Thursday, February 10, 2011

15 secrets waiters won't tell you

What you should know on Valentine's Day
1. Make reservations early. Restaurants usually don't have an abundance of tables for two. We need to time to plan where to put everyone. You'll get a better table and we'll be prepared.

2. Don't propose. It's so cliché. But if you do, warn us first. We'll put you in the corner. Nothing's worse than a crying woman in the center of the restaurant. Trust me.

3. Since Valentine's Day is on a Monday this year, go out on Friday or Saturday. Most restaurants will also serve their special Valentine's Day menu on those days. Or go out for brunch! Then you can sleep the rest of the day.
Waiters at Bernard's in Ridgefield, CT

PLUS: More Secrets Your Waiter Will Never Tell You

What we lie about
4. We’re not allowed to tell our customers we don’t like a dish. So if you ask your server how something is and she says, “It’s one of our most popular dishes,” chances are she doesn’t like it.
—Waitress at a well-known pizza chain

PLUS: 13 Things Your Florist Won't Tell You

5. If someone orders a frozen drink that’s annoying to make, I’ll say, “Oh, we’re out. Sorry!” when really I just don’t want to make it. But if you order water instead of another drink, suddenly we do have what you originally wanted because I don’t want to lose your drink on the bill.
—Waitress at a casual Mexican restaurant in Manhattan

What you don’t want to know
6. When I was at one bakery restaurant, they used to make this really yummy peach cobbler in a big tray. A lot of times, servers don’t have time to eat. So we all kept a fork in our aprons, and as we cruised through the kitchen, we’d stick our fork in the cobbler and take a bite. We’d use the same fork each time.
—Kathy Kniss

7. If you make a big fuss about sending your soup back because it’s not hot enough, we like to take your spoon and run it under really hot water, so when you put the hot spoon in your mouth, you’re going to get the impression — often the very painful impression — that your soup is indeed hot.
—Chris

8. We put sugar in our kids' meals so kids will like them more. Seriously. We even put extra sugar in the dough for the kids' pizzas.
-Waitress at a well-known pizza chain

PLUS: 25 Tips to Order Healthy Choices at Any Restaurant

What drives us crazy9. Oh, you needed more water so badly, you had to snap or tap or whistle? I’ll be right back … in ten minutes.
—Charity Ohlund

10. The single greatest way to get your waiter to hate you? Ask for hot tea. For some reason, an industry that’s managed to streamline everything else hasn’t been able to streamline that. You've got to get a pot, boil the water, get the lemons, get the honey, bring a cup and spoon. It’s a lot of work for little reward.
-Christopher Fehlinger, maître d’ at a popular New York City restaurant

PLUS: More Valentine's Day Waiter Secrets

What we want you to know11. Sometimes, if you’ve been especially nice to me, I’ll tell the bartender, “Give me a frozen margarita, and don’t put it in.” That totally gyps the company, but it helps me because you’ll give it back to me in tips, and the management won’t know the difference. 
—Waitress at a casual Mexican restaurant in Manhattan

12. If you’re having a disagreement over dinner and all of a sudden other servers come by to refill your water or clear your plates, or you notice a server slowly refilling the salt and pepper shakers at the table next to yours, assume that we’re listening. 
—Charity Ohlund


PLUS:
 15 Foods You Should Never Buy Again

How to be a good customer
13. Use your waiter’s name. When I say, “Hi, my name is JR, and I’ll be taking care of you,” it’s great when you say, “Hi, JR. How are you doing tonight?” Then, the next time you go in, ask for that waiter. He may not remember you, but if you requested him, he’s going to give you really special service.
—JR, waiter at a fine-dining restaurant and author of the blog servernotslave.wordpress.com 
14. Trust your waitress. Say something like “Hey, it’s our first time in. We want you to create an experience for us. Here’s our budget.” Your server will go crazy for you.
— Charity Ohlund

PLUS: 10 Foods You Shouldn't Order on a Date

What you need to know about tipping15. If you walk out with the slip you wrote the tip on and leave behind the blank one, the server gets nothing. It happens all the time, especially with people who’ve had a few bottles of wine.
—Judi Santana

Interviews by Michelle Crouch and Meaghan Cameron
Image credit: © Creatas/Thinkstock

citation: yahoo.com

41 comments:

  1. thank you for this blog its brilliant

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  2. wow this blog has good value. followed...

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  3. Great information, following for sure =P

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  4. dam waiters should be treated better i always call them by there name so they would be recognized they are working people 2. and i always try to leave tip. and talk to them politely as i can. it always helps!! ty for the tips here

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  5. i hate that tipping has become compulsory, it's no longer a way of showing a person that they did a great job, and it allows restaurants to pay their waiters and waitresses minimum wage while they actually make 20 or more dollars an hour.

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  6. Ha this is great. you've got awesome material on your blog. def. following

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  7. wow great information this should help me out thanks!

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  8. Thanks for the advice, but I've always made it a point to not make things more difficult for people in food business, because well, they're the ones who handle our food and can mess with it anyway they want.

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  9. useful information on your blog, following.

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  10. Funny stuff....I wish I was funny

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  11. Good info, I'll be sure to use it to make my restaurant-going experiences more smooth in the future. :)

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  12. I hate valentines day, probably because I don't have anyone to share it with. Great, I just made myself sad

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  13. completely agree with number 2 what a load of shit hahah. The peach cobbler thing is kind of nasty but at one of my old jobs the assistant manager used to eat the food that was about to be served was super funny at the time to me

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  14. As someone who works in a restaurant; that list is DEAD ON.

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  15. unfortunately my girlfriend will be gone during valentines day. but alot of this could go for any date. thank you.

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  16. Thanks for the info, I'll just take my GF to McDonald's

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  17. I'm surprising my GF with valentines a day early. That way she's not expecting it, and reservations will be easy.

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  18. thanks, useful information

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  19. well i aint gonna be doing jack for valentines day but this is good for others lol.

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  20. Holy crap! I never would've guessed..!!!

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  21. Good tips, took note of them, will use. I like to think I'm a good customer but I am never sure if I do things wrong out of ignorance rather than arrogance.

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  22. I feel guilty about 15 because I know I've done it before.

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  23. i've heard of a few of these before. i was planning on going to brunch for v-day anyway! it's the best meal ever!

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  24. great tips! those are some useful things to consider!

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  25. Funny and at the same time very interesting

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  26. Very good post. Kept me interested the whole way through 5*

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  27. I have experienced #2. Chick started balling. We got our food for free though.

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  28. I had to come back to read these again. So much good advice.

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  29. really interesting, nice blog.

    Now i know that what not to do's of of eating out^^

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