I want to state at the outset that I’ve never worked as a waiter. I can preach all I want about what a tough job it is, and my words would ring hollow because I’ve never actually done it.
Still, I’ve observed enough and have read enough to know how difficult it is, and to appreciate the good service I receive. I reward good service, and probably tolerate bad service better than most. I remember many a time, lingering behind to throw down an extra wad of cash after my dad left a $1 tip for a $100 meal.
I like to believe that I’m an easy patron. I don’t make unusual demands, and even after getting bad service, I won’t trash the table or stiff the waiter by leaving a penny. What I will do, however, is write about how a certain type of waiter drives me batshit crazy! Yesterday was a case in point.
No sooner had my wife and I been seated at Zinburger, a curiously upscale hamburger-and-wine joint, than our waiter made his appearance and introduced himself. My first thought: “Oh dear god, we’ve got a squatter.”
One thing I hate even more than a bad server is the overly friendly server, and among these, the very worst is the guy who hunkers down at your table while explaining all the specials, and remarking upon how each entrée is more delicious than the last. I’ve actually had one guy who pulled up a chair, but a squatter is worse because he’s just that much more inside your personal safety zone.
What I want … no, what I need … is for you to take my freaking order, pal, and then bring me my food in a timely manner. Cut through all the frills, and this is still just a hamburger joint, for crying out loud, so I’m really not interested in wine pairings or upgrading my burger to Kobe beef!
Even my wife, who’s a lot nicer person than I am, remarked later that she hadn’t gone in there looking for a new best friend. And to be perfectly honest, I’m certain our waiter wasn’t looking to become our BFFs either. What he was looking for, in his own unctuous way, was a good tip, and we gave him one, though nothing out of the ordinary.
Here’s what I want from my server:
- List any specials in a quietly unobtrusive way.
- Take my order after it’s apparent that I’ve stopped perusing the menu.
- Bring me a glass of water in addition to any other drink I might order.
- Refill my water glass if I empty it, or ask if I want a refill of my other beverages.
- Bring my food to the table while it’s still hot.
- Ask if there’s anything else that I require.
- Take my plate when I’ve finished, and ask if I want dessert.
- Bring my check in a timely fashion.
If you can do these things without getting up in my grill, I will really, really appreciate it, and I’ll leave you a generous tip. Anything more is liable to drive me batshit crazy!
I’m with you on overly friendly wait staff. I want polite, but not gushy. I want attentive, but not obsessive. There’s no need to come back to the table every two minutes to ask if everything is ok. Trust me, I will flag my waiter/waitress down if I have issues with the food, and I really don’t appreciate the constant interruptions to what otherwise would be a very nice conversation with my dinner partner.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll take a bad overly friendly server over a good surly server any day!
And who knows? You might actually make a good friend with a friendly waiter 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe if I kept going back to the same place, but that’s unlikely!
LikeLike
What drives me batshit crazy: the wait staff asking me what I’d like to order 5 seconds after handing over the menu!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, or when you tell them you need more time, they don’t come back for 15-20 minutes!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m loving all your “batshit crazy” posts LOL More, please!
LikeLiked by 1 person
There seems to be a cool rule over here in Germany. You’re given the menu and when you want to order, you close the menu and then a waiter comes. Like you, I don’t like intrusive waiting staff hovering like a hungry dog waiting for scraps. But a good waiter knows how to be unseen and yet there when he/she is needed. I was a waitress at a swanky restaurant in my younger days and I must admit – I was rubbish!! Honestly, I was too clumsy to be a waitress. Cream is supposed to go in coffee not on the backs of customers jackets – oops! And I was never friendly enough 🙂 One clumsy, grumpy waitress was I :):) Fortunately, I found my niche in teaching and luckily for the students, I was good at it 🙂 Great post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Right you are! A good waiter is amazing. Just as you said, the good waiter will appear out of nowhere at just the right time. It’s a real skill.
LikeLike
I need to do a batshit post soon. I’ve got lots of material.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll be happy to sell you a Batshit Crazy franchise, at a nominal fee!
LikeLike
I have kids, I don’t need the expenditure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, okay. Well in that case, you can have it for free!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A hamburger and wine joint – there’s something I’ve never heard of. What happened to a good old fashioned beer with one’s burger? One of the things I loved about living in New Zealand is that there isn’t any tipping at all. For anything. Never had to worry about overly chummy waiters trying to get a better tip or do complicated math at the end of a meal trying to figure out how much to leave.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The place did have a full bar, but they do seem to stress wine. We thought wine and hamburgers was an odd choice, too, targeting a certain demographic that isn’t us! It’s a chain, could be one near you!
LikeLike
I had a squatter last night, and he came back every couple of minutes to ask me how I was enjoying my meal, telling me when a song was playing that he liked, and how much he needs a day off.
I left a nice tip, not a fabulous tip, and I won’t be going back there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Monica! I wonder if there’s a Squatter School somewhere. If so, somebody needs to shut it down!!!
LikeLike