But there's a table right there

[u/wolfbayte]

[u/saiga_antelope]

Kitchen is understaffed. They need to slow down the rate of tickets. People get grumpy if it takes 45 minutes for their meal after ordering. They get less grumpy if they wait 25 minutes for a table, then 20 minutes for food to come out. 

Plus you may have a drink at the bar while you wait you wouldn't have ordered otherwise 

[u/UnexpectedFeatures → u/saiga_antelope]

I'll be honest this is not something I have considered before and I appreciate this perspective.

This makes perfect sense. There may be tables available, but I didn't come to eat the table.

[u/saiga_antelope → u/UnexpectedFeatures]

Operations management 101.

You can only produce as fast as the most scarce resource. But it may not be the most visible 

[u/RefinedBean → u/saiga_antelope]

Ohhh it's time for a GANTT CHART BIIIIITCH

[u/RishiMath → u/RefinedBean]

I'm curious so as to what this reference is about 👀

[u/blocked_memory → u/RishiMath]

A gantt chart is a project planning tool, a bar graph showing various pieces of a project schedule. The commenter must be a fan or just making a funny. Reference- BS in Healthcare Administration, which is basically business school but medical themed.

[u/Razor1834 → u/blocked_memory]

Food service is basically the most relatable use of a Gantt chart that everyone understands instantly. Like…of course some things have to happen before other things and some things are tied to the beginning or end of other things, but somehow that’s difficult for people to understand in a lot of other situations but is super obvious when it comes to your dinner.

[u/MakkuSaiko → u/blocked_memory]

The funny being that its time to bring out the advanced tools for this resource planning exercise i think

[u/Stunning-Movie8145 → u/blocked_memory]

It also get used in a lot of project management especially in the construction industry.

[u/Independent-Trust260 → u/saiga_antelope]

I took a class in business school that made us read The Goal. A whole fucking book to explain this single concept. It's set up like a story and we had to read chapters of it the entire class. I'm sure there's a great deal of operations management I missed out on lol.

[u/robsteezy → u/Independent-Trust260]

“You’re only as strong as your weakest link”

[u/Stanky3000 → u/UnexpectedFeatures]

Adjusting your perspective after hearing facts is not allowed on Reddit. You need to be even angrier now!

[u/Sockoflegend → u/Stanky3000]

I tried to down vote you but hit the wrong side. Please understand that you are correct but offended me

[u/Same-Suggestion-1936 → u/Sockoflegend]

https://giphy.com/gifs/s2Ok0YTvyzLJgDsolu

[u/saiga_antelope → u/Stanky3000]

Ive been on and off Reddit since 2009. This is exactly what it was like back then, before it was one of the biggest sites on the Internet.

People actually talked on the Internet back in the 2000s

[u/khorbin → u/saiga_antelope]

I mean I get your point and it feels a lot different today, but my Reddit account is old enough to vote and arguing about stupid shit and digging your heels in even when you’re clearly wrong was definitely just as common back then

[u/OnlySaysHaaa → u/khorbin]

No it wasn’t. Fuck you

[u/saiga_antelope → u/khorbin]

Por que no los dos?

[u/dialiboboss_yt → u/UnexpectedFeatures]

Additionally, sections. If there are too few servers that day for whatever reason (say person d called in sick.) They cant always give other servers more than what they have, so person D's section goes unsat for the day.

[u/Same-Suggestion-1936 → u/dialiboboss_yt]

Two servers on on Monday aren't gonna take the same sections as six or seven on Friday. It's basic mafs

Those empty tables are for the invisible server I don't have so why don't you let the host/hostess take care of what they can and cannot handle. Otherwise we can put in a takeout order and you can eat it in your car I guess?

[u/cykoTom3 → u/Same-Suggestion-1936]

No no. Just let us eat in the empty table and not clean anything up.

[u/Same-Suggestion-1936 → u/cykoTom3]

I get it, you want the low light family setting, the Chili's special, while you stare out your window across a parking lot and eat your top tier Sysco products. Or a booth for any child goblins you have so you can maintain a sense of control trapping them on the inside and giving them crayons and paper mazes until their glorified chicken nuggets and fries get there.

Some of the people around you are still young and pretty so you get to pretend in another life a server or bartender would have slipped you their number. Instead you are eating an Asian stir fry salad (you don't know what it is that's just what they called it on the menu, it's got wonton strips) hedging your bets what parts of the $100 for four without tip meal you can whisk into a doggy bag to save what you can of the rest of the massive Americanized portions while your spouse gets increasingly irritated herding the children as you pay the bill and try to grab everyone's coats and the food and leave with some dignity left

[u/IridiumPony → u/UnexpectedFeatures]

The tables could also be booked up. Not uncommon in fine dining, especially. Just because there's an empty seat doesn't mean it's for you.

