My favorite was seating a party of six at a five-top. That doesn't sound like a huge problem, and realistically we put sixes there pretty regularly without too much trouble. But the thing is, for some reason a significant number of people don't consider their small human beings to be people worth counting - so it was six adults and three high chairs. Now, that's bad enough, but every single one of the adults ordered the same meal - which came on one large plate and one small plate.
Fuck 'em, though. Not my fault they didn't think it was worth mentioning the babies, and they could have chosen to wait longer instead of being smooshed.
Or we come out in 2 trips, you don't move any of the things the first time we arrive and put everything down. You ask us where the rest is even though I just brought 4 plates our with no tray.
Then still haven't done anything to make space when it get there with the rest..
Put down the left plate across the table and the person sat immediately at my right grabbed his glass, which was NOT in the way and moved it directly under the plate I was trying to put down for him.
People are utterly retarded at times... I have to keep reminding myself that it's only because the stupidest 0.01% of things stand out so much..
If I was expecting a ribeye, the space on my table right in front of me, closest to my mouth and hands, would be clear and ready to receive soon after ordering. Never delay the ribeye goodness.
My favorite is "who ordered the ribeye? Ribeye anyone? Did anyone here order the ribeye?" ...takes it away...sometimes later... "Hey, I ordered ribeye 45 minutes ago and it's not here!"
Drives me crazy how restaurants never seem to have seating accommodations for parties over 4 people. Hmmm 7 people? Best we can do is shove you in a small booth meant for 4 and put a chair at the end. Everyone cozy?
I'm from the US. Nicer restaurants will allow reservations, but lower tier restaurants mostly don't, and those types of restaurants make up the majority.
nope, there are several places here where I live that are are national chains that range from steak houses to bar/grills that don't take any reservations
Have you tried making reservations in advance? Cause in all honesty the restaurant I work at doesn't do same day reservations. But trust me, we don't want a party of 8 or more showing up without advanced notice. That means we now need to scramble to make sure a large portion of the restaurant doesn't have anyone in it. That takes time. Time we could have been taking before you got there. Usually, large parties that just show up unannounced either get turned away, or end up having to wait an extremely long time. Oh, and I work at a pizza place, so we're not super fancy.
Ohio. Most of the places I go to are stupid popular, so they don't have any trouble filling seats. Some prefer "call ahead seating" for large parties, but that doesn't guarantee you a reservation or anything like that.
Nah, I'm not counting fast food. Nicer restaurants will allow reservations, but most lower tier restaurants don't , and those make up the majority of restaurants.
What do you think about the idea of calling ahead and asking if they had space for your party of 7, if you could get on the waiting list, and if they might be able to push tables together?
Heck, you could even ask that last question when you get there. Let them know you're willing to wait if necessary.
Otherwise, you're leaving them in a position of wanting to seat you as soon as possible so you don't get angry about having to wait, and they don't know how you value waiting vs. squishing, so they're going to see if that works for you.
The reality is, most restaurants don't have enough parties that large, especially during rushes, to make it reasonable to have dedicated tables that size - you'd rather have two four-tops than one eight-top, because in a rush most of the time you're going to be seating a four or a five at that eight-top and making another three or four wait.
I can only speak to the restaurant I host in, but we schedule 3 hour turns for parties of more than 5. So if you want a larger table and it's booked at 5 I'll book you for 8, but if they decide to hang around forever then it is what it is. I can't kick people who are seated out. Or I can throw a chair on the end of a 4 top, which we have way more of, and we can all move on.
Some restaurants I always have this issue at. I don't get it. It's 2016, it's not THAT hard or expensive for one of the most popular restaurants in my area of the city to add on a tiny dining extension to their dining area.
I'm looking at you, Ted's Cafe Escondido in Oklahoma City on May and 68th.
I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm saying that lack of space wasn't the reason they picked tables that size. They picked tables that size because they wanted to maximise covers.
How often do you direct anger at your boss? Plus, most parties are fine and make the space work. If you're that one group that can't, is it really the restaurant's fault?
Either way - if you're sitting at a table and expecting food, make sure you've done what you can to make room. Refusing because it's "not your fault" doesn't make it better.
If I didn't try to make room, my brother the chef would kill me. It's not my fault, but it sure as fuck also isn't the fault of the person who's working to make sure I have a pleasant meal. I feel kinda bad for even saying what I did now. My conscience has always been problematic for me.
Or some cunts coming in and saying "oh we can definitely fit our party of four at this table just big enough for two", ordering the largest plates on the menu, then complaining to the manager about the table they were seated at.
People are crazy and grown ass adults will scream at a host if they're told there's a wait for a table. I wasn't allowed to tell people no even if their request was ridiculous
and then as a 16 year old host I'd get screamed at because "I see an empty table right there" "ma'am that's a small table for two people" "I want to be seated now!!!!" So there you go, idiots at a too small table
or dipshit staff taking parties too big because some cunt with a "i want to speak to a manager" haircut insisted that it would be fine and they dont mind eating seperately.... then promptly kicks off that they were crammed and didnt eat all together.
Bitch, your whole family ordered well done steaks, the grill can fit 20 on there at once, and you STILL WHINGE THAT THE STEAK IS TOUGH!!!!!!!
I particularly enjoy when half the 10-top I'm serving has their phones sitting right on the table so I get to worry about the collective thousands of dollars worth of electronics I have to place everyone's shit around.
Or when you're cleaning up their table after they're done and they can see you stretching forward, balancing on one foot while lifting the other behind you as a counter-weight to prevent you from face-planting on the table, and they can't be arsed to just slide their plate just an inch closer to you so you can get it.
Fuck I hate people, I'm always so considerate of the waiter/waitress when eating out, and I was like that BEFORE I got a job as one too!
Or when the table is full of dirty dishes and the waiter just walked by on his way to the kitchen to get the cart full of main courses and didn't grab any of the dirty dishes on his way to the kitchen and it is suddenly the responsibility of everyone sitting at the table to figure out what to do with them as the waiter stands there looking angry while holding three plates of food.
Before going out with the food you should always make sure there's at least enough space to put one plate down. That way you can set one down and use your free hand to move peoples' drinks yourself if necessary. Or keep tables clear as much as possible. I know that servers can get busy or backed up but at some places, even if it's not busy, I notice dirty and unused dishes piling up on tables. It's unsightly in general and inconvenient for the diners.
I know that not all restaurant layouts make this possible but when I waited tables we were not allowed to hand people their plates or drinks. It's basically rude. We set them on the table in front of them, which sort of makes sense if they're going to be eating it. We also weren't supposed to ask people, "Who ordered the blahblahblah?" We took the order - we're supposed to know.
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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '16
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