ONE NOT TWO

I heard today from a waitress that recently on a popular talk show that has been on for a long time the topic was cutting back on the tip when going out to eat because of the bad economy. The host of the show said ,since the economy is not the greatest at the moment people are not eating out as much as the use to. Now take into consideration there are many different types of restaurants that each offer a different experience in their own unique way, the restaurant that I work at which is owned by a family, you can call it a mom and pop kind of business. Considering the downturn of the economy the restaurant is actually doing quite well. Anyways I have not checked the shows web site to find out more about the statement it made about cutting back on the tip. The reason I bring this up is because there are many different ways about saving money when going out to eat. A lot of people always mention that they like eating out, especially coming to a place like ours because it is reasonably priced, it’s a family restaurant, and the food is always great. I have always wondered if it is cheaper to eat out then to buy groceries and make all your meals. When a family goes out to eat it also means that everyone gets what they want as opposed to not everyone liking what’s for dinner at home. Going out to eat also saves a lot of time. No cooking, and no cleaning. Having a lower food bill when eating out is quite simple to go. You just need to take your time and see what’s on the menu. At every restaurant, if not most of them the portions are enough for two people to eat. And usually the most expensive item is the entrée. With most entrees you get a soup or a salad, so if you have dinner with someone share an entrée and order an extra soup or salad and that alone saves you half of the amount of money that you would have spent if you had ordered two entrees.

Please And Thank You

When you ask for something from someone, do you always say please and thank you? Although I always make sure to say please and thank you every now and then I do forget. Well, I don’t want to say that I forget about it but I sometimes am too wrapped up in a conversation with someone that I space out and forget about my surroundings. With this I am specifically talking about when I go out to eat. Every time that I ask for something I make sure that I end it with a please and follow it up with a thank you once whatever it was that I asked for is brought to me. Another thing that happens a lot is when people walk in and they are greeted at the door by the host with a hello, good morning, good afternoon, or are asked how they are doing, people don’t acknowledge that someone said hello or asked them how they are doing. This really gets on people’s nerves because they are trying to be polite and kind and are just trying to do their job. People when greeted or asked how they are doing usually walk in and just tell the host how many people they need a table for. Now, please do not get me wrong, I am not saying that everyone is like this because for the most part people are really polite and kind. I have always enjoyed working with the public because I enjoy people. I am sure you have heard the saying one bad apple spoils the rest. It does not take much for someone’s day to be rained on when they deal with a rude person. We have all been there before; one example is when we go to the DMV. Chances are we will walk out of there wondering why the person behind the counter was having a bad day. So always remember your please and thank yous.

Cold Fries

Today at my place of employment one of the waitresses came up to me and told me that there was a problem with one of her tables. She informed me that the lady was not happy that her fries were not as hot as she wanted them. Usually when there is a problem with someone’s meal I like to know about it so that I can fix and make sure that the customer walks out happy with our place. Once she told me what the problem was I immediately got the lady of fresh hot order of fires and took it out to her. The lady was surprised because she told the waitress that she did not want another order she just wanted to let us know about the fries. When I took them to her she told me that really was not necessary and I talked to her for a couple minutes and wanted to make sure that everything else was fine with their lunch. She also told me that the day before she went to go have breakfast somewhere else and that her biscuits and gravy were cold. She again told me that I did not have to get her those fires that I took out to her and I told her, yes I did because having hot is something that everyone should have when they receive their food either at my place or another restaurant. There is no excuse for someone to order something and when they receive it the food being cold or just barley warm. The lady was very appreciative about it which she shouldn’t have been because it should have been expected. Whenever you go out and something is not to your liking please say something. More than likely if you go about it a nice way the restaurant will do whatever is necessary to make sure the customer leaves happy.

