Tales from the vegan restaurant: Rude Juice Lady TalesFromYourServer

I work at a health restaurant. We have takeout, full service, and a refrigerator where we sell branded merchandise, included cold-pressed juices.

Well, juices sometimes attract the crazy health crowd. Today, I was working the smoothie bar and a woman comes in. Middle aged, designer sunglasses on her head, expensive highlights.

She beelines to the bar where I'm loading the dishwasher. I'm finishing up and about to go to serve her, when she, after holding a menu for maybe 2 seconds, says "Excuse me." I ask her what I can do for her, or start to, but she interrupts me saying "I need a green juice."

The juices are listed on our menu, so a lot of first timers get the impression that we make them there. I suspect that this will cause trouble. Silently, I grab one from the fridge right next to her and try to give it to her.

"When was this made?" She gets a zealous look in her eyes... I recognize that look. It's the "you-didn't-make-the-juice-here-did-you" look. I say I'll check, and leave the juice in her hand.

Before I can answer, she says, "Never mind. I don't want it." I'm annoyed, people do this very frequently here. I don't even look at her and say "Okay!"

She storms out, leaving the juice out on the counter for me to deal with, instead of putting it back in the fridge meant for customer use. Rude.

Submitted November 11, 2017 at 06:46AM by yesdarling http://ift.tt/2yRfyQO TalesFromYourServer

There was a problem with the croutons. TalesFromYourServer

So I was already slightly annoyed with this table, because it was over 90 degrees and they insisted on sitting on our screened in porch. No one else was sitting out there, and it's always hot since the screens don't allow air flow and the fans we have are basically useless. They start the exchange by asking if we can open some of the inside doors to let the air conditioning get out there (no, because the restaurant would in turn get hot and humid), asking if we can turn the fans up (sure, but it'll just push the hot air around), asking if our patio heaters are on (are you kidding me?) and finally giving up and ordering food. The woman gets just a garden salad.

M = me C = customer

M: How is everything? C: .... it's fine. M: Is there something wrong? C: Well, I mean. It's the croutons. M: Oh? What's wrong with them? C: They're COLD!! M: ....what do you mean? C: You can tell they were in a refrigerator. They need to be warmed up before they are served. M: I, uh, I'll let someone know.

I told my manager and he was dumbfounded. Our croutons are made fresh, refrigerated overnight, and kept on the line. They are room temp. Like normal croutons. She was a total food martyr and just wanted a box for the rest of her salad and the check.

I had thought I'd heard it all. And then someone complains that the croutons are cold. I don't even know anymore.

Submitted August 28, 2017 at 09:32PM by tanzabonanza http://ift.tt/2vDlFSr TalesFromYourServer

