What a Bad Weekend.

Downfall to being a server, when times are good they are good but when times are bad they are absolutely horrible. What I mean is that this weekend was horrible when it came to making money.
All I hear from the other servers is October is one of the slowest months and that they always plan for it. In my situation I was unable to plan on it due to moving down here in May and not knowing what to expect.
It's hard when you make $4 something an hour and you have to depend on the tips to pay your bills/live your life, let alone having to eat!!!
Upside though, I did have a few amazing customers come in that actually did tip me pretty well. Saturday I had these 3 guys come in and sit at my table from 4pm to 11pm. They barely ate, drank a lot, and watched the football game. They were so easy to take care of. They were getting pretty dunk and we have the obligation to cut them off. I told them what I had to do and usually people are not so nice about it and they get pretty mad if you tell them no. This group of guys actually were truly amazing and understood. On top of being great customers, they tipped me $55 on $130 dollar tab!! They wrote on their credit card slip "Sorry we got kicked out, but your great".
Little things like that makes being a server enjoyable. They had a good time and I made good money, it worked out in both our favors.

Rant About Hours!!

This blog has nothing to do with customers and it is more of giving myself a chance to vent about something that really is not fun about being a server.

Nothing against Obama, but Obamacare really is not doing us any good, and this also may go for any other job dealing with the public. 

I have worked at Applebee's for 4 months now and it bothers me that I am only aloud to work 30 hours a week, and that is not counting any other shifts that are available to pick up. I was told today that I could not pick up an extra shift due to this law!!

I understand that he is just trying to help, but I have health insurance. I do not need the company I work for to pay for that. The law says that anyone who works over 30 hours their employers have to pay for health insurance. This goes back to what I said before I have health insurance and I do not need my employer to pay for it. 

I just want to make more money!!!

And it was postponed until 2015.

ObamaCare Employer Mandate Rules

The ObamaCare employer mandate was set to begin in 2014, officially a tax, the "mandate" requires that all employers with over 50 full-time full-time equivalent employees would pay a tax on full-time employees who were not provided with employer basedhealth insurance. The first 30 full-time employees are exempt form this rule, so smaller businesses will be burdened less by the law than larger firms.

Understanding Full-time Equivalent Employees

In simple terms FTE or "full-time equivalent" equals (the total number of full-time employees) plus (the combined number of Part-time employee hours divided by 30). NOTE: seasonal employees, contractors, and business owners don't count toward the total. Part-time employee hours can be averaged from anywhere between a 3 and 12 months span to determine FTE.
http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-employer-mandate.php

Best Part about My Job.

The best part about my job is when people leave happy and feel as though they have received the best service possible.
Seeing customers leave with a happy face is so much better than watching people leave with a frown.

Rude Customers!!!!

Being a server at applebee's never gets easier and at times I always have to remind myself about how even though I do not make much money this week, does not mean that next week will just be the same.
Every week is something different.

I had many customers that I waited on this weekend and no matter what I could not please them. Anything I did for them did not make them happy and they left very unhappy.

Meeting The Rude Restaurant Guest The Next Day

byDavid HaydenonMay 23, 2013inLife as a Server

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Servingrude restaurant guestsleaves you with very few options.  In order to maintain my faith in humanity, I tend to chalk it up to a bad day or having a bit too much to drink.  Sometimes you just have to grin and bear it knowing that they will be gone in a few hours and never heard from again.  I even find some solace in believing that when they wake up in the morning they might stop to consider how rude they were the night before.  Last night, I encountered a past guest that may make me reconsider my philosophy.

Last night was a fairly typical night off.  I was meeting a friend for a quick bite at a bar not far from where I work when I noticed a lady walking towards me.  She asked me if I had been her waiter the night before.  I said that was quite possible, then I recognized her as part of the large party from the previous evening.  I wondered to myself if this was the moment when my theory would be validated as the rude restaurant guest would apologize for her party’s behavior.

