The Restaurant Business is a thankless job. Here are some ways you can make your server and host happy, and your service better.
I have worked in restaurants for years, from fast food to sit down there is one common theme, ungrateful customers. If you are one of those who feels entitled to service to the point that you feel you need to make your every whim and wish heard, this is for you.
1) Upon entering a restaurant you will be greeted by a Host/Hostess. These are very busy people, if the do not look at you the second you walk in, just relax the will get to you. While you see a person ignoring you, they are probably going over seating charts and available tables. This is to ensure that you are sat in a timely manner.
2) Do Not request a specific area unless you absolutely have to. Most restaurants seat based on the concept of rotation. This way customers are spaced out between available servers. The rotation ensures the best service by not putting too much stress on a specific server at one time. If you ask for a special table because of health reasons, that is perfectly permissible. Anytime you ask for a special seat be prepared to have a slightly longer wait for the first couple of rounds the server makes to your table.
3) While waiting in the lobby do not smoke and keep your kids in check. Most lobbies are smoke free areas and it is not only rude to the other customers but to the host as well. After all that is their environment that they must keep clean and trouble free. Children wildly running everywhere can disturb the comfort of the lobby as well.
4)Once you are seated it may take a few minutes for the server to get to you, especially on a busy day. Servers have duties in the kitchen as well as on the floor to attend to. Once you are approached the server will ask you for you drinks. At this time you are now within her time and space management. She will do her best to service you while you are a guest at her workplace.
5) Say please and thank you. Servers are not servants, they are hard working people just like you.
6) Try to keep your area neat. Sloppy eaters, please remember you are in another person's office. You would not go into a co workers office and leave catsup on their desk would you? If you do make a huge mess, make sure to leave extra tip for compensation of the extra work you are putting the server through
7) Be vocal with your needs, but not belligerent. If your server has not filled your drink in a timely manner say something. Be polite though. Remember they do handle your food...
8) If your food comes back and is not correctly cooked do not automatically blame the server. There are cooks in the back that sometimes mess up too. You do not tip the cooks, so their mistakes should not be reflected on how you tip the server. Also you are allowed to politely ask for a change. You do not have to speak down to the server like they are an idiot. Again remember, they do handle your food...
9) When you are done eating attempt to leave in a timely fashion or compensate your extended stay with a larger tip. Remember the more customers a waitress has the more they can receive in pay. If you are holding up the table you are cutting into the servers wages.
10) Tips! This subject has already come up a few times in the article but lets get to the nitty gritty of the situation. Most servers make 2-4 dollars an hour. Minimum wage for a server is different than that of an average worker. The government has allowed businesses to short change servers because they collect tips. Tips are no longer considered "optional based on service." Unless the service is so horrendous that you will never come back, you are obliged to leave at least a 10% tip. If your service is average you should leave a 15% tip, if service is excellent then you should leave a 20% tip. Yes this goes for large bills as well. The more food you eat, the more work the server did for you. If you do not tip you have not only been rude, but you may have less than enthusiastic service if you return to the same server on your next visit. This is not to be rude, but if they know their time is not well spent on you they will put their efforts elsewhere to make more money, wouldn't you? Remember to treat your servers with respect and dignity. Many are very intelligent people working their way through college, or have children to feed. You will be hard pressed to find people who work as hard as a server.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Insults and Innuendo: The "New" Form of Aggression
Psychological Warfare: Is our society truly enlightened or have we found a new form of non-physical warfare that is protected by the law?
Shall quips, and sentences, and these paper bullets of the brain awe a man from the career of his humour?Senior Benedict, Act II of Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare.
Insults have been around since language was invented. They have always been considered the civilized man's way of handling his problems with another. As the society developed, so did the complexity of non physical aggression. One rumor, one look, even a phrase could do considerable damage to a person's "good name."
We can see examples in literature through out history as to how insults and innuendo have been used to win favor with women, favor in the court, or even minor house wars. This behavior has enriched both fact and fiction alike. In Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, he calls these actions the "Game of Houses." Much like Chess, when one embarks in this game, you must not only have a strategy, but also must anticipate the other person's move.
Shakespeare is another author of amazing insults and innuendo. Most of his plays are rife with clever insults and puns. You can see this notably in the character of Mercutio who is Romeo's good friend in Romeo and Juliette. The entire play of Much Ado About Nothing is centered around a war of words between most of the characters but mostly between Beatrice and Benedict.
There are games which center around insults and have been around for years. In my generation the 80's and 90's were a host to a game that pitted the quick witted against their unsuspecting prey called the Crack Off. Usually initiated by some verbal bully to make them feel superior to another person who did not spend their day thinking up the best insults. Today the tv show "Yo Mamma" shows this game in a fun light.
You can also see insults and innuendo in every form of politics. Only small parts of wars are waged with physical aggression. Right now nations are in full onslaught of slander, media plays, and politics. Media wars are a new player in an old game that tries to tear the enemy apart from within and alienate it from its allies. Yes, insults and innuendo are a major part of war that is not acknowledged by most modern citizens. So how is this a new form of aggression when it has been around forever? It has to deal with the new turn it has taken and the new weapon that is being used to sling the insults and lies.
