what is the worst thing a server can do to make you mad? - Page 9

Interruption.  I always trained my servers not to interrupt a conversation and wait for the customer to acknowledge them, and to walk away if they sense the conversation is deeper than the deep dish pie they hope to serve them.  

Upselling, upselling, upselling.  I always try to strike conversations with servers to get the inside scoop on those questions, then I ask, "how many times out of ten do you sell a drink, appetizer or dessert the customer wasn't planning on.  1 -2 of ten is the usual answer, but they are not sure out of those if they would have wanted them with out the upsell.   

Ignoring you if your busy.  I go right to the manager and explain the art of service to him or her and that his server is ruining my and my guests dining experience.  For some things, especially manners, I have no patience.  It takes takes two seconds to say "I'll be right there" with a smile.

One last one.  When the server brings an order to the table they know is wrong, not properly prepared or mis-timed so the temperature is not right, and they know it.  Grrrr...

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChefBillyB 

I sometimes wonder if it is more of the customer than the server. I have never had a bad experience in any restaurant and I have traveled to many places. When I am in Chef owned restaurant most times I step back and meet the Chef and have a great meal. I would say 75% of the time I am shaking someones hand or exchanging a pleasant comment to a hostess or manager on the way out. I have never been treated rude or had an unpleasant or unkind word spoke to me or my family. When we travel almost everyone I meet in the Hotel remembers me and go out of their way to make things pleasant. If all of you would work a station in a restaurant for one night you would never complain again. I have managed both the front and back of the house and have walked many of dining rooms. If someone in my dining room had bad service I always thought it to be my fault, and I made thing right. If I continued to have problems with the same server then its still my fault, I let it continue. If you ever do get bad service in a restaurant look at the management, I bet they are not on the floor. ...................... ChefBillyB

I want to dine at your restaurant...
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer 

http://www.cheftalk.com/forum/thread/59308/what-s-truly-excellent-service

Thanks for the link! I just popped over there and told my pumpkin pie story.
 

I think that sometimes these situations just happen. If the restaurant was really busy, then cut them a little slack!

I understand those situations.  But here is a recent example I observed of how to handle a busy night.

I dropped by a friend's restaurant on a Monday night recently - typically a slower night and a group of 120 called in 2 hours prior and told him of their last minute need for a facility.  Everyone went into bunker mode and it was as close to managing a situation like that to perfection as possible.  He beefed up runners for service, made sure they were instructed to bring any additional condiments, drinks, etc when requested.  He set up additional stations for for water and condiments. Both the manager and the chef when possible circulated throughout the restaurant, which was full by then, with both the large group and other customers.  The chef said the most important objective was to serve the food to expectation, and if it took an extra few minutes, so be it.

The flow of the restaurant was constant, almost like a waltz.  The customers were satisfied, enjoyed their conversations with management and the extra attention.  The kitchen got through their 15 minutes of Hell's Kitchen, and at the end of service, everyone was energized.  I called it, "Il trionfo del momento".  They were proud of knocking the service out of the park.  It was great to experience.  My food came out perfect.  I toasted my friend from a distance and he winked.  He knew he had command.

His philosophy of customer focus has made him consistently successful and brought him 'the best of' ranking.  Now thats what I'm talking about....

From my side of line, I'd have to say:

When a server rings in every single order at once, and then complains to us that we're not fast enough, and tells the customers that "the kitchen staff is slow tonight"

I also really hate when a server only tips out a tiny bit of their huge wad of cash. To any servers out there - you wouldn't have food to serve, or dishes to serve food on if you didn't have kitchen staff - show some appreciation.

And when you ring the bell, but no one comes to get the food, forever. And then they finally come and make up a sad excuse about how they were talking to a table of people who know the owner...

As far as eating in a restaurant is concerned - I really hate when a server tells you they cannot do something that I know they can.

Worst thing is indifference to a problem, or worse giving you attitude when they should be giving you an apology. Case in point: My girlfriend and I were at a brunch place a couple of weeks ago. We were seated and our drink order was taken. I had ordered an orange juice and a coffee. I got my juice but lacked the coffee. I politely asked the server if I could get a coffee. I received a water. Third attempt at caffeination yielded a mug o joe pretty much being thrown on the table with no apology offered. When your meal starts off like that the small errors that follow that couldve been easily overlooked are suddenly magnified x100. For the first time in YEARS I was tempted not to tip.

"I also really hate when a server only tips out a tiny bit of their huge wad of cash. To any servers out there - you wouldn't have food to serve, or dishes to serve food on if you didn't have kitchen staff - show some appreciation." "

And you would have no one to eat your food, and thus, no job, were there no servers to serve it.

Do you share your wages when the servers have a slow night? Give 'em 1% of your daily take?

