities and generally feeling great. 

When I went to grab the check from my largest party of the day (three times as much as any of the others) I realized the credit card slip was missing.  Only the itemized copy was there.  My heart sank.  This was a table of 5 convention men who were friendly, ordered a lot of food and beverage and were more than pleasant to wait on.  My gut told me there’s no way they meant to stiff me. 

I swiftly bolted around the table to see if I could find the signed receipt lying somewhere in the vicinity.  It was a breezy afternoon and it was entirely possible for it to have simply blown away.  I spotted a white piece of paper next to the stone-lined boardwalk about 30 feet away.   I briskly walked over to it.  Damn.  A chopstick wrapper. 

Defeated, I walked back into my section as I continued to be sat new tables. As I greeted the new guests, I couldn’t focus.  I was completely distraught.  All I could think about was that missing credit card slip.  Even as I took orders, I continued to look around to see if I could find another white piece of paper anywhere. 

It’s amazing how one snafu in your day can begin to screw up your focus and your flow for the remainder of your shift.

I had a thought.  Did that table have a reservation?  It was, after all, a party of five.  I asked the host.  She checked the computer.  It was.  I jumped a little and almost screamed from excitement.    That means there was a phone number I could call.  We looked up the name and it wasn’t the name of the person who paid (I didn’t remember his name exactly but I knew it wasn’t the name on the reservation). 

I decided to call anyway, although I was a bit nervous.  I got his voicemail.  Screw it.  If I’m going this far, I might as well leave a message. The worst that could happen is I don’t get a call back and I don’t get a tip (which was the case at that point anyway).  I left a voicemail asking him to contact the man who paid and ask about the slip’s whereabouts.  It was an awkward voicemail to say the least. 

However, at that point, I felt better.  At least I could say I tried and did all I could to get that tip back, regardless of the outcome.  I continued to wait tables and go on with my day, although still a bit distressed.   

About a solid forty-five minutes later, as I was talking to a guest I saw the host staring at me and waving me over.  I quickly finished my conversation at the table and walked over to her.  She said, “You’re guy called back and he’s on hold.”   My mouth dropped.  Will this be good or bad news?  I took a deep breath and picked up the phone. 

The guy said he talked to his friend who paid and he accidently took both credit card slips.  He tipped me (close to $100) and said he was very sorry about the mix up.  I waved my manager over so he could confirm the amount with her.  I thanked him several more times again and told him how much he truly made my day.  

Wow.  There are still good people out there.  Lord knows as servers, many days we aren’t so sure.  But when a situation like this occurs, I’m reassured I can still have faith in humanity.  ~ HK ~

Addendum: Don’t Hate, Communicate

While it didn’t completely shock me, I was taken back to learn the man who wrote, “Horribly slow service” on his credit card slip proceeded to write a nasty review on opentable.com.

I was sitting at our pre-shift meeting when our manager decided to read a few opentable.com reviews.   The first one was good.  The second one, however, not so much.  The review began with something about “waiting and waiting and waiting…” for their food to come out.  This comment grabbed my attention and I began to listen more intently.  My manager kept reading about their overall experience and then commented on what food they ordered.  At that moment, I knew it was the table I had a few nights before (the one I wrote about in my last post). 

The use of restaurant review websites like opentable.com and yelp.com are a great forum to discuss food, ambiance, drink menus, décor, etc…  And don’t get me wrong, I love and use these sites.  But I don’t write reviews out of principle.  As far as a public forum to discuss service, people’s reviews can be extremely bias and outrageously unfair. 

From a server’s point of view, there are a multitude of reasons why an open medium to discuss service absolutely sucks.  And it’s probably not exactly what you’re thinking. 

Take for example, my aforementioned post.  I stated that this man seemed to be having a bad night with his significant other right from the beginning.  They hardly even spoke to each other their entire dinner.  It seems to me that, if a couple is out to dinner and is generally unhappy, this is bound to reflect their dining experience.  This will inevitably affect their perception of that restaurant no matter what kind of service is provided.  It was definitely unfortunate their dining experience wasn’t as fast has he’d hoped.  He was after all “timing the meal” on his watch.  But I can’t help to think, if this man was involved an intimate conversation with his female friend, or any time of positive conversation, I can safely assume he would not have been as upset that the meal took a few minutes longer than expected. 

Equally as important as the unique human perspective is the fact that quality of service can change in an instant.  There are an excruciating number of factors that can affect service, a lot of which are out of our control. 

As a simple example, imagine how much a high maintenance and/or large party can table can take up all of our time.  While we are working extra hard on the demanding table, other tables in our section might not get the impeccable service they desire.  This is highly frustrating as a server, but again, something that can be out of our control.  Take that demanding table out of the scenario and the remaining tables in our section will be taken care of equally and fairly with no problem.    