Fired from olive garden for walkout table TalesFromYourServer

Hi my name is Tiffany I have been with olive Garden for 9 yrs and 3 months. Friday July 21,2017 would be my last day employed for olive garden because of a walkout table that day. Let me start by saying I was documented a month ago for a walkout my one and only document in almost ten years for this matter all because of our new ziosk system.. This particular table was sitting at table 20 it was a mother daughter and granddaughter they receive there check after eating by me and give me there credit card I tell them They can make there pmnt on the ziosk computer on there table. They ask me if i could do this for them so I do. I swipe the card and it now goes to the tip process I explain they start the tip at 20% you can stay there or slide down the dile or up the dile and once you decide you will hit accept tip which will bring you to a blank screen and you will sign your name with your fingertip hit accept signature and it will hve you a print option than I step away from the table because I do not want to hover while they are in the tip process. After they leave it is brought to my attention by my zone partner that the pay button is still visible which means they did not pay there bill all I can come up with since I ran there card is that before they hit accept tip they canceled the transaction by accident not knowing. I bring this to my GM and he has to document the incident but assures me not to worry since this is my first document in almost 10 yrs and that says a lot. He even joked about going home and hanging it on my refrigerator. Than this past Friday July 21 2017 I was working a lunch business decline shift and had a table at 76 a elderly gentleman and is elderly daughter he looked to be in his 80s and her in her 60s. Needless to say I'm asked to pick up a round gop of 7 people out of my section at table 92. As I'm taking care of the 7 top and boxing them I head over to 76 to do the same and box them and notice there food had already been boxed and they were standing up getting ready to leave so I offered to bag there boxes and asked if whoever boxed there food for them got them mints they said no but we paid our bill already on the little computer. I was a little busy at the time and they certainly did not seem the type to walk out on there check so I said to them " Have a great day and come back to see us again" a few minutes later i go to run my read at the end of my shift and see there check is still in the screen meaning they did not pay . A server was stabbing next to me when i noticed and said "Tiff chalk it up and pay it" and I was going to do just that when i thought to myself what if they come back realizing they forgot to pay and management has no clue what they are talking about so I thought let me run this by the manager that was there and let them know I'm paying the 43.00 though because it is not worth losing my job over. The manager told me she didn't want me to pay for a walkout check and I told her i insist so I go to close out the check and the manager must have closed it out already. So I asked her why and again she said she could not allow me to pay for a walkout check . So I thought she did me a favor by doing this. So I come into work the next day and my Gm asked to speak to me he asked me what happened and I explained he told me I'm sorry tiff it's automatic termination and I hve to follow procedure I said you would hve never known if i didnt being it to your attention and I offered to pay it doesn't that count for something? So honesty obviously isn't the best policy with what I thought was my family OLIVE GARDEN my heart is broken over this. I am filing an appeal and asking for a peer reveiw. Also since day one we were all told you hve 2 options when a guest walks out #1 olive garden pays the bill and you get a write up #2 you pay the bill. Well apparently we were taught wrong.. I am looking for the policy and procedure for this and can not find it in my handbook. Apparently when hired we sign a cash handling document and I need to find out what this document says exactly and am not having any luck. If anyone who works or has worked for olive garden could help me find this I would greatly appreciate it... Thank you for hearing my story

Submitted July 25, 2017 at 04:16AM by Tifffish http://ift.tt/2tEYyuJ TalesFromYourServer

Fired from olive garden for walkout table TalesFromYourServer

Hi my name is Tiffany I have been with olive Garden for 9 yrs and 3 months. Friday July 21,2017 would be my last day employed for olive garden because of a walkout table that day. Let me start by saying I was documented a month ago for a walkout my one and only document in almost ten years for this matter all because of our new ziosk system.. This particular table was sitting at table 20 it was a mother daughter and granddaughter they receive there check after eating by me and give me there credit card I tell them They can make there pmnt on the ziosk computer on there table. They ask me if i could do this for them so I do. I swipe the card and it now goes to the tip process I explain they start the tip at 20% you can stay there or slide down the dile or up the dile and once you decide you will hit accept tip which will bring you to a blank screen and you will sign your name with your fingertip hit accept signature and it will hve you a print option than I step away from the table because I do not want to hover while they are in the tip process. After they leave it is brought to my attention by my zone partner that the pay button is still visible which means they did not pay there bill all I can come up with since I ran there card is that before they hit accept tip they canceled the transaction by accident not knowing. I bring this to my GM and he has to document the incident but assures me not to worry since this is my first document in almost 10 yrs and that says a lot. He even joked about going home and hanging it on my refrigerator. Than this past Friday July 21 2017 I was working a lunch business decline shift and had a table at 76 a elderly gentleman and is elderly daughter he looked to be in his 80s and her in her 60s. Needless to say I'm asked to pick up a round gop of 7 people out of my section at table 92. As I'm taking care of the 7 top and boxing them I head over to 76 to do the same and box them and notice there food had already been boxed and they were standing up getting ready to leave so I offered to bag there boxes and asked if whoever boxed there food for them got them mints they said no but we paid our bill already on the little computer. I was a little busy at the time and they certainly did not seem the type to walk out on there check so I said to them " Have a great day and come back to see us again" a few minutes later i go to run my read at the end of my shift and see there check is still in the screen meaning they did not pay . A server was stabbing next to me when i noticed and said "Tiff chalk it up and pay it" and I was going to do just that when i thought to myself what if they come back realizing they forgot to pay and management has no clue what they are talking about so I thought let me run this by the manager that was there and let them know I'm paying the 43.00 though because it is not worth losing my job over. The manager told me she didn't want me to pay for a walkout check and I told her i insist so I go to close out the check and the manager must have closed it out already. So I asked her why and again she said she could not allow me to pay for a walkout check . So I thought she did me a favor by doing this. So I come into work the next day and my Gm asked to speak to me he asked me what happened and I explained he told me I'm sorry tiff it's automatic termination and I hve to follow procedure I said you would hve never known if i didnt being it to your attention and I offered to pay it doesn't that count for something? So honesty obviously isn't the best policy with what I thought was my family OLIVE GARDEN my heart is broken over this. I am filing an appeal and asking for a peer reveiw. Also since day one we were all told you hve 2 options when a guest walks out #1 olive garden pays the bill and you get a write up #2 you pay the bill. Well apparently we were taught wrong.. I am looking for the policy and procedure for this and can not find it in my handbook. Apparently when hired we sign a cash handling document and I need to find out what this document says exactly and am not having any luck. If anyone who works or has worked for olive garden could help me find this I would greatly appreciate it... Thank you for hearing my story

