“And on top of that they are unpleasant”: the waiters are fed up with this habit of customers, stop it!
Working in a restaurant often requires a good deal of self-control. While most customers are pleasant, a handful can make things much harder to tolerate. One habit in particular has a knack for exasperating servers. We'll reveal it so you don't repeat it (even unintentionally!).
The restaurant industry is a unique world which, like many other professions with significant public interaction, also conceals aspects that most consumers are sometimes completely unaware of, or only vaguely aware of. This lack of understanding (and sometimes a serious lack of social graces) can lead to misunderstandings that particularly affect the staff of these establishments.
Waitresses, waiters, and other employees, especially those working in the kitchen, regularly face frustrating behavior. Unreasonable requests are common, but one in particular is especially irritating. When customers arrive 10 to 15 minutes before closing time and order food, the impact is far worse than they can imagine.
For a team that has worked long hours, what appears to be a small extra from the consumer's point of view is actually an unwelcome additional expense. What these late visitors often don't realize is that they have just restarted a process.
A habit with an invisible impact
The closing time of an establishment is often perceived by the public as the end of the workday. While the doors are indeed closed, the staff is generally far from having gone home. The dining area still needs to be tidied, partially cleaned, and cleared away in order to rearrange the furniture and/or prepare for the next day's opening. It's also the time for accounts and cash reconciliation.
In the kitchen, it's also necessary to start from scratch so that the next day's service begins in a clean and optimal environment. It's also the time to review certain stocks and inventories, whether for orders or preparations for upcoming services.
For the kitchens, closing time begins before the restaurant's. If service is at a standstill, the staff usually starts by washing and tidying the areas that customers don't see. If customers suddenly appear and place orders, everything (or almost everything) has to be cleared out again.
A little empathy?
This overtime, which staff are often forced to accept, is not always fairly compensated. Even without considering salary, this kind of unexpected extension can be a source of stress and additional mental strain in a job already marked by considerable tension.
If the customers in question are also unpleasant, or even downright arrogant, exploiting the "customer is king" doctrine, this hardly encourages continued effort. For the establishment, this can also be detrimental, as exhausted and worn-out staff are less able to provide optimal service.
Some restaurants are taking the initiative by clearly displaying their kitchen closing time. Sometimes, the menu even indicates the last order time. Nevertheless, some customers seem to completely ignore this type of information.
The ideal approach is always to try to put yourself in someone else's shoes, even if you don't know all the ins and outs of a particular job. If you know it's almost closing time, it costs nothing to politely ask the server if they can still serve you and if the kitchen is open. A little empathy and attentiveness quickly helps you understand where the line is drawn, and nobody's going to starve in that situation!
