Grant Chesshir
The Signal Staff
Tuition is not cheap, and almost all students have had to work part-time jobs throughout their collegiate journey in order to cover costs. It is not a secret that these jobs are typically terrible. Of these terrible titles of employment, one stands out as the hardest and most under appreciated: server.
Here are a few suggestions from a retired server to ensure you are not regarded as “that customer” upon your departure from the dining establishment. You know the customer I mean, the obnoxious one no one wants back.
The first bit of advice seems to be the most obvious, but I guess if this were really so obvious then I would still be asking people what they would like to drink and whether or not they want to start with an appetizer.
But I digress, so back to the advice; don’t be rude to your server. When the server approaches your table and begins his or her introduction, don’t cut him off and bark out the beverage you desire. That’s a deal-breaker and a guaranteed first step toward being “that customer.” Allow him to finish his spiel as if he were a human being.
Interrupting the server’s introduction leads me to my next tip; don’t call your server any of the following: hey, waiter, yo or Jack (unless that is his name). It is also never, under any circumstance, appropriate to gain your server’s attention by means of hand clapping, whistling or finger snapping.
Another seemingly obvious bit of advice is to address the server without the condescending tone. Servers are often forced to accept this treatment or sacrifice their tip and risk being terminated. Just because servers must be polite does not mean patrons should get to be rude.
This next transgression typically occurs without patrons noticing and is commonly known as “running“ your server. Running your server occurs when the patron makes a request for something that the server doesn’t have on his or her person, say a refill on water, extra napkins, condiments or perhaps a fresh cocktail, and the server retrieves the requested item.
Upon the server’s return to the table the patron will then request another item, and this process repeats until the server is forced to devote so much attention to the table that they have neglected their other tables. The appropriate course of action would be to request several items at one time so the server may focus on all tables equally and efficiently.
Even the best server will occasionally let a beverage dip below the half-full mark or become empty. The resulting ice-to-beverage ratio tempts many patrons to raise their drinking apparatus and shake them at the server so that everyone may see and hear the ice rattle. This drives servers crazy and should be avoided.
I will close by addressing the most important, and often most misunderstood, concept of the dining-out experience: the tip. First off, your server is making well below the minimum wage, below $3 an hour in most cases, and living off tips. This is not to suggest that terrible service, such as extended intervals with empty beverages, a rude server or getting food dropped on you with no apology must be rewarded, but that good service should always be rewarded. The minimum amount for decent service should be 15 to 20 percent of the total bill and should increase directly with the level of service. This is the last impression you leave on your servers and believe me, they remember you as much when you stiff them as they do when you tip them well.
So next time you are out enjoying your meal at a dine-in restaurant, not lifting a finger, being waited on hand and foot, recall this counsel and treat your server like a human being, be courteous, tip accordingly and don’t ever steal their pen, no matter how smoothly it writes.
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