I recently visited a pub in my city for a fun night out with my cousins. We had a great time, the music was good and the food was great. We especially had great service by a crew member who waited our table and gave some choice recommendations on the menu. Not just that, it was deafeningly loud and dimly lit in the restaurant (as it tends to be) which makes it a problem to put across any ask or order. But he was always right around the corner and cognizant of whenever we turned to look for him. The usual experience I have had at such places is that you are constantly looking around for some waiter to stop amidst the marathons they are running from table to table, awaiting your turn for some attention. So, this was definitely a change and quite pleasant to have a smooth sailing service.
At the end of the night, we paid our bill and gave an extra tip to the server which he politely accepted and went about his work. As we were about to leave, we realized we had misidentified the value of notes owing to the light situation and tipped way less than usual. So, we hailed the person again and reimbursed him fittingly for the service. He again politely accepted, and I saw a slight smile flicker across his face. I apologized for the mistake and said, “Also, thank you so much for you service and food recommendations. It was all amazing and we had such a good time!” To this, his expressions completely changed, and he smiled widely while thanking me profusely. You may think I am overcompensating, but I did positively see his face glow.
As we rode back home, I was thinking how just a small line from a customer could make a staff’s night so much better. These people are on their feet all the time, listening to tedious and/or drunken complaints, and still cannot break a sweat. It’s not just waiters but anyone in the hospitality and service industry. They all have thankless jobs. Getting a great service is a benchmark in any other industry but in hospitality it is taken for granted. It is hygiene so we feel entitled to it. It’s my job to enjoy and not say please or thank you. But just a small amount of politeness can make a big difference to them. I am not saying that your generous compliment can replace their hard-earned money, yet it can make their jobs bearable and help them go beyond.
So next time when out, instead of automatically assuming that you own the waiter, maybe drop them a few P’s and Q’s.
P.S. – Loved another thing at this place. They asked stag or couples at the entry, we said two stags and two couples. This was followed by an unusual question (at least to me) – “Two couples of?” I was puzzled when the crew clarified, “Two couples asin two females or two males or both?”. Felt a twinge of respect for them to understand and adapt to the changing generation.
