Being a waiter is f***ing exhausting being on your feet all day. I recall sitting down at some tables once in awhile too.
Hooters waitresses do this
Same at Dick’s Last Resort
My absolute favorite restaurant experience was like this. At a Hooters back in 20005 and the waitress plopped down in the booth with us and started complaining about working at the place, how she had to work because some other girl called in sick who totally isn’t sick and then noted how she cut her hand at work the night before. Quite a difference from the normal manufactured/fake experience you get there. I definitely tipped her well. Would do again.
What’s hooters?
Edit. I just searched it. It seems… … offensive
Edit 2. Offensive, as in, taking advantage of these women. I couldn’t care less about their dress code
Yeah it’s incredibly tacky and gross. But the food is horrible.
You seem … fun.
Thanks, mate! I, too, love objectifying women like you do. -_-
Whatever party you’re invited to, is not one I would be going to anyway, so…
You’re such an amazingly good person, far above us mere fleshers. Not for you looking at women’s bodies. You just keep their brains in jars and think about their personalities.
Hey, thanks for noticing. You know, it’s hard for people like us. We’re just above everyone else. It’s nice having someone finally notice.
A luminous being are you, not this mere flesh.
Look at u talking like you get invited to all the parties
Oh wow that is so hurtful. Please apologize. You’ve made me so sad.
Excuse me, but I think your time machine is parked in my bicycle spot.
I respect it. I’m not looking to be served by an outright asshole, but I’m no fan of servility or unnecessary deference. As long as he gets the job done, he’s welcome at the table any time. Hell, join us for the meal, make light conversation about the history of the place. It’d be memorable.
We had that once in Germany, the restaurant was right besides an old piece of the former wall between east and west Germany. The waitress, an elderly women, was not just incredibly kind but when we were eating our second course she asked us if we cared to know more about East Germany and how it was like living there. In the end we were drinking our coffee besides multiple old books full of pictures from this region. Absolutely amazing experience.
Oh, that’s lovely.
I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this in another post, but I was in Paris one afternoon and stopped off at one of the Hard Rock Cafes - I like the memorabilia, and rather than buy fridge magnets from my travels, I try and get a Hard Rock Cafe shirt. Anyway…
The waiter comes up, and I’m battling through in basic French, trying to be careful and not be another tourist that made an arse of it, and generally doing my absolute best to not annihilate the beautiful language I was trying to converse in.
I ended one of the sentences with “je suis desole, mon Français est vraiment mauvais”, a crude bit of self-awareness and a nod to an understanding that it wasn’t perfect.
The waiter says in accented English “yes, your French is a bit shit”
I laughed and appreciated the honesty; he laughed because he got to rip the piss out of a Brit; and we all lived happily ever… except for my bank account, because fuck me drinks in the city centre were pricey.
Anyway, I like staff who are direct and don’t fuck about.
Hard Rock Cafes can sometimes be kind of hidden gems, surprisingly. But they are quite pricey because of the brand and memorabilia.
They are owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida since 2018, which I find notable.
Our families thing was finding hard rock cafe t shirts from places that very definitely do not have an actual hard rock cafe. I think my dad’s “Hard Rock Cafe Bujumbura”(capital city of Burundi) is the winner.
Brilliant. I never thought of collecting comedy knock-off stuff like that!
If I had the time and effort, it would probably be quite a good business idea too, particularly if mixed in with geek culture. Hard Rock Cafe Alderaan; Hard Rock Cafe Pallet Town; Hard Rock Cafe D’ni; Hard Rock Cafe Winterfell etc etc.
I would 1000% wear a Hard Rock Alderaan shirt!
…now I’m gonna be editing shit in GIMP when I should be doing something constructive, lol.
Now?
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hard_Rock_Cafe_Logo.svg
After a bit of research, the font for the city is “The sans caps bold” in lowercase.
I work 3rd shift, so I can’t play in GIMP until I get home
Oh man, I’ve got one at home I got from Europe 20 some years ago. I hope to remember to get you a picture when I return
It says “Hard Rock Cafe Prague” in orange letters that don’t match their font on a black sweater. 1000% unlicensed and I love it (I’m pretty sure that is the correct city)
Picture
When I was a little kid I had one from Entenhausen (Duckburg)
To be fair, he says that to every foreigner
Shame, I felt special for a moment!
You had me until the history bit, I don’t want some minimum wage worker doing their best to give me the corporate spiel. If you’re gonna sit at my table while im eating and talk, tell me something about yourself.
If they’re the owner or a dedicated employee and they’re passionate about the restaurant then i think it’s fine. As long as it’s a single location with a history.
in the same vein, there was one restaurant i used to go to where the owner would regularly show up, cook and serve food, and insult the customers in a charismatic way. He was really good at it too. If you told him to eat shit he’d tell you to fuck off and enjoy your food.
I completely agree with you for any chain tho.
I’m on the other side of that.
I’m not paying to pretend be your friend I’m paying you to serve me my food get the fuck out of that chair… is my thought.
