Tell Dolly Parton

If the thing that bothered you was the fingernails, then why did you go out of your way to describe his piercings, the design on his mask, his gender, his piercings, his long hair, and his sparkly hair clips? What did his shoes look like? What condition was his shirt in? Were his pants clean or dirty? Was his apron tied correctly in the back? If you're going to give us all those details about "things that didn't bother you" then why did you choose those specific things that didn't bother you - and then harp on his fingernails? Sorry - not buying it. Seems to me you just wanted to judge someone, and wanted to describe all the things that offend you - and then picked fingernails as your excuse for complaining.

Everything that the Op described would have violated the dress code policy when I used to wait tables. And I don't care if it was a girl or guy decked out like that - we would have been sent home.

I'm all for people being themselves but if you're going to be a food server you can't wear long nails and you need to comply with the restaurant's dress code policy. If the restaurant has a very lax dress code policy for their staff and that makes you uncomfortable you can absolutely go elsewhere. But most managers will tell you that they would want to know why you were going elsewhere.

The exception would be if this was some sort of edgy restaurant or a roadside bar and grill hole in the wall sort of place - when in Rome. But a typical restaurant in The Villages is probably not too "edgy", lol.

Server should have worn gloves !!!!!!!!

Yes.

Then don’t look! Yes, it’s that easy.

Waiters are also salesman. "People buy from people they like." If a waiter's appearance is generally offensive, this will be reflected in his tip income. His choice--and mine.

Where do I find this restaurant???

Where?

Well, how rude that is! His grooming is not for you to comment on. Dont like it just get up n leave but no one has to be subjected to your preachings

If you were concerned, just get up and leave and state loudly WHY your leaving. That will get their attention.
If you go to a square and feel unsafe, leave. If you go to a store and feel unsafe, leave.
HOWEVER, if we continue to trash business in TV ,you won’t have any.
Most restaurant's in TV do not have great service. Great servers work where people tip, not leave pocket change.

I agree with you 100% on all points.

40 years ago I was a waitress in a nice restaurant. We were not allowed to wear nail polish to work because it hid whether or not our nails were clean. BTW, I made a lot of money at that job, while lazy others did not. We did not 'pool' tips, and made money according to the service provided. I hate that most restaurants now pool tips. Very unfair, to all workers.

Because that you make you look like a reasonable person?

Dirt under super-long fingernails (on any person) is totally gross, and a complaint to management—perhaps, when you are leaving—totally appropriate. However, I fail to see any relevance to mentioning BLM masks, piercings and long hair held by clips if you are not making a racist point.

If the guy had a furry tail attached to his backside, kitten ears on his head and a kitty cat whisker mask on his face, would the Op be wrong in pointing those details out? If you've ever seen a "Furry" you will know that some folks dress like that.

My point is, there is a time and a place for self expression and a server job isn't one of those times. When you've been hired to do a job you go by the dress code established by your employer. If a manager is allowing the dress code to slack big time, then maybe a complaint to corporate is warranted. Obviously the manager is aware of what his/her employers are wearing and is choosing to not say anything about it. It's not the customer's job to scold management into compliance.

Management problem. Expectations should have been made clear, verbally and in writing, before he was offered the job, then reviewed when the employee came to work. You can’t assume people have common sense. Often, they need clear direction.

OPs failure to discuss with management solved nothing.

Some big assumptions being made in these posts.

The OP took exception to his appearance but no one else seems to have noticed so could it have been that out of the ordinary?

Were the fingernails truly long or just longer than the OP was accustomed to? The OP didn't mention any dirt under the nails, only the length and what could have been under them. So again, were they long and dirty or just not what the OP was accustomed to?

If the long (too long for a man?) hair was held back by clips (sparkly or otherwise) then is there a different standard for men's and women's hair? It probably met the requirements of both the health code and the restaurant.

Where was it stated that the server's appearance did not meet the dress code of the establishment?

And some of the other ____ist and ___phobic comments in these replies say more about the person who chose to post them than they do about the server.

If the complaint were solely about long fingernails and would have honestly been made regardless of gender, that's one thing. The fact that all of the rest was purposely and pointedly included, leaves no doubt as to the true intention of the complaint - as I see it anyway.

Good point. If this was a woman would you be making the same comment ?

We don't know the establishment so of course we don't know what the dress code is. We do know that the Op complained to "corporate" and just the fact that there is a corporate to complain to means that this is likely a chain of some sort. Most chain restaurants do have dress code policies. Using only logic, common sense and my own previous experience as a server - this guy would have been in violation of the dress code policy at 99% of the chain restaurants out there.

If there is no such dress code standards at this particular restaurant then the guy wasn't in violation and Op simply needs to find someplace else to dine.

No one really wants to see how the sausage is made. How many folks go back in the kitchen to check out the cooks' attire and hygiene?
Don't get me wrong, I probably would have gotten up and vacated the scene. I never send food back to the kitchen. I just give my comment when I check out, or I get up and leave before eating. I have a favorite fast food place and twice I received cold food. When I left, the cashier asked me how my meal was and I told her. She offered a discount and I refused it saying that I merely told the truth and that it had happened on two occasions. I told her that since I had eaten there on a regular basis and the food was always good, it was a constructive comment, not a condemnation. I said this as low as I could since there were many folks waiting to be seated. The food was always good after that, so either they rectified the glitch or it was just a coincidence.

