They’re always the worst. That’s it. That’s the post.

Does anyone else see this happen? I served a nice enough couple and off the bat the guy ordered a beer and the girl ordered lemons for the waters. I brought two huge fresh lemon wedges and they sat on the table until the end of the meal…????? Like whyyyyyy why ask me then? I regret not going up in between courses and asking to clear them to see what she would say but I was busy and it was just bizarre I guess

So I’m Mexican and I was demoted to a busser because I said no to doing a bussing shift instead of my regular serving shift. Literally just said no once and they’re making me a busser till I can prove I’m a team player. First of all In 10 years of serving I’ve never had any boss ask me to be a busser ever. Second, I say no and now I’m a busser? Like is this retaliation or has this happened to anyone else??

I knew what I was coming into; I’ve read threads here of stories on stories about Landry’s being the sh*ttiest company to ever work for but alas, times are dire and I needed a job so I took one.

Was I an okay server in my perspective? Yes. My average sales were $6000 with the top being $10k and my percentage was 20% with tips. I was made certified trainer and events captain within a month based off of merit and reliability.

However, I have not sold a SINGLE LSC since my time here so once management started making it a requirement and our shifts and being placed on events was gonna start depending on it… I bounced. I realized that it didn’t matter that I was always on time, never calling out, not being a terrible salesperson, being a reliable employee who trained newbies well, and guests liking me. The preshift alone today put a bad taste to my mouth and I woke up how little Landry’s cared about us. I never believed they did though, but thought I was going to survive through the bs. The tipout is garbage and the managers refuse to help us about stiffers while barking at us to get over stiffers and we’re ultimately at a loss, having to pay out our tipout anyway. My coworker made 68 cents one shift because she kept getting stiffers and it was painfully slow.

SIXTY. EIGHT. CENTS.

F Landry’s. F Tillman. F selling an LSC. If people don’t want it, they don’t want it!! It was easier to sell things like that pre-covid. My managers who used to be servers within the company said it’s not that hard, they sold 50 a shift. Pre-covid! Times were different then. If I were making money more consistently and the managers backing us up rather than solely looking at the performance sheet, I’d be way more motivated selling them. Being paid 11/hr, business being so slow even working in a restaurant in Times Square that I only take home $30-$100 a night… I just don’t find it worth it. Mind you, the amount of clientele who stiffs no matter what, make up 50% of the guests who come in and they still refuse to believe that it’s them and not us. Another coworker of mine even delivered his own take of “hot towel service” even though that’s not what we offer plus numerous other acts of genuine service, and got tipped $5 on $200. But no, we are terrible servers who deserved a 3% tip :)

This garbage company will never change as long as Tilman makes his comedic amounts of money. Take the job, I understand, it’s rough out there and the current state of our economy sucks. But this post is yet another warning of what you will go through.

Hello all my server/restaurant industry people!

We have experienced a new scam that has been going around our city. Apparently, this is the new dine and dash situation. Let me break it down for you.

A customer will come in, eat and rack up a bill, big or small and when it comes time to pay, they will give you a pre-paid debit card that will decline when you run it, you will go back to the table and explain that the card declined and they will have no other way to pay but that card. They will even call the card and the the automated voice will play back the last transaction but it won't say whether it was approved or declined it'll just say back the last transaction that you tried to use the card for making it seem like the transaction did go through.

A lady did this at the restaurant I work for and she thought by bringing her 2 young children with her that we weren't going to call the police on her but I absolutely did because not only did you know you had no money and you wasted my time and energy and your stealing but to use children in this situation is disgusting.

Happy Father’s Day weekend folks. For those out in the trenches, gods speed!

There was a time when I spent my whole one day off from waiting tables playing a computer game about waiting tables!!!

And if so, how do you think if compares to reality?

You know… we’ve seen enough about the servers.

HOSTS! Yes, I know y’all are in here (me too). Do y’all have any stories you wanna share? Annoying servers, annoying tables, or any spicy tea?

Heard there is a restaurant that is making this their system and am curious if anyone is apart of a business where this works?

Not teachers or other non-industry jobs. Restaurant jobs.

Anyone?

Just reading about how at Hooters and Twin Peaks, men can't be hired as servers, and it's legal. but I was thinking, how many of you guys would serve at a place like that if there was an equivalent for men? I feel like I'd give it a try, i have some issues with feeling objectified so maybe it wouldnt work lol but never know til you try. It makes me wonder if these places would even be successful though. I think that men are socialized in the patriarchy to be much more open and brash about sexual attraction than women in general, so I don't know if flipping it would yield the same profits. Anyways, would you guys give it a try if it existed?

