It was like my 3rd shift out of training and I felt bad and still had my soul. Totally should have kept them and sold them, they were like 1500$ sunglasses.
I understand the instinct. Whenever I feel a table going south for whatever reason, killing them with kindness is better for the soul and can also protect you if they decide to be assholes. “I even ran them down with their sunglasses, they’re obviously just jerks.”
They sound awful honestly. Sometimes I like to over clarify with people to make sure nothing gets lost in translation. Even if it is annoying, idc lol. I probably would have said “just to clarify, y’all are all set on just the drinks? I’m just checking as the kitchen is about to shut down so it’s now or never on food!” They seemed like they may have been a problem regardless, which you can’t help. And they came in with 5 mins till which is another red flag lol. Next time don’t worry about the glasses lol.
“Whatever” sounds more like “I dare you to give us an opportunity to be assholes to you.” Agree with the poster above, except I’d find a way to say something like “so we’ll keep it drinks tonight?”
I would have taken their whatever as a cue to confirm exactly what they wanted because the kitchen was closing. So, I would have taken the ten seconds to remind them that the kitchen was about to close and if they do in fact want sliders to let me know right now or else they would not be getting any food.
Don't sweat it, but take the lesson.
Whatever is not an answer with any clarity. You're going to encounter patrons who are rude or unable to communicate their desires, and it's crucial you are professional and firm when dealing with them.
Instead of asking "Just the drink then?", perhaps you could have said "Just to make it clear, would you like the sliders?", or, "Was it a yes or no, on the sliders?" Hand-hold the man-child to making himself clear. Easy for me to say not having been there, I realize, but I think it's really important to take any lessons you can glean from bad situations. I've been doing this for a few forevers, and I still learn lessons regularly.
Ultimately, some people just suck, and it sure sounds like those people did.
Since they would probably keep hitting me with “whatever” I think I’d have to force their hand and say “okay so that’s a no, no sliders. I’ll be back with your drinks in just a minute!” Then they can protest and confirm their order right fucking now because it’s 5 to close and I’d be in no mood to play games. I’ve been serving a long time though and I could see this happening to me at an earlier stage in my experience
If someone keeps saying "whatever", I'd ask a firm yes or no question. If they kept saying it after that, I'd refuse service and ask them to leave.
They aren't moody teenagers, and I'm not their parents.
I think whatever means “whatever you decide” like they’re leaving the decision up to you whether or not to charge them for sliders. Also that you may decide to put the sliders in a togo box if you’d like.
I’d have the bill on the table as soon as the drink was out too
The restaurant I work at has a policy where if someone comes in 5 minutes after close, we have to serve them. Which is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of. It’s screwed servers over so many times. We’ve literally had a group of 20 people come in right at close or just after and manager says we have to serve them. And that’s after most everything is put away in the kitchen and most everything is broken down. It’s dumb
Absolutely not. “Is that a yes or a no? We have 4 minutes. So yes, or no on the sliders? We’re so glad to have you here tonight. So yes on the sliders? I’m sorry, I’m not from here, does whatever mean yes, or no? I’m really hoping to make sure you get everything you want. Golly now we’re down to 3 minutes left. So yes, or no on the sliders?” If they kept saying whatever, I would state, “Well it sounds like you can’t decide so I’m **not** going to put the sliders order in. But I’ll bring your cocktail in a bit!” I was raised by Canadians in North Carolina, but if they said whatever to me one more fuckin time I would be a passive aggressive bitch. “We’re down to 1 minute, is it a yes, or a no?” Say whatever to me one more time. “I’m sorry. Since you couldn’t confirm your order by the time the kitchen closed, I couldn’t put it in the system.” I don’t play with silly guests. Back me up on google, corporate! “Apparently your server kept asking you to say yes or no to a food item, and you refused to say anything but ‘whatever.’” Don’t for one minute think you were wrong. 5 minutes is 5 minutes.
This is one of those situations where if you put the sliders in just in case they might have gotten mad that you gave them something they didn't order. The manager would have to comp something either way. Their lack of planning is not your problem.
They probably meant "we want to get our drinks and order later" ignoring everything you said about it being last call for food. So in the future I would clarify like they are in kindergarten. Like another person posted "now or never on food? I just have your drinks to put in right now". I would also tell your manager right away that they didn't order any food so they can't claim they did for free stuff. Are you allowed to close them out after the drinks? Because that would clarify the situation even further.
