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Hi everyone! I've been reading here for a bit. Got sucked in through the comic... I work as a hostess at a nice "family" restaurant that probably gets as many seniors as families.
We recently(October 22nd) went completely non-smoking inside. Many people are thrilled about this as they no longer have to walk through the smoking section to get to the bathrooms or pick up to-go orders at the bar.
Me: Me...
SC: anyone who can't listen
Me: Would you prefer to sit in the bar area or the main dining room, it's all nonsmoking.
SC: Nonsmoking.
Me: Ma'am/Sir, it's all nonsmoking.
SC: Nonsmoking.
Me: .... (over shoulder to another hostess) Take them to (table number)
Sometimes they eventually get the point and go Oh no! We don't want to sit in the bar!
Another common problem is the preference for booth vs. table. Alot of people prefer booths. Therefore sections with more booths than tables fill up faster than sections with more tables than booths. Sometimes we ask which they want. Often times we NEED to sit the sections with mostly tables, as those servers have no customers. So we get to the table and the customers go, "Oh, can we have that booth over there?" *points across room* And we have to say "Of course!" and take them there, and clean it off if need be... It's just much easier to give them the booth if they ask for it while we're still at the hostess stand, that way we can put them in a section that needs to be sat, or not double seat a section, or have them wait 3 minutes to give that server time to get the other table's drinks. What's especially bad is if we ask them up front whether they want a table or a booth and they say it doesn't matter, and then we take them to a table and then they ask for a booth. Oy.
And the times when we need to clean something off for them... They hover! Not fun. They are most likely blocking traffic while they stand there waiting. Them watching you clean is just nerve racking. You try to do it fast, but at the same time you want to make sure the table is really clean for them. Or even worse, they sit down while you attempt to clean the table. So you're trying not to spray them or wipe food crumbs into their laps.
And when people come in, if we see two people we say "Two?" We get the smartasses who look around like 'do you see anybody else?' Excuse me, but there are plenty of people who are meeting someone or have someone parking the car(esp when we are busy and they want to go ahead and get on the waiting list) so confirming the number of people is a perfectly valid question.
Oh and the people who come in and and are like "I'm meeting somebody, are they here?" Sure I'm psychic, I know exactly who you go with.
We can also tell exactly how old every child is and whether they want a kids menu. Not. Someone the other day gave us grief over asking. "Well there's 7 of us and 3 adults so that would be, uh, FOUR kids menus." The oldest was carrying a purse and looked as if she could be a young 13/14. (This particular family also let the kids run around and spin each other in circles on their heelies till one of the kids threw up outside on the sidewalk. And then they got mad at us for not cleaning it up in 15 seconds flat, because you know, we have to clean up vomit every day.) We also often have 8 year olds that are offended that we ask if they want a kids menu. We usually go "Hey, even I like to color."
I'm sure I will remember more later. Sorry it was a bit discombobulated. I have no organizational skills at the moment.
We recently(October 22nd) went completely non-smoking inside. Many people are thrilled about this as they no longer have to walk through the smoking section to get to the bathrooms or pick up to-go orders at the bar.
Me: Me...
SC: anyone who can't listen
Me: Would you prefer to sit in the bar area or the main dining room, it's all nonsmoking.
SC: Nonsmoking.
Me: Ma'am/Sir, it's all nonsmoking.
SC: Nonsmoking.
Me: .... (over shoulder to another hostess) Take them to (table number)
Sometimes they eventually get the point and go Oh no! We don't want to sit in the bar!
Another common problem is the preference for booth vs. table. Alot of people prefer booths. Therefore sections with more booths than tables fill up faster than sections with more tables than booths. Sometimes we ask which they want. Often times we NEED to sit the sections with mostly tables, as those servers have no customers. So we get to the table and the customers go, "Oh, can we have that booth over there?" *points across room* And we have to say "Of course!" and take them there, and clean it off if need be... It's just much easier to give them the booth if they ask for it while we're still at the hostess stand, that way we can put them in a section that needs to be sat, or not double seat a section, or have them wait 3 minutes to give that server time to get the other table's drinks. What's especially bad is if we ask them up front whether they want a table or a booth and they say it doesn't matter, and then we take them to a table and then they ask for a booth. Oy.
And the times when we need to clean something off for them... They hover! Not fun. They are most likely blocking traffic while they stand there waiting. Them watching you clean is just nerve racking. You try to do it fast, but at the same time you want to make sure the table is really clean for them. Or even worse, they sit down while you attempt to clean the table. So you're trying not to spray them or wipe food crumbs into their laps.
And when people come in, if we see two people we say "Two?" We get the smartasses who look around like 'do you see anybody else?' Excuse me, but there are plenty of people who are meeting someone or have someone parking the car(esp when we are busy and they want to go ahead and get on the waiting list) so confirming the number of people is a perfectly valid question.
Oh and the people who come in and and are like "I'm meeting somebody, are they here?" Sure I'm psychic, I know exactly who you go with.
We can also tell exactly how old every child is and whether they want a kids menu. Not. Someone the other day gave us grief over asking. "Well there's 7 of us and 3 adults so that would be, uh, FOUR kids menus." The oldest was carrying a purse and looked as if she could be a young 13/14. (This particular family also let the kids run around and spin each other in circles on their heelies till one of the kids threw up outside on the sidewalk. And then they got mad at us for not cleaning it up in 15 seconds flat, because you know, we have to clean up vomit every day.) We also often have 8 year olds that are offended that we ask if they want a kids menu. We usually go "Hey, even I like to color."
I'm sure I will remember more later. Sorry it was a bit discombobulated. I have no organizational skills at the moment.
hehe
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