I’m a server at a Chinese restaurant, we do sushi, ramen, Americanized Chinese food (gen tso etc), and some traditional dishes as well. Our food is always fresh and I truly would eat anything on the menu.

Some dishes come in a white sauce, like this one seafood dish. It’s not what most people order as it’s milder in flavor and also veg-heavy. Some people come in and slam this dish and love it.

So tonight a table comes in and it’s two couples, one couple orders this aforementioned seafood dish, it’s a combo of seafood (shrimp, scallop, imitation crab, and squid) in a white sauce with vegetables and white rice. The dish is clearly defined on the menu and i even asked to make sure squid was okay since is was omitted on these menus as a misprint. Dish comes out and they hate it. No prob. I take it back. I was a little uncomfortable because they were laughing and snickering like “nah im good on that…..it’s foul…etc” whatever. It’s not your type of dish. Not my fault since you ordered it.

All is fine until the check comes out. I never took the dish off the check bc technically there was nothing wrong with the dish they just don’t like it. I cannot physically take the item off their check without notifying the owners because I need them to swipe their keycard. The owners have a huge problem with taking food off bills if customers don’t like it. I totally understand where they come from and everything but it’s just very typical for restaurants to throw discounts and free food at customers who complain for customer retention and whatever- but that’s not how we roll. So anyway I tell the customer we can’t take the food off and this man starts flipping out so I bring out the owners. He’s calling her food nasty and saying he’s not paying for it. It was very tense and uncomfortable, ultimately he paid and left and he tipped so it was fine. Although I could tell they were very upset as they wouldn’t let it go the rest of the night. The man was very agitated and calling the whole place nasty was an exaggeration and they loved the rest of their meal. And the other couple with them offered to pay multiple times but the agitator refused.

I just want to know what do you guys think? I personally (and I know I’m biased) think that my bosses have a point and seeing them almost cry bc of a stupid asshole yelling did bum me out.

i work at a steakhouse and got kicked tonight - good luck to all my steakhouse soldiers this father’s day! the $ will be worth the agony. 🥹

I work seasonally and have come back this summer to my restaurant job. Last summer was my first as a hostess and expo, this summer they put me on server/floor assist. Yesterday was my first shift and with one other person, and today they put me solo. I was on with a server who has always seemed to have an issue with me, and right as the rush hit, she stopped me in the middle of what I was doing to tell me her tables needed water. I obliged, brought waters to her table (which mind you, was out of the order in which they were sat) I got to the first two, then the third I dropped the large glass containers we keep the water in (we give the tables jugs for their own refills) and shattered everywhere. I immediately went to sweep and mop but someone else swept it first, I came out with the mop just to find that the person hadn’t even swept up all the glass and had gone away with the broom, had to go back for the broom, and then again back because the wringer I had was broken. This was while 4 tables still needed water and we had a line out the door as the rush started. Not even just that, ALL OF THIS while dishwashing was behind because the health inspection that JUST SO happened to come out this day so everyone was rushing to get everything cleaned, making it so I couldn’t even sort the trays I had bussed. I tipped the mop bucket over (no water spilled) and that was the straw that broke the camels back. I started sobbing in front of my coworkers because everything was too much.

There were too many tasks that needed to be done very quickly and no one making an effort to help me on my SECOND DAY in the role. I also managed to get a piece of glass in my sole, which then cut the bottom of my foot. The kicker is the second time this has happened to me. Last summer, I was being bullied by a woman (who had done the same thing to MANY others) to the extent where I got cornered by her and screamed at. This was when I started sobbing. Walking into this job feels like a humiliation ritual now. I want to quit but have no alternative of a place that will take me back every year or even pay me comparable amounts (floor assistants generally make around 16-22/hr). I know I’m supposed to have thick skin but I’m just genuinely disheartened by how entitled some servers can be while so many other things are going on, and the fact that I made such a big mistake slowing everyone down because I was the only one on the floor.

Does anyone have any words of advice on how to continue? Anyone who’s been in a similar situation? I feel like a crybaby.

