This Week in the Mercury
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Food No Excuse for Bad Service?
Posted by Patrick Alan Coleman on Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 2:58 PM
- From PassiveAgressiveNote.com
This week’s Last Supper includes a brief description of some so-bad-it’s-kinda-funny service. Among the problems: very sticky pint glasses, forgetting drink orders, leaving the restaurant without a word during the middle of service, leaving a colleague to explain that several items ordered were unavailable, general lack of communication.
During my meals for this review, I was able to glean that our server that evening had supposedly just come back from vacation. Because of that, I was willing to chalk up his general malaise to some form of disastrous jet lag. But as the evening progressed, I began to think that, no, it was just plain bad service.
But I’m curious, Blogtownies. Are there ever situations when bad service is forgivable? What if the place you’re dining at is extraordinarily busy, half the staff is out with the flu, and your server is apologetic? Would you overlook a botched ticket? A forgotten drink order? Unfilled water glasses? Are there any circumstances when less than stellar service is acceptable?
Or do you take more of a Mr. Pink way of thinking on the matter (link has NSFW language). Ahhh that clip never gets old.
1
If the place is obviously busy-- especially if it's a place I go to frequently-- then I'll forgive quite a bit, especially if the server is apologetic. This goes double if it's a holiday. But now that I think about it, I've rarely experienced truly awful service.
2
I'll absolutely be a good sport, if the server is trying hard and there are legitimate extenuating circumstances (and appropriate comps are extended). Disasterous jet lag? Not a good excuse. The other server just walked out, and you're the only one working the floor? Totally understandable.
3
I once made a large arrow out of all the items left on the table in order to get the server's attention (and my check). Didn't work; had to go to the bar, where I found the server in a passionate liplock with the bartender.
4
If the food is spectacular, and I get it, I don't really care what else is involved. I mean, I'd probably take a punch to the gut for a plate of perfect Korean BBQ. Anything less though, and you have to at least be adorably incompetent.
5
Considering the fact that waitstaff get paid far more in Oregon than most parts of the country (typically, they are paid about $2.25/hr in other states), I feel like it's fair to hold them to a higher standard. Thus, I feel much less guilty about leaving a smaller tip for bad service here. Unfortunately, it seems like bad service is the rule, rather than the exception in this city.
6
as a server, here's the problem i find: no matter how good you are, people will tip the same. so shitty tippers, tip shitty and good tippers...well, you get it. i'm always surprised by the amount of people that tip less that 20% when nothing went wrong and i felt i did a good job. i always tip 20%, is that more than the norm? also, those less than 20% people end up being the ones that stay half hour after closing. awesome, thanks.
yes, we get paid more here (i believe i heard that's changing and that all states are changing it to regular min. wage), but i think we also tip out more. where i work, every person working -kitchen staff, etc- gets equal part of the tips.
yes, we get paid more here (i believe i heard that's changing and that all states are changing it to regular min. wage), but i think we also tip out more. where i work, every person working -kitchen staff, etc- gets equal part of the tips.
7
I was a server once. I'll be exceedingly nice to a server unless they're blatantly rude. Maybe it will make up for all the total assholes they have to deal with constantly. This idea in American culture that customer service personnel are there to be treated like shit is backwards.
And if I worked somewhere and saw someone trying to write some shit like that with a ketchup bottle, I would shove the goddamn thing down their throats and beat them within an inch of their lives with napkin holder. Just sayin'.
And if I worked somewhere and saw someone trying to write some shit like that with a ketchup bottle, I would shove the goddamn thing down their throats and beat them within an inch of their lives with napkin holder. Just sayin'.
8
Agreed. Shitty tippers will never leave much, and good tippers will--despite receiving poor service.
I know I always tip well--even when the service is lacking. Just part of working in the industry I guess.
Seems like it's getting better though. Maybe just me. The "I'm too cool to be waiting on you--did you know that I'm really a musician/artist/etc." thing seems less prevalent than a year or so ago. Still get it at some places, but less it seems.
