Friday, July 29, 2011

Oh, day shift.

It is so much different than night shift. Also, I appropriately mistyped it as 'day shit' at first.

Aaaanyway, today was a lovely day. Busy, but not too busy. Big checks and 25% tips. I even got to tell one bitchy co-worker not to talk to me because she's a miserable prick and I don't like her face.

But I'm going to tell a sweet little story about the man I had on table one. Older gentleman, quiet at first, but opened up a bit when I helped him out with his order and smiled at him. I joked with him that I was too young to be a 'ma'am' and he started calling me 'young lady.'
He told me the saddest story about how his wife passed away four years ago, and he couldn't bring himself to come in since then. He had been going to McDonald's across the street, but today decided he would come back to the diner. He said knew he had made the right choice when he saw we had macaroni and cheese today, which he always used to take home to his wife when she was ill because it was her favorite. It softens a jaded server's soul.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Something else I find strange..

People who fill out an application as an afterthought.

About two weeks ago, I served a table and as I handed them their check and told them to pay up front, she asked me "Are you guys hiring?" I was a little taken aback because a) it seemingly came out of nowhere and b) why would you ask your waitress? Why not the manager-type who will take your cash before you leave?

Then a few days ago, I took a to-go over the phone. Young girl comes in and tells me she had ordered, so I go into the kitchen to check it's status. As I come out with the boxes, she's sitting at the counter filling out an application.

I feel like if you want to apply and be hired, you should come in of your own accord, with the sole purpose of filling out an application, not just 'Oh... well, I'm here and I guess I could use a job.."

The good thing is, they appear to want to leave a good impression and leave great tips.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

If you're going to request me, make it worth my while.

Why would you have a favorite waitress and then be an asshole to her? Or not tip her?

I have one table that's fucking weird as shit. I THINK it's a son and his mom, he's about 40ish and she's older (maybe). She's missing some teeth and he has big goofy glasses. They always organize the sugar packets.
Whenever I walk by, he always asks things like 'making lots of money today?' or 'is it busy on Mondays?'
When I take their order he will interrupt to ask me about a different nail color, a new bracelet or necklace, etc etc. It's not like he's hitting on me (I hope), it's like he just has no social cues.

Anyway, they got me by accident like a year or two ago, and now they always request me. The thing is, they're very inconsistent tippers. When I first started serving them, they always left me five - which was 20% or more. Then they started slipping in a few two- and three-dollar tips, which freaked my the fuck out because I thought I did something wrong. Yet, they continued to request me and the low tips became more and more frequent. Now they're the norm, but I'll still get five at the most random times.

They're not assholes, nice and easy and quick, but it's so strange to me!


What is up with that?

Saturday, July 9, 2011

I don't have much to say anymore.

People have been... well, not retarded.
So I'll write about OTHER servers. Does anyone else get really tense when eating out after working in 'the biz?' I know I do.

If the server isn't attentive or too much so (a recent waitress must have asked us literally every three minutes if we were okay. I wanted to tell her to shut up and go somewhere.) I either start justifying everything they do - "oh, she just got this big table at a bad time, she'll be back when she has a minute" - or think of how I could do it better - "why is everything on my plate the same temperature? how long did she let it sit there? I know she's not busy."

It's gotten to the point that I prefer takeout because I can barely enjoy my meal because I'm so absorbed in the dynamic of the restaurant. I wonder if they make good money, I wonder what the tip-out situation is, I wonder who disappeared for a smoke break and who's snorting a line in the bathroom, etc etc.

Just me?

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy Birthday, America.

I will be spending the day at work... but it's pretty ugly outside so I guess I don't mind. I'll have good company and hopefully make some money.