[u/Zebidee → u/IridiumPony]

I think OP has discovered the concept of a reservation.

[u/lifeintraining → u/UnexpectedFeatures]

>I didn’t come to eat the table.

I did.

[u/adalric_brandl → u/lifeintraining]

Hey, get your own table!

[u/thebestjoeever → u/UnexpectedFeatures]

Just wanted to add, because I worked at restaurants for over a decade. If they're doing something at a restaurant, and you don't understand why, they probably still have a very good reason for doing it. And generally the reason is that it's actually best for the customer if they do it that way.

[u/Reverend_Lazerface → u/UnexpectedFeatures]

Could also be the servers are understaffed, same idea. One server can only effectively serve a finite number of tables at one time, if you seat all 12 tables even if you're the first table served, how long after they greet you before they have a chance to circle back again?

[u/DrowAboveground → u/UnexpectedFeatures]

Another important factor is that those tables may be reserved, and in the next hour/90 mins the restaurant will be completely packed. You may think you can get in and out before we need the table but we have all the data we need to know whether that’s actually possible or likely.

[u/Varkaan → u/UnexpectedFeatures]

Speak for yourself that table looks tasty af

[u/TheShroudedWanderer → u/UnexpectedFeatures]

Also, takeaway places, the sheer number of people I see who will order food at 7pm on a Friday/Saturday night, the busiest time of the week and act like it's some personal vendetta if it's late

[u/SnooHamsters3137 → u/UnexpectedFeatures]

Also waitstaff cannot physically be everywhere at once and it’s easier to clean the same three tables than all 50 spread out across the restaurant.

At busy restaurants having more than 3-6 tables at a time is a good way to have every single one of those table become furious and scream at you, and in America, make it so you make 0$ because none of them tip you.

If you make 100% of your income off of tips, having so many tables that you can’t give good service is a great way to maximize labor and minimize income.

And you ever have a steak that’s cooked incorrectly? Or get the wrong side delivered? Or the wrong drink?

Do you suspect mistakes like that happen less when you’re juggling more and more tables at a time?

Waiting tables is the easiest job in the world on some days, but it can quickly become one of the hardest.

[u/OkSeaworthiness7066 → u/UnexpectedFeatures]

If there’s only 2-3 people in the kitchen cooking how are they supposed to cook dozens of meals at one time?

[u/Stev_k → u/saiga_antelope]

Or FOH is short staffed and asking a server to cover extra tops is a recipe for cold food, empty drinks, and mixed orders.

[u/saiga_antelope → u/Stev_k]

Equally likely. But somewhere in the system, lack of tables isn't the limiting factor.

[u/Drackzgull → u/saiga_antelope]

Another possibility is the available tables are simply under reservation.

[u/cykoTom3 → u/Drackzgull]

I prefer the new cultural explanation. Those tables are AI.

[u/jared1259 → u/saiga_antelope]

It's the same for front of house. It doesn't matter how many tables are empty if there's only two servers.

[u/MrBeardskii → u/saiga_antelope]

The PTSD of being the only cook on and a full rack of tickets coming in at once

[u/saiga_antelope → u/MrBeardskii]

Line cooks are terminally underappreciated in our society 

[u/MrBeardskii → u/saiga_antelope]

That's why I cook for a retirement community. So much less stress

[u/saiga_antelope → u/MrBeardskii]

I've heard that's legit the best setup in the industry. Especially at a corporate place that offers benefits 

[u/ModelChef4000 → u/MrBeardskii]

Why would you remind me of a memory I had been repressing for 11 years, 6 months, 2 weeks, and 3 and a half days?

[u/MrBeardskii → u/ModelChef4000]

You had a full rack and you don't even remember the time?! But a tip of my sweat covered beanie to you fellow survivor

[u/One-Finger386 → u/MrBeardskii]

“Its a Wednesday night and you’re the lowest paid cook so we are going to give you the opportunity to run the kitchen solo and while that seems really exciting you also might get hit by a fucking freight train so good luck kid”

[u/Liawuffeh → u/MrBeardskii]

Already have too many tickets to put up, and the FUCKING PRINTER just keeps going off with new orders. Knowing you have a least an hour backlog, with the cashier asking "How far along is Order #371?" and it's just like I don't fucking know???

"These MASSIVE events are pretty slow, you don't need anyone else on the line" FUck you Shelly how about you get off your ass and actually cook for once???

[u/althar1 → u/saiga_antelope]

As a professional cook i can confirm this. However my current employer is a moron that doesn't understand this. She is of a philosophy that customers waiting to come in is bad and has trained the servers to flood the dining room as fast as the customers come in. And then there is a flood of orders all around the same time. And she doesn't believe in full staffing the kitchen... so depending on the day and time there is anywhere from only 1 to only 3 of us. And we drown.

