Hi, I’ve worked in kitchens for 3+ years so far, and I would hear all sorts of customer encounters from my service staff colleagues that demoralises us, leaving us thinking, why are these guests like that? So i’m sharing some information from our side in hopes that you might empathize more with us.
If you make a reservation at a busy restaurant (not cafe), and you are late even exceeding grace period, not picking up calls/answering texts, the table is going to someone else that walks in (without reservation). Please dont make a fuss and treating us like we owe you a living.
If you decide to walk-in a restaurant without reservation, the host tells you we’re full, but you see empty tables around, they are reserved for guests that are coming ~ 10-15mins later. Its not we don’t want to let you sit, so please dont insinuate that we are dumb or dislike you to refuse you entry.
If you want your food to be served all at the same time (like in hell’s kitchen) actually for most restaurants it can be done, but if its at the lower end (saizeriya, swensens, etc), manage your expectations. Your pasta is probably gonna arrive 15 mins earlier than your baked mac & cheese in casual lower-end places. Service there may be different than more expensive places as these are the places entry-level staffs usually work at. Its common to see people complaining about bad service there but hey, you get what you pay for.
If you order beef medium-well / well done, you WILL have slightly longer waiting time than for usual dishes, because, well, it takes a longer time to hit that temperature.
If you want to split the bill, okay lah if your table 4 pax. But if your office group of 15 pax wants to split the bill, and 15 credit cards comes out, just know its gonna take LONG for service staffs to split, pls dont complain when. It would be easier if you guys just settle via paynow to each other, and let us bill 1 card instead.
Some restaurants give tap water for free, some charge for it, some only have sparkling/still water. So if you say, “What kind of restaurant doesn’t serve ____”, kindly know that we dont make the rules, someone else does.
Some of us just have that “resting b- face” and its not that we dislike serving you, that’s just how we look naturally, so please don’t be rude to us unprovoked.
So I hope you guys have some understanding of what we face on a daily basis, and please treat F&B staffs with kindness. You happy, i happy, everyone happy.
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