Chilli-Man's Quest

Exposure to all sorts of funny food requests are not uncommon. Most of the time its quite amusing and you wonder to yourself why oh why would you have some of the combinations that customers decide to torture themselves with. However, when you usually get a strange request, first you say that it can be done. Second, you cover your own ass and make sure that you are not responsible for it tasting funny as it is the customer's choice to do that with their own food. Thirdly, so that we are not held responsible at all, you make sure that you have the order very clearly written and noted so that it is as original as it can be coming out of the customer's mouth. And some times this is the hardest part of all...

Take away phone rings. I pick up.

Chilli-Man: Hi, can I please order a take away meal.
Me: Sure, what would you like?
Chilli-Man: Can I please get chicken with fresh chilli.

Now this meal does not exist. There is Chicken in Chilli sauce where the fresh chilli can be added. I explain this to Chilli-Man.

Chilli-Man: I just want chicken and chilli.
Me: It can be done sir, but there will be no flavour as it will just be cooked chicken stir fried with fresh chilli.
Chilli-Man: Look, I've ordered it before. I always order this dish.
Me: I'm just trying to explain that we do not have this meal on the menu, and that I can do it but it won't have much taste because there is no sauce.
Chilli-Man: I order this dish all the time. Other restaurants do it! You know what, don't worry about it.

Chilli-Man hangs up.

Thanks Chilli-Man for your patience and of course the amount of rudeness that does get through the phone. He didn't seem to understand where I was coming from and for some reason he thought this dish existed which I'm pretty sure doesn't in Chinese restaurants so I'm not sure what he was after. Perhaps if he explained himself better and didn't throw a tantrum we could have gotten through the confusion together.

Oh well, I just hope Chilli-Man got his chicken and a whole bunch of fresh chilli to burn that rude tongue of his to hell.

Precious Precious Plate of Prawn Chips.

After working at the same place for five years, customers rarely change. They order roughly about the same thing, drink the same thing and pretty much are the same in most cases. You become in tune with your regular customers, from the ones that make you smile a little more because they are lovely to the ones that come in and you still have to grin but groan deep down inside.

This is pretty much the definition of the Friday Regulars. There are many many stories to tell about these lovely charming plain out right annoying customers. But let's just go with this rather silly annoying little comment that they made.

Friday Regular: You know we were just outside telling this couple how lovely this restaurant is and convincing them that they should try it.
Me: Oh, well, thank you very much. [Insert waitress smile here]
Friday Regular: We have been coming here for a long time and you know what? We never get anything special. Not once have we ever been given a plate or prawn chips or anything like that.

I just continued to smile my waitress smile which has now faded to that really plastic kind of smile. There's reasons why you don't get anything for free. Pretty much because you do not deserve it.

And here are the reasons why.

1. There is no way in this world are you even going to be remotely thankful that I have given you a 'free' plate of prawn chips, in fact that just gives you the chance of throwing it in my face.
2. In all the years that you have come to eat, if you really wanted prawn chips (free or not) would it have hurt to ask?
3. If you stopped finding new things complain about every week, then maybe there would more room for us to actually give you prawn chips. But then maybe you would complain about them one way or another.

So this is my deal. If you actually stop complaining, ask politely and actually appreciate my service then maybe one of these days you might get that plate of prawn chips that you so dream about. But then again maybe that day will never really come will it?

-----------------

I know I've been gone awhile

But I'm promising myself to keep you all amused.

So there will be more regular updates.

Split Bills Revenge

Split bills are invented to confuse and annoy waitresses. I find them twice as much work, twice as time consuming and generally makes me feel twice as busy as I really should feel on any kind of night. As a waitress I truly understand why it should just be a 'No Split Bills' policy. Unfortunately for our restaurant we have had split bills for a very long time, so sometimes enforcing this is quite difficult. But on Mother's Day this policy is fair game, no matter who you are and especially if you are the Dunks.

Me: Just letting you know that we can't do split bills tonight. We are just too busy. Sorry.
Sizzling-Lady: Why is that. You always do it.

Sorry lady, but can you seriously not see the FULL restaurant, my flustered-running-around-with-my-head-cut-off expression and the fact that I have just told you? But then should I have expected any less from you?

Me: We are busy, as you can see. Plus the kitchen will not be too happy if I did split bills either.
Sizzling-Lady: Oh. Can you just do two sets of split bills then?

This was a table of eight, originally wanting one bill per couple. Which part of 'no split bills' did they seriously not understand? Its not a negotiation. No, pretty much means no.

Me: I'm really sorry. I can't
Sizzling-Lady: You are a bit busy aren't you?

Naa, really? I just like looking like I'm busy. Makes me feel like I'm actually doing something. And all the people in the restaurant are just my imagination, especially the Table of 17 that failed to book.


Split bills means that you have to remember who is who, where they are sitting ,what they are ordering and what drinks you are serving them. It becomes even more fun when they are move around and change their orders throughout the night. Also they all tend to have blank expressions on their faces, which I'm sure they practice at home, when you take their dishes to them. Which means that EVERY waitresses on has to be given the low down on EVERYTHING about the table. Honestly, how hard is it for people to remember what they ordered? Is it really that difficult? Or maybe I'm just expecting WAY too much.

Then there is the infamous mis-communication when it comes to the Dunks. Which really never ceases to amaze me. I also believe that they practice this at home, with their blank expressions, before they come to the restaurant.

Honey-Black-Pepper-Lady: I'd like Honey Black Pepper King Prawns.
Me: Sure, no problems.

Then Satay-Lady orders.

Satay-Lady: I want the first one on the specials board.
Me: So that's the Sizzling Honey Black Pepper King Prawns.
Satay-Lady: Yes, the one on the board.

So the Sizzling Honey Black Pepper King Prawns came out first. For once, no arguments from Satay-Lady. The the non-Sizzling Honey Black Pepper King Prawns came out.

Honey-Black-Pepper-Lady: This isn't what I ordered.
Me: I'm sorry?
Honey-Black-Pepper-Lady: I wanted Honey Black Pepper.
Me: That is Honey Black Pepper King Prawns
Honey-Black-Pepper-Lady: [Pointing to Satay-Lady's dish] I ordered the same as her.


I was already way over my head with the amount of stuff I had to do to have to deal with this too.

1. Honey-Black-Pepper-Lady did not once point to the board to indicate that she wanted the sizzling version. It comes out non-sizzling in the regular menu. She has had this dish before, so it is not new to her.
2. No where in her attempt to order correctly did she say SIZZLING.
3. Telling me she ordered the same thing as someone who ordered AFTER her, is not exactly fair argument on her part.

