 5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe. If the name Ron Eyester rings a bell, it might be because we gave him and his @theangrychef tweets a little shout-out in our "Things we love" piece on Friday - right next to meat-themed shirts and pimento cheese. Eyester is the executive chef and owner of Rosebud Restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia - and boy, do customers get his blood boiling on a good many occasion. And while we might have promised Gripe Week was over on Friday, it is Monday - and we see that as reason enough to don our cranky pants and/or cranky apron once more for old kvetching time's sake.
I’m sorry, but we haven’t been waiting around all day for you and your ten friends to pop in - moreover, there was actually some logic and planning that went into putting the tables and chairs where we have them, so leave them the f#@$ alone!” 2. “I love how a restaurant is expected to acknowledge your birthday like it’s a national holiday or something. Who invented the rule that you get a free dessert on your birthday in a restaurant? I guess we have T.G.I.Friday’s and Bennigan’s to thank for exploiting servers as they, the servers, clap their hands and chant a birthday cheer. You don’t get free pair of gloves or socks from Old Navy when you buy an outfit on your birthday. I actually will kid with our guests and let them know that on their birthday, 'unfortunately, our mariachi band is off this evening' - and, people believe me!” 3. “One of my all time favorites: People’s utter disregard for hours of operation. ‘Oh, you all are closed? OK, well, I just get some food to go.’ No, I don’t think you get it - we’re closed. Not only can you not cash a check at the bank 30 seconds after they close - the old man locking the door actually takes pleasure in locking the door on you. In some banks, the tellers even have a nice panoramic window to gaze out of and laugh at all the folks who didn’t make it in on time. What do restaurants have? We have that one guy - if you keep the bar open between lunch and dinner, as we do – who talks to you non-stop as you either try to grab a quick bite to eat, maybe enjoy some solitude or even get some prep work done. This guy talks about everything and nothing all at the same time while he nurses a single beer for a little over an hour and waits for the kitchen to re-open. It’s also worth mentioning that this guy is like a cat: feed him once and you get the pleasure of enjoying many a quiet afternoon with him." 4. “You know what happens when you’re late for a flight? You miss it! You know what happens when you’re late to the movies? It starts despite the fact that you’re not there. Why am I obligated to hold your table when you’re late? Oh, you hit traffic. What’s that? - I’ve never heard of traffic. Also, when you show up thirty minutes before we open for brunch (yes, this happens all the time), I can’t open early because ‘your body is used to eating at 9:30.’ Yet, I’m obligated to offer you a cup of coffee while you wait and make sure that the staff and I don’t drop too many F-bombs while we’re setting up so we don’t offend you.” 5. “A chef really loves when you drop his or her name - especially when you don’t have a reservation on a busy night. Or even better, when these people refer to themselves as a ‘good friend.’ Here’s a rule: coming to eat at my restaurant once a month, while I genuinely appreciate the patronage and support, does not automatically qualify us as friends. I’m probably not going to ask you to baptize my next kid. Moreover, if you were really my friend: (a) you would have direct access to me via my phone instead of having to negotiate through the hostess, and (b) you wouldn’t repeatedly ask your server for me to stop by the table so that I could essentially put on a dog and pony show for you and the person that you are sitting with (a.k.a. the person who you told that you and I were good friends).” And for good measure... 6. “Why do people always seem to call the restaurant at the absolute worst time (i.e. between 12:45 and 1:30 p.m. and 7 and 9 p.m.) to inquire about our menu or make a reservation? ‘Yes, please tell me about your food’ Really? Do you not have access to the World Wide Web? It’s great when they request a verbal tour of the menu. And, why is it that all these people share an uncanny, common denominator - they all talk so slow! Or - how about when people call to make a reservation and the conversation actually turns into a conference call? This is especially entertaining when the person is in a car with a multiple talkative passengers, or the other people in the conversation are in another room of the house probably watching college football. The person you are on the other end of the phone with is still conferring with the others: ‘What time do you want to eat? I don’t know. Is eight too late? How hungry are you? Do you think you’ll be busy at 7:30? They don’t have anything until 8:15.’” Want to add more chef laments to the roster? Thoughts from the customer peanut gallery? Hash it out in the comments below. Previously - Waiters even the score and Are you still working on that? Is there someone you'd like to see in the hot seat? Let us know in the comments below and if we agree, we'll do our best to chase 'em down. |
It's difficult to find knowledgeable people in this particular topic, however, you sound like you know what you're talking about!
Thanks
Italians love discovering new foods and new way of preparing familiar dishes. Every year there's more and more interest in the traditional cuisine of the various regions and in biological, environment friendly foods. Italian food for Italians is a reason of pride. You can recognize Italians abroad for their longing of typical dishes, pasta over every other. And you can see how dishearten they are when they try pasta outside Italy. Some upper class foreign restaurants have managed to master almost all the typical Italian dishes, but pasta still eludes them.
Re: # 5 – There used to be excellent restaurant called Bert's Seafood Grill in Greensboro, NC, about 45 minutes from where I live. It was notoriously hard to get a table there, and people used to call and say they were good friends with Bert, expecting to get a table. What these clowns didn't realize was that Bert was the owner's dog.
Christ, there are a lot of entitled people in the world.
Yes, restaurants are part of the service industry (my, how people love that word). I think that if customers come in with an entitled, confrontational attitude right off the bat (as part of a mistaken notion that aggressiveness is the same as assertiveness) then right away everyone involved is on guard, there's no chance for a friendly connection, and it just makes for a difficult atmosphere. Remember that both the customers and employees have the same goal: for the customer to have an enjoyable experience. Don't get me wrong; I have no patience with waitstaff who get orders wrong, nor do I think I should pay for a $12 Caesar salad which comes to the table sprinkled with canned parmesan and fake bacon bits.
Perhaps I'm wrong, but I interpreted the furniture-moving as follows: a group of 10 come in, look around, and start moving tables and chairs together without consulting a member of staff or considering that they might be blocking the flow of foot traffic, blocking an exit, wedging other diners in, or what have you. Maybe that table is already booked by someone who will be coming twenty minutes from now. There IS a sort of invisible organization to restaurant tables, even if it's not immediately obvious to patrons; it's not like walking into an empty movie theatre. I'm sure most restaurants are delighted to see 10 people come in, but a larger group is going to need a little bit of rearranging to make sure EVERYONE has a nice experience that night - them AND the other customers.
There seems to be a lot of hate here for "innovative" food. Why are people so hostile to the idea that a dish might have been designed with something a little out of the ordinary? For example, there's an upscale restaurant in my city which offers "mac and cheese" with lobster and fontina cheese. You *could* order that and demand that it be made with Velveeta, hold the lobster, but they must have had *some* reason for making it that way - why not try it? They didn't come up with that dish so they could piss you off, or to listen to you rage about "pretentious food". They want you to be delighted by it. If the notion of lobster and fontina mac & cheese offends you, you must be terribly insecure; it's a nice twist on an old classic. If you want noodles and Velveeta, make it yourself. Some people are quite happy to pay for the good stuff. (And I'm sorry, all you people who want well-done steak are missing out; the ones putting ketchup on it are unspeakable) A lot of you sound like you don't think there is any reason for restaurants nicer than Outback or Applebee's to even exist.
As has been said before, chefs at more upscale restaurants are not actually back there chopping onions and grilling fish. They are more like managers who oversee operations and make sure everything comes together; the actual prep and cooking are done by people whose names you will never know.
And no, I'm not in the restaurant business, nor am I even in the service industry...
Nothing like a giant portwine stain on a chef’s head to whet the appetite. Yum.
I like how this Cook thinks he is the only one that has to put up stress of dealing with people. I mean really WTF, did you actually think that everybody your freeking robot? Are you really that retarded as to think that when dealing with people everybody is going to have a PHD in understanding the protocols of the restaurant business and everyone is always going to pretend are some sort of movie star? Do you think that Doctors only get patients who kiss there ass and never want to talk about there daily events, or better yet a cable guy who goes out in freezing weather all day long to is not going to get a customer that bitches or has furniture in the way of a cable connector? You just don't seem to get it do you? Most people that go out to eat at a place other than fast food are doing it for the Entertainment of it. This is why your restaurant has a bar. Otherwise they could just stop at a gas station or a store and pick up there booze much cheaper. We are not going out to eat and pay for your over priced food and tips to put up with your BULLSH(IP) and attitude. I mean are you some kind of idiot or something? Why would you take up a Job where you have to deal with lots of people if you don't like dealing with them? Any reasonable person getting into this sort of work, would be a person who enjoys working with people to the point that they can take the good with the bad, and guess what? Everybody has there bad days. Normal people who are Stuarts in the service industry accept this as a challenge and par for the course. Do you think a Fireman takes up the job as being a Fireman then expects only houses to catch on Fire when its on a warm and sunny day? You seriously need to grow up little boy.
LMFAO is a good band, i like those hilarious MTV they make on youtube ~..
1. How about no customers? Cuts down on moving the furniture, and hearing you whine about it.
2. Yeah, cause you'll never make up the cost of that free desert in the extra drinks you charge 500% markup on.
3. If you don't want to serve people don't work in the service industry.
4. See above
5. Mental note: never eat at the Rosebud, re Chef
6. Won't be an issue, probably ever again.
T-Minus 3 weeks to this guy never working again.
There's no reason for a chef to be a completely obnoxious diva, but I do understand some of his complaints. A good restaurant generally has a small, very carefully assembled menu of dishes that are cooked for a certain flavor–the chef will choose one ingredient over another or one cooking technique over another because the finished product will taste the way he intends. It's not just a collection of foods–it's a meal. When a customer starts making substitutions, removing ingredients or cooking them a different way, it changes the taste of the meal, and the chef can no longer really control the quality of the meal, because it wasn't built to spec.
Maybe you really will like it better prepared the way you asked. Or maybe your requested changes will screw up the dish, and then it'll taste wrong and you won't like it, and then you'll tip poorly and badmouth the chef around town. Whereas if you'd trusted the chef to cook the dish the way it was intended, you might have found that you really liked it.
You know, when I ask a chef to change a dish, I don't do it on a whim. 1. I have a lot of food allergies. 2. The taste of black pepper is horrible to me. So the option is either that I ask them to make changes, or I don't eat there. The VAST majority of restaurants are happy to accommodate. The best chefs see it as a fun challenge. At our favorite restaurant, my husband will say, "Here are her food issues, and I've got $25 (or whatever makes sense based on the cost of other menu items) towards something delicious."
And not only do they do it, but they do it tableside, so we can watch the preparation and make sure everything is safe. THAT is service, and that gets us coming back and tipping very, very well.
Many chefs do *not* see your special requests as a 'fun' challenge.
First off, the people *cooking* your food in the kitchen is not likely to be the chef. They are likely to be line cooks. The chef position is the person in charge of the entire operation of the kitchen (creating the menu, ordering food, handling schedules, etc) – if they are spending time on the line responding to your requests then they aren't doing their job. So you are now expecting the line cook – who makes less per hour than your appetizer costs to think that your special request is 'fun'.
Second, the job of the kitchen staff is to push out as much food that meets the standards of the chef as quickly as possible. Special requests, especially during peak serving hours, can throw a line off and delay a number of orders. This makes everyone mad. This is not fun.
I've noticed that in this day and age, many retailers at least imply that the customer is in charge of the restaurant or store. This is completely false. The owner of a business starts it in order to make a living for himself. He or she hires help and accommodates customers as a means to that end.
At worst, customers thinking they own the place leads to government regulation. If people think they own the place, instead of the owner, they incorrectly find it OK to ban everything from smoking within a restaurant, even if the owner chooses to permit it, to dictating what type of oil a chef can use while cooking food (I've been to cities where such a law is on the books).
Even without such laws, people think they have the right to tell an owner what to do. In actual fact, no one has the right to enter a restaurant at all. The owner extends an invitation–which is a different thing altogether–to people, in the hopes of making a profit off them. Entering a restaurant still is a privilege, though. On a side note, the only businesses I have a right to enter are my bank, for purposes of accessing my money per my contract with them, and my gym, with whom I also signed a contract.
Once you enter the restaurant, it is a further privilege to remain well past the time you have finished your meal, or to have the cook alter the dish for you, or to move the tables. This, many restaurants will do, in order to make your experience more pleasant. However, it is important to show respect and appreciation for the restaurant, especially when they have to delay serving other customers, whose privileges are equal to yours.
It also is important to show respect to the cooks and wait staff. They perform highly physical and mental tasks (remembering what customers yell at you between the kitchen and the far table isn't easy!), and have much more "in-your-face" pressure than most of us at our jobs. Everyone who is doing an honest job deserves a certain measure of deference. I hate to think of how many people who are rude to waiters would react if people would yell at them that way while they are at work.
Lastly, it absolutely is a person's right to eat elsewhere if dissatisfied with the rules at a given restaurant. I suppose that the great thing about owning a restaurant with outstanding food is that if one customer leaves, there will be more to take that customer's place.
Chefs: you are not artists, you have a job. When I was in the Army Reserve I actually encountered barbers who were OFFENDED that I asked for a military style haircut. Similarly, some chefs seem to be offended at being asked to serve ordinary food. Some things that tick me off as a customer:
1. When did I sign a permission slip to have all my food heavily spiced? If I wanted Southwestern, I'd go to a restaurant that specialized it it (My problem with airline food isn't that it's bland, it's that it's overly seasoned. Can I please just have a plain ham and cheese sandwich?)
2. Why is is I have to go to a fast food joint to get French Fries without pepper, paprika, or a batter covering? Cook them decently and they'll be crisp without batter. And properly cooked means light brown, not pale yellow.
3. Do you know how to make any desserts that don't involve ice cream?
4. I don't like waiting unnecessarily for a table. I equally don't like waiting unnecessarily for my food to cool down to the point where it doesn't burn my mouth.
5. Since you bother to cut up the lettuce, why don't you cut it into sizes that actually fit into out mouths? And give us enough dressing.
6. I like butter on my bread. Please serve it without me asking. I don't care how proud you are of your olive oil and basil.
7. Can I please have my entree not sitting in a puddle?
8. Have you ever heard of corn, string beans, peas, or anything other than broccoli, cauliflower and carrots?
Most people that become chef's/cooks are artist's. They supremely enjoy preparing the best product they possibly can and then sharing it with others. Doing so requires great attention to detail. With food, this is multiplied exponentially, as it can be destroyed in seconds.
The food industry is repressed. Nobody wants to pay for food. Farmers face bankruptcy each time they don't have a bumper crop. Grocery stores are constantly in battle to deliver the lowest prices on the market. Most restaurants fail in short order. Chef's and cooks are among the lowest paid professions and have been determined to be the most stressful occupations, and actually suffer the shortest life span expectancies. The folks in the kitchen from the time they punch in until the time they punch out are working at top speed to get the job done. The amount of things required in preparing a service is unfathomable by most, ramps up to fever pitch delivering service, and continues on to the end to clean up and close down without going well beyond the hours of a regular shift. It is physically and mentally draining. Perfection is near impossible. Every little request or nitpick only adds to the overload. Just because it is a service industry, it is ridiculous to assume them to bend over backwards for you. They already have. Any further and they will snap. In my kitchen I regularly have people at the door while I am preparing food, wondering if I could help them because they have perceived that the waitress isn't getting it done quick enough for them. Get a grip. You are there because you can't or don't want to do it yourself.
Greg, that's all well and good but an article like this doesn't help the servers, cooks, or head chef do anything but be another restaurant that fails. Also, I'm pretty sure farmers get government subsidies.
People in the food service industry complain more than anyone I know. A lot of their complaints are legitimate, but everyone has things that they don't like about their job. And I have to say, most waiters/waitresses have *terrible* attitudes. They expect you to tip them 20%, even when your food came forty minutes after you ordered it, cold and overcooked. The least you can do is offer me a refill on my drink. Most of the world works hard without the promise of a tip. This is one reason why I stopped eating out. That, and your average Education-Management Corporation-educated chef can't cook worth a damn...
Wow. As someone who has worked in the food service industry in the past, I hope you are kidding with this article. Either that or you wont be in business for long. You show a complete disdain for your customers. You are not a bank, and you are expected to be more flexible.
Yes, when i show up with friends, I might need to pull tables together. Just be happy I showed up with friends to your crummy restaurant.
Yes, when it is my fiancee's birthday, it would be nice if the servers sang a birthday song. It takes freaking 15 seconds. Otherwise, I am happy to take her to a place where they do that and I will be happy to make sure that place receives my patronage for the rest of the year as well as my recommendation to my friends.
If I call and let you know I am running a few minutes late, it would be nice if you held my table. You don't have to and I certainly don't have to eat at your restaurant.
As for your comment about friends, connecting with people is basically the best way to build up a loyal customer base. If you don't know that, you really are horrible at your job. And if you aren't willing to tell me what is on your menu, by all means, just curse and hang up the phone. It allows me to know early on what a prick you are so I don't have to show up at your restaurant.
Thanks
Do you seriously need grown adults and strangers mind you, to sing your fiancee "Happy birthday"? Seriously are you five, are you dining at chuck e cheese? Seriously grow up. Your an adult, not the last emperor of china. Its just another day, not the 4th of July. Celebrate it like a normal way, with friends and family who cares its your birthday, not paid servers who couldn't give a flying flip when you were born. Seriously mike, grow up!
So...having spent the better part of a few hours of my day reading ALL of this blog and remarks here is a summary:
Diners Who Tick off Chefs–
1. Asking questions- Sadly not all folks can be well versed in cusine of all types therefore they need to ask; more importantly when a dish is named BUT discribed vaguely or the original dish is NOT actually made/named as such...SO chefs/owners/staff...Make it clear.
2. Substitutions- are bothersome yes...for both sides of the table so to speak but sometimes it can truly mess up a kitchen which has prepared for 20 servings of carrots and 20 servings of roast potatoes and mnay diners choose to opt for one or the other.. Why not just leave the unwanted item on your plate and be done with it. If i can not or do not want to eat something I usually say I don't care for a baked potato , thank you....MORE TIMES than not I am asked if I would care for something else..Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't..I imagine I am asked because I said thanks and did NOT ask to substitute it! Kindness does pay off!
3. Celebrations-are important , yes but more times than not the diner does act like it is an entitlement of an acknowlegment from the resturant. This should never be assumed..if something is offered make your appreciation known and the kitchen will be more 'loving' for the next one! If nothing is forthcoming and you would like a torte then quietly ask the server to bring one and put it on your bill. It most likely will NOT show up on it!AND I do not think the staff should have to stop and sing. Your friends and family are there to do that for you!
4. Hours of service- ARE CONFUSING TO ALL. Chefs/owners/staff should all understand that hours of service mean just that. If it says the kitchen closes at a certain time remember what it is like on a Friday at the office and someone comes to you at 4:50 and asks you to do a project from start to finish..NOW...before you close down your PC and head home!! Be tolerant for both sides..Sometimes your late diner is a traveler....AND sometimes the kitchen does not have what you want...compromise folks! AND AGAIN be clear about hours-open 11:00am-3:00pm- Kitchen closes at 2:00–Dinner served from 5:00-11:00 last order accepted 10.00. Pretty simple if ya ask me..(not that anyone is!)
6: Calling to ask questions during busy time–yep, aggravating BUT easy to fix! again it takes understanding on both sides but the bes way to handle the situation is get the name and number of the person, tell them the resturant is happy they callled but are a bit busy and please can WE call you back in a bit when things calm down! AND make sure ya call them back! And as the customer....you do know the resturant may be busy at that time so why call? Chances you will not get an easy going person like me to have the forethought to ask for your number!!
7. Loud diners--This is a touchy one for all sides of the table! While we all enjoy a party we all don't like it when we are not included so be kind to others..If you would not like to be bothered by someone laughing out loud or what ever then make sure you let your host know prior to being seated or when making the reservations that you would prefer an out of the way table! The loud diner is really not there to make you mad, they are just having a good time. Having said that we, as the loud diner should excuse ourselves when we get too loud..Or even ask the servers/other diners if we are being to goofy...And apologize! And then quiet down a bit! There is, once again, always a compromise!
ALL of the REST – put yourselves in the postion of others and modify! I could nitpick about each and every 'gripe' in this blog but would take days!!! Tolerance and patience should fix most problems..And most of all RESPECT for one another..
Things Chefs/Owners/Staff do to tick off customers...
1. The water thing!!! Seems to be the worst thing EVER!!! How about saying "Would you like water? Yes?? Bottled or tap? Easy!! Takes two seconds.
2. Expecting a tip-is understandable but sometimes it is not justified! I have upon occasion been un-attended to by staff because I am a woman, at a table with women and FOR WHATEVER reason waitstaff assume that women do not tip. AND when I notice this lack of interest I do tell them I tip well if service is good...If they make a mistake I let it go...sometimes...but with a laugh I say 'uh oh...there goes your tip!´ That sure gets the staff on their toes! If not, then NO TIP for sure and note made to owner of establishment... having been in the industry for years I sometimes quietly let them know what may be the problem and give a small suggestion on how to rectify the issue!
3. Getting upset at 'campers'- is understandable but unreasonable. There is and can be a common ground. IF we are camping ask them if we plan to stay much longer and let us know why you ask, NICELY! Sometimes we are just catching up, having a meeting or even discussing something tragic so please let us know if we can move to another section of the place or even better, keep the service coming!!! For some diners this is an outting so if there is a time limit put on the table please let the guest know but PLEASE give a solution! (the same goes for malfunctions in the kitchen tho-keep us posted so we don't get angry with you!)
4. Food orders 'messed up'- again, it happens! The kitchen is like any other place and mistakes are made. I understand this as should most but when YOU get MAD at ME for sending back something make sure you do have the right reasons! If the person has ordered a steak well done then make sure you ask them are you sure? not medium perhaps? if you know for a fact the chef will send it that way anyway!! Some folks just like eating shoe leather! Leave them be or try to educate them without being rude! I always order my steaks Blu which is pretty rarer than rare..At a very swish place I got a hunk of meat which was burned on the outside and COLD not cool on the inside. I had three bites...put my fork and knife down on the plate at 5:25 (which is the proper way to lay your untensils down when FINSHED eating) and the waiter, being on his toes, LOL, asked if i was full! I told him no, the meat was burned on the outside and it was what I asked for! I said No, I'm sorry I asked for Blu...Not black and blu. He had no idea I knew what I was talking about and had ordered the meat cooked as such. I now tell ALL from the beginning that if it is over cooked I will be sending it back! Never have had to..Do not think all diners are stupid or pretend to be critics..Some of us just may know more than you and your kitchen!
5. The wine list and check–should be placed on the edge of the table if no one has let on they are 'in charge' and asking who would like to choose the wine...And inform the guest that the list or check is there..Pretty simple once again.."Ladies and gentlemen, I will put the wine list here if someone is interested." AS FOR THE CHECK-i myself always let it be known quietly in private that I will be picking up the check. I do this upon walking to the table or when making reservations, letting the host know to speak to the server about it. If it is a group situation and again no one has 'taken charge' upon delivery of the check you should say, "ladies and gentlemen, I am putting the check here and will come back when you are ready." If only two diners still do that! SIMPLE! No offence to anyone!
6. End of meal malfuctions-–for me, to many to count but aside from the above regarding wine and check i have a few peeves on this myself. I am embarrased by people who are in the trade and do not know manners; people are still eating, do NOT start clearing my plate off the table just because I have finished. This is not a dorm mess hall. If unsure, keep an eye on the plates when you walk by. If things look untouched for several minutes ASK THE ENTIRE table if they are done. If no one pipes up then start to remove the plates. Do not ask if you are 'done with that?' It just sounds rude and unpolished. Please do NOT put the check on the table when A) I am still eating and B) before me asking for it unless you have asked FIRST "will there be anything else? Nothing? Ok I wil be back with the check" simple, easy and respectful to all.
7. Be rude about moving furniture-If it is unsafe tell us so. Not to many folks understand the danger in it nor do the understand that that table which has 6 chairs will actually be used before they leave! If this is such a bother to your establishment let the customer know that you can not accomodate the re-arranged table and once again, offer a solution! KINDLY! Blame it on the law if need be, more than not,YOU will be in the right on this one!
As for this ANGRY CHEF blog. As I have said several times above...tolerance and patience but the most important thing is communication! The main problem is that folks just don't have the education about social behaviour any more and there is only one way to teach it and that is to teach it!! Not to yell about it! I understand the 'alter-ego' side of this blog but once again I say 'put yourself into the shoes of others' and imagine how diners felt when reading this attack! As you and yours felt when reading diners attack on you!!!
BE CLEAR from the start on both sides and dining out will once again be a pleasure! I could go on and on but i am sure they will not print this so...Just needed to respond! FOR BOTH SIDES OF THE TABLE!!
I take issue with the point about not coming in 5 minutes before closing and expecting a good meal because you are in the midst of cleaning up–why are you cleaning up if the restaurant is still open? It seems like such a simple concept. Wait until closing time to clean up. Sure it sucks to stay late, but trust me, when I finally leave my ER shift 2 hours after my shift ended because somebody came in in cardiac arrest 3 minutes before my shift was over and I stayed to care for the patient–I will be very grateful that you took the time to serve me even though it means you may only have to stay 30 minutes over your shift. And no, I don't get paid overtime. And yes, something of this sort happens almost every single shift so I rarely if ever get to leave "on time." And yes I chose this field, just like you chose yours.
If you ever worked in a reataurant you would know this. If the cooks are there too long it could jack up labor cost, sometimes getting cooks wrote up or fired. See the time after close is down time with no revenue coming in to cover cost per hour.
HA. Rule of thumb: Never be rude to those who serve you food and beverage. Just sayin' ...Happy Dining!
I've worked in the business a long time, if this guy doesn't like the fact that he is in the hospitality\ restaurant business, I suggest a new career choice. We are paying to be in your place, you are not paying us, people, by nature are just going to do whatever they feel, deal with it, stop bitching about moving chairs around, calling at a time when the business is open to ask a question, no matter what time it is, we want to spend our money in there, we are trying to figure out what time to do this and we have to confirm what you have works for us, sorry. I wouldn't drop this guys name because he sounds like a little primadonna who doesn't even have friends anyway. Oh and that red mark on his head, that's from getting smacked all the times he runs his mouth. Buddy, GFY.
Hey Chef....if you can't take the heat, then get out of the kitchen....just saying. Everything you list is expected norm from the entertainment/food industry. You sound like you're burned out and need a career change. If you were truly passionate about your food and cooking, then you would have the time and money to hire competent front of house staff to take care of these front of house issues. Your attitude disgusts me.
i used to intern at a magazine that would call restaurants to fact check blurbs about them. i would probably call between those inconvenient times because it fit my work schedule. i didn't even come in until 11, and like you, I had other stuff to do; i can't shift around my work schedule just to accomodate you. Bad reviews aside, what always struck me was how annoyed and ungrateful idiot chefs sounded to be wasting their time on the phone with me, considering the FREE advertising we were giving them.
the only one that really annoys me is #6 “Why do people always seem to call the restaurant at the absolute worst time (i.e. between 12:45 and 1:30 p.m. and 7 and 9 p.m.) to inquire about our menu or make a reservation?
There shouldn't be an "absolute worst time." Isn't there someone who was hired to answer phones? When I go to a nice restaurant usually there are two or three host waiting. Even if two or one other is greeting or seating customers, the other is answering the phone. Also, the time you mentioned are the times that people are either off work or on breaks from the jobs that they currently hold so that they can pay for the expensive food that you serve.
Group Hug! Nothing will change by all these opinions or facts even! Find a place that YOU feel treats you right and eat there!
Lets instead save the world with all this energy released here!! :)
Food for thought....when a customer is rude to me they get a nice big jug of iced toilet water brought to the table.....
Oh, and by the way – we had a five star waiter once who not only knew our names, but also what we liked to eat, and HOW we liked to eat it. The guy was fantastic, and you know what? I never left less than a 20% tip on a $150 check. Why? Because of how we were treated. Our 'waiter' was almost like a member of our family. Did we go back? You bet your sweet ass we did – repeatedly.
Seriously? This guy is a CHEF? Of what? Dog food? If you make me and my wife feel *welcome* and you are *friendly* to us and serve us good food, we will come back. Treat us with that kind of a shitty attitude and the only thing you'll see is my fat white ass heading out of your restaurant. And I WILL TELL MY FRIENDS HOW YOU TREATED ME. I assure you, you won't be in business very damn long. Arrogant prick.
Business is fun except for the customers, but there's no business without customers. Get over it. People do what they do because they are lazy and irritable, just like you.
I agree with #5. I work in the wine industry in CA and I HATE it when people walk in and drop the Owner's name. If you are really friends with they owner, why are you walking in on a Sat during peak season without an appointment and essentially trying to convey that you know my boss on a personal level and you expect to be treated like royalty or it may somehow endanger my job. Please. While I agree that the Chef is probably venting so their should have a list of 5 things not to do when you are a customer. The "we pay your salary" so you should "serve us" and let us exploit you people suck. Take your angry business elsewhere.
Restaurants are the most likely small businesses to fail. The way I see it chef, if you want to be able to pay your bills next week, you'll don a kilt, dance a jig, and twirl your whisk like a baton if I ask you. Otherwise, there's always another place up the street offerering better food and a better attitude.
I would never patronize this arrogant person's restaurant. Next time I am in Atlanta I will be sure to avoid it. What a tool. It If you come to my house I will let you move anything you want and I will help you do so. If you are late I will be gracious and if you are early I will do the same. No cash will change hands.
His restaurant is great and his tweets are hilarious. If you can vent about your job, why can't he.
Keep up the good work Ron.
Humorous?????? You obviously did see 99% of the comments. Not amusing at all…….
Only 6 ways? Why not 10? Like ordering a salad, asking for a steak on the side and insisting you get a reduced rate because the salad is your main meal. Inviting 12 people to show and only 4 are eating. The people that bring food into a restaurant (saw this when a person asked if they could take their Popeye's into the back to heat it up). Coming in and helping yourself to a seat without informing a waitress ( I nearly got up to yell at these people because they made a scene that no one was serving them. Then they started racial slurs thinking no one in Texas might understand a speck of Brazilian).
There are children starving and wish they could eat a piece of bread and people on here are complaining about being handed the check and wine list. Take a millisecond out of your day and, before you dock a waiter/waitress, reflect on how privileged you are to have food to eat, running water, and a roof over your head.
And I bet this guy wonders when he's not full house... or famous, or why he keeps losing business... when I go out to eat, I want it to be my way. It sounds like this guy hates his customers. From the review above, it also sounds like the food is bad. A large group of us went to a steak house in DC last week and we ate like wolves, had a wonderful time and paid a massive bill. We moved around the chairs, everyone had a good time and the EC took the time to come out and be very gracious, and he didn't have to, we were having a fine time without him.
You can go to Paris (where everyone is supposedly rude) and sit for a nice meal and even though its hard, hard work and difficult the proprietors are gracious and really care about feeding you and your comfort, not some nonsense about the furniture.
In one part of this useless diatribe, you here him rail on against a customer drinking beer at the bar... his bar. Paying money; I swear some peopel just don't get it. The foodie police should come and snatch this guy by the ear and take him from his pampered little world, forcing him to cook for bikers in a Dennys or a Waffle House in Oklahoma.
Wow! this guy is in the wrong business. I hope I never hve the misfortune of running into this "chef."
For the first time, I'm disappointed I live in L.A. and not Atlanta so I can NOT go to his restaurant every night. I just might fly to Atlanta so I can NOT go to his eatery. That said:
Things I don't like about restaurateurs and their employees:
1. Taking away plates before everyone is done.
2. Not telling me the price of the specials.
3. Telling me something is special when it's not. Often times, becuase it't not selling well.
4. Anything that was once frozen. I can go to a grocery and buy anything frozen I want. I came to your restaurant because I want a fresh meal.
5. Attitude from anyone when I am spending my money. If I'm in your place, you should show some gratititude in the form of good service.
6. Trying to take back orders that YOU screw up. If I ask for fries crispy (I do) or you bring a well done steak when I ask for medium-rare (I do) then leave it on the table. You screwed up so I don't expect to sit there with an empty space in front of me and nothing to eat while others are enjoying dinner. I'll pick at incorrect dish to hold me over until you fix your mistake.
7. Not have anyone check to make sure my food is right before you bring it out. I don't give a damn how busy you are. I ordered scrambled eggs soft the other day and they arrive like pebbles. If you can't do it right, I'll go somewhere else.
You don't want to be bothered when you're eating? Eat in the kitchen. It's not my concern.
Lastly, there is a restaurant in Kansas City that gives you a baked Alaska on your birthday. Everyone I know goes their for their birthday because it's their signature dish. And who goes out on their birthday alone? Everyone brings a posse. You don't give a damn about a day that's special to me? I'll go to Kansas City to avoid your place.
Thanks for publishing your name and face – my wallet will avoid you at all costs.
you are a moron, i hope that to god that I never see you in my reataurant
Wow, I've NEVER read such a whining, pouty, unprofessional article; and I'm certainly grateful I don't have to worry about being trapped in this restaurant. The author is embarrassing his profession...but it's obvious that fact wouldn't particularly matter to him.
Your Highness, Your Grace, High and Mighty Chef: a little good will goes a long way. In my line of work, an employee would get fired for treating a customer the way that you propose. My employment deals with life and death, unlike yours, and when we get interrupted and inconvenienced by rubberneckers and passers-by and on-lookers and family members and other pains in the ass, they are wasting something more than our time and still we are obliged to treat them with respect while redirecting them appropriately. I suggest you try the same approach before these people who treat you so callously take their money elsewhere and leave you and your staff in cherished albeit impoverished peace.
This dude sounds like a whiny little b@#$%!
This dude sounds like a whiny little bitch! Get over yourself
Marley seems to have the most logical explanation of the whole business. Most of you other repliers sound as though you are entitled. As in all businesses, you never know what can happen from one day to the next. Most nights can go perfectly smooth, but one night can get messed up by one staff calling in sick and diners taking their sweet time eating dinner. There's no way to prepare for nights like that if you're taking reservations a day or two in advance. What throws me is when a restaurant says they are booked up, yet a whole section of tables can be empty. Even if they are short on staff, how much slower will service be if each waiter is given one extra table?
Am so glad you've decided to make your bad attitude and disdain for restaurant goers (otherwise known as your revenue stream or "meal ticket") public! Lord only knows how you ended up in the service industry, nor how you've managed to stay in business with your general contempt for your patrons.
This chef is an arrogant idiot. A few television shows highlighting chef competitions and now they all believe that there is celebrity in being a chef. Reality.... there is celebrity in being a great chef, this is reserved for those who deserve it and it is rewarded by the number of patrons who acknowledge his/her talents and visits their establishment. All the others are "Head Cooks" at most. I am impressed when a chef does stop by the table and asks how the meal is, but I would not be depressed if he/she didn't. I did not go there to chat it up with the chef, I went to taste their signature cuisine and would hope that he/she is back there preparing it. On reservations, if I made a reservation, honor it. I'll wait 10 minutes 15 tops, then I'll just assume they do not have their act together and leave. Moving furniture, if we have 7 people in our group that requires two tables together, and you're not smart enough or you don't take the initiative to do it for us, what do you expect??? Your next poll should be on 6 things patrons hate about over-priced, over-ego, restaurants we love to hate.
Funny how many of the people who responded don't realize that courtesy works both ways. The person who complained about waiting for a table has probably sat at their reserved table idly chatting, ignoring the growing number of people waiting as if they had reserved the table for the entire night. Then complains when someone just as rude does it to them – i.e. making them wait for their reserved tables.
Yes, the food business is a business. It's a marginal business that remains IN business by turning over tables as frequently as possible. If you want fast food, go to McDonalds. If you want service and a good meal, go to a nice restaurant, and respect the skill of the chef and the staff.
If someone wants to complain that the chef didn't take time to poor little him, let me point out two things. You DON'T know that the person he's talking to just came into town and he hasn't seen him for years i.e. he's a REAL friend, and the second is that a good chef has a good staff, he doesn't need to prepare your meal personally.
BTW, I used to work in the service industry, but I don't now. Couldn't deal with the rudeness, my mother raised me better. Read some of your own letters in light of your own industry, how would it feel if someone talked about you that way?
"we haven’t been waiting around all day for you and your ten friends to pop in"
Ummm...ya...you have, because that's YOUR JOB!
Crappy attitudes are why I don't eat at restaurants like yours.
the biggest problems with restaurants, as you might guess from reading these comments, are the people that work there, and the customers. Not necessarily in, or not in, that order.
Most of these complaints would be nullified by a little bit of self awareness on both sides. (Not that it will ever happen.)
I get the birthday thing, but seriously, griping because you keep the bar open and *Gasp!* barflys show up? My God the insanity. If you don't want people in your restaurant between services, don't keep the bar open. Those people will take their money elsewhere. And if you want solitude, why don't you go somewhere other than a bar?
Chef, I choose to dine at your restaurant with my hard-earned money. I pay you, you serve me. Get it? No one pays to hear you complain. Just make the damn food -minus the spit. Is that too hard?
The guy that wrote this article seems to be missing the point that the customer is paying is salary. Don't like me moving chairs around? Too bad. The fact is that I'm NOT "in your house", I'm in a place of business, paying for a service.
WOW, this chef is WAAAAY overconfident in this economic climate. To actually complain publicly and so sarcastically about the people that hand over their hard earned $$ is the height of arrogance. His poor attitude is a reflection of the decline of our behavior toward others. I am old enough to remember the days when SERVICE was exactly that. I also remember the days when you were not expected to pay for poor service because it was SHAMEFUL to the owner that the customer endured a negative experience. This "chef" has no shame. Eventually, he will have no restaurant.
I am amazed that a chef would put forward in a public forum such moronic positions. Let's be clear, I will not go to Rosebud. God forbid I would go and upset the chef or any servers. Do the words "service industry" mean anything?
All you people are ridiculous, look at what you are fighting over. It's non-sense, if you don't like how you were treated at a restaurant just don't go again.
I live in Atlanta and this whiny chef has just ensured that I will never eat at his restaurant.
This guy sounds like a total jerk!! He needs to get over himself.
You people are all crazy! Service industry...what's that mean? You're a waiter. Stop trying to glamorize it, if you didn't want to be a waiter perhaps you should have finished High School. The questions and complaints come with the job. Bad tippers and good tippers are the nature of the beast. Don't go to work with a bad attitude or your tips will reflect it, you know that I'm telling the truth because it has happend to you if you're in the "service industry". It's not your house, it's a place of employment.
As someone who usually tips wait staff 25-40% (known to drop tips as large as the bill for amazing service), NEVER does any of the things you mentioned, and always tries to treat wait staff as if they were doing me a kind favor by taking care of me and folks at my table. you will be glad to know that with this article, you have successfully ensured that i will NEVER visit your restaurant.
I am diabetic. I need to schedule my eating. When I setup my diet for the day I have to balance the time/content with my meds and exercise. It is more than an inconvenience when I have to wait more than a 1/4 hour. If my blood sugar goes south, my muscle state changes, my emotional state changes, and I can have a very bad day all around.
A good service industry person knows his business. That includes the prep, delivery, usage time and all other factors that control his income. Not knowing it makes him less profitable and gets people upset or as in my case worse.
I usually tell the folks on the reservation line that I need to eat on time, and I do try to work with them and the restaurant. But I don't have the same laxity that other folks do. Additionally my wife is lactose intolerant. It makes for some interesting order combinations for sure, but we do try to explain and to get what we need, and we tip well whtn it is done right.
Arrogant staff, poor service and bad orders will force us to take our business else where, because our health literally depends on our ability to get what is needed when it is needed.
Why are so many people acting like this whole rant was a personal attack on them? As has been stated repeatedly in the comments, everyone complains about their job. We can all debate whether it should be done publicly when you're in the public service industry, but everyone complains. Everyone who said that restaurant workers are servants to cater to anyone's ridiculous whim simply because they are a server just proved themselves to be exactly the kind of customer this guy was talking about. Just because you have some money in your pocket does not give you the right to treat another human being like a piece of shit. Restaurant employees are not whores. But it's not just restaurants. People everywhere are just losing manners and common courtesy. You never know what a person is dealing with in their life, but everyone's dealing with some crap. Play nice, people!
Wow – it's obvious that there are too many unwirtten rules about dining.