You're a cook. You chose to be a cook. Suck it up. You want tips? Go serve. Otherwise, grit your teeth and do what cooks do.

My concern raised by chefness is regarding the attitude and blaming of the kitchen for any problems - by anyone.  That shows a lack of professionalism, a division of departments, raises the question of the quality of the kitchen and that to me, is a management problem.  

I think wages are something that, once agreed upon, are what they are.  I do think bonuses should be a consideration for any owner for people that contribute to the success of the establishment or organization.

Working in restaurants for most my life, in one form or another, I am probably the hardest person I know to satisfy completely as a customer! Most of the stuff discussed on this thread is a good example why not everyone is cut out to be a server! Contrary to what most people think, being a server actually takes some kind of brain and personality.

All that being said, I had a flashback to one of my bad past experiences for almost every pet peeve listed here! The only one I would like to add (I hope I didn't overlook it) the server sets down your food with a thumb in your food, that seems to happen to me way too much!

with a thumb in your food,........

Or even overlapping the plate, whether it touches the food or not.

Anyone else think it strange that we're so concerned with sanitation in the kitchen, to the point of wearing rubber gloves and all, and then some clown, who maybe hasn't even washed his/her hands after bussing the last table, has their fingers all over your plate.

Kind of a double standard, once you think about it.

This topic brings to light a lot of thoughts, indeed. Personally,  I think gloves are a waste of time and personal effect.  I met a chef, 83, still cooking to order, and we got on the subject of food prep and handling.  He has never used a glove except to handle hot equipment or certain types of seafood in prep.  He said he never once had a complaint of someone becoming ill from his food.

I only use gloves when prepping food and not while cooking, but I also wash my hands more often than any cook or chef I ever met. Gloves can be just as nasty as bare hands if the person does not change the gloves often enough! I have worked with cooks who thought going back and forth between raw and cooked food was okay cause they are wearing gloves! YUCK!!

Probably the rudest waiter I came across was a bus boy in montreal, I was sitting next to a table with two Muslims and they ordered a couple things including potato skins, which on the menu said they did not contain meat.  When the bus boy brought them out, they had bacon or ham on top and then mentioned to the bus boy that they dont eat pork and the menu didn't say there was meat on there.  The bus boy told them, it says it has meat on the menu!! And walked away as the Muslim was holding up the menu showing him it didnt say it had meat.   I went over and told the bus boy to get back over there and fix their order, he told them he would fix it and mentioned to the Muslim they better realize whats on the food before they order it next time!          

TK and Linny, I think you're missing my point. It wasn't about the efficacy of gloves (a point I agree with you both on), but on the dual sanitation standards. In the kitchen we are concerned about sanitation; sometimes more obsessively even than the medical fraternity. We will not, do not, cross-contaminate, for instance. But along comes a server who just bussed somebody's chicken dinner plates and, without even a wipe, picks up a new dish, lays a fat (contaminated thumb) across it, and serves it to somebody else.

In other words, sanitation seemingly stops at the pass.

Understood K - that's a frustrating one with no easy answer again other than training....

When a server blames anyone else (granted, it's usually the kitchen) for anything that has resulted in poor service to the consumer it's a transgression in my opinion and for two reasons.  First, and most importantly, a server shouldn't be in the business of giving any excuses.  If a server allows something to go out that they know is wrong, it becomes their responsibility.  If it's wrong, fix it or communicate the problem to the person who can fix it before it goes out.  Whatever the problem, it shouldn't make it to the table to become the consumer's issue.  If it does, it should simply be taken care of immediately. 

Second, the server blaming someone else is most often a lie.  Many servers feel comfortable telling outright lies to consumers in order to relieve themselves of any wrongdoing.  It is unfortunately convenient to blame the kitchen for anything wrong with the food as it's unlikely that the consumer will find out otherwise.  Two recent issues from my personal dining experiences stand out.  In one instance our food was taking an exceedingly long time to get to the table.  When it finally arrived, the plates were scorching hot (and of course the server warned us not to touch them).  Our server apologized for the late delivery stating that the kitchen was "really backed up" and rolled her eyes.  Scorching hot plates for a dish that didn't have to be fired on the plate tells me one thing:  it sat in the window under the warmers for too long because the server couldn't get to it fast enough. 

In another instance the server seemed distracted when memorizing our order.  As I suspected, when the order came out it was wrong (i.e. I ordered steamed vegetables and got a baked potato; my husband ordered a baked potato and got french fries).  When I mentioned it to the server he told me the kitchen had been messing up orders all night.  Granted, I have no way of knowing whether the kitchen read the ticket wrong or if the server put the order in wrong, but from experience I'd gamble on the latter.