Their visit to the restaurant was memorable for a couple of reasons.  The first was the volume of the table.  The second was the less-than-appropriate topics of conversation at the table.  While discussing lesbianism on the Vassar campus at the top of your lungs might be somewhat appropriate at a bar, it is not really something that the entire dining room needs to hear at a nice restaurant.  The table next to them made a comment to me, and the other server said that her guests mentioned it to her.  Soon, all of the tables in the restaurant had departed or gone down to our jazz club to get some peace and quiet.  When the party noticed this, they joked about their ability to clear out a dining room.

Then they decided to turn their focus to me.  The same guest who was now approaching me on the street was telling me that I didn’t seem to be enjoying their party and that I seemed annoyed with them.  The reality was that I was probably the least annoyed of anyone in the dining room with their antics.  I would at least be receiving a tip for tolerating their crass and inappropriate behavior.  When they finally left, it was just under two hours after the kitchen had closed. The dishwasher and busser were long gone.  I cleared the table, washed the glasses, and reset the room as my fellow servers asked, “What was up with your party?”

So as the rude restaurant guest confirmed my identity, I was thinking of ways to graciously accept her apology.  The conversation went in a far different direction.

She proceeded to inform me that she was an event planner and that she was very disappointed in her experience.  She then said that while the service was great, it was apparent that I was annoyed with her table.  I was informed that if I had cut loose and had fun with her table, it would have been a “windfall” for me.  She acknowledged that they might have been a bit excited, but that they were just celebrating.  Several minutes of this lecture were wrapped up under the guise of “constructive criticism” and “things she thought I should know.”

In this moment I had a few decisions to make.  I could certainly have told her that their behavior was entirely inappropriate and that my annoyance was mild compared to what was being expressed by the other tables in the dining room.  I could have pointed out that two sober members of her party apologized separately for the behavior of their group.  I could have pointed out that my job is to provide exemplary service and that “joining in their party” is not part of my job description, especially when other tables were upset that I would not scold them.  I could have pointed out my three best server awards, that I wrote abook on serving, and my nearly two decades of experience.  I could have pointed out that in all my years working in bars, I rarely encountered a group of college kids that were as poorly behaved as her group was.  I know that this would not have ended until she ran away in tears.  I have never told a guest off, and the pent-up rage I have as a result should never be unleashed.

Instead, I simply said, “I’m sorry you felt that way, and I will keep that in mind in the future.”

This seemed to frustrate her even more.

At the end of the day, despite making $3.63 per hour, I never get to be off work.  She still has the option to leave terrible reviews across the internet.  She still has the option of calling and complaining to my boss to try to cost me my job.   She could have escalated it into an even larger disruption of my day off.  The one option she did not receive was to feel self-satisfaction in knowing that her rudeness helped some lowly server be better at his job.

“I’m sorry you felt that way, and I will keep that in mind in the future.”

I went back in the bar and told the story to the bartender.  We had a good laugh and then I said, “It is times like this when I really wish I had a network of websites set up where I could share this story with others.”  We both had a good chuckle and I resumed my evening.  My thoughts drifted since to how many other occupations carry this same burden.

If I ran across the person who processed my forms at the DMV, I probably would not approach them with ideas about how they could improve their customer service.   I doubt this lady would either, although in her case I might be mistaken.  Guests seem to feel they have a fundamental right to offer servers direct and verbal “advice” on how to do a job they have never done.  In this case, it wasn’t even about the mechanics of how I did my job, but about my personality.  Not exactly how I expected to spend my night off, but it resulted in one very happy thought.

“I think I know what my next blog post will be about.”

http://www.tipssquared.com/meeting-rude-restaurant-guest-day/

Funny Link :)

http://www.stuckserving.com
I thought this site was very funny and fit my blog just right. How nice it is to find a website where others share the funny stories of their jobs as servers. 

"I worked a double shift the other day and one group of three came in
(a father and two sons probably about 12 and 14).

They sat at my table I introduced myself and attempted to get the
drink order from the kids first as I was trained to do (one didn’t
even know I asked because he was staring at his phone) got that put in
finally and brought it back. I asked if they were ready to order and
they said they wanted to wait to see if they wanted to watch the game
on the TV or not. Okay, that’s fine. I told them no problem and to
take their time. Waited about 10 – 15 minutes and checked back. They
looked pretty cozy so I asked again. Got that order put in. Brought it
out to them and let them do their own thing for a while.

