Say What?

So I was looking at blogs today, as I usually do on Friday mornings, and I started thinking about this one server that Cam and I had at Olive Garden on Valentine's Day. *sidenote: I work as a server at Iron Gate Grill in Providence, so I usually pay closer attention to people who serve me than most other people do*

This guy was delightful and a hoot and, frankly, kind of goofy.

First off, this was on Valentine's Day, right? The day that every couple and their dog goes out to eat. (Not really the dogs, though.)

He comes up and says, "Welcome to the Olive Garden. I'm Zac, and I'll be taking care of you this fine day. So, are we rekindling a lost flame tonight?"

"Uh...."

I didn't know after four months of marriage the flame had to be rekindled.

He proceeded to give us the specials, which were all "top notch" and did the "OK" sign when he said it.

We all know that servers with personality are refreshing and enjoyable. (It also at times results in a lovely tip.) But the fact of the matter is, this person at your table is a performer. It's like being back in high school, a la Mean Girls when you're sitting across from Regina George and you're trying to get her to like you. Except in this case, the customer is the person deciding how enjoyable work is going to be for the next forty-five minutes.

This memory of Zac caused me to reflect on some of the funny things I've said to tables. For the most part, I'd like to think of myself as a clear, articulate speaker. But the auto-pilot things that I say are when I get in some trouble.

For example, whenever people tell me "thank you," I always say, "you're welcome." This is fine, but there are some days when I find myself telling people they're welcome before they've thanked me. They then mumble a thank you, as if I was teaching them proper etiquette.

After a couple hours serving and running up and down stairs, my auto-pilot speech starts to slurrrr together and I start clipping my words. It starts to sound like this:

"How are we doing tonight? I'mHaleyandI'lbetakingcareofya' today. Can I start you off with something to drink? We've got Pepsiproductsraspberrystrawberrypeach lemonade, as well as a beer and wine list."

Sometimes, it'll also sound like this:

"How are you folks doin' tonight? Can I start you off with something to drink? [At this point, I realize I haven't introduced myself yet] I'm Haley, by the way, we've got Pepsi products, raspberry...." You get the idea.

The hardest thing is when there are young kids at the table. I like to make an effort to create communication with them, but the fact of the matter is, a lot of these kids are super shy when speaking with strangers.

This had led me to resort to calling kids really, really, really stupid names such as,

"What can I get for this little cutie?" Also can be replaced with sweetheart, sweet girl, etc.

"How're those chicken strips, tiger?" Yes, this one REALLY did happen *cringe* and my brother laughed at me from the next table *double cringe*.

Also, I sometimes talk really, really loud at tables. Or sometimes I'll talk really, really soft if they're in the middle of meetings. To the point where they can't hear me. And then they just stare at me.

So, I guess the point of this post is to explain that sometimes, your servers are going to say really stupid and goofy things.