just suck up and be nice (long)

[unclejampuff]

Two sucks from the Chinese restaurant.

Story 1
I'm very proud at how quickly I've learned about our menu and our wines. Before I started working there, I knew nothing about wine. Now, while I'm no sommelier, I feel a lot more confident about recommendations. You want the Mongolian Beef and a red wine? Well, white wine goes better, but our Pinot Nior would suffice. Ginger Garlic chicken? Excellent choice, it's my favourite. Riesling would be perfect for that. And so on. I hardly expect people to be highly knowledgeable about wine(though when a true connoisseur comes in, I jump at the chance to learn more), but you'd think that if someone didn't know much, they'd trust the word of someone paid to know. Oh, we here know better than to hope someone would use logic and courtesy.

Cast:
Me- chipper cheerful free for all
SL- Snotty lady who had no business using THAT attitude
SLH- Snotty lady's husband, poor fellow

Me: O HAI can I get anyone a drink while you're browsing our menu?
SL: Well, I want wine.
Me: Alright, here's our wine list.
SL: What's good here?
Me: That pretty much depends on what you'll be eating. If you have an idea of what you're in the mood for, I'd be happy to recommend a wine to go with it.
SL: *stares at me for a moment* What's good here?
Me: Well, personally, I like the Yellowtail Shiraz. I'm on a spicy food kick, and that goes very well with our spicer dishes.
SL: I don't like Shiraz. *continues to stare at me*
Me: *starting to get nervous* How about a Riesling? It's a fairly good wine for almost any Chinese dish, and we have two different kinds to offer you.
SL: *STARING*
SLH: Uh, I'll take a Tsing Tao. Can I get some Hot and Sour soup, too?
Me: Absolutely!
SLH: Chinese beer is just so much more refreshing when you're eating something spicy like that, eh?
Me: Yup! I'm not a beer person per se, but that is by far our most popular drink here... even more than tea!
SLH: *good natured chuckle*
SL: *little snort* I'll take the white zinfandel.
Me: Right away, ma'am. Which would you prefer?
SL: *STARES*
Me: Well, we have a house and a Sutter Home white zinfandel. Which would you prefer?
SL: *SIGH* I don't want the house.
Me: Okies! I'll be right back with that!
I go, pour her wine, get his beer, hop back to their table.
Me: Here we go!
SL: *STARES*
Me:
SL: You brought the wrong drink.
Me: I'm sorry? It was a Tsing Tao and a Sutter white zinfandel?
SL: Yes. Why did you bring me this?
Me: I'm sorry for any confusion, but I've brought you the Sutter Home white zinfandel... as I believe you ordered?
SL: NO. You've brought me the wrong drink. This is pink.

Now, for those who do not know, white zinfandel is a rosé or a blush wine. It is pink. Sure, it's a bit of a misnomer, but in our wine list, it's described as a blush.

Me: Yes, white zinfandel is a blush (blah blah, pretty much what I described above)
SL: But it's called WHITE zinfandel.
Me: I understand the confusion... it seems a bit silly to call it a white, but that's because zinfandel grapes usually-
SL: You've brought the wrong wine.
Me: I'd be happy to bring you another wine, if you prefer.
SL: Show me the bottle.
SLH: Now, honey...
Me: *walks over to the wine cooler, brings over the bottle of PINK wine*
SL: ........ I'll take the Chablis.
Me: *relieved* Certainly! One house Chablis coming up!
SL: NO NO, no house wines. I'll take a Tsing Tao, damnit.
Me:

She was fine for the rest of the meal. SLH called me over while she was in the bathroom to apologize and make sure I got my tip. *pets* Also, what's with the hatred of house wines?
Bonus: the senior waiter told me I could have the wine, cuz he was just gonna comp it out anyways. Even for Sutter Home, it made up for SL.



Story 2
This couple took FOREVER to order. That is a major pet peeve of mine. My boyfriend tells me that, in my sleep, I yell at people for taking too long to order. Trufax. Of course I would never show my annoyance while working. That's below me. Off clock? I'm so here. Please also note that our menu states that all dishes printed in red are normally served "hot".
Cast-
Me: the color me happy girl
NSL: Not Spicy Lady does not want her food spicy, okay?