I think it's best if you go back to a place if you like it and don't if you didn't. It doesn't matter what someone else says is the 'right' thing to do, if I feel like I have been rude to...then it's best if I don't patronise the place. What the heck does it matter if someone says it's my fault.
Why hasn't anyone posted a link to this on Yelp. My lifelong best friend is a chef, and I hear her complain all the time. However, I reckon that she would have discretion to not post something so absurd on the Internet. I don't plan to go to the ATL, but if I do, this is one man whose restaurant I will not visit. I'll save my hunger for something run by John Besh.
I worked in food service for several years and I understand that customers can be quite rude but this chef is showing a complete lack of professionalism. If people get under his skin that much, he needs to get out of anything customer oriented. Maybe take up grave digging where the customer can't complain.
If you make a customer happy he might tell 1 or2 people....PISS him off and he will tell everyone he sees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is why I eat at home.
I get it, you’re one of those the customer is always wrong @holes. I bet you serve frozen food. I will never eat at your poor excuse for place to eat. FYI – try washing your hands after you go to the bathroom too, I’m betting that’s too much of an inconvenience for you too.
Wow, what a D-bag.
@ car and everyone else who is whining about rsvp's – the reason why restaurants get teed off when you're late for your reservation is because you then push out the time and make other people who made a reservations later also have to wait. if you have ever had to wait for your table even though you made a reservation, it's most likely because someone before you was late and held the schedule back. think about it next time you're late (whether it's due to traffic or emergency or just personal tardiness). don't you think the restaurants WANT to maximize on their reservations and make money on each and every single guest who wants a table? but in order to actually try to minimize the wait, they may have to cancel your rsvp if you're more than 10-15 min late so as to keep from backing up customers later. it's not always about you and you're not the only person who made a reservation.
Really 'Chef' Eyester? Your patrons don't respect your time/staff/schedule? Boo Hoo. Reminder: it's YOUR JOB to kiss the azzes of the people who are kind enough to visit your place. My guess is your staff has been infected by your misplaced arrogance (you're a cook dude) and that makes your establishment one to avoid. Nice PR FAIL
This chef won't stay in business long with that attitude.
Is it me or are chefs and maybe jail wardens call their place of work as their house? Doctors who probably spend twice the amount of time in the hospital than chefs do in the kitchen never call it their house (nor demand silly etiquette rules for being in their house). Haven't met a lawyer who calls the courtroom their house. Cops certainly don't call their stations "homes" either. More "homelike" service industries like working in the hotel industry also rarely complain about their customers not knowing the rules of "their home". Some athletes might call their respective stadiums or courts their home, I guess, but they're not a service industry. Just a random and interesting observation.
Whoops, my first sentence makes no sense- I meant:
"Is it me, or are chefs and maybe jail wardens the only ones who call their place of work as "their homes"
To all of those commenting with holier-than-thou attitudes, and indicating that they are taking offence to this chef's article and would NEVER give someone like him thier business, he should find a different job etc: I suppose that you are 100% happy with YOUR job, are you? There are no day-to-day annoyances that YOU have to deal with? You never come home and b**ch about your day? Seriously people, working in the restaurant industry is no cake-walk. It is fast-paced, physical (on your feet for hours at a time) stressful, poor-paying, and surprise, surprise, not all members of the public are exactly a pleasure to deal with. This article simply highlights some of the daily challenges we face in this industry – just like there are annoyances and challenges with ANY job. Like it or not, the public, yes – paying customers, on the whole, can be demanding and thankless – but we in the industry PUT UP WITH these annoyances because, yes, it pays the bills. Do chefs and servers ENJOY rude customers, customers who behave selfishly, customers who feel they are above us lowly "servants", customers who have no concept that we are trying to do a good job despite unavoidable setbacks? Of course not – duh! I don't know why it's so surprising to so many on here that it is not PLEASURABLE for us to lick your boots – we do it cause it's our job! This is an article written honestly instead of being sugar-coated – I'm sure if you walked into this guy's restaurant, youractual interactions would be sugar-coated too – just like at your local restaurants. If you think the cooks and servers at your favorite local restaurants GENUINELY care about each and every one of you and don't b**ch about the EXACT same things in the back room, you are delusional. Please remember that as human beings, it is a nice thought to try to make people's job's easier, whether they are an executive CEO, or a lowly pee-on. The next time you are in a restaurant, think about how hard everyone is working to try to make your experience pleasant – from your server, to the cooks, to the dishwashers, and try to reciprocate by offering yhour courtesy and understanding.
To point 1 on your list, not all people are the size of barbie dolls, quit putting the chairs so close together. I move the chair because I don't want to feel like i'm sitting on top of my friends when we're all crammed at your little table.
I am amazed that this chef thinks this is the way to get my business! I PAY to visit 'his house'...certainly I need to have good manners, but his obvious disdain for the needs of his customers is surprising. Did he ever consider that perhaps a guest has longer legs, or a handicap requiring a seat adjustment? As for his snide snip about the questions asked, visit the web site of his oh so famous restaurant. It's a weak page, with minimal information. If I want to know I should ask. I would have the sense to not ask the busy person, but surely every restaurant has some information they'd like to share, even during dinner rush. Maybe you should hire someone just to answer the phone during the rush, pay them minimum wage (oh wait, you don't do that, do you)... never mind. Just don't eat at Ron's house. I wouldn't put it past him to 'flavor your soup' improperly if you ask him a question.
I host at a restaurant in my hometown, and to be honest, I get a lot of what the chef is saying, but I deal with it.
And I get the retorts too, but why're we all missing the middle ground?
Simple truth: treat the workers like people and they'll return the favor.
I love my job, and many of my coworkers do too, so we aren't naturally rude to our customers.
NOTHING makes my day like a friendly customer...nothing.
Say please and thank you like you would to a family member, we can make eachother's day.
The one thing I will agree with is the bit about moving tables. Although, it does take a truly ridiculous person to think they can rearrange the restaurant, they exist and they have no qualms about doing it.
For the average customer: please refrain.
By in large though, most customers are great, and workers should be happy to serve them.
So from me to the wonderful diners of the world: THANK YOU! (And if you get a bad server, stiff them, that'll teach them a lesson!)
Are you people SERIOUSLY complaining about PROPER ETIQUETTE?? Did you even KNOW that it is proper etiquette to give the wine list, and the check to the man, and that it is also proper to serve the woman her food first? Did you also know that many restaurants REQUIRE their servers to do these things? I could understand docking the tip if the service is bad, but you DOCK their tip because you don't agree with societal ettiquette practices? That's probably some poor college student who makes $2.13 per hour and lives on tips. Shame on you!
October 21, 2010 at 2:56 pm |
Maybe it was proper in the 1950's. Wake up and smell the 2000's. But I do agree with you about punishing the waiter. A written note to management is the correct way to go.
I wonder how can this attitude (whether joking or not) not rub off onto the customer's experience? Wouldn't the attitude of a chef/owner be in turn reflected by the servers and passed along subtly to the diners?
In contrast, I just came back from my absolute favorite oriental restaurant. It's a small, local place. Nothing particularly special, but the food is excellent. Even better is the presentation of the food, which counts for a lot in my book. Most outstanding, though, is the consistently amazing staff. They are friendly, wonderful people, who greet each customer with a big smile, and will ask you about your day, your life, and then remember it the next time you come in. You can tell they love their business and their customers, and I think it's reflected in the quality of the food. Whenever I eat there, I come away smiling broadly (and sometimes with an extra cup of their delicious tea), and wanting to go back as soon as possible.
In my opinion, THAT'S what every restaurant should be striving for. They should want to make their customers as happy as they can so that we can't wait to come back. The dining experience should be a real experience every time we go.
That's a strategy that works, too. This restaurant seems to be busier every time I go there.
Man this guy sounds like a pompous windbag.
I have often found chefs to be among the most pompous, rudest, whiniest pricks in the service industry. No one really cares what you find annoying, get over yourself and be glad anyone at all pays to consume your overrated swill.
as a food server i agree with everyone i see it from both sides customers can be a pain but i have also dealt with some pain in the neck servers we all want the same thing to get fed and get out and we want to feed you and get the next set of people in and seated we value our down time to prep for the dinner rush and eat so we have stamina to finish the night being a chef is very demanding
my reply to your 6 complaints...
#1 – Your wait staff is trying to fit 8 people at a 6 person table and put me in your path. I'd rather not be there, get mad at your wait staff.
#2 – Your management advertised to us that we get a free cake on our birthday. Get mad at them.
#3 – How many times have we seen you give exceptions to other people when they are 2 minutes late? Treat us all the same.
#4 – There's been several flights where we were 15 minutes late out of the gate, waiting for others to show up. Maybe when we make a reservation for 7:00pm, it would be nice if we didn't get the table at 7:15 or 7:20. Again, someone else is to blame.
#5 – I don't know any chefs by name....next complaint...
#6 – The only reason we call about the menu is because you don't make it redily available on the net, or possibly its because you have price changes too often.
Ok... no offense but this isn't so much "six ways customers tick off chefs" it's more like "six annoying thing every resturaunt has to deal with". If you don't like it dude, maybe you should have gotten a non-service based job and cooked things on weekends. Just because you're "master chef" or whatever you are, you still decided to go in to an industry completely based on serving the general public. Btw, the general public includes loud, obnoxious, and irritating people.
Get over it. Your being paid.
What an eye-opener it was for me when my husband opened his own restaurant many years ago. Most people were quite pleasant but there were some distinct "types" who really made life miserable for the staff and the other diners. This was my first exposure to being treated with such deliberate disrespect by other human beings. Thank God that part of our life is over. Food service workers work harder than anyone I've ever met – for absymally low wages – and how any of them can maintain their composure and sense of humor is simply beyond me. Perhaps all the complaints by customers of uncivil waitpersons has to do with years of dealing with uncivil patrons. No worker should have to endure such treatment. In any other industry it would be grounds for legal action, but in food service, you just have to "eat it."
Working as a hostess in college I LOATHED Sunday lunch. Inevitably, during our busiest hour one or two large parties would arrive without reservations and expect to be seated quickly, camp out until nearly the end of the shift, and tip poorly. Even worse were parties who made a reservation for X number of people, but halfway through the meal more people would arrive to "visit." I was able to derive some evil pleasure from a very high-maintenance guest who made a reservation one weekend and never showed up ... She called back the next weekend for a birthday party reservation, and only she and the person she drove with ever showed.
The complaint about moving furniture isn't just the chef being ticky about aesthetics. Plopping a baby in a high chair at the end of your table could pose a hazard in the event of a fire, or it could trip a server carrying hot food. Footpaths are narrow enough with the furniture properly arranged. Please don't block the waitstaff or the elderly people with walking aides.
Finally, if you have any specific needs or requests for seating, please let your hostess know before heading into the dining room. It is a lot easier for her to find a table you'll enjoy (if one fitting your requirements is, in fact, available) at that time, rather than having to find the nearest thing on the fly. You'll likely get better service, too, since there will be a smaller chance of you being seated in a server's section immediately after another table.
I will never eat at this restaurant and I will suggest that all my friends and family do the same. How sad that this chef has put in jeopardy the job of all those people working for him.
As long as you take reservations there will be late customers. Either stop having any reservations, have a late charge, or suck it up. Birthdays, really? You have a dozen people eating at your place because of a guys birthday, and your upset about comping a dessert? Hours of operation is a sign on a wall, this is America, until someone tells us sorry were really closed and wont be serving you until whenever it's worth a shot. But tipping for off hours service should always be impressive.
And calling at the worst time? if that's when people call then have a person to handle the calls.
why dont you people just pipe down about it already. maybe this chef (i am one too) is tired of folks like you that think because you spend a little money at his place he has to put up with anything you feel like dishing out. most people that are complete assholes have no idea that they are, and that, is the truly sad part. dont eat at the guys place if you dont agree, that simple
Even though his way of saying it is abrasive, he has many points. People come into restaurants expecting 100% regard for THEM and have little regard for the people there. They come two minutes before closing and sit and yack for an hour after finishing eating – even if most of the lights are turned out – having no regard for the people there who have families they want to go home to. They probably got out of their 9-5 desk job at 5 on the dot .
People moving chairs ..... they get in the way. Sometimes a Fire Marshall would actually frown upon the things they do. That they feel entitled to do. If a party of six grows into a party of ten, they should ask the waitstaff for a bigger table or to somehow help them sit together.
Reservations ..... they can keep YOURS on time by cancelling late ones. If they take people who are ten-fifteen minutes late each time, what time do you think YOU'LL be seated if you have an 8 o'clock reservation? Ten if you're lucky.
I used to cringe when people mentioned the owner's name. Half the time he didnt know who they were. They also had this entitlement thing .... I think that's the theme with the blog above. Customers feeling entitled to take and take and take, asking places to bend every which way to accomodate their every whim. Restaurants serve food from the time they open until the time they close. You are not entitled to special treatment after they've closed. You are not entitled to anything special because you know the owner's name or the chef's name. The whole free dessert on your birthday .... that concept brought to a more upscale place is an insult. It cheapens the place. If I go somewhere NICE like that, I don't expect to hear an entourage of waitresses clapping and singing. If I'm at TGI Friday's, I don't mind it so much. It has its place.
I used to be a waitress and couldn't believe some of the things people expected. A lady came in every week and wanted decaf. Hardly anyone orders this, so I would always make her a fresh pot (if there was any at all, it was old and muddy). She would get mad for having to wait. I would bring it RIGHT out as soon as it finished dripping and she would always say it was too cold. Three seconds in the microwave and it was at a rolling boil .... this happened EVERY week.
And the way people treated me. They would talk to me like I was stupid, talk down to me, etc., and then sort of "forgive" me for being a waitress if I mentioned I was going to college. There were some very sweet customers who became lifetime friends and who cared and were fun to kid around with.
But I totally "get" this guy's point of view. It was pretty courageous of him to write it in this tone and to disclose his name and the restaurant! If it was written with more tact, I'm sure it would be more palatable.
Hahahaha, way to COMPLETELY run yourself out of business!
I can't say I've seen anything more ignorant, than going on CNN, telling everyone your name & what restaurant you own, then berating the very people that keep your doors open.
Here's a tip: You'll do whatever the customer asks for, and like it, or you'll be just another failed restaurant in 6 months. Nothing gets around like word of mouth, and if your fat ass doesn't like the way people order, or expect things to be at your restaurant, there are PLENTY of others that will gladly take your business.
I can't believe I actually read a restaurant owner COMPLAIN about a 10 top table needing more chairs.......lol.
Way to prove to everyone why you belong in the BACK, cooking & feeding your face, instead of out front, personally running your business into the ground.
Well said!! I definetely won't be eating at this chefs restaurant. Wouldn't want to tick him off. There are plenty of chefs who are more appreciative of their customers. This chef will probably be out of business fairly soon with the attitude he has towards his customers.
I'm really shocked at how many peole are complaining about this article. Being a paying customer does not give you the right to treat someone like your personal slave. You should expect to be treated with respect, be able to ask questions, and get what you ordered. But, you have to understand that servers are human, they make mistakes and they are HUMAN BEINGS WITH FEELINGS. You can't be a complete jerkoff to someone and then expect stellar service! Both customer and server should treat each other with dignity and respect. Maybe he was a bit abrasive, but what he says is so true, people actually do that crap. As a former waitress, I understand where he is coming from.
This chef sounds like a total A-hole.
I wouldn't eat at this guys' restaurant. What a turd.
I find the comparison between the artwork of renowned artists and chefs to be quite apt because those very artworks were often commissioned and therefore had to be completed to the purchaser's specifications. And a painting of the Nativity with someone's family members in costume would not be resalable. For this reason artists' sketches came about so that the purchaser could get an idea of what the finished painting would be (and decide what changes were necessary) before the artist spent months painting it. Non commissioned works were mostly of more boring pastoral sorts of subjects that would have wide appeal. Landscape with house or tree, boat on water, arrangement of food and wine or flowers or a hunting scene or naked nymphs would be typical.
So I would think that even in an upscale restaurant customers should be able to expect small things like being able to determine how well they want their steak cooked or have their questions answered about some of the more exotic ingredients in a dish are – not everyone cooks with quinoa or knows how to pronounce it. And customers should not be condescended to or patronized.
And although I only worked in the fast food industry myself, my husband is an executive and so I have eaten in many, many upscale places and the highly ironic thing is: I eat meat cooked quite rare and am a far more adventurous eater and my husband prefers his steak on the well done side and has brought home expense accounts for dinners costing multiple hundreds of dollars where I knew he got his steak well done with lots of steak sauce (with fries when available) and everything well salted. The thing to remember is neither the chef nor the waitstaff has ever had to eat his steak.
Another thing for restaurant employees to consider is that especially for business meals the person making the reservation usually only knows the number of people in the party – not their food allergies. I recently found out I have celiac sprue and cannot eat gluten. I found it out just in time for my husband to switch to a different company where it was mandated that the members must meet me at a dinner before the signing of the paperwork. So at this upscale place in Chicago I had to inform the waiter that I would need a gluten free menu option. The waiter was WONDERFUL – he gave me a few choices as to items that would be the most likely to be such and when I had picked one went and discussed with the chef who was very knowledgeable and equally wonderful and as it turned out there was no gluten in it at all although they were willing to modify it there was. Those employees made what could have been a stressful nightmare into as enjoyable an experience as possible.
The thing though that I fail to comprehend is the attitude of people in the food service industry not being willing to serve with cheerfulness or at least tact and dignity. I remember sifting through bags and bags of trash looking for retainers, eyeglasses, wallets and key rings; unpleasant maybe (especially when it was not there because that was really hard for the customer) but a part of the job. And yes, people came in and left huge messes and had trouble remembering which fast food joint they were ordering from and were sometimes rude or obnoxious (I was propositioned on a few occasions by customers in line and once also accused of thievery by an unthinking,reacting customer whose wallet I found and turned in and who pointedly counted out every bill in front of my disbelieving manager) but my job was to serve them with a smile (and the special greeting with the up-sale). I figured it was my job to see that they got the food they wanted (even if I had to remember their food preferences and speak in Spanish to the cooks on the line about adjustments). And to be nice even when customers did not understand why their cashier was spending part of the lunch rush mopping up the slip and fall hazard of 6 Extra Large Dr. Peppers and Mountain Dews that a customer handed to her child. It was my job to see that their transaction was as fast and pleasant as possible as well as accurate and that customers had a clean place to sit and eat (floors and tables also parking lots) and that their food was being prepared in a hygienic manner when I helped out on the line.
I think that in the fast food industry what the customer wants is fast, friendly, accurate service that is above all safe. The only difference between a fast food joint and an upscale restaurant should be that fast be replaced by timely. As to the amazing food quality of fine restaurants – if these other things are not there the customer will not notice how wonderful the food is. Research shows that food eaten on airplanes tastes different and is less appetizing while the engines are running and they think it is because of the distraction of the noisy engines. But people distracted by the poor attitudes of waitstaff will also be less able to appreciate an amazing food masterpiece no matter how appetizing it looks or would taste if eaten in a more congenial setting.
I think what this chef is saying - albeit in a colorful, button-pushing way - is simply to show the same basic kindness and respect to the professionals who are working their best for you as you would in any other situation. It is indeed a service industry and it should be clear everyone's trying their best for you. That said, paying for a meal doesn't mean it's alright to be rude and forego kindness. The cost of a meal doesn't entitle you to every service under the sun. I've been genuinely understanding and flexible at my favorite restaurants when something goes amiss, and in turn, those restaurants have responded in kind by going above and beyond for me. I think that gratitude and respect - from BOTH parties - is at the heart of a good, loyal dining experience. I can't imagine being a tyrant with my other professional cohorts ("do this for right now, and perfectly, or you're fired"), so I certainly wouldn't adopt that approach with my restaurants, either. Flexibility, respect, and humor go a long way.
This article sucks. I really don't care what chef's points of annoyance are. I have worked in the restaurant business, you stay successful by being hospitable, not having some arbitrary set of rules which if broken will illicit some petty emotional response. I now work in the health care industry, and guess what, it is the same dynamic, working hard to provide a service and keep the customer happy. Given the high failure rate of most restaurants over time, the chefs adopting the set of rules above are walking a dangerous line that can result in acquiring a terrible reputation in the community. In today's economic environment, you don't get the luxury of throwing your ego around and expecting that customers are going to keep coming back through the door. Nobody's cooking is *that* good.
And holy moly – I will never be going to that restaurant again – I'm glad he published its name!
It is ASTOUNDING how many businesses forget who funds them – the customers. You do not have a god-given right to a guaranteed stream of income (despite the current administration, we are not a welfare state yet), you have to compete for it and you do this by accommodating customer wants and needs until business constraints dictate you can't and then graciously saying no, not by making fun of them. Particularly in a bad economy, your job is to cater to the customers who are paying you to stay in business. I have been in customer service for years, first as a waitress and now as a manager in a Fortune 500 company, and if a manager or chef ever piped up about their list of complaints about customers, I would fire them immediately. It's not just a bad attitude, it's bad business.
This guy is right......The majority of you out there don't use your brains or just don't care about others enough to extend simple common courtesy.........Your not doing this chef any favors bringing your money in....He is there to give you a tasty dining experience.......The waitress is not there to hold your hand and cut your meat into little pieces, you Jackwagons.....Try moving from the ego up to the super ego for a little higher order thinking every once in awhile......
Not doing him any favors by bringing our money there? How about this one Einstein, we'll all stop spending money in there that way you two can bitch about business and how it's dead now, at least this way he can't bitch about moving the chairs around and people calling because no one will be doing either....JackWagon....
Five ways to get your food spit on.....................
I cannot believe this jackoff would actually take this attitude! With the thousand's of dinning choices in Atlanta, I find it totally disrespectful to anyone who has ever eaten at a restaurant. And to top it all of, plaster his fat, bearded ugly face up there. To hell with Ron Eyester and to Hell with Rosebud Restaurant. Congrats on driving your own restaurant into the ground!
Six words to the chef who posted this article:
1) I
2) will
3) not
4) support
5) your
6) business
You chose to be in the service industry, and serving one of the basic human needs, food.
Close your restaurant then. Then no one will bother you or your waitstaff.
Wow, if I am ever in Atlanta, I'll make sure to avoid this idiot's restaurant. It seems he has forgotten the reason why he can open his doors everyday.....his CUSTOMERS.
I have a question... If the restaurant closes at 10pm does that mean they stop allowing customers to come in at 10pm or does that mean that the staff is all leaving at 10pm and they have had the grill off for 30 minutes and have been smearing chemicals all over the floor and tables since 9:15?
Fake food allergies!
Sounds like someone's a Grumpy Gus. :-(
"You don’t get free pair of gloves or socks from Old Navy when you buy an outfit on your birthday." True. Old Navy also doesn't have me wait at the front of the store for two hours before I get to purchase something, do they? Regardless, lots of business offer something free during special occasions. Disney World restaurants will give out free wine glasses or other items for couples on their honeymoon. Perhaps you could learn something from Disney about how to treat guests. It's called respecting the people that give you money. You should try it.
I've never heard such balderdash froth forth from the lips of an arrogant and condescending chef like this before. Wait, actually, I have.
I had an employee at a business I owned and ran one time complain to me as a customer drove into our parking lot – she was, I guess, nice enough not to say anything like that in front of a customer, but as I thought about it, I could not believe this employee was so bold as to say this in front of me. I waited until the customer exited and then I told the employee that they should go home the rest of the day and think about who pays their paycheck. On one hand, it was me who did so, but on the other hand, the customer was ultimately the one responsible for the success of our operation because they paid for our goods and services with the cash that ultimately became the profit that became then in turn the employee's. I mean, how willing is someone in the service industry to serve someone if they complain about the customers before and after they leave the business the customer is patronizing. Many businesses in today's crowded market offer the exactly same identical things, with the only difference being the service given to the customers. In many businesses this dictates the bottom line. If the chef runs the business and owns it, I suppose he's got a right to say and think what he wants, but I wonder if such an arrogant attitude gets picked up on by the customer and they cease becoming a repeat client because of such foolishness.
This article could have been written for any service industry person, minus the moving of chairs maybe.
It is AMAZING how many people call at MIDNIGHT, just to let us know they'll be bringing their car in, in the a.m.
Or, they'll say, I know you close at 6, but I'll be there at 7. I know you'll be there.
Or, they miss their appt and don't call, or they show up and don't call and expect you to drop everything and work on
their car like, NOW, because they are important.......
OR.... my favorite, they say, FIX MY CAR NOW! Then, when time for the bill, "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for car repair today".... or worse yet, "let's barter!" UGH
Interestingly, last week's SmartBlog on Restaurant posted a survey asking restauranteurs their "Biggest Customer Pet Peeve? The results are similar to Ron's list, so he is not alone:
When guests request dishes not on the menu — 10.42%
Picky eaters! Substituting ingredients isn’t always easy — 17.36%
Diners who idle for hours post-meal are annoying — 20.83%
Guests who miss or are late for reservations — 18.75%
I can’t list just one! — 32.64%
Here is the entire post: http://bit.ly/aFcXDm
And, by the way...thanks for all the laughs I got from reading the heated discussions. It was quite amusing.
With such a negative attitude towards customers (Angry that someone called to express interest in his business? Is he joking?), why did he even open a restaurant in the first place? Perhaps he would have been happier cooking at home for pre-screened family and friends only.
I don't EVER want to patron this guy's restaurant! What an a$$.
Asking for hot sauce and returning an empty bottle.
This dude must be from NYC. If not, he should re-locate there. That's where his attitude is acceptable and expected, no less. But in the South? It's a good way to go out of business. I, for one, won't bother. I can think of a few restaurateurs who would bend backwards to accomodate. Why? Because the customer, right or wrong, is the one through whom you make your living!!
Learn to cook and quit supporting these morons.
My #1 peeve with dining sites (of any cost level) builds on 1 described above – either you're handicapped accessible or you're not. And ALL your wait staff should know if you are or aren't. Having wide aisles in the back room that's TWO STEPS above the rest of the dining floor does NOT constitute accessible to wheelchairs. Having wait staff who turn to a younger person at a table and ignores the older person the instant an older person asks "what?" or "could you repeat that?" in a noisy environment is neither supportive nor educated. Having a chef who says (or relays the message through wait staff) that "nobody is allergic to that" when a customer asks if a certain substance is part of a recipe is not useful.
Be aware that not all of your paying (and tipping!!) customers are equipped with 100% sight, hearing or mobiility.
When my parents were in their 80's we went out to eat at least 3 times a week. Their favorite places were O'Charley's and Applebees, because the staff at the local places always, and I mean always, paid attention to the wheelchairs, the walkers, the hearing aids, and treated my parents like the customers and PEOPLE they were, not some sort of inconvenience. I don't know who trains those staffs, but keep it up!
Ron Eyestra should have learned about these problems when he was in culinary arts school. As a business owner, though, he has to remember that when you have competition, the customer is king. The complaint about having 10 people in a party so they have to move tables around? Get real. That is the duty of the staff. OR, perhaps the owner should look into adding tables that will accommodate large parties. It's not like they don't know you're coming: that's what the reservations are for.
Birthdays? Don't like to give away a free desert? Tell the customer you don't do that. But then, that will cost you business. Celebrate your clientele! You have a reason to rejoice as you have a living breathing customer patronize your establishment! They may not be alive next week.
How well do you have your hours posted? Restaurants I've always worked in locked the doors at closing time. perhaps you should do the same.
Late for a flight? Dunno how often you fly, but you'd be surprised how many flights are late to the gate to take off. Give the customer some slack. If they have not called to acknowledge that they will be late, hold their table for 15 minutes. If they don't show, give it to someone else. If they call and let you know that they will be late, have your host or hostess work with them. Usually there will be a party already waiting for their reserved table. Move them up and let the latecomers take their place.
People drop the chef's name when they have had the chef schmoozing with them. Of course that always happens. It happens in every business I've ever been involved with. Also happens that the business owner will tell their friends not to take advantage of that situation. In fact, real friends won't mind if they get bumped for another client, as they'll understand.
As for the customer:
Need to add another member or three to a party? Call ahead and let the restaurant know so they can confirm if they can accommodate the extras. Same with if you're going to be late for your reservation. Instead of leaving a table open waiting for you, they can move somebody up that's waiting.
I've been to Rosebud's on three occasions when at least one member of the group I was with had never been there and wanted to check it out. I'm not a stickler and can generally eat anywhere so I never griped. It's not a terrible place, but certainly nothing special. Certainly nothing to warrant this public outcry against customers.
Are they legitimate gripes? Sure. I have legitimate gripes about my customers too (I'm a consultant) but I keep those to myself because I appreciate their business. You want to gripe? Do it in the back. You want customers? Treat them well.
At least now I have a valid reason to speak up and suggest another place if someone mentions eating at Rosebud again. I'm not personally insulted by any one of his points because I don't commit any of these cardinal sins, but I don't appreciate reading that a chef (and owner?) has such animosity against his/her clientele.
In short, if I'm such a pain in your rear, I'll save us both the trouble and take my patronage elsewhere. Thanks for making my weekend dining decisions that much easier by knowing to avoid your establishment, Ron.
Chefs such as Ron Eyester are the main reason why not one restaurant deserves my hard earned money. I really did work too hard to pay good money to self-entitled chefs who think their place of business is their home and treat it as such. I don't want to be your guest, I want to be a customer. I work too hard for my money to pay a tip to some kid who hates his job and takes it out on the customers. I work too hard to pay upwards of $20 for a half empty plate of food because (gasp) it's *organic* or *local*. I work too hard to have some snooty host or hostess look down their nose at me when I decline the wine menu. I work too hard to pay good money to be ignored because I didn't order alcohol and my table isn't seen as a "good tip". And I know I work too hard to ever spend one cent in a restaurant Ron is affiliated with.
Thanks, Ron, for showing me I have made a good decision to not eat out anymore.
this chef seems like an a**ho** his running a business what a tool
Good grief! what is it with chef's and their HUGH egos! I mean really guys, many of us have it's a false sense of self importance that the world owes you because you know how to cook. The restaurant industry with it's demanding poorly trained customers (by that I mean no real understanding of the product or appreciation for what it took to prepare it) is no different than any other rude, inconsiderate customer in the retail world wanting your product.
Your 6 things that people do to P*** you off could probably turn into 10 or even 12 things, so tell me again....why are you in the business to begin with?
forget this chef and rest.
If customers annoy him so much, maybe he should find a new line of work...reading this made me never, ever want to go to his restaurant!
One good way to avoid all this nonsense is to "Eat Out Less Often." Your restaurant at one time was not there occupying that space. Now that piece of space takes your money. Your chef and servers were like you – they all went to high school somewhere and were mostly nobodies. They still are nobodies when it is all added up. Food and food persona are so unimportant in the end. Enjoy life - Eat out less often.
who is this chef? I never head of this guy, who would want to go to his restaurant. and if they knew his name to drop it to get a table they must be friends of him.
Having worked in the service industry, I wholeheartedly agree and applaud you for bringing this to the public's attention.
Any business that provides customer service can expect some difficult customers. These are the ones you want to win over. If you can't provide someone with something they want, trust me, they will find someone that does. I will bend over backward day and night to please my customers, I want them to come back. After all they are making my mortgage payment, car payment, paying for my vacations and sending my kids to school, it's the least I can do for them.
It is sad that someone in a customer service position has such a low opinion of customers. I suggest that the people of Atlanta avoid ticking him off and eat elsewhere.
1. If someone said to me, ‘hey, I’m going to come over and give you a couple of hundred dollars plus tip’, and they got to my house and started moving stuff around, I’d certainly ask them why they were doing that. If, after they explained their reasoning, I couldn’t find a suitable alternative and aren’t actually breaking anything, well, heck with it. They are giving me a couple of hundred dollars plus tip. Mind you, this never happens to me, unfortunately, but I will happily provide you my address if you want to come move my furniture around, and I’ll let you do it for only $50. Fair? As for your establishment, of course, there are fire codes, movement patterns and such to take into account. If I moved a chair around because the seating arrangement wasn’t the best for a social situation, and the staff told me it had to be put back for those reasons, I’d have no problem moving it back. If, on the other hand, this is just going to be a pissing match over who gets to say where the furniture goes, then by all means state your position – before I’ve placed my order. That said, I always overestimate my party’s size so that we’re sat at a table that will accommodate us. I’m sure this is another gripe of yours, but I do it. There, I’ve admitted it.
2. “I love how a restaurant is expected to acknowledge your birthday like it’s a national holiday or something….”
When’s your birthday, Ron? The date doesn’t matter. The answer should be ‘on Ronmas’. No, a birthday isn’t a national holiday, but it’s important to the person whose day it is. Do you treat your own birthday as any other day? If so, I think that goes a long way towards explaining a lot of what you’ve said here. While personally, I order dessert specially for someone’s birthday, I don’t think it would take an act of Congress to throw a candle in it. Save the singing, hand-clapping, cheering, or in the case of a local hibachi place, bastardizing the ‘I think I’m turning Japanese’ song into a birthday song blaring over the speakers. But the diners are probably there BECAUSE it’s that person’s birthday. Would it be so hard to pause in your thoughts of puppy-killing or the like just to make someone’s ‘mas’ just a tiny bit happier? If so (because here is the part where everyone jumps in with ‘well, chefs have to prepare x amount of meals in 30 seconds blindfolded while someone whips them and some huge dude is banging a drum at the end of the kitchen), then let the wait staff whip a candle into it, light it, and pass the candle-bedecked dessert to its recipient with a quiet, restrained ‘happy birthday’. It’s not like anyone’s asking for a ‘Happy Birthday, Mr. President’ production. Kudos, I suppose, on being able to lie to customers about the mariachi band sincerely enough to believe you (though you’re seeming to state this in a ‘what fools they!’ tone, the fact is, you’ve just told us you’re lying to people.)
3. “One of my all time favorites: People’s utter disregard for hours of operation….” I have to agree with you on this one. People can be jerks. If this is happening to you a lot, why not change the phrasing right off the bat? ‘I’m sorry sir, but our kitchen is closed and we’ve stopped serving food’. Maybe that won’t stop ALL the jerks, but at least the attempt’s been made. Personally, a place tells me it’s closed, I wouldn’t expect to get food. Or if I got food, I wouldn’t really be able to trust it. At least one food-service person in the very comments section here has validated that feeling.
“What do restaurants have? We have that one guy – if you keep the bar open between lunch and dinner, as we do – who talks to you non-stop as you either try to grab a quick bite to eat, maybe enjoy some solitude or even get some prep work done…” I’m not with you on this one. If the bar isn’t getting enough business that you’re only getting ‘that one guy’, then be closed. If someone’s trying to chew your ear off while you’re trying to get some solitude, politely excuse yourself, tell them you’ll be right back, and disappear til dinner time. Unless you’re also the bartender? I haven’t looked at your restaurant’s setup to be clear on how you are doing prep work at the bar, but I’ll take your word for it. People bothering you while you’re eating is rude, period. After all, you don’t walk into their house while they’re having dinner etc etc, right?
4. “You know what happens when you’re late for a flight? You miss it! You know what happens when you’re late to the movies? It starts despite the fact that you’re not there. Why am I obligated to hold your table when you’re late?”
You aren’t obligated. I’m not obligated to eat there. Perhaps I’m late for the reservation because the airline had me sitting on the tarmac in another city for 2 hours because of a backup in takeoffs. Maybe this is a business dinner and the meeting went beyond its allotted time on the agenda. When I call to tell you I’m late, if it’s that much of a problem, tell me the reservation’s cancelled. If I didn’t call to tell you I’m late, well, then I guess I can expect a little something extra in my food, no? This is why I always call when I’m going to be late – which doesn’t happen often! But the simple fact is, tardiness happens. Either accept it and move on, or be a hardass about it and don’t bemoan the loss of business (if any) by the reputation your establishment gets. Either option is better than accepting it and then complaining to the world about it. The people being late probably don’t enjoy being late any more than you do in any case – they’re hungry! Then again, so are you, probably, because of that ‘one guy’ at the bar, right?
“Also, when you show up thirty minutes before we open for brunch (yes, this happens all the time), I can’t open early because ‘your body is used to eating at 9:30.’ Yet, I’m obligated to offer you a cup of coffee while you wait and make sure that the staff and I don’t drop too many F-bombs while we’re setting up so we don’t offend you.” If your staff is prone to dropping f-bombs and the arrival of a customer prevents this, I suppose I could mention it speaks volumes on the class of your staff. Or that I find it ironic, somehow, that you and your staff are just putting on an act while customers are there. Perhaps people expect more out of your establishment than, say, McDonald’s, with the hours of operation. Maybe people don’t run restaurants and know the ins-and-outs of food service. Well, again, more fool they. Is having coffee on hand that much of a problem? Then I’d like to know how it is that people are getting into your establishment before you’re open for brunch and causing this problem. I did just take a quick look at the website (“Kind flavors”…I get the joke! The flavors seem to be the only things that ARE kind!), and according to opentable.com, brunch is your first Saturday meal. Is your establishment that popular that people are breaking and entering before 10 am? Then either forget the coffee and call the cops, or, if this is happening ‘all the time’, perhaps consider changing your hours for brunch? Supply and demand, right?
5. “A chef really loves when you drop his or her name – especially when you don’t have a reservation on a busy night…” I’m with you on this one. Personally, I’d rather be friendly with the wait staff than the chef – they’re the ones I’m tipping, after all, but again, people can be jerks. Not much more to say on this one.
And for good measure... (and I’m sure you had a hard time picking this one out of the probably list of 50 gripes you carry around with you)
6. “Why do people always seem to call the restaurant at the absolute worst time (i.e. between 12:45 and 1:30 p.m. and 7 and 9 p.m.) to inquire about our menu or make a reservation?...”
Don’t you have someone on hand to handle this? Usually, I talk to a host or hostess for this. I call between those hours because I’m often not told about dinner plans til lunchtime, which means I’m probably calling at 1:15. Why answer the phone during those hours if it’s such a hardship? Put on a recording telling them when it would be good to call, or directing them to visit your website, or just let it ring. Or put them on hold until it’s not such a bad time – your call IS very important to us! Maybe people always seem to call at ‘the worst time’ because it’s only your ‘worst time’.
‘Yes, please tell me about your food’ Really? Do you not have access to the World Wide Web?...’ Maybe they don’t, depending on where they’re calling from. Do you not have the time to discuss your menu? Again – don’t you have someone to handle this?
“And, why is it that all these people share an uncanny, common denominator – they all talk so slow!” This kind of seems like a low blow. Maybe all these people have had strokes? Perhaps that will cheer you up til the next time you’re able to get some free time to go make fun of handicapped or retarded people.
“Or – how about when people call to make a reservation and the conversation actually turns into a conference call? This is especially entertaining…” Allow me to respond to your sarcasm: The nerve of these people, planning a social event in a social manner! I think you should just tell them ‘Hey! Buddy! Call me when you’ve got it figured out, right?’
I’d highly doubt you’re going to read all, or any, of these comments (you’re probably too busy taking calls at a bad time or dealing with that ‘one guy”), but it seems to me you’d have a perfect job if it weren’t for all the customers. I’m sorry things are so hard for you. Myself, I’ve just come up with a couple of good ideas. 1) I’m going to ask for A-1 at every establishment I go to, even if I didn’t order a steak, after my meal. 2) I’m going to find a way to post your gripes as a review, just so everyone who will actually eat there sees them.
BILL your right on
That was perfect. Thank you!
Ha! Too true.
Jeez. What a self-centere jerk chef. I used to be a lowly Pizza Hut manager. We made food the way people asked for it without complaining. If a large group arranged tables that were inappropriate, we walked the long way around. If someone came in at closing time and out ovens and make tables were still not cleaned up, we'd make them a pizza. This so called chef should realize who pays the bills: the customers and your job, if you really want to make money and have a good word of mouth reputation, is to make those customers happy. Unbelievable chef.
World would be a better place if everyone had to work a shift on mothers day at a restaurant, a florist on valentines day, had to drive a 18 wheeler to get a license and retail on the day after thanksgiving and Christmas. Host or Hostess should be a managers position period too much depends on this position in a busy restaurant and always is not properly staffed. Some restaurants I worked with were able to increase 30 more covers in a 200 seat restaurant with fewer complaints on 25 dollar avg tickets by putting managers in this position. thats Fri Sat Sun lunch and dinner shifts
Thanks, Rich, for pointing out the importance of the host position. Servers who have never hosted think it's the easiest job in the house. NOPE! When I worked as a hostess I often got pulled to do tasks well outside my job description, not to mention the normal juggling of parties, servers, reservations, and to-go orders. Unfortunately, our manager would occasionally step in to "help" with hosting on busy shifts, completely wrecking the system and overloading the nearest two servers. Unless the restaurant is understaffed, the host can handle a waiting list just fine; the manager needs to keep his or her focus on the big picture, checking in on the front- and back-of-house, and being accessible to guests, not micromanaging one position.
