On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 05:25:40 GMT, Dog3
wrote:


Never have I had to do a "chicken dance" (whatever that is)

Oh, Doggie... have you NEVER been on a cruise? If not, then
of course you don't have a clue.

FYI: It's just another way of making yourself feel totally
stupid.

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 13:35:45 GMT, "Peter Aitken"
wrote:


"Social interaction with waitstaff?" Are you joking? I most certainly do
*not* want any social interaction with them - rather I want a professional
waiter-diner interaction. The idea of interacting socially with the waiter
reminds me of the places were he will sit or crouch at your table, tell you
his name, and get all pally. Pul-lease!

If a waiter wants to check up on you there's no need to interrupt. All he
needs to do is come over and stand expectantly where he can be seen, saying
nothing. The diners can ignore him and continue with the conversation or
not, as they choose.

LOL!

I'd say "DITTO", but it's not socially acceptable here on
RFC.

Good story that illustrates a poorly trained, poorly paid
staff that doesn't expect anything from their customers
other than pure grief.

I doubt the restaurant in your story will last very long....
if it does, it's part of a reataurant chain so others are
propping it up.

````````````````````````````

On 07 Oct 2003 07:20:53 GMT, ittens
(Greykits) wrote:

We had a similar sort of experience today. It was a nice fall day and we
wanted to go out for drinks on the patio of a place we have gone to for years.
This is just a burger joint, but they play only classical music and their
burgers get high ratings by reviewers every year, it seems (Denver isn't the
burger town, for sure). As we ordered our last drink we asked for our bill.
When the drink (we split a last beer) arrived, so did the bill, so I put out a
twenty and the waitress said she'd be back with change. She never came back,
although we saw other waiters going to and fro. We thought the shift had
changed or something. I said we should just go inside to the bar on our way
out and ask for our change. My husband said he'd go inside and take care of
it. He came back to the patio after 10 or so minutes. Our waitress had been
sitting at the bar talking to a friend or someone, and apparently two other men
were in line before my husband with some sort of similar complaint. Then we
had to wait another 10 minutes for our waitress to return with our change. She
gave us an abrupt apology and was off. We usually tip 20% even for drinks
alone, but I left one dollar, which was less than 10%.

We will go back there as we just like the place and usually have no problem
with service.

Yeah, Mr. Schidt, I'm sure you've been there before.

rharps.com

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 06:07:26 GMT, Dog3
wrote:


Unless the neighboring table is extremely intrusive, I rarely notice them.

You must be partially deff in that case. I can hear
conversations from tables FAR away, Of course, that isn't
in a restaurant with a "bomb" rating for noise. For
those... it seems I can hear the next table just fine, but I
can't follow what's being said at my table.

I'm much more interested in the food and the companionship of the people at
the table I am sitting at.

Good for you.

I tend to tune out the background noise except
for pagers and cell phones.

That's a problem of the past where I live.

I think all electronic devices (the exception
being lifesaving electronics) should be confiscated at the door of all
restaurants. I witnessed a woman on a cell phone pacing up and down the
aisle at a very nice restaurant one evening. I noticed her because she
knocked the candle over on my table with an armswing as she was shouting at
her assistant. Management hauled her out, cell phone stuck in her ear.
I've heard she's banned for life.

Again, that sort of thing is totally passe around here.

On Mon, 6 Oct 2003 10:08:33 -0400, "K3"
wrote:

No... Don't complain to management... speak to your waiter/waitress... as a
him/her... like as if they're like you and me...

Ever heard the words "CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM" ???

Yes. It's related to "do you mind if I'm frank?" which means that
someone is going to say something nasty "for your own good" and think
they can get away without being labeled an interferring fussbudget.

"Constructive" criticism is properly delivered by a one's parents or
employers. Mentioning politely that one doesn't need constant
table-checks isn't criticism, but information. "Don't you realize
you're driving us nuts with your constant 'is everything all right?'"
is criticism that will get you a label as an (expletive deleted).

On Mon, 06 Oct 2003 15:40:46 GMT, "Peter Aitken"
wrote:

"K3" wrote
No... Don't complain to management... speak to your waiter/waitress...

Ever heard the words "CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM" ???

