Recently, the fine establishment where I wait tables changed
their policy on seating incomplete parties.
In the past, when a couple walked in the door and announced to the hostess
they needed a table for eight, the conversation went like this:
Host: Is you entire party here?
Customer: No, but they should be here any minute.
Host: Great! Just let
us know when everyone is here and we can take care of you then.
Now, at this point, the customer would usually grumble,
kick, scream, act like a 5-year-old that had just been told it was nap time,
and ask to speak to a manager. Apparently, our managers as well as the big boys
at home office got tired of fielding such complaints, so they decided to just let
the incomplete party sit when the table is ready rather than accommodating the
party once everyone was in the building.
Now, let me tell you why that sucks for everyone involved.
Let me start with a story. A few days after we changed the
party policy, this happened. A party
called ahead for 4:30. We open at
4:00. When I came in to work at 4:00pm,
I was informed that at 4:30, I would be taking a party of 10 with a
co-worker. Our restaurant requires us to
have two servers for parties of 9 or more.
I’m okay with that because it allows orders to get taken faster, has multiple
hands getting refills and pre-bussing tables, and generally moves the table
along faster. One of my tables and one
of her tables were pushed together. We
could only get sat at our other two tables.
At 5:00pm, we still hadn’t been sat with this party, so I asked our
manager. The party called, they were
running behind, they rescheduled for 5:00PM.
They should “be here” any minute. Table
turns lost: two
At 5:05pm two ladies sat down at the table. The other eight people were leaving work just
now. They would arrive shortly. At 5:30,
still two ladies. Finally at 6:00pm,
five other ladies joined. Table turns
lost: four. At 6:10pm, one lady announced they were ready to order. But wait, two plus five equals seven. Did they want to wait for the other guests to
arrive? Nope. No one else was joining
them. I don’t have to split a party of
seven. You said it would be 10 people. Had they been made to wait for everyone to arrive
before seating the party, we wouldn’t have pushed two tables together. We would have sat them at a table for eight
people. Now, at this point I made a decision to do what I thought was the right
thing. I gave the other server one of my
tables and took the party of seven. Came
back to bite me in the ass, too. Half of
the group didn’t even tip me. And that
was after they told me and my manager what excellent service I gave them.
Perhaps
they thought gratuity was included, because it usually is for parties of eight
or more. But once only seven people
showed up, I didn’t have a choice but to drop all seven separate checks and
pray for the best. But do you see the problem here? Not only did I lose money on this deal, so
did the other server involved as well as the restaurant. We lost four table, that could have been sat;
sixteen people could have come in and out of that section. If I low ball my
tables checks, I lost out on about 20 bucks.
If that happened to me once a week for an entire year, that is
personally $1040 a year out of my pocket. That is my entire Time Warner bill
for a year.
Wait times are based on moving tables. And so is my income. People leave because they don’t want to
wait. Large parties often take up
multiple tables. If you are just going
to sit there for an hour while other folks show up, why can’t you do that at
the bar? Or in the waiting area? Why must you insist on sitting at a table and
preventing me from making money until you are truly ready to dine?
Ask any server! Incomplete parties are sucked into some
strange Murphy’s Law vortex. Just as the hostess finally seats your other
table(s), the remaining members of the incomplete party show. And of course, the members of the party that
have been waiting for 45 minutes are starving.
They’ve been salivating over the smells and sights of the restaurant for
the better part of an hour. They ARE
ready to order. But it doesn’t work like
that. You see hungry, hungry hippo, my
other two tables just got sat. And those
folks didn’t make me wait, so I’m not going to make them wait either. And more than likely, the folks that just
joined your party haven’t a clue as to what they even want to drink, let alone
eat. So, you need to hold your
horses.
If you are lucky enough to get sat as an incomplete party in
a restaurant, let your server know when the ENTIRE party is ready to order, not
just you. And have some consideration for
that fact that I have a system going. Say
something polite like, “When you have time, we’re all ready to order.” Don’t
bark orders at me after you just tied up my table. There is nothing I find more
irritating then when a table tells me “We can order now”. That’s great! But I can’t take your order
right now. I just rang in drinks for one
table and salads for another. Give me
three minutes, so that I can get the rest of the folks in my section on their way
(which is what I am currently doing) and then I will have time to repeat the
specials eight times (since no one at your table is probably going to listen
when I go over them.) And when I politely say that I’ll be right back over to
take your order, don’t hem and haw. Be nice! You put yourself in this position.
And be reasonable.
Don’t assume that you know anything that the rest of the party wants.
Don’t ask your server to bring water for the entire table when only two of you
are here. Don’t snip at me when they do finally arrive about bringing more
bread or chips and salsa or whatever free stuff the restaurant provides
you. I know how to do my job and if you
would give me some time to attend to you and the other folks I’m waiting on;
you will find I can bring things without you prompting me.
I take pride in my work.
Learn to treat the excellent servers with dignity and respect. I’m a professional server; I don’t plan on
getting a “real job”. This is my career
and I make great money by ensuring that you have an amazing experience. But when the public does stuff that makes your
job more difficult, they drive the good ones nuts and eventually away from the
business. So they next time you want to take the entire family out for dinner, be
mindful. If you have a sister that is
always 45 minutes late, tell her to meet you there 45 minutes early. If the entire party isn’t there, don’t throw
a tantrum if you can’t get sat right away.
If you aren’t sure how many people are going to show, wait before you
take up a table for 15 with only 6 people (and yes, I’ve seen that happen.)
Your server or servers will thank you.