I thought this article was funny and so true! Why are people so worked up about it? It's strange. If anyone in ANY job, that deals with people, wrote a light-hearted article about things customers do to make their job hell at times, it would be funny!! We'd all get a chuckle. But there is something strange about some customers idea of the hospitality industry. First of all, they keep saying that this is the "SERVICE" industry, so SERVE us! ALL businesses and trades are "SERVICE" industries!!
But this is the hospitality industry. You come to a restaurant to eat, hopefully good food, you pay someone to bring it you, hopefully politely, and you pay someone to cook it for you. That's what you pay for.
You tip, for all the extra things besides someone bringing a meal to you, Like re-filling your water glass, like treating you kindly, taking your plates away, bringing an extra fork, offering you another drink, basically doing their best.
You do not go to a restaurant to be treated like the King of England. Or to have a personal servant or butler. There are places that offer that but I doubt any of us could afford it. Besides, I'm sure Queen Elizabeth's personal servers/cooks/butler's screw up and forget to bring another plate and I doubt she throws a fit. And I'm pretty sure they get paid a lot more than the servers and cooks do even with your tip.
Everyone makes mistakes. You make mistakes in your job everyday. When a doctor makes a mistake, it can cost someone their life. When a server makes a mistake, you may have to wait a little longer for your drink. Everything is going to be okay. There are so many things in this world to get angry about.
If you work at bank, and wrote a list of things I do as a customer that make your job hard, I wouldn't freak out and say "go get another job."
We all rely on someone to pay us for whatever it is that we do, but that doesn't give me the right to lord it over you and treat you like an uneducated idiot. It's true that there are a lot of restaurants but there are far more customers. I've been in the restaurant business for 20 years and I've never worked at a place that's gone out of business. And I will NEVER take a customer's bull sh@&t.
Nor would I ever treat you like my personal servant when I pay for your services whatever they may be. Even if you screwed up.
Whether we're a customer or a worker, we should always treat each other with respect. And any time you want to gripe about your job, no worries. I would much rather be a customer or patron that you look forward to doing business with, than not.
Claire Bee,
You're joking, right? 20%? Your boss is already paying your way. If it's not enough to pay the bills, maybe you should have negotiated a little before you took the job. Demanding a 20% tax (tip) for bringing me a $3 beer is nonsense. Did you give your doctor a 20% tip for your implants? Get real...
Wait staff make less than minimum wage, try somewhere around $3/hour most of the time, cheap ass...
first off, like icecream said, most servers make 2-3 dollars an hour, and that's not negotiable. if i go to work and it's dead and no one comes in, that's what i make. if the restaurant is full of cheap-o's such as your wonderful self, what you tip is what i make. not to mention, most restaurants do a "tip-out", which is what pays our bartenders, bus-boys, etc. so not only are servers making dick squat, they're paying out of pocket for the other people to do their job, such as clean up after kids who decided to throw their food all over the floor, spit food on the seats, etc. and 20% really isnt that big of a deal. i usually tip 30%, 40 to 50 for excellent service. some of these kids are going to school, and need the money. who am i to deny them their happiness? it's how most of them PAY THEIR BILLS. and of course, obviously since you can see my tits, i used it to pay for my large double d implants. freaking dolt.
You are legally entitled to at least minimum wage. If your pay is not averaging out to that, you should notify your state's Department of Labor–and an attorney. You also are obligated to pay taxes on your earnings and tips. If you're not doing that, then I feel no pain for you.
In real life, the "no soup for you!" attitude means you won't be in business for very long. You're a temporary contractor, like a doctor or an auto mechanic...someone I hire for a short period of time to do a specific task. Be that removing my left nut, putting tires on my car or fixing my food, I'm paying you good money for your service. If I don't like the service, your product or you, I can and will vote with my feet. Remember that.
Five Things Restaurants Do to Tick Off me off:
1. Let my glass of water go empty
2. Forget my requests. E.g., more bread, no ice in water, another glass of wine.
3. Long span of time between table visits
4. Overcooking Salmon (seems to always happen at chain restaurants, except Bonefish Grill)
5. Not knowing who ordered what when they bring out the food
I have a short list or restaurants I frequent, and all of them have pretty flawless service. Keeping water filled seems to be the number one issue for the best of them.
This article really irked me. I understand and sympathize – heck, I even agree with some of the pet peeves – but it's pretty arrogant to announce your pet peeves to the world. I find this to be a huge turn-off. These issues should be handled directly with the individual customer at the time they happen. Customers are not always right, but you have to realize that there is a way of telling someone that you cannot accommodate them without either side becoming angry, defensive, or embarassed. If you can't think of a way to do so, then maybe you need a little break from the service industry.
Wow, I had no idea so many lost Yurpean nobles lived in the US! And that their servants/slaves were only found as restaurant servers. Must be nice to know that all's right in the world when one can denigrate someone working for a living...now that one can't say the same things about 'those people'.
Pretensions to higher social status...proven to be delusional by the comment that the poster hoped would fulfill their fantasy.
Before claiming to have 'been in the business'...it might help to have actually done the work. Some of us dear Readers have.
Want good service? Treat the Staff like humans and it's a job.
What's up with this guy? Yes there are some common courtesy issues that can be improved with both customers and restaurants, however when people traditionally go out, its for the service. Bad service equates to a bad business.
Rather pay 7 buks and go to Arby's than support this fat f**k
This is so simple get another job! Because?... this is not a great passsion for you or an art. You are just angry and unhappy! I wouldn't step foot in your restaurant!
This chef is a DOU(HE Bag. His food sucks a$$.
I live in the "neighborhood" that Rosebud claims to represent. Let me tell you, this place is mediocre and pails in comparison to other local dining spots. The LAST time I ate there, we began dinner with mealy mussels, followed by a raw pork cop, which was retuned to the kitchen. Dinner was topped off with bread pudding that actually contained pieces of aluminum foil. The meal was a comedy of errors and the staff was completely incapable of dealing with the situation. I am amazed the "chef" has such an extreme arrogant streak, when you consider how flawed his cooking and service is. If you find yourself in the Virginia Highlands, and are considering dinner at Rosebud, please take my advice and see if you can get a table at Murpys!
I think Rosebud should have a visit from Gordon Ramsey. Be nice to see if it can be turned into a fine dining establishment. First thing to go would be the chef.
It should always be known that the service industry is a touchy subject. (NOTE: SERVICE INDUSTRY, NOT SERVANT INDUSTRY) if a group of people show up to a reservation LATE, chances are, their table will be taken. it's an industry, not people there for shits & giggles. and if those said people are rude BECAUSE they were late, then chances are, the server OR manager OR chef won't be nice either. it's give and take, take and give. it's a double edged sword, and a very fine line. people never bitch as much in life as they do about what they consume, mainly food. which is why now i'm behind the stick mixing cocktails and pouring beers. people are just down right fucking rude to their "servants", and then hardly ever tip accordingly. anf if you're tab is $50 bucks, you've sent your server running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, tip AT LEAST 20%. the one time *I* received a 10% top on a $50 tab, the owner asked them to never come back. it's just how it goes....
Having worked for tips a lot in my life, I agree with Claire Bee on the tip thing, contrary to popular beliefe, waiters make LESS than minimum wage...last time I waited tables it was $2.55/hour...I regularly tip 50% of my bill b/c I know how hard it is to make any sort of living wage when most of your income comes from tips...All you hating on the comment of a minimum 20% tip need to think about that next time you tip less than that.
I worked at a resturant for 5 years. I have seen people make inappropraite sexual comments (and be asked to leave), seen people leave without paying (and the server has to cover it), be in huge groups and order next to nothing (taking up 5 tables for a $50 bills that they leave me $2 on), and a party of 20 (with a reservation) show up 20 min late, and sit at my table for an hour, waiting for the rest of the party, only to have the other half not show. There was a long wait, and that was two tables other people could have been using. The moral of the story is think about others, because even if you don;t other people are forced to.
One couple (who happened to be minorities, and did not look like they had a lot of money) I served told me I gave them the best service ever because I treated them like "regular people" and did not judge how they looked. They handed me a lot of extra money for my kindness, while I felt like I was "just doing my job." However, I have had my share of bad customers too.... I had one woman watch me pick up the plates her child had flung, and laugh as I bent over and her child threw crumbled cookies into my hair. I dusted my hair off, smiled, and did not return until it was time to drop off the check.
We may have taken the job to serve, but we never signed up to be your slave. I still deserve respect, to not be sexually harrassed, not be touch, not be screamed at, not be threatened, and not be forced to pa for your bill when you run out. You can say I should not do this line of work if I don't like the job, but this is what allows me to go to school and better myself while still being able to pay my bills. Would you rather I sit on welfare, or would you rather I work a job I that makes me see the horrible side of people to make myself better? BTW, I was constantly told I was one of the best servers ever..
If you haven't worked in food service, you really can't know how inconsiderate common customers are. The restaurant business is like any other industry. Living in houses does not make you an architect. Being respectful, polite, and a bit patient will do wonders.
The two hour rule is a good guide for customers–if you have theatre tickets across the street at 8:00, make a 6:00 reservation.
Seriously, people. Stop yer bitchin'! If you're so angry with the public, quit your job as a Chef and just enjoy cooking for yourself. And as for YOU...if the Chef or server is an A** H*le, don't spend your time or money at their establishment. This would be a non-issue if everyone would just mind their manners.
People are taking this article too seriously. As a former restaurant manager and someone who also eats out regularly, I see both sides of this argument. However, the point this guy is trying to make is that restaurant patrons all too often fail to use a little common sense and courtesy in how they treat restaurant staff. Yes they are there to serve you, but this mentality that the "customer is always right" is flat out wrong. Restaurant patrons need to realize that this is a very demanding business and just because you are a paying customer, doesn't give you free license to act like an ass. If a customer takes up more time and uses more of the restaurant's resources than he pays, he is a bad customer and not worth catering to. This is obviously a black and white way of looking at it, but there is such a thing as a bad customer. I've thrown out many of rowdy bar patrons in my time that spend lots of money. Their business is appreciated but they have to respect the people and staff around them. This guy is right. It's rude and inconsiderate to call a restaurant and ask for a "verbal tour of the menu" during the busiest times of the day, or demand the restaurant stay open after closing time. If you're polite and respectful you just might get the restaurant employee to bend the rules for you, but if you demand it, you'll usually get what you deserve...Nothing.
It reminds me of the movie CleRks when they say that "the job would be great if it wasn't for the $%#@ customers. "
PLEASE, just have more respect for the kitchen and staff. That's all he's really saying. These guys are working 12-16 hours a day with FIRE AND HEAT AND KNIVES like a Ninja and all the while, giving up everything in their life,– just to make sure you have a good meal.
It sickens me to see rude people who disrespect servers and kitchen staff. And when I say disrespect I mean that you waltz into the restaurant 10 minutes before they close and then ORDER A 10 COURSE TASTING MENU. Or who treat servers like they are your personal assistant and you're Naomi Campbell. Or who show up late for their reservation. Or worse yet,– tip less than 15%.
15% tip was fine. In 1995.
It's 2010. I tip 20% always, and 20-30% for extremely good food and good service.
It's a luxury to go out to eat. Treat it that way.
These chefs, those guys back there make less money than you think they do. I promise. And they work WAY harder than any of the 9-5er cube people who, they have to serve on a Friday and Saturday night.
Valentines Day. Christmas Eve. New Year's Eve. New Year's Day. Name a holiday and yes, they are usually working making sure YOU are able to enjoy that holiday, most likely with your secretary you're cheating on your wife with.
I am sick of foodies.
I am sick of rude customers that think just because they are paying for something that they deserve to be pampered.
This isn't a spa, this is a restaurant. There has to be some give and take and respect.
I am very proud of this Chef. To be blunt but funny and say the things that a lot of people who are not as high up as him wouldn't be able to say. But I promise, they are thinking.
I don't work in the service industry. But I have a HUGE respect for all they do because I couldn't handle it. And honestly? I think a lot of you people couldn't either.
To Chef Eyester, Keep up the good work! . Next time I'm in ATL I shall come by for sure! And maybe bring you some Pabst Blue Ribbon....
This has been a good and rigorous debate, on this page. I wonder if any business schools are going to extract it for use in their classes? So much FREE information, and more accurate than any formal study of the customer-to-business relationship in the restaurant industry could yield. I noticed your post and just have to reply to a couple points of yours. Otherwise, I will take the advice of the one respondent to move on.
“Giving up everything in their life?” You wax to melodramatic.
A percentage-based tip system is not compensation for work performed, but a commission on the sale of the dinner. My order of a single plate and drink for a waiter to manage comes to $20. I should leave a $4 tip. My dining partner has a single plate and drink that comes to $40. They are expected to leave an $8 tip. Did I receive half the service the other diner did? Conversely, did they receive twice the service I did? If we receive the same amount of service, why is there a difference in the amount that is expected in compensation for it?
About the foodies. I abhor the whole mentality. But! That food channel opened up the doors to business beyond what any advertising could have. Pots and pans and other equipment bearing the names of the TV chefs. Recipe books. Name-bearing seasonings and sauces and other food products. Ready-made or ready-to-heat foods. Special appearances. Not to mention an increased interest in food, and the infinite variations of preparing it.
The smart businessman would find a way to get and preserve a piece of that action. When a diner goes to a restaurant and starts off, “I saw on the food channel ...”, there is a perfect opportunity to establish a very good and potentially lucrative relationship with that customer. Only a fool would cast that aside. On the other hand, a lot of pots and pans and other equipment is ending up at deep-discount liquidators. Of the food products, the only ones that seem to be holding on are the stocks and broths. I really can’t stand to watch the food shows anymore. Their presentation has gotten stale.
This is perhaps the sanest entry on this page:
scatmaster
so can we come to the conclusion that restaurant staff and the customers are both a bunch of a** holes and move on.
“Move on” is very sage advice indeed.
I wrote that I will never again go out to eat. Not “never,” but only if it is a matter of particular convenience or I am coerced into a group function. So none of this is any longer my concern or my business to comment about.
I am glad that there are others who think as I do, for whatever reason, but perhaps because they too are as circumspect as I am when spending the money I work hard to earn (Registered Nurse in a hospital). I am especially glad to see that there is at least one businessman out there (Ummmm....No) who appreciates the true nature of the customer transaction.
To those in the restaurant industry who are so at odds with their job: I am sorry that it is this way for you. No job should be a burden to go to. There are times when mine is. But then I remind myself that there is no better job in the world than to care for someone who entrusts you to do so, whether it is to serve them a meal or address any need they have head to toe.
Many who are currently in the restaurant are not necessarily there out of choice (the only job they could find); or they rushed into it, mesmerized by the lure and potential of being a superstar chef, and it is not that way. And they expect everybody to change to make their lives easier. Well, that just doesn’t happen, in any field, in any job within it, no matter how high or how low one is within it. One has three choices: Muddle through as best they can, change their approach to it to attempt to make it better for themselves, or change jobs. (I always wonder how many would-be forensic scientists, mesmerized by the CSI shows, there actually are now.)
Why in this thread do "restaurant people" keep insisting that non-restaurant workers walk a mile in their shoes? WE DON'T WANT TO. That's why we don't work in restaurants. Serve the food. Shut up. Maybe you'll get a tip. MAYBE. Times are tough, dontcha know. I have an idea. If anyone DOES ever go to this moron's place again, do everything on the list he says he doesn't want you to do. Then complain about the food, even if it isn't true. Bring a fly to put in the food. Or a cockroach, OR, better yet, a dead bedbug. Then leave without tipping. On your way out, stop at the hostess station and tell them it sucked, and to ask their boss why.
because that's real mature. grow up, dude. everyone gets their chance to rant.
Times are tough, donchaknow, and for the money you'd pay for a party of four adults to eat at a casual dining restaurant I can buy enough raw ingredients to feed myself reasonably well for a week. If you can't afford or don't intend to tip, DO NOT waste a working person's time. You know what you'd get if you refused to pay an auto mechanic for the work he did? Not a working car, I can tell you that much. Restaurant employees put up with plenty of crap on a daily basis and deserve compensation for their time and effort as much as any other working person.
There's nothing wrong with a chef venting about customers. They can be rude, and inconsiderate. However, most people aren't. At my sushi bar, we have a "ban list." After seven years, it has 15 people total. Any customer that treats my front staff rudely, or arrogantly, or hostilely, regardless of the reason, are banned. We remove their plates, their silverware, and their menus, and they leave. We don't take their money, or ask remuneration for the food they've eaten. My staff aren't slaves; they aren't your mothers, your drudge wives or hen-pecked husbands; they are professionals and deserve to be treated with the same level of respect and courtesy that they treat the customer. I will make the best food I can, my staff will work hard to serve you, and the customer acts civilized. Everybody wins. Everybody enjoys a great experience.
did anyone point out that thing on Gorbachev's head? WTF?
Yeah, yeah...working with the public is hard. I you're a chef...who presumably owns his own place, it's probably not the best idea to write an article talking about how annoying your customers are.
I've been a server for 6 years, working at small mom and pop joints to a Michelin one-star in NY...and I think the biggest problem that I'm reading here is a lack of understanding on both sides. No one seems to be willing to look at the restaurant's perspective and vice-versa. I've been the victim of some incredibly awful, rude service while dining out, but I've also seem some truly juvenile behavior while serving people. Yes, a restaurant is a service establishment but even though it's not "my house" I think there is a certain level of respect and decorum that should be expected of customers. Just because you're paying for a meal doesn't mean that it's appropriate to dip your fingers in the candle wax and make a mess, or to stick your gum underneath the tables (this occurred at the one-star on numerous occasions). By the same token, I've been appalled by the way many chefs view their customers...as ignorant, needy, whiny a-holes that they can't believe they are counting upon to make money.
All that said, let me try and point some level-headed light on some things in the restaurant world. Firstly, I would encourage everyone who has never worked at a restaurant for at least 6 months to try and be reasonable when it comes to screw-ups. I would never presume to understand the first thing about carpentry just because I hire a carpenter frequently and am not going to start complaining about things I have no understanding of. You have no idea how hard it is to coordinate anywhere from 75-400 meals a night depending on the size of the restaurant. When one person decides to order something not on the menu, it slows down the kitchen because the dish has no mis en place (already prepared ingredients ready to help increase precision in cooking time) for service. That one dish causes a domino effect and suddenly the entire restaurant is now behind. Everyone's food is taking longer, which means that people with reservations have to wait for their tables (something that most restaurants do everything in their power to avoid...use some common sense, why would we want your table to be late....we HATE making you wait, but sometimes it is unavoidable). At a good restaurant, we will be happy to buy you a round of drinks or dessert if your wait for the table is becoming ridiculous. We want you to be happy, to have a great experience, to come back again. I could be wrong, but I feel that many people come into a restaurant assuming that they are going to war, that we (the staff) are your enemy. This couldn't be further from reality. I am your conduit to the kitchen, I will be happy to answer all your questions, and I am the person who is going to be able to help you figure out the best thing on the menu for you (or if you want me to just shut up and take your order, I can do that too). Communication is KEY. I am not a mind-reader, you have to tell me what you want...but please, just be polite. If you're rude or demanding...it will turn me off and I won't really care that much about taking care of you and your table. I may be a server, but it doesn't mean I'm a servant. I take pride in my work, I am well versed in food, wine, and alcohol and I know my menu back and forth. If we all just have a little respect for each other and a little patience....we can all have a great evening.
P.S. If you are in a rush...and don't have time to be patient...TELL ME! One of my biggest pet peeves is when a table is waiting for their entrees and a VERY angry customer calls me over to tell me that they have a play to go to and are now "going to be late thanks to my sh@tty service." How the hell am I supposed to know that you have somewhere to be unless you tell me. At my restaurant we have a leisurely dining experience. We're not trying to shove you out the door. If you don't give me information...I can't help you. Remember...the server is your teammate....tell me how to help you and I'll do the best that I can.
This guy is venting. Someone asked him "what p*sses you off about job" and he answered. How many of you have things you hate about your job, but you grin and bare it too keep your job? What's that? Everyone? Well this person is no different... most of these posts reek of people lashing out at a person because no one asked "them" to write an article on what p*sses them off about their job. A group session of Self-loathing in the form of public stoning.
yeah, let's face it. he's not a looker.
WOW, what an a-hole Eyester is. Your food's not that good, Gorbachev.
I worked in restaurants as a bartender and a waiter for ten years. The majority of issues that I had with people were not the customers at all, but arrogant and incompetent restaurant managers such as Mr. Eyester. Seriously, dude, your business is serving people. If you don't like people, then get out of the people business. Your job is to serve the needs of your customers, and if you can't do that with a smile on your face then you will be much better off sitting behind a desk or driving a truck on the highway. The complaints that you have about customers generally boil down to you being inflexible in regards to accommodating the needs of your customers. That's fine, and you have every right to do so. You must know, however, that every time you say 'no' to a customer, there are ten restaurants out there that will say 'yes'. The customer is always right, even when they're wrong. That's the philosophy that I was trained with when I started.
If you don't want people coming in to celebrate their birthday, fine. But know that it makes up a huge part of the restaurant's business. Don't want to serve people at 10:01 if you close at 10pm? No problem. That's you're prerogative. But don't expect that person to come back when they are hungry during business hours. Don't want to answer phone calls from people with questions about your business? Fine. Maybe that person will get the answer they're looking for from the restaurant across the street. You're not doing a customer any favors when they come into your restaurant. It is the other way around. Yes, money is being exchanged for goods and services, but if the services are not up to par, that customer will not return. There simply are too many good places to eat to have to put up with an arrogant whiny child like the owner of this restaurant.
Wow. I can't believe so many people have such issues. Very simple. Customers if you feel a restaurant isn't up to par....don't go back. Service people, if your job is so hard.... find another line of work. The customer is there to expect a certain level of service. If you can't hack it... get out the kitchen. There is always someone who can do your job better. I hear they are hiring at McDonalds.
HELLO! Your complaining about customers? What happened to the days of "The customer is always right". Customers is why you have a job and/or why you are in business. We all complain about certain people or types of customers or even your dumb co-worker (but in private between our peers or loved ones) We all have bad days and we keep our mouth shut when it comes to customers hearing about it and if your in the service industry I would suggest not publicly complaining about your customers, becuase it's only a matter of time before you won't have any with that kind of attitude. Customer service is on a decline in America. Mainly becuase of people like this guy and everyone that agrees with him. Next time a journalist asks how customers tick you off, I would tell them they never do and we love them all.
I can't believe I wasted my time reading this. I thought it was actually going to be something "cute" ... like being annoyed when I ask for something well-done or requesting ketchup. I'll just eat my Wa-pa-ghetti's pizza and lament the time-suck.
Yeesh ... what a whinefest. Feel better now? How about this: Since my patronage seems to offend you so, I'll just not patronize your establishment. I'll spread the word.
I went from busboy to waiter, waiter to maitre d', maitre d' to line cook, line cook to sous chef. I then started to manage locations for two well known San Francisco restauranteurs and neither of them would ever allow such idiosyncratic pet peeves to permeate the workplace with contrived negativity. The amount effort this "chef" puts into his disdain is just a byproduct of an over inflated ego and poor decision in career choice. Food is an art. Service is a job. Mesh them perfectly and you'll find success. While I understand his gripes he comes off as an arrogant malcontent who needs things his way or he can't function at maximum capacity. Well I beg your forgiveness but Mr. Eyester but if these are the things that tick you off you must be suffering from a psychiatric disorder of which I am sure there are plenty you qualify for. The restaurant business is rife with trivial and seemingly ignorant behavior by its patrons, but it is OUR job to overcome them and provide an experience unparalleled by our competition. Another lesson I learned is that when these occasions occur DEMAND that your staff handle them with poise, respect, and civility (as should you) and reward them at the end of their shift when the establishment is closed and they are amongst their peers. Their work will remain at high standard and morale will be high as well because they will value the job and boss they work for. Mr. Eyester I am sure this article has garnered you some new found admirers but I am also certain that it has enlightened the public on why they should avoid your establishment. You sir are no Chef. You lack the professionalism and elegance required not only in cooking but in your attitude for the position you hold and persona you present.
So much bickering...
Reservations mean just as much to those placing them as those accepting them. I don't expect my reservation to last for more then 5 minutes after my reservation time comes around. Yet waiting for 30 minutes after I made a reservation 6 hours earlier is unnacceptable!! It was too late in the evening to get into any place else and my wife and I were out of town so eating out was our only option and we had to wait in a crowded restaurant, standing near the bathrooms as it was the only spot unoccupied.
As for moving chairs around, this again is the result of poor planning on the waitstaff and layout of the restaurant itself. If you are unprepared to handle large groups of people (6+) then your waitstaff should express this during reservations and when they do accept reservations for large groups they should provide them with the neccessary seating arangements that best serve them as well as your staff. IF your customers are rearanging tables and chairs then the fault is with YOUR planning, not thiers.
These are the only areas I object to in this article/chefs rant. Respect is a two way street, respect your patrons as you yourself would like to be respected and things go smoothly.
Responding to Chef Ron Eyester:
1. “Do you like it when people come over to your house and move your furniture around? Yeah, neither do we. We especially don’t like it when you decide to put chairs where we normally have people (i.e. our staff) walking.
–I'm sorry that I brought more paying customers to your place. The guy will only be sitting half in the walkway for an hour or so.. unless of course the food is delayed. Oh, and don't worry, we're used to being packed into our tables like sardines .. no elbow room.
2. “I love how a restaurant is expected to acknowledge your birthday like it’s a national holiday or something. Who invented the rule that you get a free dessert on your birthday in a restaurant? I guess we have T.G.I.Friday’s and Bennigan’s to thank for exploiting servers as they, the servers, clap their hands and chant a birthday cheer.
–I actually agree with most of this. Though it should be part of the business that you have cnadles and some type of birthday cake in the freezer. Sometimes people's birhtday plans are at the last minute. Accomodate them and make them feel good, and maybe they'll be back next week with more people.
3. “One of my all time favorites: People’s utter disregard for hours of operation. ‘Oh, you all are closed? OK, well, I just get some food to go.’ No, I don’t think you get it – we’re closed. Not only can you not cash a check at the bank 30 seconds after they close – the old man locking the door actually takes pleasure in locking the door on you. In some banks, the tellers even have a nice panoramic window to gaze out of and laugh at all the folks who didn’t make it in on time.
–I've been that guy. Home late from work looking for a bite while every place is closing down. What's the right answer? Send him away without takeout, and he thinks you're a d*ck. Help him out and then you have a new grateful customer. So long as the request isn't unreasonable. You likely have some extra food sitting around at the end of day that you're going to toss anyway.....
4. “You know what happens when you’re late for a flight? You miss it! You know what happens when you’re late to the movies? It starts despite the fact that you’re not there. Why am I obligated to hold your table when you’re late? Oh, you hit traffic. What’s that? – I’ve never heard of traffic.
–Good for you Mr Chef. I hope that when a bad situation comes your way, folks won't try to accomodate YOU.
5. “A chef really loves when you drop his or her name – especially when you don’t have a reservation on a busy night. Or even better, when these people refer to themselves as a ‘good friend.’ Here’s a rule: coming to eat at my restaurant once a month, while I genuinely appreciate the patronage and support, does not automatically qualify us as friends. I’m probably not going to ask you to baptize my next kid.
–Learn to deal with people. You want their money, learn to deal with their quirks better. That name dropping is publicity and buzz for you –just in case you don't recognize it for what it is. And a compliment too if you look at it the right way.
6. “Why do people always seem to call the restaurant at the absolute worst time (i.e. between 12:45 and 1:30 p.m. and 7 and 9 p.m.) to inquire about our menu or make a reservation?
–What is the absolute worst time for a potential customer to call another place that will be more accomodating than you are?
Dear Mr Chef.
People have lives. You're in the people business. Learn to deal with people and their needs better than you are.
Sure, people who've never worked as a waiter or chef will be inconsiderate. Having been a lowly busboy and waiter in my younger days, I knew this all too well.
But you _are_ in your chosen profession. Stop whining and just deal with the people – the folks who are paying you to give them a fun night out with good food.
True Story.
Becco in NYC, February 18, 2010. 7:00PM.
My wife and I at the same time develop nausea while having dinner at the Becco Italian Restaurant in midtown, NYC. Hers was much worse and she started vomiting at the table.
The wait staff actually gave us an attitude when I asked for napkins, and a bucket for her in case she threw up again. Very snooty. And when she said that she though she would pass out – they were hesitant to call an ambulance. Though the manager came over and did. Ambulance came within 5 minutes of when she became visibly sick... that's how fast this all happened.
Here's the kicker.. the paramedics are in the place, looking her over at the table... and the waitress had the cahunas to put the check in front of me..and asked me to pay it on the spot. This is no exaggeration. She was more worried about a $100 check – in a trendy and very popular and crowded place – than she was for me standing there comforting my 8 year old and worrying about my wife.
No class at all. Very snooty and arrogant. I felt like a source of income and annoyance, not a customer. And my wife felt like dirt.. just because she got sick there. Heaven forbid....
In the end my wife was fine after a night's sleep.
Another thing I noticed... the people all around us. Kept eating and looking over like we were bothering them. Not one look of compassion or an offer of support... people can be so indifferent and cruel sometimes.. as f their own bodies will never fail them.. they're _something_ doesn't stink and all that....
1) It isn't your house it is your business. If you want customers to come ..you need to provide accommodating Service. That is the industry that you are in. Me and my ten friends..they are called customers. We didn't just pop in to surprise you. We came to your restaurant during working ours to get food. What a concept. If you don't want to seat parties of ten then please say so when we enter and we can go elsewhere. If you would like to decide which tables to push together for us then please say: You table will be prepared for you in about X minutes.
2) I dunno who started the birthday tradition, but really is the free slice of cake going to break you? They only have a birthday once a year. *shrugs* If it bothers you that much ..charge them.
3) If you are closed – then lock your doors. Then I can't get in and ask for food. If you need a half and hour to clean your kitchen then close a half hour earlier and do so. If your business is open at 9:30 and you close at ten..don't be surprised if people walk in the door. Lock the door from incoming patrons if you are going to close the kitchen earlier.
4) Lateness works both ways. If I am more than a few minutes late..work me in later. If you make me wait more than a few minutes on a regular basis then it is Your mismanagement of your reservations. Pay attention to the flow of customers and plan accordingly. An occasional wait is expected. A repeated one is not. If you aren't ready to serve customers LOCK YOUR DOOR.
5) I couldn't give a crap who my chef is. My evening is about my companions..not you. Not likely I will even ask what your name is unless you do something ungodly to my fish.
6) We call during your HOURS OF SERVICE because we would like information about your restaurant. Read: Potential paying customer. Again the obvious solution: If you do not want to chat with me on the phone then Don't Answer The Phone when you are busy. DUH.
In conclusion, expect that while you are in a service industry that you will be providing service. If you want to play angst-y artiste I suggest you stay home and cook for your Non-paying customers.
I love to read and laugh at these articles. What a whiny whiny guy. No I don't want to see you when I arrive nor want your stupid cake. By the way, I do call at 7pm because I'm thinking about where to eat and if you can't afford one minimum wage person to answer the phone I won't stop. I don't move tables around either, if I come with many I would expect you to do that.
What is your restaurant anyway? Is it the all you can eat spaghetti buffet?
Sounds like tubby shouldn't working in a restaurant. Heard quickly lube was hiring.
it's a service industry, or are you too full-of-yourself to know that? now you've had your rant, put a cork in it and go make me some toast. and don't burn it.
I Think its real funny this chef is complaining when if us, the patrons, if we didn't eat at you restaurant dude or chic chef you would have no job no customers = no $$$$$ sooooooooooo your a dip shit, also why every time i walk in to a restaurant your at the bar with friends and jose is the one cookin LMFAO wtf is that r u serious..... don't complain....just cook my food and have your peoples wait on me period thats what im paying for fool ......oh and DONT SPIT IN MY FOOD NOW BECAUSE I SAID WHAT I SAID...soooo not cool
I'm not eating at Rosebud ever again. These things bother him? Wow.
To the author, you ought not to be in the restaurant business. I go to restaurants very often, to visit with friends and family, eat good food, be waited on (NO dishes to wash) and enjoy myself. I DON"T GO to adhere to your list of rules that make your life easier. Doesn't sound like you like people, or that you appreciate your patrons. No problem, your restaurant is one I will make not to visit. And don't worry, I will share your "rules" with as many friends and family as possible. A good host/maitre'd can deal with any of those small issues....apparently you can't.
I have eaten at Rosebud in the past. Three times to be exact. I live in the neighborhood and really wanted to like it, but the food has been completely subpar every time. The best part is, the chef, who is friends with my friends, is about as unprofessional as anyone I have ever seen. Doing mind erasers at the bar, walking around the restaurant with a dirty chef jacket. The fact that he thinks he is so good is the reason he will be out of business soon. Humility you ass, that's what it takes. And for you cocky servers out. YOU'RE A SERVER!!!!! GET OVER YOURSELF and go get me some soup! Your the lowest for of labor out there. I have more regard for my dishwashers.
Remind me not to dine at this guys restaurant.
No. 2~5 is reasonable, but no. 1? He seems to forget he is in the hospitality industry. Don't worry, I will not be coming to your restaurant with my 10 friends since you do not deserve it...
I live in Atlanta and I have eaten at Rosebud twice and been in for drinks several times. Every time Cook Ron was standing at the end of the bar drinking and shooting the shit with customers. Not inspecting the food that came out of the kitchen or, god forbid, cooking some of the food himself. I live in the area but after reading this article my friends and I will definitely not go back or recommend Rosebud to friends.
I'll bet you didn't think this article would blow up in your face like this, eh brother!
This is an article about pet peeves; at work we all deal with our pet peeves. It doesn't mean they shouldn't be in the business. It helps to be able to vent about it. The love of your career or job makes dealing with these annoyances worth while. Stop being so critical of him. We all get annoyed with people sometimes. Doesn't mean I should quit my job.
My motto...If you seve me bad food, give me bad service or serve me a teaspoon of spinach for 10 bucks, I will take my businewss elsewhere. Just last week, my friend returned her plate to the chef beacuse the pork tenderloin was rare. The server had the nerve to tell her the chef said the next time she orders this dish, she should tell the server she wants it cooked well done. What a jackass!
Everyone who works in a restaurant feels this way. Every. One. You just don't know it.
Not true. I worked in restaurants all through school and moonlighting during the first few years of starting a business. I worked as a server, cocktail waitress and bartender. It's a really fun job and I met the nicest people. Yes, there are some real a$$holes, but not many.
Wow. "Us" paying "you" means you work for us, not the other way 'round. Arrogant chef? More like jackass chef....signed...A professional also forced to work with "the public" but still thinks article author has a lot of growing up to do
Serve me my food and shut up. Get a better job if you don't like it.
Everything aside, I would like to know where this chef and likes work. I would rather dine at my in laws place...
A curse in the first point? Didn't take you long to get worked up. You need and anger management class AND a new career. A restaurant is NOT a bank or a flight or my home... and just like stars who resent autograph hounds, you show a complete disdain for the REAL people who keep you successful (or don't).
Well, you asked of any respondents to your comment what type of business they are in and where their expertise is from.
I do not purport to be a martyr. No nurse I have encountered actually does.
Patients and families in a hospital are more demanding than you may think, and about some rather senseless things, considering that they place these of higher significance than their health and recovery.
You see, CMS is in the process of tying compensation rates to patient satisfaction scores on after-discharge surveys. The criteria are divided into some number of categories, but all of them deal with timeliness of response (to call lights, e.g.), demeanor of the staff, meals, cleanliness, and other service-based considerations. These surveys measure subjective perceptions of the patients and their families. Because of this, particularly hospital-based health care has become heavily oriented to Customer Service and hospitality. Indeed, there is a trend to boutique hospitals in response to this. Your single aspect of satisfying hunger multiplies across the spectrum of patient care.
You missed the point of my original response. It is that health care is unfortunately becoming as much of a Customer Service-based industry as the restaurant industry, and there are close parallels between the two. Topping that list of parallels is attitude. I see that there is no shortage of it in the restaurant industry, just as is there is none in health care. And this is why people complain as they do about the way the are treated in hospitals and ERs in particular.
You are quite brash, and judgmental, the way you write. “Tell me,” “I want to know,” “Don’t tell me,” “Don’t use,” “Martyr.” This from someone who doesn’t tell others what to do? You have NEVER complained anywhere you spend your money when something goes wrong with the exchange? Or maybe it is that case that nothing has ever gone wrong for you in a transaction? Or do you take it, pay just the same, and move on?
And speaking of sounding like a martyr: “Only people in the rest. business, can understand,” “[I]t is a very hard business to run,” “We deal with people with one of the toughest requirements.” Nobody know the troubles I’ve seen.
There are at least 2 million nurses in the country, so it is by no means an exclusive position. Neither is owning, managing, or working in a restaurant, in any capacity. The reason pay rates for most cooks and chefs, and wait staff is so low is because of the Law of Supply and Demand. Just as there is no shortage of customers to replace the undesirable ones, so there is no shortage of people to replace anyone in any capacity in the restaurant business.
I see that I perhaps incorrectly assumed that you are wait staff, from some of what you wrote and the way you wrote it. In whatever capacity you work in the business, be aware: The owners of businesses can make whatever rules they want, right up until they go out of business. Many businesses are in grave trouble, and there will be many more to follow.
It is curious that you did not respond to the next post from Are you on something? Are they using the graphic designer martyr deal as their response?
Oops! This comment of mine was misplaced.
Of course I'm using that excuse! I give soooo much... =)
Truthfully, I am thankful for every obnoxious client I get. They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. I can usually tell who is going to give me the hardest go of things, but I'd much rather let them vent their frustrations and still send them out the door smiling, then turn them away at the outset, or give them impossible standards to live up to. I chose this job because I enjoy it, and it's really kind of cool to start with someone bad tempered and end with someone who is happy.
I think good waiters and waitresses can do this for their customers. I know my mood has been improved by going somewhere and getting a truly nice server.
I replied to “On the inside” above, who replied to me. I was trying to reply to that reply. See above where they did respond to you. (This page is trying to do a lot of things that are getting trapped by my system, and it is really slow for me.) It seems like you and I share a similar perspective. Search on Hungry Guy on this page. Also check out Mrs. Barunda.
One of the more prevalent attitudes from the restaurant people is, there are plenty more customers to replace you. This really is the attitude of most businesses anymore. Right up until they go out of business. I know I will never eat out again, anywhere. And I know that there will be many who are glad I won’t.
Just once I would like to to be the customer who is "right". Am I supposed to tip 20% or better when the server argues with me? Trying to convince me what I am looking at is Thousand Island dressing when it was clearly Italian with pesto? Ignoring our table with no explanation for 20-30 minutes then begrudgingly coming over? WE would have left if it wasn't so difficult to move my husband who is handicapped and has difficulty walking? Was it his unsightly handicapped walk that necessitated our being sat towards the back and out of the way? He is a good looking man, but he does walk very strange from Cerebral Palsy. My husband always said if he could post his large paycheck on the front or back of his walker of wheelchair would people then respect him and give him courteous service? All we ask is courtesy. You don't have to be my new best friend. Hold the door when we come through, it helps! WE come back to restaurants that treat us nice. WE go back frequently to one such place which the server always remembers I like two portions of their incredible homemade thousand Island and other amenities. She gets the fat tip too, 30% or better!!
Honestly there is nothing with the article that is wrong or out of place. After reading these comments however I could not hold my tongue. I have had the fortune of working in the 'industry' from front of house to back and everything in between, and I have to say if you've never spent a year in a restaurant on the 'service' side of things, you shouldn't comment.
First and foremost, when your sitting at your table about to get wanky and start bitching about how these people need to hurry up and serve you... look around... are you alone in the place? HELL NO, stop thinking of yourself as the center of the universe and start thinking of yourself as someone who is a GUEST in the establishment. Yes you pay good money to be there, but that does not entitle you to treat those that are working their ass off to provide that meal for you like slaves. If guests had even an inclination as to what effort goes into your meal you'd likely have a bit more respect for those working all around you.