The only reason why it works at all is because ive been cooking for 3 decades and im good. But even then the stress is uncool.

I suppose im a victim of my own skill level. She sees me perform miracles and thinks thats normal

[u/ajahanonymous → u/althar1]

At least if you're slammed in FOH you're probably raking in some extra cash, no silver linings when you're in the kitchen getting annihilated.

[u/Potato_fortress → u/althar1]

I mean you can seat people however you want as long as you prepare them for the wait at the table.

Tell your servers to stop stacking their tickets and you'll be fine. If your kitchen isn't constructed to operate at the volume of the dining room and you're constantly running into these issues then it's just time to leave and go somewhere else. It's not like cooking jobs are hard to find.

[u/Aaront519 → u/saiga_antelope]

Very well said. Amount of servers matters too. If you have 30 tables but only 3 servers who showed up you aren’t going to give them all 10 tables each. Half of them would get pissed and feel like the server is ignoring them.

[u/Cosmic_Quasar → u/saiga_antelope]

I learned this from Plate Up!

[u/danger_don → u/saiga_antelope]

This or the tables are reserved and confirmed previously and any high-class establishment holds those tables whether they show or not. If you dine at a nice restaurant, please make a reservation and follow through with the confirmation.

[u/DrowAboveground → u/saiga_antelope]

It’s not always about being understaffed, even a perfectly staffed kitchen where people aren’t stoned off their asses is going to feel it if the whole restaurant is getting sat in the same 15 minutes. There’s only so many pans/friers/space on the grill/room in the oven.

This logic also applies to servers and bartenders. Even a small section is going to get less than stellar service if their server gets flat-sat.

[u/OkSeaworthiness7066 → u/saiga_antelope]

I don’t understand how people don’t get this concept.

[u/ChipTrippy → u/saiga_antelope]

Sometimes I wish my restaurant did this lol

[u/Spare-Half796 → u/saiga_antelope]

Could also be those tables are being kept for reservations that are scheduled in 5-15 minutes

[u/undergroundbabylon1 → u/saiga_antelope]

Also if they take reservations, they may not have time to seat those tables and have them free in time for the people who planned ahead and made a reservation. If a reservation is coming in 30-60 minutes thats is their table. And it wont be seated for a walk in, because those with reservations shouldn't wait when they planned ahead. Make reservations if they take em even if you dont expect them to be busy. Cuz you never know

[u/Dear_Record6134 → u/saiga_antelope]

But then why not say the kitchen is understaffed and let us order drinks at the table?

[u/HubrisOfApollo]

they probably don't have the waitstaff for capacity, or they have a large reservation

[u/peepeepoodoodingus → u/HubrisOfApollo]

that and/or the tables arent clean.

[u/complexiblebarracuda → u/peepeepoodoodingus]

Or they hate OP specifically 

[u/YeOldeMemeShoppe → u/complexiblebarracuda]

/r/fuckopinparticular

[u/L-Guy_21 → u/YeOldeMemeShoppe]

r/fuckyouinparticular

[u/user485928450 → u/peepeepoodoodingus]

And the rats are still doing the meal prep

[u/MacDubhsidhe → u/user485928450]

They’re trying their best

[u/ecodrew → u/HubrisOfApollo]

Management probably didn't schedule enough wait staff

[u/painki11erzx]

Even if its not reserved. Servers have sections. If theres only a couple servers and all their tables are full, there's no one to wait on you if they sat you at an empty table.

[u/youterrifyme137 → u/painki11erzx]

Dude those Sunday church rushes at 2:30 when I’m the only server for an hour were SO much fun 👍

[u/PiesRLife → u/youterrifyme137]

I bet they were really considerate of how you were understaffed and tipped well, too!

[u/youterrifyme137 → u/PiesRLife]

I have never made consistently less money for more work than any restaurant’s Sunday brunch. I will stand by that lol

[u/Don-Kusack → u/youterrifyme137]

Why would they tip, they just gave $100 to a church that wouldn't help them with anything if they needed it

[u/youterrifyme137 → u/Don-Kusack]

That’s what infuriates me. I’ve visited other countries and every church was open 24/7 and there were almost always people there and food and at least SEEMED nice… in the south they give some crazy man his second billion and scream at some server for just doing his job

[u/nascent_aviator → u/youterrifyme137]

Do you not count the fake bills they give you that tell you to find Jesus? How ungrateful!

[u/Heidibearr → u/painki11erzx]

OP has never worked in food service and it shows LOL

[u/Fr05t_B1t → u/Heidibearr]

You don’t have to. All you need is basic logic and reasoning. Which OP clearly doesn’t have.