Me: [Sigh] I'll just take it back and put it on a platter for you then.

She seemed quite happy with that. So, thankfully that was that. Otherwise the sizzling platter was not the only thing that would be sizzling.


Then came to paying their bill. Which in itself is just another debacle that I'm sure they practice beforehand, right after the mis-communication and the black expressions.

When writing bills, entrees go one top, then mains, followed by desserts and then the drinks are tallied right down the bottom. So when three couples order Mixed Entrees each it is written as:

3 Mix Ent                   $PRICE OF ALL THREE

Now, I'm no maths genius, but if you wanted to find the price of one, simply divide. Well, this was way too complicated for the four couples. Instead they asked for a menu and worked it out bit by every itty bitty bit. In fact one of the men decided to wait in the car because it was all too confusing for everyone. One of the other tables watched in amusement and asked why he was leaving without paying for his bill. That left the waitresses in a fit of hidden giggles.

It took the Dunks:

• two pens
• two napkins
• a menu
• a mobile phone
• and 15 whole minutes

To finally figure it all out.

 Evidence of Dunk's working out.

It also left five waitresses laughing pretty hard at Dunk's inability to remember not only what they had ordered but how much every single item costs.

For me it felt like a nice little piece of revenge. It is for all those times that they come in and expected us to know their names, their dishes, their drinks and their desires off by heart and for making eating chinese food so difficult when it is all suppose to be about sharing.

So honestly, think twice when asking for split bills because chances are it will come back and bite you on the bum one night, and trust me it will happen, every excuse that we can use.

Oh Mother! The Mother of All Nights

Mum's Day.

One of the two biggest nights of the year for our restaurant.

All hell breaks lose in the space of four and a half hours.

Every waitress skill, trick and fake smile comes out to play.

No one can predict the terror that will result.

Or the clean up that the end of the night brings.

All waitresses are told beforehand that split bills are a major no no. We should not have to deal with the pressure and situations of split bills with everything else that is going on. Also, it is not our reponsibility who pays for the bill, as long as its paid. It also ends up clogging up the kitchen when one table of eight has four different bills. And the kitchen doesn't treat to kindly on that either. (And eventually this will have its own special entry soon enough).

Turning away customers is never a completely positive things for business. Yes, its good that the restaurant is full, but bad that customers have to find new places to try and may not come back for a very long time. However, it does gives waitresses a smidge of satisfaction when we get to turn customers away for simply being stupid enough to think that there is a table just for them, sitting free, on the biggest night of the year. Did it really not occur that booking might be essential on Mother's Day?

It becomes more than just an ongoing joke when a large group of people walk in and ask if there is a table for seventeen people, without a booking, just vacant, waiting for them to sit at. Really? Seriously? They must have because they did not want to leave until they were seated. So in the end the best option that I could give them was a table that usually fits fourteen and with every spare chair that we could muster, including take away waiting chairs, and cram them together on this magic table that I had managed to piece together. Yet after all of that in total, we only had sixteen. When I asked them if this was acceptable, they pretty much jumped at it and were quite pleased to have it. (Of course a little bit later on another table had left so they did eventually have a chair each).

In total it was a delightful an adventure of a night. It went as smoothly as it could possibly have hoped to be and there was very little that could be done for all the things that didn't go right (which thankfully was very little). And to all the girls that were on tonight, it was great night, even if it felt like living hell at the time. Also, apologies as I did not sufficiently warn the girls who worked their first Mother's Day tonight, how bad it would actually be.

Here I was thinking it was going to be one of the quietest Mother's Days that I have waitressed...

Tales of an Eccentric Boss #3

Tales of an Eccentric Boss #2:

Blind, Deaf and Slightly Lost  

There's something about the way that my boss reads dockets. You always wait in anticipation to see if he will read it right and sigh knowingly when he produces dishes that are wrong. He can go through a long streak of winners, he will be on the ball and not get anything wrong. But then in an instant, all in one night, he will get two to three dishes wrong. All simply because he did not read the docket clearly enough.

A prime example of this was when he tried to tell one of the waitresses that she was writing a certain short-hand wrong. This waitress had been working there for almost two years and he had read her short-hand for as long as that and all of a sudden he did one of the items wrong because she wrote it differently then usual. The truth was that he thought she had written it differently that night when clearly she had been writing the same thing for two years, since her training. 

Then of course the big problem is when you get the really picky customers who take everything out and put everything of a different kind in. That's when it gets really confusing and lost. The best way to tackle this so that my boss will get it right is a simple five step plan.

1. Read the docket slowly and clearly to him.
2. Have him repeat back what you have just read to him.
3. Watch that he puts the right things in the dish and that it is cooked right.
4. Ask again what is in the dish to make sure that it is right.
5. Inspect the dish to make sure that it is completely and utterly right.

If these steps are followed correctly then hopefully, you will have a lovely dish with no mistakes.

Then again I suppose all of this makes work an adventure, a little more interesting as well as making you want to hit yourself on the forehead. So whenever I train any new waitresses I always tell them to write clearly, speak clearly and be clear about everything because our boss is a little blind, a bit deaf and always always that little bit slightly lost.

Replying to those Lovely Lovely Comments

(From  'Don't Force Your Money on the Waitresses Please.')

CommonWaitress...

 I have to say that it must be pretty lucky to feel like people will bribe you with tips if you take their money. Its one of those things that you would gladly be a part of if it wasn't about paying the bill. And then it makes you look greedy, can't win.

Purplegirl...

I think I'm going to use that technique more. It seems like the only way to handle it the best way without actually offending anyone.

Don't Force Your Money Upon the Waitress Please.

I have learned a lot about patience, stupidity and manners during my time as a waitress. Patience, I think is the most important because that teaches one to tolerate all sorts of weird and wonderful people. However, there is one thing that I don't really have patience for or can tolerate very well.

I absolutely dislike being caught up in the middle of the common argument of "Who Pays The Bill". This is usually extremely annoying and frustrating when two customers, Bill-Fighters, come up at the same time and force their money or credit cards at you. Whilst it is nice to have money forced upon me (who wouldn't?) its the problem of the waitress becoming the judge.

How do you choose? Who do you choose? And how can you do so without offending the other party. Really, there's no simple answer. In the end no matter who you choose, if both Bill-Fighters do not give up, you end up with a pretty lousy time deciding whose money to take.

It should be an easy thing. Paying the bill at the end of the night should be the most non stressful thing that a waitress should so all night. Waitresses are not trained to handle stupid situations like this, and to be quite honest, nor should we really. Its not in our jurisdiction.