To seating times... seating tables is a tricky ballet, the choreography is provided by the bookings, but as with every performance has to be adjusted from time to time. Think about it this way, if all 20 tables booked for 6pm were sat at the same time... how long do you think you'll be waiting for your drinks, your meal, your server even to get to you? Seating HAS to be staggered to allow servers, and the kitchen to address each order in prompt time. Not to mention, if the table Before you was full of jackasses that decided to eat and then stay for 3 hours discussing how much better they are than the people making and serving their food, your table is going to be late. Respecting the system will see you served more promptly and those behind you, and them and them... get what I'm saying?
There is a VERY large difference between a chef and a cook. Any acne ridden teen with angst and the ability to follow simple instructions can be a cook. If you want food cooked for you... go to denny's! A chef is someone who goes to school, works in the industry and earns the title. These people are artists with food... THAT is why your paying the big bucks to eat it dumbass. Cooks are a dime a dozen, Chefs deserve respect. You pay to go to the art gallery to view the works of the big artists, you don't get to bitch that Michelangelo used a blue rather than an orange as you would prefer in that painting, so don't be an ass and complain about the combinations the chef puts on your plate. If you DO have a valid reason why the food sucks, calmly tell someone, believe it or not.. they actually respond very well to constructive, calm and respectful people.
To cut my own rant off short... The golden rule of life is especially important in this case. Do onto others as you would have them do onto you. If you enter a restaurant and treat the staff with the respect and courtesy you would like for yourself, 90% of the time you'll get it back with extras! Be a wanker and I hope you get kicked in the pants! Some people's children I tell ya... shouldn't be off apron strings!
Well, there’s actually a lot wrong with this article. However, Eyester is apparently sufficiently well established to get away with it. He really is saying this tongue-in-cheek. @theangrychef ... that’s his shtick. As long as it works for him.
Now. One of the common themes in the posts from those in the restaurant industry is, don’t complain about it unless you have worked in it for x amount of time. And you are not the only one to trump the Golden Rule.
OK. Have you ever commented or complained about anyone or anything in an industry in which you did not work for at least a year? You have never complained about the President? I am sure you never were the President for at least one year. Cashier at Walmart? Toll booth collector? Doctor? Your insurance man?
We all complain about those in other professions that we encounter, especially when we give them our money. Complaints run rampant when the amount of money involved increases. Health care is a hardship for many, even just their insurance for it. Dining out is to some degree a luxury for many people. Anything that involves taxes is a prime concern. We need health care, we need a government, we need education, police, and fire. We don’t need to go out to eat. We don’t need to go out to a bar, a movie, bowling. That’s why these things are part of the much larger entertainment industry.
Your tone and the language you use says a lot about you. Especially bitterness. It’s the same kind of bitterness I see in my fellow nurses who are approaching the end of their careers.
Let me ask you, how many people choose waiting tables as their lifelong career? How do most people come to be wait staff? I do totally respect them for the work they do. To say that I could not do it is dead wrong. But I never wanted to, anymore than I wanted to work as a cashier, ditch digger, accountant, politician, doctor, ... So I did what I had to, to be able do what I really want to. And while I experience many frustrations, I am not bitter about my chosen profession. On the other hand, there are many nurses, especially a lot of the older ones, who really did not want to be nurses. But that was one of a limited number of opportunities for them. And this is reflected in their attitude and behavior. Unfortunately, it usually does not take long for new, young, idealistic nurses to become disillusioned, because they did not appreciate what they were really getting into.
Paying customers are not guests. A guest would be there gratis. And exactly what is a customer entitled to for the money they spend at a restaurant?
I appreciate the issues of reservations. Whether for the family or at work, we have always called ahead when a reservation is required or for a large party. Only one time was there an inordinate wait, and I am not sure why this happened. I am always habitually and, usually uncomfortably so for the people I am meeting, early, way early. I would rather be where I am supposed to be and wait than be late, especially when I have to travel some distance. I guess I can appreciate the issues of moving tables and chairs, but I have never seen a problem in any restaurant I have ever been in. I don’t doubt that these issues exist. I just never had them, because of what I wrote (except that once).
And I know that not all people are like this. I remember one time at a group dinner, the staff was standing around in such a way that it was unmistakable it was time for us to leave, and I tried to bring this to the attention of some of my associates, but they just kept chattering away, and one made a remark, “Too bad,” something like that.
Using the phrase “acne ridden teen” is as uncalled for as the remarks about the mark on Eyester’s forehead. May I suggest that you search on ChefAxxgrinder on this page. Do you consider this individual to be a chef, according to your definition, especially the way he writes with such relish about intentionally tainting food (even though he never says he did it himself)? And such as my opinion matters to you, I do agree with your distinction between a cook and a chef. Basic culinary schools graduate cooks, not chefs.
Now, why I had to respond to you. You do not comprehend the Golden Rule. I agree with your expression of it: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Do unto others—to me this means you initiate the action, not the other person. As you would have them do unto you—to me this is to be done irrespective of their behavior to you. You see, it does not say, “As they have done unto you.” My dear, stupid, hypocritical mother used to fly off and declare, “Hey, I’m gonna do unto others!”
Many from the restaurant business have referred to the Golden Rule, but do not understand it. “Come into my restaurant and be nice, and I will be nice to you in return.” Or, “Come into my restaurant and be mean to me, I will be mean to you.” Neither is an application of the Golden Rule. And unless you are a hypocrite about it, if you are going to spout the Golden Rule, then realize that it is a one-sided one. It does not include a condition of another’s behavior to execute it.
There is one thing that is still missing from this page, despite the ever-growing number of comments on it, from those in the restaurant business: A list of rules for how the staff is to behave. So as someone who has your experience in the restaurant industry, how about you reply with one? Check your anger, clean up your language, show respect for those who have enabled you to enjoy your fortune of working in the industry, and apply the Golden Rule.
I did a Google search on: guidelines for waiter. One of the results goes to “Be a Great Waitress – wikiHow.” Another goes to “How to be a good waiter.”
Oh, and one other point I would like someone from the business to clarify: A tip really is not compensation for work performed; it is a commission on the sale. One diner’s order is $15 for a single plate and single drink to manage. Another’s is $30 for a single plate and single drink to manage. The first is expected to leave at least a $3 tip, while the second is expected to leave $6 or more. Does the second diner receive twice as much service?
A restaurant is not my home, my bank or a flight, so stop comparing. And a curse at #1... didn't take you long to get pissed off. Like stars who hate fans who want autographs... YOU ARE IN THE WRONG BUSINESS. Take an anger management class and find a new line of work.
The polite name for the area where waste exits the body is Rosebud. A seemingly perfect name for a resturant that has this s**t for a chef/owner. I will certainly never use my dollar bills to wipe with at "Rosebud" in Atlanta!
What happens if you only have 3 quarters-2 dimes & a nickel?
so can we come to the conclusion that restaurant staff and the customers are both a bunch of a** holes and move on.
Didn't anyone teach this chef the old adage "What goes around comes, goes around?" With this attitude it is no wonder this establishment is populated by boors.
We don't offer reservations at my restaurant, however what kills me is when people Call In to Dine In, you know "to save time". WHATEVER!!! I have been in this business for 20 years, and have NEVER had people be so freakin selfish that they can override all other dine in customers.
What a jerk this "executive chef" is. If he has this attitude toward his customers, even a portion of them; we can only imagine how he treats his employees and suppliers. I've already crossed this establishment off of my personal and business entertaining list.
What an asshole.
my thoughts exactly
ROSEBUD IS A FANTASTIC RESTAURANT!
I think you are all taking this a bit too seriously, and missing the humor in this!
The service is top notch and so is the food.
Mr. Angry Chef, you're obviously entitled to think whatever you like of your customers, but... this article just seems like a great way to encourage people to never visit your establishment. Sure, you might have some legitimate points about the way some customers behave, but in the end, it's a service industry. If you can't handle customers, then you shouldn't invite them.
All that aside, the tone of the article makes you look like a jerk who absolutely despises the people who support his business. Which you probably do. Which is fine. But if that's the case, you should find another line of work, brother...
Dude. You are a monkey who gets paid to make food and serve me. Shut up, do your job and your tip will be equal to your level of effort in providing me the dining experience I'm paying you for.
Excuse me? You AREN'T waiting for me and my 10 friends to drop in? Um, yes, you are. If it weren't for me and my friends, or someone else and their friends, you would just be an unemployed guy cooking way too much food. You earn your living in customer service. Your customers are people. People at times are stupid. If you don't want to deal with stupid people, DON'T BE IN A CUSTOMER SERVICE JOB!! I learned very early on in life that I can't deal with people, therefore, I am not in a customer service job.
I know it has to be annoying to deal with people asking stupid questions, or doing stupid, thoughtless things, but don't forget that those people are paying the bills for you.
Something tells me he could manage to eat his way out of a bind if he ended up cooking too much food.
Yeah, real brilliant, complain about the very customers who KEEP YOU IN BUSINESS. If you know how to deal with people, you don't have to complain about them. Grow a brain and don't be such a dick, Eyester.
Obviously the customer needs to be taken care of, they are how the restaurant makes money. But the vast majority of customers are annoying as all hell. I've never worked in the service industry because I know I would probably end up stabbing someone with a fork. People who ask lots of questions are just ANNOYING. My mom always, always has at least one question about the menu. Every time. And it drives me insane. It's food, you've had it before. Sure you want to try something different, and that's great, but keep in mind you're trying something you might not like. Be considerate of the staff at the restaurant, and they will do the same for you, generally. People practically romanticize food, or eating out, like they should have the time of their lives. Incredibly demanding people rub others the wrong way, in any industry. I've actually decided not to date someone based on the fact that she was a rediculously picky eater. Just annoying. Eat, and shut up!
well if *most* customers are annoying it's not longer them – it's your attitude. But you Steve are very smart that you did not go to into this industry. It is important to know what you can and cannot do. And... dude... about your embarrassing Mom... believe me she will change and stop being so embarrassing when you grow up a little more. Oh she still will be asking about the menu, but you will notice it will somehow make much more sense. It is really amazing how much smarter our stupid embarrassing parents get as we ourselves grow older (when we are teens, they are just unbearable!) ;)
Oh, get over yourself. Try to relax and enjoy life a little.
Chef
–noun
1.the chief cook, esp. in a restaurant or hotel, usually responsible for planning menus, ordering foodstuffs, overseeing food preparation, and supervising the kitchen staff.
2.any cook.
Which part of moving tables and calling the restaurant affects the chef exactly? I assume you're referring to yourself as a chef because you actually spend a significant amount of time cooking and preparing food in the kitchen, no?
Or wait – is this just a poorly titled article? Maybe it should say "Six Ways Customers Tick Off Restaurant Owners".
I'm curious, Ron...do you consider yourself more of a chef or a restaurant owner? Either way, your motives for being one or the other *should* be to cater to the enjoyment of your customers. Otherwise, why would you open a restaurant to begin with...right?
The point you're missing here is this: Would you even *have* a restaurant if it weren't for the customers? Maybe you should leave the PR to those more business savvy than yourself. This little stunt, while I'm sure it gave you a hard on to see your name in big letters, was a poor decision. There's a difference in being a curmudgeon and being a straight up dick and openly attacking the people who have your sorry ass in business to begin with.
And to those commending this asshat and assuming that us naysayers will patronize Rosebud "out of curiosity" – THINK AGAIN.
PEOPLE – IN OUR STRUGGLING ECONOMY, DO NOT SUPPORT BUSINESSES RUN BY THOSE WHO DON'T APPRECIATE OUR HELP! THERE ARE LOCALLY OWNED ESTABLISHMENTS THAT VALUE OUR PATRONAGE!
News flash to chef: you are in the service industry whether you agree or not. We are your customers. Serve us. We pay you. Serve us. Shut the fuck up. Serve us. If you don't – somebody else will.
What I believe is that the "Chefs" (like the writer) need to understand that Costumer Loyalty is extremely valuable. Treating your loyal customers like regulars, without caring about them, don´t seeing them as friends, well that means you don´t understand how much money they mean to your business in comparison with regulars. And, of course, here we find a list of issues related to a non-flexible, self centered, business person... Dude, your restaurant is supposed to be for your custumers, not for you.
1. If you don´t like them to move the tables, attach them to the ground. Easy right, McDonald´s Style.
2. Not everybody deserves a free dessert, you are right. But if you don´t give incentives to your regulars, what type of business owner are you. You don´t care about the people who really maintain your business? Wow! Are you a real business person?
3. Yes, when you are close, you are close. But, question? Why people bother you so much when they asked if you are close if your doors are still open and have people inside?. Because, if your doors are close, who can enter to ask for food? Close the doors dude.
4. Hey! Reservation problems. Tell people when they reserve that have a 30 minute window. That´s it. Educate you costumers. If you don´t want to educate grownups, then don´t offer reservations. Easy right.
5. If people don’t have reservations, don’t give them tables. But if you have a loyal customer in line waiting against non-regulars, give’em a break and welcome them in. They´ll keep coming, the others you don´t know. Loyalty sales from 5 to 10 times more than regulars, and regulars will leave you at any time while loyals won´t. Get the idea?
6. Seems by your points here that you have a really busy restaurant, you have a lot of clients, so you must be doing a lot of money (that is why your don´t care about loyalty), and you are a smart chef. So, instead of expecting people to go to the WWW, why don´t you pay for a smart/intelligent answering machine system, and turn it on during rush. Looks like you don´t know so much either.
I really get hurt about business owners bringing these subjects. This will make me stop going to any of your restaurants, and start talking bad about you and your service.
This doesn't portray the customer or the chef in a positive way. This appears to be nothing more than an annoyed chef talking to a friend after a long day rather than an instructional article. Sub-par overall.
@ johnny thats true its like maybe he had a few to drink and was talking to a freind
complant of a fine diner number 200 don't assume a group of people,couple, or a family are not good tippers by looking at them. making that judgement to soon will get you no tip.
The salient issue that is coming from both sides of this argument is that we as humans – while obviously capable – have little patience or respect for one another. We are selfish and self-serving and feel that the power our money or talent wields gives us the right to treat one another with less regard, empathy or common decency. It's a symptom of a sick society influenced by corporations that promote the idea that material possession and and wallet size are indicators of talent, happiness and entitlement.
What a bunch of crabby-appletons. There are other fields of work where you do not serve the public. Maybe this is not the job for you.
Any of you self entitled a-holes ever wonder why you consistently get crappy service? I know I am not the only one who will remember, and treat accordingly, you people who dont tip, treat us like crap, and in general treat us like sub-human beings. I will bend over backwards to make sure you have a wonderful dining experience but if you are a jerk, you will get checked on, served, refilled last and generally ignored as much as I can get away with it. I dont need your money that bad. And thats just out front. I wonder how many of you have been served food that was thrown on the floor, spit in, the oldest freezer burned cut of meat etc. I'm so glad I'm not in the restaurant industry anymore. You people can all suck it.
Personally I tend to agree with the business owner/manager when it comes to customer complaints. Far far too many people have entitlement issues. That said...
1. Moving chairs – Reasonable if the tables are side by side as part of the reservation. Unreasonable if they are acquired from other occupied tables.
2. Birthdays – Who cares? Customers that expect something free don't deserve it. If the chef/hostess happens to hear about it, without it being announced to their face maybe they can add a desert on the house if it's a part of a large order, but please don't expect one, nor expect the same thing to happen to your friends.
3. Hours of operation – I tend to believe that as long as the stove has not been turned off, it's at the discretion of the person on staff. If it's been turned off, that's it, no more food till next day. It'll just waste time to heat it back up. (I've been to places where they closed early, but did not indicate that on their hours of service. As a customer, this is annoying once, but I'm never coming back if it's a constant thing, false advertising of hours.)
4. Late? No excuses. The first person in the party should be there several minutes early, and wait for the table, everyone else can catch up. Please leave the establishment when you're no longer ordering.
5. Name dropping. What is this? At first I thought this comment was a joke, and then I had to picture it. No, no special treatment for being a "friend." Everywhere else is the same, do you expect the employee to suddenly stop work just to hang with you for a few minutes? Hello? Busy working, come see me after work if you're really a friend instead of getting me in trouble.
OH, I didn't notice - this guy is apparently @theangrychef. Well then. By all means, s**t on your clients some more.
This guy sounds like every chef I've ever met: self-important, angry jerk. You know what I hate? When people who are lousy writers try to impersonate Anthony Bourdain but come off sounding like Andy Rooney.
And advertising your contempt for customers in such a specific, mean-spirited way: shrewd business move, pal. No, really, congratulations! You're on CNN! You should frame this and send it to your investors.
To the Chef/Owner/Writer of the article:
You obviously didn't think this through. What made you think that including the name of your business in a scathing rant would be a good idea? Furthermore, why would you do that AND submit it to CNN for it to be published nationally? Seems like a pretty dumb idea to me. I'd go so far as to say that it backfired.
To the workers of the food service industry:
I love you. Really, I do. You work tirelessly to ensure customers' satisfaction for what most working Americans would consider slave wages. You're often exposed to abrasive individuals who act entitled and childish– even brutish at times– and are expected to serve with them with a smile. If half of these posters attempted for one day to do what you do day-in, day-out, they'd stop complaining and realize that the mentality of "the customer is always right" is an arrogant one at best. While they are paying you for services, that does not make you servants.
There are a few of you, however, who– much like the aforementioned customers– act entitled, childish and brutish. While the customer might not always be right, they are still paying for a service. That in no way means that you have to bequeath unto them your first born son; rather, it means that they expect some sort of service in return.
To those of you who feel entitled to no less than perfect service:
The men and women of the food service industry work thankless hours in often chaotic conditions to ensure your satisfaction. While they do provide you with a service, it is not one which you are entitled to receive. You are interacting with human beings; that being the case, I don't think you would be going out of your way to act like it. Treat others as you wish to be treated and your dining experience will be much more pleasant.
As great as it is to get a list of six things that "tick off chefs" I think it is a bit strange that very few of these things affect chefs themselves. The first gripe affects the servers as does the second, the third seems like it might be a gripe for the chef... but nope it's about a guy sitting at the bar waiting for the kitchen to reopen bugging the bartender. Number four, once again for the servers. Number five, FINALLY! The Chef is talking about something that ticks off... a chef. Oh and number six, affects the host it seems.
Maybe the list should be called "Three ways customers tick off servers, one way they tick off the host, one way they tick off the bartender and one way they tick off the chef."
That's part of a chef's occupational hazard, it comes with the territory. Hasn't Ron heard that the customer is always right, and if the kitchen gets too hot you need to get out! So Ron has to either deal with it or get out of the restaurant business altogether. In any eating establishments, we are bound to encounter people who are a pain. For that matter in any establishment.. Unless schools teaching etiquette and civic contagiousness started mushrooming overnight!
The customer is always right? You've clearly never worked in the service industry. I suggest you give it a whirl and then see if you have the same opinion.
Mike: I have worked the food service industry and home improvement industry and it is very possible to live by the "Customer is always right" motto. I run a customer service dept of 53 and that is our GOLDEN RULE. In a tanked economy, our home improvement company has more than doubled in the last year. Why? Because of customer service.
This is actually in response to: Ummmm....No. God bless you! But, do you realize what you are really doing? In my opinion, you are cultivating 10x the amount of business you now enjoy for when there may ever be a true recovery.
It was alluded to in one post herein, that when people earn more, they spend more, and are not necessarily as picky about it. I have always believed that when money gets tight, people start paying more attention to what they are getting for it, especially the way they are treated when spending it.
I have said that most businesses anymore seem to operate under the fact there is no shortage of customers, so if any one of them doesn’t like the way they are treated, they can go somewhere else, and there will be any number to replace them.
But the smart ones, especially now, will treat the customers they have like gold. The extremely cheap jerk who quibbles with you today about a $5 purchase, may be back to drop $X in the future, where X may be a very significant number.
Sir, I hope you do indeed have 10x, 100x, 1000x the business you are now doing!
Chef Eyester,
As a former Bartender, Bouncer, Server, Dishwasher, Busser, Host at various establishments both High and Low end. I decided that the food service industry was not my forte, so I found another line of work to pursue as a career. I might suggest that you do the same. I am very eclectic, when it comes to my cuisine choices and I do my best to be a cordial customer, but I do not and will not tolerate poor service, poor food, and poor attitude.
Your attitude strikes me as the same types of people who I meet, you expect all the benefits of a Fire Department, without paying higher taxes and then wonder why we do not have enough manpower or equipment. I bet you call us when your water heater is leaking water in your basement, because we are free and your plumber is not. You would probably call us to move some relative who is upwards of 300lbs+ to move them from the bed to the toilet and have us wait until they are done so we can move them back. Later you would refuse to yield the right of way to my fire engine as I am responding code 3 to a structure fire with a rescue...
Six things that irritate Firefighters;
1-Sarcastic comment that I get paid to sleep at night.
(When was the last time you were woke up in the middle of the night to go out in freezing cold or oppresive heat to work a structure fire or cut a family out of a minivan, because some drunk who just left the restaurant or bar got into his vehicle and plowed right into them.
2-Restaurant getting irritated, because we came in for our lunch and then got dispatched for an emergency and asking them to hold our food, because we did not get to eat, but will be back
(I am a customer and a public servant, so I am sorry that someones heart attack interrupted your smoke break)
3-Failure to yield to the right, when I driving a fire appartus to an emergency
(I am driving 14 tons of steel & water, with lights and sirens, stopping right in front of me is not the smartest idea and I might be making you late to your "event" but what if that was someone you know who needed our help and we did not get as fast as we could have because of someone you know failing to yield, you would want to express your dismay, well we do to)
4-Getting irritated or giving us attitude when we come into your busniess to conduct a Fire Inspection
(That is part of our job to do this every year and we are sorry for the inconvience, but better that than your place burning down and hurting or worse killing people, because you did not follow the fire codes)
5-Mistaking us for Police Officers and asking us to have a car towed or remove a patron from your establishment
(I am not armed, I do not have any type of protective vest. I will try to mediate, but I do not make arrest)
6-People wanting us to do more and more, but not wanting to pay the taxes that would gives us the funds to hire the personnel, purchase the equipment, get the training, etc. so that I can.
(I love my job, I consider it a calling and a way of life. But, I am also a taxpayer and I do not mind paying higher taxes, if it means that I am going to get better services, especially medical, fire & police. Remember you cannot have Macy's by buying Wal-Mart. I love what I do, but I want to have the best staff and equipment, so I can go home to my wife)
Approximately 100 firefighters die each year doing their job, which is in part providing customer service. If I was a successful chef, as you say you are, I would be grateful that when I do my job for my customers, it does not require me to put myself in harms way.
Oh and one other thing that bothers me;
7-Are you a real firefighter, or just a volunteer?
(I started out as a volunteer firefighter and now work as a career firefighter, but I will never forget how I started. All firefighters strive to be professional at what they do, some just do it for less money. You never care what the truck says when your house is on fire. Or as a Career Sergeant FF/EMT put it while I was in the Academy "When people ask you that question... Respond back with "Ask me that when your house is on fire."
My comment is to "ENGINE5COMPANY" you're an idiot! I bet you became a fireman because you couldn't handle the heat in the kitchen. My job actually creates something, yours is to just sit around at the fire house and wait for someones house to burn. 6 things that irritate firefighters, give me a break, who cares if you're irritated you are a public servant, so that means if I want you to fill my pool, or inspect me later, well then you need to do what I say, my taxes pay your salary. I hope that you come in to my restaurant, so that I can show you who actually has a tough job.
You are a joke
A cook denegrating a Firefighter? That's rich. Dude, you are a cook. You cook food that provides temporary pleasure (if you are any good that is). A Firefighter is a profession that saves lives.
A cook acting superiour to a Firefighter. You gotta love the Internets Tubes.
You. Are. Clueless.
Oh for God's sake people. Do you flip out at your car repair shop, your contractor, your plumber, your cable guy when they're 10 minutes late? Do you do it at your doctor's office when they make you wait a half hour? Better yet, let's give doctors a wrinkled, germy, 10 month-old magazine and make them sit next to a gang banger with ringworm for 30 minutes. I think there is a percentage of the species that enjoy picking a fight with someone not able to defend themselves. The manner in which a person treats a service employee is the best gauge of character there is, because some people will fail to treat a fellow human being with respect if it does not benefit themselves.
Fortunately the chef's restaurant is busy, we routinely encounter similar issues and are guilty of enabling these transgressions as a way to set us apart from ordinary. Dealing with these problems without the customer being aware helps us to build relationships.
Fag.
I've been in the food service/bar industry for years. I'm often not the most pleasant person in the world, but I get my job done. You get your beverage and your food, the establishment gets their money. I have a sense of humor and delivery that not a lot of people appreciate or know with how to deal. If I don't find you funny, don't chide me for not laughing at your bad jokes. If I ask you not to stand in the doorway because it is a fire hazard (read: you're blocking the path for everyone), just move, don't get an attitude. Don't reach out and grab me, don't yell my name, and if I ask you to put your shoes on, don't look at me like I just slapped your grandmother. The easiest way to have an enjoyable dining/drinking experience, as a server or customer, is to act normal, not show off, go with the flow, and relax. If you are in a hurry, there's always fast food down the street somewhere. As a customer, don't ask vague questions (what's good here? is that enough food for me?); as a server, try to anticipate the needs of your guests (so that they aren't a "bother.") Some problems are unavoidable, some people are always going to be hard to please, some servers could care less; some customers are a genuine treat every time they come in, and some servers are a delight with which to interact. Don't treat servers like lower class peons, they won't treat you like snobbish pricks. I may not always be able to practice what I preach as a server or customer, but I do genuinely try. Anyway, that's my "rant," I'm sure someone will chastise me for something and swear they'll never come to my establishment. That's fine, you're entitled to your opinions, and I'll be thankful to never have to serve you. You only go around once, no sense sweating the petty stuff.
For those of you that have stated that the hostess doesn't care I'd like to interject and say that I do care. I don't like to make you wait around for your table but I also don't want to be harassed when I am trying to do my job and best resolve the situation. It makes my job more difficult when I have to accommodate for all the reservations and you make special request on where you'd like to sit or how soon. If our policy is to not seat till everyone has arrived there is a reason. We lose money when you reserve a spot for 12 and only 6 come. Same with people who change the number in their reservation and expect that there will be no consequence associated with this change. When you say there are 2 people in your party and you bring 2 more where would you like me to put you when your reserved spot only fits 2? Should I knock out a space reserved for someone else? How hard is it to pick up the phone and call and ask if we can accommodate your extra guest. Most likely we will tell you yes and thank you for being considerate enough to let us know ahead of time. I commend the chef for actually telling it like it is. He is putting himself out there for all of you to ridicule and judge. He is also smart because for all of you noticing this and responding he is finding new clientele because as much as you all say you would never go to his restaurant some of you are curious. You want to know if this 'arrogant bastard' as you call him can practice what he preaches. You wonder how good his place could be for CNN.com to pick him to answer this question.
while i don't doubt that these things may be annoying, this chef is a crabby little bitch for bringing them up. i would avoid his restaurant..he may be spitting in your food (or worse) because he doesn't like your outfit.
This comment thread is kind of interesting from the point of view that service at a restaurant is obviously a very divisive and emotional topic. I have worked in the service industry and have found serving to be very stressful. The sheer volume of deeply unpleasant customers is very taxing. It often overshadows the pleasure of good customers. On the other hand, as a customer I'm really not comfortable dealing with a difficult server. There are an awful lot of servers out there who just don't have the temperament for the job. And no one seems to be mentioning that a lot of great cooks have some fairly serious personality defects. Hell, the animosity between the waitstaff and the cooks in many restaurants reminds me quite a bit of this thread. By that I mean, mostly unreasonable and petty. Of course, half the people involved in this thread are just trolls and therefore irrelevant.
Animosity between the cook and the stuff... OMG you reminded me of that one time we ate at a small Greek place in Buffalo, NY, and one of the fellows – he was at the door, behind us, – had this loud exchange with the chef at the little kitchen window in front of us... It was amazing. I never heard such lengthy tirades consisting entirely of variations of the F word before! They were yelling at each other over our heads as we were quietly attempting to minimize our presence by sliding under the table as much as possible while still being respectably seated at the table. We were laughing and laughing and laughing about it when we left.
I'm not your "guest"; I'm your CUSTOMER. I expect to be treated as such: that is, someone trading equally - money for food and its delivery - not a supplicant who is expected to be grateful for any leavings from the kitchen. You give me what I'm buying, I pay you for it, we're even.
I would prefer to be a guest, its a better way of looking at those who enter a business and it helps the employees or associates to think of them a little differently. We are lucky enough to have a good many options in this country. If you don't want to respect "chef's" kitchen or restaurant, hours of operation, etc. then go to McDonald's or taco bell. If you make a fuss in a private business, you can and probably will be asked to leave and not come back whether you are a customer or a guest.
Wel well, what a lot of trolls and viscous comments ! some of the chefs comments where good one or two I disagree a little with.
Either way I am paying for a service, I expect good service and to be shown respect by the waiting staff, I also expect myself and fellow dinners to show them respect, and understanding that things do not always run 100% smoothly and quickly, they are paid serving staff not slaves.
In a busy restaurant I was served some steak I had asked for medium rare basically raw, I sent it back and a bad attitude and glares from the staff, never went back, a similar thing happened in another restaurant with a different dish, I sent it back, the server apologized , I said no problem and ended up waiting another fifteen minutes but I just waited (they where quite busy) I understood they DO have a job to do but they are NOT machines, I left a tip and went back there again, sh*t happens get over it.
agree
The comments in this pathetic blog only reinforce his argument. I am a chef. I run a professional, clean, and efficient business. I don't expect GSK or Merck to send a street level drug dealer into an office with a view. Please don't act like a street level drug dealer in my establishment.
Ego has no place in cooking. Seariously what's at steak if you mess up?
Wow...if you have ever been a server you know how much of this article is true and most of the comments on here are just proof that everyone should spend at least one month of their life working in a restaurant. I spent 3 years during college waiting tables and on behalf of restaurant employees everywhere I have this to say: IF YOU DON"T LIKE IT STAY HOME AND COOK YOUR OWN DARN FOOD! Your pissy attitude isn't wanted and a Holier Than Tho attitude is the reason you have bad experiences at a restaurant to begin with. Don't piss off the person that is really in control of how nice your dining experience will be, the staff at the restaurant. Rule of thumb: Treat others the way you want to be treated, especially those who wait on you because you are too lazy to cook at home.
For you people that say that the restaurant should bend to your will: GO FUCK YOURSELVES. You go to a restaurant to experience what the chef does, not have your Grandma's meatloaf. The server is there to explain the menu, describe the drinks and deliver your food, not be your servant. If you think you can get better service somewhere else, go. TGIF will always bend to your will and pay your bill if you complain enough. We all know thats what you want anyway. I will gladly accept the tips from the folks that want the service I provide. I am not your monkey. Again GO SHOVE YOUR WELL DONE STEAK AND WHITE ZINFANDEL UP YOUR ASS!
Do we sense a little hostility here? I frequent a local restaurant because I love their meat loaf. I always thank the server every time she leaves the table. No matter what I order, I ask the server nicely to ask the kitchen not to add any extra salt to my order, which they are always happy to do. I enjoy my dinner (some times meat loaf) and then I pay my bill, leave a 20% tip, and go home.
I have a very hard time understanding the concept that the chef knows more about what I like to eat than I do. Maybe too much Food Channel and too much Internet has warped our concept of what eating is intended to be.
Did your Grandma beat you with well done steaks or refuse to make you meat loaf when you were little?
You are correct, you are not my monkey. My monkey has a much greater set of verbal skills than you do.
White zin should be illegal!!!!
Everyone above is a straight up douche.
Wow. Remind me never to eat at this guy's restaurant. He obviously hates the inconvenience of having customers. I hope he can make a good living out of writing whiny food blog posts, because that's where I foresee his career headed. .
I'll put the GD chair anywhere I MF'ing like. I'm the customer, you liberal wacko.
So when another customer or server trips over your chair and injury's them self guess who's at fault for placing said chair where ever you wanted. Good job.
Glad you're sticking with hostessing because English is definitely not your forte.
My mental health has improved considerably since leaving the service industry a couple of months ago. Everyone should have to rely on serving tables or bartending for a month or so to keep the lights on at home. You just can't understand it unless you've done it.
This restaurant is incredible! Ron can find sarcastic humor in just about everything. He calls out high maintenence ridiculous people. It's his style and every Atlanta person I know loves his humor and his fabulous restaurant.
Anyone whose worked in the restaurant industry and has even a REMOTE sense of humor would think this article is hilarious!
You hit the nail on the head (SIX times), Ron! B-)
I will continue to frequent Rosebud for a long time to come. Oh, and you ARE in my phone...does that mean we're friends?! ;-)
I would never knowingly eat in this arrogant jackasses restaurant. He is lucky to have customers at all. This is what this guy has to complain about? Really, in this economy? People go to restaurants to feel pampered. If this jerk doesn't want to take good care of people, he should find another profession
Such an arrogant tone from someone in the service industry.
We customers pay good, first-class money. Don't give us second-class service.
Good service or bad service, the money paid is still the same.
If you don't like the restaurant, don't come back. I only expect that a reserved table will be available within a reasonable time for me and my guests. I expect to be treated with kindness and I will return the favor. I do NOT expect to be sworn at or verbally roughed up. Dropping an "F-bomb" while at work is unacceptable at any stage. If it is my birthday and the staff do find out that it is my birthday, a friendly "Happy Birthday" is always a nice thing. If you don't want people sitting at your bar talking to you between kitchen times, close the bar. Asking about the menu before making a decision on a restaurant is a wise thing. It takes up less space and less of the staff's time if we decide we don't like it. There should always be a blurb available or at least a copy of the menu outside the door. There is a reason I stopped looking for Gordon Ramsay. He is a nasty, mean, vindictive little man who appears to enjoy making peoples dining experience a living hell. If you are one of these Chefs, I will not be handing my money or my recommendations out for your benefit.
Gordon Ramsay is a teddy bear at heart, but he won't stand for sub-par food or service out of a restaurant. If you don't want someone passionate about food in the kitchen, there are plenty of chefs/cooks out there who don't give a damn.
I have spent a lot of time reading over these comments and maybe I missed it but I haven't seen yet anyone really explain "stupid questions". It seems to be assumed. So I'm curious what constitutes a stupid question.
I have been looked at a with irritation for asking what exactly is in a dish even though I have read the menu description. Reality is, I have ingredients that I am horribly allergic to that weren't listed in the menu that I was allergic to and I needed to know. And I'm not talking hidden ingredients. If I hadn't asked, I wouldn't have known. And yes, I have had the eyes roll when I ask if I can leave this ingredient out.
I will never ever forget the day the guy taking my order looked at my spouse and said "I have no respect for people who order this way". He had no idea this one ingredient could have sent me to the hospital, and he made the comment just because I asked if it could be left off of what I was ordering. No, I never went there again.
Top 5 complaints from a full time fine diner:
1. If i wanted to take a chance with someone who has 27 facial piercings and some kind of skin disease bringing me food, i'd try to find a good pizza place that delivered.
2. You don't have reservations on tuesdays, fridays after 7:19, or the 2 days preceding solstices and equinoxes... but you'll be happy to put me on a "list" over the phone, and then put me on the actual list when my party arrives to wait like everyone else.
3. Your drink menu only vaguely references "soft drinks" but you act perturbed about not having the first 4 things i ask about. When i finally say ginger ale, you run to a full bar and pour me coke and sprite mixed. If i couldn't tell the difference between ginger ale and coke/sprite, i PROBABLY wouldn't be paying a hundred bucks to eat a meal with one or two friends.
4. The average food cost of your entrees has gone done 50% in this economy, and your cost has remained roughly the same. Did they have some article in a restaurant magazine about how to save your restaurant with braised pork bellies and ratatouille some time last year?
5. "The chef says he wont do the steak medium because that's overcooked. Also he won't serve that salad without the bleu cheese; and he says absolutely no sides will pair with the entree except asparagus or chayote" My cell phone is full of chefs, but guess what? I actually know a couple people who don't love food as much as us.... And you know what, they actually eat! It's true they put food in their mouths, swallow, and pay; so if you could just give them what they want and let me lecture them about salting it before they taste it would be much appreciated.
What a bitter dickhead. Don't work in the restaurant business if you have such a burning hatred for customers. I hope this fat bastard drops dead in the kitchen.
If I were going to the "Chef's house" the meal would be FREE. If I'm paying for the meal, please prepare my steak to my liking and let's try to swing by my table more than once or twice during my visit to your employer's "house". And if you are the employer, you might want to have a meeting with the staff and remind them that the customers pay the bills. That said, if your a complete ass when you are patronizing an establishment, stay home and cook up some mac&cheese.
geez, what an a$$hole! Get out of the hospitality business, man..... I'll be happy to lessen your burden by never stopping by any restaurant you are running.
I just looked at his twitter feed – it appears that he finds all of this bad press amusing!
I'd rather be known locally to be a great chef with a budding new business than nationally as whiny and unprofessional. Great job with your self-promotion, AngryChef! Any readers previously unmotivated to share their experiences in your restaurant seem to be coming out of the woodwork to continue the trend.
I will be very happy to not patronize this man's establishment...It sounds like the service business is not for him, I would prefer to give my hard earned money to someone who doesn't think so little of me.
Things chefs do to tick off guests:
1. Make potential customers feel unwelcome
2. Use food that is just about to, or already has, spoiled
3. Forget that customers can go somewhere else
4. Allow the snarky attitude of this list to permeate the service
We can cook. We are paying to have someone else do it as a treat for us. If you don't like the arrangement, find a different job!
I loved his commentary. I see the humor. I laughed because mostly, it's true.
What an immature man – I know now which restaurant to avoid in Atlanta. I have read his reviews online, and they're not all glowing. Between those and this article, I'm surprised this person is still in business. If you don't like customers, get out of the customer service business. The restaurant patrons aren't guests in your house, they're paying the bills. So be grateful and appreciate your success for as long as it lasts with that attitude.
"I’m sorry, but we haven’t been waiting around all day for you and your ten friends to pop in"...You haven't? How else do you stay in business...F-tard
restarauntuers you can rant and rave but I'll go find the place with a friendly acoomodating staff and spend more money.
I worked in restaurants from 13-33 year of age. I was a chef's apprentice, a banquet manager, and a waitress in one of Chicago's best restaurants. Now I am a Ph.D. student in the social sciences. NO restauranteur who hopes to have a successful and long-lived business would express this kind of INhospitability in the hospitality industry.
Dining out is about the experience, not just the food. It takes a tremendous amount of effort to counteract a negative experience. I am incredulous that this chef would willingly insult his potential clients. I've also been a vegetarian for 26 years and have yet to be impressed with what most chefs offer to veggie clients. How lame can you be that you can't innovate with vegetables?
What's amusing about this is how many mistakes the waitstaff make at this restaurant (Rosebud). I've heard different ingredient explanations from different waiters on the same night for the same dish. They were both wrong.
But it's the chef's attitude that keeps me from returning. If he spent half as much time on his underseasoned food and undertrained staff as he does on bitching about the customers, then Rosebud might be a pleasant experience. Alas, the attitude from the "top" is poor, and the staff pick up and emulate.
Thou dost whine too much. I appreciate the frustrations that you run into owning a business, but everyone has them...
As someone who lives in the neighborhood I'll take heed that you like your business, but not the customers.
I live OTP (save your jokes) where privately owned/operated establishments are few and far between. You could actually take notes from my favorite local eatery, Dutch Monkey Doughnuts in Cumming (no, I'm not affiliated with the business). The husband/wife owners are some of the most gracious people I've had the pleasure of being served by, and their staff are just as friendly and doting. They use social networking to reach out to their loyal customers to give thanks and ask for ideas and input. They go out of their way to run an outfit that is both accommodating and welcoming. Imagine that – people who succed by building a following through kindness and appreciation.
Ron,
Lemme begin by saying that I've never patronized your establishment and, after taking a mere 2 minutes to skim this article, I never will. See how that happens? Right off the bat, you've lost a customer. And I don't dine alone, so go ahead and count my would-be dining partner out as well. Being an Atlanta native, I have lots of local friends and family – and we all know that if a friend or family member makes a recommendation, we're likely to take heed. You may have heard of this trend; it's called "word of mouth". And yours just took a nosedive.
