Chapter 5: Don't blame your experience on the Server when mine was ruined by your kids.

One thing I have noticed that drives me insane is when someone complains about something as simple as their service at a restaurant when it is in their own control. I understand service builds the experience, but when your waitress is busting her butt to tend to you when she has six to ten other tables that are just as demanding, give her a break.

Yesterday I went into work for dinner and we have the Petoskey Downtown Open House as well as soccer weekend, sales are anticipated to be higher and the RSVP list is packed with larger parties consisting of 50 people or more. Well, I was seated in one of the new servers section, super sweet and always treating her tables like they are her top priority. This family is seated in her section; mom, dad, and two kids who couldn't be any older than 5 years. Not even five minutes into sitting down the younger of the two darts off toward the back of the restaurant while the dad jumps up and chases him. There are so many people in that building we had a waitlist going. It was ridiculous because then the mom started to look for a reason to complain. Fast forward about 30 minutes and the other kid has yelled back at his mom making a scene, throwing a chair down then yelling, and the dad has the other kid outside after throwing a fit and running off again. Our server had her focus on them while the mom was rude and demanding the check, stating she won't be back because of the service she had received. This is when the dad came back in holding the youngest who was squirming and trying to get down, the two of the parents look at eachother and mom starts yelling to him that "IT IS PAID, THE CHECK TO THIS FREAKING PLACE IS PAID" she then threw another demeaning glare at our general manager and the server and walked out. This particular waitress did absolutely nothing wrong and held her composure while the mom was telling her off, we overheard her as she told the waitress they don't plan on coming back.

How I look at it is that the guest is not always right, the guest can claim their food was made wrong, they got the wrong drink, or they did not like the service but the fact that I couldn't enjoy my meal without hearing this family yelling and screaming at eachother just goes to show that the other guests have an impact on your experience and so do you.

The rest of the evening however was fun! We walked out the door to hearing music in the park, a photo booth and the community and businesses working together!