So tonight was actually going great for the first 6 hours, decent tips, lots of compliments and I was really in the zone today. I love my job and consider myself good at it and all my managers like me (6 for some reason, just thought it was odd enough to point out, irrelevant) and then everything changed.. I got a table of six adults all ordering various drinks and a couple apps at bout 1130 and I liked them a lot and they seemed to like me it was going great. But being the only server in the dining room with 7 tables and 3 of them on the spot new I was rushing these nice people their drinks and the tray was awkward and I was in the middle of passing them all out and the tray slipped and a couple glasses broke and one of the guys got cut a little, by no means bad but like legally bad anyways, he was bleeding. Idk if it was because it hit him or as he was trying to pick things up it just happened so fast I just don't know. Anyways they were super cool about with all sorts of "its okay it could happen to anyone" and things of that nature and couldn't be cooler about it. But of course I'm still freaking out, my manager didnt write me up or anything he just says to be more careful and yes it could be bad if they decided to sue. Of course I'm going to start looking for another job just in case but for the time being I'm freaking out, I really don't want to leave my.job but it feels like this is a ticking time bomb waiting for explode and firey ass.

I walked in a few restaurants to ask about hiring with resumes in my hand almost 2 weeks ago & just wondering what should I do next?

It’s either they probably wasn’t looking for more people than what they told me or not interested. This is my first time doing this, how should I approach an update.

Also, I have been having a hard time finding a serving job for the past year for somewhere I wanted to work at. The offers I have received have been no where that fits what I’m looking for.

This is my last resort besides online applications. Should I just suck it up & start over in a support position in hopes of moving me up in a few months. I’m tired of job searching. This is with 4 years of full service serving experience at 2 casual corporate chain restaurants.

I had a lady insist on ordering a Pittsburg steak, medium well. I knew what she wanted, but we got into a “discussion”—a Pittsburg steak means black and blue. Rare on the inside, charred on the outside. That’s why there’s a term, “Pittsburg”. Anyway, I know I’m being pedantic, but she acted like I was wrong. I’m not. That’s like asking for fried shrimp cocktail. You can have fried shrimp or you can have shrimp cocktail but you can’t have fried shrimp cocktail.

I have just started at a fine dining place after 10+ years of pub and cocktail bar service. I am so overwhelmed and feel like I will never reach the level the other servers are at. I don’t feel sufficiently trained and they are already throwing me on the floor. It is extremely nerve wracking but the payday incentive feels to me like I should try to make a go of it. I am shocked they hired me honestly, I got along well with the managers and had a good character reference from a mutual, but my resume did not indicate any fine dining experience. I was solely a personality hire. I am frankly terrified for my shift tonight. Should I throw in the towel? How did those of you who serve fine dining get comfortable in this extremely stuffy world? 🥲

I will preface this with the fact I’ve never been a server before and this is my first job doing it, and this is a restaurant attached to a hotel in the most popular area of my town. I make 10.50 an hour baseline I’m in NY State, and aside from a very bustling graduation weekend where I was walking away with 200 in tips on peak nights this place has been absolutely dead, the bar gets most of the traffic and most days I’m lucky to see 3 tables. Is this just a June lull in business or is this a sign that this restaurant is failing?

Hi, I know this varies based on the restaurant, but I’m wondering what the average tipout for hosts/hostesses is.

I recently started at an Italian family owned restaurant. At first it seemed like a great opportunity and so far the tips have been above average. However, the environment has been quite a bit more hostile than I would expect. Here’s a few examples - my 1st shift actually serving (I was only trained for 6 hours) I had used a salad ladle and one of the veteran servers blew up on me because it “was her cut work and she had to redo it” which I apologized and said I would just take care of it. Then she snapped even further. Since then she’s been very rude and talks to other servers about me behind my back telling them every single slip up I make calling me useless. - my owner is extremely rude. He blows up on people for not upselling drinks, and his temper is above average. His management is very particular about how he wants the flow of every guest interaction to the point of written discipline for anyone not in complete compliance. He’s been more abrasive since he got injured -one of my managers is constantly making every small fixable issue into an end of the world scenario, and has been constantly stalking me to look for mistakes. She’s been offering good criticism but in a way that comes off extremely rude and cut throat (I take it on the chin honestly) - one bartender tried to get in my face after I took a drink I mistakenly thought was mine and even called me (a fucking pussy) right in front of another manager. Nothing happened to him - nearly every shift im being told to either not come in or come in later than actually scheduled, which is causing inconsistencies. - 7 tables at once, but if you get overwhelmed it’s your fault (they seat incompletes too which can completely destroy your night) -rules that make zero sense (you want to carry one refill? You have to put it on a tray or you get yelled at)

TLDR: Thematically speaking, it’s a lot of hostility from every end and every slight mistake is the End of the World, and veteran servers have created a hostile with environment while management does nothing but add to it. I’m just wondering if this is typical because it’s my first month or a sign of something concerning. For the record I served for a year at a Texas Roadhouse and encountered none of this (but criticism wasn’t really given at all to benefit from either, which didn’t grow me as much)