Breeder Pleaser Waitress

So, the boyfriend and I decided to eat out tonight. We went to a buffet (yeah, bad idea, I know), and were seated in a relatively empty area. That is, empty except for the family with several sprogs. The waitress, after bringing our drinks, spent the rest of the time hanging out at the other table, chatting with the people seated there and gushing over the sprogs, who were rather noisy. I even saw her sitting in the booth with them at one point. She definitely was not off the clock, as she refilled their drinks and cleared their dirty plates regularly. We, on the other hand, were rather neglected.

When we finished eating, my boyfriend looked at me and asked, "How much should we tip?" I looked at the stack of plates that had been ignored by the waitress the whole time, the glasses that had not been refilled, then said, "Tips are for service rendered. She didn't do anything but play with the kids over there the whole time we were here. She didn't even pick up our dishes or come by to refill our glasses. It wasn't busy, so she has no excuse for slacking off."

Normally, I leave at least some tip, but if a server is going to spend the whole time socializing and playing with customers' sprogs and not enough time doing her job, I'm not likely to be generous.

People need to learn that catering to sprogs is simply a bad business move. They contribute nothing and take away PLENTY. Famblees generally DO NOT order 2-pound lobster tail dinners and $100 bottles of wine.

And I usually hate buffets but grudgingly make exceptions for high-end brunches and sushi buffets that don't serve pizza and nuggets on the buffet line. There's less chance of a dribbler taking a spoon out of the Thousand Island, licking it clean and depositing it back into the dressing vat.

I would be mean and leave a 2 cent tip. In a way that is worse than no tip at all because if you left none, the waitress might just think you forgot. Leave and they will know you were pissed.

Just my

As for business catering to sprogs, what do you expect? If the auto industry caters Moos with SMooVs and Breedervans, other businesses are going to think families spend the money too. I also believe one of the reasons for the bad economy is bad customer service that we child free are sensitive to, but the childed don't seem to mind.

My wife once left a 4 cent tip when we got bad service in a restaurant, and I don't think they even deserved that. Another time, we left no tip because her food didn't arrive when mine did and when it did, it was cold and had to be microwaved. We also paid in cash so she couldn't doctor the credit card receipt and give herself a tip like some servers will do.

This weekend we went and saw Tron Legacy and had dinner at a chain steak house next to theater. We got seated in a booth next to a long table with several noisy sprogs, so we asked to be moved, and they moved us. When we finished our meal and were about to leave, a couple with a baby was seated in the booth across from ours. Thank goodness we were done when we were.

JD

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mr. neptune
I would be mean and leave a 2 cent tip. In a way that is worse than no tip at all because if you left none, the waitress might just think you forgot. Leave and they will know you were pissed.

I second that. Leaving 2 cents is a passive aggressive way of saying "your service wasn't worth 2 cents".

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I walk the path of life to my own rhythm, my own beat-if you don't like it, step off and find your own damn song!

I would consider writing the manager of the buffet and say that you saw the waitress sitting in the booth with customers - a definite no-no - and add that she neglected you to play on the job. That is not acceptable.

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ShimmyMuse
I would consider writing the manager of the buffet and say that you saw the waitress sitting in the booth with customers - a definite no-no - and add that she neglected you to play on the job. That is not acceptable.

That should work. The only problem I would see is that many restaurant managers are in that job because they are breeders who have to support their families and would probably go along with what she is doing because it is with kids. I have noticed the food service and retail - the dumbest industries on Earth - have a lot of breeders who cannot work anywhere else.

Which brings up when you complain, you get the excuse "but maybe they were having a bad day"

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mr. neptune
I would be mean and leave a 2 cent tip. In a way that is worse than no tip at all because if you left none, the waitress might just think you forgot. Leave and they will know you were pissed.

