9 Nasty Truths About Your Favorite Foods
Famous Death Row Last Meals
 |
| Photo: Jason Reidy/Flickr |
Hanna Raskin's first waitressing job was at a small Greek diner in Michigan. In the 15 years since, she's worked at a chop suey joint in Mississippi, an exclusive Arizonan country club, a vegetarian eatery and an Irish pub. She currently picks up odd shifts at a seafood eatery in the North Carolina mountains, where she cracks crab legs for helpless tourists. This is the first in a series of posts.
The first time I saw a fellow server settle into a booth with her customers while taking orders, I was seriously concerned.
I was a veteran of both high- and low-end cuisine, but had never seen such a thing. I immediately assumed she was too tired to carry on, and never suspected she was angling for a better tip.
As folks who ate out in the early 1990s may recall, researchers discovered in 1993 that sitting down with customers -- like drawing a smiley face on the bill or wearing a flower in one's hair -- was a sure route to a bigger tip.
Read on, plus a poll, after the jump.
("It makes the server seem friendlier," theorized authors Michael Lynn and Kirby Mynier, pointing to studies associating "postural congruence" and "eye contact" with good rapport.) In those pre-Internet years, the finding was disseminated through an informal network of restaurant workers, with servers across the country gradually adding the trick to their repertoire.
Many restaurant managers put the kibosh on the tactic, ruling that the approach violated the customer's right to personal space. But the habit has persisted in some quarters (namely, wherever my swift-to-squat co-worker is employed.)
It's no longer shocking when a server asks her guests to scoot over. But is it a good idea? If a waitress doesn't sit, is she hopelessly standoffish? Should a server behave like your best friend?
| Yes | |
|---|---|
| No | |
| Depends (tell us more in comments!) |
SLIDESHOW: Tattoos That Go Way Beyond Your Average Tramp Stamp
America's 10 Highest-Paid CEOs of 2011 (and How They Earned It)
Yale Student Killed In Crash Days After Graduating
Rodents Run Amok at Upstate New York Walmart
What Happened When Alex Kenjeev Paid His Student Loan in Cash
PHOTOS: Most And Least Christian States In America
What's a Realistic Retirement Age?
Carrie Underwood's Grunge Rock Past: 'I Was All About Pearl Jam'
Naked Face Eater Identified
The Richest Woman in the World: How Gina Rinehart Earns her Billions
I'm A Successful Entrepreneur But Might Get Deported
PHOTOS: Nicole Scherzinger Almost Reveals Too Much
Farmers Hit the Jackpot in Kansas Oil Boom
Mary J. Blige, Charity Lawsuit: Singer's Foundation Sued for Failing to Repay $250K Loan
LOOK: Inside Honduras' Deadly Prisons
Safeway Worker Stops Man From Beating Pregnant Woman, Gets Suspended
VIDEO: Cop Kills Naked Man Allegedly Eating Another Man's Face
America's 10 Best National Parks
Will You Be My Facebook Friend? No.
PHOTOS: Americans Honor Troops On Memorial Day Weekend
Blood Found In Missing Girl's Bedroom
'Cannibal' Attack: Naked Man Shot Dead In Miami 'As He Chewed Victim's Face' (VIDEO, PICTURES)
Boy Locked In Filthy Coal Bunker Every Night For A Year
Witness: 'The Guy Was Tearing Him To Pieces With His Mouth'
MSNBC Host Says He's 'Uncomfortable' Calling Soldiers Killed In Action 'Heroes'
Another Deadly Northern Italian Earthquake
NSFW PHOTOS: A Little Too Much Of A Rear View
Police Arrest Parents Of Six Children Killed In Derby House Fire
60 Recipes For Pie Lovers
When Jenny Was Still From The Block
Travel + Leisure: PHOTOS: America's Worst-Dressed People
'Mad Men': Did Joan Sell Herself For The Sake Of Jaguar?
