"Something must be going around"

Why is it that whenever flu season hits people decide to celebrate by going to dinner or out for drinks? The other night at work 75 percent of every customer was coughing, sneezing and looked like complete dog crap. No joke, I even had a 6 top of all middle aged women who I am pretty sure only came out because they were all sick and wanted to talk about it seeing as how that was the topic of discussion the entire duration of their stay (probably college professors bc the tip sucked). I don't get it, then it's these same people who say things like "well everyone's got it"-yeah no shit, because people like them decided to hit the streets like it's St. Patrick's day. I know I work in a setting where I'm around a lot of people but I also know that when I'm sick I take care of myself and stay home and oh I don't know what the kids are calling it these days "get better." It's ridiculous. Some of us have families we go home to at night with little kids that shouldn't get sick but ultimately do because drinking at bars and going out to dinner is more important than not spreading your shitty cold.

Do yourself a favor along with everyone who works in this industry-stay home, take some vitamins, drink some water or tea and go to sleep, your birthday margarita or over cooked strip steak will still be waiting for you when your all better.

cheers.

So what's your REAL job?

Probably the most insulting question you can ask someone in the service industry. I have faced it myself countless times in my many years of bartending and serving and I'm still not sure how to answer. I can't think of many other job where someone would feel OK asking this. I don't think anyone has ever grabbed my librarian friends' arm while she was restocking books and asked her this. I'm almost 99% sure no one has approached the local garbage man and asked him this and I'm pretty sure no one has even asked this of a restaurant owner, cook or chef. So, why is that being a server/bartender does not qualify as a "real job" to most people? Yes, we work odd hours and have ever changing shifts but, last time I checked so do doctors, nurses and airline pilots. We may not have health insurance or paid vacation time but, neither does my hair stylist, massage therapist or any retail worker that I have ever met. There is just something about being a server that makes the public think we are less intelligent, less competent and definitely less worthy of respect which, in my experience, could not be further from the truth. Sure I have met my fill of total d-bags working in restaurants and bars, but I have also met some incredible people who have affected my life in a hugely positive way. I have had the luck of working with opera divas, literary geniuses, actors, accountants, world travelers, interior designers, artists, social workers, mothers, fathers, business owners, Masters degree holders, musicians, care takers and of course, experts in wine and fine dining (Which is so more intricate and complex than you could ever imagine). Back to the question at hand. My REAL job is being a server, a server whose job functions can include being everything from a mom, nutritionist, babysitter, janitor, matchmaker, jester, and therapist. All which I do with a smile. Some of us just really enjoy the food and drink industry and we are good at what we do and when we do our job well we should get the same respect you give to your dentist, mail carrier or bank teller.

Coupons

Ok, so here it is-my first real post; I work at a "fine dining" establishment in the crippling restaurant metropolis known as Albany NY. After working in the industry for a over 3 years I can think it's safe to say I have officially dealt with some "gems." Now I'm not saying that everyone who walks in the door of my employers is a complete douche bag but now and again they do trickle in, and one main cause of this are these:

you see these? yeah well if you are on the other side of the check book and have to process these you can almost guarantee less than a 15% gratuity added to the bill.

Although it can be said that I along with everyone else I work with do appreciate the business of anyone who walks through the door-especially in this economy, when a person decides to as they are taking off their coat lay one of these bad boys already on the table as if it's a the golden ticket from Wonka's Chocolate Factory it's more than a red flag to me that this table will pretty much most likely without a doubt leave a shitty tip...and ask for more bread, order no appetizer, no desert and probably drink water all night. Some of you might be saying "hey that sounds like a good idea"-wrong. The problem with these coupons is you only get a certain percentage off ONE meal per table which ultimately means you are only saving any where from 5 to 9 bucks off a given meal. Now I know it's my job to understand and accept the fact that "the customer is always right," but it is also my job to "sell." When I see one of these coupons I know pretty much for a fact that they aren't interested in hearing the nightly specials, or interested in which wine I know would go great with which ever entree they chose, or even what specialty cocktails our bar has to choose from that night. It sucks. Chances are they will order some pastas and walk out the door and never come back, unless or until another session of coupons hits their mailbox.

I like my job. I like meeting new people and doing the best "customer service" and "sales representative" job I can to make sure that whoever just ate at my place of employment can't wait to come back and enjoy it again. I know it's true that everyone who uses coupons is not cheap, but if you are going to use them-understand that WE are allowing you those extra bucks off your bill and when you tip valued "post" coupon the bear minimum you are only making yourself look bad.

In conclusion,

cheers

Gratuity Comes In Many Forms

Let me start by introducing myself. I am a handsome and polite young man, and I am a waiter at a restaurant in Manhattan. I've pretty much reached the point where I hate what I do, but thanks to my parents, I have a nice work ethic and I still do my best at my job.

So anyway, things have been relatively slow in the early evenings lately, and then picking up around 8 or so and getting busy until about 10pm. This was the case this past Friday night. Around 7 pm or so, I saw that I was having a 2 top sat in my section, so I immediately grabbed 2 menus and went over to greet them. When I arrived at their table I saw that it was two black women probably in their mid 30's (* I don't know how everyone else is planning on writing these entries, but I'm probably going to mention the race and gender of the people I'm talking about, because I think a lot of times race and gender and age of customers are all factors that can determine how the experience is going to go, not always but a lot of times).

These women were very pleasant, and since it was early in the night I was able to give them all of the attention that they needed. They ordered a couple drinks, looked over the menus, had a couple questions for me, and then placed their orders. The food came out not too long after, their water glasses were kept full and they declined to order more drinks. I checked in with them a few minutes later and they said that everything was great. They finished their meals and then asked for the check. I brought the check to them, and we always include a to-go menu and some other stuff with the check, one of the things we include is a comment card.

So I ran their credit card for them, and they left a few minutes later. I went to the table to pick up the credit card slip, and I saw that they had filled out the comment card. So I picked up the slip and comment card and brought them to the back wait station. I looked at the slip and saw that they had decided to leave me $10 on a $109 check. Not even 10 fucking percent. Now I'm dreading looking at the comment card because I'm assuming it's gonna be some rant about how bad the service and food was, just picking any excuse to be mad and leave a shitty tip, and this sucks because I have to turn all comment cards over to my manager. I look at the card and all it said was "Service was Excellent".

Testimonial

A collective of Servers in the restaurant and bar industry giving the first hand perspective from the other side of check book. These are the do's and the do not's of how to eat, drink, breathe or leave in an industry most people shit on. Nothing fancy, just first hand accounts from the feet that don't stop moving until most people are fast asleep, so enjoy-eat drink and be merry

The Report.

Don't shit where you eat, and if you do-flush.