"CheckPlease" news and stories

Photo: Joe Shlabotnik, Flickr.

For workers who are paid to interact with customers, servers spend an inordinate amount of time on the floor. It's nearly impossible to get through a shift without having to stoop to sweep up cupfuls of Cheerios up-ended by a fidgety toddler, table scraps discarded by loutish diners who apparently take their etiquette cues from William Hogarth paintings or -- most frequently -- puddles of pennies.

I've worked in greasy spoons where hot dogs sold for 85 cents and coin transactions were the norm; I hardly expect a customer to charge a quarter cup of coffee. But in nicer restaurants, where servers don't bark orders across the room and salads don't arrive to the table encased in plastic wrap, coins are nothing but trouble -- any server who's picked up a check presenter and immediately showered their feet with the coins tucked inside it knows exactly what I mean.

Some of the blame clearly lies with the coin-fearing credit-card companies that issue said presenters, designed to accommodate only plastic. But there's really no reason for most restaurant customers to use change in the first place. What's the harm in leaving $72 when the bill's $71.88? Can a server not be trusted for a moment with an extra 12 cents?

I find coins so messy that I typically ignore them, even if it means I end up shouldering a portion of a table's bill. If a guest gives me three twenties to cover a $58.43 bill, I'll return $2 – knowing most guests will leave me both singles. While some of my fellow servers are far more punctilious, I still haven't figured out a good way to sort coins in my apron or rationalize the dead weight of a few rolls of dimes.

KQED, public television in the SF Bay Area, has recently launched a new TV show that reminds me, in a way, of blogging because it takes such an unusual and accessible approach to restaurant reviewing. The show is called Check, Please! Bay Area and it takes three non-professional restaurant reviewers and sends them to three restaurants to eat at and review. The reviewers each must recommend their favorite restaurant when they apply for the show. During the show, the other reviewers visit that restaurant and the other two favorites from the 3-diner panel. The diners gather back on set to discuss their experiences. The show is the second of its kind. The Bay Area version is based on the success of the original Chicago show, Check, Please! 

To appear on the show, you must submit an essay-style application that includes a restaurant review and a mention of what types of foods you like.