6-20-2009 @1:29PM Reagan said... OK as a server who has over 15 yrs experience I can tell you from my pov that I only ever sit down with a table for 2 reasons.. The first is I know them on a personal level and also when a customer has decided they don't need to bother reading a menu and want to create thier own entree. Picking a bit from here and there. I sit to get a better understanding of what it is that they are looking for.
As for the comment to standing around is what we get the paycheck for... I can tell you that all servers make 1/2 or less than half of legal minimum wage due to the gov't thinking tips will cover the rest. My paychecks are more ofen then not $0 due to taxes being taken out. And lets not forget when you stiff or undertip a server it costs them money in the long run for the "privilege" to serve you!!!!
We are people trying to make a living not your personal servent to try to figure out your personal idyosyncroses....
Reply
6-23-2009 @10:54PM blurdo said... No. Never. Do not sit down with me. If you do, you will get a terrible tip AND I will never come back AND I will tell all of my friends never to go to your restaurant.
We have a simple relationship. You handle my food service and I'll tip appropriately. I'm not here to be your friend and you're not here to be mine.
Reply
6-26-2009 @10:41PM Leigh said... Wow, such hostility.
Guess I had no clue I was supposed to be getting all worked up over what amounts to 2 minutes of my day. I'm a chatty, but stand-offish person. I will talk to you, but I don't want to be touched, so I get where you're coming from....BUT....
Some people need to learn to let go. Is all that animosity really worth it over someone pulling a chair up to your table? You choose how to see the world, acting like they're imposing on you is your choice. Give them your order, and return to your conversation, they'll return to the rest of their job and nobody's a step closer to a stress-induced early grave.
Reply
7-03-2009 @1:45PM Jessica said... I worked at a rather large chain restaurant two summers ago that actually instituted this as a required policy. As a server, one was highly encouraged to sit down at the table, and at the very least squat down to eye level. Finding the first option appalling (I don't want you in my personal space, either), I usually stooped to eye level. This was sometimes met with a "What are you doing? Stand up!"
The reasoning, though, was the most interested. Management explained that by stooping, customers wouldn't feel that their servers were "above them" or "too important". Maybe it's just me, but I've never felt like a lowly human being for being seated at a table and being served from above.
For those who hate the sitting though, and I am among you, before reducing the tip, look around and see if other servers are sitting. It might be restaurant policy. If so, please... please... ask to talk to the manager and explain your feelings. It makes the server uncomfortable, too.
Reply
9-08-2009 @2:48PM lanna said... Okay. I'm a former server. I sat down at people's tables, but not everyones. Also, I would never have a guest scoot over, unless it was one of the off duty servers or a friend dining. Sitting across the table (if that spot is empty) is fine as long as you have a feel for your guests. By the time you take someones entree order, you can probably tell if they are the type that would be ok with it. No one ever complained to me or to my managers about it. Im definitely not the only server there that did/does this either. And actually older couples (the not grumpy ones) seem to take to this better than younger ones. Could be my personality. But I know for a fact this technique has upped my tips before.
Reply
10-21-2009 @10:43AM cecile said... I,ve been a server for 40 yr, at the same restruant for the past 25 yr. It's family owned and opperated. You have to read your tables, I have a lot of call partys they would feel slighted if I didn't take the time to sit a min it makes them feel special, most are. Other tables would not be comfortable with it. Eye contact is vital. Even if your really rushed make eye contact let them know you know see them and will be there as soon as possible, READ YOUR TABLES no two need or want the same servic. Adjust your attatude to siut them. My presonality is very friendly sometimes you just tone it down Some people just don't need or want it.
Reply
12-21-2010 @8:00PM L. Ross said... Absolutely not acceptable! It's not any different than a random stranger sitting at my table without even asking. It's only happened to me the one time recently but I hear it's becoming more common. I'm usually a good tipper but I am letting servers know that if it happens again, you will get no tip. I also don't want servers to dress inappropriately and flaunt their body, if I did I would be at an adult establishment instead of at a restaurant!
Reply