[DC Sunshine]

Originally Posted by rgladso

Well most of those are not big deals to me but my pet peeves are:

when the waitor waits 20 minutes before returning to your table

refilling drinks quick enough

when they are rude to you

Rgladson...Waiters are paid to wait

Know what you mean tho...I hate nursing a half inch of drink in a glass for half an hour before it has a chance of being refilled.

Once we went for a "quick" meal before catching a movie. Told the waitrss in polite, but no uncertain terms, that we had only 45 minutes...what could they offer us to be made and eaten in that time, so the kitchen had a chance to get it done, we could eat it, and walk across the road to the cinema. It was a very slow night in the restaurant, only 2 other couples.

We were relying on her to be realistic timewise so it would work for everyone.
Result? nope. Didn't happen. We were walking up to the FOH after way too long to let them know, basically, sorry, we have to go, etc etc and the meal appeared. I felt mortified for the cook. But we did have to go. It was an hour after we arrived.

I've got to admit, they did offer us both a free meal to make up for it, so no love lost. A matter of more experience on the wait staff's part perhaps.

We never did take up the offer of the free meal. Have gone elsewhere since.

[rgladso]

Yes I agree with you unfortunatly that seems to happen very often at restaurants around the world, and I guess I understand seeing how busy that waitors and waitresses can be and it is easy to forget about their customers. On the other hand though I understand being a customer how annoying it is when you see someone come in after you and get their food first, or if you just feel like you being avoided. Yes you should remind them that your there but the first time do not be rude to them unless it happens more and more after you have talked to your server.

[Just Jim]

I have no problem with someone who arrives after me receiving their food before me, there are valid reasons for this to happen.
If someone in my party orders a well done steak, later arriving group that orders soup and sandwich could and should receive their food first.
The cooks job is to prepare all food as expeditiously as possible.

[Suzanne]

I'm surprised no one seems to have mentioned this yet: when the waiter touches me.

Yes, I know that there have been studies saying that touching the customer on the shoulder (surely not anywhere else? ) gets a bigger tip, but not from me!

[boar_d_laze]

The worst thing a waiter can do is to blame me for the problem -- whatever it is.

BDL

[petalsandcoco]

Yes Chef BDL,
Blaming....

But being touched (Suzanne said) or coming toooo close to my face where they are breathing down my neck is a no-no...touche pas S.V.P.


Petals

[Filthy Habitz]

I can't stand when the server can't explain the speical, becuz she could care less what is happening in the kitchen.

And what about the frickin CELL PHONES. Your at work, don't talk or txt your friends. We all have phones and all have friends. We know when we work we do just that, WORK

[Koukouvagia]

Yea I don't want to be touched either, and I especially don't like when the waiter sits down at the table with me to take my order... what's that about?

I always ask what the soup of the day is and most of the time I get this stupid answer: "Let me go check."

[rgladso]

Yes I agree with you unfortunatly that seems to happen very often at restaurants around the world, and I guess I understand seeing how busy that waitors and waitresses can be and it is easy to forget about their customers. On the other hand though I understand being a customer how annoying it is when you see someone come in after you and get theirfood first, or if you just feel like you being avoided. Yes you should remind them that your there but the first time do not be rude to them unless it happens more and more after you have talked to your server.

[Just Jim]

If the server takes an order before me from a table that arrives after me, yes, it's a problem.
If they take their order after mine but their food comes out first, not so much.
After the order is taken the server has little control....if the cooks put the other order up first (and there are reasons why this would be acceptable) what are they supposed to do, let it die in the window?

[rgladso]

Well most of those are not big deals to me but my pet peeves are:

when the waitor waits 20 minutes before returning to your table

refilling drinks quick enough

when they are rude to you

[Hotchpotch]

My service expectations vary as to the quality of the dining establishment. These are all things that have happened in fine dining establishments ($50 pp and up type places).

#1 Server sitting down at our table to take the order - don’t kneel on the floor either.
#2 Food auctioning (“who had the duck?”)
#3 Complete lack of knowledge about menu items (“I am a vegetarian I don’t eat meat.”) I don’t care – you are a salesperson you should know your product.
#4 Not refilling wine glasses, yes I know the bottle is on the table but I just paid 150 bucks for it – you want a tip for service, SERVE it.
#5 Timing of plates – appetizers arrived, 2 minutes later entrees arrived, and then the server realized that we had also ordered pre-entrée salads so they brought those also – true story, happened in one the most expensive and highly rated restaurants in the US.

To the restaurants credit the manager immediately removed the salad and entrees and corrected the timing issues, when the entrees came they were fresh and just cooked not reheated. But the server was absolutely clueless and unless I had requested to speak to the manager the plates would have stayed there.

#6 Not knowing how to fillet or carve something tableside (A whole sea bass was presented and the server started to hack away at it, my friend, a chef, who ordered it, stopped him and gave this poor soul a lesson on the dining room floor, he didn’t do it in a demeaning sort of way, but what this guy was doing to the sea bass was criminal.)