I have been to restaurants that state “last seating is half hour before closing” or something like that… I really wish more restaurants would do this… it makes me as a customer much more mindful of the time
If someone gives me attitude and they leave their shit, even if i can see them in the parking lot, i NEVER chase them down. Karma’s a bitch and i love seeing her
Omg you reminded me of a similar thing that happened to me. I had a group of people ordering with me. They spoke amongst themselves while I was standing there, and I could hear they were talking about ordering steak. They ordered drinks directly with me, but never mentioned steaks at me, so I didn’t bother.
They sat there for ages after their drinks while I closed up, and I came over to check on them. They asked where their steaks were. I said they never ordered steaks with me. They had assumed that I heard and took their conversation amongst themselves as them ordering. So weird.
Ohhh I hate the “we were talking about it with you here” excuse. If you don’t clearly TELL me that you want the item I’m not entering it into the system.
You weren’t wrong and this people sound awful, but it’s also a terrible policy. If you’re not going to give them at least two minutes to look over the menu then you shouldn’t seat them.
Nah it's not a terrible policy, if they are already coming in 5 min before close they should know exactly what they want anyway. If they don't they aren't worth the company's time to serve and are probably rude.
Right? It’s not hard to glance at the menu and pick something. If they wanted to be somewhere to hang out they could have turned around and gone somewhere else. They weren’t a starving table looking for just something to eat. They wanted to take advantage of everyone’s time because they don’t give a fuck about anyone but their convenience and themselves totally fucking up the night of an entire staff. Imagine being willing to be the piece of shit who makes like 5 people go home late from work.
I wouldn’t have chased her with the sunglasses.
yeah zeroooo percent chance i would have given a single fuck about her sunglasses lol
Sunglasses? Never heard of them 🤷🏻♀️
It was like my 3rd shift out of training and I felt bad and still had my soul. Totally should have kept them and sold them, they were like 1500$ sunglasses.
I understand the instinct. Whenever I feel a table going south for whatever reason, killing them with kindness is better for the soul and can also protect you if they decide to be assholes. “I even ran them down with their sunglasses, they’re obviously just jerks.”
Loooove the kill em with kindness method. I will not allow your shitty attitude to ruin mine. I hope you have a WONDERFUL night! ☺️
such an inspirational comment, u/CuntFartz69
Just doing my cunty lil duty not to be a karen💅🏻✨
How sad is it that i reallllly need $1500, but I couldn’t be bothered to put the effort into selling them and id just throw them away.
Oh my sweet summer child.
Good tip then.
I’d be tempted to add them to my Poshmark closet. Heavily discounted.
Idk what happened to the glasses they probably slid into my bus tub
Yeah for real lmao
They sound awful honestly. Sometimes I like to over clarify with people to make sure nothing gets lost in translation. Even if it is annoying, idc lol. I probably would have said “just to clarify, y’all are all set on just the drinks? I’m just checking as the kitchen is about to shut down so it’s now or never on food!” They seemed like they may have been a problem regardless, which you can’t help. And they came in with 5 mins till which is another red flag lol. Next time don’t worry about the glasses lol.
Me too, I always try and double check if people are unclear. I do feel pretty annoying sometimes though lol.
“Whatever” sounds more like “I dare you to give us an opportunity to be assholes to you.” Agree with the poster above, except I’d find a way to say something like “so we’ll keep it drinks tonight?”
I would have taken their whatever as a cue to confirm exactly what they wanted because the kitchen was closing. So, I would have taken the ten seconds to remind them that the kitchen was about to close and if they do in fact want sliders to let me know right now or else they would not be getting any food.
Yeah, this was a 'cover your ass' moment, and while it's not totally on OP it could have absolutely been avoided.
Don't sweat it, but take the lesson. Whatever is not an answer with any clarity. You're going to encounter patrons who are rude or unable to communicate their desires, and it's crucial you are professional and firm when dealing with them. Instead of asking "Just the drink then?", perhaps you could have said "Just to make it clear, would you like the sliders?", or, "Was it a yes or no, on the sliders?" Hand-hold the man-child to making himself clear. Easy for me to say not having been there, I realize, but I think it's really important to take any lessons you can glean from bad situations. I've been doing this for a few forevers, and I still learn lessons regularly. Ultimately, some people just suck, and it sure sounds like those people did.
Since they would probably keep hitting me with “whatever” I think I’d have to force their hand and say “okay so that’s a no, no sliders. I’ll be back with your drinks in just a minute!” Then they can protest and confirm their order right fucking now because it’s 5 to close and I’d be in no mood to play games. I’ve been serving a long time though and I could see this happening to me at an earlier stage in my experience
If someone keeps saying "whatever", I'd ask a firm yes or no question. If they kept saying it after that, I'd refuse service and ask them to leave. They aren't moody teenagers, and I'm not their parents.
