🚀 go-pugleaf

Rich Phyllisman (none) wrote:
: As promised, here's a little ditty on one of my dining experiences. 

: Some time ago I used to be a waiter at Cafe Luna (on P Street between 16th
: and 17th in D.C.). Ralph Nader's Common Cause organization is located not
: far away and Nader et al. from Common Cause would often frequent Luna.

: I don't know about you, but my idea of someone who looks out for the
: consumer rights of the average person should be of a personality that would
: treat the average waiter with respect. Well, let me tell you Mr. Nader is
: quite the prima donna when it comes to being in a restaurant.

  Why? The waiter is not the customer! Mr. Nader was the customer. He was 
looking out for all of us who have to put up with crummy service. Instead of 
sitting there like a lot of people do grumbling under their breath, the 
evening ruined, Mr. Nader stood up for what he believed in.

: Normally, he just bitched about inconsequential things. However, one very
: busy weekend night in particular he really embarrassed himself. A co-worker
: of mine was the poor sap stuck with his table. We usually drew straws when
: he came in the place, but it was so busy that night we had to keep to our
: assigned sections. He approached Nader within a reasonable amount of time
: (the host had sat him and given him his menu and the bus boy had poured his
: water). Well, when my friend tried to get drink order, Mr. Nader claimed he
: had been waiting too long for service, made a small scene, and tore out of
: the place.

  Maybe he had waited too long. I think the problem here is that the waiter
is the "liason" between the business and the customer. Sounds like it
was a busy night and the business didn't have enough waiters on hand to serve
everyone in a reasonable amount of time. Usually in these cases the waiter is
the one whose tip suffers, etc. I'm not saying this is fair, but it is the
only way for the patron to feel he voiced his disapproval.

: Other customers in the vicinity cringed with disapproval at Nader's
: unreasonable display of nelliness and reassured us that he had not been
: waiting long at all.

  This could mean either of three things:
  1) Mr. Nader was unreasonable.
  2) Most people are accustomed to slow service since they get it so often.
  3) Mr. Nader was in more of a hurry than the other people.

: Now I've waited on the rich and famous before and even types that just
: think they're rich and famous, so I can put up with a little bit of
: attitude. However, I don't think the head of a non-profit who purports to
: look out for the little guy should get away with terrorizing waiters on a
: regular basis.

  Since he is the customer, did any of the waiters consider asking him
what type of service he expected? Or modifyiyng their routine to suit
the individual needs of the customer? (Perhaps he comes in regularly, but 
always on a tight schedule)

: I haven't worked at Luna in a couple of years, so I don't know if Nader's
: disposition has changed or if he's found some other joint in which to wreak
: havoc. I just hope that someday he's exposed for what he really is and I
: also hope that all of you out there who have never waited on tables treat
: your servers with respect. 

  I always try to be friendly with the servers. However, servers need to
realize that the need to be responsive. And that if they aren't they aren't
going to get a good tip.

  A lot of time I order ice tea. I expect the server to come by and bring
refills why I'm done with the glass. In a lot of places, the entire meal can
go by without seeing the server.

  I haven't been a server in a restaraunt, but I have worked retail and
at fast food places. I know people can be difficult. But at the same time,
I found that a lot of workers go into the back and talk/b.s. while ignoring
the customers.

  One thing I find is that those are the people who believe waiters should
get 15-20% automatically regards of service.

: I'm sure other ditties will come to me and I'll pass them along.

  Thanks for sharing your story though. It allowed me to sound off.