I had this happen to me once in San Francisco and me and wife were taken aback and offended.
and offended
lmfao
Get angry at the right people.
I was in hospitality for 15 years until I injured my back and had to leave the industry. I never sat at people’s tables when taking orders, but do you have any idea what it’s like to stand 10 hours a day, most days with no break at all? The amount of foot pain? And you get told off if you sit down even when there’s no customers. Sometimes customers would rock up and get upset that I was sitting on a stool when it had been like 3 hours since the last customers had been through and I was doing stock take at the till. Like what the fuck. I’m not your servant, you’re not paying nearly enough for that. Get off your high horse and get over yourself.
I now have life long back pain and nerve damage after spinal surgery at 30 because of the stress hospitality put my body through and people like you were part of the reason. Don’t go out if you don’t want to talk to people.
You’re not paying them anything my dude they are labouring under capitalism like you are.
I’m taken aback and offended by your attitude and if that’s irrelevant to you, congrats, you understand
WTF? They are a human, not your servant. This is 21st century, not 18th, and it was fucked up back then too. In fact, western service culture needs to die as a whole. Get the fuck out of that chair and go pick up your own damn food. There’s no good reason to have waiters except making lazy middle class people feel wealthier than they actually are, it doesn’t save anyone any time or make things more efficient.
You’re paying them though, both sides agreed to play the role. It doesn’t matter what your opinion on the matter is, the customer paid to be treated like royalty and it’s usually something the restaurant wants to offer and so pays their waiters to do.
I’d happily stand up and get my own food, in fact this is why I generally avoid restaurants, but imo ter “roleplay” is included in the price. It’s like those maid cafes in japan. Sure they “are not your servant”, but this is part of the experience, so you could argue that by ruining the experience you paid for, they “robbed” you.
the customer paid to be treated like royalty
That’s my issue with this bullshit, it reproduces a fucked up hierarchy. You might believe it is roleplay or whatever, but in fact the material relations are the same: a typically more affluent person is paying a less well-off person to be their servant for the day.
As long as there is demand for it, it will continue happening. You can choose to not encourage it, but this desire to be treated reverently by someone of lower status is something deeply engrained in humanity, I doubt it’s ever going away. Pretty much every civilization throughout the ages and around the world has had some form of it.
Being served at a restaurant allows someone who’s not upper class to get a taste of what it could feel like. What’s the difference compared to an office worker indirectly paying the janitor to clean his toilet? They chose the job and are getting paid for it. Maybe it’s degrading, but everyone’s got to start somewhere. Remove those jobs and these people just won’t make money, which is just a worst outcome for everyone involved.
this desire to be treated reverently by someone of lower status is something deeply engrained in humanity, I doubt it’s ever going away.
This can be overcome, just as we already (mostly) overcame men’s desire to look down at women as lesser beings, or look at people of other tribes/nations/races as slaves to be exploited. It’s not complicated, humans are social beings, and tend to like whatever is considered “good” in their social circles; we as a society have the power to redefine what “good” means.
To look at people in capitalist society and conclude that human nature is egoism, is like looking at people in a factory where pollution is destroying their lungs and saying that it is human nature to cough
What’s the difference compared to an office worker indirectly paying the janitor to clean his toilet?
There is a bit of a difference here though: it takes time and logistical effort (e.g. getting cleaning supplies) to clean a toilet; it doesn’t take almost any time or effort to pick up your own food from the kitchen, the only effort exerted by the waiter is that of “service”, which is the problematic part. I agree it would be good if all workers had one shift of their week cleaning their workspace though, it would provide useful perspective and eliminate a lot of bad habits that makes the cleaner’s job unnecessarily difficult.
They chose the job and are getting paid for it. Maybe it’s degrading, but everyone’s got to start somewhere. Remove those jobs and these people just won’t make money, which is just a worst outcome for everyone involved.
This is incorrect, they didn’t “choose” the job, they are forced to do it because they can’t get any other job and they will die on the streets if they don’t take it. If we provide better education opportunities and stop stealing value from labor, there would be no need in useless “entry-level” jobs. Perhaps there would still be a need for janitors and garbage collectors and such, but those jobs have to be well-paid and taken seriously, just as any other job; it has to really be a choice rather than something forced upon poor people who can’t get education in our fucked up society.
Hate to break it to you, but they are my servant, they are employed by the person to do their job which is to bring me my food, I am not there to pretend I want to be their friend.
EDIT: THEY ARE KNOWN AS SERVERS YOU DOPES
I mean, sure, it’s a bit like certain people in 19th century US saying “they are my slaves, I paid for them, I feed them, their job is to pick my cotton! They are known as SLAVES you dopes!”
My disagreement is categorical, there should not be slaves nor servants in a fair and just society.
It’s like talking to a literal idiot here.
You’re the one talking about servants and slaves, these people are there to serve me that is their fucking job. I am not there to pretend to be their friend.
