Everyday, we play all sorts of games at work with guests, with management and chefs, and with each other. Amazingly, the older I get, the more I notice that things basically don’t change much. We kid ourselves that we are “grown-up” but in reality, we are still playing the same old games we played as kids. Here’s my take on it:
The jerk with the small man syndrome who threatens your tip and/or demands service on your initial greet. Doesn’t he know the basics? Never threaten or insult the server before the food is on the table.
The table of regulars that NO ONE wants to wait on.
Dodging through the dining room with a tray full of drinks or plates of hot food while 3 ADHD brats are running amuck!
The dance you do when you get a miraculous tip from your table. “You put your whole self in and shake it all about...
Getting deuced to death. Income homicide.
The management game of creating the floor chart. You have tables 11, 12, 13, and then there’s 62 on the other side of the dining room.
The guest places the credit card completely inside the check presenter as if you have Superman’s X-ray vision or John Edwards’ clairvoyance.
The game we all play with the silverware at the end of the shift when everyone is trying to reset the dining room and/or do rollups.
The lazy server who kicks the yuck under the booth or steps over it instead of cleaning it up.
After placing their order, guests all change seats, oblivious to the obvious fact that the way we serve is according to seat positions.
