Things That Annoy Your Waiter

When I meet someone, one of the most important things I notice when I’m deciding how I feel about the, is how they treat waitstaff. Virtually everyone has been out to eat and has witnessed a server receive less than stellar treatment, even if there was nothing wrong with the meal. Not every server is going to give perfect service every time (we are human too, after all, and sometimes make mistakes), but how a table treats us will often impact how we treat that table. Basically, “treat others how you want to be treated” is true in excess when it comes to servers. So, in order to make everyone’s life easier when going out to eat, I’ve gone back through my several years as a waitress to compile some of the most important things for a customer to know, to make or break their meal.

First and foremost, I’m not going to talk about tipping — as much as it sucks to make little (or no) money off of a table, you never know someone’s situation/motivations. I don’t feel comfortable discussing the financial relationship between customer and server because I feel like that could open a lot of doors that have nothing to do with what I’m writing about; we’re just going to talk about the interactions that take place between diner and waiter.

Let’s go chronologically through a typical meal in a restaurant.

Ignoring our greeting/attempt to be friendly

All servers enjoy friendly tables, and our table greet is often how we establish that positive relationship with our customers. When a diner completely ignores our greeting, or even interrupts us saying hello, and goes straight to ordering drinks, appetizers etc., it feels disrespectful. True, our job is to give you the best dining experience as possible, but a friendly greeting goes a long way in lifting our spirits. Additionally, when a table is friendly, we take even greater care to make sure you enjoy your meal!

Waving us down to order…and not being ready

Serving is an incredibly high-paced environment, so literally every second counts. In about 60 seconds, a server can check on a few tables and help the kitchen run food. If we stand at your table for several minutes while you’re deciding, we can fall behind with our other customers. If you need a few minutes to look at the menu, let us know and we’re happy to give it to you!

Yelling at us for things out of our control

Servers are the most visible staff members to the public, and therefore take the lion’s share of the blame when a dinner out does not go perfectly. A steak came out overdone or a salad that was requested without tomatoes is covered in the stuff. Oftentimes, your server had nothing to do with the prep, or even the delivery of the food — servers will run whatever food comes up ready, regardless of whether it belongs to one of their tables. We can’t always do quality control on our orders after they’ve been put in, but we want you to get your food the way you ordered it too.

Splitting a large order at the end of the meal

While this applies more towards larger groups of people, it is beneficial for a server to know when taking care of any table if and how the check should be divided up. Trying to keep appetizers, drinks, entrees, and desserts straight for 5 checks for two people each can be challenging, especially when you have other tables at the same time! Given the chance, servers will usually arrange the order by check from the beginning to ensure that no one pays for something they didn’t order, and you can still checkout in a timely manner.

Leaving a mess behind

Yes, it is our responsibility to make sure that the tables and floors are clean after a group of customers leave, but that doesn’t mean we enjoy cleaning up large messes. In my serving career, working at a large chain, I once had a table of 10 adult women. After they had left I went to bus and wipe down the table, only to find the wreckage of their meal. Rib and chicken bones were on the floor, mashed potatoes and ketchup were spilled on the table, and plates were scattered across it. We don’t want you to completely clean your eating space after you’re finished — we actually get paid to do it! We just appreciate when people take the time to not drop their food on the floor or maybe stack some plates by the edge where we can easily swing by and grab them.

To sum up, your server wants your dining experience to be just as flawless as you do — maybe even more so! The key to a successful meal at a restaurant is respect given from the server to their guest, and vice versa. By being courteous, a customer can almost guarantee that they will receive better service than they would have otherwise. Servers remember notorious customers, for better or worse. Your reputation could determine whether servers are fighting over whether to take your table, or if they are trying to get someone to take it from them. If you could give your customers at work advice to make your, and therefore their, lives better, what would it be?