[OutsiderWithInterest]

.

[graciegirl]

Neither of those situations would have bothered me. It makes sense to me. To each his own and everyone looks at things differently. I don't think the servers make the rules and there must be a reason for them. It would have been only a minor inconvenience as far as I am concerned. But everyone views things differently and has different expectations.

[Bogie Shooter]

agree with you Gracie.

[chuckster]

Have eaten at every restaurant in the villages and vicinity many times (don't cook) over 6+ years and never had a situation similar to yours. Just must be lucky I guess whether as couple or group. Be interested to know where you had the bad service, etc.

[Mintjulep]

They may want you to check out with each server separately so the tip is distributed fairly, based on the amount of service you got with each server.
Instead of the one who checks you out getting it all...

[musicman]

This is one reason I love TGI Fridays. I went there once and was being led to a table that didn't appeal to me. I asked if I could be seated at a different table and pointed it out. The hostess smiled and said "No problem, you can sit anywhere you'd like". Turns out, the station was closed, but no one batted an eye or made me feel that I was putting them out. I then ordered my favorite dish, Chicken pasta with pesto alfredo. The young lady told me that it was no longer on the menu, but she would see if she could have it made for me anyway...and she did. Turns out, you can order anything you want at TGI Fridays and, if they have the ingredients, they'll make it. Separate checks for 40 people...no problem. I even had a friend tell me that he was taken there for his birthday but turned down the free sundae because he is diabetic. The server asked what his favorite flavor ice cream was and disappeared for several minutes. She came back with a sugar free sundae from the frozen yogurt shop in the mall next door! Everything they do is about the customer.

I find myself wondering if it's not just me getting cranky as the years roll by. And the answer is "YES"! So, I often check my attitude before I open my mouth. Often times it is my bad day catching up with me and has nothing to do with the service person standing before me, there to try to take care of me. Unfortunately, I don't always catch myself, and I regret it later. That person was truly there to help me but I bit their head off for no reason. Then there are those who are just cranky no matter what and don't care who they take it out on. Sadly, I have witnessed a LOT of this behavior in "Florida's Friendliest Hometown". I think that some of the lack of attention to service is due to the uncalled for abuse some of these poor folks endure on a daily basis. It wears you down. Seems that not a day goes by that I don't hold a door open for someone, or step aside for them even though I arrived first only to get the stink eye as if I SHOULD be getting out of the way. Sorry, end of rant...

[Boomer]

OutsiderWithInterest,

At the risk of maybe making you a little more cranky (you were the one who said cranky first, remember) I will give you my angle on this -- since you asked.

You said you were asked nicely and given an explanation. Well, as long as it was nicely done, I think the explanation makes perfect sense. They are trying to keep their customers straight so that they can take care of them and to keep the checks and the tips straight, too. That's fair.

Also, in a busy restaurant, it makes sense for servers to have areas. Kind of like a sales rep for a big company has a territory. Same kind of thing. It's their responsibility. It's where they make their money.

And actually, having areas assigned to servers should make customer service better. That way everybody knows who the customer belongs to. A good server has "gotta know the territory." Literally and figuratively.

So be nice. Smile. Tip well. Tip really, really, really well if you tie up a table forever and ever and ever. Why make your server's life harder? I never get why people do that. Servers work really hard and put up with lots of you know what sometimes.

I have not been a server for a very long time. I guess it was so long ago that I was a waitress. Nobody was a server then. It was a really long time ago. I paid some of my tuition by serving cheeseburgers to geezers at a golf course. I smiled. They smiled. They tipped. I knew the territory.

Boomer

[blueeagle65]

I also agree with gracie. Unless it is your establisment you don't get to make the rules. Take a pill and chill out.

Unless you are the king of the world everyone isn't your personal servant.

This is the sort of attitude and behavior that TV can do without.

[l2ridehd]

Different point of view.

I agree with the original post. Those places that provide good service and take care of my needs will get my repeat business. Those that don't will not. I tip very well for good service and very poor for bad service. I don't really care what the Establishment process is, They are there to support the customer. It's the only reason they are in business. There is a reason some places have a line out the door and other places are empty. There are many ways to support the requirements identified.

In the DC area there are 4 places owned by the same person. Sweetwater Grill, (2 of them), Artie's and one other. They have a process that works. Not sure how they do it, but you can go in, go to the bar, order a drink, get a table, order salad, then the meal, ask for another drink, more bread, change your side dish, and do EVERY ONE of these things with a different server and it always comes out right. And then ask someone else who just happens to work by for the bill, and even that comes out right. Now the food is really good, but not great at these places. And there is always a wait to get in. I personally believe it is the superior service and the process they have to control the delivery of that service. So it can be done without assigning areas, or table owners, or making someone pay a bill before moving or when one person goes off or on shift.

