Love, Your Waitress

I'll elaborate.

2010-06-06T03:15:00.004-04:00

I'll finally elaborate on the customer from hell, as well as quitting and my new job, now that I have a moment to spare. I've been incredibly busy the past couple months, working and school full-time, and now even summer classes. I love where I go to school now as a nursing major, but I am seriously considering a mortuary science major. I'd have to transfer to the local community college, though, and in that I would feel as if I was selling myself short. Not that there is anything wrong in the least with community college, I just don't know if I belong there. Additionally, I do NOT want to go through transferring schools again. What a mess!

Anyway, the customer from hell. His wife had called in an order for carryout. He came in to pick it up, paid, and was ready to leave when we had a little exchange that went something like this:

Customer: Wasn't I supposed to get a 2 liter with this?
Me: Well, your wife didn't order one, but if you would like to purchase one, we can take care of that now.
Customer: I told her to order a 2 liter! I told her so I know she did!

So in the meantime, this guy takes out his cell phone and calls his wife back at home. He is still standing directly in front of my register, so I can't help any of the other customers coming in. Also, I was the only person working register that night, so a line began to form behind him. The guy shuts his phone, and our exchange continues.

Customer: She said she ordered one!
Me: I apologize, sir, but whoever took your order over the phone did not get that down, but I'll be happy to get it for you now.

Immediately after that bit occurs, the customer sees a stack of promotional fliers with coupons on them. He could have used one of the coupons if he had originally ordered a 2 liter, but since he didn't do so, we didn't offer the coupon.

Customer: Hey! Why didn't you give me this deal?
Me: Because, sir, we didn't have you down for a 2 liter.
Customer: But I wanted one! I don't work here! I don't know your specials! You need to tell your customers about these coupons!
Me: I'm sorry, sir.

Then he starts grilling me about all our items on the menu and why things are priced as they are. I try to answer his questions calmly, and what I get is this:

Customer: Hey! You need to slow down and lose that attitude! That will NOT fly with me!
Me: Sir, I don't have an attitude. I am just trying to answer your questions.
Customer: And don't roll your eyes, either! You don't disrespect me like that!

At this point, the manager hears what is going on and comes up to the register. By now, a crowd of about 6 customers has gathered behind this guy. The manager tries to explain everything to the customer just as I did, but apparently it's not enough.

Customer: Alright, FUCK THIS! I DON'T WANT THIS SHIT ANYMORE!

He shoves the food at me and throws the flier in my face. He demands his money back, and then leaves. What. A. Nut.

Now, the situation with me quitting... It was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back, I guess. When I first started my job, I loved it and I was getting at least 30 hours a week. However, after the franchise owners left and the GM took over, it was hell. The GM has one personality, and it's douchebag. For whatever reason, he didn't like me and began cutting my hours even though I was one of the best employees. It eventually came to the point that I was only getting 9 hours a week. 9 hours a week making minimum wage just won't cut it for me. Not only were the hours the problem, but it was the GM, himself. He was extremely rude and always insisted we were doing things the wrong way unless we were doing them his way. But the straw that broke the camel's back was this...
Every morning I worked, I would make pizzas until we had all we needed for the morning and early afternoon. Then, the GM would have me glue fliers on the boxes. That was what he would have me do for hours and hours on end. There are 50 pizza boxes to a stack, and most days I was finishing upwards of ten stacks. It was tedious and ridiculous. A monkey could do it! Finally, I was fed up. One day, the GM went to the post office and left me, the shift manager, and one other employee in the store. It happened like this: "Well, guys, I quit." I took off my apron, clocked out, and left.

Now I have a job as an administrative assistant and I absolutely love it. I get paid a lot more and I am always guaranteed hours because it's a permanent schedule. I do a lot of typing and filing, but I enjoy going to work and seeing my coworkers. I even have my own office and I always have weekends off! It's great.

I'm thinking about keeping this blog to update about my personal life from now on. What do you guys think?

I quit!

2010-06-02T21:33:00.003-04:00

There is nothing more satisfying than walking out in the middle of a shift. Nothing.

when it rains, it pours

2010-04-15T21:23:00.001-04:00

My grandfather passed away very unexpectedly today. My blogs will be back eventually, promise.

Worst I've ever felt.

2010-04-04T19:23:00.002-04:00

I've been really sick and in the hospital. More blogs coming, as well as the customer from hell story- as soon as I'm better. Promise!

The customer from hell.

2010-03-31T10:17:00.001-04:00

Last night I encountered the worst customer I have ever dealt with in my years of having a job dealing with the public.
I'm getting ready to go to work now, but the story will be coming within the next day or so, and man, it's a doozy.

I love my job.

2010-03-18T11:46:00.003-04:00

Really. It turns out my bosses are Macedonian, not Russian, by the way. The main manager has already informed me that I'm her favorite, because I "know how to do everything!" Work has been pretty fun so far. I like my new coworkers- they're all funny and talkative, which makes work go by a little bit faster.
I've been working a LOT more than I was used to in the past. I've had 25 to 29 hours each week so far: a decent amount on its own, but add going to school full time into the mix, and I have been extremely busy.
So far I only have two stories about customers. First, let me explain the premise of where I work. We are a carry out pizza restaurant. We have pepperoni, sausage, and cheese pizzas ready all the time, so there's no need to call ahead. We can only keep the pizzas in the warmer for a half hour max, but we've been so busy that the pizzas have only been in the warmer around 10 minutes, at most.
Over the weekend, a couple came in and ordered two pizzas and two orders of breadsticks. They said they wanted the pizzas straight from the oven. I told them it would be a dollar more, because the pizzas that are $5 and ready will go to waste if we don't use them, so we would have to charge them more. Well, they weren't having any of that. They said they wanted their pizzas and breadsticks completely fresh, but for the regular price. I told them no, we can't do that. I gave them the pizzas and breadsticks they ordered, and told them to have a good night. They just stood there... for probably a full 30 seconds. I said, "You guys are good to go! Have a good one!" They still stood there. After a few more seconds, they decided to leave, with the lady calling out, "I am VERY unhappy!" Who cares.
My other story involves a lady who called our restaurant three times before finally placing an order. I answered the phone the first time. She wanted to know how much it would be for various pizzas with several toppings. I calculated them all for her, and she said she would call me back. The second time she called, my manager answered. The lady wanted to know if we had thin crust. My manager told her no, we only have one type of crust. The lady hung up. The third time she called, I answered. This time, she asked me how much it would be for the same pizzas she already asked about...then asked if we had thin crust. "Are you sure you don't have thin crust?" she asked. "Yes, ma'am, I'm sure." "Well.... okay..." then she proceeded to finally give me her order.
Little things like that drive me crazy, but all in all, I love my job. It's so much easier than where I worked in the past. Additionally, it's way more efficient. We have an automatic saucer for the pizzas; the dough takes a minute and a half to mix instead of 15 minutes; we have a dough ball maker instead of having to do it ourselves; and the pizzas only take about 7 minutes to make.
I'm sure I'll have more stories soon, because I'm working the next four days. I'm happy to be back here posting!

Good news!

2010-03-04T16:18:00.001-05:00

I have a new job! I started this Monday and I already have 29 hours scheduled this week :) Downside: my bosses are Russian and I hardly understand them. This should make for some interesting blogging.

oh, and!

2010-01-20T22:51:00.002-05:00

Google analytics provides me with so much entertainment.

long time no blog.

2010-01-18T16:52:00.002-05:00

So, I moved home last month at the end of the semester and transferred schools. I go to school now 4 days a week, but I go mornings 2 of those days and nights the other 2...which leaves me plenty of time to work.

A couple weeks ago I met my former boss at Starbucks to discuss the prospect of coming back to work at the restaurant. She said she would hire me back instantly... if there wasn't the situation of the Ex Boyfriend, who still works there. Additionally, his new girlfriend works there, too. Anyway, she said she would love to have me back, she just wanted to make sure the the Ex Boyfriend was comfortable with me working there. I told her that even if he was uncomfortable, I could work weekdays while he was away at school, thus virtually eliminating any chance we'd run into each other.

So fast forward a week later. My former boss calls me and says unfortunately, the Ex Boyfriend said he couldn't handle working with me. Needless to say, I was pissed.

We have both moved on to other people, and we broke up 5 months ago. We aren't on speaking terms presently (nor have we been since the breakup), but I told my boss that I would have no problem being cordial and professional if she were to hire me back. I'm fairly sure he said I couldn't work there again just out of spite, but oh well.

2009-12-03T11:34:00.003-05:00

The semester is almost over, and soon I'll be looking for a new job! I'm hoping to score a hosting job at Ruth's Chris, a nice steakhouse about 20 to 30 minutes away from home. I haven't applied yet, but my family knows one of the managers pretty well, so I'm hoping that will give me an advantage.
Things have been pretty boring all in all. I'll be moving home next weekend, and I'm pretty excited about that. There's not too much to say!

an update

2009-10-21T22:45:00.002-04:00

So, due to many factors... I'll be moving home and transferring schools after this semester. I'm really happy about this, because I've really missed living at home. Plus, I'll be able to get another job and continue my blog :) I just have to make it through this semester, and it'll all be smooth sailing from there... hopefully.