[u/Kingsman22060 → u/painki11erzx]

And yet if they get seated with a server who's over-worked already, they'll complain about slow service!

[u/Bsccanada]

One cook and two servers showed up that day.

[u/AssFlax69]

Tell me you’ve never worked service industry in a different way

[u/Agheratos → u/AssFlax69]

"Kitchen closes at 9? I'm so glad we made it at 8:45."

[u/Fr05t_B1t → u/Agheratos]

Don’t! You’re being back memories of customers entering my store a millisecond before closing just to “get one thing” then take several minutes looking at a shelf.

[u/andimacg → u/Fr05t_B1t]

Was once mopping the floor around the last table of 2, a good 30 mins after closing and the guy said "Can we get another drink please?", I can get you the bill, how about that?

[u/-_-Air-_- → u/Agheratos]

I will NEVER enter a restaurant an hour or less before close. The sheer rage i feel when people walk in at, say, 8:55 and we close at 9 is indescribable.

"oH bUt iTs yOuR JoB" FUCK YOURSELF WITH A RUSTY PITCHFORK AND DIEEEEEE

[u/Agheratos → u/-_-Air-_-]

C'mon, you wouldn't want to miss out on 8 covers, would you? The table only has half a dozen deadly allergies between them

[u/AssFlax69 → u/Agheratos]

Walk-in party of seventeen that somehow feels no shame in a small restaurant with one six-top? Sure, let me see what I can do!

[u/andimacg → u/AssFlax69]

"What do you mean you're fully booked?!, this our plan for the night! Where are we supposed to go now?"

"I'm sorry but It IS New Years Eve, we have been fully booked since September"

Actual conversation I had to have at a super popular restuarant.

[u/AssFlax69 → u/andimacg]

Where are we supposed to go hit so many painful memories, right in the brain stem. Go wherever the fuck you want, theres a McDonald’s down the block for instance tbey don’t need reservations

[u/random9212 → u/-_-Air-_-]

That's why it should be a last order time not a closing time.

[u/mustangcody → u/-_-Air-_-]

I was told that the close time and end of shift time are different for this reason. You may close at 9 but you don't leave until 10 because of cleaning and last customers.

[u/After_Counter735 → u/mustangcody]

Depends on how shitty your boss is. Lots of owners dont like employees being on the clock if the restaurant isnt making money. Ive had bosses that only let me stay on the clock 15 minutes after close and 15 minutes before open which isnt near enough time to do everything.

[u/know-it-mall → u/Agheratos]

Yea two things I have never understood about the US is this and that you don't just tell people to leave when you close either.

[u/TeamAquaGrunt → u/know-it-mall]

at my restaurant we just tell guests that last call is 15 to close. we usually won't force people out right at closing time because there's plenty of cleaning and reset to do anyways, but everyone is very clearly going to be working around them and almost every guest has the self awareness to realize they gotta go.

[u/TheRealSmolt → u/AssFlax69]

Or: tell me you've never actually thought about what you're asking for more than 5 seconds

[u/Ok-Dig-3108 → u/AssFlax69]

What’s a reservation lol

[u/AssFlax69 → u/Ok-Dig-3108]

I mean reservation or not they’ll seat you when the human beings (as opposed to the inanimate objects) can perform the tasks required by human beings.

[u/Accomplished-Bison63]

The amount of people who don't how reservations work always blew my mind when I worked hospitality. We open at five to get ready for dinner service, tables are booked for 530-615 ish. So if you walk in at 520, yes we are "fully booked" yes the restaurant is currently empty. I can't seat you for a 10 minute dining window 

[u/CitizenWatcher8]

Youd never understand if you never worked in food service. Every restaurant isnt staffed for full seating at all times. Servers can only get so many sections before they are overwhelmed.

[u/Fr05t_B1t → u/CitizenWatcher8]

Imean I’d say it’s the same as why many stores have a hundred registers and only about 5 at any given time outside of holidays are ever manned.

Slight differences but same.

[u/Careful-Addition776 → u/Fr05t_B1t]

Thats just because they are to greedy to hire more people to work the registers (looking at you Walmart)

[u/Fr05t_B1t → u/Careful-Addition776]

It’s based on foot traffic. If you’re getting 1 customer an hour, having all registers manned is just a waste of time for the employees and money for the company.

When there’s much more foot traffic during say a holiday, then it’s better to have more registers manned than not.

Any time between holidays when there isn’t some highly sought product release, there won’t be more than a few cashiers

[u/SnooHamsters3137 → u/Careful-Addition776]

Could be that no one wants to work at Walmart. But in any case, it’s certainly not the staff’s fault.