As vocal as you are about your disdain for those who support your business, I ask you this: Why not keep your smarmy, high-fallutin' ass at your *real* house instead of opening a restaurant? I mean at least in your own kitchen, you can stand around in your underwear, cursing to your heart's content, all the while reminding yourself of how under-appreciated and super talented you are.
You've definitely proven here how witty you can be, but you've also shown an inexcusable amount of stupidity and disregard for your own success. And for what – to get a few laughs? I guarantee you've turned off more people than you've impressed with this interview. Unless you've received a Michelin star or the James Beard, you, Sir, are nothing more than a line cook and your restaurant is no better than a TGI Friday's in the grand scheme of things.
So slap on a few more pieces of flare, push those tables together and get ready to hit some high notes – my birthday is right around the corner and I may just be in the mood to prove myself wrong.
Lets all stay out of this D-bags place- so he can go back to working at the local i hop- Restaurant snobbery is the worst – In NYC is it at an all time high- I just smile and when the check comes I leave ZERO tip when i get attitude – btw: why is it that I have have to tip 20% again? So some D-bag cook can pocket all the money? F that- No tips for you!!!!
Wow. Now I understand why I get attitude when I complain about mussels that have been dead for three days in a fancy restaurant... Because the chef is an arrogant halfwit who thinks I should eat whatever crap he sets before me at HIS HOUSE.
People, the lesson is simple. Don't piss off the people who handle your food. I don't care who you are or where you are. I'm not saying that something hazardous, or disgusting will happen. I've been in the business for 17 years and have never seen, or taken part in something unprofessional, such as food tampering. However, there are a lot of things that both servers, and cooks can do to make your visit less than stellar, if you come into the restaurant and act like a D-bag.
Every occupation has its annoyances. The chef just expressed his and I'm sure he felt a lot better getting that off his chest. However, I would question the wisdom of expressing it in a public medium where your name and the name of your business is included alongside the little rant. In this economy and with a 12% unemployment rate, dining out at all is a luxury many cannot afford. Most restaurants find themselves competing for the same small pool of customers in their area. The ones who win that competition will do their very best to accommodate their patrons, even when they're not at their most endearing. While some patrons may find an arrogant diva chef the hallmark of a true artist, they probably also like to be bound and spanked too. The rest of us prefer an attitude of mutual respect and appreciation with the understanding that whether you like it or not, the customer always has leverage in the relationship. It's called money. Without it, the arrogant diva chef is merely someone who enjoys cooking.
STUPID CUSTOMERS! GET OUT OF MY RESTAURANT! GAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!
I travel almost every week and eat out a lot. I find good restaurants and great service in almost every town. Even been to Rosebuds. Unfortunately their food and service match the chef's rant. If you want great food and great service there are much better places in ATL. His rants get him noticed, but he really needs to fix the food an service. And Cole – I think he owns a pizza place on the E/W Connector and he's from p
i own a place, open 12 hours a day 6 days a week with 23 employees. been at it 17 years and am quite profitable. i do not take any disrespect from any customer re; my food, kitchen or staff. i have run doctors , lawyers and plumbers out of my place for being stupid! sales are up every year! i am with the author. it's my place, love it or leave it! we work hard, provide good service and quality food. ladies and gentleman serving ladies and gentleman. want to act like a 3 year old we will treat you like one. can't please eveyone all the time. every time i run somebody out the word of mouth brings more in! go figure!
Please post the name of your restaurant so we can stay away. There are tons of good restaurants. I'd rather patronize someone less hostile and arrogant.
Do sales people not know that lunch and dinner are our money times do not call at those hours
When dining became "scene," food died. Chefs should exhibit reverence for food AND customers. I renounce my chef-ness. Video killed the Kitchen Star.
What an arrogant SOB – this is one restaurant you can be sure I will never patronize..
I guess this is one of the country's best chefs-he obviously thinks he doesn't need the business. So, people called the restaurant a 7pm-who doesn't decide to make last minute inquiries? Contragulations on portraying youirself as an arrogrant griiler.
Note to self, pass on Rosebud. This guy sounds like a douche.
this is very amusing. There's a very easy solution to this problem, everyone should be required to work in a restaurant for at least 4 months. Guaranteed that will shut everyone up. you can see first hand how rude and obnoxious people really are. Sorry if your the "one guy" that isn't rude in restaurants, but unfortunately the masses make up for it. Oh and if you have to wait for a table don't yell at the staff go directly to the source go yell at the 20 tables still sat that showed up 30 minutes late for their reservation, that then in turn made you late for your reservation.
There are reasons I don't eat out much. 1. I know how to follow a recipe. 2. It's cheaper to cook at home. 3. Most restaurant food is fattening, and they seem to not be very willing to help those of us trying to lose weight by putting dressing on the side and such things.
If you don't like eating out, either learn to cook or marry someone who can.
A better, more respectful name for this article would have been "Six Ways SOME KINDS of Customers Tick Off Chefs." Not every customer who walks in and pays for your (usually overpriced, overhyped) food does these things. Many customers also tip 20% no matter how much of an asshole their server was, recommend you to friends, show up EARLY for reservations, and maybe want to meet the chef to tell him personally how good their experience was.
Never bite the hand that feeds you. Remember that restaurants, even gourmet ones, are a dime a dozen and the next restaurant offering essentially the same food as you is down the street and possibly cheaper. I guarantee you, nothing on your menu is so good that we're willing to put up with entitled waitstaff. In this economy you should be grateful for every customer's dollar, even the rude ones. Sad truth, but a smart businessperson would know this.
1. A customer calling you. You answering how can I help you? And them asking are you still open? If we were closed we would have been long gone. Do you really think I spend my spare time sitting around this voice box of terror just to let you know that we're closed?
2. A customer telling you to put a rush on it. Just because your in a rush means nothing to us. Most likely because you said that because your a self absorbed arrogant idiot that people ignore all the time because your too demanding.
3. Not pushing in your chair when you get up to leave. You'd do it in your own home. Do you think thats the universal signal that this table is dirty and needs cleaned? Most likely we're going to notice the dishes on the table first. I've seen customers get up waiting for a carry out, and not even push in their chair.
4. Acting like somehow I should remember you from last month. No, I didn't remember you only eat mayonaise because of a problem with your butthole. I normally choose to ignore such unpleasant memories.
5. Pretty girls, and black people trying to get things for free. Its annoying, and just makes you look like an idiot. 'Nuff said.
6. Telling me you don't like how the place is run. Trust me, me too buddy, and I freaking work here. Key word, 'work', if I owned the place and actually made those decisions I probably woudn't be here listening to you bawl on about it.
7. Instructing me to choose your meal for you. I've been through this game, I offer something, you say no. Then mumble onto yourself as if you had something important to say or possibly order. I don't know what you want, and if you don't, don't act like I should.
8. The customer knows best. If this were true, the customer would be cooking for himself.
9. Arguing over who should pay. Seriously this task should be the most retard proof. But, it's not. It turns into a social struggle for heirchy to prove yourself the most giving of the group. If somebody offers the gift of food take it. It's their stupid decision they want you to eat on them not yours. If you feel like you must pay, stuff the tip jar.
10. And finally... just not appreciating somebody making and handing a meal to you. Yes you paid for it. But the least you can do is appreciate it. If you don't like it, then don't eat it. And you can join the majority of people who don't order from us. Any food isn't gauranteed to please, don't act like it is.
Maddox – where do I start you are oh so wrong!
1. A customer calling you. You answering how can I help you? And them asking are you still open? If we were closed we would have been long gone. Do you really think I spend my spare time sitting around this voice box of terror just to let you know that we're closed?
Answer – Yes, you MAY be closed and cleaning up, you may be closed and just heading out, you may be open but the kitchen may be closed–and you WROK in the industry????
2. A customer telling you to put a rush on it. Just because your in a rush means nothing to us. Most likely because you said that because your a self absorbed arrogant idiot that people ignore all the time because your too demanding.
Answer – Well, I might have just waited 45 minutes for my reservation and I have tickets to a play, concert or whatever and I do need to leave fairly quickly. IT is NOT my problem you made me late, but now I am requesting a favor. Yes, it should be explained and requested politely, but it should be honored if it is reasonable.
3. Not pushing in your chair when you get up to leave. You'd do it in your own home. Do you think thats the universal signal that this table is dirty and needs cleaned? Most likely we're going to notice the dishes on the table first. I've seen customers get up waiting for a carry out, and not even push in their chair.
Answer – Please – pushing your chair in tells you to clean the table? The table should be cleared before the check arrives or right after. I know that it migth be blocking you while you walk in the aisle but is it that hard for you to push in if it is in your way? Another primadonna petty complaint.
4. Acting like somehow I should remember you from last month. No, I didn't remember you only eat mayonaise because of a problem with your butthole. I normally choose to ignore such unpleasant memories.
Answer – some of the BEST service I get is when someone remembers me and knows my "pickiness." Do they have to do it, no. I was shocked that they remembered and honored. Of course, they got a great tip and funny how the whole thing was receptive on both sides!
5. Pretty girls, and black people trying to get things for free. Its annoying, and just makes you look like an idiot. 'Nuff said.
Answer – you are.... well, nuff said.
6. Telling me you don't like how the place is run. Trust me, me too buddy, and I freaking work here. Key word, 'work', if I owned the place and actually made those decisions I probably woudn't be here listening to you bawl on about it.
Answer – make some recommendations to your manager. You are the front line and good manager's list to suggestions from the front line! If not, find a better place to work!
7. Instructing me to choose your meal for you. I've been through this game, I offer something, you say no. Then mumble onto yourself as if you had something important to say or possibly order. I don't know what you want, and if you don't, don't act like I should.
Answer – I guess I didn't think that you were a moron but maybe if you wear a sign on your sleeve saying so, I won't ask you. Most places the the staff taste the food, know specials, know what is good or bad and can make recommendations. If youi can't do this then again, find a different job or at least don't complain about it.
8. The customer knows best. If this were true, the customer would be cooking for himself.
Answer – The customer does not know best, but the customer knows what THEY like and WANT. Be glad that the y are in your RESTAURANT! Serve them what they want and how they want it.
9. Arguing over who should pay. Seriously this task should be the most retard proof. But, it's not. It turns into a social struggle for heirchy to prove yourself the most giving of the group. If somebody offers the gift of food take it. It's their stupid decision they want you to eat on them not yours. If you feel like you must pay, stuff the tip jar.
Answer – Whay do you care about who wants to pay as long s they DO PAY and leave a tip. Oh, yes, stuff the tip jar for your GREAT service–since you couldn't recommend an entree, couldn't rush the order, chided me for not pushing in my chair when I went to the restroom... yeah, remind me to stuff the jar.
10. And finally... just not appreciating somebody making and handing a meal to you. Yes you paid for it. But the least you can do is appreciate it. If you don't like it, then don't eat it. And you can join the majority of people who don't order from us. Any food isn't gauranteed to please, don't act like it is.
Answer – So I need to appreciate it even though it is not guaranteed to please? So the majority don't order form you? hmmm, I wonder why! How about if I show you appreciation and do not leave a tip. I thought that the tip was a from of showing appreciation for a job well done!
Uhuh..you shouldn't have mentioned your restaurant's name!
I can make this really simple for chefs, we will stay home and eat our own yummy food and save the 50% markup on the purchased meal, the 20% tip and the valet parking and fee.
Marry me!
You do that Karen, if you still remember how. And while you're at it, teach your children how to cook.
People come into restaurants every day expecting the sun, the moon and the stars on a platter, served with a smile, a free cookie, coffee included and Angelina Jolie's beeeeest smile. Do us all a favour and walk your talk, right out of our restaurant.
Rick Buckalew...you too.
I can completely understand the need to vent one's frustrations. I may not be part of the food industry, but I do work with the public every day; I have tried many times before to work as a server, but I was just not the right type of personality for it, and I honestly could not do it. I admit that. I used to believe I could do it, and thought I could do a better job, but I have been severely humbled.
So, to all of you still working in the restaurant business, be it from server to chef to actual owner, major kudos to you. You are a heck of a lot stronger person than I could ever be in that field.
But, working with the public does grind a little on everyone's nerves every now and then. Some days, you're on top, others...eh...not so much. Yet, if you still can try to give respect and courtesy towards others, give a smile or two, then hey, you're doing your job in making sure the customer feels welcomed.
The way I see it, I believe in the Golden Rule: You get what you give. Give me respect and I will return it. The age old saying of "the customer is always right" is really not a good one. To me, that gives many people the leeway to continue talking on the phone, not pay any attention to you because they're too absorbed, and too wrapped up in their own world to make sure you can provide the excellent service you would hope someone would give to you. Yes, you are walking into an establishment and yes, many are well aware that you are helping to pay for their bills, and giving the establishment your business; however, it does not give anyone full right to act like a buffoon. It's a two-way street; nobody has to be a brown-noser or the 'whipping boy' when you feel like being rude and obnoxious. And that goes for both patrons and the business. Take a step back and realize that people are people, and as such, we do make mistakes. Sometimes, the best way to handle a snippy server or a customer is with a smile. Most might be having a bad day, and being a complete stranger makes for an easier target, and we all do this at some point in our lives. But when you approach with a good attitude, nine times out of ten, you will more than likely help to make that person feel better about their day within just that one instance. When I go to work, and when one customer approaches me with a big smile and asks me, "How are you today?" before I can even get it out of my mouth, that gives me such a great perk in my step and can have me going for the rest of the day. And really, that's all it takes. As long as there are still good-natured people out there, it makes me satisfied to go into work. Makes me have hope for humanity in general.
So, really, what it all boils down to is respect. It begins with respect and ends with respect, and if one is willing to put the effort out there, then that's always a good thing. Some days, you might get huffed at, but in reality, just think like this: It's not like you have to go home with them afterward. They come and go. So, just take a deep breath, it'll all be okay. And if ranting about your frustrations online, among a group of friends, or even to some of your coworkers helps you, you're at least trying to find an outlet so you do not misdirect your anger. It can slip sometimes-doesn't mean it's a good thing and doesn't mean you do not have to apologize, patron or not-but bear in mind that somebody might be having as much of a difficult day as you are, and no one is perfect.
It's when people forget the simple thing such as respect-again for both business and customer-that things go awry. Just try to play it cool and try to keep a smile. And the 'customer is only always right as long as respect and dignity is given and received.'
This list sounds more like the rant of a hostess than a head chef. A lot of these complaints are front of the house concerns. Servers and floor managers care about people showing up early, people moving chairs, people dropping names, and phone calls holding up the hostess. Unless you have an open kitchen, a guest really can't get to you. My number one hate is food getting sent back when nothing is wrong with it. Two, special requests for extra's and then the guest complaints for the mis food charges. Restaurants are businesses, not charities. You want the lobster tail from the lobster risotto in your pasta, well expect to pay for the claw too. Three, Order-Fire for large tables; slam the kitchen with a bunch entres with no time to prep, your going to wait.
Yours do sound more like chefs' complaints than his. But I don't understand your last point. I mean as a party of ten, we should expect our food to take longer than a party of two, but we shouldn't expect it to take an unreasonably long time, especially if it was a reserved group.
If we order off the menu with a small group, we should be able to expect our food within a half hour of ordering it. With a large group, it would be reasonable to give the kitchen up to another half hour, but I don't thing it's fair to expect your patrons to expect to wait much longer than that, even in a big group. Presumably, if the seating is available, the kitchen should be able to handle it.
This is great, I can't resist throwing my opinion in on this one. I've worked in restaurants for a couple years now, so here's a couple things you can avoid unless you want notes made next to your reservation that say "difficult, cheap, possible problem"
1. Continue talking when the server approaches your table. If you are on the phone or gabbing to your friend when the server approaches the table, Stop! While I'm sure your conversation is important, you are not the only guest in the restaurant. Let the server do their job (take your order) then they will not interrupt you for the rest of your meal.
2. Complain to the server about things they cannot control. If you are too hot, too cold, uncomfortable, or you think it's too loud, I cannot help you with these problems. Verbalizing them to me will only create a hostile dining experience. Also I cannot explain to you why your martini isn't ready, or your appetizer hasn't arrived. 9 times out of 10 these are things a server cannot control, so your anger is misdirected at me.
3. Not asking appropriate questions. I agree with several posters that asking questions is an important part of the dining experience. If you don't know what something is, ask. If you dine at an Italian restaurant and order carpaccio without knowing it's raw beef, then say you don't like raw meat, you have failed as a customer. Not only do you make the rest of your guests uncomfortable while they wait for your new order to be made, but you effectively halt the kitchen line because your order now has to be made immediately, delaying anyone's order that came after yours.
4. Not being ready. If a server asks you if you are ready to order and you say "yes", do not then stare at the menu for 3 minutes saying ummm... or well.... then conferring with other guests about what they are getting. Again, you are not the servers only customer. And especially do not tell your server repeatedly that you need more time only to call to them from across the dining room indignant that you had to wait more than 2 minutes once you had finally decided what you wanted.
5. Maybe the most important, avoid the verbal tip. Most states pay their server an abysmally poor wage, PA is $2.83 an hour. We make our money on tips, our wage barely covers our taxes. Accepted gratuity for average to good service is 18-20%. Your server doesn't care if it used to be 15% or if in Europe servers get paid a full wage, we make our money off tips! The verbal tip is customer who tells their server that everything was great only to leave a less than average tip. Your kind words, while appreciated, do not pay for the electricity.
You do not work for the state in which you live; therefore, no state "pays" "their" server anything. The restaurant you work for pays your (base) wage, and nothing is stopping it from paying you more. The state in which I live dictates a minimum patient-to-caregiver ratio, but nothing is stopping the facility I work at to add more staff. NOTHING. If it can afford to bring in agency staff, then it can afford to hire more staff.
A commenter above noted that Diner A has a tab of $15, so they are "expected" to leave a $3 tip. Diner B has a tab of $30, so they are expected to leave $6. Now if both diners were delivered a single plate and had a single drink to manage, why should one pay twice as much for the same amount of service? As a server, do you do twice as much for the diner who ordered a more expensive meal and drink? No. How much actual time do you spend attending to a particlar table? The diners may be there for two hours, but if you clock the actual time you spend attending to their table, it may be 20 minutes? (If that.) So their tab is $100. You expect $20 or more for 20 minutes or less of work. So then you expect to be paid at the rate of $60 or more per hour? There will always be debate about state minimum wages for wait staff. The last time I paid any attention to it, it was decided to leave the system as it is. The rationale was, this will induce servers to perform for their tip to bring them up to a more realistic wage; and that guaranteeing a certain wage would result in lackluster service, since the incentive to do more to get more would be gone.
And btw, the one serviceman who came to do something at my house, told me about his wife. Used to be a waitress. Got tired of that. Became a State Tested Nurse's Aide. Went back to waiting tables because she couldn't handle being an STNA. A good waiter at a good restaurant can actually make a decent wage, but most people end up waiting tables because that is the best opportunity they have for themselves. I knew a waitress at a Perkin's who was making over $30K a year, and this was over 20 years ago.
If you do not like your state's minimum wage for servers, petition your state representative to introduce legislation to increase that wage. Or go to your employer and demand more. (How well do you think that will work? Just as so many commenters herein say that there are x more diners out there if you are not satisifed, what do you think your employer will tell you if you demand $X more per hour?) Or. Give that service that will induce your customers to give you the tip you want. An "accepted" gratuity? Until it becomes Law that a diner has to pay a certain amount of tip, you either accept what you get or refuse to accept it.
So how about you respond to me with your "Two cents" about expected or "accepted" behavior for wait staff? I have not seen one comment on this page outlining the standards of behavior for the chef and wait staff. You all complain about the commenters who are telling you how to do your job, and how none of you do this when you are at a business. (Right!) Then stop telling customers how they should behave. You are in a Customer Service business. You serve the customer. It is not a matter of the customer serving you. This crap "be nice and you will get better service." Remember that when you are a patient in a hospital. Unless a patron is being clearly intentionally rude and abusive from the start with no justification for being so, you give the same service to everyone. And when you are a nurse, particularly in a hospital, you give the same service even if they are being intentionally rude and abusive from the start. Either change jobs or change your attitudes, because the attitudes of the restaurant workers related on this page have no place in a Customer Service capacity. Go online and search on: poor customer service. See what business analysts say about the ramifications of it.
Here's what generally happens when a server comes to take my order:
"Hi. I realize you've been here for all of two minutes, but I've brought you your drinks. Are you ready to order your meal?"
"Not yet, can you give us just a minute or two?"
"Certainly."
5 minutes...
10 minutes...
15 minutes...
"Where the heck IS that waiter?!"
20 minutes
"If the waiter doesn't come in 5 seconds, I'm out of here."
"Here I am! You're such a whiny complainer. I'm going to treat you rudely the rest of the meal, now."
When you tell a waiter you want two more minutes, you usually end up sitting there for about 15 to 20, while you stare at the menu until you go blind. It's frustrating. And while I realize no waiter will ever admit to it, that seems to happen each time.
So don't complain if the diner says they are ready and keeps you there for a minute or two while he finishes deciding. If most of the wait staff were prompt about this, it wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, most go away and disappear for all time, then want to be persnickety when they finally do come back and you're annoyed. It's an extremely frustrating cycle.
Two Cents – great to know that you have worked in the industry for a few years, seems like you need to hear from some one on the other side of the table!
This is great, I can't resist throwing my opinion in on this one. I've worked in restaurants for a couple years now, so here's a couple things you can avoid unless you want notes made next to your reservation that say "difficult, cheap, possible problem"
Answer – Do they also make notes that says big tipper, great, easy??
1. Continue talking when the server approaches your table. If you are on the phone or gabbing to your friend when the server approaches the table, Stop! While I'm sure your conversation is important, you are not the only guest in the restaurant. Let the server do their job (take your order) then they will not interrupt you for the rest of your meal.
Answer – Am I in kindergsarden or am I out having fun? If I am with a group of people you want them to have fun. Don't scold us for having fun. Do you want your restaurant known for a fun time or a place to go for corporal punishment. WOW!
2. Complain to the server about things they cannot control. If you are too hot, too cold, uncomfortable, or you think it's too loud, I cannot help you with these problems. Verbalizing them to me will only create a hostile dining experience. Also I cannot explain to you why your martini isn't ready, or your appetizer hasn't arrived. 9 times out of 10 these are things a server cannot control, so your anger is misdirected at me.
Answer – You need to realize you ARE the face of the restaurant and our liaison to those other people. If you are not the one to tell, who should we tell? Should I go to the bar and get my own drink? Should I go and turn down the thermostat? Should I make my own appetizer? YOU Are the one that is my contact for the whole "experience." You cannot provide service, then why should you deserve a tip?
3. Not asking appropriate questions. I agree with several posters that asking questions is an important part of the dining experience. If you don't know what something is, ask. If you dine at an Italian restaurant and order carpaccio without knowing it's raw beef, then say you don't like raw meat, you have failed as a customer. Not only do you make the rest of your guests uncomfortable while they wait for your new order to be made, but you effectively halt the kitchen line because your order now has to be made immediately, delaying anyone's order that came after yours.
Answer – again, it is the customers fault! Did you encourage the questions, or more likely make the customer uncomftable because it was taking more than 3 minutes for them to order when you asked them if they were ready to order. I would guess the latter. You seem more like an order taker than a true server.
4. Not being ready. If a server asks you if you are ready to order and you say "yes", do not then stare at the menu for 3 minutes saying ummm... or well.... then conferring with other guests about what they are getting. Again, you are not the servers only customer. And especially do not tell your server repeatedly that you need more time only to call to them from across the dining room indignant that you had to wait more than 2 minutes once you had finally decided what you wanted.
Answer – Did you hear about customer service. You complain about them being not ready then you complain about them discussing what everyone is ordering. Maybe they are all going to share and what to see if things are being ordered already or if it will compliment the other orders. You complain about being asked to come back multiple times. What is it? Do you want to wait while they decide or do you want them to politely ask you to come back whhen they are ready?
5. Maybe the most important, avoid the verbal tip. Most states pay their server an abysmally poor wage, PA is $2.83 an hour. We make our money on tips, our wage barely covers our taxes. Accepted gratuity for average to good service is 18-20%. Your server doesn't care if it used to be 15% or if in Europe servers get paid a full wage, we make our money off tips! The verbal tip is customer who tells their server that everything was great only to leave a less than average tip. Your kind words, while appreciated, do not pay for the electricity.
Answer – maybe you need to give better service. Many people are polite and do not want to tell you your service is poor, but they will with the tip. You say that an average tip is 18-20%, well, it shouldn't be for poor service. Average service should get 15%. Plus, a tip is not guaranteed. You need to actually serve for that tip. If you tell me you cannot control anything and not to complain, then you should not get a tip of 18-20%. If you don't like it or cannot get a good tip or pay the bills, then time for a new job. There are many servers out there that do just fine!
I think you missed the most important part of your own statement here which was "We make our money on tips." You wrote serveral paragraphs to tell ME how YOU want things to be done, and then told me I had to tip you a certain amount. Are you out of your mind? This last part should have reminded you that I am the paying customer. I am tipping you based on how I feel YOU served ME. Nothing about "tipping" is compulsary, it is at the discretion of the customer. It is meant to acknowledge what the CUSTOMER feels is good service. You don't get to decide how well a customer was served, they do. Get a clue. And believe me I think many customers often give better tips than servers have earned just because.
No it is still 15%. I don't care if you want to gouge me for more money, 15% is it, fair and square. I do tip 20% or more if I am very happy, especially when food is low priced. A waitress at a Diner who served me nice lunch that cost less than $10 will probably get $3 from me, which would be more than 30%. I am sick and tired of these waiters who do minimal amount of service insisting that they get larger than normal tips. Worse yet, they actually threaten to do something disgusting to your food if you don't! There is a TGI Friday in Harriburg PA where I NEVER will set my foot in because a server there was posting all over the 'Net how they spit in people's food unless they get a 20% tip. That's just wrong and disgusting. I seriously think there has to be much tighter control over handling of the food to make sure that any disgusting individual who would do so gets punished (bodily fluids such as spit in food is an assault, a criminal offense) and the system cleaned up.
So you are saying that if I go to TGIF in PA that they already know I will not leave a 20 percent tip before I order and get my check? It's a miracle!
If you can prove they spit in your food, they can be charged with intent to harm, or something like that. The problem with other people handling your food out of sight is that it's not always easy to tell what they've done to it. If they spit in it or drop it on the ground or handle it after not washing their hands from the bathroom, you might not be able to tell unless it makes you sick. That's what turns our collective stomachs.
To TheGreatCarsino
Do a Google search on: spit in food 20% tip
One of the results will take you to a Facebook page. On this page is a post: “i used to work at Bonefish. Just so you know, your server will spit in your food if you dont tip 20%! That goes for all restaurants!”
The post right after it asks the same question you do. I wondered about this myself. Perhaps they remember for the next time that person comes in? Did you see some of the posts on this CNN page about how staff writes down notes next to reservations? You don’t need s reservation at a Friday’s, but the staff will remember. They may not remember other things, but they will remember this.
A good friend of mine has actually worked for this guy!! I can confirm that he is a total prick. Apparently, he is capable of making some great food but spends most of the shift getting drunk at the bar. And I mean getting DRUNK. My friend told me there were times when the chef would leave halfway through the shift because he was so loaded.
That said, let me also mention that I waited tables for 9 years before, during and after college and consider myself a restaurant veteran. There have certainly been times where a customer annoyed the crap out me, but it was generally for behavior that was totally ridiculous or unreasonable. Sometimes customers will order one thing,and then when it comes, indignantly claim that they ordered something else. Or they will tell me at 7:25 that they have to be at the theater at 7:30 and that they have to leave NOW! This kind of stuff actually happens more often than you would think. But when it comes to normal requests like changing tables or even ordering something that's not on the menu, if I am able to do it then I am am happy to as long as the customer is polite. You would be amazed the lengths I have gone to for customers simply because they were nice people. Seriously, some people need to just try being a little more polite in their daily lives and they will soon see how much easier life becomes.
and for every 1 of you that said you would never go in this restaurant there are 10 of us lined up with a smile, a good tip, a name to drop and a handshake for the man!
WOW! I think the quantity of comments and the hostility contained within says something about the problem. It's not chefs v. customer, it is people dealing with other people. TOLERANCE & COMMON COURTESY my friends, consider it!!!
I know how to act in a restaurant and I know what to expect from the cook/owner at the bar/greasy-spoon at Rosebud.
My wife and I are the owners of a small restaurant in Miami. She's the executive chef and I'm the sommelier/floor manager. One of our servers came across this thread and we all discussed it this evening after dinner service. It looks like there are some very disgruntled and angry people out there on both sides. Allow me to put in my two cents in this discussion.
Our restaurant is fantastic. We've been open for a little over a year, and in that time we've been able to both turn a profit (unheard of in many large cities in this economy) and provide our entire staff with health insurance. How? Our people. Our service staff is the best in the business. These are people that provide the best service and create the best food every single day. We live for it. It takes a certain type of person to do this job, and not everyone has what it takes. You have to be in good shape to be on your feet for hours at a time, have good time management skills to take care of several tables in various stages of dining, have a good memory to keep track of tabs,guest's names, every ingredient and portion weight of each dish, and have the temperament worthy of a saint. I can honestly guarantee that a minute percentage of you can do this type of work on a consistent basis. Most of you not at all, not to our standards. So treat our staff and the staff anywhere else you go with respect, and you'll find people who are willing to jump through hoops to make your experience special. Mistakes will get made, we all drop the ball sometimes, give us a chance to make things right, instead of tearing us a new one when things can be difficult to control. A restaurant is basically organized chaos, so you shouldn't lose it if something doesn't go your way immediately.
Chef Eyester is entitled to air his grievances as he chooses. How many of you out there love your job but hate aspects of it? Chef Eyester is entitled to the same. Trust me, he's not losing sleep over anybody threatening to boycott his place. Most of you making the threats wouldn't have set foot in there anyway. Just because he's peeved that someone moves a chair in his dining room doesn't mean he's going to freak out over it. You'd probably never know he was thinking about it. Some of you need to lighten up.
The bottom line is that there's a fine line between eating out and dining. Unfortunately, we can't please everyone, so we'll lose a few guests along the way. It comes with the territory. Keep doing your thing, Chef Eyester will keep doing his thing, and as long as his food is good and his service is top notch, he'll be OK. So will those of us who love this business, even though we get a rude or snobby guest sometimes. 99% of my guests are awesome. We'll keep doing what we do for them.
And we don't have a problem making a well-done steak with ketchup. We do have a problem with making a well-done rack of lamb. Sorry people.
I agree with everything this chef said – although it was a little terse for comedic effect. There are so many ways and means a server will bend over backwards for you, just depends on which way you push.
1. If you come in with a party of 10-20-30 we will seat you so that EVERYONE is accommodated. You hear that noise around you? That's other people. Not to mention fire codes that have to be followed. It is so thoughtless when customers plop down wherever they think a chair will fit and EVERYONE has to walk all the way around the restaurant to accommodate them.
2. Oh happy freaking birthday!Half of you are just trying to take advantage of this "tradition". I am so glad that you decided to come to our restaurant on your birthday. That does not mean you automatically get a cake and a song and a dance. It means at the discretion of myself or the kitchen you may get a cake. Probably even with a candle and a great big smile, and yes I will take every one's photo together. But no not if you're a prick about it all.
3. Closed means closed. Go home, that's where I'm going, after I spend another hour cleaning and setting up. And bar flys are the worst! Don't get self-righteous about them until you are cornered by one for over an hour. You smile, you nod, you're kind, you grind your teeth.
4. Don't be late and pissy. If you're going to be late, call. Simple. And if you've ever cooked dinner for a large party you know that things don't always go as planned. If it is a great restaurant I'll overlook it once or twice, if it's a new restaurant I've not tried then I may not even wait for the next table. I personally have no patience for that crap.
5. Everyone hates to be name-dropped
6. It drives me so crazy when someone calls to have a long 10 min asinine convo in the middle of dinner service. If you are the one waiting for me to get off the phone and seat you it will drive you freaking crazy too!
So lets get this all into perspective here, as a chef and an 8 year restaurant veteran i can tell you from first hand experience that all of this happens every day. For all of you that want to say "you are here to serve me", you would NEVER EVER last 2 hours let alone one week working in a restaurant. The pay sucks and the hours are ruthless by the time you are in bed asleep we are only half way into a shift. We deal with lost of jerks every day, sadly for every good customer that we get there are 4 bad ones afterwards, all of you that are angry at us that work in the restaurant industry because we tell you in these blogs how terrible you treat us are not human beings, you are the selfish narcissist, food network reality tv watching know it alls that thinks just because you watched last night episode of hells kitchen and iron chef and you own every book written by someone on the food network that you can do our job and know everything there is to know about food. Oh and by the way half of the people that go out and eat CAN’T COOK, PERIOD. Servers rely on good tips, if you have bad service tell them right there and one of 2 things will happen, either the server will walk out and quit that minute because you were the straw that broke the camels back or they will actually listen to what you are saying and do their job better. Also lets face it people are STUPID in a day and age where 75% of people driving are on the phone do you really think that people working at a restaurant have time to sit there and tell you everything on the menu while trying to cater to a packed house on a Friday night and then they have to deal with the moron walking through the door at 7:45 and needs a table for 20 and has the nerve to ask why he has to wait for an hour?!?!?!?!? Seriously for all of you that are angry while reading this you are these people, and for those of you laughing in joy reading this you deal with it everyday. Just because you spend money at a restaurant doesn’t give you the right to treat people like dirt. If we came into your jobs and treated you the way you treat us you wouldn’t like it either. If the night is slow servers get sent home 2 hours into a 6 hour shift and if they were banking on making their rent money that night well guess what they can’t pay their rent, if you ever called a server stupid at a restaurant I guarantee you they had the cook spit in your food or add a little floor spice to your steak. Kindness goes a long way, when I see a server busting their butt during a night at a restaurant I give them 30% on the check or I will give them 20% and then slip them an extra 10 in a handshake, they go home at the end of the day and remember that one event but the next day they are replacing that event with the jerk who asked “I ordered my steak seared, why is it still raw in the middle”? Take a hint and realize if everyone tipped appropriately all restaurants would be completely booked every night because the servers would be happy therefore the guests are happy and then the chefs are happy because they get to stay and work and make money, it’s a big clock that runs if you wind it up. Restaurants are families for many of us, we are there 45-50 hours a week if we work the kitchen always working weekends and holidays and nights. There are 10 people in the kitchen cooking for 500 people over the course of one Saturday night. If the food is taking time to come out of the kitchen and you have to leave in 30 minutes because you need to get to your show then guess what you should have gotten to the restaurant an hour earlier. But until you people actually work the hours that we do and have to bust your humps the way that we do every day you will never understand what it is to work in a restaurant, if you are writing an angry response to this post do us a favor and take the time you are thinking of writing a reply and look in the mirror, because your food has been spat in, more then once.
I hope one day you will have a nurse in a hospital taking care of you, your partner, child, parent, grandparent, anyone of any significance to you, with an attitude like yours. Nurses are Professionals, due to being licensed and registered. We are bound, not just by law, but by that professionalism to deliver the same care to every patient, regardless of their behavior or their familiy's to us. You deal with food. We deal with people's lives. I have seen several references to intentionally tainting food by spitting in it or "floor spice." For God's sake, you even have a vernacular for it! Do you consider yourself a professional when you spit in someone's food? Do you know that you can be prosecuted for assault if you get caught doing that? Your attitude is worse than the chef this article is about. And as I wrote in e-mail to him, chefs and wait staff then need to dictate a set a rules to their customers before they seat them; and if the latter do not want to comply, then send them on their way and refuse to serve them and take their money. And the set of rules that should be delivered? It should be, this is how the chef will behave, this is how the wait staff will behave. THe only behavior anyone in any capacity should dictate is their own. I usually end up at the one local Chiense AYCE buffet. Say what you want about that. It's $6.50 + tax for the lunchtime version. I have always signed the charge receipt for $9. THat's just over a 30% tip for a cheap buffet. And it is not because I am hot for Asian chicks. The service there is just that good. We really don't have "fine dining" in the area where I live. But the service at this buffet, and really at all of the local Chiense buffets I have tried, is superior to that at every more expensive retaurant I have ever gone to in the area. I was surprised at the quality of the service I received during my one and only visit to a Steak 'n Shake. That waitress got about 40%, to round off the charge-card total with the coupon I had. I really don't eat out because I am too cheap to, but after the crap from the guy in this article, you, and in particular the one below with the restaurant in Miama open its first year, I will make it a point not to. And all of you can thank whatever god you pray to that there are so many others out there that will keep you afloat. I still do not see how anyone, but particularly the chef, can justify spitting in someone's food or "giving it some floor spice." You are sick!
wow really? its amazing how not one time in my post did i ever say i have spit in a customers food, yet you accuse me of it. Read it again i was giving you scenarios of what can happen and has happened in kitchens, being someone who believes in karma there is no way i would ever do that. Onto your comparison of health care and restaurants.....not even in the same ball park, i have been at a hospital E.R. waiting to have my finger sewn back together and waited for 5 hours with nurses who could give a crap why you cut yourself and doctors who don't want to know your name all they want is your insurance card so they can rack up the charges. Its fairly obvious that you are extremly cheap, 3 dollar tip on a 7 dollar buffet, aren't you the humanitarian. Oh yeah lets not forget that its not because you like asian chicks?!?!?! Do you have any idea how filthy buffets are, everyone eating in that buffet touches those serving forks, half of those people don't wash their hands in the bathroom, no matter what you do that sickness is always there, do you know how many people handle your silverware before it gets to your table???? Oh lets not forget steak and shake?!?! You sound like the type of person who can't tell the difference between casual and fine dining. Lets me help you, if your meal costs less then 10 dollars you are in a fast food joint, 15-25 dollars is casual dining, anything over 30 dollars a plate is considered upscale. You already do all the hard working people in the 30 dollar a plate restaurants a favor by not going into them and believe me they don't need someone like you in them. If you can't treat people with courtesy and respect and kindness then stay home thats the bottom line. You are not entitled nor are you guaranteed to have your restaurant workers treat you with kindness when you treat them with shameless disregard and disrespect. There are people out there who appreciate what we do. They are the ones who keep us afloat. So go back to your 7 dollar buffet please.
Wow indeed. You are venting an awful lot of hostility. The overriding theme of your posts is contempt for the very customers you serve.
I do stand corrected that you never said in your original post that you yourself ever spat in or otherwise tainted any food that was served to someone. But did you knowingly allow tainted food to go out of a kitchen you worked in? You speak of spitting in food and floor spice with such ... delight, and justification.
Do you know why you encountered what you did in the hospitals you were in? Because the staff that worked in them have the same attitudes of contempt and hostility toward their customers. I have heard nurses carry on about a single patient or their family for months, even after they were long gone.
No, I do not consider myself a humanitarian because of the tips I leave at the Chinese buffet. I was being facetious with my remark about Asian chicks.
Unless any facility follows basic safety precautions, before and after touching anything associated with a particular individual (for a waiter, anything that goes on or comes off of a table; for a nurse, any time they enter or exit a patient’s room or space within an ER, or really touch anything), it is a matter of degrees of cleanliness or asepsis. One compromised individual can contaminate more than ten healthy ones who maybe don’t always wash their hands when they should.
At the Chinese buffet, the silverware is brought to the table after I am seated (I always get chopsticks anyway, which are sealed in a package). Is it not the case that most tables are already set, even in the finest restaurants? What about airborne and droplet contamination from staff and patrons walking by? Colds and flu, not to mention some more serious illnesses (TB), are spread by airborne particulates, not touch. If you touch a door handle to enter a restaurant, your hand is contaminated. If you touch the door handle to exit a restroom even after diligently washing your hands, the hand that touched the door handle is contaminated.
I have been to some rather upscale, and expensive, buffets (still in your midrange price though). Your issue of sickness is just as prevalent at them as it is at my favorite Chinese buffet. Before touching the items going to or on one table, does every waiter wash their hands first? What about after, before going on to the next one? I’m a nurse. I know how to protect my patients from me and me from my patients. I deal with drug-resistant pathogens that require isolation.
What about the Steak ‘n Shake? What not to forget about it? You never ate anywhere other than your own kitchen, in someone else’s home, or at upscale restaurants? I tried it once, and I don’t care to go back. What point did you want to make about this?
