jmcquown wrote:
>
> I'm by no means an expert but I've worked in a few. Dimitri (love you,
> dear!) made a comment in the Crying Child at a Romantic Dinner thread about
> the OP being peeved from the get-go for having to wait past the reservation
> time for an obviously empty table. Possibly so since they mentioned it
> right off the bat.
>
> I've been a server as well as a hostess. I also worked the back of the
> house doing payroll (and yes, Peter, I recorded what would be reported by
> the restaurant as taxable tips based on sales). From my experience: Tables
> are seated on a rotating basis so no one server gets slammed while another
> stands idle. (There are other factors, of course, such as guests requesting
> smoking, non-smoking, first available, someone requesting a specific server,
> etc.).
>
> So let us say the poster (assuming he's for real and forgetting the crying
> toddler) was seated immediately in a station where the server had just been
> seated twice with a party of 4 at each table. Now the server is busy
> getting drink orders (even if it's coffee or tea) for 8 people, not to
> mention food. The poster and his wife would have gotten less than stellar
> service without the lag in seating because then the server would be "in the
> weeds". Granted, the server could have asked someone else to pick up the
> table (a frequent occurrence) but then they would have lost the tip (not
> that the poster bothered to tip in the first place, but this isn't really
> about that poster). There is a method to this staggered seating madness.
>
> And let us not forget, servers have more to do than take orders and haul out
> plates of food. Someone makes sure there is enough coffee and tea made for
> the patrons and it sure isn't the kitchen staff. Someone makes sure there
> are condiments available, salad dressings are prepared, desserts are topped
> with whatever. It's not the kitchen staff. If they roll silverware,
> whether it's in paper or linen, it's the server who has to do it.
>
> If a server was really good I've had them come and *ask* me to double or
> triple seat them. They know what they can handle. They were always the
> ones with the most money in their pocket at the end of the night.
>
> If you sit back and watch (and I know you have) there is an ebb and flow of
> patrons. Some linger and chat, others eat and get out. Turning tables is
> essential to a server's income. But you can't just walk over and say "time
> to leave", hence the willingness of some servers to pick up tables in other
> stations.
>
> My point is, there is a reason for some tables sitting empty for 10 minutes
> before they are seated, especially on a busy night. And I think it was
> Lisa-Ann who pointed out, sometimes the manager didn't schedule enough
> servers, or, thinking it was going to be a slow night, cut a couple of
> servers and closed some stations early only to find a sudden influx of
> unexpected customers. This is why we estimated and informed customers of
> "wait times". They could leave or they could wait. There wasn't much to be
> done about that.
>
> Jill
> --
> I used to have a handle on life...but it broke off.

Jill, I appreciate all the points you make about why the
customers might not be seated right away in the empty
table, however, I don't agree that any of those are valid
reasons to keep someone waiting. Especially if they have
to stand around. I would rather be seated asap and have
them explain that they're extremely busy and that there
will be a slight delay or something to that effect. I'd
sure as hell rather wait sitting than standing. And I don't
particularly like sitting at the bar while I wait (if that
is an option). And it just looks bad to have someone standing
(or whatever) waiting for their table when there is a
table "available". The customer doesn't care about all
the back of the house "reasons" for making them wait.
And I certainly don't mind waiting to be served once I'm
comfortably seated and the delay is explained and apologized
for. It's the manager's job (and the other employees, too)
to make everything work out without inconveniencing the
customers unnecessarily.

Kate