[Russ_Boston]

l2 - I agree that technology can improve the situation. I know at many restaurants I can order at the bar and not pay for anything until after we are seated and pay for our meal. I assume that the tip is split accordingly although I do leave a buck or two on the bar after each drink is served even if the cost of the drink is being rung up on a tab (probably just habit). Overall I don't sweat the small stuff and this IS small stuff. Drink, eat and enjoy your night out.

[bellesgoofy]

I agree with Gracie & Boomer. I am A server and different tables may be different servers. The Bar and high tops around the bar are not the same server. The host tries his or her best to rotate the next server. Boomer hit it just right, If you just sit at a table and BS tip accordingly by how long you tie up a table

[macgolfnut]

Having worked in a restaurant in college and 2 sons who were waiters at one point in their lives, I know how hard the wait staff works in most restaurants. Outsider, it seems one of your main goals when you went to the restaurants was to get in and out as quickly as possible. Most people I know go to a restaurant to enjoy the food, the atmosphere, and the company with them. Yes, sometimes you will have bad and slow service, and you should tip accordingly, but you also aren't their only customer. It seems as though a fast food restaurant would be more to your liking. And your word "cranky" definitely applys here.

[BBQMan]

Originally Posted by l2ridehd

Different point of view.

In the DC area there are 4 places owned by the same person. Sweetwater Grill, (2 of them), Artie's and one other. They have a process that works. Not sure how they do it, but you can go in, go to the bar, order a drink, get a table, order salad, then the meal, ask for another drink, more bread, change your side dish, and do EVERY ONE of these things with a different server and it always comes out right. And then ask someone else who just happens to work by for the bill, and even that comes out right. Now the food is really good, but not great at these places. And there is always a wait to get in. I personally believe it is the superior service and the process they have to control the delivery of that service. So it can be done without assigning areas, or table owners, or making someone pay a bill before moving or when one person goes off or on shift.

Hello i2; you are describing a system in which the check is traveling with you and the servers share in the tips. To the best of my knowledge this system originated in SE Florida and was then taken nationwide by the Houston's chain. It works very well for the servers, but requires a lot of shared sacrifice and the willingness to accept tough discipline.

Houston's servers (these are very sought after jobs) go through a line-up every day. They are required to show up not only neat and clean; but dressed to the standards of Houston's. This does not simply mean their clothes but includes such things as the amount of change they carry and the denominations of the bills. The fact that they are all subject to the same discipline (though it may be in their mind's 'Mickey Mouse Rules") helps them come together as a team. The payoff is great service for the customer and equally great tips for the servers. If a server does not perform for the customers, then he/she is quickly identified by the others and let go.

The result of this system is that every server cares for every customer. There is no territoriality. The servers work together to provide the best possible service to the customer and the highest possible tips to them as a group. The whole thing works when servers are in cooperation rather than competition.

Just the thoughts of a person who grew up as a kid in the restaurant business.

[gemorc]

I have a question. Is the role of any service establishment to serve the customer? Or is it the role of the consumer to satisfy the establishment? What ever happened to the motto,"the customer is always right"?

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by gemorc

I have a question. Is the role of any service establishment to serve the customer? Or is it the role of the consumer to satisfy the establishment? What ever happened to the motto,"the customer is always right"?

Sometimes bad service is just bad service and, of course, that should be handled accordingly, proper channels and all that.

But guess what, gemorc, the customer is not always right, nor should he be.

There are extremes out there where the customer is concerned.

I have seen people set out to, quite simply, for lack of a better word, act like because they think they can. You know, the people who just cop a real attitude. Maybe they are lacking something in their own lives that causes them to try to make themselves feel better by making others feel worse. They have some need to belittle those around them.

Now, I am not talking about a legit complaint, handled politely. I am talking about........Aw, c'mon, you know what I am talking about. We have all seen it happen.

My mother owned what was called a "beauty shop" in those days. There was a customer who was quite hoity-toity. This customer thought that she was so much better, so far above, everyone else in the entire universe. And this customer also thought that she was entitled to be downright nasty to my mom's employees.

Well, guess what else. Madam Nasty Britches was told by my mother that she would not allow her employees to be spoken to in such a manner and that she was to leave immediately and never return. (I think the other customers who were sitting under the hairdryers against the wall, watching the whole scene, flipped back those hairdryer hoods, jumped up, and gave my mom a standing ovation.)

Sometimes I just have to tell a story to try to make a point. I do not make these stories up. (Well, actually, I made up the standing ovation part, but they wanted to do that she heard.)

Boomer Bouffant