2009-09-28T09:01:00.001-04:00

Even though I don't have a job right now, I'm still reading everyone's blogs I follow. Just so you know!

thought i'd never say it

2009-09-12T20:26:00.002-04:00

But I really miss work. I guess it's because I didn't really have any option but to quit, so it wasn't on my own accord. I miss seeing all my work friends. I miss having stories to tell about crazy customers. I don't really miss the money because I wasn't making much to begin with. Blegh.

the end of an era

2009-09-03T08:27:00.002-04:00

After a lot of thought, I have decided to quit my job this weekend at the restaurant. I texted my boss to let her know I would need to talk to her in private on Friday. The breakup between the (ex) boyfriend and I got really nasty these past couple days, when I found out he was already interested in someone else.
But as for quitting my job, I have nothing bad to say about the restaurant. I hope I am leaving in good standing. I don't know what I will do about getting another job, or when I will. If I do get another job working at a restaurant, I will start posting again.

some news

2009-09-01T10:49:00.002-04:00

The boyfriend and I broke up last week. Because of the breakup circumstances, I think I will most likely be quitting my job at the restaurant, since he works there also. I may not permanently quit, but just be on indefinite "leave" until winter break or something. I don't know. I really don't want to bring my personal life into this blog, so I'm not going to elaborate further. I will, however, still be working this weekend.

patience is a virtue

2009-08-29T14:15:00.000-04:00

Back to work next Friday & Saturday. Be looking for some entries sometime after!

thank you!

2009-08-23T10:52:00.001-04:00

Thank you so much for all of the positive feedback, everyone! I will be posting more as soon as I return to working weekends, which should be around Labor Day weekend. And thank you to Cranky Waitress for featuring my post!

last day for awhile

2009-08-16T22:24:00.002-04:00

Today was my last shift for at least a few weeks. I dealt with some super rude customers, so I was ready to leave. Everyone told me to be sure I kept in touch and all that stuff. I ordered some pasta to go, and when I got home I saw that one of the managers had put some cookies in my to go box :) I'll miss all my friends from work, but I've got school to deal with now. Joy.

i can and will complain about tonight

2009-08-16T01:19:00.002-04:00

To put it simply, tonight sucked. It was one of the worst shifts I have ever had the misfortune of working in my year and a half at the restaurant. We were slow. My tips were insanely bad. Gah. Here we go, table by table:

•An old lady and her daughter. Ordered a medium pizza, breadsticks, and two waters. Left me $2, a little less than 10%.

•Parents, their 20-something daughter, and her boyfriend. I knew how it was going to go when the girl tried to say, "He and I will just share a Mountain Dew." We aren't supposed to let adults share drinks, but I didn't find this out for sure until tonight. The girl also said, WHILE I WAS STILL THERE, "See, Dad? We're actually trying to be cheap by sharing!" Oh. My. Goodness. They ordered one large cheese pizza, then the mom asked, "So...we get the second one half off, right?" I told them yes. They decided on a large two topping pizza. Obviously they were too dense to read the fine print, which would have told them it is 50% off the cheapest pizza, not the second one you order. Idiots. They were also very concerned about the price of our salad bar. I guess they assumed with their two dollar single trip salad bar, they should just get as many plates of salad as they could carry in one trip...The two that got salad bar each came back with two very tall plates of salad. I knew they were cheap. I don't know why I even bothered trying. They were my only table at the time, so they received perfect service. The mom looked very confused when I brought them the bill, but something tells me that she probably couldn't do the simple math to figure out it was 50% off the cheaper pizza. What did I get for all of this? One dollar on a $42 check. Wadded up and left under a sweaty glass, none the less. It was all I could do to keep from running outside after them to kick their asses back to the trailer park.

•One guy. A diet, an order of garlic bread, pasta. A nice guy and he comes in pretty often. I brought him a lot of refills but I didn't really mind. He left me $1.46 on $9.54.

•Parents and their young son. A medium pizza, three drinks, breadsticks with an extra cheese. $24 bill, $3.

•A five top. The parents got 3 beers between them, which added an extra $7.50 to the bill. The kids drank their drinks like they had been parched for weeks. They were all kind of rude. My best tip of the night: $6.50.

•A two tip. Two 20-something women. Less than 10%. My last table.

I hardly made over my 8% I had to claim. It was the five top that put me over the 8% mark. But really...a dollar? Words can't describe the loathing I have for those people.

something funny that i forgot till now

2009-08-15T14:41:00.003-04:00

I can't believe I forgot this gem of a story from Thursday night! Sometime during my shift, an elderly man came in for a pickup order. He was probably about 70 years old, at least. Let's call him Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith told me his last name so I could bring up his order on the computer. I looked at the list of last names for pickups, and none matched his. I asked him if it would be under any other name, he said no. He informed me that his order was a large sausage pizza, so I went to check the other pickups just in case. None were his.
About that time, one of the managers came up to the counter for some reason or another, so he continued to deal with the Mr. Smith while I observed. The manager asked him what number he called. Mr. Smith rattled off a number, and the manager looked it up in our computer phone directory. Mr. Smith had called another pizza place about 2 miles away. "No, that can't be right!" Mr. Smith exclaimed, "We always order from here!" Mr. Smith whipped out his rather large cell phone and called who I assumed to be his wife. He told her that they had called the other pizza place, and even she insisted that no, she called our restaurant. Mr. Smith asked me where the other pizza place was. As I started to tell him how to get there, he began yelling into his phone and ignoring me. He ended up leaving, on his way to find the other restaurant. Before he left though, he asked my manager: "Is ____ (pizza restaurant) by Dairy King (some ice cream place that hasn't existed in 20+ years)?" My manager simply told him yes, that it was right by there.

My entry probably won't seem as funny to you guys, but maybe you just had to be there.

the slowest friday night ever

2009-08-15T11:28:00.002-04:00

Last night was, as you can see by the title, slow. I sat so few tables that I probably could a read a novel at the host counter during my shift. We didn't get our first dinner table until 5:15. Sometime between 5:30 and 6:15, we were steady, but after that, it was about as lively as a funeral home. It was pretty nice weather, so maybe people were cooking out or something. We had a decent number of carryouts, but no one was really dining in.

The first host there was on at 4. I was on at 5. The third was scheduled on at 5:30. She didn't arrive until well after six, but didn't get in trouble because she says she got off work late at her other job (she is a receptionist at the local hospital). This particular host long ago appointed herself head host. She has worked there around 6 years and has only ever hosted. The way it works at our restaurant, as explained to me by the owner, the good hosts are eventually trained into servers. The great hosts are trained into servers, but from then on they do both hosting and serving. The average hosts just stay as hosts indefinitely. So anyway, this host, let's call her SN, has been just hosting for 6 years. She trains the new hosts, not because she is a great host, but because she has been there so long. Anyway, last night she arrives over half an hour late, then announces to the other host and myself that she will be staying in the back for her whole shift, because she "isn't in the mood to deal with customers." She can get away with this, of course, because she is married to someone who is a partial owner of the restaurant. Luckily, we were dead, but it was a crappy thing to do.

One of our fist tables (after we actually started getting tables) was a party of 7. They did not call, of course. Luckily we weren't busy. I was writing their information on the server sheet (how many, what table, and what time they were seated) when one of the women of the group-they were all old, by the way- said, "Can we just go sit down?" I said, "I will seat you. Let me grab some menus," as I finished the server sheet. "We want to sit down NOW!" the lady said. I grabbed menus and replied, "Follow me, please." I sat them, gave the sheet to the server, and returned to the counter. I had another encounter with this lady before they left. She came up to the front and asked if our alarm really sounded when the emergency exit was opened. I knew it didn't, but just for show, I said I'd go ask a manager. I pretended to, and then came back up and told her yes. "Well, can you turn it off or something? We need to leave out that door. My brother-in-law has CANCER and that's why we wanted to sit down earlier. HE CAN'T WALK." Now, not to be cynical on cancer patients or anything, but this guy could definitely walk. He had a walker. Call me a cold bitch, but he was able to come in that way, he can leave that way. But to keep up appearances of the restaurant, I told her that we could "turn off" the alarm for them.

We had a party of 15 scheduled to come in at 7. By 7:20, they had still not arrived, so we called them. No answer. One of the managers said give them till 8. We did, still no show. They didn't even call. I hate when people do that. We keep extra servers on the clock just in case, but without the party we wouldn't have to.

Even though I was scheduled as a closer, we were so dead that I got off at 8:18. Before this, however, Mean Manager told me I couldn't eat dinner while on the clock. Everyone else was allowed to, even servers who were about to be off and had been on the clock a shorter time than me. It's all about control for Mean Manager.

Also, I thought today would be my last day before school. Wrong! I was scheduled to host Sunday 5 to 9. I'm going to see if I can switch with someone to get a morning shift because I still have an unbelievable amount of packing to do for school.

second-to-last day...kind of

2009-08-14T10:58:00.002-04:00

Yesterday night was supposed to be my second-to-last day of work until school begins. I ended up picking up a Saturday serving shift, easy hours, so one of the other servers could go to a concert. And really, all in all, my shift wasn't that bad. I hosted from 4:48 to 9, we were pretty dead for the first two hours. The boyfriend was the first server off (scheduled to be off at 9) and he was off before 7 and only had 3 tables. Unfortunately for him, after he left, we starting getting tables steadily. However, with more tables, that meant more stupid customers.

The first table that I had a problem with was a family of 3 that I went to sit at a booth. They sat down, I told them their server would be right out. While I was on my way to give the server his sheet for the table, I see the table get up. I watch them, figuring that they were going to change tables without telling me, to see where they were going. They moved to a table in a different section, and when the mom saw me watching them, she yelled across to the section I was standing in: "WE DON'T LIKE BOOTHS!" Uh, okay. They should have said something before or immediately following me seating them. I hate when people get up and move to other tables without saying anything first. It's the equivalent, I think, to people seating themselves.