In this instance, I probably would have left without eating there. I do not wish to be reminded of the BLM cretins and I do not wish to be served by someone with poor hygiene. Call me racist or homophobic if you wish but learn the correct definition before misusing the terms. But, don't get into the habit of using labels too much because one day you may say something similar to someone's face and not just anonymously on the Internet.

As a former restaurant owner I will say your half right. Order takers and food delivery people make poor tips. But well trained and proper speaking servers, waiters, and Waitresses make fantastic money. I only hired high end personal which made my sports grill the most successful in my city. I never allow political views to be displayed either

It should have an impact on the restaurant. If the food is bad, the service not up to standards and it is not clean, people should know about it before deciding to go there. If the restaurant or any business for that matter is not doing right by its customers it either needs to straighten itself out or go out of business.

And let the rest of us know so that we don't go there.

I've been to, worked in and had friends that owned restaurants that had rules about servers fingernails. In many of them women were not allowed to wear nail polish and there fingernails needed to be trimmed to a reasonable length. It sounds like in this case, the servers nails were overly long.

Those who argue that judging someone by their appearance is discrimination, should think to themselves. How did I pick my partner, how did you choose your house, how did you pick the clothes you wore today? Did appearance and looks have anything to do with it?

There's nothing a restaurant can do that you can't do for yourself at home. When you select a restaurant to dine it's partly due to the the ambience, the atmosphere, and you expect to be waited on, that's why he's called a waiter and he is just as much as part of the ambience. When his attire, hygiene and grooming is so far outside of normal, the ambience of the restaurant and your entire experience is effected or even ruined.

UPDATE: Some of you are ticked off that I didn’t mention the restaurant.....it was Olive Garden....466. Today I got a phone call from the manager apologizing for our more than optimal experience at his restaurant. He said he was addressing the problems. He was kind and responsive. He also sent us a gift card for a future visit at the Olive Garden of our choice. I feel that my concerns were addressed appropriately.

Is that really true? I surely hope not! Why would a hard worker have to suffer for the lazy people? I like to think we are tipping the person who served us, not some lazy ass.

I'm glad that the manager was so responsive but I don't think that you should have mentioned the restaurant's name because that makes the server easily identifiable.

I would not feel comfortable writing a review which basically calls one specific server out for inappropriate attire. That's something you 1) write on the comment card 2) complain to the manager about it or 3) complain to corporate about it.

It's a legitimate complaint, IMO. It's just not something that you mention on Yelp.

Years ago, when my kids were little , we were at Disney. I went to a restaurant with 2 of my kids and my husband stayed with my little one outside because she was scared of the characters there. Well, The waiter we had, although a very nice man, seemed a little off and when he came to serve our food he had drool coming down his chin. I was so grossed looking at the food he placed in front of us. I couldn't eat it and asked for the check and left. That was in the days when I was timid to say anything. Didn't want to get the man in trouble because I wasn't sure if he had some disability and he was very sweet. Now a days!! There would be NO WAY I would of paid for that meal. Not afraid to speak , in a kind manner of course.
Everything the op described about the waiter, the only thing that wouldn't bother me was the hair being clipped with sparkle clips. The mask wouldnt gross me out, it would just **** me off!. BUT the long nails in my dish would kind of gross me out! I get annoyed even when someone who is well groomed has their finger in my plate that I always push what was near the finger off my plate and then wipe with my napkin.

. . .

On the other hand, why should a hard worker be penalized because they ended up with a less generous tipper? This is why the tips are pooled. It eliminates the luck of the draw.

"luck of the draw" would imply that the quality of service has little to do with the tip. I suspect that most of the time the amount of the tip has a lot to do with service and the hard worker benefits from that.

But let's take your idea a little farther. If I'm a lazy worker and my tips are low but I know I will get some of the other worker's tips then what incentive do I have to improve? If I'm a hard worker and my tips are good but I know they will be taken from me and given to my lazy coworker then what incentive to I have to continue working hard? The lazy worker continues to be lazy, the hard worker stops trying, and the customer loses.

I'd much prefer my gratuity go to the person who provided good service to me (even if he had long hair and piercings) than to the other servers who did not.

The restaurant and the server need to be identified so that we can make a decision whether or not to do business there.

Pooling tips can work both ways. Hard working attentive employees should receive more in tips, but they won't always. Some people are good tippers and other's are not regardless of how good the server is. Sometimes the amount of tips that you get is more due to the luck that you have in getting good tippers or cheapskates than it is to the service provided.

Ohiobuckeye
 

Dr. Jim Winston this young man that had his long fingernails in someone’s food should of had rubber gloves on, at least until President Biden takes control. Then the president will be able to say “I cured the Covid19, man, everything thing is open for business “.

It's called socialism/communism.

The luck of the draw will have no effect if you work at the job long enough to even out the odds. But, I don't like the process of pooling tips anyway.