Most of the time I smile and wait till the Bill-Fighters have had their battle and come to an agreement. I have had one particular Bill-Fighter tell me that I was rude simply because I told them to sort it between THREE Bill-Fighters and let me know who would be ultimately paying. I have also been given the evil look by a Bill-Fighter because I chose to accept the alternate Bill-Fighter's cash rather than the credit card for simplicities sake.

Bill-Payers should fight or decide without involving a waitress. After all we can't win no matter what we choose. It is an awkward position that I still do not really know how to handle with 100% confidence. So I think it would easier if all Bill-Fighters could decide before they pay the bill.

Customer Appreciation vs. Leftover Change.

Tips are not a regular occurrence at my workplace. This is probably because we are more fast food than fine dinning and also because I reside in a land where the 10% tip gets ignored constantly. I don't hope for tips, they are just nice to receive and makes you feel appreciated for the job that you did. However, my policy is that as long as the customer is nice, courteous and not an outright meany, I'm quite happy for that to be my tip of table. Though, cash, undeniably, is always a good.

So here is the setting of one not so ordinary Saturday night.

• Fifty person reservation. (Our tiny restaurant only holds a total of fifty-five, uncomfortably).
• A grand numbered birthday party.
• Lots of kids of walking/toddling age. (Can already see the dilemmas there).
• Some pre-ordered set menu meals, approximately five separate meals.
• Each person paid for drinks as they went, separately.
• Each person had to pay their own amount via the hostess.
• Guests would not sit down so therefore giving out meals was difficult.
• Maneuvering around guests to get to tables was pretty much impossible.
• A lot of 'excuse me' and 'please' from the waitressing staff.
• Only appreciation was from the two hostess, every other guest just thought that we were in the way.

Everything had run pretty smooth, in spite of the chaos, until we got to the end of the night where payment was due. While I have the utmost respect for the Hostess; she did a brilliant job in organising people and payment at the end of the night, it was the other guests that I felt were rude and selfish.

There were a lot of guests drinking alcohol that they had brought in themselves. This was fine, and a very cheap corkage fee was charged per person who consumed the alcohol. I let the Hostess deal with this after explaining it to her and she seemed to understand the situation.

When she had come to pay she had forgotten, not deliberately, about the corkage issue. I told her the waitress had counted about fifteen individuals consuming alcohol. Before she even got a chance to answer her husband, who was one of those consuming the alcohol spoke quite forcefully.

Hostess'-Rude-Husband: I don't think there was that many people.
Me: Well, sir, the waitress had kept an eye out and there was that many counted between them.
Hostess'-Rude-Husband [in an agressive manner]: I don't think so. There is no way there was that many people drinking.

Did Hostess'-Rude-Husband count them? Because I don't think he did, he was busy drinking with them.

While we may have been slightly off in numbers due to people moving about there was a least ten or more people drinking. Then all of a sudden everyone was interested in money. Everyone had something to say, over the top of the hostess. She tried quietly at one point to tell me gently that we should count the numbers. Then all of a sudden one of the ladies decided to speak loudly to me.

Ungrateful-Lady: We left them a big tip. If they want to count that many people then they can take it out of their tips.

Are you kidding me?

This made me angry and dumbfounded. Yes, tips are usually founded on what is leftover from the whole number. However, after working a whole night, dodging and running around fifty people. It would have been thoughtful that a deliberate and nice tip was left. Not some snotty leftovers. It felt like despite the hard work and effort to ensure everyone had a good time, it was only worth the change.

Corkage is cheap, in fact its so cheap that any pocket change could pay for it. It is not about how much tip is 'left over' to us in the end because it doesn't really matter to the whole total, its the procedure. I have to write down how much corkage there is and charge accordingly so that my boss knows what was going on. Putting a few less corkage does not really change my tip situation at all, it is no advantage to anyone.

Finally the amount of corkage charged was settled. The hostess had a list of people and we went through it quickly checking them. Whilst it did not really settle my mind, it was better than nothing, and the hostess had not been aggressive nor uncooperative.

In fact, the guests had somehow manage to sneak in bottles of soft drink into the restaurant whilst we had a large range in our fridge. Due to the chaos, we didn't know until later when we were cleaning up. Otherwise I would have charged them our price of soft drink and fight that down tooth and nail with Hostess'-Rude-Husband and Ungrateful-Lady.

Lesson from the night? Big party functions are messy. There is no way to have one that is straight forward and follow the rules. So next time there is corkage involved, there will definitely be a better system in place.

They left an approximate tip of $10 for fifty people with a bill total of approximately $500.
The next night I got a $20 tip from a group of twelve people of a bill less than $200. (With very little hassle and very little 'extra attention' given).

The figures pretty much speak for themselves. And that's the difference between customer's appreciation to service and leftover change.

How to Treat Snobby Ex Servers.

In the line of work that I do you meet a lot of interesting characters. Some times at first glance you can misinterpret what people are like, which has happened to me before. So you learn to be less critical of people and treat people with the same respect that you would like to be treated because one day it might just get you out of trouble.

Waitressing is not just a job about taking orders, delivering food, serving drinks and providing general chit-chat. It is a service and therefore it means that actual human interaction and communication is necessary, and that includes from putting on a fake smile to nervously laughing at jokes that you would not find funny in 'real life'.

You learn that as a waitress that not all people are as kind and generous as you. You realise how easily your own sense of humanity is forgotten because of the way some customers believe you should be treated simply because they paid for your service. As a waitress you realise that you begin to act differently as a customer and you show more compassion.

There is this customer, Snobby-Ex-Waitress, who is, not just simply the rudest customer, but one of rudest people that I have ever met. Some times I give customers excuses for being rude, its part of the job to ignore and smile. But Snobby-Ex-Waitress does not have any excuse because she was once in the same position as me and all the other girls at the restaurant. I would assume that your experiences as a waitress somewhat give you a honorary badge and understanding of what it is like to be a waitress and therefore teaches you a lesson on what you should be like as a customer.

Snobby-Ex-Waitress used to work with my Boss in another restaurant. She is grumpy, does not say a word of 'thank you' or 'please' and her actions speak of the lack of manners she seems to possess. However, the moment that she sees my Boss and talks to him her whole attitude changes and she becomes the nicest person in the world. So sweet that it makes my teeth ache.

The first time I served her I paid particular attention to her because of her connection to my Boss. But how do you do the right thing by someone who thinks they are better than you? You don't. So this is my pay back. I serve her without a smile. I speak with as little amount of words as possible. I give her her meal, and walk away. I don't even bother to wish her a 'good day'. After all why should I waste it on someone who simply shows no respect to people.