You did hit the nail on the head about me being extremely cheap. And thanks, but I do not need your help to discern the quality of dining. The cost of the food does not determine its quality. There’s a local restaurant that really is casual, but a little more upscale than most of the others in the area. Not everything there is made fresh. They microwave some of their dishes (knew someone who worked there). This place is in your casual dining price range. There’s another local restaurant that is also casual, but it’s prices are in your upscale range. The food there is good, but not worth the price. The $60-a-plate place at the one country club went out of business.
Especially after reading some of the comments to this article, the attitude among all businesses anymore really is that there are many fish in the sea to be customers, right up until any one goes of business for whatever reason.
Now. I accused you of spitting in food when you never said you did. Yet you are lecture me on not treating people with courtesy, respect, and kindness; and treating them with shameless disregard and disrespect. Where did that come from? Your attitude is not one of courtesy, respect, kindness, and regard, for the very people who provide an income for you.
And the $6.50 buffet is really the only place I go out to eat. Why? Because I like it there. I like the way I am greeted, coming and going; not all of the food there is that good, but there are some dishes I really like; my table is kept clear and spotless, my water is kept full; and other than the chopsticks, I don’t have to ask for anything. I enjoy it. Isn’t this what the dining experience is all about it?
Take it down quite a few notches, buddy. You are harboring way too much hostility. Not everyone out there is your enemy. Take a page from your own book, and follow your rules for behavior that you dictate for others to follow. You are the one who has to start winding the clock.
Chef – It is time for you to get out of the busness. When you talk about floor spice and spitting in people's food, your should be investigated and punished. There is NEVER any reason to do that, it doesn't matter how big of a jerk someone is. If they are that big of a jerk, ask them to leave. If they are not, then you have no right to do it.
The big clock winding starts with YOU. When I walk into a restaurant I am looking for a good time. I am not looking to complain and gripe. If you greet me appropriately, seat me when I have my reservation, bring me water right away.
If you treat the customers appropraitely then they servers will get good tips, business will be good, or at least you will have a better chance of it.
I have eaten at a lot of resaurants from fine dining to fast food, oyu should not be a cook at any of them.
So, if the hours suck, the pay is lousy do something about it–get a new job! There are plenty of people in this industry that do not think the same. They make good money and support families. They do not feel the same way as you.
Well if you don't like it that much you shouldn't be working there, no?
Why should he or any other chef quit his career? Just because there are jerks out there doesn't mean that there isn't a reason this chef gets up every morning. Years and years of doing what you love to do, you think that stupid people and those few annoying customers are going to make them quit what they love to do. Tell that to a chef who is a soldier or the son of a soldier. Working in restaurants is heaven and hell that is the nature of the business and until you work this industry you’ll never understand what we go through.
The problem here, is this guy is just coming off as a jerk. Nobody likes a jerk.
Well, I doubt that I would ever end up in this jag-off's restaurant to begin with because I actually like food that tastes good on its own without someone having to explain about the essence of the crap that has been put into it......but now I'm even more sold on heading on over to a nice mom & pop shop to avoid stuck up a-holes like this one.
Good luck selling thoe $14 hot dogs.
This has been very entertaining. All you people that will never eat at Ron's fabulous restaurant are just clearing the tables for me and my friends that love everything about it to eat there more often. I view Ron's tweets as a release; tweeting about that sorry/picky/special/allergic customer is better than being caught hanging around the corner with the staff bitching about that customer. Trust me, he does not treat customers with anything less than dignity and the utmost respect. He is often on the floor chatting it up with us asshole customers, and we love him as much as he loves us. And there are SOME of us that order from the menu, change it all up, and tell the waiter not to tell Ron because we don't want to be tweeted about. God forbid if Ron finds our order back there; tweet tweet tweet.
Don't let him fool you. Take everything he tweets with a grain of salt. He has expressed on more than one occasion that he is fortunate to have bought the restaurant in the midst of a recession and to have been (and continue to be) successful.
And to all you assholes that have made comments about his face – may you never have a child or other loved one with some condition that invites bullies to have fun at that person's expense. That's just shameful. If he was missing an arm, would you be making fun of that?
Hey Ron – maybe your next theme dinner should be Eatocracy Fans that Love Rosebud? All four of us at a private table with you. LOL.
Debbie – that's a riot, love it. I would definitely come sit at your table for the Eatocracy Fans Who Love Rosebud dinner!! Ron, please do have the delicious mimosas and the incredible Riverview Farms sausage available as a side to the fried chicken... hold the mashed potatoes please (and I'm cool for you to make fun of me for that). ha-ha. :-)
I'm a 55 yr. old man born and raised in Atl. I've owned my outfit for a long time, Dec. will be my 41st. year with my name on the doors. I learned early that the customer is boss. You may call me any time, I move large objects, houses machinery, and demo. I am happy that I have been blessed with this, my small company because I've never had a public job. I write my own check , set my own hours, live in a nice home and pretty much do what I please. I can only do this because of my customers, they pay the bills, I don't care if they rearrange the damn chairs, or call me when I busy, Hell, I'll sing Birthday songs and dance a jig. Just as long as they call or come back. I know each of their names and will be happy for them to call me their personal friend. Quit crying and be a man.. we already have enough soccer family bed wetters. Grow up and be glad that you still have the lights on. One can see you're not experienced in business but you can change that. Shake a customers hand, made them feel special on their b-day, give out your "special" cell ph. no. and thank God you've still got individuals that patron your establishment. I need to remember you establishments name so I'll not bother you. I go to restaurants to be happy not follow rules that make me uncomfortable.
And you sir, I would gladly fly across the country to come to your establishment...bravo on your post.
Cheers, chef!
it is painfully obvious that the majority of the people offended by this article have never worked in the food service industry. you're out of your element...you've missed the point. you aren't doing us any favors by eating at our restaurant. it's called supply and demand, and you're sense of entitlement isn't on the menu. oh, you're offended all over again? you still don't get it. this doesn't apply to ALL customers, just those rarified d-bags who think they're super special because they have money. guess what, chefs go to restaurants too...we show up for reservations, we order what's on the menu (because that's why we go out to eat, we like the menu...not to make up our own dish), we tip well, and we never sit down 30 minutes before you close. ever. try it.
Actually I have worked in the food service industry...back when the "customer was ALWAYS right..." The customer isn't always right...but this article is sarcastic and snarky and begs the question why the chef is indeed a chef if he seems to feel such contempt for his cliental.
I worked in a new hotspot in town many years ago. They would have NEVER gotten upset over a large party coming in without a reservation wanting to sit together. It was a matter of if you could or could not accommodate them, if you didn't have the room you just said so. But if you had the room, you took that party and arranged the seating for them. Sometimes a group of people will decide to go eat somewhere spontaneously...it happens, it's not a cardinal sin to do so. If you can't take them, someone else will. It's bad business practice to leave the party with a bad feeling about your establishment by treating them like crap for deciding on an activity at the last minute. They have friends and family that will think twice about going to or even recommending your restaurant to others.
OMG I was not going to jump into this but this arrogant and stupid comment from a server "meg" "your money means nothing, it's supply and demand" is too much! Dear silly Megan, what do YOU think "demand" is? It's our money paid to your restaurant DUUUUUUUUH! That's exactly what's at stake if you're too snooty and your service sucks – the demand (that is, the money we bring for you to pay for your restaurant, you salaries, your food supplies, your electric bills, etc) will go down.
You are welcome, honey.
Don't move the tables and chairs? Where are you from, the Netherlands (honest to God I witnessed an extremely rude waitress give our group hell for wanting to sit together...wouldn't accomodate us as a group...made us split up into several separate tables (and there were only 8 of us...gimme a break...)
I don't agree with this chef for most of his rants. Of course I'm not trying to make or break reservations or get food to go or anything like that...but I'm annoyed that he didn't offer an alternative to a group showing up and wanting to move the furniture like, I don't know, letting the hostess reconfigure the tables to accomodate a group.
I don't know where this place is but I'm gonna make sure I never go there...I'm not interested in a power struggle with a chef, waiter or waitress or hostess or whomever associated with a restaurant that seems to have contempt for their customers (and I'm a person that doesn't think the customer is always right.)
I found the first gripe really ignorant. So...if I show up at your restaurant with 9 friends without a reservation, but you have the room and time to take all 10 of us ...you won't move tables together so all 10 people can sit together? You'd rather hold on to your precious existing seating arrangement than make that $500-$1000 me and my 10 friends might drop at your restaurant in food and drinks? That's your choice I guess, though I imagine the wait staff, bartender and wait staff might be a little bummed about losing that tip.
Besides, it is up to the restaurant to arrange the tables so they don't block the path of the staff. If a customer starts to rearrange the tables, it's up to the host or manager to step in and arrange the seating. Is that so frigging hard to do?
We aren't "guests" in your home, we're paying customers...you know...kind of the reason you're in the restaurant business in the first place? But even using that analogy; would you make guests in your home sit in another room or stand if there weren't enough seats in your living room or would you be a gracious host and get some chairs for them to sit on?
Wow the response to this post is unbelievable! I just have to put my 2 cents in...
Eating out is expensive, and I feel I should be able to expect a certain quality and service from a restaurant, where dinner for 3 is $130 or more, that there be not be so (very) many bones in the salmon, or that it is the tail end . I expect that a rack of lamb that is ordered medium rare that it not be bleu, and like jelly in the center, or the sauce to be the consistency of cough syrup (I would have definitely sent that back, but my grandson said no, he is only 16, I imagine when he is the one paying, his attitude will change). This is what happened the other night when we went out to a restaurant where we could be considered regulars. Plus, there was only one waitress on duty on a holiday weekend, and we live in a tourist town! The problem was the owner was not on-site, and a usually stellar restaurant turned to crap. I did complain to the overstressed waitress, but told her I did not want any comp on it, I did it because I care about the restaurant, this is a very small town, we need them to stay in business. I see for lease or for sale signs right left and center, and I don't want that to happen to them. I don't know if chef (?) Eyester is chef/owner, but whenever possible, the owner needs to know when there is a problem...it is ultimately their responsibility and livelihood. One more bitch, if you decide to offer Sunday Brunch, make sure your chef knows how to cook eggs!!!
I agree with most of the list save for part of one item.
#6. First of all, most customers don't know what your busiest hours are – they're not psychic. So as long as the customer keeps the call short & to the point, like for a reservation... then it's too bad if the call is during the busy hours.
The rest of it though, yes I agree with. Too many people act like they're "entitled" and fragile egos cannot stand being told "no".
Here is a pet peeve of mine when going to a restaurant:
Sometimes I bring a coupon to a restaurant. I cannot risk bringing it out early, and only do so if I have a question about the coupon. Otherwise, service goes downhill the moment the waiter/waitress sees it. If the restaurant is issuing coupons, their business is probably suffering, hence the need to give discounts to get people in.
For the record, I tip 15%. I am not a food service expert but I have worked 9 months as a cook. I left as soon as I had something better because it was terrible. However, I chose that temporary work.
My advice to restaurants (take it or leave it). If you are issuing coupons to get more business and expect that business to turn into repeat business, you should treat customers with coupons as you would anyone else.
Worked in many fine-dining establishments and will say one thing...although you do need to fire customers at some point, the vast number just want to be treated well and fed something they couldn't make themselves, in an atmosphere where they feel appreciated to have visited the restaurant. Most guests will put up with procedural difficulties as long as they know once seated their stay will be memorable. Creating a list of pet peeves does not bode well for this chef.
If you don't like waiting 10 minutes for your reserved table might I suggest you try someplace that doesn't take reservations ....like Burger King?
Eyesore, you ignorant slut! I won't waste my time responding to your absurd rant against those who pay your bills. FAiL.
I didn't like the article, however I see both sides of the story. Unfortunately it's got everything to do with the restaurant and/or the customer and the situations are countless. I've been horrified by certain restaurant attitudes, service, or food. I've also been horrified by other customers behaviors. Unfortunately I had the displeasure of being at the same table with them on a couple of situations. My husband and I don't go out to each much anymore, however when we do, we go to the ones that we know will give good service and have good food. We make sure we let them know we enjoyed the experience and we tip well. I think it comes down to the attitudes of both parties.
Um hello CHEF, you wouldn't have JOB if annoying people like us didn't go into your place to eat.
Get over yourself!
I posted an article using your list to spin it towards helping food trucks gain traction in Atlanta, which at this time, there aren't any.
http://mobilecuisine.wordpress.com/2010/10/12/6-more-reasons-atlanta-needs-more-food-trucks/
Wow – about the only thing he did was convince me not to eat at his house – err place of biusiness.
Get over yourself Chef. You should be glad that the customers that you openly despise didn't put you out of business in a bad economy.
CNN trollin again... Successfully too!
It's funny listening to all these "the customer is always right" @ssholes. I agree with Mister Neckbeard chef and would be happy visit his establishment.
Ugh, I've worked enough food & beverage industry jobs to know you are the kind of jerk who will spit in people's food.
This chef is a notorious jerk, and ALWAYS talks smack about everyone in his restaurant. On twitter, and now apparently on CNN (which is disturbing). There is no satisfying this A hole. Rosebud is a really lovely space, but only because a lot of it was there with Food 101. The food is super good sometimes, but mostly below average. You never know what it will be like Just like the chef, it is never consistent. It is as though you can taste his bad moods in the food. His whole schtick is to be mean and nope... he doesn't care about you.. the person paying. I am all for the rules of dining out to be followed by the patron, but the double edged sword is not acceptable.
Anyone who has EVER tasted food made with love will NEVER enter your place, FatBoy.
Customers hate chefs who forget they are in the service industry. Been to ATL on business a few times and have been talked out of going to Rosebud by friends who know their food and wine. All hype and no substance has been the general consensus.
Your friends are idiots and you are a retard.
STFU, chefs.
So, I found this guy on Twitter and apparently we are all talking this way too seriously. I think the idea of his being a snob is off the mark, as his own tweets are some of the most vulgar and low class I’ve seen. I also think his role as chef may even be exaggerated. From what I can tell, he waits on customers in the front of the restaurant and tweets about it 15 times a day. I don’t even think he means what he says; He basically has too much time on his hands and is mistaking his lame brand of sarcasm for cleverness and quick wit. In short, he thinks he is funny and is compelled to post every ridiculous complaint he can conjure up for everyone to read. Thanks to twitter he has found a platform for his remarks. I mean Thanks, but No Thanks.
Ya know...I read this and thought, "This guy's a total A$$hole. I wonder if his food is any good." The reviews say No. Sorry, dude. You just singled yourself out, and guess who's not coming to dinner. <==== This guy any anyone he knows.
I agree that customers can be extremely frustrating and needy- but the things this chef is complaining about are really just an unjustified rant.
I don't expect a free dessert on my birthday and I don't drop names, no matter how often I frequent an establishment- but let's get one thing straight I'm NOT coming to your house for dinner; I'm not a guest, I'm a PAYING CUSTOMER!
If a customer goes out of their way to reserve a table it means they expect to be seated at that time (either they have a show/concert afterward, or they're in a particular restaurant with a client- and they don't have an extra 30 minutes to wait). Most people who don't need to eat by a specific time will be walk-ins. Besides, in 30 min I can make my own food without paying anyone.
I generally (98% of the time) arrive a few minutes early to any reservation- and don't expect to be seated before my reservation time- but if I have to wait more than 10 minutes AFTER my reservation the problem is not me. I made a reservation for 8pm- YOU overbooked expecting people to cancel at the last minute!
If you are open between lunch and dinner service you should be ecstatic that you have a customer during that time. If you need that time for prep. you can either close the restaurant or hire more staff. It's not your patron's fault- wouldn't you expect service if you went to the post office during lunch time? if they're open during that time, wouldn't you assume someone would be there to serve you?
And I have worked in the service industry, I still do- I am extremely patient with staff, I understand that you have to deal with finicky and annoying people and that you might be having a bad day, but I do expect decent service- that's what I'm paying for. More often than not the reason your table isn't ready when you reserve one is because the management chooses to over-book the tables, which creates stress for patrons and servers. I expect the management to have common sense- and if they don't I have every right to complain (thanks to you feeling you can maximize your profits your staff will be stressed and your patrons will suffer)
AMEN!!
Well said to:
@ KHall – “You should recognize that he is being sarcastically humorous and, even though he has (OMG, an astounding) 6 quips about customers, he doesn't constantly express them to his clientele.”
@ Rbnlegnd101 – “Give Ron credit for one thing. He puts his name on his complaints.”
@ Rational – “Wow...okay, for the people defending the customers side of this, breathe, calm down, and think about what he's saying. This is an attempt to give people who do not know, and ask why the chef gets mad, a little insight.”
And @ mary – all very good points.
It is amazing to see how very seriously many commenters take themselves on this site. Wow. Just as KHall mentioned above, this is sarcastically humorous. It would be quite different if Chef Ron were actually an a**hole to customers, but he isn’t. He actually does most of the asinine things we as customers ask (as you can see via his tweets) – then tweets about it afterwards in a sarcastically humorous way. His Twitter handle is called @theangrychef – come on, what did you expect??? It’s not @hearaboutmygreatcustomerservice @ihopeyoulikeme @pleasetakemeseriously ETC.
Further, it is unbelievable and sad how extremely rude some of these comments are… so easy to do when you post anonymously. Rather than spend an entire day ranting back and forth with a fake name in the comments on a blog post, get out and do something. Sitting inside on your laptops all day has clearly made some of you unable to recognize a joke.
Disclaimer, I do not, nor have I ever, worked in the restaurant industry. But I do appreciate delicious food and a great experience – and what it takes from the servers, bartenders and chefs to make it happen.
By the way, Rosebud does have the best brunch and mimosa in Atlanta. Lighten up and check it out. If you’re good humored, maybe you’ll get tweeted about too.
As a [astry chef for michelin star estabishment, WE are the ones who have to graffiti "happy birthday" on our hard constructed plates. Savory does not write happy birthday in a puree or aioli to deface their plates. But a lovely candle and an extra dessert to celebrate a birthday is a tasteful and classy way to show appreciation. Singing is tacky when fine dining and can be invasive to neighboring guests. As as chef, no matter how unkind or picky a diner may be....the customer is always right. You can have the best food in new york city, but pair that with a bad dining experience, and no matter now amazing the food maybe, it becomes tainted by less the great service. We want you there, as much as you want to be there. Educating the guest is part of the job and excites people to come back, learn more, and eat under satis[action. Love your food and your consumer because you cant have one with out the other :)
Here's a bit of info for you... the money that we choose to spend at your establishment is the same money that we have to... get this... work for! If we whined about how our customers acted, we'd not have customers, therefore no money coming in, and thus, no money to spend at "your" restaurant. You are not so high and mighty that you have the right to pick and choose your customers. It's not Lloyd's of London, it's a restaurant that I have never heard of in a city less than 2 hours away from me. If I remember Economics 101, and the unwritten laws of business management, you'll not be IN business much longer. You nailed your own financial coffin with this selfish article. Well done, Chef.
What is the deal with the God complex of chefs and restaurant owners? You cook food – you are not that important. I can feed myself. What a bunch of self absorbed idiots!
Pshh, bitter much?... Remind me never to go to this jack-off's restaurant. You're always gonna have to deal with annoying people, no matter where you work in life or how hot-shot you think you are. GET OVER IT and just do your damned job.
I can't believe I wasted 10 minutes of my life reading this garbage. Get a life and debate about something that matters not a stupid chef and what he dislikes.
Sounds like this chef has been in the restaurant business too long. Sorry if the paying public pisses you off so much. In this economy the fact your have clients is a good thing, but maybe after this sotry you won't. I just moved from ATL and I thank God daily i did as this attitude is so prevalent in Atlanta. If a guy is sitting at a bar and talks to the bartender as he has his drink, that is a problem? So sorry he interrupted your work. I hope this person reads this and sees himself and goes somewhere else. We will see if you're in business in a year!!!!
All this fool can do is write about it...he doesn't have the balls to confront a customer about any of these issues at the restaurants...coward.
What a pompous ass! Who is this guy, King Louis XIV reincarnated? Give me a break! He certainly has a highly inflated opinion of his worth and value.
This guy is just trying to stir up some attention for himself by using a bunch of “I’m so opinionated and edgy” shtick. He is trying WAY too hard to be the next Bourdain minus the wit, intelligence, talent.. (this list could go on forever). If those gripes are as good as he has the ability to come up with then he will surely be left wanting in the end. Kudos to him for getting it on cnn-dot-com.. I guess that should be considered a triumph by his standards. Now please fade back into obscurity and make people food.
I own a restaurant and I totally hate the free dessert on my birthday thing. We do not offer free anything. We offer good and we offer fair. I have seen people go in Chili's and make up that they have a birthday just to have a free dessert. The incentive to come to my restaurant is good food at a fair price. You are not my customer if I have to bribe you to come.
If I have a good customer or if a party has been especially nice and I know it's a birthday, I will present the birthday person with a dessert as a gift because I want to show my appreciation for their business.
I serve people who show up late if they let us know they are on their way because we want to show our appreciation for their business not to mention that that person has likely driven a long way to get here. If someone makes it through the front door but the chef has left, I will prepare something for them to eat even if it isn't on the menu or hot just to show that I care for their business and to meet their needs as a fellow human being. I was taught to do this by a customer who told me when he showed up late one rainy evening, "don't tell me what you can't do, tell me what you can do." Valuable lesson there.
That said, I have fired some customers. I fire them when they are abusive to me or the staff, when they lie to try to get something for nothing, when they make such big scenes that it makes other customers uncomfortable. These people, I don't need their money, and my other customers do not need to feel their unpleasant vibes.
Agreed. If you call ahead that's different, and most of the time, you'll have your meal cooked for you anyway. There's a difference between a customer demanding food because we still have 5 mins open and a customer that asks if the kitchen is open cause they are hungry. Like I said, techincally we're still open and we'll cook it for you, but it's still corteousy to get there beforehand. Just because we close at 10 doesn't mean we're running out the door "like highschool kids" It can take another hour plus before we are completely cleaned up, done with orders, walk in stocked, etc.....
Right on, Mary. What some people here fail to understand is that while restaurant owners (and business owners of all kinds, really) appreciate their customers, they also know a losing battle when they see one. There's no incentive to bend over backwards for someone who isn't going to show you an ounce or courtesy or who will insist that something was wrong no matter what just so that THEY can save a buck.
Also since everyone is reading these things... if you order 50 dollars worth of food and have a 25 dollar gift certificate, tip on the 50 dollars, not the 25 you're charged on the bill. Most people don't get this at all and it kills servers tips.
Lolz! What are you complaining about? This chef sounds like a bitchy waiter! Most of those "problems" are dealt with by the "front of the house"! And to call it a problem? It's park of restaurant business! The only thing I agree about this whole thing is #3... it does suck if a party comes in close to quitting time! Most chefs works 10 hour days normally... We need to come home to our lives too! Have the decency to come during reasonable hours!
Stop complaining. Get used to it. You run a restaurant – the archetype of a services business. Yours is not a company selling some widget, manufactured in a grey warehouse, that is delivered by trucks to another store, where you can be picky about the size and locaiton of your "desk".
it amazes me how many people get into the restaurant business who simply don't like people in general. Imagine if you said, "Yes! No problem," to all those peeves stated above – I guarantee that your business would do better both financially and spiritually.
How about folks that ask for a tableside Caesar salad WITHOUT anchovies or garlic.
Hey Jeff, it was stupid and no one cared the first time you said it...
Nothing funnier than having the doctor who finally saw you an hour and a half after your scheduled appointment time, come in and complain about having to wait five minutes for his table to get cleared. But, hey, that is why people go out to eat at our restaurant,, because they know they are not going to be treated like they were when they were at the doctor's office, the DMV, the bank, or anyplace else with no customer service. Its an escape from the rudeness they encounter all day long. A restaurant with rude servers, and a chef with the attitude of the author of this article, will never be successful.
What a pompous ass, I don't want this fat sweaty guy anywhere near my food with his forehead herpes and unkempt beard. If you really hate people then find another line of work.
How about when a customer asks for a dish to be prepared without a principle ingredient. I can't tell you how many folks have asked that their table-side Caesar salad be made without anchovies or garlic.
Dear Chef Frowny Face, just remember....I own you for the duration of my visit to your "house". I have paid you to fix my food the way I want it cooked. I am not interested in your opinions on how I want it cooked or what I might smear over the piece of meat I have BOUGHT AND PAID FOR! You are my paid servant, I am not your underling and I dont give a tiny shit what you feel about me. Now shut your pie hole and get your fat ass in that kitchen and grill me some meat bitch.
you are an example of the kind of customer I would fire.
If you don't give a tiny shit about your server, your server probably won't give a tiny shit about you or your meal. It works both ways! I would say for you, who only gives a shit about yourself, to stay home and cook your own food.
Clearly, to benefit the chef, server's, customer's....etc., we need to evaluate things and make some big changes in the restaurant industry. Someone out there reading this, be the first to implement new rules in your restaurant, at the next board meeting, conference call....etc. "No lingering at your table for longer than (30?) minutes after your meal, if you do not want coffee or dessert". "No answering phones during the busiest hours". "Allow only a ten-minute slot for late-comer's. Post it in all your advertising so there are no excuses from the late people and you will not have to feel guilty turning them away". Come on restaurant people, put your heads together & let's work to benefit everyone involved – it's time for some CHANGE within the restaurant industry.
I'm also deeply entertained by all the pretentious "Chefs" spouting off about their "braind" and whatnot. Look man. You make disposable nibbles that emerge out of my buttocks a few hours after I consume it. You're not making art – you're making food. You don't work for NASA. You're not a celebrated hero of the masses.
You make temporary stuff, for a temporary experience, and it eventually turns into feces.
Ooh! You've developed a new way of combining cilantro and ruddabega! Awesome! You're a real contributor to human advancement. I'm sure future generations will sing your praises and forever sing ballads of the time you made a piece of fish with fancy cream sauce.
Until then, work the spatula out yer colon, get over yourself, and realize that you are a HIRED COOK. I'm paying you to make it so I don't have to. Don't try and tell me what I will or won't like. I think I'm grown enough to know how I prefer steak cooked.
Oh! You find it insulting that I enjoy the taste of A-1? I'm SO sorry! Here I thought *I* was the one who had to eat it... Thanks for clearing that up!
lmao... What a bunch of self-important douches.
I'll make sure to say hi to your masterpiece creations when they're floating sunny side up in my toilet. Right next to a publix cookie and the handfull of trailmix I had for lunch.
The best restaurants treat their customers like they are guests in their home. The best customers act like they are guests in your home. Avoid a customer/hired help relationship. That is NOT hospitality, and for those of you in the restaurant business who have not figured it out yet, hospitality is the name of the game.
I used to be a chef, so I agree with most of this. But bitching about people making reservations is the dumbest thing I've ever heard...
Whoever wrote this article, FUCK YOU for including that. There should always be someone on staff that's responsible for answering phones. Don't put that on the customers.
What's with all the people saying "Oh, you've obviously never worked in the restaraunt business"... Like I care? Do I need to sympathize with the trials and tribulations of a stockbroker to expect them to provide satisfactory customer service? I'm not paying $50.00 a meal for a steak and a side of empathy. Not when I can drop 5 bucks at Taco Bell and come out the other sdide the exact same amount of full. Get over yourselves, service people. I 've bussed tables, washed dishes, tended bar, etc. The job sucks. All jobs cuk. Quit bitching, or find another job.
Unbelieveable. I' Nice thing is, these things work themselves out. Treat your customers like a chore, poof. No more customers. Plenty of restaraunts out there who are willing to accomdate difficulties. There's a dozen on every street.
if all you are concerned about is how full you are, then you shouldn't go to restaurants that have quality over quantity. You will always be disappointed or unhappy.
If a sauce comes on top of the item, it's food. If the sauce comes on the side in a pattern (i.e. the dreaded "spoon push"), it's "art" and costs 4 times as much.
Only people in the rest. business, can understand the business. I don't tell you how to run your business, or demand I get everything my way because I spend money there. If restaurant employees would come into doctor's offices, banks, car dealerships, attorney's offices, insurance offices, grocery stores, ball parks, churches,etc....and demand things the way our customers do in our business-good luck! Businesses are run by the rules that the ownership are comfortable with and for the idea of making a profit–we all want to make money.
Lots of people think our business is simple to execute or they think they could easily run a successful restaurant–it is a very hard business to run. You must enjoy people, want them to enjoy your place and come back again. My experience is that 90% of customers are decent, treat staff fairly, tip decent and are there because they like it, are celebrating something or just didn't want to make dinner. The other 10% will ruin your night if you let them.
If you respond to this–tell me what type of business you are in? I want to know where your expertise is from? We deal with people with one of the toughest requirements–satisfying hunger.
I agree with you for the most part. But when is the last time your doctor went on CNN and complained about his patients behavior. I work in hospitals and clinics and I see infinite numbers of rolled eyes and hear complaining all the time from service providers, but do they name themselves and post it on CNN. I would think it would be a bad business move to post it on FB, much less in this public a way. I think this man did a disservice to himself and his business by doing this article. That was my point. I understand that this article might not be representative of who he is as a person and might not represent his true passion for his business and his customers. And for exactly those reasons, it was a bonehead move to give this interview.
Dana,
All people need to vent somehow–maybe he just shouldn't have done it on CNN. But, it sure did start something on here.
I am a Registered Nurse. I deal with people who are either fighting to survive or waiting to die. If you make a mistake, someone ends up with the wrong order. If I make a mistake, it could be a sentinel event. You could lose your job. I could lose my license. Serving food vs. caring for patients is indeed an apples-to-oranges comparison. However, we are both in Customer Service industries. The attitudes expressed herein by the members of yours are not so willingly accepted by any of the customers in mine. I also pass meal trays when the aides are busy. (They can't pass my meds when I am.) Oh, and do you carry malpractice insurance, to protect yourself from spurious litigation? Try one day in my shoes. You'll change your attitude about the ones you're in now.
Apples to Oranges–enough said. That was not the point of my response. Please read again and don't tell me about your job–everyone can be sued. We, in the biz, can be sued, closed down and lose our entire business for food posioning, letting people leave who drank too much and killed someone on the way home from our place, etc...
Don't use the nurse martyr deal as your response!
Well, you asked of any respondents to your comment what type of business they are in and where their expertise is from.
I do not purport to be a martyr. No nurse I have encountered actually does.
Patients and families in a hospital are more demanding than you may think, and about some rather senseless things, considering that they place these of higher significance than their health and recovery.
You see, CMS is in the process of tying compensation rates to patient satisfaction scores on after-discharge surveys. The criteria are divided into some number of categories, but all of them deal with timeliness of response (to call lights, e.g.), demeanor of the staff, meals, cleanliness, and other service-based considerations. These surveys measure subjective perceptions of the patients and their families. Because of this, particularly hospital-based health care has become heavily oriented to Customer Service and hospitality. Indeed, there is a trend to boutique hospitals in response to this. Your single aspect of satisfying hunger multiplies across the spectrum of patient care.
You missed the point of my original response. It is that health care is unfortunately becoming as much of a Customer Service-based industry as the restaurant industry, and there are close parallels between the two. Topping that list of parallels is attitude. I see that there is no shortage of it in the restaurant industry, just as is there is none in health care. And this is why people complain as they do about the way the are treated in hospitals and ERs in particular.
You are quite brash, and judgmental, the way you write. “Tell me,” “I want to know,” “Don’t tell me,” “Don’t use,” “Martyr.” This from someone who doesn’t tell others what to do? You have NEVER complained anywhere you spend your money when something goes wrong with the exchange? Or maybe it is that case that nothing has ever gone wrong for you in a transaction? Or do you take it, pay just the same, and move on?
And speaking of sounding like a martyr: “Only people in the rest. business, can understand,” “[I]t is a very hard business to run,” “We deal with people with one of the toughest requirements.” Nobody know the troubles I’ve seen.
There are at least 2 million nurses in the country, so it is by no means an exclusive position. Neither is owning, managing, or working in a restaurant, in any capacity. The reason pay rates for most cooks and chefs, and wait staff is so low is because of the Law of Supply and Demand. Just as there is no shortage of customers to replace the undesirable ones, so there is no shortage of people to replace anyone in any capacity in the restaurant business.
I see that I perhaps incorrectly assumed that you are wait staff, from some of what you wrote and the way you wrote it. In whatever capacity you work in the business, be aware: The owners of businesses can make whatever rules they want, right up until they go out of business. Many businesses are in grave trouble, and there will be many more to follow.
It is curious that you did not respond to the next post from Are you on something? Are they using the graphic designer martyr deal as their response? [I see you did respond.]
"I don't tell you how to run your business, or demand I get everything my way because I spend money there."
I guarantee that you have, at some point, gone into a business and demanded that you be given your way about something. For instance, you may have at some point gone to a grocery store and found a product on the shelf at a certain price, and on reaching the cash register, found it to be another price. I'm willing to bet you asked for the shelf price, or put the item back. Ever gone to a hotel and asked for new sheets, or something to be altered in the room? If you found the bathroom dirty, you didn't ask to have it clean or to switch rooms?
Everyone has gone to a business and asked for their own way in something at sometime. You go into a place with certain expectations, and you ask that your expectations be met.
As for my job? I'm a graphic designer. The ultimate in customer service, opinion and complaints. I guarantee my customers are FAR more obnoxious than yours, and much less willing to pay for the privilege to be so. Even so, I treat all of my clients with the utmost respect. I realize that as horrible as it may be, their tastes are the ones that matter. If they aren't happy with my designs, no matter how good I think they are, I haven't done my job correctly. And my customers think it's okay for me to do days and months of work, and not pay me at all because they decide they don't want it anymore, or don't like it enough.
So yeah, when I hear chefs and waitstaff say they think it's okay to be rude to or unappreciative of their customers because their customers don't come in, order the most expensive thing on the menu and a drink, eat and drink it exactly as it is and love it, and then leave a 20% tip no matter the service, I do just roll my eyes. There are some things that come with the business that you just have to deal with. Picky customers are it. If you don't like it, you need to find another line of work and stop making excuses that no one can understand unless they own a restaurant themselves.
???? Getting something fixed, cleaned or it having the wrong price, has nothing to do with my response. My response was about how people think they understand our business–they don't. Not about your biz and how you're upset about your desigining. We have some of the toughest customers to deal with–They are hungry 2 hours before they get there, maybe have had to much to drink, etc... Your customers may not like your designs, but they are not starving and upset, you can always change things–our demands are immediate. I didn't make excuses–just giving my opinion. And if anyone needs a new job, it's you or just get better at what you do so you can quit complaining about your customers!
Um, yeah. You know nothing about my field. Which is fair. Here's a few small comparisons for you:
Your customers may be hungry and grumpy, but you serve them for an hour and a half, and they walk out of your life. I work with my clients for days to months. And they still might be hungry and grumpy or frustrated for any reason, and think it's okay to take it out on my design because they want someone else's day to be as bad as theirs.
Your customers feel they aren't getting their money's worth unless their meal is perfect, and send it back three or four times. My customers feel they aren't getting their money's worth unless they find something wrong with each and every revision, and send it back to be completely redone several times, before deciding they liked the first version best.
Your customers decide not to tip, and you're stiffed something like $3-30 depending on the price of the meal, for an hour of work. (Yes I KNOW it could be more at high end places.) My customers decide they don't like my design, or want to try to steal it, or just decide they don't want their project anymore, and I'm left with a month's worth of work I've done and a bill for several hundred to a couple of thousand dollars they are not going to pay.
Your customers order a meal wrong, forget they ordered that and send it back. My customers forget that they needed to have this printed and in their hands by tomorrow. You take the dish back, the chef makes a new plate, you bring it back to the customer's table. I stay up for 24 hours straight, on constant call with the client and the printer, making sure everything goes out perfectly and gets there on time for an impossible deadline.
At least people come into your restaurant expecting to pay the price on the menu for their meal. People come to me expecting me to do large time-consuming projects for pennies, then try to negotiate, then get irritable and overly picky when they can't get the impossibly low price they want.
I'm not saying the food industry isn't a hard one to work in. I was just pointing out that it's not the only customer service industry out there. So you don't need to work in a restaurant to understand how obnoxious people can be and how hard it is to serve them. But if you work in ANY industry where whether your product is good or not depends largely on the client's personal opinions, you need to be prepared for some people to be entitled, picky, rude, etc. Otherwise you need to reconsider your field.
Remember that for every bad customer, there's a good one who is easy to work with and reminds you why you're doing what you're doing.
And for the record, I wasn't complaining in my first post. You asked what jobs we had so you could compare them and show us how yours was way worse. All I did was point out that my field is almost the penultimate in opinion-based customer service, for good and for bad.
I worked in food service until I had an opportunity to leave. All I have to say is thank shiva for Yelp.
Someone moved your furniture? You were upset when a party of 10 came in for dinner? Your customers are rude for daring to go out to dinner with, God forbid, their friends? Is it not usually the host or hostess, or bus staff, who move furniture around to prepare a place for guests? If you don’t want to do that or don’t want parties greater than say 10 in your restaurant, make that clear from the get to. If that is not you policy, unless you were expecting guests to sit on each others laps to fit around a 4 top, then obviously you realized that tables might have to be moved. I may have never seen such a ridiculous complaint.
As for how the question of how I would like it if someone came into my house and moved the furniture around? Well, if I had invited them into my home (as you have by A- OPENING A RESTAURANT, and B-advertising it in any way), I would be prepared to accommodate them. And I would be out of mind to then complain about how they had inconvenienced me. And if they were in fact, PAYING MY BILLS, I would be an idiot to complain about it in public way.
FYI, in every job across this country, we are all expected to adapt to what is required to get our JOBS done. This is your business, sir, not your home. This is your job, not your leisure time. Make it work. The rest of us do it everyday.
2
You don’t offer anything for Birthday celebrations at your restaurant. Got it. I think if you state that, most people would get it too. Does that make them ridiculous for asking? No. No more than you are ridiculous when you choose to participate in your own traditions, customs, etc. Though you seem to believe that you are the authority on how people should think and behave, I assure you there are things you do everyday that others of us may not ourselves enjoy or wish to partake of. Should we mock you for it? If we do, we are tools. And that is how you come off here.
3
The guy “who talks to you non-stop as you either try to grab a quick bite to eat, maybe enjoy some solitude or even get some prep work done.”
I work in a hospital and in the surrounding clinics. When I take a meal break (that is when I have time) I certainly do not walk into an exam room with a patient or out into the waiting room and commence my meal. Why? Because someone might expect me to work! Or as in many cases when two humans are in the same place, they may be tempted to say hello and converse with me. Particularly, If I already knew myself to be a curmudgeon, I would find a more solitary and suitable place to enjoy my meal. There is no reason that you have to be eating in the dining room or at the bar. There are other parts of the restaurant where customers are not allowed, but if you are in the front of the house, you are in their space. If you are in the presence of your clientele, in any working setting, you are on the job, plain and simple.
As for your solitude being disturbed, I don’t know that I have ever headed to work in the morning expecting that I would get to “enjoy some solitude” that day. Your complaint in that regard is laughable.
As for the rest of your complaints, these experiences are part of the industry in which you have chosen to make a career. Sure there will always be annoying issues we all deal with in our jobs. And, sure we will all complain about those things from time to time to our coworkers, families, etc.
But what is incomprehensibly asinine is to for a business owner to do a CNN interview in which he bashes his customers in the most condescending and arrogant way. I am not sure who now feels welcome in your restaurant or most importantly who would wish to give someone with your attitude any business at all. You have come off as the most entitled, pampered, whining, out of touch, rude, self-centered and self-righteous man I have come across in a while.
I was a restaurant worker for years in my youth, so there is nothing I am not understanding about how life in the restaurant business works. But all I could think about while reading this article is that you chose to complain about the most ridiculous and even imaginary problems one could have possible searched their head for. “This guy is talking to me”? Really??
I think that many of us having read this article, and find ourselves tonight deciding where to have dinner after a hard days work, will avoid in every way establishments like Rosebud Restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia, because the owner is a crybaby and a jerk! And most of all unprofessional to an extent that is mindboggling. (At least on paper)
exceptionally well-stated. bravo.