I did the normal deal, go back for refills when the glasses, ask if
any plates needed to be out of their way, etc. Asked the kid with the
milkshake if he wanted a water. Was answered either by a half nod or
nothing at all. I can’t have dirty cluttered tables so I cleared empty
plates. At that point I had another table and went ahead and printed
sports guys ticket just so I wouldn’t forget later. I told them that
there wasn’t any rush and that they could pay just whenever they were
ready and to let me know if they needed anything else, blah blah blah.

Got my other table situated, rolled silverware, closed sports guys
ticket and gave him back his change. Refilled their drinks again. Even
told me he was ready to pay when I walked out with the other tables
drinks.

Well apparently at the end of the night I was told by my manager that
the guy had complained about my service! He said that I was pushy, and
he felt rushed because I brought the ticket before halftime (I don’t
watch the tvs while working, so I had no idea when halftime was). He
also said that he told me three times to “keep the change” (He didn’t,
I always linger an extra second in case they forget to say something)
never tried to get my attention, all eyes were glued to the tv, they
didn’t even talk to each other. Oh yeah, and he was also upset because
his kid was stressing about the teams being tied (like I control what
happens in football). Bill was $23, got change in coins as a less than
$1 tip.

I’m a person, yes a physical person not someone invisible, here to
help you so acknowledge me when I speak. If you aren’t happy say
something, I’m not a mind reader. Otherwise I’m going to assume
everything is fine and dandy. It’s one thing to go out with family or
buddies to enjoy a game but if you don’t want to be talked to at all,
stay at home and order out."

- Katy

One of my favorites from this site so far :)

Long night...

Long night at Applebee's.
Sometimes I love my job, sometimes not as much! Work started at 4pm, this is my first day of three. At one point durning the afternoon I had no tables and ended up doing everyone else job. I was getting so fed up with it all, and top of it I had been getting not so great tips. I mean I had a table who had a $72 dollar check and left me $3. This just backing up some advice from one of my managers, "do not expect more from others, because when you do it just lets you down".
That statement can be true at times and at others false. I had many tables that blew me away at the end of the night. I had gotten slammed and was running around like crazy. Personally, I like to take care of all my tables on my own, and at those times they do not get the best service. But I do always make it a point to tell them I am on my way. I had a group of ladies that even though they were loud and at times obnoxious, they still understood and were very patient with me. And I'm not complaining about their tip, it was a big one :)
But thank god for friends, three if my great friends came in and their check wasn't even $30, they left me $20 and made my night by just showing up!

The night didn't go as I would have liked it, but ended up better then I thought, and met some great people all night.

Welcome to My Blog...

Welcome to my blog!!!
In this blog, I'm going to give you an insight on what it's like to deal with the wonderful and sometimes not so wonderful customers of Applebee's. Many people have served tables and some have not, but I started waiting tables six years ago. I started with no experience at all and not knowing what I would be getting myself into. To back up, I first waited tables at a Coney Island in Chelsea, MI. Sounds like just a hot dog joint, but it was actually considered a family restaurant, which was always a big hit there. I made great money, but some of the things I witnessed. Whew, from children who couldn't control their food, flinging it across the restaurant, to adults who nobody could please, no matter how hard they tried. 
I loved my job though, I would consider myself a people watcher. I always wonder if they do these things at home or if they make that big of a mess where ever they go, never truly understood. 

That brings me to present time, Applebee's...where to start...
If you would have asked me a year ago if I would be living in Florida and working at an Applebee's, I would have laughed at you and said NO WAY! Now...I couldn't be happier. 

One thing I do have to say is the people here are 100% different, not in a bad way and nobody take offense to that, but every where you go it is always different. Customers still make the biggest messes and at times there are people who I cannot please, no matter how hard I try, but when it comes down to it Southern customers are so much nicer. Easier to get along with and easier to joke with. 
Stick around and keep reading my blog and learn more about the wonderful people/customers at Applebee's. :)