Don't Rush

I wrote a previous post dealing with patience. It was about really having patience when going out to eat. Some examples dealt with your food order taking a little bit to cook especially if you ordered a steak and asked for it well done it probably will take about 15 to 20 minutes depending on how busy the restaurant is. Or another example is if you’re going out to eat with a party of 10 or more people please do not expect your food to come up in the next 10 minutes because it is not going to happen. Another thing that I encounter a lot is when people go out to eat and they are in a hurry they for some reason like to take it out on the server by telling them that they are in a hurry and if they could please rush their order. Now I understand that we are all very busy people especially now a days. But if you are in a hurry and don’t have enough time to sit down and enjoy your meal without looking at the time every three minutes, then you might not want to eat out. You should probably grab a bite to eat. This always happens to me when I am pressed for time. I never have enough time when I have so much to do with not enough time. I would never go out to eat and expect to be in and out within 30 minutes. People have to understand that the server and the restaurant will do whatever they can do to get people in out and out because the more the tables turn the more money they will make. I am sure a restaurant will never ever stop everything just to make sure that one customer will be put first before everyone else.

PAY UP OR ELSE!!!

I recently came across this article on MNS.com which I tried finding again to get the link so that you could read it for yourself but I was unable to find it. I have mentioned before that at some restaurants if you have a larger party they will automatically add a certain percentage for the gratuity, meaning that you have to choice but to leave your server at least a certain percentage according to what the total amount of your bill was. If I am not mistaken this happened in Pennsylvania. A couple at bar and restaurant refused to pay the mandatory tip that was put on the bill because they had a party of 8 people. The couple said they did not want and will not pay the mandatory gratuity because the service was very poor. The couple actually was arrested for not paying the gratuity. The manager offered to not charge for their meals but the couple still refused to pay the tip. This is another reason why I think restaurants should not automatically put include the tip on the bill because some people might not like the service but yet they are still forced to leave a tip. A server might have it in their mind that they are going to get a tip regardless of how well of service they provide. It was crazy that the establishment actually called the police because they did not want to pay the mandatory tip because the service was soo bad. That restaurant should be ashamed of themselves and I just personally think what they did is bad PR. Now I am sure there are two sides to the story but for some reason I really am on the couples side. If the service wasn’t that horrible I think they would have not gone to all that trouble and got arrested.

Don't Be Shy

Have you ever been to a restaurant before and ordered something, and after the first bite you realize you made a bad choice? I am sure many of us have been in this situation before plenty of time. I usually try to avoid this buy going to the same restaurants and ordering the same couple of things that I usually get. However, one of my goals is to travel and eat at many different restaurants as possible, but anyways back to my point. If you ever order something and don’t like how it tastes for whatever reason, please do not be afraid to say something and order something different. It’s all about how you go about it. “Ummm excuse me, but I don’t like this and want something else,” is not how you should inform your server about you wrong pick of the menu. Servers are there to help make sure everything is to your satisfaction when you eat at a restaurant. They deal with this issue all the time. It is a very easy issue to correct. All you have to do is when the server comes back to check up on you after your first bit, which they should just tell this, “I am really sorry but this is not what how I expected it to be, would it be too much trouble if I get something else in place of it?” They will usually reply by telling you that it is not a problem what so ever and ask you why you don’t like it. Just tell them the truth. If it has too much seasoning or you don’t like the flavor or whatever the reason is just be honest. You really won’t have to wait much because they will cook you re-order before everything else that went in before yours.

Reservations

Reservations are a very common thing in restaurants. Many people make them if they are planning on having a lot of people for a little get together. Making reservations for a get together is a great idea for many reasons. At most restaurants they have tables ready that seat four, five, six and maybe eight people already set up. Reason for this is because if groups of six or eight people come in they have the table ready for them as soon as they walk in and they are able to sit them really fast. I am sure you have walked in a restaurant before and there is not even enough room for you to stand up and have to wait outside to enjoy your personal space. Restaurants will try to sit people as fast as they can because they know that people hate waiting. You would be surprised how impatient people really are. Another reason why reservations are great is because if you make one especially if you are planning on having a large group the restaurant knows you will be coming at a specific time and they will make sure that when you walk in the door you will not have to wait at all. Your table will be ready for you along with a server or two depending on the size of your party. It’s nice walking into a busy restaurant and not having to wait for a table. Another reason why reservations are great is because it will help prepare the kitchen. If the kitchen knows in advance that there will be a large table coming in they will do all they can to ensure that they get the timing right. People have to take into consideration that it might take a little longer for them to prepare a meal for 20 people as opposed to just 2 people.