Thanks Gregg, for the link to the entertaining Waiterrant.net site… though I’m a little skeptical. This server is such a good writer, these page-turning posts almost read like fiction. He quotes Jean Paul Satre, for gosh sake’s!
I’ve been getting an earful about bad service experiences around Memphis — the latest, about rude treatment at Encore — so, it’s refreshing to get a perspective from the other side of the table. I have a ton of respect for hard-working service staff… a great waiter can make a bad meal bearable. But a crummy waiter or a snarky hostess can spoil the most delicious entree.
This goes out to diners and servers: Want to share some nightmarish experiences? Or, some wonderful memory-making moments?
Read this
Responses to “A rave for the rant…”
May 4th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
The Bride of No Sluggo and I were flying out of Memphis and had a little time to kill so we had a quick bite and drinks at one of the crummy places in the gate areas. It was an extremely busy time in the late afternoon and once we sat, all of the tables were full. Our section was being manned by a young man who was getting jammed up big time by the crowd and delays in the kitchen and the bar. He accomodated everyone - beyond reason - and was way more gracious than I would have been to the complainers. Very impressive service for which I left a good tip and called the company the next day to say so.
May 4th, 2006 at 4:45 pm
Actually, I’ve always found the service at Encore delightful, and the servers better than most in Memphis. My pet peeve is when the server tries to be my pal, and greets us with, “Hi, guys!” I also resent servers bugging me when I’m obviously deep in conversation with a girlfriend or — even more annoying — with my husband. (This happened recently at Paulette’s AND Cafe Ole. No drinks needed refilling, or plates removing, they just wanted to hear what we were talking about.) Go away!
May 5th, 2006 at 12:04 am
Waiterrant.com is probably a lot like bitterwaitress.com, another very cool site with a lot of interesting stories. And while it’s unrelated to food, etiquettehell.com has the same kinda gig going on - people submit their horror stories. I highly recommend both, and I am going to check out waiterrant.com. Sounds like it is right up my alley. Oh, one more thing - know anything about Destiny’s Diner on Cleveland?
May 5th, 2006 at 9:12 pm
The report of bad service at Encore must be an aberration. On our several visits the service (and food) were superb.
May 7th, 2006 at 9:09 am
I went to Encore with some friends. The service was lousy - we waited 1/2 hour to order, we had to flag the waitress down for water refill, and we had to request bread that other tables got as a matter of course.
May 21st, 2006 at 2:46 pm
Why be skeptical, people in the service indsutry often are very well read, I know several with Master degrees in various subjects. Many times service industry people just enjoy their job, besides you can’t beat the money (for waiters) or the ability to move anywhere in the world and still have a job. Most waiters I find seem to know more about alot of subjects based on simple interaction and sometimes patience with their guests. Imagine the amount of people they meet throughout just one weeks work.
6 comment.