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Should Payphones Be Free?
Sheesh, now there are all these rules! A week after would-be Hamptons restaurateur Bruce Buschel published his list of 100 things restaurant servers must never do, longtime bartender and restaurant manager Patrick Maguire has fired back with some rules for people who eat at restaurants. Apparently, snapping fingers, demanding perfection, and starting a sentence with Gimmee or Get me are all frowned upon. But there are all sorts of other no-nos that come with paying strangers to serve you food. To wit:
- Be grateful that you’re out enjoying a nice meal.
- Don’t tell the staff that you’ve dined in the best restaurants around the world and expect them to be in awe.
- Some restaurants mandate that servers introduce themselves to their tables and some servers do it at their discretion. If a server introduces herself, skip the sarcastic, "My name is Fred and I’ll be your customer…"
- Don’t throw a menu at the host and walk out yelling because there’s a long wait or you don’t like the menu or prices.
- Lose the I pay you, I own you mentality. Yes, the staff is there to serve you, but not as your indentured servants.
- Ladies- If you’re part of a bridal or baby shower brunch (or any celebration) at a large table that is part of the main diningroom, please be aware that your shrill, piercing screams are loathed by the staff and everyone else in the restaurant.
- Don’t lie, embellish, or omit critical details when you anonymously trash a restaurant on the Internet.
Heh, good luck with that last one! Read the whole list here, but that just about covers it, right? All that's left is the kitchen, and issuing rules for them would be a fool's errand—savage lawlessness reigns back there. [Via Grub Street]
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you really only need one rule, "Don't be a dick!"
Conceptually, you're correct. But it's in the putting into practice where everyone differs on whether some action constitutes "dickiness".
Two rules. Don't be a dick and eat at home during a recession.
Don't leave a $2 tip on a table of 12 in a restaurant where the average entree goes for $18. Happened to me.
Point number two: If you work in the service industry, you will hate people.
What's the proper etiquette for skipping out on a bill?
Have a fake mustache and/or beard with you and go to the rest room right after desert.
If it weren't for the paying customer, these assholes wouldn't have jobs. You don't like the service industry, find work elsewhere...
That's one of the dumbest comments I've ever read. A paying customer should not act like a dipshit unless the staff started the dipshit-athon.
I resent you labeling my comment the dumbest comment–I am sure I will come up with something more idiotic once my friend felixthecat2 comes back from shoveling horse manure...
With a contemptuous attitude like that, Patrick Maguire has no business working as a restaurant manager.
Clearly the wait staff are the assholes and not you.
ha. so true on the second to last one.
you can be a dick to your server if you like, but i hope you'll enjoy ass salad and a peter loogy steak.
@6 Damn right. I hate the new generation of wait staff. They consider themselves too special and individual to do hard work. I must say though, although I began reading the list above with a critical eye, I agree with every rule from beginning with "Some restaurants mandate that servers introduce themselves...". Especially the one about bridal parties.
Here's one that would piss me off: I've often seen people throw all their loose change on the table as if that pocket purge is some kind of gratuity.
Ladies- If you’re part of a bridal or baby shower brunch (or any celebration) at a large table that is part of the main diningroom, please be aware that your shrill, piercing screams are loathed by the staff and everyone else in the restaurant.
I couldn't agree more with this... but would say that in general, everyone needs to keep their voices down when dining. I really don't need to hear your conversation from two tables over!
Pay your wait staff good wages and do away with tipping all together.
seriously... why do all other businesses have to pay their employees from their own pockets (meaning more than 4 or 5/hr), but at restaurants and bars, the customers are paying the employees??? it doesnt make any sense!!
"Ladies- please be aware that your shrill, piercing screams are loathed by the staff and everyone else in the restaurant."
I am plagaizing NY Observer restautant critic who mentions that everytime she goes out to eat, the same claque of screeching women follow her. You too, Gwinny?
I never observed this annoyance until about ten years ago. They are way louder than even drunken men. I don't get it. Women's lib consequence?
I don't know...maybe? However, I happen to be female, and I know how to keep my voice down in a restaurant :)
I know you are a woman and I'm sure you are observant of your surroundings, Gwinny, from your comments. Most women don't do this screeching.
But maybe, say, 10% get rowdy and act up like that. Physics tells us that treble sound is easier to propagate over distance than bass, so maybe that explains it. But, then again, I never observed this screaming until about ten years ago.
Who knows?
I have taken to telling them to modulate their voice. If they object, then I say, "But you're SCREECHING."
That word seems to embarrass them and they quiet down.
Actually, physics tells us that *bass* propagates better than treble. Think of whales. It's because bass is less prone to interference from other sounds.
The gaggle of screeching harpies sound like they are coming from inside your brain because the normal people in the restaurant just don't sound like that. Your ears separate their blood-boiling cackles from regular speech.
Also they are from hell.
That's one of my pet peeves, too. Every restaurant seems to have a couple of those loud, drunk women who can't seem to control their ear piercing screeching and cackling. It's incredibly distracting when you're trying to enjoy a nice, relaxing meal.
whitecastlerock: "If it weren't for the paying customer, these assholes wouldn't have jobs. You don't like the service industry, find work elsewhere..."
Easier said than done. Did you see the latest employment report?
Your comment is a common refrain. Why are you calling restaurant workers assholes? Often this type of comment comes from the 19% of customers who are difficult to some degree. The problem is that they don't even know that they're in the club. Yes, out of 150 current and former service industry workers who completed my survey, one of every five customers are impolite, disrespectful or downright rude. Unfortunately, it's the rude, condescending, abusive customers that you remember the most.