Snobby-Ex-Waitress is in her late 40s and has children and grandchildren of her own. And just when you think that it doesn't get any worse. Her daughter now also works as a waitress, Snobby-Ex-Waitress-Jr. Exact same attitude as her mother. I can't believe that they have different attitudes as a waitress because it's too difficult to believe. I don't believe that any customer would like to be served by Snobby-Ex-Waitress or Snobby-Ex-Waitress-Jr. due to their ugly attitudes.

If Snobby-Ex-Waitress had not worked as a waitress then maybe I would be more forgiving. But formerly being a waitress does not give you the right to act like a pretentious snob and believe that you are standing on some fancy pedestal.

So I treat her as she treats me, deal with it.

Tales of an Eccentric Boss #2

Tales of an Eccentric Boss #2:

That Nagging Voice

I've been doing my job for a good five years now. I know the ins and outs of the business, the nature of the business and what I need to do in order for things to be good. I'm great at my job, I know it. But some times the Boss likes to remind me that I can't do all the right things, even if I have been doing it for the past five years.

Boss bring up certain points about the business once in a while. Things like wipe windows, fold napkins, clean soy sauce contains and all the little things that you try and do on the down time.

He likes to mention it once...

Then twice...

Then of course a third time, just on case you missed it.

And if you missed it the first three times, a fourth just for good measure.

I have realised that its almost like a grieving pattern when you first encounter my Boss in this manner. First you feel like you're constantly not doing the job right. Not true (on most parts, I hope) he just likes to gently remind you of certain things. Then you get pretty angry and frustrated because its not like you haven't done this before. Then finally you just learn to ignore, because you've been doing it a long time. And you are damn good at it.

I'm not sure why Boss feels the need to be the way that he is. Maybe that's the nature that he is or maybe he feels like this way he is in control. I'll go with the 'in control' option.

Excuse Me Waitress?

So I'm back from a mini-holiday?

Unfortunately not true.

I am still around. 

Working less, studying more, having very little social life in the middle. 

But then that's what its all about?

Ready to be amused...

Closed, without the Down.

Our restaurant is in a quiet quiet street. Maybe in its heyday it was busy, vibrant and a great place for business opportunities. Now, its just a quiet quiet street.

Inquiring-Customer: Oh... I thought you guys had closed down.
Me: No no, we have been opened for the last five years.
Inquiring-Customer: Really?
Me: Yep.
Inquiring-Customer: I drove past not long ago and it looked like you guys had closed down.
Me: When did you come by?
Inquiring-Customer: Oh, I think it was Tuesday afternoon.

We have started closing Tuesday nights since the New Year started. This was so that Our Boss/Owner could get a break from working seven days a week. We had signs up for two months prior to this actually happening. We sent out pamphlets and we gave all customers new pamphlets as well as telling them about it face to face.

Inquiring-Customer: I thought I would call to check. Do you have new owners?
Me: No, its been the same owners for five years.
Inquiring-Customer: Oh, okay.
Me:  Would you like to order anything?
Inquiring-Customer: Ummm.... I'll just call back later. Just wanted to know if you were still opened.
Me: Yep, still opened, like we have been for the past five years.

This has happened more than once and sometimes its not even about Tuesdays...

Delivering You with Two Faces.

Its amazing how two-faced customers can really be. One minute they are all smiles and happiness and then next, when they don't get what they want because you just can't do it, they turn mean and nasty. It's not something that I can control and I do apologise for not being able to meet with your demands but is it necessary to be so mean and vindictive? Did you ever think that being that mean will actually get you something? And when you are inquiring or asking a question it does not mean the answer that I give you will always be the one that you want to hear.

Tonight was quite an eventful night, in the good sense. What happened didn't really bother me because quite frankly it happens quite often, and also it was a good night so I'm not fussed by ridiculous customers.


Take Away phone rings.

Me: Good Evening.
Two-Faced-Delivery-Customer: Hi, I just wanted to order a delivery order. You do delivery right.

I'd like to point out that a lot of customers have tried the method 'If I say you delivery, you'll deliver to me'.

Me: No sorry we don't do deliveries. Only Pick Up orders.
Two-Faced-Delivery-Customer: Oh really. I thought you guys always did delivery.

I've worked at the restaurant for five years. The first two years there was a delivery service because Our Boss had just started out and we wanted to branch out to form a bigger customer base. Eventually, we weren't really making that much off deliveries and there was no point in hiring a delivery driver. So in the end we phased out the deliveries, THREE YEARS AGO. I'd also like to point out that even though we did do them in the beginning we never printed it or advertised this to our customers, therefore there is nothing that says we actually do deliveries. Customers find this hard to understand.

Two-Faced-Delivery-Customer: Oh, but you use to didn't you?

Now the answer to this depends on how cheeky I am on the night. I usually apologise and let it go. Or some times it goes like this.

Me: [Laughing a little]. We haven't done deliveries in almost three years.
Two-Faced-Delivery-Customer: Oh, but you guys delivered to me the other week. I'm sure of it.

So some customers like to pull the method, 'If I lie about you delivering to me, then you have to do it'. I turn around and give them this method, 'You and I both know you're lying but I'll just let you know gently so you know not to try that again'.

Me: Sorry, but we don't do deliveries. You must have remembered the wrong place.
Two-Faced-Delivery-Customer: Oh okay.

You think that they finally understand but this is the part where Two-Faced-Delivery-Customer will sudden change from being quite friendly to just plain nasty. In the beginning we use to tell them that they can come down to get it and that it would be much quicker that way. This usually causes a really rude reaction from Two-Faced-Delivery-Customers.

Two-Faced-Delivery-Customer: How am I suppose to get down there without a car? Why do you think I ordered delivery.

I don't know. Maybe because really you are just lazy. And that's the truth with most deliveries. So nowadays we don't even give that option to Two-Faced-Delivery-Customers. If they like our food that much they will come down to get it anyway.


The conversation can end a few ways. None of them pleasant.

Two-Faced-Delivery-Customer [Response 1]: [Hangs up the phone without saying anything].

Two-Faced-Delivery-Customer [Response 2]: Well then I'll just go SOMEWHERE ELSE where there is delivery.

Two-Faced-Delivery-Customer [Response 3]: I'm sure you guys delivered to me the other day. [Hangs up without saying a word of Goodbye].



Its true. I've worked at the same restaurant for five years, but Two-Faced-Delivery-Customers seem to always know more than me. Why do I even bother.

