You won't believe what a waitress said to a customer...

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#1414371 27-Oct-2015 09:32

Depending on the types of chair a restaurant have my grandmother will sometimes ask for a higher chair as they are easier to get in and out of. So perhaps it is simply cafe policy to confirm whether they mean a highchair or just a chair that is high.

Regardless of whether her question was stupid; it is very rarely necessary to go out of your way to make someone feel stupid, especially in front of others.

I suspect others that overheard this probably came away not thinking that the waitress asked a stupid question, but that some rude customer tried to embarrass the waitress.

networkn

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#1414378 27-Oct-2015 09:37

BuzzLightyear:
networkn: This is a true story, I swear it, I was present.

So we go to a restaurant on the way home from holiday this evening. We are waiting in line for a table, waitress reaches the people in front of me, a mother, her infant, and what I presume was her mother. The mother holding the baby says "Can we please have a table for two, and a high chair"...

I am not kidding... The waitress says .. "for the baby?".

I could NOT help myself. I say to the waitress.. "Actually, no, she just bought a brand new car and thought it would be safer inside than in the carpark".

Not 3 minutes later as we are seated, a couple come in, ask for a table for two, she says, sure, goes away to get two menus, comes back and says "just the two of you then"? I wanted to say "no, actually they changed their mind, in the last 15 seconds, and have arranged for 10 friends to join them.

Good Grief!

If little things like that get you worked up you must be such a stress bunny! Suggest spending more time with those you are having dinner with rather than listening to other people's conversations. I wrongly clicked on the thread assuming there would be some awful customer experience story.

Funny, I feel that way about 70% of the threads started here! I had a very pleasant time with my family, thanks for your concern! Incidentally we were seated 2 feet from the greeting area, it would have been pretty hard not to hear parts of the conversation.

fizzychicken

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#1414380 27-Oct-2015 09:39

Having been in the same job before I can understand the questioning as I have asked patrons the same many times, mainly because it just covers bases and it is easier to deal with that way. So many times two people would be stood there and they would be the first couple or members of the family to arrive, knowing they would be the first to arrive by some time they would ask for a table for two and then ask to move once their friends arrived.....that was infuriating and a lot of work...I was much happier to confirm party numbers and have people think of me what they will than deal with musical chair fanatics.
As for high chairs, too many times I had couples with babies stand there and ask for a high chair but it turned out to be for their 3 year old doing cockroach impressions hiding under tables. More importantly, we had three different chairs, one for small babies, one for larger infants and then one which was like a large booster seat for kids who for whatever reason needed it. Again this was easier to always ask for confirmation than move chairs back and forth through a restaurant.
Anyone in the service industry will know that no matter what people ask for, an annoyingly large number of people will actually want something different and then blame you for not knowing this just to be 'that kind of person' or in an attempt to get a discount, reconfirming everything and coming across like a simpleton doesn't cost anything and in some cases even saves you time and money. Of course the subject of the OP's tale could very well be plain old simple...who knows, but even so the answers to both her questions was 'yes'...so it's not all that bad either way.

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wasabi2k

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#1414382 27-Oct-2015 09:41

I have said plenty of (in hind sight) really dumb things with customers - put it down to nerves, brain explosions, whatever. It is in no way a reflection of my overall intelligence.

The calculator for the tip - it is a habit that you force into people because if your mental maths is wrong then the customer will likely be pissed/accuse you of theft. Calculator every time means never a problem. How many times have you added up wrong in your head?

Seriously creating a thread with a clickbait title about something so minor is ridiculous. Everyone makes mistakes and somehow it gets turned into a critique of said waitress' intelligence?

Would you enjoy a thread created every time you said/did something slightly not 100% perfect in the opinion of your customer?

Rikkitic

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#1414383 27-Oct-2015 09:47

networkn:
Rikkitic: People do dumb things. Happens to me all the time. That doesn't make them dumb people.

I didn't say she was dumb.

I didn't say you did. I was speaking in general. People do dumb things. Cut them some slack.

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Rikkitic

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#1414385 27-Oct-2015 09:50

Geektastic: This also happened.

Waitress at checkout "That will be $75 please."

My client " Thanks - add 10% for a tip please."

Waitress reaches for calculator....

Blame our educators. Half of primary school teachers couldn't solve that one.

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wasabi2k

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#1414395 27-Oct-2015 09:51

Rikkitic:
Geektastic: This also happened.

Waitress at checkout "That will be $75 please."

My client " Thanks - add 10% for a tip please."

Waitress reaches for calculator....

Blame our educators. Half of primary school teachers couldn't solve that one.

No, you are missing the point. You make it something they are required to do regardless of the amount - it is muscle memory. Regardless of their ability to do it in their heads.

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DizzyD

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#1414401 27-Oct-2015 09:58

Good grief. A waitress got something wrong and it ends up on geekzone.