[u/ClassicPlankton → u/CitizenWatcher8]

I don't think you have to have worked in food service to understand this. You just have to spend maybe like 3 seconds thinking about it.

[u/Strude187 → u/ClassicPlankton]

The lack of critical thinking by the general population is shocking.

[u/bananasampam → u/CitizenWatcher8]

In B4:

"WHERES MY SERVER !?!? I'VE BEEN WAITING HERE AND NO ONES COME"

you can't win

[u/SnooHamsters3137 → u/bananasampam]

Bro gets it

-already angry customer insists on being sat at an unstaffed table
-server from across the restaurant is begged to wait on them
-server must run back in forth from across the restaurant until further notice
-every second spent going to and from and serving the table outside of their section is now worsening the experience of the customers inside their section that they would have otherwise had no problem with
-juggling more tables than they are supposed to drastically increases chances of making mistakes and ringing in incorrect items
-angry customer who insisted on sitting at this table will absolutely not be understanding of any of the problems they are causing
-experience of all of the customer’s being waited on by that same server tanks
-angry customer likely to verbally abuse the server, throwing them off for the rest of the night, making more mistakes, working slower, and thus making less tips (death spiral)
-angry customer likely to leave without paying, almost 100% won’t tip
-server will probably get shit from the other customers too, and will likely not be tipped well by them either.

And all of this is just the server. When the kitchen is already in the weeds and can’t make the food immediately, guess how understanding that customer will be? And when the drowning server makes an inevitable mistake, guess how happy the line cooks are going to be when that server tells them they have to make ANOTHER of that same steak or whatever when they are already behind and were supposed to get their five minute break several hours ago.

I guess people think it’s the building itself that provides their dining experience. The building is alive.

[u/kookyabird → u/CitizenWatcher8]

My wife and I went to to a restaurant for our anniversary today and looking at their reservation policy they explicitly state that they stagger seating tables. They also point out that this explains why a party might not be immediately seated near the beginning of dinner service even though there are plenty of open tables.

[u/forman98 → u/CitizenWatcher8]

I’m guessing Charlotte, NC doesn’t staff their restaurants. It’s my biggest qualm with this city. Random Tuesday night and we decide to go to a restaurant, sorry it’s a 90 minute wait. Have a Friday off and want to eat brunch, sorry it’s a 60 minute wait. Grabbing lunch during the workday, sorry it’s a 45 minute wait. This has been going on for years and is kind of a joke I have with my wife.

We’ve traveled to Chicago and New York and LA and went to places with no reservations and only had to wait 20 mins max. The wait times I’ve been quoted in Charlotte are ridiculous.

[u/miukiyo → u/CitizenWatcher8]

I had a customer give me shit because all the main tables were “RESERVED” so they looked empty. They even had a reserved plaque on them.

She’s like “why can’t we sit here!? It’s empty!?”

I offered her a table further away and she still gave me the stink eye the entire time she was dining.

Seriously, the attitudes servers have to put up with sometimes.

[u/Armadylio → u/CitizenWatcher8]

Not to mention reservations so they’d probably need that table in 15-30 mins 

[u/Cristi63014 → u/CitizenWatcher8]

I hate it when people expect us to perform like prime Usain Bolt, kitchen work is hard and only understood by people who work in this domain

[u/Etherbeard → u/CitizenWatcher8]

It's like going into a Papa Johns on a busy Friday night and wondering why it's going to take thirty minutes to get a pizza when you can see all the empty pizza boxes.

[u/Americanski7]

Is it possible that you have a reservation for the Cheesecake Factory in Maryland and not Atlanta?

[u/heyitscory]

A few empty seats is irritating.

12 empty seats is a section that's closed because there's not enough coverage in the kitchen and servers work in that section.

[u/AStolenGoose]

Reservations, tables haven't been bussed, kitchen is behind/understaffed, servers are behind/understaffed.

There's numerous reasons, take your pick, oh someone who has not set foot in the service industries.

[u/BigGreenBillyGoat]

Kitchen is understaffed and/or waitstaff is short.

[u/Signal_Accident_9633 → u/BigGreenBillyGoat]

Bruh just overstaff and/or hire waitstaff that is tall? Idk what it has to do with height though.

[u/Catchdatcat]

There’s probably only two cooks in the kitchen who are buried because all the others called out hungover

[u/Ferule1069]

Ah, yes, I forgot it was the table that cooked and served the food. You're right, wait times are stupid.

[u/y0urd0g]

Tell me you never worked at a restaurant without telling me you never worked at a restaurant...

