The Lull...

Date: April 23, 2012
Shift : Am Lunch
Weather : Strangely cool. Or at least it seems strange to me.. The high was 65 and thats cold to me since I spent last Friday in the sand and surf of Destin as well as having been able to enjoy the light painful sting of a sunburn at least once a week here lately.


I hope you have enjoyed the additional photos lately, I uploaded the Blogger feature to my phone so that I may now just send photos directly. Its a huge time saver and when I get bored at work it proves to be resourceful. As for being bored I have been that way alot the last week or so. We have hit whats called " Our Lull" between  Spring Break and Summer that causes our slow down time. I dont mind it so much because I realize in a couple of weeks Ill be praying for some relief. In my idea a beach side eating establishment should be steady. Not slow, not madhouse crazy like we get, but maybe give the server a 3 min break before table seating. During springbreak it was BAM BAM BAM, people got up, people were waiting to sit down. I have been warned that its so much worse in the summer and I am slightly terrified. However, waiting 30 mins or more in between tables makes the day drag on. Oh well, I guess we cant have everything we want can we? If I could I would be one of these bartenders at AJs making six figures a year. No lie, that is what they pull. Insane.

Today began with me working section 16-19 ( I will take a pic tomorrow of how we schedule the sections so you will be able to follow what Im talking about ) I had all window seats but all my views of the gulf are obstructed by the roof of the beach bar. People are always asking the hostess if they can move and so there fore I miss out on about an average of 4 tables that go to other areas of the resturant with a better view. This sucks. Our management will argue that there is NO bad section of our establishment. This is a ridiculous and borderline insulting lie. When the place is jam packed and people have been seriously waiting for 1.5 hours for a seat, yes! they will GLADLY sit anywhere. When other areas have open view seating and yours doesnt... then they move, costing you money, and making your day crazy because as soon as the other seats fill up, it causes you to be double if not triple sat.. which always makes me a frazzled mess. I hate to have patrons waiting. It bothers me like you cant imagine.

After watching my first two potential tables ask for a different table before I could approach them I was finally sat with a one top. ( This means one person at the table) It was an elderly man who was there for a quick lunch and to read his news paper. I approach him flashing what I imagine to be my "100 Watt" smile and go through my usual opening " Hi there, my name is Shannon, -" and Im cut off right there. He cuts in with " Ice water, extra lemon" never looking up at me. My cheeks flush a tad pink because Im used to people smiling back and then at least waiting for me to ask them what they would like to drink. I nod to him ( not that he is looking ) and run to get his drink. When I come back I place his drink on the table and then silently pull out my notepad and paper to take his order. He all but barks " Fried Oyster Sandwhich with fries" I nod again. Place the order in, wait for it to come up, add on his tarter on the side and fresh lemon and place it infront of him while asking " Is there anything else I may bring you at the moment?" He looks up at me with a blank expression and says, " Well I certainly hope not." WOW! I sort of suck in my breath and say " Well alright then, enjoy your lunch, I be by to check on you periodically" As I walk away I see him bow his head to begin his pre meal prayer. I watch him complete his prayer from a safe distance, shake his head, and then dig into his meal. The entree I brought him looked completely perfect. I dont know what he was expecting an open faced fried oyster po boy to look like when it comes in a basket sitting on top of fries but I just assume he expected more than what he got. Even portion wise it was huge so who knows, I know when people come in with a sour attitude there is nothing I can do to improve it. He took 45 minuets to eat his sandwhich and pay his bill. He tipped me 20% and walked out alone. I have thought about him all day. Is he just lonely? Or just a mean old man? Did something set him off before he came in to eat? People and their stories always intrigue me so I always wonder about the quirky ones.

I have also noticed something else about waiting tables today. People that tip you 20% or more will always leave the ticket in the book where it can be seen. ( if its an open face book )  Its almost as if they are proud that they know how to tip ( and YES you should be!!) The others that arent.. will always fold up their ticket and tuck it so that you cant see it until you physically take the ticket off the table so apply the tip to your statement. They dont want you or anyone else at the table seeing their cheapness before they are gone.. seriously.. watch next time you go to dinner and someone else picks up the check. If they have tipped correctly they will leave it out there for the world to see.. if not.. they fold it up where no one, not even the server can see it. It happens this way everytime. I know im getting the shaft if they fill it out, pick it up, fold it, and place it back in the book. When it comes to cash, they will do something much more obvious. They will take the ticket out of the open face book and keep it, and then place a stupidly insufficient amount of cash in the book. OR you will go to collect the cash and they will hand it up to you and say no change in a hurry with a sour face. If you are smiling big and hand me your ticket with cash I know you are not going to cheap skate me. If you are hurry and wave me away... then I know you want it out of eyesight of those you are dining with.. And lets get one thing straight... VERY STRAIGHT. If I am your waitress you are getting EXCELLENT service. You will never get to the bottom of your glass, Your food never runs behind without and reason that I update you on, and you never go with out what ever add on or condiment you need. EVER. So when I blame crap tips on cheap people.. you can bet thats EXACTLY the issue.

I also managed to pull aside Jerry and explain to him how to fill out a schedule for me today. I was pretty proud of it. I wasnt rude or smart assed I just explained to him that when I asked for a PM shift that I wasnt saying that I cant work and AM.. I would just like to be included in nights that pull 250-300 instead of just days that seem to top out at 100.00. I think he gets it now and we will see hows good his memory is when I get my schedule for next week, this Friday night.

That about covers the days excitement. I have a full week ahead of me. Gym and workday tomorrow.Workday on Wed. Evening shift on Thurs and then Workday on Friday. Ill be uploading pictures and plan to do some candid interviews with servers on how they like working there, etc this week. So stay tuned.

Its book and wine time for me on the balcony so I will raise my glass to all of you out there. Dont do anything I wouldnt.. or would do for that matter.

Clinkie!