"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!"

"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!" The old man screamed to me.

Many time I've wondered this myself working in the restaurant I worked in.

Note to self: never be a reservationist in a high volume/ pre-theater restaurant EVER again!

Before I became a server in this particular NYC restaurant I was their reservationists/hostess. Basically, I did everything under the sun. I dealt with so many rude and demanding people that when someone was genuinely nice it took me by surprise. I learned that when people are brought up being fed with a silver spoon they expect everyone to treat them that way. In reality I despised these people and it killed me to give into their sick and twisted games they loved to play. However, as soon as I punched in every day I found myself feeding these people, literally and metaphorically with a silver spoon.

BUT, I wasn't always successful hiding my deep rooted, innate feelings and sometimes I just couldn't keep it inside.

For instance... It was a warm spring Saturday night around 7pm. Just a side note: This restaurant sat over 200 people, and within 1-1.5 had to have them out and to their shows.

At the time I was responsible for taking deliveries over the phone, checking the food before it went out, opening and closing checks, taking reservations, answering questions, cleaning and fixing menus, and doing anything else my managers asked me to do. To say the least I WAS BUSY!

I remember standing in the middle of the office wearing high heels and a phone headset, answering each call saying"please hold" while checking to make sure all the food was prepared the way it was supposed to be. The office was filled to the brim with delivery orders, phone calls were pouring in, and my head was spinning. To add to this mess, the delivery guys did not speak English OR Spanish, great. The phone kept ringing and I finally answered. "Hello, please hold" in the most polite voice I could. And thats when I heard the dreaded aggravated voice of an old man. I stayed on the line.

"Yes sir, how can I help you. What is your last name"  I knew why he was calling.

Had I not had a headset on this is where I would have placed the phone 5 feet away from my ear.

"I am 80 years old, I have a broken hip and could have walked over faster than this delivery is taking."He screamed.

Looking at his delivery ticket I notice his order was placed 25 minutes ago. And he lived IN THE SAME BUILDING AS THE RESTAURANT!

I understood this guy is old, I understood he wanted to take advantage of the delivery option. I understood, I really did. But not that night.

"Well sir how about you come and pick it up then" I say nastily.

I brace myself.

"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!" The old man screamed to me.

"Yes. YES I AM!" I scream back.

"Well I want to speak with your manager." 

People who love to get free meals


This is how a meal should be... For Valentines day/ birthday my boyfriend Dave took me to Foxwoods. We dined at Craftsteak house and had an amazing meal and over all great dining experience. The courses flowed together perfectly, the timing was impeccable, the atmosphere amazing, and most importantly the food and the service was the best. The servers were friendly, inviting, personable, professional, and assertive. An all around great experience. However, this is not always the case. 


People don't realize that going out to eat is more than just getting a good meal. The dining experience is just that, an experience. The other thing most people don't realize is us servers are well aware of that. Our job is to make your experience fun, relaxing, enjoyable, and comfortable. Servers have the huge responsibility of not only delivering great food on time, but great service. However, some people take advantage. I've learned that there are people out there who actually want to make your life miserable. Being demanding, rude, and actually just mean is the worst thing you can do to a person, so what justifies this? Just because we are getting paid does not mean you can be an asshole. I've often reflected, what is worse... a table that is nice and leaves little or no tip or a table that is rude, demanding, and belittling and leaves a great tip. 


The hardest thing I had to learn was not our extensive wine list or complex menu but how to be nice and friendly to people you wouldn't be nice and friendly to in the real world. I just give these people the benefit of the doubt and say to myself they are miserable and are just looking for a free meal and an ego boost. If you are one of these people next time you sit and feel the urge to be mean simply say, check please!  

Intro

Check please! is a blog about my past and present experiences working in the restaurant industry. This weekly blog will feature stories from my perspective working in restaurants and also being a guest in them. I will post weekly pieces of my journey from start to finish over the next few weeks. This journey will be exciting and sad, boring and overwhelming, gross, but above all, delicious. I’ve found over the past few years that working in the restaurant industry, especially in NYC gives you a tough skin, fat wallet, and no social life but the appeal on both ends as a worker and a guest just keeps people wanting more and more. The restaurant industry is one of the toughest places to work, crazy chefs, all spanish-speaking kitchen staff, and servers striving to be stars can be found in all restaurants no matter how big or small. But whether the meal was horrible or great it all comes down to that one last thing, check please!