The second dumb customer wanted to place an order for carryout. Our restaurant gives coupons to the elementary school to hand out to the kids for special achievements-All A's on a report card, perfect attendance, stuff like that. The coupon is for a free 8" pizza, which is the only time we make an 8". Our small is 10" and has 2 more pieces. Anyway, this lady came in with a coupon and told me she wanted the 8" with just cheese, and another 8" with pepperoni. I explained to her that we only do 8" pizzas with coupons, but she could a small, with 10" and 6 pieces. She got cranky about that, but really, what is 2 extra inches? Then she handed me her money and the coupon. I looked at the coupon's date: November 24, 2004. I looked up at her and she said, "I think that's a mistake... He got the coupon just this last spring." The coupon also says clearly at the bottom: "Expires 30 days from date received." I pointed this out to her, and she tried to talk me into giving it to her anyway. No, I'm not going to take an expired coupon. Sorry. They expire for a reason. So the lady freaks out and says, "Then I'm leaving! Just forget the whole thing! Give me my money back!" while making a scene. I hand her the money back, which I hadn't even put in the drawer yet. Good riddance.

I had three tables try to seat themselves. We have a sign that says in large font: "PLEASE WAIT TO BE SEATED." or, in case they didn't see that side of the sign, the other side says: "HOSTESS WILL SEAT YOU." Why do people choose to ignore the sign? I mean, I know at least SOMEONE in their group can read.

As I mentioned in a previous post, our restaurant has been nominated as one of the best pizza places in the area. In order to get votes and win, we have been bribing customers by offering them a free order of breadsticks (a $2.59 value) if they vote with the laptop we have up at the host counter. Last night I had a few people vote, they got the card redeemable for a free order, and all was well. Until this 2 top came in. It was a man and his wife, and she decided she wanted me to vote. The lady said, "I ain't too good with them computers...can you do it for me?" No. In order to vote, however, you must register your email with the news site. I know I wouldn't want some stranger knowing my email and whatnot. Anyway, she finally registers, and then the site says an account already exists with that email. She asks me what this means. I tell her to try to log in with her email and whatever password she thinks she would have for that site. "But...this is my business email! No one would have this but me!" ... I tell her, "Well, maybe you made an account awhile ago and you've forgotten about it. Try to log in." She says: "With what password? My email password?" Me: "Whatever password you would have used..." She got frustrated and just quit, but since she tried, she still demanded her free breadsticks. A manager said go ahead and give it to her, just to please her, so I did.

The customers haven't been AS bad as usual, but I'm sure by saying that, I'll jinx my luck at work tonight hosting 5 to close.

i'm a server, not a mind reader

2009-08-11T00:37:00.003-04:00

Tonight was probably a mix of every adjective I can think of. Fun, at times. So terrible I wanted to shoot the customer. Boring. Exciting. Everything.

The night started off slow. I had one table my first hour. I had to flip a coin with another server to see who was going to be off first (I lost). That put me at being servers' station (UGH) or dining room (easier but time-consuming). I switched with the boyfriend so I could be dining room instead.

The memorable tables:

•My first table camped out for two hours. They were done eating and I brought them the check, when one of the two ladies interrupted me: "We will have our friend joining us in just a few minutes. She'll have a water." I was mad because they'd already been there an hour. Whatever. They ended up leaving me six dollars, which was good for the amount of their bill.

•I had two older guys at table 20. One of them said he'd do buffet, the other said he wanted to order a small pizza and get salad bar. I told him that it would be cheaper to do buffet and request a pizza, which was no extra charge. He told me that I was a genius and said he'd do that. The guys were really nice to me, but I started getting freaked out when the one that called me a genius started winking at me after every time I asked him a question. I was weirded out, but they were so nice at the same time. They asked my name before they left, and then I got $5, which was really good for the amount of their bill, and for old people in general.

•Sweaty Guy returned! This was the first time he had ever dined in not alone. He brought his mother. Neither of them were talkative. He got a diet and she got a root beer. About 15 minutes after I had brought their drinks, I asked Sweaty Guy if he would like another diet. He told me no. I continued to walk by their table and check on them, as I had 2 other tables in that section. I went to drop off the check (they had finished eating) when he interrupted me and said, "I need 2 pizza sauces. AND I'D REALLY LIKE ANOTHER DIET!!" What the hell? I asked him if he wanted a refill, he said no. I couldn't read his mind when he decided that he wanted one after all. As I said, I walked by their table several times. If he really wanted a refill or his freaking sauces, he could have stopped me. Asshole. They left me a dollar on a $20 check.

•The host dropped off a server sheet to me that said 5 people and a high chair at table 42. I went out to the table and saw that there were only 2 adults and a high chair there. I did see, however, that the booth next to table 42 had 3 people without drinks. I was getting ready to go ask the host if those people had taken over the other table, but the host came into the section ready to seat someone else at the booth. Uh oh. We were on a wait and because of my dumb customers, we had double-sat a table. It turned out the people at my table HAD taken over the other one, as well. The host had to take the other table back up front to continue to wait on a table. My table then tried to tell me that the 5 of them could not fit in the booth, they simply couldn't. At those booths, we can fit 7 average-sized people: 5 in the booth and 2 in chairs at the table. I was sure to tell them that next time they had a seating problem, be sure to tell the host.
Anyway, they all got buffet, and wanted a lightly cooked dessert pizza in addition to their buffets. The dessert should have only taken, at most, 14 minutes. After 10 minutes, the guy demanded to know where the dessert pizza was. I asked the manager how much longer it would be, he said I few minutes, and I informed the table. More time passed by. I went to ask the manager again (the mean one) and he said it would still be a few more minutes. I told him that it had been half an hour already. Finally, it was done. I brought it out to the table and they complained about how long I took. I told the manager, he didn't want to do anything like take it off their bill. After they paid and left me 10%, I was discussing the situation with the manager's wife, who was serving. She asked her husband why he didn't do anything. He kind of shrugged and she wrote them two gift certificates for free dessert pizzas. Mean manager tried to say he thought I was exaggerating when I said it had been half an hour.

•I had a super nice table of 3 brought them all refills on time, was friendly and made conversation....there was no doubt they had great service. Less than 10%. Some people just don't know how to tip.

This is what pissed me off most tonight: Our first server off has worked at the restaurant for almost as long as I've been alive. She knows how chores work. She had one section to clean and a couple other chores to do (explained here). I told her she needed to clean the booths in her section again and get more to go boxes. After she did that, she was supposed to have me, the closer, re-check her chores so I could tell the managers she was good to go. We got a rush, and no one saw her for 15 minutes. I asked the other servers if they'd seen her-they hadn't. We looked outside and her car was gone. She had the hosts ring her our and she had left without anyone checking her stuff. She didn't do it. We were all mad. Someone else would have to do her chores again later because she was so sneaky.
Later, the second server off had me check her stuff. I told her to do one more thing, which she did, but got rang out before I checked it and told the managers she was ready to go and be rang out. She did her stuff at least, I guess, but she didn't wait for me to okay everything with the managers. She is just a generally sneaky person, though. More about that another time.
I didn't get out of there till 10:30, half an hour after close. I didn't have a table after 8:30, but the other servers did. The last table didn't leave until after 9, which meant I couldn't do my stuff till they left.

one of the worst tables ever

2009-08-10T00:07:00.003-04:00

I've had them once, and everyone at the restaurant has had them at least once also. They are a family of 5, and they are one of the worst tables you could possibly have. They always order a ton of food. They give their INFANT Mt. Dew in her BOTTLE. They smell bad and recently the mom was picking bugs off her kids at the table. They order 12 cheese sauces for 2 adults, 2 kids, and an infant. Then they get mad about the price of said cheese sauces. They complained last time they were there because our equivalent of a "supreme" pizza (pepperoni, sausage, onion, mushroom, green pepper) was $5 in toppings for a large. They claimed they thought the whole pizza would be $5. Every time they come in, I despise them even more. They will say how great the service was, then leave $1 on a $60 or more bill. They are really one of the worst tables ever.

if only i had pockets

2009-08-08T18:20:00.002-04:00

If my work/dress pants had pockets, I would keep my phone in one. So many times I think to myself, "If I had my phone on me, I would definitely take a picture of this." for situations like insane messes that people leave and whatnot.

Also, our restaurant was nominated as best pizza restaurant in the area! I am quite proud of our little family-run establishment :)

relief to come

2009-08-06T15:44:00.002-04:00

There is about to be a calm in the stormy world of serving for this Waitress. In less than two weeks, I will be moving into college! Hooray. That means that beginning the week of August 16, I will have the rest of the month off. Then, starting in September, I will only be working every other weekend. I will continue to blog about those weekends, and whatever work-related drama ensues. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up as to why posting will begin to be infrequent shortly.

a lot of things were wrong with today

2009-08-02T23:56:00.002-04:00

Let me list them for you!

•The very first table I sat this morning was a party of 7 that continually sat their dirty buffet plates on the clean table next to them.

•A party of 18 just showed up this morning and then got mad when I told them it would be at least a half hour wait. Then the main guy questioned my intelligence by counting out how many chairs there were in the section we were going to give his party.

•I took a nap in between my shifts and forgot to put my clean work clothes in the dryer until 15 minutes before I had to leave to go back to work.

•I had received a 2 top, went out to the table, saw they were not there, so I went back to the servers' station. Less than 2 minutes later (literally), this guy sticks his head in the servers' station and yells, "I need a waitress and some parmesan cheese!" I said, "Sir, the parmesan cheese is on the sal-" He cut me off. "NO, IT'S NOT. I ALREADY LOOKED THERE!" Oh joy, this lovely man was part of my 2 top. His wife ordered a diet and he ordered a Bud Light. He seemed extremely agitated when I told him a manager would be out in a moment with his beer. He never once made eye contact or said thank you. He and his wife left exactly 10 minutes after they were seated. He was super rude and I was surprised I got the 10% tip I did.

•I got a $4.50 tip from a party of 9. NINE PEOPLE. That is FIFTY CENTS a person. What. The. Hell.

