Waiting
So I'm now working Front of the House. Not full time, but 4 days a week (the other two are being spent in the kitchen still). It's a good start. The money is better and my kitchen shifts are at night ... I work solo at night, so it's me, my thoughts, the tickets and my prep, a good place to be.
Waiting is interesting work. I enjoy the challenge that comes with waiting tables and I have a whole lot more respect for waiters now that I am on that side of the table. People can be very harsh when it comes to judging waitstaff based on the smallest of things that are sometimes out of their control. If I get three tables seated at the same time, it's going to be a bit of a wait before we can get everything sorted out and your stuff is going to be a bit slow. But not many people have that awareness. Similarly, mistakes happen. I work hard to make sure that they aren't, but I'm not the one that resets my table - the busser does. I'm not the one that cooks the food - the cook does. Give us a break.
What has really bugged me is the fact that some people go out and are in a foul mood. Why bother? I hate waiting on tables that aren't at least in an okay mood. I don't want your sunshine raining on my parade.
And yet, I find myself becoming a decent waiter. I adapt who I am to each table, I am getting better at anticipating needs and I'm having a good time doing it. It's a rush to learn a new skill and see yourself get better at it.
The one thing that I keep learning, though, is that people will never fail to surprise you. This plays itself out in the tipping, for the most part. You would expect a very demanding table with a bunch of old folks that are very surly to tip poorly. 24%. A foreign group? $7 on a $39 bill. Pretty good. That table you had a great rapport with? 9%.
The other thing that strikes me is that the tips for breakfast can be paltry. If you find yourself ordering a breakfast that's less than $10, even a 20% tip doesn't mean that much, especially when I can easily spend the same amount of energy serving a cover that has 2-3 times the size of your check.
Just oatmeal and water, sir?
It's going to be a long morning.
Waiting is interesting work. I enjoy the challenge that comes with waiting tables and I have a whole lot more respect for waiters now that I am on that side of the table. People can be very harsh when it comes to judging waitstaff based on the smallest of things that are sometimes out of their control. If I get three tables seated at the same time, it's going to be a bit of a wait before we can get everything sorted out and your stuff is going to be a bit slow. But not many people have that awareness. Similarly, mistakes happen. I work hard to make sure that they aren't, but I'm not the one that resets my table - the busser does. I'm not the one that cooks the food - the cook does. Give us a break.
What has really bugged me is the fact that some people go out and are in a foul mood. Why bother? I hate waiting on tables that aren't at least in an okay mood. I don't want your sunshine raining on my parade.
And yet, I find myself becoming a decent waiter. I adapt who I am to each table, I am getting better at anticipating needs and I'm having a good time doing it. It's a rush to learn a new skill and see yourself get better at it.
The one thing that I keep learning, though, is that people will never fail to surprise you. This plays itself out in the tipping, for the most part. You would expect a very demanding table with a bunch of old folks that are very surly to tip poorly. 24%. A foreign group? $7 on a $39 bill. Pretty good. That table you had a great rapport with? 9%.
The other thing that strikes me is that the tips for breakfast can be paltry. If you find yourself ordering a breakfast that's less than $10, even a 20% tip doesn't mean that much, especially when I can easily spend the same amount of energy serving a cover that has 2-3 times the size of your check.
Just oatmeal and water, sir?
It's going to be a long morning.
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