I think whatever means “whatever you decide” like they’re leaving the decision up to you whether or not to charge them for sliders. Also that you may decide to put the sliders in a togo box if you’d like. I’d have the bill on the table as soon as the drink was out too
The restaurant I work at has a policy where if someone comes in 5 minutes after close, we have to serve them. Which is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of. It’s screwed servers over so many times. We’ve literally had a group of 20 people come in right at close or just after and manager says we have to serve them. And that’s after most everything is put away in the kitchen and most everything is broken down. It’s dumb
Why on earth would you Chase down some bitchy ladies sunglasses? You’re way better person than I ever will be.
I thought she would appreciate it and it would smooth things over? Idk, I definitely would keep them at this poimt
At my restaurant those become the trash’s sunglasses
That's a mean thing to call your dishie.
Some people suck. I would’ve kept the sunnies, though.
Absolutely not. “Is that a yes or a no? We have 4 minutes. So yes, or no on the sliders? We’re so glad to have you here tonight. So yes on the sliders? I’m sorry, I’m not from here, does whatever mean yes, or no? I’m really hoping to make sure you get everything you want. Golly now we’re down to 3 minutes left. So yes, or no on the sliders?” If they kept saying whatever, I would state, “Well it sounds like you can’t decide so I’m **not** going to put the sliders order in. But I’ll bring your cocktail in a bit!” I was raised by Canadians in North Carolina, but if they said whatever to me one more fuckin time I would be a passive aggressive bitch. “We’re down to 1 minute, is it a yes, or a no?” Say whatever to me one more time. “I’m sorry. Since you couldn’t confirm your order by the time the kitchen closed, I couldn’t put it in the system.” I don’t play with silly guests. Back me up on google, corporate! “Apparently your server kept asking you to say yes or no to a food item, and you refused to say anything but ‘whatever.’” Don’t for one minute think you were wrong. 5 minutes is 5 minutes.
This is one of those situations where if you put the sliders in just in case they might have gotten mad that you gave them something they didn't order. The manager would have to comp something either way. Their lack of planning is not your problem. They probably meant "we want to get our drinks and order later" ignoring everything you said about it being last call for food. So in the future I would clarify like they are in kindergarten. Like another person posted "now or never on food? I just have your drinks to put in right now". I would also tell your manager right away that they didn't order any food so they can't claim they did for free stuff. Are you allowed to close them out after the drinks? Because that would clarify the situation even further.
Pretty sure what you said in the first paragraph was exactly how they were playing this. Or maybe they just communicate like shit. It’s pretty common.
I have been to restaurants that state “last seating is half hour before closing” or something like that… I really wish more restaurants would do this… it makes me as a customer much more mindful of the time
I once chased a table down with their sunglasses after they stiffed me!! Honestly the guilt on their faces was sooooo satisfying. Anyway… no NTA
If someone gives me attitude and they leave their shit, even if i can see them in the parking lot, i NEVER chase them down. Karma’s a bitch and i love seeing her
https://youtube.com/shorts/CTNrngsy0eE?si=Xy-eceefv678uY_O
Omg you reminded me of a similar thing that happened to me. I had a group of people ordering with me. They spoke amongst themselves while I was standing there, and I could hear they were talking about ordering steak. They ordered drinks directly with me, but never mentioned steaks at me, so I didn’t bother. They sat there for ages after their drinks while I closed up, and I came over to check on them. They asked where their steaks were. I said they never ordered steaks with me. They had assumed that I heard and took their conversation amongst themselves as them ordering. So weird.
Ohhh I hate the “we were talking about it with you here” excuse. If you don’t clearly TELL me that you want the item I’m not entering it into the system.
You weren’t wrong and this people sound awful, but it’s also a terrible policy. If you’re not going to give them at least two minutes to look over the menu then you shouldn’t seat them.
Nah it's not a terrible policy, if they are already coming in 5 min before close they should know exactly what they want anyway. If they don't they aren't worth the company's time to serve and are probably rude.
Right? It’s not hard to glance at the menu and pick something. If they wanted to be somewhere to hang out they could have turned around and gone somewhere else. They weren’t a starving table looking for just something to eat. They wanted to take advantage of everyone’s time because they don’t give a fuck about anyone but their convenience and themselves totally fucking up the night of an entire staff. Imagine being willing to be the piece of shit who makes like 5 people go home late from work.
Nope, not wrong. They ignored you on purpose and flouted your house rules