I actually felt sorry for them

August 23, 2007 (268 days ago) at 3:14 pm
Posted in Food

Yesterday evening, the boys and I went out to eat dinner at our absolute favorite restaurant in the whole wide world. We always have a blast going there…it’s usually a calm, quiet atmosphere with great service (and food!) and the waiters/waitresses are always kind and cordial.

Last night, however, was just a little bit different than usual. We got there around 6pm, and already the place was getting crowded…which I found slightly odd due to the fact that it was a weeknight. But, we managed to get a booth in the corner of the room, which is my favorite place to sit. :) Everything was going good, we were flipping through our menus drooling over everything, while our waiter went and got our drinks. Dylan was nice and content with his sippy cup and silverware, so things were peachy.

We sat there for 20 minutes before anyone ever came back to take our orders…or even drop off the customary chips and salsa that’s always brought before the meal. :( All three of us were out of drinks, and Dylan was starting to get cranky in his seat because he knows to expect food in a hurry when we go there. Josh was getting pissed, and I feared he was about the throw a shit fit right there in the middle of the room. Hell, I was frustrated too and kinda felt like yelling at somebody. But you know what’s funny about the whole thing? Before I really got angry, I backed off for a second and looked at what was really going on in there. All of the booths and tables around us were filled. Some had small and cranky children, others had drunk and unruly adults. The dividing wall down the center of the room obstructed my view of the other side of the restaurant, but it didn’t sound much better over there, either. The place was pretty much a circus, and through all of that unusually annoying commotion, I only noticed 3 (yes, three!) different waiters/waitresses handling both sides of the restaurant. I caught several glimpses of them running out of the kitchen - order booklet and pen in hand - and then after taking orders they’d run back. The manager was even out on the floor taking orders and bringing food.

So, while Josh sat there fuming, about to boil over at any second, I turned to him and told him that it looked to me like someone quit on them at the very last minute and that they must’ve been short staffed or something. The way all of them were running around from table to table, juggling drinks and plates of food, then running up to the cash register to tame the angry mob of customers ready to pay and get the hell out of there…I genuinely felt sorry for them. I don’t even think I could’ve gotten mad at anyone after that. Finally, about five minutes later, we caught the attention of the manager, and he came running over to us, sweating profusely.

Manger: “My goodness, no one has taken your orders yet?!”
Josh: (calmly) “No, not yet.”
Manger: “I am so sorry, we’ve been very busy. Someone quit on us last minute, and it’s been very hectic this evening”.

With that, he jotted down our orders hastily and ran to get us more drinks. The poor guy ended up getting me the wrong drink, but after seeing everything that they were going through at the time, I wasn’t about to bitch about it. Diet Coke isn’t all that bad, once you get passed the initial shock of it. :P I knew that they were doing the best they could do, and no it wasn’t by any means ideal customer service, but things can’t always go perfectly, and I think it benefits all of us to remember that sometimes. We still had a great time, and didn’t let our small dinner delay ruin the rest of the evening. Josh still tipped the guy, and we left the place when it was still booming. I hope everyone made it alright. I was almost tempted to get up and help them - that’s how bad I felt for them!