Dear Diary,
I know for the past few months, I’ve been writing about the experiences I encounter at my job as a server. So far, they have been rantings of difficult guests and situations. Well, I don’t want you to think that it is all bad.
Late one Friday night, I was working my usual shift of steady tables. As things began to die down and other fellow servers were being cut from the floor, my manager tells me there will be a party of 20 guests coming in and I will be their server. I love getting large parties to myself, as long as I’m not busy with other tables and they aren’t too difficult and needy.
As the party of 20 slowly starting tinkling in, I noticed they were various families with a large amount of children. Yikes! I personally despise children of all ages; including newborns, infants, toddlers, preteens, teenagers, and especially kids from ages 5-10. (I promise to dedicate an entire entry just about kids in the near future.) And this party had a mixture of kids of all ages.
After about 15 minutes, they appear to have found the chairs around the table and finally all sit down. I give them another couple minutes to settle down and review their menus. Then I approach the table, with a smile and my usual greeting. Of course no one hears me or pays attention to me. Only one woman acknowledges me with a hello. I raise my voice, asking if I can get them started with their beverage order.
The one woman, who said hello to me, smiles and says. “We are going to need separate checks.” At least they let me know before hand. The hard part now, is trying to organize who is on whose check. And of course, they are not sitting next to each other, so I have to scramble back and forth just to take the orders.
So I get their drink order first and head off to make it. This takes me about 15 minutes to organize 20 glasses; some with easy ice, some with no ice, some with lemon, others with extra lemon, some with grenadine in them, some in kids cups with lids, some coffee, and even some from the bar. Not to mention, this tray is really heavy.
(Luckily for me, all my other tables are basically finished and have started to vacate the premises, so I no longer have to devote attention to them.)
Once I deliver their drinks, they are ready to order. So I jump from one end of the table to the next, trying to get each person’s attention and making sure the separate families orders are together. By the time the last person tells me, with no cheese, and the dressing on the side, everyone needs a beverage refill!
Putting their order in the computer takes 20 minutes alone. Especially with all the buttons I have to push for all their various modifications and requests. This facade continues for their entire stay. Back and forth, running to get this, a side of that, more of this, refill that. Then, when their food is ready, it is a nightmare to figure out what is what and to who it goes to. One of my favorite things about being a server is when I deliver food to a table and announce the item I have; then the guests all look at me confused and silent. For some reason, no one ever seems to remember what they ordered.
Then comes dessert. Sigh. I’m already sweating from the cardio workout and heavy lifting. Now comes more order taking, food preparation, and delivery. Finally, I drop the separate checks. There is hope, the end is near. With this party of 20, there were about 12 separate checks. Which means 12 different transactions: locating a manager to separate the checks, finding and counting change, and swiping credit cards.
Although, it is a lot of work, full of running back and forth, remembering tons of things, trying to find this, lifting heavy trays, making sundaes, taking dirty dishes away, bringing out sides of ranch dressing, etc. This is my job, and that is what I am here for. This party had a lot of benefits to it for me as well. They were not rude, they were understanding, patient, friendly, they let me know about separate checks before hand, weren’t too needy, and I was able to add 18% gratuity to their final bill. Plus, they ordered many things that management enjoys to see on a check: appetizers, bar beverages, and dessert.
Once I dropped off the change, and credit cards for them to sign, I gave them a final farewell and asked them if they needed anything else. Then came something I would never expect in a hundred years. They thanked me for all my hard work and each of them gave me a round of applause. They cheered and told me I did a tremendous job. My heart fluttered from the surprise and I could feel my cheeks turning red. A huge smile came on my face and I thanked them for everything.
The next time you go out to dine at a restaurant, remember all the hard work your waiter or waitress is doing for you and show a sign of appreciation; either with a positive note on the receipt, a large tip, or in this case, a round of applause. If you do, I promise you will get service with a huge smile.
So I get their drink order first and head off to make it. This takes me about 15 minutes to organize 20 glasses; some with easy ice, some with no ice, some with lemon, others with extra lemon, some with grenadine in them, some in kids cups with lids, some coffee, and even some from the bar. Not to mention, this tray is really heavy.