Behind the Waitress' Smile

Few new tweaks to the blog. 

Now renamed to:

A Waitress Smile

http://a-waitress-smile.blogspot.com/

Update your links!

Tales of an Eccentric Boss #1

Tales of an Eccentric Boss #1:

The Wannabe Waiter

Our Boss is strange, annoying but in the end not so bad. In fact he looks after his staff pretty well and we get a lot of benefits too. Yet some times, our Boss can equal to what three annoying customers can inflict. So here are the Tales of an Eccentric Boss where all the things that he says and does that some times do not really make much sense.


Eccentric-Boss is first and foremost, a chef. That is what he enjoys to do and that is what he has been trained to become. But some times, I think he wants to be a waiter. Why?

Very often he will walk out to the Dine-In part of the restaurant and pick up dirty plates from tables where customers are seating. He'll hand out menus when we were about to do it and he'll harass we about tables if they are taking too long on eating their entrees because he thinks that we have forgotten about them and generally just be on our backs about our jobs as waitresses

I know that as a boss you have certain responsibilities and that you want everything to be perfect. But it also means that you have to trust who you have. All the waitresses are well rehearsed in waitressing and have being doing it for years.

He secretly wants to be a waiter. I know it.

Strange Egg Conspiracy.

I personally find that some customers just don't really hear the things that you are saying to them, no matter how many times you say it and how many ways you say it. This definitely applies to customer who complain or even when they inquire about certain items on the menu.

Take Away phone rings.

Me: [Pick up the phone.] Good Evening.
Egg-White-Man: Hi. I just have a few questions to ask you.
Me: Sure. How can I help you.
Egg-White-Man: Okay. The questions will sound weird at first but there is a point to it.
Me: That's fine.

I have to admit because it was a slow night I was intrigued. Also on top of the fact that you work as a waitress, once in a while customers still surprise me on the strange things that they may ask.

Egg-White-Man: Are you one of the chefs?
Me: No.
Egg-White-Man: Are you related to anyone that's in the restaurant?
Me: No.
Egg-White-Man: Do you work in the kitchen?
Me: Sometimes I do.

It was a strange line of questioning. In fact I thought for a while that he wasn't even actually going to order anything, but just wanted to find someone. So it was getting a little scary.


Egg-White-Man: Do you know anything about how they make the omelettes?
Me: Yes, I do, I've made a few myself.

On top of being a waitress, I also help prepare foods during the night so I have had experience in making an omelette.

Egg-White-Man: Can you tell me if you use WHOLE eggs in it?
Me: [Sigh.] Yes, we use WHOLE eggs.

Why did I sigh? Egg-White-Man has called previously and had the same question about our omelettes. The funny thing is that last time he called I was also the unlucky one that was on the phone explaining the same situation to him.

Every thing that he is about to say, he had said to me in a previous conversation. Pretty much a case of deja vu but I actually REMEMBER doing it.

Egg-White-Man: I use to own a cake store and make cakes, so I know that you can just get buckets of egg whites.
Me: Yes?
Egg-White-Man: I think that you make your omelettes from just egg whites.
Me: I can safely tell you that our omelettes are made from FOUR WHOLE eggs.
Egg-White-Man: It doesn't seem like it.

One; I did not think that you could just buy egg whites at the time. (After the first conversation with Egg-White-Man I did notice that it is quite easy to just buy egg whites). Two; this is the second time that we have had this conversation and the fact that I am saying the same thing does not seem to make a difference to Egg-White-Man.

Me: We use four whole eggs per omelette. Two large ones and two small ones.
Egg-White-Man: Well it just seems the omelette is too pale for it to be whole eggs in it. It looks like you just put egg whites in it.
Me: That's just the way the eggs are. The two large ones we have have paler yolks and this probably makes it look pale.
Egg-White-Man: Are you sure?
Me: Yes. Like I said it probably doesn't look as 'orange' because the egg yolk in the larger eggs are quite pale.

I was starting to get annoyed at this stage. Egg-White-Man was convinced that there was some strange egg conspiracy going on in our kitchen. Egg-White-Man didn't seem to want to believe me, it was more like he wanted to interrogate me and see if I would crack and tell him what HE wanted to hear.

Me: You do realise that I have had this conversation with you already.
Egg-White-Man: Yes, but I don't really believe you.
Me: Well, that's how we make our omelettes and there hasn't been any changes to it.
Egg-White-Man: But the omelette doesn't taste right.
Me: Okay...

So all of sudden it's not about the way it looks but also the way it tastes. Now, I think Egg-White-Man just wanted to be right, whether it be about the taste or about the look of the omelette.

Me: I can only assume that it's because we put some cornflower in it, so that the egg stays together into a nice omelette.
Egg-White-Man: Can you take the cornflower out of the omelette?
Me: Yes... But it does hold the egg together so it might turn out a little scrambled.
Egg-White-Man: That's okay. As long as it turns out 'omelette-like'.
Me: Okay...

What classifies as 'omelette-like'? I warned him about the problems with not having the cornflower in it and yet he did not seem to understand what may happen to it if it does not. 'It may not be 'omelette-like' if you take out the cornflower', does not seem to comprehend with Egg-White-Man.

Egg-White-Man: We like the food at your restaurant but some times the omelette puts me off.
Me: Well that's how we make them. With FOUR REAL WHOLE eggs.

Egg-White-Man is a regular Take Away customer. In fact he orders a Prawn Omelette every time with no onions, no beansprouts and only egg, prawns and omelette gravy. In fact, he orders this dish for himself over the phone, then puts us on the phone to his wife so she can order the rest because he doesn't want to get the wrong omelette.

Egg-White-Man: Okay. I'll call back later with an order.
Me: That's fine.

Egg-White-Man must have beeen really paranoid to have this 'egg chat' with me again, and not even be ready to order.


Later that night he finally orders his meal. Prawn Omelette with no onions, no beansprouts, no cornflower (as well this time) with only egg, prawns and omelette gravy. Along with a few other meals as well. We had a waiting time of 10-15 minutes last night. He did not come in until half-hour AFTER the waiting time we specified.

I can't understand why he was so convinced that we use only egg whites in our omelettes. The look and feel of just egg whites is very different and I personally do not think our omelettes look white, even if they are pale yellow-ish.

I was annoyed about the fact that he did not believe me the first time. I felt like taking one of the large eggs and cracking it in front of him so that he could see that there was indeed a yolk in it. In fact, next time he should just come into the kitchen before we make his omelette and have him watch us crack the eggs, mix up the omelette and cook it. Let me tell you, Egg-White-Man, that omelette will look exactly the same as all the omelettes that we give all our customers.