With you being one who has experience in the hospitality field, *share*
your
experience with others that serve you like you serve others...

I HATE TATTLE-TALES!!!!!

There's no "tattling" involved. It's the job of management to supervise the
wait staff, and it is perfectly proper to complain about a server to
management. It is not the customer's job to train or supervise the wait
staff. If complaints all went directly to the waiter, the management would
have no way to know who was screwing up and ****ing off the customers on a
regular basis.

Nicely put. Particularly the "...not customer's job..." All this talk
about what the server should do, and not much about what kind of
customers (other than our perfect selves) the average waitstaff
encounters. People on both sides of the order pad can be, um, a bit
peculiar. Mostly, the good situations outweigh the bad (or there'd be
no customers OR servers). And some bad experiences make up value in
anecdotal material. Like the waiter in a fairly upscale (or at least
expensive) restaurant who looked like a relative of the Addams Family
and removed my unfinished plate while my fork was at my lips. This has
provided endless amusement on the part of my dining companion who
found my expression unique. C'est la ball bounce.

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 21:39:09 -0500, MareCat
wrote:

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 14:02:23 -0400, Nancy Young
wrote:

I seriously don't want to go stand someplace and place my order and
be given a number. That doesn't fly with me. It's not a place
I would frequent.

That type of restaurant is becoming more and more popular in my area.
One version is to stand in line, place your order, pay, then someone
brings your food out to you (or in some places, you go retrieve your
food).

Another version is to stand in line, place your order, get a slip with
your printed order on it for you to take to your table, then hand that
slip to a server, who then brings your food out to you (and handles
anything else you might order, like additional drinks, desserts,
etc.). When you're finished with your meal, the server brings you a
check, and you pay the server.

And leave a tip, I hope. :-) I haven't investigated, but it's quite
possible that all-you-can-eat buffets and take-a-number establishments
pay the same sub-minimum wage to those who bring the drinks and clear
the table as waitstaff in 'regular' restaurants enjoy.

sf wrote:

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 09:00:57 -0400, Nancy Young

(laugh) I took my ex inlaws out to a fancy restaurant that had a
smorgasbord (sp) every Friday night. Well, you never saw the waiters,
but every time you went back up for more food, you'd come back to
a clean, perfectly set table, with your linen napkin folded into
some fancy shape. Finally my conservative mil pipes up, I think the
waiter has a napkin fetish. I almost fell off my chair laughing.

It was kinda weird like you were being stalked, like you were under
scrutiny. No, I am so not complaining, that's good service.

For a smorgasbord, that was first class service!

Yeah, I just went to the website to see if they had a picture of the
place, well, it's a complicated kinda website and my connection is
slow this morning ... http://www.shadowbrook.com ... anyway, I live
maybe 5 miles from there and yet, I don't think I've been there since
I moved here. I used to go all the time. Might be time for a visit.

What I would espect is the normal Las Vegas/Reno style
"buffet" service of removing your "used" plate off the table
when you leave to get another helping of food. It's a big
"faux pas" to take your dirty plate back to the cafeteria
line to load it up.

Oh, definitely, your plates would vanish. No, I wouldn't think
walking around the restaurant with dirty dishes would be a plan.
Besides, I'd get salad, eat that, then get my meal, like why put
that food on a dirty plate? Wouldn't occur to me. Clean cutlery,
too.

nancy

"Nancy Young" wrote in message
...
Craig Welch wrote:

On Mon, 06 Oct 2003 10:44:48 -0400, Nancy Young
wrote:

Apparently, the system in place at this restaurant was that if you
wanted
something you raised the statue upright - when the waiter had dealt
with
you, it was laid on its side again. So, it seems that some places
already
have the flag system, albeit in other forms g.

Yeah, I just love dining in situations where you need to know the
secret handshake. How do they expect people to know if you don't
tell them?

Did you miss the part where she said they were in a foreign country?

Did you miss the part where that is a really stupid way to assume
people know how to get attention?

You really are dim, aren't you.

And a trivial nit-picker, as well. Sheesh!

On Wed, 08 Oct 2003 13:28:24 GMT, Frogleg wrote:

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 21:39:09 -0500, MareCat