Maybe it's just that jobs are scarce and all.
I know I always tip well--even when the service is lacking. Just part of working in the industry I guess.
Seems like it's getting better though. Maybe just me. The "I'm too cool to be waiting on you--did you know that I'm really a musician/artist/etc." thing seems less prevalent than a year or so ago. Still get it at some places, but less it seems.
Maybe it's just that jobs are scarce and all.
9
I've posted this before, but I'm kind of miffed that I don't have any good holier-than-thou Portland server stories.
As a good tipper (you'd probably have to face-rape me to get less than 20%, since I've worked in many restaurants before) who knows bad tippers, I'll confirm by anecdote that people don't really vary their tip based on service, except in the extreme examples.
I view good tipping as doing my thing to subsidize the local restaurant biz and it's notoriously slight margins, so that we can continue to have the incredible diversity of awesome food in this city.
Anyway, to answer the original question, explicit rudeness or extreme apathy are really the only unforgivable sins. Otherwise, it would be nice to hear a server apologize once in a while for a long wait, and even better if they don't do one of two things: 1) come by and reflexively say "it'll just be another minute," or 2) blame anyone other than themselves for the delay. While it's certainly not always their fault, I've never heard a server admit to a table that they forgot to post their ticket to the cooks for twenty minutes, for example.
Since it isn't going to change the outcome that much, (see above) it wouldn't hurt to be honest, right?
As a good tipper (you'd probably have to face-rape me to get less than 20%, since I've worked in many restaurants before) who knows bad tippers, I'll confirm by anecdote that people don't really vary their tip based on service, except in the extreme examples.
I view good tipping as doing my thing to subsidize the local restaurant biz and it's notoriously slight margins, so that we can continue to have the incredible diversity of awesome food in this city.
Anyway, to answer the original question, explicit rudeness or extreme apathy are really the only unforgivable sins. Otherwise, it would be nice to hear a server apologize once in a while for a long wait, and even better if they don't do one of two things: 1) come by and reflexively say "it'll just be another minute," or 2) blame anyone other than themselves for the delay. While it's certainly not always their fault, I've never heard a server admit to a table that they forgot to post their ticket to the cooks for twenty minutes, for example.
Since it isn't going to change the outcome that much, (see above) it wouldn't hurt to be honest, right?
10
I agree with hi. I think Portland eateries are generally bastardized and snobby. Don't get me wrong, I'll still go to them every night of the week, for lunch & dinner. But I do feel that bad service is generally accepted as the norm here, which is bullshit. I don't feel that Oregon food service folks have to "work" for their money. They get paid minimum wage and then tips are extra. As hi mentions, other states have laws that allow people that get tips to receive as drastically low wages. I think this, and Portland's general snobbiness creates low tips. For what it's worth, I've worked plenty of SIN jobs (outside of Oregon) and so I do respect high tips. I have a rule to generally tip at least 20%. 15% for shitty service 25% or more for great service.
11
The only places I have received consistently terrible service are various outposts of McMenamin's, and that seems to be more related to their insane staffing policies than the competence of the employees. Why in the world does the same person have to cook, serve, and bus their own section? That may only be the case at a few of their restaurants, but it's led me to have go to the wait stand and find my own condiments and flatware on occasion, then track down a server and put my card in their hand when I'm ready to leave. It's frustrating, because the people who work there are often trying very hard, they just have a stupid array of shit they have to do for each customer. I don't go any more, but when I did, I didn't tip well, mainly in the hopes that employee complaints would work their way back up to management and they'd change their ridiculous structure to improve customer service. Anybody know if things are better at McM's now?
12
I only go to McMenamin's when I'm doing the "Out-of-Town-Guests tour of Weirdo Portland," or to Backstage to play pool. Having to wait half an hour to put in a drink order, and 45 minutes to get my average food hasn't made me a regular customer.
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