Working At Work Just Isn't Enough.

In the past three months I have worked at my part time waitressing job six days a week.

When the restaurant recently decided to close on Tuesday nights so that my Boss could have a day off I thought I would at get two days off.

But of course something would happen 

(ie. One of the girls rostered on had an exam on her working day) 

so therefore I still only got one day a week off.

Yesterday I went out to dinner with a friend.

We decided to go to MY work to have dinner.

Go figure.

One of the regular customers recognised me.

Customer: The food must be good here if you come here to eat on your day off.

Me: Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

I need to get out more...

Few Bad People.

 

Our restaurant is in a small suburb where crime is not an uncommon thing. It also does not help that it is located in a quiet street where there is not a lot of business during the night. Six months ago I could safely say that we had been lucky despite all these things but lately its just common practice that there are more negative things in the community than positive.

Last night we were burgled again. It is now the fourth time in the space of twelve months. Each time it has happened it has become more frequent. The shutters are forced open, the large window plane is smashed and what for? For a few measly drops of alcohol. We never really stocked that much alcohol to begin with but it was enough for bad people to force themselves in just for it.

We have decided to stop selling alcohol for this reason. Which I think will end up hurting our business a little and be unfair to our customers. We encourage customers to BYO but some times I can understand that customers only want a glass of wine or a schooner of beer without having to bring it with them. Its hard to tell customers when you don't have certain things because the bad people ruin it for everyone.

I think the worse thing is not the missing alcohol, nor the hundreds of dollars that is continuously used to repair the damage but the feel of the whole place. You feel that you work in a wonderful place, with lovely people and have entertaining customers, but it can all be let down because a few bad people want to take it away from you. I can only hope that we all stay positive and not let those bad people pull us down to their idiotic level.

A Tip of Accomplishment.

The night started off in average fashion. Only one booking had been placed, a table of 8, so it wasn't a big deal. It seemed it was going to be an easy night. Then there was few things that happened that changed the situation really fast. The thing is that you never really see a busy night come at you, it just happens. It happens before you can blink and then before you know it you are in the thick of it.

Two consecutive phone calls were picked up, both to make a booking. A table of 5 and a table of 6. Which seemed pretty reasonable on a Saturday night.

Then a table of 8 walked in without a booking, so in speedy waitress fashion, we put some tables together for them. Worked out fine and soon enough they were all settled into their meal.

Few more walk-ins came in at around the same time. Then Take Away got swamped. Phone orders and walk in orders would not stop coming in. It was hard to find time to pack the meals let alone get them out in time.

At that moment in time I think it dawned onto all the waitresses that this was no ordinary easy going Saturday night. This was the BIG one. The one that comes every so often, the one where everyone decides that they want to have Chinese that night and definitely the one that you know as a waitress tests every inch of your skill whilst still balancing great customer service.

Then just as we thought that we had everything in control. The last table had their mains coming out and Take Away finally slowed down. The thing that I will also never understand, happened.

A table of 12 walked in, with NO booking, and asked if we had room for them. Lucky for them, unfortunate for us, one of the earlier bookings for the table of 5 had just left.

So once again in speedy waitress fashion a table of 12 was made. Then they inform me that in fact they have two more additions. I grit my teeth and say that's fine, I can work something out. And so an extra table was added and two extra seats were set up.


The night was insane. Everyone barely had time to stop and think about what had to be done next. Instead it was go, go, GO! And hoping that you didn't miss a thing. It was a night where the only way to keep sane was the banter off each other and work well with everyone around you, because everyone was just trying to keep their heads above water. Its nights like these that I know that we are not always at our usual customer service level, we barely have time to acknowledge our customers let alone chat with them and some times it feels bad. But you try and get through it by making sure that you are covering all bases and they are comfortable.

The table of 8, with no booking, had just left and told us to keep the change for their bill. We don't get tipped all the time, that's just the way it is. We get a few dollars and usually that's pretty good. That table left us with a $54 tip. That was 40% of their bill. That left us all flabbergasted. That is the biggest sized tip that I have ever received in the whole time I have been working.


At the time it feels impossible, but at the end of it you accomplished everything with minimal damage, especially to yourself and the other staff members.We must of done something right, despite the insane way we must of looked. Especially on a night like that it was nice to feel so appreciated.

More Positives Than the Negatives.

I'm feeling kind of negative about the things that are happening at work. Surprise surprise that all the negativity are all because customers are just so damn interesting when they are complaining. It's time to be a little bit more uplifting. Here are the things that make me want to walk into work every single shift.

1. Complete strangers interacting with you on this 'nice' basis, even if they are mean in real life.
2. Enjoying having a joke or two with the customers because after all humor makes us all smile.
3. Watching the chefs cook, wishing that I could learn how to do that.
4. Watching prawn chips and crispy noodles 'grow' when they are deep fried.
5. The smell of food on sizzling platters.
6. Hearing customers say, "that looks yum", when you put down their food.
7. The satisfaction that a job was well done when a customer not only praises the food but also the excellent service.
8. The smile you get from customers when you remember their specific needs.
9. The satisfaction of completing a busy night without any major problems.
10.Working with lovely waitresses. I absolutely would not be sane if I did not have the most wonderful girls to work with, who put up with as many stupid customers as I do, see as many unbelievable things as I do and who know how to work together to have a busy but fun night.

Hope you all have a list like that...

Clusters of Rude People.

It seems that rude people come in clusters. So unfortunately on Sunday I ended serving another obnoxious and rude regular customer. Regular implying that they come about every three months, but for all the waitresses definitely regular enough. In fact, we could probably all do with a little less regular.

There are so many things that they do that are considered rude to normal people. Of course they do not see it as rudeness, so the only way to even explain them is to just write a list about all the things that they could have done different to avoid being given the title, The-Rudest-Customer, but then who am I to judge, maybe they actually wanted the title.

The men in this group (which can range form 5-10 people at any one time) drink a lot. They drink so much that it's to the point that we really should refuse them alcohol. But when we do, they get aggressive and it just becomes an issue. Usually they leave before this becomes a major problem, so I can only be grateful for that.

Due to the three break-ins that have been targeted for our alcohol, in the last year and a half, our Boss has decided that we will not be selling any alcohol at all and will encourage BYO. As The-Rudest-Customer drinks a lot of our alcohol, our Boss thought it would be best to inform him that we will no longer be restocking our beers. I was taking their order at the time. The-Rudest-Customer looked at my Boss blanked faced. Why? Because the guy was already drunk! He had no idea what was going on around him. I didn't know whether to laugh because he looked so stupid or slap him for the same reason. Also at the same time I knew that it was going to be a long night because that was only the beginning.

