Voices From the Floor

Like the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield, many servers feel they don’t get much respect. Not surprisingly, the Internet is filled with their scathing blogs as well as various forums where waitstaff can vent and compare notes on their experiences serving food to the public. Abusive customers account for many of their complaints, but owners and managers also cause many a diatribe. Indeed, when management exhibits a lack of respect for staff, servers often don’t shrug it off as they might a rude customer. Instead, bad boss behavior usually results in low morale and high employee turnover, neither of which bodes well for business.

Servers’ Pet Peeves

Short Notice Scheduling—

Many of us choose this job because of its flexibility. Getting the next week’s schedule on Friday night, doesn’t allow us to have a life. Two weeks in advance would be great.

Behind the Scenes Tip Handling—

Whatever system is used to distribute tips among servers, bus boys, and other support staff should be totally transparent. Everyone should know what’s in the tip pool. And, managers should never get a share of the tips. 

Overdoing Upselling—

Management can overdo upselling to the point where the customer gets alienated. Servers can usually tell how much a customer is willing to spend. The better goal should be to encourage them to come back.

Focusing on the Bad, Not the Good—

I can get 15 great comments and 1 bad one. The one I hear about is the bad one. Let me know when I succeed, so I can succeed more.

Lack of Staff Meetings—

Regular staff meetings can head off problems and are a very powerful way to get people to talk about what’s on their minds. Unfortunately, most restaurants don’t hold regular meetings. 

Poor or Underpaid Managers—

There are two types of managers: those who hire incompetent people so they can blame them when things go wrong and those who hire competent people and encourage them to learn and better themselves. The second kind results in a better staff and more successful restaurant.

You need to avoid the dynamic where the waiters earn more than the managers. Otherwise, you just get people looking for a dental plan. Ideally, managers should have some experience as waiters and be able to act as a mentor to the rest of the waitstaff.

Unclear Intentions—

Ultimately, restaurant owners must decide what their goals and philosophy are and make sure the entire staff knows them and has the tools to apply them. Then management must stand behind them when they do.

LISTEN TO YOUR STAFF-

Finally, servers advise restaurant owners and managers to listen to their staff. Servers are on the front line.  They see and hear what customers are raving about and which dishes they politely say "tastes fine."

Suzanne Hall is a Tennessee-based freelance writer and regular contributer to many national magazines.  She also is a columnist for the Mirror Newspapers (Chattanooga, Tennessee) and for Profile

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