It’s not “western service culture”. It’s the US’s
Damn dude I honestly feel bad for you if this is how you view life lol. Sounds like a pretty miserable existence ☹️
What a rude thing to say, I don’t think you feel bad for them at all, sounds like you just like being mean under the veneer of sympathy.
Damn dude I honestly feel bad for you if this is how you view life lol. Sounds like a pretty miserable existence ☹️
Pretend to be your friend? They were just taking your order. Why do you care if they are sitting or standing while they do?
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Saw something like that exactly once at a pizza place. Not particularly swanky, but good food, been there a few times. One time, there was this waiter hustling about that would straight up squat down next to tables to take the order, shoulders barely at table height, absolutely charming guy. 10/10 would order from a squatting waiter again.
Going to restaurants in America seems like such a hassle.
Then don’t
You’re so wise
Because a waiter sat at the table?
Yeah leave me alone what the fuck
FYI it’s not a common occurrence and I think I’ve only seen it when there were kids at the table
I sometimes feel like all the negative experiences people post about rude waiters in e.g. Paris is down to this, just a cultural difference in what we expect.
I feel uncomfortable every time a waiter comes by my table and I am not about to order or ask for the check.
Absolutely. I found dining out in America to be really draining. It takes far too long to do anything, and you’re constantly being attended to. That’s because I’m used to paying up front for the meal, then having the food discretely served, and then leaving immediately once done. I’m sure Americans would find the local service where i live to be extremely poor.
I get fucked by it every time, where I live service is kinda sub-par, you’re lucky if they say hello to you and if by some misfortune you’re not ready to order when they come over for it, you’ll see them again in 3 to 5 business days. So when I go to Canada (fuck going to the US, I used to for work but thankfully that’s not needed anymore), the servers are being so nice etc because they want the tips, and my dumbass just falls for it every time, I’m amazed by the service and leave way too much tip, I only start adjusting by the end of the trip and by then I’m already resenting the whole thing because it’s obviously all just fake as fuck.
This is what I’m referring to. I’m there for the food and the company I bring. Leave me the fuck alone.
After a long time i still feel impolite waving down a server. I used to work in an American restaurant and getting waved down was awful, like fuuuu… you were one more table in the rotation. But I’m slowly getting used to it. Because servers aren’t doing constant rounds they have more free time to handle these things.
Not
everything
is a
power move
4 lines for one sentence. What a power move!
Sarcastically commenting on formatting. What a power move!
Using exclamation marks, what a power move!
I wet my pants, what a power move!
Dropping news of hot action in your pants, what a power move!
Oh, a power move, what a power move!
Talking about power moves, what a power move!
Interrobang: now that’s power
Well he had them do it, so psychic powers, maybe?
True, but this was.
Add the Riker manoeuvre in and you reached peak power as a waiter.
I’ve legitimately seen it. Takes charisma. And the right setting and mood.
The what ?
Oh I thought it was a sex thing
Oh it can be that too
I always found this insufferable for some reason.
IIRC it’s because Jonathan Frakes had some type of back issue and it was just easier for him that way
I learned that much later. So now I feel bad for how I reacted back then. Back pain is no joke.
According to the internet:
The Riker Maneuver refers to a tactic used by Commander William Riker in “Star Trek: Insurrection,” where he collected metreon gas to create an explosion that damaged enemy ships. It is also known for describing Riker’s unique way of sitting in chairs, where he swings his leg over the back.
I guess it must not be the gas one, he’s too classy to stink up a restaurant
The introvert in me hates it, but the people pleaser in me smiles and goes along with it
As a former waiter. If its casual dining, you want to foster a friendly atmosphere where you’re relaxed and approachable. Obviously if it’s a couple or someone on their own I never would but for families or small groups it’s a good way to lower that barrier where people think they can’t ask for things or make requests.
Depends on the place. I remember the waitresses at buffalo wild wings would always do this. Still a power move I guess, just in a different way
I went to a Hooters once where our waitress kept almost sitting down at our table.
Like one of the stools was empty, and she would move as if she was going to sit in it, which isn’t much since the stools were tall. But then she wouldn’t actually sit down.
It was confounding, but I’m sure she did it on purpose.
After the first 5 words, I was honestly expecting an anecdote about the server sitting in someone’s lap…
In my defense, all I know about Hooters is from pop culture and the tweets of that Australian American douchecanoe ambassador/unofficial Hooters spokesgoblin that’s so insecure that his display name was (and probably still is. I haven’t been back there since before the stupid name change) “Alpha Male”
Did she move it so she could be closer to the table? I could see that for various posture reasons.
For example, she moved the stool so her feet wouldn’t hit it while standing there; from another angle so she didn’t have to lean over the stool awkwardly…
The stool was the kind with a tall back, and she kept putting her hand on the top of the stool’s back, and then used that arm to pull herself closer to the stool like she was about to sit down. It wasn’t closer to the table that I remember. And I don’t remember if she moved the stool, but if she did, it would have been moved closer to her.
This was many many years ago and so we are reaching the limits of my recollection.
At the time, I thought she was doing it to make us think that she wanted to join us at the table as a way of flirting for a larger tip.
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