•I had a table of 5 that asked for the price of our buffet for one adult. When I told them, they all got water. They were actually so cheap that the wife said she would "just go ahead and share" a water with her five year old. I said, "Ma'am, water is free...I will just bring her a kids' cup." They left me $3 and a fake million dollar bill with a bunch of Bible verses on the back. As I have pointed out before, the customer doesn't want their server to discuss their religious views or give the customer such items, so why is it okay for the customer to leave things like that for the server? That fake million doesn't pay for the gas in my car, bitches.

was that really necessary?

2009-07-30T22:04:00.002-04:00

I was the only host tonight, which was okay, because Thursdays are usually super dead. It started out that way, definitely. I got pop heads done early, which was convenient. I did most of my host chores. I cut a lot of breadsticks, filled up the tray with cups of nacho cheese... then we started getting a little busy. Several pickup orders, then tables in between... it was good. Then it slowed down again for awhile, so I had all my chores done by 8:00.
The thing with being the only host is that once you have all your chores done, you have to have a manager check them. The managers run the ovens and make the pizzas, so it usually takes about 10 minutes for them to actually get around to checking your chores. I understand this and don't have a problem with the fact. However, tonight I felt like punching someone in the face. Namely, SG, one of the managers.
I told him that my chores were done whenever he had the time to check them. He said okay, then asked how many trays of breadsticks there were. I told him 4, and he said cut 2 more. I did, then he told me to pump 10 cheeses. I did, then he told me to do 12 more. After that, I said, "I'm ready when you are..." to him about my chores. He then told me to go sweep the outside rug. When I came back, he said, "Are you sure you swept the rug?" I replied, "Yes...the outside rug?" He said, "No, I said the inside rug." GAH. So I swept that, then he told me to clean out the ashtray again. I did that. Then he asked me to get my sister, who was dining in, a refill...
This kind of thing went on for 45 minutes. Instead of just checking my chores, he continued to create tasks for me. It was so annoying and I knew he was doing it just to be mean. He always talks to me like I'm a small child, like I don't understand what he's saying. I honestly don't understand how his wife is so nice and he is so mean.

sidework vs. chores

2009-07-30T12:44:00.003-04:00

I've read about a lot of other servers doing "sidework," and I've been wondering- what exactly does that mean? Where I work, the servers have what we call "chores." They basically go like this:

•The first person off does 1, 2, 3, and 40s. That means they do 1 through 3 on our chore list, which involves cutting lemons, checking laundry, filling parmesan and pepper shakers, and some other items I don't remember (I'm hardly ever first server off). Then they do 40s, which means cleaning all the tables in the 40s section, pulling them out, sweeping under them, and filling the salt/pepper shakers and sugar caddies.

•The second person off does 4, 5, and 50s. 4 and 5 mean cleaning the tea and coffee machines, the drink fountains, stocking the beer cooler, sweeping the servers' station, and wiping down boosters and high chairs. They do the same with the 50s section as the first person does with 40s.

•Third off has 30s, filling ice, stocking dining room cups and to go cups, and vacuuming the back room (which is where the 40s and 50s are).

•Fourth off is servers' station. This person is responsible for getting the entire servers' station clean. Also, servers' station can't be started until two hours or less before closing time, no matter how dead we may be. This person must take several stacks of dining room cups up to the front counter if the next day is a weekday. They take out the trash, take back all dirty cups, silverware, and dishes, clean the sink, clean the counters, sweep, wet mop, scrub, and dry mop the servers' station. This all must be checked by a manager before being able to leave.

•Last off has dining room. Dining room can't fully be done until there are no customers in the restaurant. This person cleans the 10s and 20s. All tables in the 20s must be pulled out, swept under, then stocked with shakers/caddies. The 10s are booths, so the booths must be pulled out (it takes 2 people to do this and no one ever wants to help). While the booths are out, you need to get a spatula, cover it with a towel, and clean out the cracks in the booths. Then, while the booths are still out, the person has to sweep then vacuum the 10s, then vacuum the 20s.

On the nights that there are only 3 servers, the first off does 1 through 5 and 30s, and then the last two do servers' station and dining room as usual.

just give me some time

2009-07-25T16:39:00.000-04:00

I've been in kind of a funk since I returned from vacation. Give me a little time and entries should return back to normal.

i'm home!

2009-07-22T22:21:00.000-04:00

Finally. Work resumes tomorrow morning, 11-2.

a bunch of stuff in one convenient entry

2009-07-12T23:06:00.002-04:00

I'm really bad at coming up with introduction sentences/paragraphs for my entries. Just saying. Anyway, I hosted Wednesday night, and it was pretty non-eventful, for the most part. The highlights:
• Two ladies came up front wanting to pay their bill... and split it. Only servers can split tickets, and it has to be done on the server computer. I told them to put a mark by each thing that would be on the first ticket, and we'd put the rest on the second ticket. It was fine until one of them handed the receipt back to me, saying, "We want this, this, this... and then half the pizza on each ticket." I immediately replied, "We can't do that."
They just looked at me, baffled. "Why not?" they demanded. "Well, because it's one item. There's no way to put it on both tickets." They were still confused, so I told them I would go ask a manager what they wanted to do. I asked the manager, and she told me to subtract each item from the total, then subtract half the pizza price. Easy enough. I figured the totals and told them the amounts. "That's not right!" they immediately countered, "We already figured what each of us should pay." I said, "I asked the manager, and this is what I was told to do, based on what you told me should be on each ticket." One lady started muttering under her breath, while the other still insisted I was wrong. I was getting very frustrated very fast, so I said, "Let me go get the manager for you."
We sent out another manager, one we usually send to talk to unreasonable customers. They had to have changed the way they wanted it split, because it was no problem for him to do it. I wanted so badly to yell at those stupid bitches on their way out. They looked like the redneck/trailer trash type, and I'm sure I was right, since I have graduated high school more recently than them and I most likely took higher level math than they did. Whatever.

• Sometime shortly before or after that, I don't remember which, a lady came in for a pickup order. There was only one order on the computer and one in the pickup window, which had a credit card slip stapled to it. I had her sign the slip, handed her the food, and she was ready to leave when I saw a manager put another pickup in the window. "Wait a minute," I said, "something's not right." The lady gets mad right away. "Yeah, I'm a little confused!" she said bitchily. She wasn't confused at all- she was ready to leave with someone else's food for free!
It turned out someone had already paid for their order over the phone, and that's why it wasn't on the computer. The managers had to reprint the credit card slip for the other order, and I had to run the correct credit card. The lady played dumb, saying, "So... me signing that... did that charge my account for that order?" I told her no, and had to resist adding "dumbass" after the no.

•After I left, Boyfriend was still serving. About half an hour till close, Sweaty Guy returned! He stayed until two minutes before close, which meant Boyfriend couldn't clean the dining room until he left. I really do not like Sweaty Guy.

I hosted today and we were so dead that I got off an hour early. Nothing of note occurred, it was just a boring shift.
In other topics, I got my nose pierced, which has caused a bit of worry on my part. I know of several other people who have had their noses pierced, and one that still does, so I don't think it will be a problem. I told my boss that I would be getting it pierced, and she didn't seem to have a problem with it as long as it was small. However, yesterday I stopped by after having it done, and SG the fascist manager told me he thinks the boss will make me put a bandaid over it. Most everyone else thinks I should be okay, but I'm still a tiny bit worried.
Yesterday was my birthday! I did a myriad of things, it was fun, and I'm happy with that.
I'm leaving for vacation for a week Wednesday morning! I'm very excited for a week off, which hasn't happened since I've worked there (so a year and a half!) Boyfriend and I will be going together, so it is guaranteed to be fun and relaxing. :) I will be working one more time before then, so I might be able to squeeze in another entry before I leave.

the grandma from hell!

2009-07-10T11:23:00.003-04:00

So, Tuesday night, I served 6-10. It started out as an average night, decently busy, decent tips. Then I got the Grandma from Hell. Oh. My. Goodness.
The server sheet I received from the host said I had 2 at 24. "Another 2?" I remember thinking. Who knows, I probably said it, too. Anyway, I went out to the table, and Grandma was already sitting down. As I was introducing myself, she cut me off and said, "Two buffets. Two Pepsis." and got up to get food. When I came back with the drinks, she was STILL up at the buffet, and was for almost ten minutes.
She was eating with her grandson, who was about 14. Man, did I feel sorry for him. Grandma was a total bitch. Every time I would walk by their table, whether it was to check on them or someone else, she would glare at me. Like, a death glare. Geez. One time I walked by and noticed they might need some refills. Before I could go get them, Grandma stopped me, and the following exchange occured:

Grandma: Ma'am! Ma'am!
Me: Yes? What can I get for you?
Grandma: I'd like a pan pizza.
Me: You mean to request for the buffet? I can do that for you.
Grandma: NO. I want to order one to go.
Me: Okay, what size would you like?
Grandma: How much would it be for a personal pan pizza?
Me: Well, it depends on the size and how many toppings. We don't have a personal pan.
Grandma: I want a personal pan with pepperoni.
Me: We have don't have a personal pan. That's Pizza Hut. We only have small and large. I can check how much a small would be.

I walked away and checked the price. $8.79. I went back to the table to inform her:

Me: A small pan with pepperoni would add an extra $9 to your check.
Grandma: I said I wanted a personal pan.
Me: We don't have a personal pan. We have a small pan, which has 6 pieces.
Grandma: I don't want 6 pieces. 6 is too many.
Me: ....
Grandma: Oh well, I guess we'll have to make do. Give me a small pan with pepperoni.
Me: Okay, that will be about 15 to 20 minutes.

During this whole exchange, which took several minutes, Grandma and her grandson had finished off their Pepsis, so she added on, "We REALLY need some refills!" and shook her glass as I walked away. I obviously cannot get refills while I'm at your table trying to tell you the same thing a million times (WE DO NOT HAVE PERSONAL PAN PIZZAS!!!!!!)
I told the other servers about how crazy and mean Grandma was, and eventually everyone walked by at some point and got a good look at her. They all agreed that she looked like a very mean lady. In the end, I got about 9% from dear old Grandma. I expected less.