As a waitress you get called a lot of rude things by rude customers. You get the "finger-over-here", "crazy-hand-wave" or even the "finger-clicking". By far I think the worse that I have ever had to endure is when The-Rudest-Customer calls me "bub" to get my attention. It makes me feel really disgusted. I know some people use it as a term of endearment, but when he uses it it makes me feel gross. It puts me in this really awful position and really makes me want to tell him that he should not be calling me that at all. So all night, all I got was "bub this" and "bub that" in his loudest voice.


Then there is the Devil-Child. The-Rudest-Customer's little daughter is called Angel. We know this because she is constantly being yelled at by her Mum who has no control over her children at all. Devil-Child has not changed since she was a baby. She is one of the main reasons why I do not want to EVER have children.

Devil-Child runs around with her shoes off, touches every other table's cutlery, and tries to run into the kitchen whenever she gets a chance to. Oh, and she has a little brother who has just learned how to walk. How lovely.

Little-Devil-Child tries to get out by playing with our entrance door. He pulls it enough to get his fingers caught. Now I try to move him away from it but he comes back repeatedly. So I tell the Mum that he needs to move otherwise he will hurt himself. She looks at me as if I'm the one that should be looking after him. You have got to be kidding. This is the same look she gives us when we tell her that her children should stop running around, that they should not be playing with fans, and also that they should not touch the blinds.

Devil-Child and Co. like to lick the Salt and Pepper Shakers and tip Soy Sauce on the tables. So now we have take all those off the OTHER tables in the restaurant. Also along with any napkins and cutlery that we do not want to re-wipe. All the surrounding originally clean tablecloths are already a lost cause.

The best way to deal with  Devil-Child and Co. is to not make eye-contact and ignore them. Otherwise they think that  you want to play with them and that this is highly amusing. So towards the end of the night I ended up having to stand guard to the entrance of the kitchen so that we wouldn't have an accident on our hands.


I do all the things that The-Rudest-Customer demands. He wants knives which are not set out on the table. So I wipe them and put them on the table before he even asks. He then proceeds to ask me to get him some knives. I simply point to the table, and tell him that they are there already.

The-Rudest-Customer-Wife wants a million little bowls and proceeds to take then from the staff only area without even asking. Wonderful. More useless cleaning on our hands.

The-Rudest-Customer brings in a friend to dine with them and she wants bottled water. We don't have any, we only have tap water. She asks if I can boil some water for her. I tell her that it will be hot, and if that is okay. She tells me that this is fine. Her husband thinks it's hilarious to say that I should boil cold water so that it will be cold. I would slap him if I could.


Finally at the conclusion to this crazy meal they want to have their left overs packed. Instead of asking a waitresses over politely, as this would be too easy and too nice, The-Rudest-Customer proceeds to yell "Boss" as loud as possible in the restaurant in hopes that my Boss, who is in the kitchen and cannot even hear him, will come out just to pack The-Rudest-Customer's leftovers. All I can say is that I'm embarrassed for The-Rudest-Customer, if no on else is.


There was no tips tonight. The truth is that I'm just glad they left when they did, and I would quite gladly accept that as my tip for the night. At least the only reassuring thing is that they won't be back for another three months.

Skipping out on the Manners Lesson

Once again, a booking was made under the name of Dunk. I actually picked up this booking and already knew who it was by the sound of their voice. Dread came over me at this point. So I sighed (which I have been doing a lot lately) and decided there was no escaping their clutches.

Sizzling-Lady is the older sister of Satay-Lady. They are alike in attitude, which does not make it pleasant for any waitress. Sizzling-Lady seems to like to believe that the whole world revolves around her. That's right, she is one of the those people. Everything must come to her straight away when she asks for it, and she doesn't ask in a nice way either.



Sizzling-Lady orders the same thing every times she comes in to eat, which is almost once a month. For entree she will have the King Prawn Cutlets. We serve this dish with a wedge of lemon, she likes it with Sweet and Sour sauce but NEVER orders it with the sauce.

Sizzling-Lady: Where's my red sauce? [As I put down her King Prawn Cutlets].

Some nights I feel like telling her that she didn't order one with it and that it's served with a wedge of lemon so that's what she got. Of course then I know I will get this response.

Sizzling-Lady: But I always have it with the red sauce, and you should know that.

Yep, because I am a total mind-reader.

Then for her main meal she will order:

Sizzling Beef
- Little onion
- Mild
- Cut up fine.

There are so many things wrong with this order.

1. When she asks for little onion. She doesn't seem to understand that we understand what little means.

Sizzling-Lady: Little onion, like extra little. Not too much because I have a problem with lots of onion.

Then she goes on about something about her bowel movements. Oh yes. I tune out at this point because it is too much information for me. Or usually I just walk away.

2. Mild. Sizzling Beef is not a spicy dish. In fact its the opposite. Its sweet. I have no idea why she thinks that this is a spicy dish when she eats it all the time. I once tried to explain to her that this was not a spicy dish. It went something like this.

Me: Sizzling Beef isn't spicy so asking for it to be mild won't make a difference.
Sizzling-Lady: Yeah, I don't want it to be spicy.
Me: It's not a spicy dish, so you don't have say it when you are ordering it.
Sizzling-Lady: I just want the dish to be mild, extra mild.

I walked away after that. She obviously was not getting the point and it was pretty plain that she was not even listening to me. The only reason why I even bothered to try was that in case a new waitress had to take her order and got confused by what she was ordering. It was pretty much a failure.

3. The beef is already in bite size proportions. If she wants it any more finely chopped it will turn out like mince meat. The interesting thing is that I usually don't write 'cut up fine' because I think that she has it confused with the Sizzling Steak, which has much larger pieces. Not once has she EVER complained about the size of the meat.

She drinks way too much when she comes in and will walk out of the restaurant pretty drunk. A drunk Dunk. Shes not very polite and when she asks for things, its definitely not in a way that makes you really want to get it done straight away.

The one thing that confuses me the most, above all else, is that this women must be in her 60s and I wonder how she has survived in this world having an attitude like that to people, not just waitresses. It is pretty shocking and I think it is just down right rude.

This is why I feel that no matter what I do, and no matter how much I do, I do not think that she appreciates what I do. I use to put up with it, but lately I feel like I don't have to put up with people who talk to me without any manners. In fact the children who sat next to her table had more manners than she had. Sizzling-Lady could learn a thing or too from them.

