Food; Home @ 13 Dec 2006 12:06 pm by Christina Waters
I can’t take it anymore! Surely this has happened to you. You are out dining, enjoying your main course and your server comes by the table and asks: “Are you guys still working on that?” I am always put off by such rude and inappropriate behavior. Doesn’t anyone train servers anymore? Dining is not exactly shoveling mud, so no I am not “still working on that.” It really takes the charm right out of any meal to be asked if I’m still slogging my way through the tedious business of dining. And save “you guys” for your friends, and/or patrons under 25 years of age. And even then it’s really presumptuous.
The other big trend in serving that makes me absolutely nuts, is the habit on the part of well-meaning, but clueless servers to approve of your order. For example, I chose a glass of Foggy Bay Sauvignon Blanc. The server responds by saying, “Good choice!” Is that something they’re taught to say so that the patron won’t feel insecure? Aren’t servers aware that they may be approving an order by someone who knows what they’re doing? If I want advice, I will ask for it — and I often do. Lots of times this sort of unwanted reassurance will even happen when I’m just placing my appetizer order. “Seared ahi with coriander, please,” and the server responds, admiringly, “Good choice” or….”that’s my favorite!”
Right on! How about the “introductions”. ” Hi, my name is Amber, and I will be your server tonight”. Flash, I am not interested in your name, history or what you REALLY do when you are not working in a restaurant!
Gosh I miss dining in California. The pickins are slim out here in Wyoming and the waitresses (very few men wait tables out here) are not only not trained, but have rarely eaten in a restaurant nicer than Pizza Hut. They have no idea how servers should behave. Dining out requires a great deal of patience and humor.
A Wyoming dining story:
At a small steak house I asked the waitress, “what kinds of wine do you have?” “We have both kinds!” she replied brightly. Noticing my blank look of surprise, she explained, “You know, red AND white!”
I’m with you on the “still working on that?” line–how vulgar! I don’t mind being called “you guys,” but then I’m only 42.
It is annoying if every item we order is “approved” by the server. I think they’d have to have been trained to do that, at least by example. I don’t think it would ever bother me to hear that something was the server’s favorite, though. As someone in a sort of a service industry (I’m a librarian), I kind of like having the line between server and served a little fuzzy. I don’t really want to know their life story (not usually, anyway), but I like having my server genuinely interact with me (as opposed to rote interactions like “Good Choice!” or “my name is….”).
My pet peeve is in retail (or counter ordering), when they say “I can help whosever next.” It is NOT whosever! What kind of a word is that? It should be whoever’s, short for “whoever is”–or even better: “I can help the next person.”
I think that it depends on the restaurant. When dining at Soif they tend to do that only because they have frequent wine tastings after hours for the staff so that they can say that and mean it.
Seconding the request that wait staff stops RIGHT NOW the intro:”Hi, I’m Cindy and I'’ll be your…….” A response: We were at a large table of friends and the waiter arrived, with the ” Hi, I’m…” routine. Instantly our friend Jim stood up , reached over and shook hands, saying , “Hi, I’m Jim” and proceeded to go around the table introducing each of us. I wonder what would happen if everyone did that?
Newsflash! Most people who are servers DO have to go through training. Then they take a test to make sure they know the correct way to serve in the resaurant. If a waiter starts with a friendly greeting including his or her name… the managers at the restaurant told her to do so. If she doesn’t and is heard behaving this way…she will be fired! It is intended as a courtesy–common sense says introducing yourself to a customer is polite! Same goes for servers saying something is a good choice or a favorite–they have to say something and these are polite options.