Tuesday night I got stiffed for the first time in awhile. A younger couple and their baby, never had an empty drink and nary a plate in their way. Oh well.
Some tips I got were awesome-20% and above. But when you factor in being stiffed and some tips of 10% or less... I probably only made about 13% of my total daily sales. Bitches.

The last few tables we had that night were killer- in a bad way. I had a party of 4. They seemed fine the entire meal. I brought their refills on time, they seemed to be enjoying the pizza. The wife got a single trip salad bar and a cup of soup. At the end of the meal, they went up front and complained to the management that there were no noodles in our soup. They could have said something to me. If it was really that big of a deal, I'm sure they would have said something. They left me 10% and stayed until 10 minutes before close.
We had a party that called ahead and said there would be 15 at 8:45. At 9:05, they still had not arrived, but then a party of 12 showed up. I asked if they were the group that had called ahead, and they said no. It wasn't my table, but we didn't realize for awhile that it was the same group and they just didn't know it. They stayed until after close, which slowed everyone down on their chores.
Lastly, there was a 2 top that also wasn't mine. Their server was trying to get all her stuff done when she got the table, and forgot to bring their drinks for 2, 3 minutes... tops. I'm getting a drink when I notice the guy standing in front of the server's station. I said, "What can I do for you?" I was not expecting such a shitty response! "WE'D LIKE TO GET OUR DRINKS BEFORE THE PIZZA!" I found his server and she brought them. The pizza wasn't done until 20 minutes later.

I'm in the wrong job field to hate people as much as I do.

sweaty guy and church folk.

2009-07-08T23:16:00.003-04:00

Sunday morning I hosted from 12-4, which means I came in right as the rush began, and left before dinner started. When I arrived, we were already on a wait, so I immediately started helping the servers clean tables off. Two certain servers, both new to Sunday mornings, were scheduled and it was AWFUL. They weren't cleaning their tables and they couldn't keep up with all their customers. It was annoying for the hosts, servers, and customers alike. Hopefully those two servers will never be scheduled together again.
Something I've noticed about the restaurant is this: Large groups think it's just okay to show up without calling ahead. Groups of 20+. I mean... would you do that somewhere else, like Applebee's or Lonestar? I don't think so. For some reason, though, parties think it's fine to come unannounced. So, Sunday, we had many groups of 8 or more that became very angry, very fast that their wait would be so long. Well, sorry, we had groups of 4 or so that had been waiting even longer. We were obviously going to take care of them first.
I always hate it when people ask how long the wait is without telling me how many people. They just come in and say, "How long's the wait?" I reply, "Well, it depends... For how many?" And when they tell me... that either makes it or breaks it. If they reply "For twelve," I about lose it. Even when we are just steady, not busy, there might be a wait for twelve. But during Sunday morning buffet? Forget it. There will at LEAST be a fifteen minute wait. People get very angry about this, but not angry enough to remember to call ahead for next time.
Around 3 o'clock, Sweaty Guy arrived. He comes in fairly often... and he is HELLA weird. He is always dripping sweat because he rides his bike everywhere and he is a pretty large guy. We all have stories about him.
The best was when he didn't get charged for an extra sauce. He went up front to pay after eating, and pointed out to the manager that he didn't get charged for his extra cheese sauce for his breadsticks. The manager said it was okay, he could just get it for free. Sweaty Guy looked at him with a very serious face and said, "No. I can't accept gifts."
Anyway, he came in Sunday afternoon. He asked for a menu to look at our desserts (after he ate his breadsticks) and then asked me many questions about our desserts (we only have cookies and dessert pizzas). When he came up front to pay, I said, "How was everything?" His reply: "Thank you for asking." and that was it. He then requested an extra copy of his check, a calculator, and a pen. He did a few calculations, wrote something on the check, put it in his pocket, and left. He really is very weird.

saturday.

2009-07-08T22:13:00.002-04:00

I picked up the Saturday shift so I could have 20+ hours last week. It was a long shift, 10:48-8, but I figured I'd get off early since it was the 4th. During Saturday lunches, there are only two servers. This particular one, it was me and BM (the boyfriend). We were absolutely dead for an hour. Then all of the sudden, BAM! Super busy. I had a party of 10, a 16, and a 14 back to back. At one point I was serving around 60+ people.
My first party (the 10) was a decent group. Half of them were kids after a baseball game. The only negative about them was that they didn't all arrive at once... one person came after another, so I had to keep running to their table. I think they left me $2 more than gratuity, which was nice. They were pretty easy to take care of after they all got there.
The 16 was a group of teenagers, and two adults showed up later. I was thankful they were all on the same ticket (so I could charge gratuity), because they all ordered water, which always equals a bad tip. Some of them had never been to the restaurant before, so I had to explain the format of our buffet. Then they put in a TON of requests. An average party will put in maybe a couple. They put in SIX: a nacho pizza, bacon cheeseburger pizza, plain cheese, baked potato, barbecue chicken, and buffalo chicken. Goodness. They left me only gratuity, which is what I expected, but at least they were nice for the most part.
The 12 was just an average group. Mostly guys, I brought them a lot of refills on Mountain Dew and took a lot of plates. They didn't tip very much and there was no gratuity because of separate tickets. Oh well.
I was getting really good tips for the most part, which was awesome. However, since everyone arrived at once, they all left at once, too...which sucked. I had to try to clean up after all the parties, take care of my other tables, clean my fair share of the dining room, and try to eat the Chinese food we had ordered for lunch all at the same time. I wouldn't have been able to get everything done if it weren't for the boyfriend, so thank you (I know you're reading this)!
We managed to get the dining room clean in time for dinner, when the other servers started showing up. We were really slow for dinner, too, so I got phased at around 5:15, and got to go home around 5:45. I made about $70, which was great!

thursday

2009-07-06T11:05:00.002-04:00

Starting with last Thursday... I was 6 to close, which meant I was the last server on, which meant I was pretty much destined to get the least in tips for the night. We were pretty slow when I clocked on, so I didn't get a table for awhile. I helped out the other servers by cleaning their tables and such, because I had nothing else to do. Then, sometime in the middle of us cleaning, we realized: a kid one of the tables that had just left had pooped his pants and it was ON OUR FLOOR.
Seriously. The kid was old enough to know how to properly use the bathroom (he was about 7 or so) and he wasn't handicapped or anything. He was just dumb. Or something. What was even crazier about the situation was that another table had pointed it out to us- "Uh, that boy that was just there went to the bathroom, and when he came back, that's what fell out of his pants..." AND the table that left had to have realized it because it was right in front of their booth.
So, the managers had the host get a glove and some napkins and pick it up, then a prep guy cleaned up where it had been. I'm not even sure what to say about this whole event except WHAT THE HELL?

I made decent money for a Thursday, but only because I got a few groups of about 8 to 10. One of my groups asked me, "Do you think people have stopped eating here as much because of the economy?" I replied, "No, they've just stopped tipping, to be honest." I think I got only $5 or $6 off that party of 7 (because of our buy one/get one pizza half off special).
Later, I had another group, 9 people this time. Two of them didn't even eat or get drinks because they "already ate." Then why come to the restaurant at all? Pfft. The rest of them split onto two tickets and got at least $60 of food. Since there was no gratuity charged (separate checks = can't charge gratuity), I received a big $5.91 for my time. Plus, they left a huge mess, even with me pre-busing, and they stayed until almost close.

Bitches.

2009-07-03T22:18:00.001-04:00

there are a few entries coming, i promise. just give me some time :)

surprise!

2009-06-21T23:35:00.002-04:00

I was surprised Saturday when I looked at the schedule to find out that I was actually going to be serving Sunday morning. Sundays are notoriously busy- sometimes so much that we will get up to an hour wait. I had never served a Sunday morning before today, so I was kind of scared.
But my fear was for nothing. We were dead since it was Father's Day. I didn't get a table until 11:45 (we open at 11:00). I only had about 7 or 8 tables my whole shift.
My first table was a party of 3. It was two parents and a girl I had gone to school with that was a year younger than me. They didn't eat much, only about a plate of food each (it was buffet). They left me $3.17 on $18.
My second table was a 6 top. I had also gone to school with one of the girls at that table. They were reasonably nice, not very talkative. I had to bring them a million refills, though. They left me $8.
My third table was another 3. I knew what my tip would be when I asked what they wanted to drink: "All waters." They were a little cranky, and, as I predicted, they stiffed me. Awesome.
My fourth table was pretty average. A family of 4, nice enough, left me $4. Nothing notable about them.
My fifth table was a party of 5. It was the little girl's birthday, so I gathered up 8 people so we could sing to her. She was pretty happy about that. The table was super nice and pretty talkative. The little girl told me all about her birthday gifts:
Her: "I'm turning four. Today is my birthday!"
Me: "Really?! Do you think you'll get lots of presents?"
Her: "Yeah!"
Me: "What's the one thing you reeeally want?"
Her: "The Barbie such-and-such doll! Mommy got it for me!"
Me: "Barbies are always cool."
Her: "And this is my pretty dress from so-and-so. After this we're going to Grandma's to eat cake!"

She was a sweet little girl. They left me $7 on $23, which made me happy.