Right now insults and innuendo, even down right harassment, is being hidden under the guise of free speech. It is defended by people who accuse and abuse others on a daily basis. We have all heard the lines, " Grow a thick skin," " Take it like a man," " Don't be a baby," "If you don't like it ignore it," even though it is in your face and screaming unresolved in the depths of your psyche. The Internet has also encouraged insults, lies, libel, slander, and the mob reactions from its users. We have seen this to a lesser extent in message boards and chat rooms, but have also seen the fruition of this recently when a man killed himself live on the Internet while in an insult based chat room. Indeed Cyberbullying has made the headlines time and time again in these past few years.
The reality is that insults can no longer be reciprocated in the ways they were handled in the old days. One could be looking at a pop in the mouth, or ostracising from others. Today in the "developed" world, those who insult are protected by the law. They receive no repercussions for their actions, and keep goading and baiting, harassing and lying. They continue to be protected as they ruin a person's good name, their reputation, and do damage to their emotions. Today, they are given multimillion dollar careers as shock jocks, celebrities, talk show hosts, and news anchors. Those who insult are cheered and congratulated by the average citizens of today as they mutilate a person's psyche. The emotional or mental damage caused by harassment and insults can be far more painful or debilitating than physical wounds caused by a retaliatory punch or smack.
Insult warriors now used their victims fragile emotional state to inflict more pain on them than they could have by just physically confronting them. Even worse the pain and frustration caused by this psychological warfare does take on physical form in depression, self mutilation and suicide. (Many effects of Depression are physical and very painful. The weakened immune system from depression can cause illness, and contributes to various conditions such as G.E.R.D., and Ulcers.)Protecting this type of behavior, even encouraging it, has lead to a generation of bullies and a rise in anti-social personality disorder. We can see that being cold and heartless has been accepted as popular and kids are aspiring to be the next great insulter.
We do not live in an enlightened society, nor can we boast of being peaceful while we protect and excuse this type of behavior.
Shall quips, and sentences, and these paper bullets of the brain awe a man from the career of his humour?Senior Benedict, Act II of Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare.
Insults have been around since language was invented. They have always been considered the civilized man's way of handling his problems with another. As the society developed, so did the complexity of non physical aggression. One rumor, one look, even a phrase could do considerable damage to a person's "good name."
We can see examples in literature through out history as to how insults and innuendo have been used to win favor with women, favor in the court, or even minor house wars. This behavior has enriched both fact and fiction alike. In Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, he calls these actions the "Game of Houses." Much like Chess, when one embarks in this game, you must not only have a strategy, but also must anticipate the other person's move.
Shakespeare is another author of amazing insults and innuendo. Most of his plays are rife with clever insults and puns. You can see this notably in the character of Mercutio who is Romeo's good friend in Romeo and Juliette. The entire play of Much Ado About Nothing is centered around a war of words between most of the characters but mostly between Beatrice and Benedict.
There are games which center around insults and have been around for years. In my generation the 80's and 90's were a host to a game that pitted the quick witted against their unsuspecting prey called the Crack Off. Usually initiated by some verbal bully to make them feel superior to another person who did not spend their day thinking up the best insults. Today the tv show "Yo Mamma" shows this game in a fun light.
You can also see insults and innuendo in every form of politics. Only small parts of wars are waged with physical aggression. Right now nations are in full onslaught of slander, media plays, and politics. Media wars are a new player in an old game that tries to tear the enemy apart from within and alienate it from its allies. Yes, insults and innuendo are a major part of war that is not acknowledged by most modern citizens. So how is this a new form of aggression when it has been around forever? It has to deal with the new turn it has taken and the new weapon that is being used to sling the insults and lies.
Right now insults and innuendo, even down right harassment, is being hidden under the guise of free speech. It is defended by people who accuse and abuse others on a daily basis. We have all heard the lines, " Grow a thick skin," " Take it like a man," " Don't be a baby," "If you don't like it ignore it," even though it is in your face and screaming unresolved in the depths of your psyche. The Internet has also encouraged insults, lies, libel, slander, and the mob reactions from its users. We have seen this to a lesser extent in message boards and chat rooms, but have also seen the fruition of this recently when a man killed himself live on the Internet while in an insult based chat room. Indeed Cyberbullying has made the headlines time and time again in these past few years.
The reality is that insults can no longer be reciprocated in the ways they were handled in the old days. One could be looking at a pop in the mouth, or ostracising from others. Today in the "developed" world, those who insult are protected by the law. They receive no repercussions for their actions, and keep goading and baiting, harassing and lying. They continue to be protected as they ruin a person's good name, their reputation, and do damage to their emotions. Today, they are given multimillion dollar careers as shock jocks, celebrities, talk show hosts, and news anchors. Those who insult are cheered and congratulated by the average citizens of today as they mutilate a person's psyche. The emotional or mental damage caused by harassment and insults can be far more painful or debilitating than physical wounds caused by a retaliatory punch or smack.
Insult warriors now used their victims fragile emotional state to inflict more pain on them than they could have by just physically confronting them. Even worse the pain and frustration caused by this psychological warfare does take on physical form in depression, self mutilation and suicide. (Many effects of Depression are physical and very painful. The weakened immune system from depression can cause illness, and contributes to various conditions such as G.E.R.D., and Ulcers.)Protecting this type of behavior, even encouraging it, has lead to a generation of bullies and a rise in anti-social personality disorder. We can see that being cold and heartless has been accepted as popular and kids are aspiring to be the next great insulter.
We do not live in an enlightened society, nor can we boast of being peaceful while we protect and excuse this type of behavior.
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