I'm not sure I get why people are so bent out of shape because a chef vented about some of the things we as diners do that aggravate him. Yes, a lot of chefs probably think this way, but so what? If they provide you with a good experience at their restaurant and are polite and don't present any of these gripes to your face, does it really matter that they think some things you do are annoying? We all have some things we hate about our jobs, even if we love other aspects of it, and most likely vent about whatever we don't like to our friends or in a forum such as this. Shouldn't the chefs be entitled to the same without being labelled as pompous or villified? How would you feel if people said you were a douche or whatnot for resenting some aspects of your work that you feel totally justified in complaining about?
Exactly! And for people who think it's hypocritical for him to want you to be on-time for your reservation... the reason you have to wait for YOUR reservation is because the people in front of you were late for theirs OR take longer than their allotted two hour timeslot OR both.
Or because the a-hole manager overbooked the reservations.... All the bitching about people staying late should be accounted for when planning the timing of the reservations you are making available. I take it most restaurants never bother to do any analysis around how long a typical seating is and what percentage end up taking longer.
I love reading this crap. "If you want to eat get there at least 30 to 45 minutes early before close." Just because the restaurant closes at 10 doesn't mean you get to run out the door like a highschool student at 10. If your establishment is open until 10 the kitchen should be open until 10. Some people work late or cannot get there until 15 minutes before close. Since you have the need to run out like a child to go party we should suffer with the "10 minute menu." Grow up and do your job.
Let's reverse it. If you would like to deposit your paycheck please get to the bank 30 to 45 minutes before close. I need to cash out my drawer, count my money, make a note, and put my money away. If you can't get there 30 to 45 minutes before we close we have a 10 minute banking policy where you get 20% of your paycheck because you didn't come 30 to 45 minutes before we closed. I'm sure that would go over really well.
People in all types of jobs work past the "close" time of the establishment. Are Chefs so special they need to be out the door at the time posted on the door? Other people have jobs just as demanding that take up just as much time and they don't cut corners. You chose your profession. Shut your mouth and do your job. I'm not on here whining about all you useless people and having CNN host me a pity party. I chose my profession and I deal with the consequences and nusiances of it by myself without whining to everyone about them. Sissy.
I work in finance and the restaraunt business.. don't use banking as example. They're two completely different things. If you try to get a loan, open and account or do anything 10 mins before close that's going to take 45 mins plus to complete, we're going to ask you to come back the next day when we have time to process your request fully, and timely. Second, if you're just getting off work and are dying to eat, there are plenty of fast food places open late that can fulfill your hunger needs or you can carry your @ss to the grocery store and do it yourself. Third, I wouldn't go around calling chefs sissy. Take a look at the burns, scars, and cuts on their hands they deal with every night just to get your food out. Trust me, the sissy chefs dont last. Finally, get over yourself. If I've worked a 12 hr shift and it's 10 mins til close, til I can go home and see my family and you come in late, order a steak well done and expect it cooked, I'm gonna tell you the kitchens closed. We close at 10, that means everyone out, business is done, doors are locked. We're not going to sit around and wait for you to eat your meal you just had to have because you couldn't get to the restaraunt in time to order food. That shouldn't shock you. Get their 30 mins before close. It's an easy rule to live by. You get your food, and everyone's happy. The world doesn't revolve around just you. If you know you can't get there in time, then go somewhere that is still open. It's a prick move. You know it's keeping people there past close. Don't be inconsiderate. Simple request.
From the looks of the picture, I think this guys name should really be "Chef Eyesore"
One more food for thought. Most menus tell you what is in the dish, if you do not like something order something else. Some dishes take awhile to create we just can,t pick out what you don;t like!
We make our food to order. Fresh. Nothing to pick out, we just won't put it in. Anything goes
that makes life easier!
All of you saying that I'm coming to your house – what are you talking about? I am coming to pay money for you to cook me food. You aren't doing me a favor, I'm doing you a favor by paying your salary. I don't have to eat at your restaurant. I can go to one of the thousand others, or go home and cook. Don't get me wrong, I know how customers can be. They piss me off too. Another thing that gets me about restaurants, or really any place that publishes coupons – if you are going to advertise by publishing coupons, please let me actually use the coupon. Some places give such junk when I want to use a coupon that they published.
Also, chef, waiter, or busboy - if you ever feel this entitled in your current position; congratulations. You're in the wrong freakin' job. It's a SERVICE industry. Go be a personal chef if you have such exacting standards. Or work for the IRS.
Chef Eyester is an exception to the rule here - if you've ever been to his restaurant Rosebud in Atlanta, it's usually impossibly crowded, seating is bizarre, and the service is lackluster. I've been on three separate occasions (two for dinner, once for brunch), and give it a solid C- each time. The food, on the other hand, is outstanding. Well, except for the one time they burned my pancakes, I sent them back, and Chef Eyester told me to just 'scrape it off, flip it over, and put some syrup on it'.
You guys are all crazy. I've worked as a waiter for 7 years, during high school and college and now I still pick up shifts to make some extra money. Yeah, I've had similar problems and angers but guess what? I make a ton of money; money I don't make at my "real job" as a marketing director. Seriously, I claimed 60 grand last year working full time as a server and now i make 40 for working more hours doing the job my degree paid for me to get. Sure, you have to deal with a lot of crap and are treated poorly at times but you have to just laugh that off cause you can make a lot of money for barely doing any work. Not to mention free meals and all the friends you work with and the freedom to make your own schedule and read a book in the down time.And if you say you get shit on because you make 2.13 and hour that's crap because if you aren't making enough tips at your job, get another one! Restaurants are always hiring! That aside, I agree with the chefs complaints- free dessert? Get outa here, nothing in this world is free.
Lol @ "marketing director" making $40K. What are you actually, a step above entry level in a telemarketing sweatshop?
@Steve, hate to tell you there are TONS of new hire Marketing Directors (and veterans too) who make 40K a year... not everyone lives in NYC or LA to make the big bucks. In the midwest, MOST mid-level management makes 40K.
@ Saffron. He probably should stick to his $60K waiter job then.... I wish I could quit my job and take one that requires no skill or effort and get a pay raise at the same time.
Wow...okay, for the people defending the customers side of this, breathe, calm down, and think about what he's saying. This is an attempt to give people who do not know, and ask why the chef gets mad, a little insight. All the guy is asking for is to read these complaints, understand why they are a complaint and give a little consideration. That's what this is all about... consideration. Don't make reservations and then show up late... you have a phone, call... if you're late to work, you call in or you get written up. Punctuality is a quality everyone should try to have, and if you can't, then you're inconsiderate of others. On the flip side, if you show up and have to wait on a table, have patience, once again a good characteristic we should all strive for... all restaraunts set their reservations apart a certain amount of time for those coming in and those coming out and the majority of the time, it goes smooth, but on some occassions, things happen, just as in life, that slow this process up, so just chill and wait, it's not personal, go to the bar, have a drink and realize they are doing everything they can to get you seated. Trust me, they want you at the table. As far as coming in right before closing goes, understand that the chef has been there all day, he was there in the morning prepping and he's still there cooking meals, if you come in 10 mins before close and get pissed they wont serve you, that's your fault. Be considerate. Like other posters have said, you wouldnt want your boss coming to you at the end of the day with an hour long project when you're leaving in 10 minutes when he could have gave it to you earlier in the day. At the same time, most chefs will suck it up, cook your food and bite their tongue. All this chef is saying is please understand that it's a pain in the butt and makes his job all that much more difficult right when he's about to leave. Once again, understanding, not a bad trait to have. If a kitchen closes at 10, try to get there at least 45 to 30 mins early. Easy to do. Most of the time if you show up 10 mins before the kitchen closes, they have all ready shut things down, the kitchen may have all ready been cleaned and some of the cooks and dishwashers may have all ready been sent home. Why? Well, they've been there all day and it's pretty common knowledge that most people understand to get to a place 30 mins before close if they want food..... Also a lot of places have late night menus so if you do arrive 10 mins before, and have to eat, once again be considerate and order something easy. It's simple people. Just use your heads, try to show a ltitle patience, consideration, understanding and even though we're there to serve you, realize the world also doesn't revolve around just you.
You know all you self-entitled arrogant customers need to figure it out. You think it's easy to run a restaurant, have to know all the recipes and haw everything goes together. It takes years of experience to know how to do this. You think it's easy working in kitchens with all the heat, knives, and other hazards that the job presents. It's not like sitting on your arrogant a$$ all day in front of computer. If you really fell that you are better than these professionals then you have a seriously warped sense of who you are.
This chef makes some very valid points and all of you arrogant F***s need to realize that just because this is a service industry doesn't mean you entitled to every little whim you may have. These are a few things you need to remember about restaurants.
1.The furniture does not belong to you. You do not own nor do you have any rights to move it. The owners of the restaurant put it there for a reason. If you need another chair or your party is larger than you expected then let the host and/or hostess know and they will make arrangements for you.
2. The cooks do not care who you are or how important you think you are. They are there to do job like everyone else and that is to make you food and that the quality of the food is the best it can be. If you don't like the food them don't go to the restaurant plain and simple.
3. Food cost money, get over it. Just because it's your birthday doesn't you deserve free stuff from complete strangers. I sorry your family and friends don't care enough about you to get you present.
4. Restaurants have set hours like every other business out there. If you can't get there in time then too bad.
5. Just because the chef may be your "friend" doesn't mean they have to give you table or come out to visit you. They are working you are not.
6. If you don't know what you want by the time you call the restaurant then you are just wasting every ones time. Figure it out before hand.
7. If you order food and don't know what it is then don't complain if you don't like it. If you really want to know what something is ask. It is a very simple and easy thing to do plus most menus will have a description.
8. Treat the wait staff like people. If the restaurant is busy then don't be selfish with your waiter, you are not their only customer so be patient. The wait staff is educated. They are not a bunch of high school drop outs who can't find anything better. They work there because they want to work there. Always give the waitstaff an appropriate tip this is there job and they deserve to be paid for it.
9. Order off of the menu. Just because you may have had before doesn't mean they still have it. It's not like the kitchen is a grocery store and they have all the ingredients they need.
10.If you have problems with a restaurant then don't eat there. Stop your whining and complaining. You are right that a restaurant is a service industry so if you don't eat at the restaurants you don't like then they won't around.
I could keep on going for a while about the stupid s##t customers try to pull in restaurants but i think you get the point. I won't be surprised if people respond negatively to this post. It is rather heated but all you people who think negatively about this you clearly have never worked in restaurant and are completely ignorant when it comes to the sheer amount of work that goes into making you dinner, and that is before all the s##t the restaurant staff have to go through because of you.
8. has to be a joke
Spot on, PeterT. The chef isn't insulting his customers. He's merely pointing out the variable insults that self-righteous and entitled customers present to HIM.
It's not exactly rocket science, now, is it? You have a menu. The stuff on your menu is generally the same stuff as last month and the month before. A real manager manages from the kitchen so that he can control cost. But, he also has a reliable lead server on the floor, or a responsible host, who can deal with servers. All of your pretentious talk and half-baked insults just tells me that you really have no clue as to how to "run a restaurant".
Us "self-entitled" sutomers are the damand half of supply and demand. You are the supply half. If you can't do your half the way you're supposed to, then we can easily take our half somewhere else, then laugh at you when you're standing out on a corner with a sign bearing "will work for food." Wouldn't that be ironic?
Peter,
No I don't think being a cook in a food joint is easy. That's why I am paying you up to 5 times the cost of teh food– for you to work those issues.
How restaurants tick of cutomers:
1. The cook has festering wounds on his forehead.
2. The menu does not contain a single capital letter. It is hard to read, pretentious, and confirms that the chef is illiterate.
3. Menus that describes the food with a joke: "greek salad stuff" (besides being disrespectful to Greeks.) ""the other tuna tostada" "dude, it's a salad".
4. Drops the name of his suppliers in the menu – like the customer is supposed to be impressed. Instead, it just comes off as pretentious for what amounts to overpriced bar food. "riverview farms slider burgers" "riverview farms grits" "painted hills short ribs" "carolina rice". WOW Carolina rice? You mean the same Carolina rice I can get at the Piggly-Wiggly? Damn, what a gourmet treat!
5. A beer menus that consists almost entirely of overpriced, skunky microbrews. How about some imports? Even a Bud or Coors would be better, at least you know what you're gettinng.
6. A wine that describes the wine as "cheap" "decent" or "good". Hey chef, is that red or white "cheap" "decent" or "good"?
7. Classic recipes that are not prepared classically. Whole anchovies on a Ceaser salad? Tomato Bisque is not Bisque, it is just tomato soup.
8. Chopped iceberg salad with a pickled onion and crumbled saltines?!! Sounds like pig vomit.
9. MENUS THAT LIE! kobe burger?? Unless that beef came from Japan – which you know it didn't since it can't be legally imported to the USA because of mad cow disease – then you lied Chef Eyester – you should be glad that your customers are ignorant. Maybe you are serving American Wagyu beef, which is the same breed as Kobe, but it is not Kobe, and is not reared the same way as true Kobe beef, which only comes from the Kobe prefecture of Japan. Hey chef! Since you are big on dropping names of your suppliers what farm in Japan did your get your Kobe from?
There is a reason why chefs are in the back of the house – because even if they know how to cook, they more often then not don't have it in them to be hospitable.
You're attitude could use less "salt"!
Being a chef, I am disgusted at the arrogance and "frenchness" of what that chef wrote. We are passion driven individuals who are in a "SERVICE" industry. Our career is to feed people what we've created. We get the job done daily, any way we can, and as best as we can with whats thrown at us. Be it the owners and their enthusiastic friends wanting a tour of the kitchen at the height of a push or a patron who is unaware that moving a chair creates an obstacle for us. Go pro or go home with the rigidity.
People are what they are, but please get a different job if interfacing with the public on the front line leaves you so bitter that I would recommend a personality warning instead of a restaurant rating card in your window
Galoux, you nailed it right on with your paragraph. Everybody just needs to realize it's not all about them and show a little respet. Just use the Golden Rule.
Sounds to me like a good idea to suck up to my boss and treat him well. After all, they are signing my paycheck and keeping me employed. Wait! Don't customers keep me employed too?
Rosebud!
Dear Chef, So glad you're doing so well that you've apparently forgotten who it is that makes you successful. It's those nasty customers who just don't genuflect as often as they should. I've owned a restaurant, a successful restaurant, and those little problems you mention are just that....little problems, part of the cost of doing business with the public. I can only guess that they look like very big problems if you are a very small man. Grow a pair!
It is unbelievably annoying when service providers, especially chefs or hairstylists think that their work is more important than what the customer wants. Here's a hint: you work for whoever walks in the door! Deal with it!
1) If I have a group of 10 people and you can't figure out how to rearrange your furniture properly so we can sit together while still keeping a path for your employees you need to go back to the 1st grade and learn to do a basic puzzle. If you can't accomodate me because you lack the basic skills of an elementary student don't get pissed when I take initiative.
2) Is it wrong if people ask if there is any kind of special (be it free or not) for a birthday? Sorry we inconvienced your waiter/waitress for all of 10 seconds with a question because we are celebrating a loved ones event.
3) The hours of operation are a joke. Some restaurants they are open until "9pm" and when you go in at 8:50 they have "stopped taking orders." Sorry champ then you are open until 8:50. Don't advertise one thing and practice another. I have worked in the food industry and as much as I hated getting a call at 9:59 to place an order.....we were open til 10 so I answered the phone. You know why? I'm not lazy.
4) That's right you miss it! What happens when you are so incompetent that you do not set aside tables for reservations and I end up sitting around in the bar that is smaller than my bathroom for 30 minutes? Nothing! Not a thing. If you can't figure out a way to clear out a table for me within 10 minutes of my reservation you need to stop taking so many reservations or learn to make people who walk in the door wait longer. Nothing is worse than watching people get seated who have no reservation before you. Why? Because you gave them a wait time of "30-40" minutes and god forbid they wait longer. It's ok we'll make the people who knew it would be busy and gave you the courtesy of letting you know when we'll be there wait. Good idea. You're a regular Einstein.
5) Maybe we drop your name on a busy night because your restaurant SUCKS at reservations. We saw the people last week that showed up and dropped your name get seated before we did WITH OUR RESERVATION. Run your restaurant properly and learn how to seat people and we wouldn't have to drop your pathetic name to get a table. We also do it because we notice your host/hostess seating their "friends" before people with a reservation or that have been waiting for 45 minutes. Control your staff and if you can't then hire someone who can. Your inability to properly manage your team pisses off customers and makes them rely on cheap tactics to get seated.
6) That's like me asking "Why does it always take an hour to get a table between 5-7 on a Friday." If you don't have the common sense to figure out why people are calling between those times then God only knows what your food tastes like because I doubt you could follow a basic recipe.
This chef should just make it easier for himself (and the patrons) by posting the following on the front door:
1. DO NOT move the furniture. If your entire party wants to sit together, then please go somewhere else to eat.
2. Your birthday is nothing special to us – we WILL NOT do anything extra to show our appreciation just because you chose to celebrate your birthday at our establishment
3. If you arrive more than 1 second after closing hours you WILL NOT be served.
4. If you arrive more than 1 second after your reservation, you forfeit your reservation
5. Our chef IS NOT your friend – he WILL NOT come to your table to socialize.
6. DO NOT call between 12:45pm and 1:30pm or between 7:00pm and 9:00pm to inquire about our menu or to make a reservation
I love it when a restaurant insists on shoving a two top near the bathroom. There's nothing like having customer after customer pass by you going to and from the bathroom while the stench of deodorant and cleaning products wafts over your meal. What makes getting the table near the bathroom even worse is the look of hate from the host/hostess when you tell him/her you'd prefer not to sit 5 feet from the restroom. You'd think we just asked for a free meal and lap-dance.
None of those things mentioned has anything to do with the chef, those are all matters that the Manager deals with. I mean, do you think the chef cares at all if you move the furniture? Oh my, I cannot cook my scallops because that man just moved his chair.... Stupid article.
I'm a culinary student and have worked in the field for 10 years now. I do NOT see a restuarant as the customer gets a meal cooked THEIR way because thats how restaurants work. Chefs work CONSTANTLY at perfecting their craft. They conjure a menu over a length of time and perfect these dishes to offer the world to experience. they don't create these meals just so some schlub and have it their way. thats what BK is for. If I ever get a michilin star and some foodie comes in telling me how to prepare their meal, i'll hand them their car keys and show them the door. I would have worked my butt off to get to the point where i can offer the word someone and for someone to tell me to do it differently- to do it THEIR way-...not going to fly. if you don't like how the chef is preparing something, order something else..or better yet, open up your mind. i promise it won't be painful.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say you probably can't cook worth a S&it
Rooster,
I don't know what they sold you in "culinary" school. but yo uare a cook.
If you want to create art, then cook at home. As a professional cook, you job is to cook food that the customer wants.
Get over yourself.
Or when customers bring there kids and make and absolute mess and the parents dont even clean up after them.... I dont want to clean up your kids half chewed meal!!! GROSS
My first job in life was as a hotel desk clerk. My observation at the time was that the people most concerned about money were the worst customers. Indeed, nothing puts people in quite so foul a mood as spending money they cannot afford, or cannot easily afford. To those people I say: just learn to enjoy meals at home! It will save you money and stress. People who can easily afford things, tend to be more congenial, though I'm sure they can also be careless about arrival times (in the hotel industry it didn't much matter), and a few will want to flaunt relationships they don't have.
When you create a restaurant that is worthwhile, you will get a lot of customers, and I know of no way to screen out the unwanted ones, though this article is a good effort. Likewise, fellow-diners, know yourself. If you don't want to keep a reservation don't pick a restaurant where that is important. If you are not an adventurous eater, don't pick a restaurant that serves adventurous food. If you cannot abide rare meat, do not risk ordering your meat medium rare, and if the degree of doneness is important to you, check the center of the dish immediately after it is served so that it can be addressed before your server leaves the table. On the rare occasions when my order is mixed up, I usually just eat what is served. Seldom have I been I so committed to my original selection that I cannot enjoy something else. I just value moving along with the meal as a whole over any particular item I may have ordered.
That said, even I have pet peeves:
(1) Servers stopping by, and interrupting conversation to ask "how is everything?" If I am not looking around for you, please don't bother me. And if you must interrupt, please ask, "do you have everything you need?" or "is there anything else I can get you?" And, if its obvious my water glass is empty, you could just fill it (and most do).
(2) Dropping the check off quickly, assuring us there is no hurry, then disappearing for an eternity. Perhaps there is no hurry for you, but what about us? We are frequently trying to get to other engagements after dinner. Before you wander off check to see if we are in a hurry.
(3) Do not automatically bring my son a soda refill. There should be a request for additional soda (i.e. liquid candy), so that the parent has a child to nix it. It's harder once there is a glass of soda on the table that will otherwise go to waste. (I'm swimming up stream on this one, but my favorite server is the one who tells my son he doesn't need more soda and brings him water. Granted, he didn't start that until he knew us pretty well, and my son really likes him.)
That's all I can think of.
This guy is in the wrong business. Listen, customers in any industry are annoying. However, don't lose sight of the fact that they PAY YOUR PAYCHECK. I tell myself that DAILY.
I live in Atlanta, and I'll make sure not to frequent his establishment.
I guess life would be so much easier without customers.
this guy sounds like an asshole
Hey, I've been on both sides of this fence. I've worked food industry, and I'm a frequent patron of restaurants. Can we not all just try to be considerate? Workers–from bus people to owners–the customer is who pays your wages, and serving is what you do to earn those. Customers, the world does not revolve around you, and the workers are people, not things. If people would stop trying to take a side here and just employ some consideration and manners, that would be A Good Thing.
For restaurants who have these rules, list them out before you seat me, so I can choose to sit or just walk out.
For people here who're writing here that have these rules, name your restaurant so I can stay away from them and enjoy McDs or BK as the level of service will be the same anyway.
Like many sensible people here are pointing out, it works both ways and together we can make it enjoyable for both. The moment you think of the other as NOT a partner to the dining experience and try to take an upper hand, it goes downhill for both. If you don't like the service, don't go there. If you don't like customers, have the balls to tell them and chose another line of work. We all just need to be practical and be grown up and not whine as much, on both sides.
My wife and I do not go out to restaurants often. If we go to a restaurant once every 3 months, that's a lot for us. We stay clear of big chain restaurants where you get to watch obese people eat from a trough of food. It's amazing anyone has time to complain about their food the way they shovel it in. When it comes to service, I expect prompt service, but I also understand "stuff" happens. If you're not seated immediately, so what? Did you come to the restaurant for the speed or the food? If you want speed, get in the drive through at McDonalds and beep your horn at the car in front of you.
I can relate to the serving staffs, as people are disgusting, and annoying. But, the serving staff needs to also realize that the customer who just walked in has no idea that you have been there for 6 hours and the last 3 patrons were morons. I see patron all the time bossing servers around like they own the place. That's wrong no matter how you look at it. I've had a knife with a spot on it. I don't freak out and pretend the server did that to me on purpose. I ask them "nicely" to replace it. What's the harm in that?
As for "last customer of the day" issues. If your hours are till 10pm, then you serve customers until 10pm, even if that means serving food till 10:30pm. If you want to leave at 10pm, then close at 9:30pm. Simple.
As for tipping, the gratuity is proportionate to the service received. If service is "as expected" you get 15%, in some cases I have tipped in upwards of 50% for outstanding service. If service is sub-par, you get less than 15%, perhaps 10%. Tips are earned, not expected. The tip is a reflection of your performance. Unfortunately many people think it is a burden and I say to them. "You're the one too lazy to cook your own meal. Next time, stay at home."
I just really wonder how many of these self-rightgous, egotistical, self intitled people have ever worked in the food service industry.... I have been in the business for 30 years. Starting out in fast food as a teen, moving into full service, bartending, and catering........... I so believe that it should be a law that every person should have to work in food service for a period of time during their life. These frustrated servers, chefs, and bartenders have earned the right to be bitter toward the majority. If you've never walked a day in their shoes shut the hell up.......... Think about it the next time you are rude to that teenager behind the counter, or the server that is earning $2.35 per hr. and ask yourself.....would you put up with the way you are treating them for a mere 15% tip?????? I bet you wouldn't!!!!!!! Put up or shut up........... I dare anyone of you that have never done the job to work a wedding reception for 400 people just once and see how wonderful it is........................................
Why in the world should the rest of us who recieved a decent education and work in a field we enjoy and make good money doing it, have to stoop to your level? Obviously if the ONLY job you can get is one that makes lousy money then how is it EVERYONE elses fault by yours? Grow up and take some responsobility for your own choices in life and stop messing with our food services, we PAY YOU, it's a job.
Like I said before the food service industry is feeling the crunch just like the rest of us, since they feel superior to us in every way because they have to work hard for a living because they have no choice in the matter, make them hurt worse. Cut out any eating out and eat at home, make it a family affair, learn to cook something new, and let these egotistical blowhard "cooks" sit in their empty restaraunts and lament the good old days when they had customers.
Who says that because you work in the restaurant that we're all dummies? Thats just the typical egotistical thing to say for someone who has never worked in food industry. I worked in the restaurant business to pay for college. I earned a good degree and make good money now. I made good money waiting tables too but it was a means to an end. The food industry is hard work and I'm willing to bet your pansy ass couldn't do it. If you think you could...try it instead of treating it as some remedial job. Waiting on people who think the world revolves around them do not see the 20 plus other tables who also thinks the world revolves around them does not make for an easy or remdial job. Just because you wait tables doesn't mean you are stupid.
There,s alot of days i wish you lazy ass parents would cook for your kids and leave me alone! You are too demanding and pretty much change our menu,s too suit your needs.We don;t have time for likes and dislikes when were busy thats just makes other people wait for their meals! Chef.
Damn right. I worked food service while I was in University (I worked the cash register). Granted, it was Burger King. You couldn't pay me enough to do it again. It was a nightmare. During the day, you get your butt royally kicked. Then night shift meant you had to deal with the drunks and trouble makers. And they're so rude. At the time, I made $5.60 an hour. And you don't get tips at Burger King. It was an absolute nightmare (though not the worst job I've ever had, oddly enough. That honor would fall to a grocery store I worked at for a year before College).
You certainly have a lot of anger. Why do you do a job you hate so much? I waited tables in establishments ranging from Pizza Hut to 5* restaurants while I was in college. It never made me angry, but it did make me aware that it was something I would not want to be doing for the rest of my life.
BTW, I have never hired a caterer. I can do a much better job myself for a third of the cost. Plus, I don't have to worry about disgruntled food service employees retaliating against my friends and family.
I'm 34. I've been in customer service of some sort since I was 12 (which is why my whole resume is customer service so most people seem to think its the only thing I'm qualified for even though I can do much better than that, and why I'm having such a hard time finding a job elsewhere). Lets see you work customer service for 22, not just a couple of years, and see how your attitude changes.
So Melissa, you're not only angry at customers, you're also angry at people who chose a different career path than yourself? Wow. I never realised working in the food service industry made people so angry.
Eating out has quickly become quite an unappetising option for me. After reading the responses on this article all I would be able to see are hostile employees who would rather I not be there. And I'm one of the good customers. I always treat(ed) the employees as I liked to be treated when I was waiting tables. I always tip(ped) at least 25%. I guess that's not good enough, so I'll leave well enough alone. Cheers!
There is a simple solution to this problem....Watch a few shows on the cooking network, take some food classes, start cooking at home. In these times where a dolar is tight, I refuse to allow some guy who thinks because he knows the difference between a truffle and a mushroom that HIS HOUSE (restaurant) may treat you anyway they please and you will pay for the privelege of their so-called service. Most of the people I have seen running restaurants are not sanitary enough to be garbage men, let alone touch your food, I mean listen to the way they think about all customers, who knows what they do to your food.
Learn to cook and have the whole family involved, my two teenagers and I love to think of meals we want to learn how to cook, and most of the time the ones we prepare at home are better than what we get when we eat out.
So cook more at home and send a message to these pompous cooks and restaraunts....we won't bother you anymore, give you plenty of time to bitch to each other when it's empty in your restaraunt.
My favorite way to offend overblown, narcissistic blowhards:
Refer to them as a "cook"...!
As a person with a background in upper management for restaurants, I have to disagree with the Chef, and "Cole", and say bluntly that if I, as a District Manager, found out that one of my chefs was acting this way, or that the manager of that location was allowing it, they'd both be in the unemployment line. You went to cullinary school, good for you. I went to business school, and with that being said, it's a business, not your house. In business, the customer comes first, and that fact is not and will never be up for debate. Simple Economics: You want to stay in business, you need not JUST customers, but REPEAT customers. Treat them badly, and they will go elsewhere. If your restaurant is one of those that costs more for 2 people to enjoy a meal than it costs to feed my family of 5 all wee, then I DO expect to be treated with some common decency and courtesy. I DO expect to be pampered a bit. If I wanted to be served by a pompous jerk, and have my food prepared by another pompous jerk, I'd go to the restaurant in Myrtle Beach that specializes in that as their theme. Beyond that, I'd sooner eat at home than go somewhere and be treated like trash, You all need to get over yourself and remember who is paying your salaries.
You are so right. Its a business, a business with food and your artistic ego should not ruin the experience for the diner. Nor should the diners unrealistic expectations make things harder for the staff or chef. At the end of the night, like it or not, feeding the masses, including the rude diners is what allows the staff to work and keeps the door of the restaurant open for the chef to create.
that is part of the reasons corporate chain restaurants with "district managers" are low quality places without a jot of personality or atmosphere. sure i'll grab a drink or have a quick lunch in an applebee's or whatever but Im not there to have a "fine dining experience". When I go to an independent restaurant with a chef instead of a line cook and no corporate stooge district managers to be found I expect an entirely different, much more pleasent and personal experience. You do have the right to pick your customers! Just choose wisely.
were not talking fast food here!
Oh waiting on people is so hard! During college I emptied out trailers that had been sitting in the sun (over 120 degrees) and broke them down into other trucks and had to be completed by 2:00 a.m when the drivers came in to start deliveries. In the summer I worked a bread factory emptying pans coming out of the oven all night burning arms and breaking my back loading up and moving out carts filled with these blistering hot pans. I did it during college, but most of my co-workers do this for their full time job.
Many people that I know worked restaurants made more in one night than I did all week. I would have switched places in a heartbeat and put up with the occasional snob.
Tell you what, I will put in a good word where I used to work. You don't have to worry about customers but you will have to work your axx off for 8 hours or more straight and keep up with the workload. You are guaranteed to lose about 4 pounds in sweat per shift, looks like all that cooking helped you pack on a few pounds, the sweat and excercise will do you good.
I dare you to try it......... you don't have a clue....... can you say you walk an average of 9 – 12 miles on average in an 8 hour day??? Puft........ You couldn't handle this job.......
Oh I am so sorry mama. You are correct. People working restaurants are the only people in the world with tough jobs. Whahhhhhhhh! Whaaaahhhhhhhhh!! Waaahhhhh!!!!!!
Do you think the kitchen is cold morron, i;d gladly change jobs for a week and we will see who fails...
Dan,
Read my comment above. Oh and here is an extra whaaahhhhhhhh for you too.
your prob one of those office type people who sit in the pub all day drinking. getting paid for nothing. It,s people like you that make Chef,s want a new career.
i used to love serving jizz burgers to arrogants customers. it really made my day
"arrogants customers"? Did you wait tables in college while you were getting your English degree? Fool...
Really, hope you enjoy a prison cell with your new roomie...Mr. Ben Dover and you get everything you have dishout out back in triple.
Unfortunately, it seems there are many "disgruntled" food service workers that feel the same way you do, Mr. Jizzburger.
It seems many on here derive some sort of misguided pleasure from tampering with the customer's food. Why? Because you didn't like the look of them? Because they were talking on their cell phone? Because they requested extra napkins?
The fact that so many on here have admitted to such vile behaviour is one VERY good reason people should avoid restaurants as much as possible. If I make a polite request of the waiter and they're not in the mood for it, are they going to retaliate in some vile way? Who really wants to take that kind of chance with their health? I suppose if everyone stopped going to restaurants, then these people would be out of a job.
My guess is that Jizzburger is a 14 year old that managed to sneak on to Mommy or Daddy's computer.
My guess is that Jizzburger is a 14 year old moron that managed to sneak on to Mommy or Daddy's computer.
I,ve been cooking for 20yrs and never once seen anybody tamper with someones food. Thats a load of crap. yes there are days customers get under your skin but we do not screw with your meals....
For all of you "chefs" and "servers" who mentioned adding something to the food that didn't belong. It's assualt. You'll have new attitude when your working the kitchen in prison.
URA Real Dick-DICK!
I expected that response. That's why I chose that name. Here's a tip for you
LMAO! Spot on!
I wish restaurants would just include the 15% or 20% or whatever in the cost of the meal and give it to their servers, instead of pricing it the way it currently is and expecting me to pay it anyways as a TIP.
I personally believe the TIP system is currently out of whack. Servers expect it as a given, when it really is an appreciation for extraordinary work (or should be, in my opinion). If I go into a restaurant, ask for a menu item, receive it as requested and consume it, that is simply the job well done, which is what should be standard and not warranting a TIP. Now, if I walk into a restaurant, ask for recommendations and am kindly given them, have other accommodations made to improve the quality of my stay and experience, etc.. then hell yeah I'll tip till my heart's content.
And that's everywhere in the service industry. A taxi driver picks me up and drives me to a destination no frills or nothing and expects me to leave him a tip? What the heck?
They do this is most parts of Europe and in Miami. Usually the service completely blows.
Six ways restaurants tick off chefs:
1. Complaining when I call between 12:45 and 1:30 p.m. or 7 and 9 p.m.) to inquire about our menu or make a reservation or who talk slowly.. Hey, I'm busy too. If you can only handle a reservation during certain hours or can't handle people who don't talk fast enough for you, maybe you shouldn't be in a service industry.
2. Waitstaff who show up at the table reeking of cigarette smoke. If you want to smoke, fine. Don't bring the lingering odor of an ash tray to my dinner table.
3. Restaurants with restrooms fit for a third-world nation. If the restroom is filthy, I can only imagine what the kitchen looks like.
4. Servers who talk to me, rather than to my elderly relatives when I eat out, assuming that they are deaf or stupid, rather than just old. In any case, I don't want to use a restroom that rivals Joe's Garage for cleanliness.
5. Restaurants that forget, again, that they are in the service business. That means that if a customer wants to move a chair, they should know how to deal with the situation or understand that the chair was moved because there wasn't enough room at the table for everyone.
6. Chefs who complain about their customers! Don't want customers? Close your business!
@Clucback What a miserable, pedantic, spoiled pratt you are. You don't even count.
Wow, this guy sounds like a jerk. What's his restaurant again? I want to remember not to eat there.
If you don't want my party of ten in your restaurant because you have to move a couple of chairs or a table, then let me know at the door, and I'll take my party elsewhere.
How am I supposed to know the correct time to call and make a reservation, huh? Maybe you should put that in your phone system: "I'm sorry, the chef is annoyed that you called to make a reservation at this time. Please call back at a better time for him."
Really, of all the things you could complain about, you picked the pettiest things. I agree that if someone wants you to open early or close late, you don't have to accommodate them, and people really shouldn't try to pretend they know you to get in or get better service. Beyond that, this is all part of basic customer service.
After reading this article and some of the comments about it I think it's necessary to reiterate my old philosophy. Everyone in the work force should have to spend at least six months working in a high volume, fine dining establishment. Be you a cook, busser, server, host, sommeliel, or a bartender. It's an eye opening experience, and the chef writing this isn't "arrogant" or "whiney", these are the things every employee and manager of every restaurant, be it Denny's or L'ècole, complain about on a daily basis.
I second that, and have said that for years. Israelis have to be in the military; being a busboy for a little while isn't the end of the world and it will make you a better person in the long run. They say that most people complain about their jobs, but there is something to be said about the uniqueness of the service industry.
Man, get a grib. You chef's need to either stay in the kitchen or find another job. You sound awful. I hope I haven;t bothered you too much while paying for a expensive meal in one of your places. As far as birthdays go. Why do you think people make it a point to come to YOUR place. Because they are treated special on their special day! Mt 2 cents worth!
In an economy where it's more economical to eat a home, participating in this article may not have been the wisest move.
Have fun making salads at Olive Garden, smart guy.
I was holding off on responding because I couldn't believe how many "entitled" people were going off about how they are the paying customer and, therefore, should have the run of the place. Ugh... I've never worked inside a restaurant, but I enjoy fine dining and I completely understand and agree with this Chef's vent. It made me laugh – mostly because it's TRUE! As opposed to all the angry people out there, I will make it a point to visit this restaurant next time I am in the Atlanta area. It sounds like all of you won't be going, which will make it a very nice experience for me. :)
If by "entitled" you mean expecting a certain level of service assuming you are paying for that service and not being unreasonable, then I'd guess most diners at any restaurant are "entitled". Hope you get the experience you deserve at Rosebud...
No, by "entitled", I mean expecting royal treatment just because you walked in the door and sat down at a table, yet offering no class and no manners in return. Everyone is deserving of great service – especially at a fine dining establishment. But, in turn, everyone is also deserving of respectful, classy customers. You can choose to avoid a restaurant you don't like. Waitresses and waiters can't pick and choose who will sit their fat behind at their table and demand to be treated like the king of the universe because *gasp* "I am a paying customer and I pay your salary!!!" Please... If you walk into a fine restaurant and, off the bat, are pleasant and friendly, you will be fantastic service 100% of the time.
Agreed. Walking into a restaurant and treating the staff like they're beneath you is repulsive and I'd think it reflects on how a person deals with others in general. The "chef" in question here on the other hand forgets that most (not all) of his customers deserve the same amount of respect that he and his staff do. Sad to think that his staff may end up potentially unemployed because of his attitude and his need to publish it for all to see.
I thought the same thing myself. I'm kind of curious how good the food is. And I think I'll send a little note to the chef on kudos for this article. It took guts for him to say what everyone in the industry is thinking.
As in any job things come up that are annoying.... you have to deal with it. Trust me there were plenty of guests that I wanted to smack but I kept giving them the level of service that I would give my grandmother, kind and timely. If the customer is willing to make special requests that's fine ... but they should also be willing to tip the service staff for those requests (given the service is completed in a timely and courteous manner). The restaurant's job is to provide an enjoyable atmosphere and well prepared food and in return the guest's responsibility is to enjoy their food, pay the bill, and not pick apart the service in order to justify leaving little or no tip. Not all diners complain and come in late, this is not the norm and not all servers and chefs expect you to be complacent.... you just have to be understanding of both sides and try to enjoy your meal.
Wow, a nerve has been touched upon! Again, I suggest restaurants adopt a new rule. No lingering at your table after your meal is complete for longer than (30?) minutes. Once it catches on, it will become normal and expected. The rule could be posted in fine print on the top of the menu, on the door of the establishment, and even announced by the server during their "spiel" at the beginning of the meal. Once the meal is over, if the patrons do not wish to have coffee or dessert, the clock begins to tick for them. Any lingering past the 30 – min. deadline, they get charged a "fee". Does anybody out there like my idea???? This would end a lot of stress due to new patrons waiting & such. Feedback please?
Sounds good to me. I already don't linger because I know there are other people who want the table.
If customers are still buying drinks and desserts and enjoying themselves, why would a restaurant want to kick them out? In other countries, people don't treat meals like a drive through – you don't have to get in and out of a restaurant in 30 minutes. Eat and enjoy the meal, that's what you're paying for. What is wrong with not scarfing down your food like a pig?
I've eaten Rosebud. Ok food. Won't go back knowing that this Chef has such disdain for his customers. If you can't stand the heat of the hospitality business, get out of the kitchen!
Oh, and midsummer in Hotlanta, get your freaking a/c fixed so your customers aren't sweating all over their food!!!
Amazing some of the attitudes here from restaurant staff. As a former waiter, and a good one, I know all too well the down sides of bad customers and the industry. But I have far more experience as a customer. Arrogance, condescension and negativity towards customers are antithetical to the philosophy of good service. Not every customer is rude. If you see the same situations or hear the same questions a hundred times a day and it starts to bother you because "people are stupid", that's YOUR baggage and you need to find a new job. Tips are earned for good service, not an entitlement. I seldom get good service and rarely get excellent service. I frequently see wait staff who don't have a clue how to check on a table or feel they need to put on some kind of entertainment act to get a tip. Chefs who know how to cook an egg over easy or a steak properly are not the norm. Take some pride in providing excellent service and lose the ego. You would never last in in a true fine dining establishment.
