Switching roles*

I went out to eat tonight at the Olive Garden about 45 minutes away from where I live. I don’t particularly like eating at the one I work except when I’m working, because it’s a little uncomfortable and usually either the server or I expect too much.

I politely listened to the server as she explained the wine she was offering and said, “No, thank you.” After we ordered, I found myself watching her and thinking to myself what she should be doing. I noticed her other table across from us all needed refills, and I caught her across the room throwing towels around with another employee. Of course, I can’t say I have never had fun on the job, so I can’t be too critical.

When we were almost done eating, she still had not come back to ask how everything tasted or to ask if we wanted more bread. What if one of our meals had tasted horrible? We would have had to sit there for twenty minutes with nothing to eat. Again, I saw her in the side station texting on her phone and laughing with the same employee. I tried, again, to think of it as me, and what I have done, so I wouldn’t get annoyed.

The party I was with was getting impatient for their bills and some to-go boxes. When she finally came back, she gave us boxes, dropped the bills, left our dirty plates on the table, and said she would come back. After deciding on who was paying for the bill, my party complained about leaving a tip. Our total came to about $56, and they wanted to leave $4, and I was annoyed.

Although our service wasn’t great, I would never want to leave a small tip like that. My sister agreed (she is a server, as well) and said, “No matter how bad the service, we have to tip more than that… just not as big as we usually would.” I smiled, and my sister and I left her extra, as the rest of the party would not agree.

I have had many great servers, however, when I have been on the customer side. Sometimes, when I can tell a server is annoyed to be sat a bunch of young adults, I smile and remind them that I am a server, so they know we will not stiff them. This always helps, because we end up getting excellent service. I don’t get annoyed when my food is cooked wrong or when I notice a server is busy with other tables; usually I tip more when this happens, because I know it will make the servers night when they don’t expect a nice tip and get it anyway.

I do get very frustrated and a little annoyed when a server treats me poorly because I am a young adult. A lot of people my age come in and are loud, needy, and never tip. However, a lot of people my age are servers and know what it means to tip. I try to remember this as a server; I don’t treat younger adults any different than any other table.

What does it take to be a “good server?” Check it out.