Submitted July 25, 2017 at 04:16AM by Tifffish http://ift.tt/2tEYyuJ TalesFromYourServer

Two minutes to closing, do you seat the customer or not? TalesFromYourServer

This happened last week, but I constantly keep thinking about it. So, I work at a hotel, and it's kind of the hotel policy not to say "no" to a guest (within limits of course). So, breakfast ends at 11am, and a couple comes in around 10:58am and apoogises for coming so close to closing and asks if they could still have breakfast. I told them that they can and proceed to seat them. I then go to the kitchen and inform them that we have one last table. As I do so, one of the line cooks tells me it's already 11am. I then said "yes, but when they approached me it was still 10:58, so I sat them". And he gets a little pissed off because he said that he had already started cleaning up. I told him that I'm sorry, but as per hotel policy, we can't really deny a guests' request (again, within limits), especially since we advertise ourselves as being open until 11am for breakfast.

What's your take on this? Would you have sat the guest or not? I totally understand the kitchens point of view, but was I to turn them away at a luxury hotel?

I'd like to add that the food for the lunch restaurant comes from the same kitchen. So I didn't delay their time to leave and go home as they were scheduled to work around 3pm before the team for the next shift comes in for dinner service, but they did have to get the breakfast ingredients from the pantry and refrigerator since they had already started setting up for lunch service.

Submitted October 06, 2016 at 05:13AM by alma_vh http://ift.tt/2cTvMOt TalesFromYourServer

[Open Question] A few questions on ambiguous tipping situations... TalesFromYourServer

Hi, quick question on some tipping situations -

1) How much do you tip (if at all) at places where you order at the counter, pay first, you then seat yourself, you get your own water (or you're handed your soda/juice when you ordered), and a food runner makes one trip to bring you your food and condiments?

2) How much do you tip at pho places where the convention seems to be that you order from your table but you don't really have a server - one guy takes orders from every table, if you're lucky there's a water refilling guy on duty, you serve yourself napkins and "silverware" from the bins on your table, the food runner dropping off your pho is the only trip they make, and you go up to the counter (usually to the same guy who takes orders or the owner) to pay? Also, does anyone know how tips are split at places like this?

3) Do you tip when you "eat in" at a Chinese takeout place where, again, they just drop off your food once and if you get a drink at all, it's self service from those Coca-Cola refrigerators and you bus/throw away your own styrofoam plates on the way out?

Submitted February 28, 2015 at 11:52PM by wirebodie http://ift.tt/1AFUpC7 TalesFromYourServer