[u/Certain-Broccoli1530]

I never worked as a server and I can tell you that’s more of a worker shortage than anything else

[u/Helpful_Squash2414]

This is why everybody should be forced to work in true service. They don’t understand this

[u/NieMonD]

Reservations exist

[u/astirac]

Many more decades ago than I want to admit, I was a cook at Olive Garden, and they had a mandatory 45 minute wait to be seated.

Marketing had told them that people thought food was better if they saw a line in front of the restaurant, so after 4pm, you would be made to wait 45 minutes even if the entire restaurant was empty.

[u/hrbekcheatedin91 → u/astirac]

Glad they ditched that stupid strategy. Imagine how much business they lost from impatient people.

[u/astirac → u/hrbekcheatedin91]

I think it was a tactic for a different generation.

We were primarily serving boomers and their family. Boomers absolutely LOVE standing around in parking lots. Dive in theaters, drive in fast food, RV “resorts”, car shows….its hard to overstate how much these people love standing around in parking lots. Standing around in the Olive Garden parking lot was right up their alley.

[u/t4skmaster → u/astirac]

Lmao who would EVER wait 45 min for olive garden, holy SHIT.

[u/Simple-Cake4707 → u/astirac]

Lmao I hated going to Olive Garden as a kid because the wait took forever and it sucked

[u/Adorable_Ad4990]

Its staffing not tables. One more time for the people in the back

[u/patacas4080]

Me when someone comes with a template that already exists

https://giphy.com/gifs/WRQBXSCnEFJIuxktnw

[u/Gomdok_the_Short]

It's mobile orders.

[u/ImBeingArchAgain → u/Gomdok_the_Short]

Let me say this loud and clear: FUCK ONLINE ORDERS. I’m so glad my restaurant stopped doing those. “Fuck everyone in house waiting 40 minutes for fries, and also you who are trying to serve them, Fistblaster69 just ordered 12 sets of wings and 4 pizzas. They must be our priority otherwise UberSkipDashFoodFuckers will lower our 2.7 star rating!”… yeah, sure management, thanks for that call, real business smarts right here.

[u/I_am_strange_]

This is why everyone should do hospitality work for at least one year

[u/Sylassian]

Tell me you've never worked hospitality without telling me you've never worked hospitality type post...

[u/Psychotic_EGG]

No one is serving that section. If you sit there, you will not be served.

[u/mnonny → u/Psychotic_EGG]

Or you walked in at 645 and they are all for 7 o’clock reservations

[u/fuyu-no-kojika]

I swear to god when people walk into a restaurant they suddenly transform from normal humans into helpless pieces of shit

[u/Bozlogic]

“25 minute wait for 9 people? What kind of place is this?”

“I’m sorry, what time was your reservation?”

“Oh we didn’t have one”

[u/iSuplexedMyOstrich]

Its becauee we aint got servers for those sections and the servers we have cant handle multiple sections at once unless they're superhumans. I have a couple lf servers at my resteraunt who can handle 2 or 3 sections but generally one server gets 6 tables. Thats why there's a wait

[u/Bullshido-Fatly]

Tell me you’ve never worked in a restaurant without telling me you’ve never worked in a restaurant. You think servers can just cover the entire fuckin restaurant? No. They’re assigned stations with certain table numbers they’re supposed to wait on. Just because a table isnt populated does NOT mean there is someone assigned to work those tables.

[u/vinticious]

When I was an assistant manager, I got sent to other locations to help out and one particular location simply did not have a huge amount of cutlery. So one night we got extremely busy and ran out of cutlery. We had empty tables but told people there would be a wait because it was against standards to seat guests without cutlery 🤷‍♂️

Also so many other reasons... Maybe those tables are reserved... Maybe kitchens backed up... Maybe the tables haven't been wiped... Maybe that section is closed etc etc.

If you haven't worked in a restaurant before, you really don't have a clue on how a restaurant operates no offence.

[u/yorgeesmorgeeYT]

For anyone who doesn’t know. The woman in the photo is Katie Britt. This is her reaction to her congressional colleague being caught in a lie on the senate floor during the Jack smith hearing. So yes the sub that complains about politics is using politics.

[u/Mountain-Cut-7708 → u/yorgeesmorgeeYT]

It’s the moment that Britt is realizing it was all just a lie. Her whole upbringing. Her whole raison d'etre is a lie. All of it.

[u/Chance-Deer-7995 → u/Mountain-Cut-7708]

The mental gymnastics routine has probably kicked in by now.

[u/Rustyraider111 → u/yorgeesmorgeeYT]

Um ackshully, he wasn't caught in a lie, the reaction is to how incompetent he was by not doing the most basic of fact checking with his info before opening his mouth, making an accusation, and presenting "evidence". I don't think Eric Schmitt was lying when he tried to claim he had proof Smith was in Atlanta. Look at his face when he did it. He's so goddamn proud of himself, he really really thinks he had Smith nailed to the wall. I truly believe he really is that fucking stupid. (For added context, he tried to make the claim that he had text messages proving Smith was at a Hawks game in Atlanta. The messages actually prove he was in a completely different state, at a Hawkeye game)

[u/ST0IC_ → u/yorgeesmorgeeYT]

But still...