Not a “server” but the Sommelier


#7 After ordering a $ 300 bottle of wine by name, a so-called sommelier replied with – “What number is that?” [NOTE: it was NOT a bin number – each wine had a number beside it like cheap Chinese food restaurants.]

And for the finale it came from a Maitre d’:

(drum roll please)

After complaining about a spoiled piece of meat the Maitre d’ came over with knife and fork in hand, cut into the item and proceeded to eat it in front of us and then proclaim there is nothing wrong with it. I am not kidding – I have 3 other witnesses to this event.

I heard later that this gentleman was let go several weeks after our run-in with him, due to a “high volume of guest complaints” – ya think.

[Koukouvagia]

Originally Posted by Hotchpotch

#4 Not refilling wine glasses, yes I know the bottle is on the table but I just paid 150 bucks for it – you want a tip for service, SERVE it.

I understand this statement but here's where I dsagree. I'm a very slow drinker, I am usually the slowest drinker at the table and I often have dining companions who are capable of guzzling. Everytime the waiter comes by he refills their glasses, but not mine because it still looks full. That means that by the end of the night everybody has enjoyed several glasses of wine while I never got past the first one.

I eat french fries fast, but I don't see anyone coming over to refill my plate on those and that would be a welcome change.

[ChefRay]

Originally Posted by C0Ok

Huge serrated steak knives.....

Being treated like I'm cheap and won't tip well because I'm 19. Just because I'm a kid does not mean I'm an idiot. I always tip very well.

It's not just an age thing. I get treated with the presumption that I won't tip well because I drink only water at certain restaurants. They need to get it straight; I drink water here because your tea sucks, I don't much like soda and your wine list is horrible.

I also agree with giant steak knives being annoying. The serrations give a visceral experience that is just what the doctor ordered for ambiance in a rustic, steak house type establishment, but overly wide blades are just plain obnoxious.

[ChefRay]

Originally Posted by Hotchpotch

[FONT=Times New Roman]
#1 Server sitting down at our table to take the order - don’t kneel on the floor either.
#2 Food auctioning (“who had the duck?”)

That is the true mark of an unprofessional individual and it makes them look very lazy.

Originally Posted by Hotchpotch

[FONT=Times New Roman]
#3 Complete lack of knowledge about menu items (“I am a vegetarian I don’t eat meat.”) I don’t care – you are a salesperson you should know your product.

Most people don't realize this. I had a vegetarian waiter in a country club restaurant I ran. I told him not to use this cop-out and just ask one of the chefs about any dish that he would not eat.

Originally Posted by Hotchpotch

[FONT=Times New Roman]
#4 Not refilling wine glasses, yes I know the bottle is on the table but I just paid 150 bucks for it – you want a tip for service, SERVE it.

I could not agree more.

Originally Posted by Hotchpotch

[FONT=Times New Roman]
#5 Timing of plates – appetizers arrived, 2 minutes later entrees arrived, and then the server realized that we had also ordered pre-entrée salads so they brought those also – true story, happened in one the most expensive and highly rated restaurants in the US.

To the restaurants credit the manager immediately removed the salad and entrees and corrected the timing issues, when the entrees came they were fresh and just cooked not reheated. But the server was absolutely clueless and unless I had requested to speak to the manager the plates would have stayed there.

Timing falls partly on the kitchen and partly on the waitstaff. A good waiter, however, knows to send stuff back if it comes too early and to ask for stuff to be pushed if it is needed earlier than expected.

Originally Posted by Hotchpotch

[FONT=Times New Roman]
#6 Not knowing how to fillet or carve something tableside (A whole sea bass was presented and the server started to hack away at it, my friend, a chef, who ordered it, stopped him and gave this poor soul a lesson on the dining room floor, he didn’t do it in a demeaning sort of way, but what this guy was doing to the sea bass was criminal.)

I have never trusted anyone to carve tableside without first doing it in the kitchen under my watchful eye. If no one can do it on the waitstaff, I'll keep a prep cook/apprentice around for service to do it.

Originally Posted by Hotchpotch

[FONT=Times New Roman]
Not a “server” but the Sommelier

#7 After ordering a $ 300 bottle of wine by name, a so-called sommelier replied with – “What number is that?” [NOTE: it was NOT a bin number – each wine had a number beside it like cheap Chinese food restaurants.]

The he wasn't a Sommelier. He was a waiter, and a bad one at that. A sommelier would have known it by name and a good waiter would have written it down and made a stop at the host's stand to reference the wine list.

Originally Posted by Hotchpotch

[FONT=Times New Roman]
And for the finale it came from a Maitre d’:

(drum roll please)

After complaining about a spoiled piece of meat the Maitre d’ came over with knife and fork in hand, cut into the item and proceeded to eat it in front of us and then proclaim there is nothing wrong with it. I am not kidding – I have 3 other witnesses to this event.

I heard later that this gentleman was let go several weeks after our run-in with him, due to a “high volume of guest complaints” – ya think.

He should have been beaten with a stick and the chef should have been beaten with a really big stick for letting that leave his kitchen.