Hey everyone!

Normally I don't bring work up in my blog posts, nor do I usually rant about things anymore but today I'm making an exception. After working in the food service industry for about 6 months now, my eyes have been opened to...well a lot of things. And I feel that other people really need to know some of this stuff.

So, for someone on the other side, here are 8 things to make your waitress's life easier.


1. Keep the Change

I know there are some people out there who like to give the exact 15% tip, and there are some that don't have bills on them, and there are some that just do it for the kicks. But we waitresses HATE change.

To put it simply, it's easy to loose it. It makes our aprons heavy and it's noisy. And then there is the question of where to put it. I finally had to get coin rolls because I would have so much change rolling around in my tip jar.

So please, round up to the nearest dollar. Make it easy on the poor girl.


2. Gently Remind Us about Stuff We Forget

We may be there to serve you, but there are other things we're responsible for too. Like stocking dishes, salad bar, and other food items, for example. If we don't keep up with that, things get fouled up because then someone needs it and it's not there and then you gotta play the game of "let's go get it and hope the food stays warm".

And it's very easy to get sidetracked as a waitress between people flagging us, people needing this, or what-have-you. And if we're understaffed, sometimes we get pulled to do a host or a KP's duty to help keep things moving. We get pulled in a lot of directions and so it's no wonder that a little thing like extra salad dressing or refills might slip the mind every once in a while.


3. Stack the Dishes

Most waitresses have to bus their own tables, and bussing is usually the one thing that a waitress will get behind on.

So, if you stack dishes by size and put them towards the end of the table, it actually saves the waitress a lot of time - she can just throw them on the tray or bus bin and go rather than stand there and gather everything.

And if you really want brownie points - scrap the food scraps into one plate. We're required to do as much as we can before sending the dishes to Tank. Dishwashers tend to get mad when we don't.




4. Be Mindful of the Time Spent

Restaurants are great places to talk, but do be careful. We're not allowed to actually kick anyone out due to closing, surprisingly. I've had customers stay a full hour past close simply because they lost track of time. It really puts us in a bind because we'd like to clean up and cash out and go home ourselves.

And there'll be sometimes when customers hang around and their waitress is getting ready to go off the clock. Since in our system she can't check out until her last table is cleared, it really puts the waitress in a bind because she's stuck with the choice of waiting around, or transferring it to another person and losing the tip.

Not that I don't want to discourage talking and socializing in a restaurant, because I've done it. Most of the time, it's not a problem if you do. But a little courtesy never hurt.


5. Be Generous

Not many people are aware of this, but 80% of our earnings comes from what you leave on the table or credit card. The standard base salary is $2.83/hr, which is just enough to cover the taxes from the declared tips (which, by the way, are taxed at 8%).

Now, I do understand those people like seniors and college kids that leave lesser tips because of their financial situation. But what really irritates me are those big tables (like 6+) that leave $5 for a tip. I mean come on! I know those bills can get large, but please don't skimp on us. We get the short end enough, especially on slow nights.


6. Go the Extra Mile to Ensure We Got Our Tip

I'm not like some waitresses where they'll find out how much people tipped them on the system, but I personally find it a relief when people tell me the tip is on the credit card. It seems trivial, but as someone who has been skiffed before, it makes a HUGE difference.

I also love those people who will seek me out and give me their cash tips before they leave. Believe it or not, there have been multiple cases of people (customers AND other employees!) stealing cash tips. Remember how I said that bussing can get behind? Yeah. Even though I try to make sure I pick up the tips as soon as I can, sometimes money sits there. Not good.




7. If You Need Multiple Things - Tell All at Once

Okay, I know people sometimes forget about the stupid things (remember #2?), but it is kinda a little annoying to be making multiple trips back and forth to the serving line and back. And me personally, I remember it better when there is multiple things to get.


8. Don't Shoot Us if Something Goes Wrong

The expression is "don't shoot the messenger" but it should be "don't shoot the waitress". Unfortunately, a lot of customer anger gets directed at the waitress whenever they are forced to wait a long while or something doesn't turn out right. And usually, these things happen on a busy night, when the kitchen is overwhelmed with orders (one cook often has to feed 30 people at a time, do you have any idea how stressful that is??). So on top of dealing with angry customers, we get to deal with short-tempered cooks too. And heaven help us if the manager has to get involved.

A waitress's favorite customers are those who can keep their composure and sweetness even if the entire restaurant is crumbling around them. It really gives a whole 'nother meaning to "Blessed are the meek." While we DO make mistakes in placing orders, not everything going wrong is our fault.

On that note, a little reassurance is a godsend to a harried waitress. Kind words really are worth gold to us. So is a sense of humor. Some really good stories can come out of funny mistakes like accidentally sending a burger out without the patty. (that happened recently, LOL).


Okay, that's enough ranting from me. What about you? What are somethings that you wish people knew about your work? Feel free to chat (or rant!) in the comments below! 

Old-fashionably yours,

Catherine