Dinging Tables & Egos

(From my college days, while working part time as a Hostess)

I am spurred on to write after hearing the stark contrast in opinions about myself. I am student, and like others of my reputable esteem, we fend for ourselves by working part-time. And my need for money forayed me into the restaurant business. I have been labeled as ‘butter-fingers’ since school, and so serving customers was out of the question. However, being bestowed with a congenial appearance, I landed the position of a hostess at a reputable restaurant.

Those of whom who know me personally, describe me as a loving, accommodating, helpful and hardworking person. (So I have been told). However, my customers at the restaurant think otherwise.

When I first started the working, I tried my best to keep myself in line because I was desperate to keep the job, and so, I took in all the absurd nonsense that came my way. But now, having worked nearly a year at the restaurant, I have learnt quite a bit. Being a hostess, it’s my job to seat the customers and handle reservations. I have to make sure that my fellow servers all get equal no. of tables to serve. I also have to make sure that tables are ready for customers who walk in, which means, I have to see that no customer is wasting a table.

Now this is my biggest challenge as a hostess- saying ‘No’ to a customer for a bigger table. Most restaurants have a standard size for a table of two, and it goes the same for my restaurant. But I sometimes have a problem in convincing two people to sit at a table of two. And it’s always the usual excuse, “This table is too small for me”, “It’s too crowded here, I need space, I need privacy”, “Don’t you want your customers to come back?” Oh gosh! Don’t people understand?! This is a restaurant, not a lounge or their homes. This is a place where people come to eat because they don’t want to cook. And when I refuse the bigger table to them, they get absolutely offended. Some of them start behaving rudely with me and tell me that I have an attitude problem, and then these people think they are punishing me by not leaving a tip for the server. Some just walk out. And some complain to the manager. Luckily, I have built a rapport with my boss and have proved my hard work and dedication to him. But after all, in the restaurant business, the customer is always right!

The worst thing that has happened is when a customer made me cry. A family of six walked in during a weekend, and I immediately got a table ready for them so that they wouldn’t have to wait. The ladies of the group were grateful, but the gentleman with them didn’t like the table and demanded that I go look for another table for him. He was so rude that he made me cry. Thankfully his daughter calmed him down and handled the situation.

One time during the summer, I wouldn’t give a couple a bigger table on the patio, especially since there was a huge line-up. The gentleman is obviously very upset with his, and tells me that he owns eight condos in the building next to us and that he demands to see the manager. Unfortunately for him, neither was my manager impressed with his display of money.

The other thing that I hate, is when during a waiting list on weekends, some men (a woman has never done this with me) come up to me flashing their business cards, telling me that they do business nearby and that if I don’t get them a table immediately, they will not promote our restaurant at work. I never imagined that people could stoop so low.

So what is it that drives people to be so mean to the poor little hostess? Hunger? Partly. But from my experience and observation, it all boils down to ‘ego’. I have noticed, the bigger the ego, the bigger the table. The size of the table flatters them. It’s a feeling of space, of abundance. On a bigger table, the person also feels ‘big’. You might think that the basis of this completely shallow, but do me a favor, the next time you go to someone’s house, observe the size of their dining table and associate it with the host’s personality. And if you are one of the egocentric kinds, which table do you prefer to sit at the restaurant?

But despite the 60% of mean, egoistic customers I deal with, there are the 40% who are really nice people, have the proper restaurant etiquettes and always come back. What surprises me sometimes, is that the truly wealthy and egoistic looking ones, are always the most nicest of all.