I also had an extremely rude party of 7-they shook their glasses at me, bitched about refills, and, of course, got "all waters." They left me a grand $3 AND left a giant mess.
My last table was a party of 5 that came in right as buffet was ending. The wife asked the husband right in front of me, "Hon, do you want to get actual drinks this time, or waters?" Husband said, "Oh, just waters for all of us. It's cheaper." Great. Then they complained the whole time about the selection on the buffet, but it ended right after they came in, what were they expecting? They also insisted on having a fresh dessert pizza made specially for them. They left me $4, which wasn't very good, but I wasn't anticipating anything great.
Overall, I only made about 12% of my total daily sales in tips. Yuck.

saturday night

2009-06-21T23:15:00.005-04:00

Saturday night started off slowly, much like last saturday. I was 5-10, which meant I was third off. I didn't get my first table for 30-45 minutes. When I did, it was only a 2 top. But oh, my-was it some 2 top.
My table was the baby daddy of KY, the pregnant hostess. And he was there with another girl! Oh, snap! I decided I would just pretend to be oblivious as to who he was, although I was super tempted to be a smart ass and ask how the baby was doing and so on. Anyway, I gave them great service, and they stiffed me. Awesome.
My next table was a group of 4 older people, all in their late fifties/early sixties. They ordered a sandwich and a large pizza, 5 toppings, well done, and pie cut, not square cut. A half hour passes, and their pizza is done. When I go to pick it up from the counter in front of the ovens, the manager informs me that they accidentally cut their pizza square cut out of habit. I took the pizza out to the table and told them what had happened. They threw a fit. One of the guys said, "What's so hard about cutting it our way? Huh? They did this last time we were here! Why is it soooo hard?" All I said was, "Well, sir, it must be because they always cut the larges square. It is probably just habit. I will go talk to the manager." The manager told me we could either re-make it, which would be about 20 minutes, or we could take a few dollars off. My table didn't want to wait, so we took $3 off the bill. Plus, we gave them cookies for free. I was worried they wouldn't tip me, but they took me by surprise: $8 on a $31 bill.
My only other memorable table was my last one. They came in at 9:15, shortly before I was going to be phased. They ordered a large pizza and some breadsticks. Before their pizza was even done, I was phased, so I was able to start some of my chores. The table stayed so long that I had all my chores done before they left. The table got visibly frustrated with me when I cleaned the table in front of them and blocked their view of the poker tournament on TV (oh no!). In the end, they left me only 10%. Oh well. I left with only $30 for 5.5 hours of work.

why i hate prep

2009-06-19T23:41:00.002-04:00

I only work prep on weekday mornings. Morning prep is totally different from nighttime prep. Morning prep involves doing dough, dishes, and dealing with the customers paying up front/getting their drinks. Everyone working prep has a different assignment. Usually, I am assigned to be "Counter." The counter person takes the customers' money, deals with pick ups, and makes drinks. However, sometimes EG is scheduled in the morning as prep also, and all she knows how to do is counter.
On those days, I am "Backup Counter," which basically means I go up front to help make drinks if we get really busy. The past two days, I have been assigned to be Backup. However, we have been really slow those days, so I am hardly ever needed. Which leaves me to roll dough balls and put them on trays and store them in the walk-in.
Dough is hard on your arm muscles and hands. Each dough recipe makes enough for 33 large pizzas, 15 mediums, and 18 smalls. We do about six of these dough recipes every morning, and that doesn't include the pan and deep dish dough we have to make specially. After the dough recipe is out of the mixer, the dough has to be cut into each size. After that, it has to be rolled a certain way so that there is no air inside the dough ball. The dough is then put onto a tray that is covered with olive oil. The dough is wrapped and stored inside the walk-in to rise for 2 days before it can be used.
Dough isn't that bad, besides the fact it is rough on your muscles. But dishes are a whoooole other story. When I first started doing prep, I accidentally spilled some lemonade in the ice machine. Because of this, the whole ice machine had to be drained and cleaned. One of the managers working that day, SG, was so angry about it that he told me to go to the back and do dishes until he told me otherwise. He didn't "tell me otherwise" for 3 hours. Before this incident, I had never done dishes at the restaurant before. Also, SG refused to show me how to use the dish washer, saying it was "self explanatory." It isn't. By the end of the 3 hours, it was almost time for the evening prep guys to come in. I was so behind on dishes that SG sent me home and called in someone else just to do the dishes.
So, because of that incident, I loathe doing dishes. It always feels like punishment. And, it's just gross. Sadly, a main part of morning prep is doing dishes. I always try to avoid it by doing other things, but I work through from morning to night later this week (11-3) and that means there will be no way out of doing dishes :(

ugh

2009-06-19T23:38:00.003-04:00

My hours this next week SUCK. She [my boss] has cut my hours in half the past month, and it has drastically impacted how much I can save and spend. I only got 14 hours for next week, compared to the 30+ I was getting a couple months ago. She's also been giving me more prep hours. I HATE PREP. Prep makes me want to kill myself.
Anyway, this week: Sunday 11-2 hosting
Tuesday 5-10 serving
Thursday 11-2 prep
Friday 11-2 prep

GAH.

I will explain why I hate prep in a separate post.

something pretty funny

2009-06-17T12:17:00.002-04:00

The other day, one of the managers came up with the idea for a makeover for EG (you can read about EG here). Said manager ("AL"- I haven't introduced her yet) said that the whole restaurant should enter all the females in a makeover contest and have someone draw a name out of a hat. Here's the catch: all of the "names" in the hat would be EG. Haha, I really hope AL is serious.
Most people are really grossed out by EG, but I don't blame them. My aunt came in once and said if she would have had EG as a server, she would have requested someone else.
Another story about EG: last year, a couple from the restaurant got married in Vegas. The couple was SG, EG's son, and AG, his then-fiancee. The bachelorette party was held here, where we live, and started off at the restaurant in the banquet room. All the girls that attended the bachelorette party wore black tank tops that said "A's Bitches." Some of the girls had things on the back, too- "Bridesmaid," "Maid of Honor," etc. EG attended, and hers said "MILF."
I will explain why this is extra funny. EG had noooo idea what "MILF" meant (and still doesn't). AG told her it meant Mother In Law Forever. Haha, it still makes me laugh. So while everyone was laughing at EG for wearing the MILF shirt and having a mustache, she was totally oblivious :)

blog neglect

2009-06-15T20:55:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted in ten days, but that's because I've only served once in that ten days. I actually haven't been working as much as usual for several reasons: the main three being graduation, college orientation, and open houses (my own and many others I have attended).
I last served Saturday night. Saturday nights can go either way- very busy or not at all. My shift was 6-10, which basically is the busiest part of the night. However, this particular Saturday, I didn't get my first table until 6:45.
All of my tables, except for a couple, were pretty average. Average tips, average people, nothing notable. The two memorable tables, though, were CRAZY. The first was a party of 12. They ordered a few pizzas, orders of breadsticks, and hot wings. They also had a $5 off coupon, which, unfortunately, is taken off before gratuity is added. About half of the party consisted of kids between the ages of 6 and 12. Most were well-behaved. Some of the adults were not so well behaved. For example: Grandpa that ordered water. As soon as I had finished passing out drinks to the party, he had already downed the entire glass. Then, he did one of the most annoying things: he shook his glass at me.
I HATE when people shake their glasses at me. Most of the time I have already noticed they need a refill, but I can't go get refills when I am taking another table's order! Also, when someone shakes their glass, it makes me feel more like a servant than a server. Oh, how I despise it.
Anyway, I brought Grandpa another water, and then I noticed someone else needed a refill. I told her I would be right back with another diet for her, but as I walked away, she called, "Ma'am! Ma'am!" while holding her glass out to me. I had to calmly explain to her that I would bring her a new glass, that it is against health code to refill a glass that has already been on the table.
Overall, the table wasn't too bad, they just ran me a lot. And by that, I mean that every time I would bring something, they would ask for something else. It was a cycle the entire time they were there. Then, they left me no more than gratuity, which was only $8.75 (stupid coupon!).

The second table: There are not words for how I felt about them. It was a group of 8 that stayed forever. Even though I quit taking tables around 9:20, I didn't get out of the restaurant until 10:30. Gah.
First of all, they were ALL stoned. Totally gone, all of them, except for the baby they brought with them. I know this may sound judgmental, but I always hate it when parents give their INFANT Mountain Dew. I mean, come on! We have milk, lemonade, Sierra Mist, and caffeine-free root beer! Giving an infant Mountain Dew is just... wrong.
Anyway, after I brought their drinks, I asked if they were ready to order. They said yes. I asked, "What can I get for you?" One guy speaks up: "You guys got any weed around here? How are we supposed to order so much food if we ain't got no weed? Somebody's gotta have some. Can you just sprinkle it on some pizza and pretend it's oregano? We need some weed."
What am I supposed to say to that? I had noooo idea what to do. I just stood there, waiting for an actual order. They finally ordered (two pizzas, two orders of breadsticks, six cheese sauces, two sandwiches, an order of hot wings...). I knew they would be cheap when they got cups of ranch from the salad bar and started dipping crackers in it while they waited for their food. I mean... Oh. My. Gosh. These people were nuts!
Eventually their food came out and they ate it all. Seven adults and the infant ate all of it. Then, they also did not leave more than gratuity. Boo.

I'm thinking about giving up this blog. No one reads it and it's not really that exciting. I'm not entirely sure yet, just something I'm still thinking about.

additional stories from wed & thurs

2009-06-05T23:36:00.002-04:00

Wednesday: I had a table of three. They each ordered a pizza. I read the order back to them (small pepperoni and sausage, medium pepperoni, deep dish ham) and asked if it was correct. Everyone at the table nodded in agreement. Later, I brought the pizzas out. The one guy in the group says, "We didn't order this one," pointing to the small pepperoni/sausage. Here's how it went down after that:
Me: I read the order back to you and you said it was correct.
Him: (blank stare)
Me: I will go see what the manager wants to do about this.
Him: No, it's fine. You can just leave it.