As another clear example, think of all the issues that can arise when a restaurant is short staffed.  This can be a doozey.  Imagine what would happen if a line cook didn’t show up, if a bar back called in sick, if a server failed to show up or if a busser called out.  A restaurant can only function well if they are staffed for it.  If they aren’t, issues can rise up in flames, taking the entire restaurant down in a stressful blaze.  Again, another simple, yet complex, factor that is out of a server’s control. 

Bottom line, if you are having a bad experience as a diner, consider what the server might be dealing with.  If your service is slow and you see your server hanging out in the side station texting on their cell phone, then yes, you definitely have the right to be upset and to yelp about it.  But if it’s obvious the restaurant is busy and you don’t communicate you are having a bad time, it’s equally unfair to place full blame on the server. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; it’s all about communication – from the server and from the guest.  I’ll let my tables know if there are issues going on that will affect service.  Most of the time, the guest appreciates this info and is much more understanding.  The same rule applies for the guest.  If you’re not having a good time, tell us.  Otherwise how are we supposed to fix it?  It’s painful as a server to read a negative review online about service, especially if the diner never said a word about being unhappy.

Sometimes, humanity sucks.  And serving humanity is even worse, especially without proper communication.   

Don’t hate: just communicate.  ~ HK ~

We Can Read People But We Aren't Mind Readers

A man left me a note on his signed credit card receipt that read, “Horribly slow service.”  In the office world, this would be the equivalent of a stranger writing a note on a sticky pad and slapping it on someone’s desk that said, “You suck at your job.”  Then with no further explanation, the person walks away, never to be seen again. 

You can imagine how frustrating that would be and why that nasty little phrase continues to haunt me.

First of all, his service was not “horribly slow.”   My busser and I were on our game.  Yes, it was a bit busy at that time, but it was manageable.  In no way did this couple wait an exorbitant amount of time for anything to deem it “horrible.” 

Secondly, if your soda was refilled constantly, would you call your service horrible?  When this man first ordered his Diet Pepsi he mentioned he would be drinking a lot of it.  As any attentive server would do, I prepared a pitcher of Diet Pepsi immediately and set it in my side station just a few feet away from his table in order to give him frequent refills.  I didn’t let his Diet Pepsi go empty for more than a few minutes; in fact I hardly let it get below ¾ empty.  He drank over two pitchers.  That alone should qualify as decent service… right?  He asked me to keep his drink full and between my assistant and I we did exactly that. 

In his defense, the food did take longer than it should have.  A first course should usually come out within ten minutes.  But this couple didn’t order a first course, so naturally it might have seemed like dinner took a while to come out.  From my calculations, their meal was delivered in 20-25 minutes (normally a dinner should arrive within that 20 minutes).  I even checked on them and told them their food should be coming out soon.  All he said was, “Okay.”  He never seemed angry. 

Shortly after their food came out, I asked him how their food was and he replied, “Fine” or perhaps “Good,” but nothing negative.

When he asked for the check, I brought it immediately.  I picked up his credit card within a couple minutes, ran it and brought it back instantly.  It couldn’t have been more than five minutes from the time he asked for the check until he received his credit card slip to sign.  For dinner service, that timeline should not be considered slow.

Thirdly (and the most frustrating part of leaving a note in this manner) is the lack of communication on his part.  If he was in a hurry, he should have told me.  If he didn’t enjoy his meal, he should have let me know.  Communication is key for both the server and the guest.  Most servers are good at reading people, but we can’t read minds.  If he mentioned he thought the food took too long, I could have at least tried to resolve the situation by offering soup or salad in the meantime or offering a dessert on the house to go.  Something.  But because I wasn’t aware he felt the way he did until after he left, how can I possibly fix the situation?  I’m convinced some people just prefer to be irritated and unhappy.    

On that note, I noticed this couple didn’t say much to each other throughout their entire meal.  I had been wondering if maybe they had just gotten into a fight.  Or perhaps he or she was having a bad week at work.  It’s also feasible they’re just quite people.  In any case, regardless of what they were going through, it still doesn’t seem fair to take out any possible personal issues on a random stranger who is providing a service. 

I serve humanity the best I can every day.  If you have an issue, tell me and most likely I'll be able to make it better.  It's that simple. 

One more important note:  My sensitivity meter was at an all time high on this particular day.  I had just spent the previous few days saying goodbye to my Grandfather for what will most likely be the last time before he passes.  I had to mention this as a reminder that you never know what a stranger might be going through; a simple reminder that we are all human beings and to treat others (even strangers) with kindheartedness and respect.  ~ HK ~