Mistakes

Gratuity is how servers make money, yes we do get paid $2.13/hr but that equates to $0 for me.  My past 5 pay checks have been $0 because I make plenty on tips, now not all servers are on the same boat as I, there are servers who still get a paycheck and in comparison, their tips don’t even come close.

Now we get gratuity for our services, how the fast the food goes and the taste of the food we serve.  If one of the three falters, it affects our tip in some way.  Last night was one of the days where the kitchen decided that they would make a mistake that’ll cost me my paycheck.

A couple that looked no older than 32 walked in along with their 2 children, the man wearing what seemed to be a high school leather jacket that had the year 97′ patched on, the wife looked as dull as my butter knife and the kids actually looked better off than their parents.  I get their drinks to which they only wanted water, I run back to them and get it with haste, I take their order and walk away.  As I was punching their Edamame and Gyoza(Dumplings) to run, their main entrees had to wait.  Timing is crucial and giving them enough time to eat their appetizers is a very important concern of mine.  The wife asks me to put in a order for a California roll, I nod and tell the sushi bar to get the ball rolling.  Appetizers come out and they are left to eat.  About 10 minutes or so pass and they are done, I take everything as I wait for my food to come out, I ask them and all they have is a entree that was not mine, turns out they misread the ticket and immediately got going with the correct order, my table had finished everything, even the California roll that the woman had, I was deep in the shit.  It took a total of 17 minutes or so to get my food out, ridiculous.

I wasn’t expecting any tip for this table and It’s understandable, I mean I’d be upset that my food took excruciatingly long and it was a simple dish.  So in hopes of getting their business once more, I run over and get them a free dessert on me.  They seemed to like it and as far as I’m concerned, they weren’t as mad as when they we’re waiting, and waiting, and waiting.

Mistakes are not uncommon and when it happens, there’s nothing a server can do if your food is backed up.  We take the blunt force of being stepped on while the kitchen gets off with a slap in the wrist.  Their paychecks don’t rely on the customers emotions, the servers paycheck is COMPLETELY reliant on the customer.  So the next time your food is taking a while, please understand that it isn’t the servers fault(unless he messed up the order, but let’s not worry about that.) so I ask you kindly to find it in your stomach the patience and attitude to forgive.

Sincerely,

Your waiter today.