wrote:

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 14:02:23 -0400, Nancy Young
wrote:

I seriously don't want to go stand someplace and place my order and
be given a number. That doesn't fly with me. It's not a place
I would frequent.

That type of restaurant is becoming more and more popular in my area.
One version is to stand in line, place your order, pay, then someone
brings your food out to you (or in some places, you go retrieve your
food).

Another version is to stand in line, place your order, get a slip with
your printed order on it for you to take to your table, then hand that
slip to a server, who then brings your food out to you (and handles
anything else you might order, like additional drinks, desserts,
etc.). When you're finished with your meal, the server brings you a
check, and you pay the server.

And leave a tip, I hope. :-)

Of course. The waitstaff does everything they do in a more traditional
restaurant except take your initial order.

I haven't investigated, but it's quite
possible that all-you-can-eat buffets and take-a-number establishments
pay the same sub-minimum wage to those who bring the drinks and clear
the table as waitstaff in 'regular' restaurants enjoy.

I'd be very surprised if the waitstaff at AYCE buffet and
take-a-number places were paid higher wages than at other places.
Regardless of the type of restaurant, I always tip when I receive good
(even adequate) service.

On Wed, 08 Oct 2003 06:09:00 GMT, sf wrote:

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 05:25:40 GMT, Dog3
wrote:


Never have I had to do a "chicken dance" (whatever that is)

Oh, Doggie... have you NEVER been on a cruise?

Or to a wedding reception in Pennsylvania? I don't think I've ever
been to a reception up there (mine included) that didn't include the
chicken dance.

In article ,
sf wrote:
On Wed, 08 Oct 2003 03:39:41 GMT, Julia Altshuler
wrote:

[upselling]

I realize it is a business situation, but imagine it socially.

Unfortunately, that's what's expected from the staff that
annoys you... it's all in the "training". That sort of
thing isn't natural for most people and that's why it annoys
us instead of making us say "yes".

One place I worked kept everybody's check averages on a white-
board. Every month or so the names of those who were consis-
tently in the bottom 10% (one or two waitrons usually) were
erased -- that's how you knew it was time to drop off your apron
and pick up your final paycheck.

--
Mark Shaw contact info at homepage -- http://www.panix.com/~mshaw
================================================== ======================
"Love, friendship, respect, do not unite people as much
as a common hatred of something." - Chekhov

It seems to me in following these threads that almost everyone is
missing the point. Wait-staff are employed to serve the customer.
The customer may be difficult, grumpy, demanding - or a combination of
all three - but unless the customer is drunk, or otherwise "out of
it", then the customer has a right to receive good service.

It must be said, however, that the level of service would depend on
the type of restaurant. A very expensive fine-dining establishment
would be expected to have well-trained and discreet staff, who would
never interrupt diners' conversations, would never take a wrong order,
would be able to respond fully to questions about items on the menu -
and keep an eye on progress at the table he or she is serving.

Having said that, this sort of attention is not likely to be evident
at a lower-priced cafe or bistro eatery. But the same level of
politeness and professional serving should have been part of the
training.

Fine-dining gourmet restaurants in the USA are, in my experience when
visiting, as good as anywhere in the world, with service to match.

I don't expect the same level of attention when I am eating "on the
run" as it were, but I do expect courtesy and politeness.

TigsNona

On Thu, 09 Oct 2003 05:26:41 GMT, Dog3
wrote:

I don't think I have ever
left a tip larger than the bill, unless of course I had too many martinis
and could not count

Okay, Doggie... I think we've had a meeting of minds!

On 8 Oct 2003 15:15:52 -0400, (Mark
Shaw) wrote:

In article ,
sf wrote:
On Wed, 08 Oct 2003 03:39:41 GMT, Julia Altshuler
wrote:

[upselling]

I realize it is a business situation, but imagine it socially.

Unfortunately, that's what's expected from the staff that
annoys you... it's all in the "training". That sort of
thing isn't natural for most people and that's why it annoys
us instead of making us say "yes".

One place I worked kept everybody's check averages on a white-
board. Every month or so the names of those who were consis-
tently in the bottom 10% (one or two waitrons usually) were
erased -- that's how you knew it was time to drop off your apron
and pick up your final paycheck.

Eeeew. That's too cold for words.