Sometimes when you are a waiter you find yourself in an awkward situation that your really weren't prepared for. Usually they involve you figuring out "on the fly" how to handle certain customer situations were whatever you say or do has the potential to fix or destroy the dining experience of your guests. Last night one of the new waiters told me about a predicament he was recently in. An older couple came in and sat in his section. He greeted them and they seemed nice, if not a little bit eccentric. When he finally got around to asking them what they wanted it went a little something like this:
Dustin: "OK, so have you decided what you'd like today?
Both: "Yes."
Dustin: "Alright, what can I get for for you?"
Older Woman: "I think I'll go with the Tour of Italy."
Dustin: "OK . . . and would you like -"
Older Man: "She'll get the Fettucini Alfredo."
Dustin: (taken aback) "Sir?"
Older Man (to wife) "You always get the Fetucini Alfredo!"
Older Woman "I want the Tour."
Older Man "She wants the Fettucini Alfredo."
(Long pause as Dustin feels awkward and both patrons look at him earnestly)
Dustin: "Um . . . thank you. I'll be back in a few minutes . . ."
So the question is what should a server do in this situation? What should he write down as the lady's order? And what should he say/do (if anything) when he eventually brings the main courses? I'll let you know what Dustin said (and did) in the comments later on and how it affected his tip!
P.S. The painting is "Table For Two" by Michael Flohr.
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3 weeks ago
14 comments:
I would bring the Tour. Either that or say that I can't take the order until they decide on what they're ordering. Poor guy!
Verrrry curious...
Am I allowed to respond to this, or does my Olive Garden experience/knowledge disqualify me? :)
Jay, of course you can respond!
Well, when the gentleman insisted that she wants the Fettucini Alfredo, I would inform him that there actually IS Fettucini Alfredo on the Tour of Italy, but she'll get the added bonus of getting to try something new as well.
Part of me says I'd want to be cheeky then and say "Ma'am, what will the gentleman be ordering then?", but that's just asking for trouble!
HAHA I like Jay's answer! Let them order for eachother and see what comes of it!
Dustin ended up bring her . . . The Tour of Italy. He realized that he might be throwing his tip away but he felt he would have been able to live easier with that then helping the guy run over his wife. Apparently he did get tipped though (quite decently) so I guess he made the best choice.
It's amazing, but lots of men who come in still order for the women at the table. For most this is a traditional form of courtesy, for others I'm convinced it is a power thing. You have to be very careful with it though. If you ignore a man trying to order for his wife you can offend either of them. Sometimes though I get men who let their women order for them. Again, sometimes it is just doing them a favor (as they are socially withdrawn, can't speak the language as well, or are just tired to be bothered. Sometimes it is the women beating down there men. When I see the latter it makes me very sad. "Rise up Man!" I think to myself. It's difficult sometimes figuring best how to treat everyone with respect, according to their culture, and increase your tip at the same time. Ah, the fun of waitering . . .
Waiters could easily write some sort of sociology textbook.
Sarah has actually asked me to order for her in restaurants before. I don't pick out what she's eating, I just tell the server. Not every spouse that orders for the other is oppressing them. :)
Jay, stop oppressing your wife! (just kidding). Like I said, most people who do this it is a courtesy for the other person and a form of respect or even love. I agree that it is not always (and hopefully not usually) a form of oppression. When it is though (and it is very obvious) it does cause my blood to boil a little.
We often share our food...appetizer, main dish, dessert, etc. in which case hubby does the ordering (actually, not always, sometimes we both order but I rarely order for both of us. Doesn't bother me a bit either way.) It seems to me that in this case the man should not have interfered after his wife placed her order since she obviously knew what she wanted.
I wouldn't mind if Eric ordered for me, as long as I got to pick it out. There would be no way he would tell me what I would be getting. Nor would there be anyway I would get to pick for him. Although sometimes I try to sway his decision cause I want to try it...lol.
When we order at a restaurant Stan will tell me to order first so that when he orders he can just say the "same thing for me" lol. Actually he will often order for both of us but then you can be sure I have told him what I want.
My fiance is at that age where he's in denial about getting "special eye-glasses" :) So lately at restaurants he has taken to sliding the menu over to me and I scan it for a few options I think he'd like. Then he says "pick one".
Aww, now that's trust :)
So far I've been doing a good job choosing for him but the day he blames me for a bad choice is the day he will be strongly encouraged to pony up and get those "special eye-glasses"!
lol
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