Sunday, September 28, 2008

Part II (a million years later...)

I have no excuse.



Part II


The saga continues...(yes I still remember every detail of this table)...

I forgot to mention that when I brought the water and beer to the table, Jerk Monkey had two empties sitting on the edge. I still had impatient, Veggie Woman's water in my left hand, so I put the beer down and quickly grabbed the two beers with one hand--a kind of swoop. Then, I set the woman's water down and walked away in a server huff. So, I walked completely out of range from the table for a few minutes--they'd be fine, but I wanted to avoid them. They had water, and food, but I knew Jerk Monkey would need another beer, pronto, so I didn't stray too far.
I decided to go check on them, and I saw my two managers talking near the kitchen, and when I walked passed, one said, "What's up with the lady and the peppers?"
I had no idea what they were talking about, since my table doesn't like to tell me stuff. Then, the other manager chimes in, "Were you rude to them?"
I look at them, shocked that we're having this conversation. I said, "I may not like them, but I'm always polite. You know that! I don't get complaints..." (Well, there was that one, but we'll call that...a mulligan, of sorts).
Manager Two says, "Well, they said that you slammed a beer down, and you've been short with them."
What does that mean? They asked questions about the menu, I answered. They ran me for beers, I ran--I may not have been smiling, but I always brought it in a timely fashion. I was asked to bring a water, and I did, only I guess I took too long. I just didn't understand why they would complain. And the woman with the peppers? What did that mean?
I manager said that he would visit the table, and I should steer clear for a minute. Fine. When I caught up with him, he said that she didn't like the peppers in the veggie mix. Okay. They said that I seemed annoyed with them...ugh...I guess it did show...and even though I was, I SWEAR I never slam shit. I was trying to be efficient. But I guess if they sense that I'm already mad, then I guess it could be portrayed as a 'slam'. Whatever. He said the table said that the service has been excellent--that doesn't make sense. So, I basically got a complaint about my attitude, not my ability as a server.

Post Complaint
I'm pissed. And, I hate them...all.

After the talk with my manager, I go to the table to wrap any leftovers. When I approach the table, Veggie Woman says, "You should warn people about the pepper." I reply, "I don't typically warn people about the peppers because they're red and green bell peppers--they're mild." She looks at me and says, "Noooo, the black pepper." I reply, "In the description it states that it's sauteed in butter with black pepper, I apologize for the confusion, next time, you're more than welcome to request it without the pepper." With that, I prebussed the table, got the men another round of beers, and when I was returning to the table, the bartender approached me and told me that a woman from my table just asked him for a birthday cake. Fuck.
Now she's asking an entirely different employee for something! She must've been afraid of me--secretly, I love that.
Well, that just pissed me off. Part of me didn't want to do it at all, considering that she didn't even ask me. What if the bartender never told me? What then? They probably would've thought that I was(n't) doing it out of spite.
I did it. I couldn't not do it. Not after I gave them great service with a bad attitude.
They lingered.
I sneered.
They left me 20%.
I was pleasantly surprised.

Sorry for the delayed (and somewhat less dramatic) ending...

3 comments:

Gorilla Bananas said...

You did good, Miss! I think I ought to introduce you to "Upset Waitress"

Unhinged said...

I hate to admit it, but I have been known to do the same thing; provide great service while giving off a little bit of attitude. Sometimes it's good way to let a table know they are being difficult, sometimes it scares them. I probably would have reacted the same way to Jerk Monkey and his crew.

Darby said...

Upset Waitress and I have been introduced previously--I'm as familiar with her plight as I'm sure she is with mine! Thanks Gorilla!