Most servers are hard workers who are grateful for their customers and want you to have a great time. It shouldn't be asking too much for people to demonstrate civility and mutual respect, not only in a restaurant, but in all human interactions.
http://www.servernotservant.com/
Ever wonder why his user name is WHITECASTLErock?
Why are you complaining about those who pay your bills? It is your choice to work in this industry. People deserve respect when it is given. I have gone to enough restaurants where greeters and servants treat you like shit on your shoes. They are too busy focusing on the scene around them to pay any attention to the customer-they are the assholes I am referring to. be grateful anyone is dining out
I have to agree with Nannystate...Were not talking about whitecastle here.. Completely different type of service offered there...and to one of the many comments above.. if we started to pay waiters salary all the service would be like that of a fast food place..Not to say all service is bad at these places... However, fast-food places like "whitecastle" are usually staffed with young adults making $5.50 an hour...Trust me being paid at that rate you would never have good food and or good service...
My suggestion to "whitecastle" is go to a place that has menu options above the dollar menu then maybe someone would take your comments into consideration...Everyone who works for a living in general whether its for tips or not can relate to being treated like dirt one time or another..it seems your only here to start problems and your out of your element here...so just move on...
As far as the list goes.. if you read Patrick's blog you will notice that he did not compile the list by himself. He surveyed many people in the service industry in general. NOT just the food industry...I am sure he doesn't agree with all of them but thought everyone should have an opinion...
lastly, the comment about "this generations servers and their attitudes" Most of the professional servers I work with have been in the industry for 20 yrs plus... SO again maybe its the type of places your going to?? Not meant as a dig just an observation. I am in my late 20's and by far the youngest one in all the places I have worked. I personally did it to pay for college and hate the fact that I work a 50 hour week on salary now and most of them still bring home more then I do in cash and with by far less hours and stress then the typical 9-5 job!
Good luck Patrick... I think your blog / book is going to be a hit..anyone who has ever grown up doing odd jobs in the service industry from paper routes to pizza delivery I believe can relate!
So I was curious are read the entire list. It's plagued with generalizations and could be half the length.
This one in particular rankled me, here it is in its entiretly: "Be grateful that you’re out enjoying a nice meal. Life is short and fragile. A lot of people can’t afford to dine out, especially at expensive restaurants."
Last I checked, the person is PAYING for that meal. He has no idea if someone dines out several times a week or a few times a year. Enough with the guilt. Maybe we should all just stay home.
yeah really... how about if you dont like what you deal with at work, find another industry.. you're dealing with food and people. the combination creates disasters.
I think this was meant more as a sarcastic rebuke to the first list than something to be taken seriously.
There was several snarky and contradicting comments in the first piece.
Like, 'Never refuse to seat three guests because a fourth has not yet arrived.' And then, 'If a table is not ready within a reasonable length of time, offer a free drink and/or amuse-bouche.'
Well guess what? Number two happened because of the people from number one, who were seated and sat around waiting for their friend to show up for an hour before they ever actually ordered.
Those are the most frustrating customers - the ones who are difficult to the point or in the manner that they directly impact your ability to make other customers comfortable. One set of rules for everyone else and another totally different set for me. Welcome to the cult of narcissism that is Manhattan.
Customers suck.
Just be considerate to those people who's been working so hard.
Anyone else catch on to the "How the fuck am I funny?!" scene from Goodfellas? Nice work JDS!
while i agree its entirely bad taste to perform any of the behaviors mentioned, at the end of the day the eateries need their patrons because there will always be another ready and willing to move into their spot and serve the unruly patron.
in manhattan (like in france) the successful business does not rebuke the asshole customer. instead make him/her pay for the privilege of acting like a child.
there used to be a 4 star restaurant outside of altanta, georgia that catered to the repressed bigotry of their white customers with money: the staff dressed and acted like plantation servants to the customers while serving them some of the best food and wine in the south.
sure some said it was degrading, and some said the customers should be tarred and feathered for patronizing such a place, but at the end of the day every member of the staff drove home in new mercedes-benz coupes.
the successful restaurant in manhattan has to learn to work their clientele. complaining about, and refusing to serve the unruly customer is simply not cost-efficient.
There is one glaring error in this article. I do not believe Patrick Maguire is "a longtime bartender and restaurant manager." While he claims to have held both of these jobs, he did so only briefly.
Quoting from Maguire's website: "Jobs I’ve personally held so far include: Supermarket Bagger, Valet Parker, Landscaper, Maintenance Man, Bartender, Restaurant Manager, Painting Contractor, Dishwasher, Cafeteria Manager, Food Concession Worker, Laborer, Plumber’s Apprentice, Cemetery Worker, Roofer (three grueling, freezing days), Security Guard at college infirmary (one night, graveyard shift/longest night of my life), Sales Assistant, Stock Broker, Corporate Manager, and Mortgage Loan Officer."
I believe these jobs are listed in the order in which he held them and he was unemployed after leaving his position as as a mortgage broker at the time he began pitching his as-yet unsold book, "Server, Not Servant." If he is an expert on anything, it is on pet peeves among people in the service industry.
I find it fascinating that some people derive pleasure from their anonymous, inaccurate posts. My bartending and restaurant management experience was over a 9-year period. Also, I did not leave my job as a mortgage loan officer.
Otherwise, thank you for visiting my site.
http://www.servernotservant.com/
I liked this article and all comments and subsequent corrections. However, lately I notice that waitstaff quality has drastically gone down. They expect decent tips but not hardwork.
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