Just my

As for business catering to sprogs, what do you expect? If the auto industry caters Moos with SMooVs and Breedervans, other businesses are going to think families spend the money too. I also believe one of the reasons for the bad economy is bad customer service that we child free are sensitive to, but the childed don't seem to mind.

wink

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lab mom

Since most servers DESPISE having famblees seated in their sections due to the noise, mess, getting run to death for famblee refills, bad tips, etc.......I would be willing to bet that either she knew these people OR they were her famblee which is WORSE than if they had just been random customers, IMO. She didn't take care of your needs and since this was also a buffet, NO TIP was appropriate. There is a restaurant chain that encourages wait staff to sit down at the fucking tables and I can't remember which one it is, but I believe it's Outback Steakhouse. At the one that I used to go to they ALL did this and were trained to do it. I absolutely can not STAND for a waiter-waitress to get this damned chummy with me and my dinner guests but more and more, this is becoming the norm. I am not a snobby customer either and have worked in restaurants in various capacities throughout my life. NEVER is it "ok" for an on duty server, or one who is still in uniform even OR who STILL has customers sitting about eating AFTER she-he is "off", to sit down with dining patrons, IMO.

It is a bad thing if other customers see her and NEED something and it's not good if the customers who she is sitting with don't WANT her fat ass there, but don't know how to respond to it. I had one persistent little bitch server who, after having given her one of my MEANEST looks when she plopped down on my husband's side of the table and leaned into him to get his order, continued to come back and sit down. The next time she sat down WAY TOO CLOSE to me and I was appalled that she hadn't picked up on my FIRST "signal". I pulled back away from her, but still didn't say anything. Then she says, "So, have you decided what you'd like?" To which I replied, "Why don't you just order for me, since you have already joined us?" OMG was she offended and jumped right up! After that, she barely came over and sent other servers over there and it was obvious that they were all whispering behind our backs too. It pissed my husband off at me, which is one example, among THOUSANDS, of why we are no longer married.

One of the most important things for a server to learn is how to READ people. If people pull away, give you dirty looks, or otherwise don't seem like they are liking all of this "server-customer" togetherness, etc.....then you are being TOO chummy and need to back the fuck off. Why would a server even think it's okay to fucking sit down at someone's table is beyond me and an AWFUL habit that is allowed in many places. Do salespeople go into dressing rooms with customers? Do tellers dish out their two cents about how you are spending your money? Do cashiers at the grocery store comment on your food choices? Oh wait, THEY DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Customer service has gone to hell in a hand basket and EVERYONE wants to be your friend rather than do their fucking job and I HATE it.:sbx

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If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

Forced closeness alienates everyone!

Tipping her would have been rewarding her for bullshitting instead of doing her damn job hell you should of complained to management as well.

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mr. neptune

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ShimmyMuse
I would consider writing the manager of the buffet and say that you saw the waitress sitting in the booth with customers - a definite no-no - and add that she neglected you to play on the job. That is not acceptable.

That should work. The only problem I would see is that many restaurant managers are in that job because they are breeders who have to support their families and would probably go along with what she is doing because it is with kids. I have noticed the food service and retail - the dumbest industries on Earth - have a lot of breeders who cannot work anywhere else.

Which brings up when you complain, you get the excuse "but maybe they were having a bad day"

Just curious... Have you ever WORKED in either of those industries? I currently work in a restaurant, and I can tell you that almost every one of the workers (including the managers) HATE breeders and their famblees! The servers (even the breeders) always cry, bitch, and moan when a famblee walks through the doors because they're messy, disgusting motherfuckers and they tip shit (or not at all). I'm glad I am NOT a server. I'd be arrested for assault having to deal with the customers our servers do, lol.

With that said, a complaint should definitely be made. What the server did was wrong and she should be reprimanded for her unprofessional conduct. I'm sure the manager will bend over backwards to make it up to you.

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I know, I know. "You were one once." I was a sperm once, but you don't see me wantin' to cuddle up to a fuckin' wankstain, do you? - John Constantine