I was working at a local casino fixing electronics. Got off shift at 2am and a bunch of us wanted breakfast and the only place open was the cafe at the competing casino 30 miles away. We all piled into cars and went over. All of us ordered bacon and all of it came out basically raw (some was still cold) so we sent it back. It came back out so hard that it couldn't be chewed so we sent it back again. At this point the on duty cook came out and told us that we could eat it the way he cooks it because we were from the other casino. We got up to walk out but made sure to slip the server $40 on the way out the door. Never went back there again to eat.

Woah!  That takes the prize!  Who knows what else was going on in his kitchen...and you should have complained to the state.  

KYHeirloomer - Couldn't agree more! Of course being back of the house, I always think we do everything better!

ChefBazookas - Of course servers lie to look better, they get paid $4 an hour and rely on getting tipped to to make money and it is easier to blame someone whom the customer is not staring at. Servers, bartenders, anyone who makes money mainly on what you tip .... don't trust a word they say  (In case anyone is wondering, I am just being playful, plz no bashing me)

Quote:

Originally Posted by linny29 

Of course servers lie to look better, they get paid $4 an hour and rely on getting tipped to to make money...

Wow! Out here in Utah, they generally get paid the minimum wage of $2.13 an hour-- relying, as you wrote, on tips to survive.

@Sheena

I'm a server and when there is cash on the table I make it a point to say "I'll be back with your change" that way if they want change they can say thank you and if they don't they can say keep the change. This way it doesn't make things awkward for the guest as it would if you said "Do you want change?" like you already know it's your tip.

This might already be back in the thread. I was reading some points about cross contamination. It really puts me off when a server puts his pen

behind his ear and then sticks the order pad down the back of his pants.

Quote:

Originally Posted by panini 

This might already be back in the thread. I was reading some points about cross contamination. It really puts me off when a server puts his pen

behind his ear and then sticks the order pad down the back of his pants.

Remember this joke?

Last night, I went with some friends out to a new restaurant, and noticed that the waiter who took our order carried a spoon in his shirt pocket. It seemed a little strange. When the busboy brought our water and utensils, I noticed he also had a spoon in his shirt pocket. Then I looked around I saw that all the staff had spoons in their pockets.

When the waiter came back to serve our soup I asked, "Why the spoon?"

"Well," he explained, "the restaurant's owners hired a consulting firm to revamp all our processes. After several months of analysis, they concluded that the spoon was the most frequently dropped utensil. It represents a drop frequency of approximately 3 spoons per table per hour. If our personnel are better prepared, we can reduce the number of trips back to the kitchen and save 15 man-hours per shift."

As luck would have it, I dropped my spoon and he was able to replace it with his spare. "I'll get another spoon next time I go to the kitchen instead of making an extra trip to get it right now."

I was impressed! I also noticed that there was a string hanging out of the waiter's fly.

Looking around, I noticed that all the waiters had the same string hanging from their flies. So before he walked off, I asked the waiter, "Excuse me, but can you tell me why you have that string right there?"

"Oh, certainly!" Then he lowered his voice. "Not everyone is so observant... That consulting firm I mentioned also found out that we can save time in the restroom. By tying this string to the end of our "you know what," we can pull it out without touching it and eliminate the need to wash our hands, shortening the time spent in the restroom by 76.39 percent."

"Hhmmm...After you get it out, how do you put it back?" I asked.

"Well," he whispered, "I don't know about the others... but I use the spoon."

Hadn't heard that before, Kuan. And, as soon as I wipe the coffee off the screen, I'll be in better shape.

Sadly, however, it does reflect the difference in sanitation orientation between FOH and BOH.

This particular incident sticks out in my mind; maybe because it was on New Year's Eve. So my girlfriend and I went to one of the better places in town for dinner and the meal was progressing well. Delicious food, good wine. We decide to get a couple of post dinner drinks (Scotch for me, whiskey sour for her)....anyways she tells me that it doesn't taste like she expected but she likes it anyways. It's rimmed with sugar and she just runs her finger around the rim which causes our server to materialize by our side and inquire if the drink is satisfactory, as she saw the need to add sugar. She says it is fine and he says he will get the bartender to make a new one. She protested and he literally snatched the drink from her hand. It didn't impress me. In fact we had had the same server the night previous and had prayed he wouldn't be the ruination of our NYE.

Every thing alright here?  Everything alright here?  everything alright here?  everything alright here?,  everything alright here?  everything alright here?

IF  IT  WASN'T  I  WOULD  HAVE  CALLED  YOU .

In fact we had had the same server the night previous and had prayed he wouldn't be the ruination of our NYE.

If you had a server you were unhappy with, why didn't you request that you not be seated at his table?

Writing/calculating the tip on the ticket...annoys me to no end.  I tip very well for good service. sometimes 50%....write it down like I'm too stupid to do math and I'll leave you that exact amount, including the pennies. 

I keep hearing about that practice, RP, but have never actually had it happen. Is it really common for servers to do it?