How was the food by the way?

jmh

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#1414402 27-Oct-2015 09:58

wasabi2k:
Rikkitic:
Geektastic: This also happened.

Waitress at checkout "That will be $75 please."

My client " Thanks - add 10% for a tip please."

Waitress reaches for calculator....

Blame our educators. Half of primary school teachers couldn't solve that one.

No, you are missing the point. You make it something they are required to do regardless of the amount - it is muscle memory. Regardless of their ability to do it in their heads.

Good point. I was an A student in maths at school. Because I don't use it I struggle with simple arithmetic in my head these days.

I do think that we are reaching a time when people lose the skils to read maps because of GPS. I had a client the other day who couldn't meet me at my desired location (on SH1, not hard to find) because she couldn't find it on her phone. We met at a location nearby that WAS on her phone. I gave her directions, but it was too much for her. Directions = Go to SH1 and head north. You'll lose it if you don't use it.

networkn

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#1414419 27-Oct-2015 10:14

DizzyD: Good grief. A waitress got something wrong and it ends up on geekzone.

How was the food by the way?

There are threads started here most days I shake my head at and wonder about why they exist. It's a general discussion forum.

I get the distinct feeling that no matter what, even if this waitress had stabbed this family with a fork, there would be some people here clambering to defend the "reasons behind it" and justify it.

Just for the record, since people seem so incensed by how BADLY I treated this POOR underworked, underpaid woman, I was actually pretty polite with my comment, it was done in a gentle kidding way with a smile on my face. She did not (appear) to take offense and none was really intended. The thread was started as a bit of a light hearted thing, but apparently
all people wanna do it make it into something vicious and horrible. Also her workmates also gave her a "hard" time about it.

Jiminny Crickets.

DizzyD

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#1414442 27-Oct-2015 10:23

networkn:
DizzyD: Good grief. A waitress got something wrong and it ends up on geekzone.

How was the food by the way?

There are threads started here most days I shake my head at and wonder about why they exist. It's a general discussion forum.

I get the distinct feeling that no matter what, even if this waitress had stabbed this family with a fork, there would be some people here clambering to defend the "reasons behind it" and justify it.

Just for the record, since people seem so incensed by how BADLY I treated this POOR underworked, underpaid woman, I was actually pretty polite with my comment, it was done in a gentle kidding way with a smile on my face. She did not (appear) to take offense and none was really intended. The thread was started as a bit of a light hearted thing, but apparently
all people wanna do it make it into something vicious and horrible. Also her workmates also gave her a "hard" time about it.

Jiminny Crickets.

We have some bad waitresses/waiters in this country. I don't think this one really came close to the worst I have seen. She at least could speak English!!

My pet hate is dealing with the ones that can't speak English.

But, we live in a country that has IMO gone a little too far with its anti-discrimination laws in the workplace. Its therefore not uncommon to be served by non English speakers, and even people who can't count. Good luck to the restaurant that turns down a down syndrome, foreign or deaf applicant who is legally entitled to work!

MikeB4

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#1414445 27-Oct-2015 10:26

DizzyD:
We have some bad waitresses/waiters in this country. I don't think this one really came close to the worst I have seen. She at least could speak English!!

My pet hate is dealing with the ones that can't speak English.

But, we live in a country that has IMO gone a little too far with its anti-discrimination laws in the workplace. Its therefore not uncommon to be served by non English speakers, and even people who can't count. Good luck to the restaurant that turns down a down syndrome, foreign or deaf applicant who is legally entitled to work!

Good grief

nakedmolerat

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#1414452 27-Oct-2015 10:34

MikeB4:
DizzyD:
We have some bad waitresses/waiters in this country. I don't think this one really came close to the worst I have seen. She at least could speak English!!

My pet hate is dealing with the ones that can't speak English.

But, we live in a country that has IMO gone a little too far with its anti-discrimination laws in the workplace. Its therefore not uncommon to be served by non English speakers, and even people who can't count. Good luck to the restaurant that turns down a down syndrome, foreign or deaf applicant who is legally entitled to work!

Good grief

I don't normally agree with you Mike... But this one, yes.

I am not surprised as he appears to be one of those whaleoil fan!

frankv

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#1414458 27-Oct-2015 10:39

andrew027: The title of this thread looks like some kind of trawling Facebook post.

Yup... instant mental translation for "You won't believe..." is "Don't bother reading this. It contains some banal image/video/text that I will have no problem believing. If it was vaguely interesting, it would have been visible".

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#1414461 27-Oct-2015 10:44

frankv:
andrew027: The title of this thread looks like some kind of trawling Facebook post.

Yup... instant mental translation for "You won't believe..." is "Don't bother reading this. It contains some banal image/video/text that I will have no problem believing. If it was vaguely interesting, it would have been visible".

Yet you opened it, AND replied.

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