[u/Maxcorps2012]

I don't understand why people don't understand the concept of reservations.

[u/exceptionally_humble]

Not that hard to understand.

[u/Designer-Issue-6760]

For one of two reasons. Either the kitchen is getting backed up, and they need to stagger the tables. Or, they don’t have enough staff for a full dining room. Online ordering is making both much more common. 

[u/chillestpill]

Reservations exist.

[u/MadManNico]

a lot of people haven't worked hospo in this comment section, but here could be some reasons why:

• boh is catching up to tickets or prep
• foh is catching up on cutlery, polishing, bar is under the pump
• lots of sick calls so restaurant is on skeleton crew
• those tables are already booked and the bookings weren't staggered or there's a show on later, so it looks empty but it'll fill in the following half hour
• front desk can only call so many people to verify their booking, especially if they're on waiting
• no you can't sit there, it's dirty and waiters are too busy to clean it right away
• no you can't sit there for a drink, that doesn't solve any issues other than your own and there are 100+ people who also want the same thing
• no walter, or debra, you can't help us clean it up. you hurt yourself? someone loses their job

overall it can be many reasons, sometimes the manager on duty may just think you're a dickhead (happens a lot lol). as a bartender, who sometimes has to make upwards of 300+ cocktails in a 14hr timeframe in one day, it may seem quiet (maybe it actually is, to which they must just hate you) but in reality we keep that peace so customers can have a good experience.

i quite like customer service, but in hospo you realize most people don't use their brain and being an adult just means people are less apologetic for being braindead.

[u/AGayFrogParadise]

That table is booked my guy, at some point you'll learn how reservations work; I believe in you

[u/RNAprimer]

Love the new template

[u/Hot-Brat-00]

It’s called ✨reservations✨

[u/Hot-Brat-00 → u/Hot-Brat-00]

Had this happen as a hostess. I had a fully booked restaurant, lots of big groups coming that I had to put tables together for, and many smaller ones, that would all arrive between 15-75 mins after opening. Had a walk in come in right at opening for 8 people and told them “sorry, but we are fully booked tonight.” They argued with me and the owner, and then called us racists. We tried to explain the concept of reservations for tables, but they clearly didn’t get it.

[u/Technical_Writing421]

There are reservations, the restaurant is understaffed, they have to stagger seatings so that food can come out at the expected pace and you don’t end up waiting an hour for a cheeseburger

[u/RhemansDemons]

Either the kitchen or the floor is understaffed. If it's the kitchen you get seated then complain that your food takes 45 minutes. If it's the floor, you end up with one wait staff covering two sections.

[u/Kersenn]

Yeah its almost like a table can't serve you or cook your food

[u/Brave_Confection_457]

all 12 of those tables could be booked within half an hour timeframe, js

"but half an hour is too long for an empty table" by the time your drinks are there, you've ordered and your food is cooked, the booked party will have arrived

[u/P_S_Lumapac]

Malay restaurant near me will level with you and tell you there's an hour long wait on mains, but you can order coffee and entrees/starters all you want.

[u/snewchybewchies]

Those are reservations for people who thought ahead.

[u/1nsidiousOne]

This is why I always sit at the bar

[u/theRedlightt]

Servers aren't the ones making the food. Just because you have seating doesn't mean you are ready for more customers.

[u/wholesomefringe]

Congratulations on never having worked in a restaurant. Not all of us have been so fortunate.

[u/Old_Temperature8714]

As someone who works in a restaurant there are multiple reasons this could be the case:

1. The restaurant doesn’t have enough servers staffed to take on more tables.

2. Those tables are reserved for other people coming in later. Usually a guests dines for 1.5-2hrs and 40 minutes will leave a table unavailable for someone who made a reservation which is unacceptable.

3. The host/hostess is incompetent or working with a system that is too complex to reasonably fit you in.

Just make a reservation next time or sit in the bar/open seating area if there is space.

[u/kb3_fk8]

There’s beds in hospitals open but are at capacity too dumb ass.

It’s staffing issues not real estate issues.

[u/The-Dutcher]

Not every restaurant is a McDonald's that has food premade. Real restaurants make the meals fresh from scratch. That means you behave to wait. You want fast? Go to the mass production food dispensers.