Two Hundred Items Later.

Customer-Without-a-Menu: [On the phone in take away]. Hi, can you tell me what chicken dishes you have on your menu.

There are over 200 items on our menu.
About 50 of them are chicken dishes.

Me: There are a lot of dishes. Did you want something in particular?
Customer-Without-a-Menu: Oh no. I just want to know what there is.

I take a deep breath and read out the chicken section.
Half way through this painful reading I already know that they have given up listening.

Customer-Without-a-Menu: Oh. I'll just come down and have a look then.

Sigh...

The Lemons Are Turning You Dramatic & Sour

There's a lot of people waiting to hear about this customer, Lemon-Lady. It is in fact one of my all time favourtie ones, and I must admit it didn't really piss me off in, just left me dumb-founded. Then again, don't they usually?

King Prawn Cutlets come in a serving proportion of six. There is also a complimentary wedge of lemon served with it, in both Take Away and Dine In. While some customers use the lemon wedge, some actually enjoy it with a side of Sweet and Sour. Everyone is different.

Lemon-Lady is regular Take Away customer. On this unique night she orders her usual King Prawns Cutlets. We receive a call from her later on in the night.

Lemon-Lady: There is something wrong in my King Prawn Cutlets.
Me: I'm sorry about that, what seems to be the problem?
Lemon-Lady: The lemon has no juice in it.
Me: Okay, so the King prawn Cutlets themselves are fine?
Lemon-Lady: No, because now I can't eat them without lemon.

Golly gosh, really now? This was not one that I had heard before. There was nothing wrong with the actual food, yet she could not eat it without the lemon? I stood there kind of dumbfounded, in fact this was one of the times that I really wished our Take Away phone had a loudspeaker, because I'm sure all the other waitress would have loved to hear this one for themselves.

Me: I can give you another lemon, even a a double serving of lemon, if you want to come get more, or I can make a note that next time you order we will make sure that you get a better lemon wedge.
Lemon-Lady: How can you give me a lemon with no juice in it. Don't you guys check it?
Me: We buy them from the local grocery store.
Lemon-Lady: Well, you should quality check them when you give them out.

Oh man. Lemon-Lady was fighting with me over the phone about a piece of lemon! But the funny thing was that at this moment in time, I wasn't pissed off about a stupid complaint as I would usually be, in fact, I thought it was amusing that we were fighting about lemons. That's probably why I started to get a little smart mouthed after that.

Me: Well, we just buy them from the groceries so if there is a problem with the lemons then maybe you should bring it up with them.
Lemon-Lady: I'm not going to go to the groceries to argue about lemons. You gave it to me.

Yet, it seems perfectly reasonable to still be on the phone with me about a wedge of lemon. 

Me: Sorry, but that's where we get them from.
Lemon-Lady: Like I said you should check them.
Me: So, you're saying I should squeeze them, so I know if the are juicy, before I give them out.
Lemon-Lady: Yes, you should check them.

At this point I think Lemon-Lady has eaten too many lemons because it's really gotten to her head. I felt like saying that well next time I will squeeze the lemon and then tell her about all the juice that came out of it, and then give her the wedge because I have quality tested it. But of course I had to hold my tongue. By this time a few other waitresses were listening on this conversation and realised that I was getting pretty fed up with it.

Me: Look, if you don't want to come down and get more lemons, I will just write it down for next time.
Lemon-Lady: Well, I want a credit for the King Prawn Cutlets.
Me: Is there anything wrong with them? [Knowing that there wasn't because she had told me there was nothing wrong with them.]
Lemon-Lady: No, but now I can't eat them without lemons.
Me: I can't give a you a credit for something that has nothing wrong with it.
Lemon-Lady: But how do you expect me to eat them now without lemons.

How about, bite, chew, chew, swallow? Not hard.

Lemon-Lady: I don't mind paying for extra lemons but I can't eat the Cutlets without them.

I like to tell everyone that waitresses do talk about you. You may think that we don't, but we do. Lemon-Lady had previously ordered a whole lemon with her King Prawn Cutlets, we charged her an extra dollar. After all, you don't get extra things for free. She complained about how we charged her the extra dollar for a lemon and never ordered extra lemon again. So obviously she was now lying to me to get her own way. I still had to hold my tongue, so I said nothing.

Lemon-Lady: I always order the King Prawn Cutlets from your restaurant, and I love lemons with them.

So maybe, just as a suggestion, Lemon-Lady should buy some EXTRA lemons on her own so that she can suck on as many of them as she wants.

Lemon-Lady: So now, I can't eat them without lemons.
Me: Look. We make the Cutlets, there is nothing wrong with them. We buy the lemons and when we cut it up it seems fine. So I cannot give a you a credit for the whole serving of King Prawn Cutlets.

It baffles me completely. The wedge of lemon is complimentary, we don't add it to the cost of the King Prawn Cutlets AT ALL. In fact, there are places that don't even give you the wedge of lemon. How can I give you a credit on a wedge of lemon that is not charged when you really plainly just refuse to eat perfectly good King Prawn Cutlets?

Lemon-Lady: Well that's just not good enough.

Lemon-Lady would not get off the phone with me. Really it was just wasting my time. Finally one of the waitresses tells me that if she puts the wedge of lemon in the microwave for a few seconds it might help with the juice issue. So I tell Lemon-Lady this.

Lemon-Lady: Well I'll see if it works.

Then she finally hangs up.


Now don't get me wrong. I love King Prawn Cutlets, I love lemon, and I love to eat the two together. So I do understand that she was a little pissed off that she wasn't getting enough juice out of the lemon. But if she orders it ALL the time, refused to pay a dollar for an extra lemon, and not buy her own extra lemons. What in the world was she complaining about? I understand if it was a case of wanting to inform us, as some customers do, but really she wanted a reward for it as well.


Never, in my line of work, would I have ever thought that I could spend ten minutes talking about a wedge of lemon.


After that incident, she ordered her meals under a different name (she orders the exact same things every week). I think maybe, just a little, that she knows she was being slightly dramatic over a wedge of lemon. She now also gets her son to come in the pick up the order instead of showing up herself. However, just in the last week she has started using her own name again, but she still has not come to pick her meal face-to-face in Take Away, but instead has her son picking up the order for her.

The moral of this? Don't argue for ten minutes on something that is not charged, and assume you will get some sort of credit for perfectly good food that you simply refuse to eat.

-----------

Apologies for not updating in almost a week.

For once there was something else going on in my life that wasn't work/customer related.

It was nice even if it was short lived.