Top Of The Table

Caroline Barden

Sept. 9, 2001

It’s funny how life imitates art. For weeks, I’ve been writing about making the customer your primary focus. So when I went out for dinner last week, what kind of server did I get?
Aloof, inattentive, unfocused and generally lacking in any kind of people skills. A textbook case of what not to do when you’re waiting on tables for a living. I am afraid that this kind of server is more the norm than the exception these days, and people are getting resigned to that fact. However, having been on the receiving end of such poor service too many times just gives me more fuel for the fire I’m trying to light in the restaurant industry.

For those of you who are not yet comprehending the concept of forget self, focus on customer, let me tell you how I felt being treated so poorly. It ruins it for me. I don’t have a lot of money to spend in restaurants these days, so when I do go out I like to be treated nicely. Not that this instance was any big deal, just a couple of burgers after a movie with my son. But it’s all easy stuff, I mean we’re not talking brain surgery here. This gal was no spring chicken either, she looked like she had the skills, but lacked the motivation to put one iota of energy into her job. Before you tell me to lighten up, maybe she was having a bad day, I’ve had this server before. And it was the exact same scenario.

Actually, the first time she waited on us was worse. This place is a local brewery with terrific food that just happens to be right next door to the discount priced movie theater. My son and I have been going there for years, and we love what they serve there. How they serve it is another story. When I do my seminars I tell the tale of the bitter beer. We had gone to a movie on a Saturday afternoon, and then went to the brew pub. I wanted a beer, so I carefully read the place mat with the descriptions of all the brews. Being the wimpy drinker that I am, my choice was supposed to be light and smooth, it was something blond, a real chicks beer. So the guy drops it off, I taste it and to my dismay, it’s bitter.

So, silly me, I try to let them know the beer is bad so they don’t serve it to someone else. I tell the guy,
"I’m sorry but this beer is bitter."
He looks at me with a look that says, like, I’m supposed to care? He says,
"I’ll get your server to take your order."
Strike One. So then here comes Miss Aloof, inattentive, I have better things to do than wait on you and when I tell her about the beer, she says, smugly,
"It’s supposed to be bitter."
It’s SUPPOSED TO BE BITTER?!? Hey, let’s go out for some bitter beer babe! Sounds like a tongue twister. Now maybe I am not an expert on this stuff, but bitter was not in the description on the place mat, I went back and checked. Since I was stuck with the pint of this putrid stuff, I got a big glass of ice and some lemons and made the beer drinkable. People think I make this stuff up.

So now it’s a year later and we went back. It’s kind of like childbirth, you forget the pain after awhile. My son is now almost 15 and not real happy to hang out with his mother. But hunger overrides all emotions and going to the movies has him starved. So smug server saunters over, takes a drink order and reads the specials like she’s reading the phone book. The food is great here, the specials can’t be that boring. Maybe she could just look at us for a change, we might be a celebrity or a reviewer, or heck, we might just be a good tipper . We could have been the friggin president for all she knew. Then again she was looking all over the restaurant as she took our order, so she would have seen the Secret Service Agents. It was a slow night, and she only had one other deuce, maybe she could pay a little attention to us.

The food comes, gets plopped on the table, and our server disappears, never to be seen or heard from again. I’d compare it to Chandra Levy, but at least they want to find her. So, we finish eating, the very nice busboy wraps up our leftovers, and we wait. We wait some more, and then after another couple minutes I tell my very impatient son that we are going to stand by the door. It was slow, there were a lot of servers on and something told me this gal was being lazy. Sure enough, she’s lounging against the computer having this involved conversation with a coworker and I’d bet good money they ain’t talkin shop. I left a 10% tip, what would you have done?

Speaking of tipping, do you over tip regardless of service? I don’t anymore. It doesn’t seem right to me. If I see someone really trying to do a good job, but having a rough night, that’s one thing. But the attitude thing bugs the heck out of me. When I read some of the letters that are sent to this web site, I’m sensing that some of you need a little adjustment in your way of thinking. Take pride in your job, but don’t fall into the "I am the best server on the planet, so how come I don’t get the tips I deserve" attitude. I hate to break this to you, but most of the time, you do get exactly what you deserve. Ya gotta earn it kids, there’s no other way around it. Be good at what you do, work hard but be humble about it. Bragging about how wonderful you are is tiresome no matter what profession you’re in. I was talking to a woman the other night who was trying to tell me that customers will wait 45 minutes just to be seated in her station, when there are plenty of empty tables in the restaurant I resisted the urge to ask her what she was smoking that evening.

The New York Times has been running a lot of articles about the downturn in the economy and how it affects the restaurant industry. People are not going out to eat as much and when they do, they want good value for their hard earned dollars. This means the mid range family style restaurants are going to do well. Since the food is not the focus anymore, we are going to have to do some pretty fancy footwork as servers to ensure our customers come back. Bad service is going to be the kiss of death for some places. Put yourself in the customers place and treat them the way you want to be treated when you go out. Look right at them, put energy and enthusiasm into your work and most important, make them feel special by giving them your undivided attention. Fake it when you don’t feel it, but do it or it will do you in!

Are you a manager who is a little frustrated with your staff? Okay very frustrated! Why not try calling in a consultant? We are those quirky people who can focus on what needs fixing and then proceed to make you look really good to your boss. We have ways of helping your staff work better together so they make more money for themselves and for your establishment. They also tell us things they wouldn’t dare tell you! For a free consultation you can contact me at this web site, I would be happy to troubleshoot with you. Let’s all raise the standards in this industry together!

Caroline Barden Restaurant Consultant.