Me: Do you have any questions about the menu?
NSL: Well, I'd like the ginger garlic chicken.... but...
Me: I absolutely love the g g chicken here... in fact, that's what I had for lunch!
NSL: Well, why is it in red?
Me: *silent inner groan... learn to read, lady* That means that those dishes are normally served spicy. But our cooks are more than willing to make your food mild, medium, spicy, extra spicy, dancing bear!
NSL: Dancing bear?
Me: *also known as A JOKE* Oh, that's just my way of saying the cooks will prepare it any way they possibly can, no matter how unusual or difficult!
NSL: Well, I don't want it spicy.
Me: So I'll have them make it mild.
NSL: No, no, I don't want them to make it more spicy!
Me: Okay, they can make it not spicy.
They finish their order. I always read orders back.
Me: One g g chicken, mild-
NSL: NO! Didn't you listen? I said to make it NOT SPICY!
Me: ........ okay. We can do that.

This lady spoke plain American English, and it appeared to be her first language. I have NEVER encountered a native American English speaker who did not understand the concept of "mild". If she was from a different English-speaking country or ESL, I could understand... but...

[Evil Queen]

Hm. The first lady blew my mind away so whatever was left to contemplate the last one was kinda making me want to cry in a corner.

Mild, in my language (insane ramblings of overworked-ness) means not spicy, but hot. Like, temp wise.

Either something's wrong with my dialect or hers. I vote the latter. Oh, and she's a pain in the pa-tookis.

[Apathy]

SL: But it's called WHITE zinfandel.

Why are you ordering something you clearly know nothing about. Why not order something you know you like?

[ArcticChicken]

NSL: No, no, I don't want them to make it more spicy!

What the flying lemurs?

Since when does mild = more spicy

Bla..gahh..ghaarrgh!!!

Brain... Broken... Confusion... Shatnerian.

[karath]

Got to love the *stares* lady; sounds like this SC and common sense have an rather unpleasant relationship that she refuses to work on

And spicy lady...if you hate hot food that much, you should KNOW by now what "mild" means. Sheesh! Great work on being so chipper through all that, puff!

[PepperElf]

usually a house wine is not as good as the other wines, though it also depends on the place.
though it also depends on the place and what brand they decide to use as "house"

never really thought white wine would go with beef - usually it's reds, but i also say that if it tastes good then go for it

and if you want to try something new... try a White Merlot. It's a blush like white zin, but personally i like it more.

[JoitheArtist]

Why are you ordering something you clearly know nothing about. Why not order something you know you like?

Seriously. If ya don't know, either pick what you like or be happy trying something new. I usually opt for the latter, and am still kicking myself for not trying the honey wine at the cool Ethiopian place my friends took me to the other day. That sounded GREAT.

[Sliceanddice]

solmetimes the house drink s better though, house beers are suppose to be great because the are made to match the food ( i dont know caus ei dont drink)

[Soetkin]

The chinese place where my family has been going for generations (no really) has an excellent red housewine. We always order that one.

As said above, if you don't know your wines, don't attempt to look knowledgeable when everyone knows darn well you've got no idea what you're talking about.

I know pretty much bupkus about wines, so I always order red Côte du Rhone which ith about everything and that I really like.

[edible_hat]

On the topic of house wines, some members of my family have been known to choose restaurants based on where the house red comes from.

[ebonyknight]

Why are you ordering something you clearly know nothing about. Why not order something you know you like?

But that's the thing. Why is it when I hear stories about people who obviously know nothing about wine, they order the zinfadel.

What is it about the non-connoisseurs that zinfadel appeals? Is it the Z, that makes it special? Is it that Sutter Home sells it like Milwaukee's Best sells "the Beast"? I don't get it.

[SuperB]

For some reason people are afraid to ask pointed questions about wine. When we had our Steak House I dealt with that a lot.
Like the two, barely legal, blonds who ordered a Cabernet. "It's not cold!"

[AdminAssistant]

And that is why I usually stick with mixed drinks or just soda or tea when I go out. Wine is just too damn confusing. But if I DID want a wine or beer with my meal, I would certainly ask the server for advice, and probably go about merrily with whatever they suggested. Try some new things and all....

When I order at my favorite Indian restaurant, I always stress that I want whatever is mild...but I do understand what mild means. Seriously, Whiskey Tango Hotel.

[Geek King]

Why are you ordering something you clearly know nothing about. Why not order something you know you like?

Well, there's no better way to find out if you like something you've never had than to order it.

But then, I'd never dream of complaining if I didn't like it. I took the chance, I'll deal with the results. I'd never have found out I like Kim Chi or fried calamari if I didn't experiment sometimes.

[auntiem]

I think I've figured out the second lady:
Mild = mildly spicy
NOT SPICY = bland (something that isn't an option with that dish)

Oh, and as for wines - Gewurtztraminer is excellent with spicy foods - I order it with Thai food. It is a nice light (white) wine that just about everyone likes - from "wine snobs" (I think it is the fancy dancy name) to people who aren't fond of wine. I serve it at Thanksgiving as my table wine. You can get a decent bottle for $7 bucks or so.