At that point, I'm sure he was thinking he would get a free pizza. No. We had a certain manager working that night that doesn't take shit from customers (I haven't introduced her in any coworkers posts yet). She told me to go out to the table, take the pizza, and say we'd take it off their bill. So that's what I did, and my table did not seem too happy. Whatever.

Thursday: I had a table of just two. A husband and wife in their forties. The guy ordered a Dr. Pepper, she ordered water with lemon. Oh boy. I take the drinks out and they ask me about the salad bar. The lady says, "Um... about the salad bar... do I get it from out here (pointing to the salad bar) or from there (pointing to the host counter)?" I tell her she (obviously) gets it from the salad bar in the dining room. I had to bite my tongue to keep from adding we don't have a hidden salad bar behind the counter.
Anyway, they question me about the shapes of our pizza slices, how many pieces are in each type, etc. Then the guy points to a picture on our menu. He says, "What's this? I want this." You see, the pictures on our menus aren't anything specific. They're general stock photos of pizza and toppings. So I tell him, "Well, it looks like that's a Chicago crust pizza with pepperoni and mushrooms." He says, "Okay. I want that. But with sausage, too." Okay.
I put the order in, and it's ready in about 20 minutes. I take it to the table and the guy says, "Did you guys change your sausage?" I said, "No, not recently..." He responds, "Oh. It smells different." Whatever.
Every time I checked the table, they said everything was delicious, exactly the way they wanted it, and so on. Then they left me a dollar. In quarters. On a $25 bill.

the coworkers: part two

2009-06-05T12:10:00.002-04:00

JM: The youngest manager (21) and the most fun. He's also the nicest. He's always creating new pizza or sandwich ideas.

SG: About 26, he as worked at the restaurant for 12 years. My least favorite manager. He doesn't like me and makes no secret about it.

AG: SG's wife, another manager and server. She is nice to everyone all the time. She's also very pretty. She is also about 26.

EG: SG's mom. She has worked at the restaurant forever. She is one of the worst servers and she even has a mustache. She's only about 45 but looks 60. She is so slow at getting things done. When she uses the computer, which is touch-screen, she presses and holds instead of just tapping the buttons. She has terrible breath and is a heavy smoker. I'm nice to her usually because no one else is.

TD: Another server. She has worked at the restaurant for almost 15 years. Whenever she works, she always has a ton of customers that request her. She is nice but assertive. She does a lot of things the "old" way, or how she learned them when she first started. She trained me on my last night of server training. She's in her early thirties.

KY: Hostess. She has worked at the restaurant a little while longer than I have. She is 16 and pregnant. She always seems to be in a bad mood, but maybe that's because she's pregnant. She also looks like Ellen Page in Juno.

KS: Server and occasional hostess. She is super nice, but not a very good server. She gets overwhelmed if she has more than two or three tables at a time. She told me a few weeks ago that she has never blown her nose and I don't think I believe her. She's 17.

CK: Hostess. She always gives up her hours and I'm not really sure why she still has a job. She works about once every two weeks. She used to be a really great host, but now she just doesn't even work. She's 16.

wednesday and thursday

2009-06-05T00:28:00.002-04:00

Wednesday and Thursday are the slowest days at the restaurant- everyone knows it. We only schedule three servers instead of five, one host instead of three, and so on.
Wednesday: I worked prep in the morning. Nothing notable. I served 5:30-close and made more money than I ever have in one shift. I got to work that night expecting it to be slow, as usual. Instead, we had three scheduled parties, which i got two, and more tables on top of that. I ended up with $73. The only problem? The two tables I had that stayed a looong time after close.
The first table of the two came in at 9:15. Three old ladies. I got their drink order, and they told me they all wanted salad bar as a meal. This caused no problems for me, but the salad bar closer was pretty pissed. Salad bar close means cleaning salad bar, scraping off excess ice inside, putting away all lettuce, toppings, and dressings into the walk-in, etc. The whole process takes at least 30 minutes. The old ladies also ordered a small pizza, making their bill about $26. They ate their salads, got their pizza, and everything was okay. Until they decided to camp out AFTER close. They were done eating around 9:50. They stayed and talked, however, until 10:35. Not once did they ask me or wonder to themselves what time we closed. Bitches! Then, after staying that long, they left me $3.
The second table came in at 9:35. It was one of the managers, his friends, his baby mama, and twin daughters. The managers working were super pissed because he brought in a party of 7 right before close. Working with us, he should know better. Then, they ordered $70 worth of food. They didn't leave until 10:45. Everyone working was so pissed. The prep guys had to stay extra late to do dishes and close the dish pit. I had to stay late to serve them and then clean the dining room. I was actually there until 11:00, which is a whole hour past close. The group left me $20, though, so I wasn't too upset.

Thursday:
Tonight was the opposite of last night. We were totally dead. I had one table my first hour working. The night was good, though- even though we were slow, all my tips were good- $9 from a party of 4, $6 from a party of 2. At the end of the night, I got cashed out and realized something was very wrong. I had $10. I should have had $30.80. I told the manager this, and he said there was nothing they could do unless the drawer came up way over later. I freaked out. I started to cry. I was leaving with $20 less than I was supposed to. I promised to call back tomorrow to find out about the drawer.
Then, on my way home, I figured it out. My first table's bill was $20.16 and they gave me $100.16. I went up to the host to get change, asking for three $20s, a $10, a $5, and five $1s. However, I forgot to get the twenty from her to put in my apron for their bill. As soon as I realized what had happened, I called work and explained. They still asked that I call back tomorrow.

I also found out tonight that I had forgotten to clock on at all last night, thus losing 5 1/2 hours of work. I told the managers to fix it, but they probably forgot. I'll have to mention that when I call tomorrow.

In other news, I graduate tomorrow! Yippee.

lack of posts

2009-06-01T22:59:00.003-04:00

no posts lately because i haven't served in over a week.
friday morning i worked prep as counter- meaning i took money/made drinks. i knew it was bad when i showed up to work fifteen minutes early and a customer came in (why the doors were already unlocked, i don't know). she said there would be a group of 17 from the daycare (at this point, i thought, "oh shit.") and that they had called ahead. i went to check with a manager and found out that no, they had not called ahead. oh well. they came in right at 11, when we open, and we got them taken care of. at noon, we had a party that had called, also of 17. however, at 11:30, it got inexplicably busy. i was at the counter for an hour and a half straight with my backup (who makes drinks when we get super busy). we had a section reserved for the party, luckily.
saturday morning i hosted 12-4. it was the local high school's graduation, so we were dead. we went over an hour with no tables at all. during that time, i went to the back and helped the guys with dough.
then yesterday i worked 12-4 hosting again. sundays are always busy in the morning because we always get the after church crowd. yesterday was no exception, with parties that didn't call ahead- parties of 17, 15, 10... all morning. we had some smaller parties that showed up after buffet ended. here was an exchange i had with a customer at 1:50 (twenty minutes after we stopped serving buffet):

ME: hi, how many?
THEM: we have 5 for the buffet.
ME: oh, i'm sorry, sir. the buffet ended twenty minutes ago.
THEM (to someone else in their group): see! that's what you get for making us all late! we miss all the good stuff.
ME: sir, anything we serve on buffet, you can still order off the menu.
THEM: so? i can't eat as much as i want!

cheap.
sorry this entry was kind of scatter-brained, i've been watching a lifetime movie the past hour.
if anyone even reads this. haha

the coworkers: part one

2009-05-26T02:20:00.003-04:00

Wwe have a large staff. mainly because a lot of servers, prep, and hosts are high school/college age and have schedule restrictions. With that said...

BM: A server and prep guy, sometimes a host. Also my boyfriend, who got me the job in February 2008. It's always fun working together, but our boss only lets that happen sometimes. He is also very helpful, if I ever need a refill ran to table whatever, or a basket of breadsticks to wherever.

RB: When I started working as a host last year, she hated me. Despised me. Made work an anxious place to be. Then, for some reason still unknown to me, she decided to like me and befriend me. I was even invited to her wedding earlier this month. We are a lot alike because we both want things done right the first time. She's worked here for 6 years, and basically she is the host manager. She is married to BB.

BB: Manager and owns 1/3 of the company. 14 years older than his wife, RB, but he doesn't look or act it. An all around good guy, fun to work with, easy to get along with him.

AS: Head server, which means she trains the new servers and does all the year-end tax stuff from the servers' records. Is very power-hungry and also needs to realize she isn't a manager. She can be nice, but she is usually just a bitch.

two days off.

2009-05-25T17:25:00.004-04:00

this week i have two days off in a row. what a change. last night was nothing significant. the tips were average, the amount of business was average... except for two parts.
i had a table come in around 8:30, when our buffet now ends (since it's summer and it stays light out longer). it was 3 people, an older couple with their 40-something son. they all got sandwiches and soft drinks. then, after they are done with their sandwiches, Older Lady announces they would like a small dessert pizza. i say okay, and put in the order. after about 10 minutes, the dessert pizza is done. i go out to the table to bring them fresh plates for their dessert. that's when 40-something-son asks, "you guys serve coffee, right?" by this time, it's 9:00, one hour before close. i say yes. then he points to Older Man. he says, "oh, can you bring me some with the dessert pizza?" of course, at this time, my pager goes off because the dessert pizza is done. great. i tell him that i will have to brew the coffee and it will take five minutes or so. to which he replies, "oh, go ahead." so i immediately go back to the servers station and start making the coffee. the guy at the ovens wants to know why i'm not taking out the dessert pizza. i explain the situation, and go back to the coffee. it finally gets done, and i run the coffee and dessert. AK, another server, was assigned to clean the servers station last night, and he asks if i'm done with the coffee. i say yes, because the guy at the table is still sipping from his diet drink. we pour out the coffee and i return to the table. Older Lady says Older Man wants more coffee. i come up with a simple lie: "oh, i'm so sorry. we actually only made enough for the one cup. i can make some more for you if you'd like, but it will be a few minutes. i am so sorry." they say don't worry about it, and i drop off the check. i return and they had their money stuck inside a pamphlet for a church in florida.
okay, here's my problem. you don't want your server pushing their views on you, so why is it alright for the customer to do so? if the server were to do so, it would be totally unacceptable. i mean, come on.

second non-average event:
a party of 11 shows up at 9:30. we close at 10, and i was dining room closer. i had already cleaned over half the dining room, and since there were 11 of them, that meant three tables. there was still another server in rotation, and it was due to be his table. neither of us wanted it, so we flipped for it and i won. i continued cleaning the dining room while he served them.
the group was mostly high school kids, with a set of parents and a girl about 10 years old. the girl is whining the entire time because her parents got her water and she wanted a sierra mist. then she whined about the breadsticks. then because she wanted another cheese sauce. she didn't shut up. sometime during their stay, one of the kids noted: "hey, we're the only ones in here! this is so cool!" of course, i had to bite my tongue and just think, "no shit! we close in ten minutes! other people have more sense than you!" they finally left about ten minutes after close.

maybe if i'm bored later, i'll do introductions for my coworkers, like The Hooters Girl is doing.