I have encountered rude behavior by those in the service industry who pucker up to kiss breeder ass while I've stood in a lineup or waited patiently to be served at my table. It is highly annoying, and people like that receive a ten cent tip.
I have witnessed this overtly friendly server nonsense also, and found it to be unbelievably intrusive, especially when I ordered dessert and some dumb bitch would comment on the calories. If I was worried about the calories, I would not have ordered the fucking dessert!!!! What business is it of hers if I order a double hot fudge brownie and ice cream dessert? Take your food issues elsewhere, but please don't ruin my fun night out, lady!
One time I was in a dollar store to buy a cheap, crappy plastic shower curtain so I could color my hair without ruining my good shower curtain. I couldn't find the curtains, and finally found a girl to help me. Suddenly she just left me standing there to serve another customer.
A few feet away was a lazy ass moo and her whining brat, that hadn't shut up since I entered the store. The clerk actually left me standing there, got a candy for the brat, shoved it in its drooling mouth and returned to serve me. I asked her what was wrong with the parent looking after her own crying child. The woman looked at me as if I was a baybee killing axe murderer. Call me crazy, but rewarding a screaming brat by giving it candy goes against parenting 101...I know this and I'm not even a fucking parent. Not that I shop in dollar stores much, but I will never visit that particular store again.

My girlfriends and I decided to stop at a Fridays for a cocktail during a retail bender. We had a teenaged server, who spent no time with us because he was too busy hitting on the tenth grade chickies in another booth. We literally had to walk to the bar ourselves for refills of water, much less anything of substance.

He was there with bells on with our check though. I guess the chickies left and he got no phone number. My friends were against leaving a tip. I said we had to leave something. On our receipt, I wrote in large letters ZERO in the tips space and I left a napkin...on it was written: "TIP: Older women make more money and buy more beverages. Money + cocktails = bigger tips for you. No cocktails = no money for you."

He struck out twice. The older couple at the next table, who was also blown off, followed our lead.

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From a bottle cap message on a Magic Hat #9 beer: Condoms Prevent Minivans
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I want to pick up a bus full of unruly kids and feed them gummi bears and crack, then turn them loose in Hobby Lobby to ransack the place. They will all be wearing T shirts that say "You Could Have Prevented This."

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CherryBlossom

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mr. neptune

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ShimmyMuse
I would consider writing the manager of the buffet and say that you saw the waitress sitting in the booth with customers - a definite no-no - and add that she neglected you to play on the job. That is not acceptable.

That should work. The only problem I would see is that many restaurant managers are in that job because they are breeders who have to support their families and would probably go along with what she is doing because it is with kids. I have noticed the food service and retail - the dumbest industries on Earth - have a lot of breeders who cannot work anywhere else.

Which brings up when you complain, you get the excuse "but maybe they were having a bad day"

Just curious... Have you ever WORKED in either of those industries? I currently work in a restaurant, and I can tell you that almost every one of the workers (including the managers) HATE breeders and their famblees! The servers (even the breeders) always cry, bitch, and moan when a famblee walks through the doors because they're messy, disgusting motherfuckers and they tip shit (or not at all). I'm glad I am NOT a server. I'd be arrested for assault having to deal with the customers our servers do, lol.

With that said, a complaint should definitely be made. What the server did was wrong and she should be reprimanded for her unprofessional conduct. I'm sure the manager will bend over backwards to make it up to you.

I helped pay for college waitressing and being a cocktail waitress, but this was in the early 1980s before everyone dragged their spawn everywhere. I cringe at how it is now. I'm sure most waitrons don't like it, either.

It's for fucking sure that when I was a waitress, I never got to have a "bad day!"

Thanks for the responses, folks! I'm planning to call or send a letter quite soon (preferably the former) and let higher ups know that I'm displeased; I don't frequent places that make a habit of poor service. I figure if they can afford to let their staff slack off, they can survive without my money.

For the record, I'm working two jobs to put myself through grad school, one of which is a grocery store cashier. While it's not the exact same type of work, I do know that my managers would be very displeased if I ignored customers in favor of socializing with friends-- it would lead to a loss of business. I don't expect perfection when I go out, but I do at least expect to have the essentials taken care of.

As you know, I'm a big fan of letter writing. If you actually like the product or establishment, but there is an issue that's unnaceptable to you, the company needs to hear about it so they can tweak things. Yes, you're performing free market research but sometimes you can get free coupons or other perks.

"Gosh, our death-by-chocolate cake is selling like mad in all the region's restaurants but one. Why aren't more people sticking around for dessert at that one site?"

"This letter says that their waitress helped change a 'loaf's' diaper right in the booth next to theirs. They were so disgusted they left."

"Oh my God!"

I'm exaggerating of course, but it's a good chance to stick it to breeders by voicing your concerns.