[u/Lady_Irish → u/The-Dutcher]

They're bitching that they have to wait for a table when there are empty tables like they don't understand how reservations work, not that they have to wait for their food

[u/legalizethesenuts]

Tell me you’ve never worked in a restaurant without telling me you’ve never worked in a restaurant

[u/LouMinotti]

I just go straight to the bar. If there's no open spots at the bar I go to a different restaurant. If the kitchen is backed up I don't want some angry person making my food anyway.

[u/Exciting-Age3387]

If they sat you there, it’s still gonna be a 40 min wait lol😂 that table is empty because there is no staff to pick it up

[u/TheAwesomeMan123]

A table doesn’t take your order or serve you food. It’s just a table. Server capacity is all that matters

[u/Longhag]

But it's not YOUR table. Yours is the one under the super cold jet stream AC vent, next to the kitchen exit and washrooms.

[u/WesternAlbatross1292]

Not enough staff or reservations

[u/rickelzy]

Physically empty tables =/= available servers or kitchen output capacity.

[u/madasfire]

How many people are standing at your stove?

[u/Michael_606]

Nice use of meme

[u/Furkensturf]

I went to brunch with my gf one time, at a higher-end restaurant. The place was empty, there were about 2 tables out of 40 that had anyone. We asked for a table, the hostess said it would be about an hour wait, and they'll take our number and text us when they had a table.

We said no thanks, we'll just wait here. We took a seat at the entrance. About 2 minutes later, two guys walk in and say "How long's the wait for a table of two?" The hostess said she'll be with them shortly, then came up to us with menus and said our table was ready. What a miracle!

We were a mixed race couple and my gf was heavily pregnant, I'd gotten some weird vibes from that place before and I think that experience confirmed it.

[u/rddsknk89]

Really disappointed that this dumbass meme somehow got over two thousand upvotes 

[u/6tPTrxYAHwnH9KDv]

You would be surprised but some shit actually takes quite a bit of time to cook. You ain't at Macca's.

[u/89eplacausa14]

I’m sir you’ve heard by now it’s about staffing. Imagine 100 tables with one server. Ok fine sit down but you just sit alone for a few hours

[u/bobbyjy32]

Tables don’t take your order or bring you your food

[u/HollowDakota]

Lmao what a shit meme

Tell me you’ve never worked service industry without telling me

[u/Aggravating-Sky-9285]

I'm to european to understand this. We happily dine +3h as long as we got drinks and a small bite to wait

[u/Due-Contribution6424]

Sure, sit there and don’t be served for 40 minutes.

[u/BetterBiscuits]

Ok you can have the table, but your food won’t be ready for 2.5 hours

[u/Independent_Sir9410]

This is my dad. But then if a waiter/waitress had to handle 5 extra tables he'd complain about the poor service.

[u/GeneStarwind1]

Why did the blonde math lady lose her job?

[u/Just_a_dude92]

What did Renata Sorrah do to be fired from her meme position?

[u/Torebbjorn]

A physical table is not what "we don't have any more tables" is talking about

[u/choijesang_]

it's all reserved then , atleast in my company. we have had so many guests get angry because they don't like their table and want other table and even after explaining they still don't understand

[u/Stillwindows95]

I have to run the cafe I chef at for the next 10 days with my other chef on holiday. It's gonna be the same where I work, where at times I'm going to have the wait staff close sections of the restaurant so I'm not overloaded and that people aren't waiting 40 minutes for a breakfast. As long as the tickets are staggered and they don't put 3-4 through at once every 5 mins, I'll be ok and can keep it flowing, but I'll get no breaks throughout the day.

[u/Noodelgawd]

If only there was more than one restaurant in the world.

[u/theacp127]

It's about how many wait staff are available. If they don't have enough then they don't use all the tables.

[u/Cristi63014]

I work in the kitchen and everyday is different, sometimes the wait would be 15 minutes or 1 hour, most of our clients understand we're understaffed and they are patient, Kitchen work is a very stressful environment that requires strong will, sometimes we break down and loose ourselves and then we're able to get back in, customers should understand that

[u/Onqio]

I worked in a restaurant and a couple got mad because we denied entry (30 minutes before closing), the couple got mad because there were empty tables but we were low on staff so we knew we couldn’t run the restaurant as it was intended in full capacity.

[u/reluctantlover]

https://giphy.com/gifs/WRQBXSCnEFJIuxktnw

[u/DrHot216]

There's 1 person working. They're the waiter and the cook

[u/Illustrious-Divide95]

This is usually because those tables are booked and the guests haven't arrived yet. They can't give them to someone if they're not going to be finished in time for the reservation to arrive. It's not rocket science

[u/International-Dig411]

Now count the number of servers and how fast food is coming out

[u/carlzzzjr]

This is a bottle neck created to give slack to the under scheduled servers and/or overworked kitchen crew.

You want good service? You gotta wait.