JB

2009-05-24T12:01:00.002-04:00

in my whole time working at the restaurant, we have only fired a handful of people. suddenly, within the last month, people decided to be stupid and get themselves fired by doing things common sense tells you not to- being consistently late, no call/no shows, and now, theft.
where i work, only hosts and managers are allowed to touch the cash register drawer. if servers need change, a host must give it to them. at the end of the night, a host or manager will do what we call "cashing out" the servers. how this works:
1) the host/manager will print the server's summary report, which includes total daily sales, amount of sales that were paid up front and not to the server, how much we have to claim for taxes, etc.
2) the amount that was paid up front is subtracted from the total daily sales. so, if i sold $200 of food, and $50 was paid up front, i would owe $150 to the host/manager.
3) the server turns in credit card slips to the host/manager. so from the $150, say i had $100 in credit card slips. i would then owe $50 cash.
4) the server turns in their cash, says what they are claiming in tips, the end.

well, what happened earlier this week:
JB took another server's (TD's) credit card slip off her table after the table left. so, at the end of the night, TD went to be cashed out and was missing a credit card slip. she had written down all her tables, how much their bill was, and how the paid in her server book, so the managers knew something was up. TD went home and i'm not really sure how the managers took care of the situation.
JB was the last server to be cashed out. since she had an extra credit card slip, she owed less cash. thus stealing from TD and essentially the restaurant. the managers figured out that JB had taken TD's credit card slip, so, after talking to JB, they fired her.

at first i felt bad for JB, because i liked her and i didn't know if maybe she accidentally took the slip. but as i learned more about what happened, it was kind of obvious it was intentional. also, the managers had suspected JB of stealing in the past, but could never prove it.

oh well, i guess. more hours for me.

slow.

2009-05-24T01:06:00.002-04:00

friday night was slow. that describes pretty much every aspect. only six tables from 6 to close. it's race weekend, i get that. but that's hardly a table per hour.
i didn't get my first table till 20 minutes after i clocked on. they were seated at 6:22, i got their order in at 6:28. they got their bread sticks while they waited. i ran some refills. they were my only table, so they had all the attention they needed. they ordered a large pan pizza with sausage and a small spaghetti- probably an order that would take just about 20 minutes to cook, since pan pizza takes a little longer. for some reason, their food wasn't done until 7:06. they complained, of course, so i sent a manager out. they got their entire meal for free AND in-store credit. their ticket was voided from my sales. no one ever gave me a reason, either, as to why their pizza took double the time.
then i had a party of 8 from a children's (childrens'?) home. nice group of kids, a million refills to run, gratuity was $8.88. since they were tax exempt and paid with a special form, they were voided from my sales, too.
after that, my mom and sister came in. that's always nice, except sometimes they're incredibly impatient. my mom is probably a customer i would complain about sometimes, if she wasn't my mom.
then i had 3 more tables, nothing really significant about any of them.
it's sad that at the end of the night, after being there for 5+ hours, my total daily sales was only $91.25 on a friday night.

next post: all about the work drama surrounding JB, a server who was fired earlier this week (and we hardly ever fire people).

boring.

2009-05-20T14:14:00.002-04:00

monday night at work was nothing great, nothing bad. i picked up friday night, so i'll be working a split shift then.
yesterday was graduation practice, and it was so strange being back at school after five months of being out. i don't miss it at all.

rewind.

2009-05-18T16:53:00.000-04:00

i have a few free minutes before i go to work, so i thought i would rewind and post about friday night. oh my. friday nights are usually pretty busy in the dining room and with carry out orders. since i was hosting, i was dealing with both. i mean, who doesn't want pizza on a friday night?
all was well until 8 o'clock. we got a late rush. we had a party of 30(!) that called in and said they would be there in FIVE minutes. what the hell? how rude to assume that we would just be able to fit in 30 people on a friday night. some reservation... five minutes ahead. luckily, we were able to fit them in. then more people kept coming.
a ghetto-fied white guy came in with a crew of what he said would be ten to twelve. okay, not terrible. we set up for them, and i seat them. then he says, "uh, this isn't gonna work... we'll have closer to 16 or more. can we sit there?" pointing to an entire other section that we were leaving open for a reservation at 9. i told him i would ask a manager, but that probably wouldn't be possible. i asked anyway, and they said no, not possible. plus, everywhere else in the restaurant was full. the party of 10 to 12 but now 16+ bitched and moaned but squeezed in where we had sat up for them anyway.
i went back up to the counter after this, and we were on a wait list. a guy comes in with a group and says he has 11 people. we said it would be five to ten minutes, which he said was fine. after that time passes, we are able to seat him, and i notice the group of people he came in with does not follow. odd, i thought. so i said, "has everyone put there name in?" a guy from the group comes up to me and says, "uh... no one said anything about a wait." okay, we have a sign that clearly says HOSTESS WILL SEAT YOU. i can't seat you if i don't know how many people you have. anyway, i politely responded, "we're on a wait list right now. if you tell me how many people you have, we will get you in as soon as possible." which he responded with, "how long's the wait?" and i said, "well, that depends on how many people you have." at that point, we were on a 10 minute wait for parties of 4 or less, if that gives you any idea of the situation. then the guy goes, "how about for, say, 12 people?" i said, "you're probably looking at 20 to 25 minutes, sir." which isn't unreasonable for a friday night without calling ahead, dumbass. and the guy flips. he yells, "are you FUCKING serious? would it have been TOO DIFFICULT to tell us that when we came in?" i wasn't sure how to respond, so i said, "i'm sorry, sir. i thought you were with the other large group that was already on the wait list." and they left. but the best part was, as they tried to leave, it started POURING outside. so they stood in the outer lobby, not making such a dramatic exit after all.
9 o'clock rolls around. we are expecting a group of 50 to 75 people, mostly kids, that will be sitting wherever they can find an open table. unfortunately for them... we had THREE open tables by the time they got there. i think the other parties got annoyed with all the kids and left shortly after, so they were eventually okay.

time for work again. mondays aren't usually too busy, but they're not slow, either. it's buffet.

tonight wasn't so bad.

2009-05-18T00:45:00.001-04:00

tonight was my first time serving in a week. i had been doing prep and hosting since last sunday.
so i get to work, and i'm scheduled 5-10, which is close, but i wasn't THE closer. sunday nights are usually the worst when it comes to rude customers. people obviously aren't using what they learned in church earlier.
the first good thing that happened was when another server, who was second off, asked if we could trade shifts. my response was a quick yes.
then, fifteen minutes into my shift, i get a party of 16. awesome. gratuity. it was a 13 year old's birthday party with his family, and they seemed nice at first. then the kid's mom asked me to put two cheesecakes in our refrigerator. okay, i can handle that. no big deal at all. then the dad proceeds to ask me if it would be cheaper for the guests to get buffet or to do a regular order. i didn't really know what to say, so i offered to put it into the computer and report back. buffet and drinks came to $100 (before gratuity) and a regular order was $82. he said he figured buffet would be worth it, which was fine by me- higher gratuity.
overall they were a pretty easy group for 16 people. they sat their kids at a different table, though, which provided some... difficulty. there was a 9 year old 3 8s, an 11, and a 5. all girls. i would ask if i could take their plates, and they would insist they weren't done yet...even though the plates would be empty. i would come back, and they would pile them on and give them to me. okay, whatever. then they kept adding things to what i was already carrying. i told them i couldn't carry any more- they laughed. and kept trying to pile things on as i was walking away. little bitches.
in the end, they didn't leave me any more than the gratuity, which was $15.30. my other tables were pretty friendly also, and i ended up with $38.99 and i got off at 8:12. sweet.

"Seniors"

2009-05-15T09:47:00.000-04:00

I hate pretentious "seniors." They come in early for our lunch buffet (who really wants pizza at 11 AM?) and declare they want a "senior buffet and a diet." After a while, I just stopped telling them that we don't offer different prices for "seniors." Now I just nod and tell them the price. But really? Why should older people receive a discounted price on buffet? They eat just as much as any other adults.

To anyone who may be reading this, I will explain my job. I work at a pizza place. Not a chain, just a local restaurant. We're a little nicer/pricier than your usual Pizza Hut. I've worked there for fifteen months, and have been a server for seven months. Our restaurant has a lunch buffet every day 11-1:30, and a dinner buffet Monday-Wednesday 5-8. We're located in a semi-suburbial-yet-rural area, and while i don't like to stereotype, we get a lot of "rednecks."

I doubt anyone will be reading this anytime soon, but if you have a question or anything, leave a comment.