What ever happened to common courtesy? The business is there to serve people, people are there to enjoy. The customer should have a sense of entitlement. They are paying for goods AND services. That doesn't mean they can treat the restaurant as their own kitchen and the waitstaff as their whipping boys. We need each other and like most relationships, there are commonly accepted guidelines to follow. Restaurant- go above and beyond for your customers. Customers- Your out in public. Act accordingly.
It sounds like this chef might be in the wrong business. He has the wrong attitude for a service trade.
Let's be realistic. He is not the only restauranteur that has these opinions. You might as well swear off eating out at restaurants if you are going to allow the opinions of this chef to deter you from ever experiencing HIS restaurant; every restaurant owner shares these thoughts. Ron Eyester was just respectful enough to share it. He knew that there would be backlash but he had the balls to dish out what he deals with on a daily basis that causes his business to run a little more bumpy than smooth.
And a restaurant sure as hell can be too busy for customers. It's a fire hazard if you over-seat. Don't you understand that there is a fire marshal who designates how many patrons can be seated in an establishment for a reason? Plus, there is not an unlimited amount of chairs or tabletops in a restaurant. There has to be room for servers to move around to do their job: to serve. If you have to wait, it is for good reason, so utilize your patience and don't be so arrogant.
Very true, and exactly.
You know what, everything he says may be true, but they fall under the category of things you can think but not say. It does him no good to say anything of these to potential customers. When I run into restaurants with staff that have this kind of attitude, I don't come back, because it's not a pleasurable experience. You can ask people nicely to do all of these things for you, but when you cross the line and are a prick about it, well, you're no better than the rude customer you are yelling at and deserve to go out of business.
"people are so blind to the fact that the wait staff is making less than $10 an hour and is living off of your tips"
It truly is not my concern how much the owner of the business pays his or her employees. The idea that I pay $1.50 to a person that brings a $10.00 entree to my table but pay $3.00 if the entree cost $20.00 is really stupid!
Pay your employees, it is part of doing business!
Fame and Success give freedom to behave badly .. to behave honestly. This guy is telling it like it is. He can speak his mind because his skills have given him fame and success. If he had sucky food with that attitude, he'd go out of business. Because he's successful and famous AND being brutally honest ... he's gotta be amazing. I totally want to eat at his restaurant!!!
If a guest in my home wanted to move the furniture to accommodate more friends than I would absolutely not be offended. I would be honored that my guests felt at home enough to not only visit but to bring others to enjoy the atmosphere. I have had some wonderful meals in fine dining establishments all over the world and have never experienced the arrogant and mean spirited attitude displayed in the article.
Most fine dining restaurants really enjoy their customers and enjoy sharing not only the hospitality but are proud of their food and want to explain what the dish is and make recommendations on what you may like based on your dietary restrictions or preferences. Asking the waiting what an ingredient is, or explaining that you really cannot stomach overly spicy food gives them an opportunity to shine with their knowledge of the menu. Great fine dining restaurants want to give you an experience, one to be talked about tomorrow in the office. If you do not want that experience, if you are not open to trying new ingredients then fine dining may not be for you; and that is ok. Just know what kind of diner you are and choose your dining experience based off that. I loved my mother dearly but she wouldn’t try new food to save her life. I didn’t take her to a fine dining restaurant and force her culinary restrictions on them. I took her to places that I knew she would enjoy the food, so the experience was good for all.
A little common sense people and a little respect for everyone and remember that fine dining is about the experience and it should always be a positive experience. If you don’t enjoy the attitude of the server, the hostess or heaven forbid the chef then cross that off your list. No need for name calling or ugliness, just look for another dining experience. As hard as it is to believe there are people who crave the rude chef, who want to be treated badly by the staff because they intend to treat the staff badly back. They want to complain because it makes them feel important.
You can't seriously tell me that you wouldn't be annoyed if someone asked to move the living room chair in to the kitchen so they could sit comfortably on the extra cushy chair. If you do, you're full of crap. And especially so if it presented a fire hazard or you were trapped by your stove because of it.
I don't know how many times I have been out at a resturant and moved my chair to the back kitchen. You know you are eating at a fine resturant when the staff moves your chair or comfy booth to the kitchen for you! (Now that's a 20% tip for sure!!!)
Ron Eyester Recipe
1 part Seth Rogen
1 part Mikhail Gorbachev
arrogance to taste
The first thing that I would address is moving the furniture, not only does the wait staff have to be able to get through to the other customers but there are also fire codes to consider. In case of a fire do you want it on your conscience if someone can't make it out! Secondly a snooty server is hurting his/her own earnings by irritating costumers as much as he is hurting the business. Lastly no one is entitled!!! you wait your turn like everyone else and if you act like an Ass you will probably miss out on much of the dining experience, Like my father used to say: you catch more flies with Honey than with Vinegar.
Boy, who would have thought that a stupid article by an overly arrogant "cook" would provoke such venom? Obviously there are either too many people home unemployed with nothing better to do, or our economy is really going to tank, because there are too many people at "work" posting here and killing the efficiency of their companies!
That said, I have to give a thumbs up to the poster that said " Dance Monkey, Dance!"
More things restaurant workers can do to annoy customers
1) Telling me it will 10-15 minutes for a table when the restaurant is maybe half-full. How about not being a robot and tell me they'll get a table ready ASAP?
2) After waiting the required 10 min in said half-full restaurant the hostess then proceeds to sit you in the absolute worst table in the place and makes a face when you ask to moved to a table that isn't sandwiched between the toilet and the prep station. If it's busy then yea I'll take what I can get, but if it's not either let me choose or put me in a good spot in the first place.
3) Waiters' number 1 priorities should be not screwing up my order and make sure I have enough to drink. Don't take my order and then disappear until I'm 3/4 done with my meal that I've had to eat with nothing to drink. Yes, I could ask the runner to get me a refill, who will then proceed to look at me like I just pissed on their shoes. That's great that your job is busy, but you still need to get this done or get someone else to do it for you.
4) Don't be dicks about subbing side dishes. If I want to have asparagus instead of mashed potatoes it shouldn't be a big deal.
5) Visible tatoos or excessive body piercings (esp at higher end places). Just ugh.... not the stuff you want to see on someone handling your food. It's hard to have an enjoyable meal when you have to worry about someone spilling their herpes all over the table.
6) I should be able to order a soft drink or a regular draft beer without you treating me like I'm a cheapskate who's not going to tip. My wife and I eat out almost every day and don't necessarily want to kill a bottle of wine each time. And yes, the fact that you're charging me $2.95 for a diet coke means I should be able to get it refilled once or twice.
as a waitress, I can say I agree with these. Yes, they may be arrogant, but they are true. It sucks to bend over backwards for the jerk who has mocked me or made fun of my name all night and then not receive more than a 4 or 5 % tip. That's my job – my tips are my pay. I make just over minimum for waitresses – $2.50/hour. So you sh*&&^ tip means I'm making less than actual minimum wage. Plenty more to say, but I'll just leave it at that. Anyone who has never been in the food service won't get it - and those of you that are, just pray you never get one of the jacka&&3& who put up some of these comments.
Yeah, and everybody else is working a stress free easy job.
Stop your crying about how hard you have. The rest of us have jobs too. Then we get to take our money out and spend it on a rude waitress whom, more often than not, I'm giving 20% depsite her performance. So go cry a river somewhere else.
I'm not saying that all waitresses deserve 20% tips. But I work my tail off, I'm kind, and if, heavenforbid, I make a mistake, I do everything I can to make up for it. I EARN my tip. The waitress who believes she is ENTITLED to your 20% tip, then complain to her, tell her she should improve. But don't screw me over simply because you've had Ms. Entitled too many times and you can't realize a good waitress.
and to Jess: more than half of the business world sits at work and screws off all day, and I'm worth $2.50 an hour? Screw you.
The reason you make $2.50 per hour is because that's what your labor is worth. If you want to make more, talk to your boss.
Stop complaining and be grateful. I waitressed for 10 years and NEVER complained about the tips. The ones that complain are usually the horrible server that expect to make tips for barely smiling, being unapproachable,.etc.
Waitress, if your boss isn't making up what you didn't earn in tips to equal minimum wage, you need to do something about it, because he's legally obligated. And, unfortunately, when you decided to work there, for whatever reason, you agreed to that pay. I tip 20% or more almost without fail, but I still don't feel it's right to blame customers for your lack of salary. You agreed to be underpaid when you took the job. The responsibility for earning enough rests on the owner of the restaurant, and on yourself. The tips from the customers are simply tips, not salary.
I'm sorry the system is as bad as it is, but your industry has got to start thinking differently before anything will change.
Unless you saved me from choking to death, you don't deserve 20%, sorry.
I work the service industry too, but there are limits. Especially when, if I come in and pay $120 for a meal, I've just paid 2 days of my paycheck into this meals pocket.
You may be busy, but if you can't make ends meet, then don't work in the industry. The only reason they get away with the $2.50 anyway is because the wait staff of restaurants don't demand more. If you guys all got together, they'd be forced to give you a proper wage.
This guy is an idiot. I'd never eat at his restaurant – no matter how good it is, based solely on his attitude.
I wouldn't eat at this arrogant A-holes restaurant even if he BEGGED me to.
Well after reading that, Rosebud will not be a restaurant where I choose to do business.
I have an excellent solution to the chef's problem: get out of the business. Unfortunately, he is in a customer service industry, and those are the folks paying the bills. I hated working retail so you know what? Now I don't–problem solved. Teaching may be a good way for the chef to keep in the culinary field but not dealing with customers.I plan to help his lower his quota of annoying customers by not going to his restaurant. Obviously he is upset enough that he has to let everyone know the rules for being in his restaurant. I'm sorry we make his life so hard.
Dear God!...Whatever happened to you people? As a guest in ANY restaurant or business you should treat your server/wait staff as you would like to be treated! Common courtesy really isn't so common after all. When I go to a restaurant we are usually a group of 6 adults and 2 children under 12. We get there on time, We (including the kids) are polite to our waitstaff, if there are any allergies or issues or children in the group I'll make them known during making the reservation. When we are in the restaurant we are polite to all staff, say please and thank you, we do not allow the children to "run riot" and we have a wonderful time.
To date, I have received from the staff of my favorite 5 star restaurant the following: Smiles and greetings by name from all of the staff, extra cushions for the youngest boy so that he could sit like the grownups, the most amazing french fried potato shapes (again for the youngest, he's a charmer!), offers to explain just about anything, the chef coming out on his own just to see who was at the table that went into raptures over the vegetarian dishes, and many other small kindnesses.
We don't go to a restaurant expecting all of these things. We go to enjoy a meal. If a restaurant doesn't meet our expectations then it doesn't and it will eliminate itself from our consideration. If it does, we'll be back. At no time would we even consider getting on like some of the customers that we have seen and have sounded off here.
If you can't treat your fellow man like a human being how do you expect to be treated like one???
Yes, THANK YOU! I completely agree.
Exactly. I'm always polite, professional and understanding to my wait staff. I know what they're going through.
I do have to say that I will never tip more than 15%, though. Great service gets 15%. Its only going above and beyond that deserves more. Bad service gets less. Horrible service gets a complaint to the management and nothing.
I thought this was a hilarious and well written article.
Everyone who didn't get it grow a sense of humor and calm down.
Amen to that! I thought it was hilarious, too.
This guy is a f@#$ing prick!
I am suprised that people aren't a little more objective about this. If people had a little more patience and understanding with others in general this wouldn't even be an issue. We are all entitled to frustrations and "off" days. I have been on both sides of the table. I have endured demanding customers who clearly feel entitled to special treatment and I have been a neglected customer forced to wait unreasonably for either a meal or a table. It's not personal, folks. None of us are as special as we would like to believe.
I definitely will not be eating at the Rosebud Restaurant if the "chef" has an attitude like that!
Wow, this guy's a jerk. Next time I'm in Atlanta, I'm not going there. I pity servers that have to put up with him, he sounds more pompous than the 80 yr old 5% tippers. #1, your restaurant is a place of business, not your house. People move chairs all the time in our office to sit and talk to me. I don't tell them to leave me alone. If your restaurant is your "home" you have problems dude, get a life. #2 as for Birthdays, Hours, Phone calls, being late...you are in the service business. If you wanted to do brain surgery in a time sensitive manner, become a doctor not a chef. Restaurants that service people by acknowledging special days, slightly extending hours, answering phone calls (look disconnect your phone and see how much business you get then), and understanding that a reservation is not a court date. Finally, don't worry about name-dropping, anyone that would drop your name must be really desperate for friends. Perhaps its a good thing, that way maybe you can make a friend one day. ANd then you will have two....one the namedropper....two your ego.
I am really disturbed by the amount of servers on here saying they make less than $2/hr and are expected to pick up the rest in tips. Let's increase servers wages and do away with tips. Most countries do not even use a tip system because of it's obvious flaws.
I have NEVER made assumptions about a restaruant like this chef made.
Waiting tables is hard work. I try to make sure the wait staff is tipped accordingly.
HOWEVER. I do have dietary restrictions, and I make them clear. I ASK if accomodations can be made. When I am assured that they can be, I EXPECT these assurances to be correct.
This chef apparently does not need my business. So be it. I will not bother him.
You chefs and servers talking about "an extra ingredient" being added to food freak me out. Could it actually be dangerous just to eat at a restaurant? Is that the dirty little secret no one talks about?
What a cranky, arrogant old man. Your place sucks and so do you.
Treat people the way you would want to be treated. Often heard, seldomly followed.
If I get good service, I leave a good tip. If I get bad service, I leave no tip. If I get terrible service, I leave an upperdecker. If every customer followed my example, the world world would be a better place.
I am at the point if the waiter does only a so-so job or even worse, I don't want to tip much (or any), either. Especially if they don't seem happy to be serving. Why give them a tip for doing the bare minimum?
I just check out this creeps twitter feed. He ridicules a customer for requesting a Rolling Rock (I can't say I'm a fan myself), yet he serves Bud LIte, Miller High Life and PBR. PBR's slogan used to be "the one beer to have when your having more then one (i.e. if you're simply drinking to get drunk you might as well drink something cheap and nasty). Why does feel he need to make fun of someone's questionable taste in beer if he is serving plenty of bland mass produced swill? Oh, right, guy's a jerk.
Have you ever heard of the movie "Waiting"? How about "Office Space"? Here's a newsflash, most people hate their jobs. You have actually entered a profession of your own volition and not been relegated to some blue collar back-breaking job that pays $12 an hour because you couldn't afford the tuition for the Culinary Institute of *ssholes. You OWN a space in which you serve people who pay the prices YOU set. The economy is pulling itself out of a recession and you want to complain about how many people frequent your establishment to the point that you have to turn people away?
Unless you sleep on the tables at night, we aren't eating at your house, we're dining at your establishment. If you feel like everyone should be a grand sommelier then maybe you should move to France. If you want to tell your diners how to behave, have children. Most importantly if you hate people, STOP SERVING THEM.
You should probably consider a position in the mortuary industry, I hear the people there don't give you so much trouble.
"I’m sorry, but we haven’t been waiting around all day for you and your ten friends to pop in"
Seriously? You're not? Isn't that your job...to wait around until someone pops in and pays you to serve them? Perhaps the *hospitality* industry is not for you. I'd suggest a profession that doesn't require you to actually interact with other human beings.
we have no prob with you and your ten friends showing up! A little notice would be nice. When rest are not busy they cut their staff and then you show up with ten or more unannounced and exspect 1 person to do the job. And maintain a smile. Get a grip!!
Reading this makes me never want to go to this person's restaurant. Well no I don't expect something special for my birthday but it would be nice. And yes when you have babies and such you do need to reorder tables. Sorry it is such a pain for your staff. And someone made a great point about being late sometimes. Also...I have had instances where I have been stuck somewhere at night WITHOUT THE WORLD WIDE WEB ASSHOLE CHEF and had to call restaurants to make sure I can eat what they offer. So there.
Arrogant douche.
"I’m sorry, but we haven’t been waiting around all day for you and your ten friends to pop in"
Actually, yes you have. That is exactly what you want to happen in a restaurant. And your servers want that 10 person table and the 15-20% gratuity that will automatically be added to the bill despite the level of service.
"Not only can you not cash a check at the bank 30 seconds after they close – the old man locking the door actually takes pleasure in locking the door on you. In some banks, the tellers even have a nice panoramic window to gaze out of and laugh at all the folks who didn’t make it in on time."
What century do you live in? Even though ATMs are everywhere, banks have longer hours and are open seven days a week now because they have become a service industry. Do you remember what a sevice industry is?
"Yet, I’m obligated to offer you a cup of coffee while you wait and make sure that the staff and I don’t drop too many F-bombs while we’re setting up so we don’t offend you."
Really? Would it kill you to not swear in front of the people who have lined up to enjoy your food?
“Why do people always seem to call the restaurant at the absolute worst time (i.e. between 12:45 and 1:30 p.m. and 7 and 9 p.m.) to inquire about our menu or make a reservation?"
Because as you've made it perfectly clear, YOU WON'T TALK OR DEAL WITH PEOPLE UNLESS IT FALLS DIRECTLY WITHIN YOUR OPERATING HOURS. When else ARE they supposed to call?
You sir, are a fool, a baby, and a hypocrite.
Well I am guessing that I would never eat at your restaurant, now that I have seen what you think of your patrons. First of all its not *Your House* it is a place of business where you perform a service for hire. I am guessing that you dont get any large groups from now on since you are not accomidating to them by allowing them to seat together. I cant see why anyone would want to eat at your pretentious establishment. You clearly think that you are better than everyone else, I hope that you understand why your restaurant fails once your patrons begin to understand how you feel about them, have a nice life.
I travel constantly for work and meet clients and colleagues at better restaurants on a routine basis. The first thing I did after reading this Q&A was to go back to the top to find out what restaurant this chef represents, and then call my assistant to cross it off her list for Atlanta.
I can't remember if I've dined there in the past, but you can rest assured that no one from my company will in the future.
You're kidding me right people?
1. the general public when hungry is PISSY the minute they walk in the door. Because you're paying for a service and goods, you think you're owed the world. Back the truck up folks, save people a lot of headache and hit a drive through where you do not have to be a human being and socialize okay?
2. it's extremely difficult to make all your customers happy-remember the problem here? see #1 in case you're confused..
3. oh what is it you say? you've never EVER had anything go wrong when you made a meal at home? All of your food comes out perfectly and in the time you expect it too? good for you! You should have stayed home and cooked yourself
4. people are so blind to the fact that the wait staff is making less than $10 an hour and is living off of your tips but you want to penalize them for not bringing you bread or water in the first 60 seconds of being seated.
There needs to be a serious discussion with people that have over expectations when they dine out. Have a little patience, be a little NICER and remember kindness is free. If you want good service from your local watering hole, trying giving what you expect to get from the second you ever walked in the door. Whatever happened to please and thank you? My mother was a double shift waitress for 10 years trying to make ends meet and i've worked in food service before. If you think working in or running a restaurant is easy think again. And hey YOU ARE RIGHT, it doesn't matter if it is or not, you are PAYING for good food and good service right? Suck it up, put your big boy pants on and treat humans like humans, that's all I'm saying.
Damn right.
Oh and Ron, I don't think anyone believes you about "the mariachi band", they just see your forehead herpes and smile at you so you will go away quicker.
Hey dude.. you wanna make money then stop whining, or find some other profession A$$#0!3
Rosebud Restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia-- NOT.
I was disappointed when I clicked "Six ways customers tick off chefs" and read "Five things that piss off wait staff, and one that pisses off chefs"
and one fool proof way to lose business
Wow. Rosebud had recently become one of my favorite restaurants, but this article makes me reconsider. Ron, you didn't have to be such an a-hole in it. We all have our professional gripes and inside jokes when it comes to the ignorance of the customers we service, whether we work in a restaurant or an ad agency. However, it's intimidating, rude and just plain unprofessional to speak to your existing patrons and potential patrons in this manner. If these are your complaints, then there would've been a much more polite and effective way to communicate the etiquette you expect at your establishment. For the record, I have never committed of said crimes at your restaurant (or any restaurant) and have spent a pretty penny to dine at your establishment multiple times, and I'm pretty offended. If this is the smoldering attitude behind the dishes, then no thanks...
I had no idea that
chefs/service industry
employees had such
pent up anger. Getting
angry about a man
sitting at a bar (that's open)
because he's only ordered
one beer and is talking too
much is just plain bad
business. What if that same
man (if he was treated well)
decided to tell his friends
and family that it was
his favorite place? ooooo Noooo!
more customers to complain
about behind their backs!
I had no idea that I'd be
walking into an environment
where I was actually
hated for asking questions
or being annoyed that I was
sitting at your bar, killing
time, spending money for
AN HOUR after making
a reservation and my
table isn't ready. Sorry
to be giving you more of
my money...
Roger that Truth, my bad.
What really gets me about eating out, and I’ve been in the customer service, food and retail industry so I get that stuff, is that this is how my conversation goes:
I sit down and let the waiter know that I have an anaphylactic allergy to black, white and green pepper and motion to the spice sitting on the table so they understand it’s the spice and not the veggie. I ask them if they can tell me if there are any entrees without pepper in them and if they can please confirm that with the chef. They will assure me entrée x doesn’t have pepper in it. I order that and spend the rest of the time with my throat closing, chugging cold water and Benadryl. I ask before I order, explain the allergy and confirm I can eat whatever dish this is. They usually say “I didn’t think there was pepper in it! I didn’t know it was an actual allergy… I didn’t think it had that much pepper in it” Even Morton’s did that to me… Lobster Bisque traditionally has white pepper in it, which I didn’t know at the time, and I was assured there was no pepper in it. Couldn’t taste any of my steak with a swollen tongue… great date night out!
SO, PLEASE if someone says they’re allergic to something they’re not making it up and even if you haven’t heard of it that doesn’t mean it isn’t real! You can really hurt someone that way!!
That has seriously got to suck. Pretty much everything good has pepper in it.
Wow, six reasons I would NEVER eat at Ron Eyester's restaurant. Basically its the same reason 6 times over... This guy is an idiot! I can not imagine owning a restaurant and saying this. Wonder how his business will be affected by this? I agree with everyone on the reservations, you make them so you DON'T have to wait. Most restaurants would be happy to move chairs around for a party of 10, what is this dudes problem?
Everyones job in a restaurant is to serve their customers.
You can either be a whiny,stuck up dude like this guy or accept that fact that at times you need to go the extra mile for the customer.
A good solution for this guy would be to have no patrons at all
How about: TOP 3 WAYS TO MAKE A SERVER THINK LESS OF A CUSTOMER AS A PERSON :)
1. Tipping on the credit card and not the check
-Let's say Susie and Jimmy have dinner and their check is $75. Jimmy wants to pay $60 in cash and put the rest on his credit card. Jimmy, being the bright young fellow that he is, tips $3 on the remaining $15 balance of the check instead of tipping on the full amount $75...which would have been a $15 tip. Cheers, Jimmy!
2. Asking the server questions when they are NOT at your table
-Lisa and her husband have a server's undivided attention when they are asking every question in the book about the menu. How are the mashed potatoes, you say? Well, you are sitting in an Irish restaurant that has been open for over thirty years. If they couldn't get potatoes right they probably would have been shut down by now. You can assume the Shepherd's pie is decent too.
Lisa and Jimmy order a burger and decide to share. When the lovely food runner delivers the juicy hot cheddar and bacon burger, poor Lisa notices that there are only two pickles on the plate. Obviously she and her husband are going to need more since they are sharing an entree meant for one person. While the server is giving their undivided attention and menu run-down to the table next to Lisa's, Lisa decides that she MUST be the priority and cannot wait TWO minutes until the server is finished. "EXCUSE ME, MAM? MAM? We just got our food, but can we have more pickles? ...MAM?" What makes Lisa think she can ask the server questions when they are waiting on another nice couple? It is one of life's mysteries.
3. Sitting at outside tables when you don't plan on getting anything
-There are 5 outside tables at Betsy's Bar and Grill. Oscar the optimistic server has been given the outside section of tables for his shift today...it's 75degrees and sunny out and Oscar is feelin' good. He sees a woman sitting quietly at his table and politely asks her if she would like a menu and a drink. "Nah. I'm waitin for the bus," she says. "I'm just sittin' here for a few minutes." Oscar is confused, and worried. "I need to make rent by next week," he thinks to himself. Just then, he notices three potential customers walking by looking at the tables. "No, they're all filled up," Oscar hears one man say. "Let's check out Casey's Crab Shack up the street. It's too nice out to sit inside."
Oscar has had enough. He say's to the woman, "Mam? Unfortunately, these tables are reserved for customers only. I apologize." Much to his dismay, the woman says, "Fine. I'll take a water." Oscar retaliates. "Customers sitting outside must order food, it's Betsy Bar and Grill policy." Now Oscar gets to witness the beautiful side of the service industry. "Wellllll it's CLEAR you don't want me here! Nobody is sittin' here right now and you can't let a person sit down and rest while they wait for their bus? Damn, you're ignorant," the lovely citizen of the city responds to Oscar.
Optimistic Oscar is now Offended Oscar.
In closing, please don't let the people who provide a service for you make them think less of you as a person :) We all make mistakes and ask dumb questions sometimes, the servers get it...but try not to make that a personal habit. Just enjoy your dining experience, don't be totally annoying, tip 18% (20% if you feel your server was especially accommodating), and everybody wins.
lol. I work in the service industry too, honey. And i'll tell you now, the only way you deserve 20% tip is if you saved my life. Refilling my glass when its empty, getting my food out correct and in a timely manner, and doing it all with a smile, IS YOUR JOB. You won't get over 15% from me. I don't agree with tipping servers anyway. I don't get a tip for doing MY job, as a hotel agent and I tend to have to put up with people trying to do things like jumping the desk even though its a 3 and a half star.
The tips you guys expect keep getting higher. You know what? I make $8.00 an hour. If I'm paying $120 for a meal, you are getting two days of my paycheck. I am NOT paying you a 20% tip unless you save my life.
1). is a complete dick move by the $60 guy. If you split checks then each person is responsible for tipping on their share.
2). doesn't sound like a big deal, they just wanted to get your attention before you ran off. Splitting entrees isn't a huge deal either especially since the trend in american cusine these days is for an "entree for 1" to be a 1400 calorie gutbuster.
3). Throw their ass out or get the manager to do it and be done with it.
Dear Chef Eyester,
Get out of the business. Your rant does not reflect kindly upon your employees or your business. I think you have been doing this too long . . . or are too arrogant to appreciate the money you make from folks who patronize your business and who, in this economy, have many other options.
Get another career.
Sincerely,
A Discerning Palate
Give Ron credit for one thing. He puts his name on his complaints. I am guessing his restaurant is successful enough that he can afford to lose business. Restaurants do get to that point, and it's nice to be able to offend the annoying customers without regard for any consequense. You know you have hit a level of success when you can tell a customer, "Your business is not worth having to put up with you, get out, and don't come back."
At the same time, Ron, if you are going to complain if I am late, you better be on time yourself. That one is pretty basic. I don't know what wait times are like at your place, but fair's fair. I make a reservation and I show up early, expecting that my table will be ready pretty close to when I reserved it. I have eaten at some high-end places in ATL, and the best ones honored my reservation very promptly.
Any given staff member may not know who made the reservation, so I understand handing the bill, or wine list, or whatever, to the older male at the table. However, part of the skill of a good waiter (or whatever role) is being able to spot the top dog at the table. If I am taking an important client to an important lunch, and I have put a lot of effort into making the right impression, I want to be sure that the waiter is not going to hand the check to my client. Again, I have been to high end restaurants in this situation, and have been very impressed at their ability to handle the situation correctly. That is why the top restaurants can get away with charging what they charge. They don't sing happy birthday, they just get everything right. If that's how your business is run, you can complain, and you can put your name on it. If you aren't putting your name on it, so your management can see your customer service approach, don't bother complaining.
Tell me if I am missing something, but does the chef with the whiny attitude up top have a cherry tattoo of the Phillipine islands on his forhead, or does he just desire to look like Boris Yeltzin.
I think you mean Mikhail Gorbachev...
he can cook too? who would've thought
Sounds like the chef forgot he is in the customer service industry. I have worked for years in the restaurant business and chefs are notoriously cranky.
When would a chef, who is busying running a kitchen, know or see when someone moved a chair?
Remind me never to go to your restaurant! What an attitude.
This completely reinforces my love for cooking. Why should I pay you to cook something when I can make it better for 1/4 the price. I don't care to pay for your attitude.
This guy is an overblown narcissist and obviously a liberal. His attitude typifies the party of hate.
Truth you are a fool and partisan sheep. Must be nice to not have to think for yourself.
Please don't feed the trolls.
It only encourages them.
this god of food has no time for stinking politics
he has customers to teach, "BACK IN LINE – you in the hat – NO SOUP"
Whiny little food maker. You work in the food service industry. The "art" you create goes through my intestine before being sent to the crap plant on the bad side of town. If you don't like being at the beck and call of people who gladly visit your restaurant to pay for the food AND the service, perhaps you're in the wrong industry.
I won't be going to this a-hole's restaraunt that's for sure. So much for customer service. He should become a janitor where its expected he'll be a bitter grouch.
The man is an arrogant twit! Hades with him . . . and his restaurant!
1. You should never be too busy for customers, customers are not an inconvenience to your business they are your business.
2. The customer may not always be right but his money is, that is the nature of paying for service and being paid for service. If you want repeat business and a reputation for good service, accommodation is the word.
3. Value is the second word, provide good value and your regular customers will still be there long after the trend setters have flown the coop for the next fad. Plus if your customers feel that they are getting good value they will likely be willing to overlook a few discrepancies in service or availability.
4. As a customer I can find any number of businesses who want my money for lackluster service or poor value, in fact that seems to be the trend unfortunately. Who do I continue to do business with? A business that I see is looking out for my interests. A business that is accommodating to me even when it may not be convenient for them to do so. The business that I feel is going the extra mile to provide me with quality service and good value, for which I am willing to pay a little extra.
I find this article to be pretentious and unrealistic, unless you are some kind of Prim Donna chef looking for a reality show, and if you think customers are a pain then just wait until you have to deal with a production studio, but then again they are the ones paying the bill so review #2.
Note to self: Never go to Rosebud Restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia, especially with a big group.
This is life! Get over it you cry babies. For it will be over for us all in such a very short time. Enjoy the interruptions, and the water differences and the whole kit-n- kaboodle. One side is lucky to have customers and the other to have dedicated people wanting to make a living feeding people. Enjoy the differences and smile.Blessings to you all.
Could someone please inform this angry guy that he's in the service industry? Here's my one point list of what ticks off a customer PAYING FOR YOUR SERVICES... 1. When someone in the busines of customer service, doesn't understand what customer service is! Switch jobs or quit complaining... try therapy.
Paying for service and food entitles you to excellant food, presented beautifully, timely, and at a comfortable seat at the time you reserved it by friendly, attentive and informative staff. Absolutely!
It does not entitle you to be an asshole. Actually, I'd rather all the assholes go somewhere else, because they ruin the experience for my pleasant customers who respect other humans whether they are paying for the interaction or not.
We love to serve things that are not on the menu, with one exception. Assholes. Those go in the greasebin out back.
Wow, do I ever agree. I'd rather the jerks go elsewhere.
rubbish
the customer holds up their end by paying... don't make their experience bad by the food service staff being a$$holes
happens very often as well
Set Chef Ramsey lose! LOL
Sounds like this guy really does not like his job!!!!!
I'm glad I came across this article. I was about to visit Rosebud with a group from my office. Definitely looking to go somewhere else now. Thanks for the heads up on places to avoid!
I hope his beard doesnt fall in my soup
I live in the Atlanta area and have been to Rosebud, but no more. Customers and service people both deserve respect, but Eyester is out of line.
I just looked at the Rosebud website.
I see they have a Press section and a Blog section.
This particular post is not mentioned in either section (yet?).
After reading the responses on this page, I'll bet this article never makes it onto the website.
No, he isn't. He's right.
While some of these points are spot on, I don't think that #6 is a valid complaint. Why do people call during the hours of 12:45 and 1:30 p.m. and 7 and 9 p.m? Perhaps that's when they're free from their work to make a call? Use the web! No thanks – I like to talk to a person, thank you very much.
Then go there and look at the menu. Don't tie-up someone on the phone when they probably have more important things they could be doing. That's all he's saying.
Its called "the internet" dimwit. I'd never ever call a restaurant to ask about a menu when I can actually LOOK at the same bloody menu by googling it. Its called "being respectful" and "using my brain". Do you have a brain you actually use?
Well it seems that this Chef will soon get his wish of less customers very soon.
Thanks for the heads-up, CNN.
Message received, loud and clear.
Never, ever eat at Rosebud restaurant in Atlanta.
Check.
There are certain negative personality traits that are actually quite helpful in the context of running an efficient kitchen. Being an inflexible control freak is one of those traits. Unfortunately, in this era of "celebrity" chefs, egos continue to grow without justification, and arrogant jerks like this start spewing their self-righteous nonsense in public forums.
Fine, so you can cook. I'm sure you are quite skilled at what you do. So are a lot of other people. My electrician is highly trained and skilled, and he doesn't come into my house and act condescending toward me or give me a hard time about the poor wiring in my house. He also doesn't act like he is doing me a favor by coming to the house if I call him and we schedule a reasonable time for him to come (if he did, I would find another electrician). It's his job and I am paying him fairly for it. We treat each other with respect, as we should.
The world is full of highly skilled people humbly performing their vocations.
Guys like this need to get over themselves.
lol. I don't work in the restaurant industry, I work in hotels, but man can I ever sympathize. The stupidity of some people never ceases to amaze me.
That being said...
My husbands birthday was on the 6th and we went to Red Lobster. I did, in fact, ask them if they do anything for birthdays. NOT because I was expecting them to come out clapping their hands and singing, or because I wanted something for free. No, I wanted to look at the desert menu to pick out something in advance that we could put a birthday candle in and they could deliver it when they picked up the dishes from the rest of the meal as a surprise for my husband. WE can sing him happy birthday just fine, thanks.
So stop being a jerk about that, huh?
Btw, Red Lobster doesn't do anything for birthdays, including my idea of a birthday candle in a desert.
It seems chefs like these are missing the point of being in BUSINESS. The customer is the reason for his/her being there. If I show up with 10 people – you should be happy and honored that I chose YOUR establishment to spend MY money at.
I waited tables for 7 years, so I know the restaurant biz is tough, tough work and people can be unbelievably rude. BUT, in any biz there's the good and the bad. You can focus on the bad and become a bitter person that no one wants to be around. Or focus on the good and remember why you fell in love with the profession in the first place. I know that I won't be visiting the Rosebud that's for sure, b/c the POV seems to be "the customer sucks" before you even meet them. And I know this is an article about negative things – but you can just feel the disdain dripping from through the words.
I do not work in the service industry and I often make reservations at busy restaurants; I found this article to be quite amusing. Everyone gets aggravated and a little short-tempered when they work in a fast paced, consumer driven environment. If you generally work with customers, there are going to be times when you get angry or frustrated. That's just how it works. No one can get along with every single personality type. I don't find it possible for someone to not understand where this chef is coming from. It is his restaurant, his prime wish is to make the restaurant experience enjoyable (meaning fun and easy flowing without problems) for all his customers as well as his employees, himself. The more enjoyable means the more profitable his business will be. Unfortunately, it just doesn't work that way so of course he gets a little upset. You should recognize that he is being sarcastically humorous and, even though he has (OMG, an astounding) 6 quips about customers, he doesn't constantly express them to his clientele. I would imagine that he keeps his complaints between him and his employees but now, he has shared it with individuals who may or may not venture to his restaurant. Freedom of speech, people. You should be gracious to these places for substituting your time and effort with someone elses and allowing you the opportunity to indulge in good food and time with friends. They are saving you from planning, prepping, serving, and cleaning. Be a little more grateful instead of being so selfish. It may be a business but you should have common decency regardless of the fact that the people doing the job that you could be doing at home get paid for it. Just as you get paid for your job, they get paid for theirs.
On the subject of waiting when you've made a reservation, patience is a virtue that, sadly, many people don't have. You made a reservation but so did some of the other people before you. A restaurant is a public establishment. Just as those who have worked in the service industry have stated, patrons cannot be kicked out of a restaurant. If they want to camp, they can even though it is especially distasteful when they know that there are other individuals waiting to be seated. If you want to be the lesser party and walk up to a camping table and ask them to leave, go right ahead and then be prepared to be removed from the restaurant. If you aren't asked by the host or server (regardless of the fact that they silently appreciate your asshole tendencies even though they will have to profusely apologize on your behalf to the camping party in order to even have a chance of maintaining the tip left to them) to leave the premises then the camping party should belittle you until you leave on your own terms. I mean, seriously, the hostess don't want to make you wait and they often apologize for having to do it but it is not in their power to make a party eat faster and leave sooner so that you can be seated within a few minutes of your arrival. And if you're late, it is your own fault. They are a business that has to pay bills, pay salaries, and pay for the ingredients it takes to prepare food. Be prompt and don't blame a business for not waiting on you when you are late.
It is pleasant to see someone bring a comment with common sense and without "attitude" in this blog! Thanks : )
true enough, your LONG post had some good thoughts
but this guy just found away to bring every bad resturant experience out... how could anyone be this clueless?
Absolutely stunning that he would have this amount of hostility toward his customers in this economy. Guys like this all eventually get their wish – customers stop bothering them by calling to make reservations or showing up with their 10 friends (and their wallets) in tow.
And it's not like he's some megastar chef. He's just a dude at a small neighborhood restaurant who would be better off worrying more about his food rather than hating on his customers. From a review: "On the Monday night brunch menu, a peanut butter and bacon patty melt had me wondering just how this menu was conceived. Dude … peanut butter … bacon …"
Hey Ron.......you've got a little something on your forehead. HAHA
"I’m sorry, but we haven’t been waiting around all day for you and your ten friends to pop in"
Really? Then why open a restaurant? Who are you waiting for then?
From the looks of this pig chef I would say he is looking for a snack to stuff in his mouth hole.
meatman, I love you
Ron Eyester – complete douche.
This "chef" is given way too much attention. He should go back into his kitchen hole and make his angry food. He doesn't have control over the front of the house operations, unless he owns the venue. If he does own the venue, his attitude sucks. It must spill over into the staff.
A newer venue would crush this dysfunctional restaurant. His job is to design and prepare meals for his restaurant, not tell his patrons how to behave. He isn't anything without them.
No offense, but if you choose to go into the service industry, perhaps you should remember that you have selected to serve other folks. While you should be treated with respect in your profession, working in the restaurant business is not ABOUT YOU. Regarding the first complaint. If a paying customer enters your restuarant with a large group and they need to move tables, then either accomidate their needs or send them to another business. Do not whine about it.
It is NOTHING like going to someone's home and moving furniture. Again, if this is really how you feel, please close your doors and go work selling newspapers. Whiny butt.
I live in Atlanta, I think I may get 10 friends together and hit up the Rosebud and do some good old fashioned "chair moving" haha! Then order some side salads and water. :) Wonder how he'll like that? Probably give his "gregarious" uh aka for "a fat guy" self a heart attack.
LMAO! That's priceless...
those salad's and moving of chairs may prompt another article from our beloved chef god, I wish you and your friends a speed and safe trip, go today and post your experience
I can't believe this article was even posted. STFU cooks. I've worked in the "service" industry and somehow people tend to forget what the term service means. You are getting tipped based off your service and not just because you are there. If you don't serve me well I don't tip you well. If you do your job you get paid. Simple. People that work in restaurants somehow become snobs and it baffles me how. If you don't like serving people (whether that's cooking, bringing the food, cleaning dishes) then get a different job! This can' t be any simpler. Whoever this chef is that made his list of 6 things he doesn't like about the people that pay him needs to get a clue. I'd never eat at your establishment for any reason.
I spent 6 years as a cook. Guess how many tips they get a night? Roughly 0. When was the last time you tipped a cook jackass? I promise, you don't want to mess with people that prepare/serve your food.
Erin- Couldn't have said it better!
There's a lot of debate here, but can we all agree that having the staff stand around clapping and singing a corny song because it's somebody's birthday is annoying? If that's the way you want to celebrate, go to Chuck E Cheese.
Yup. If I have a group of 5 year old's, I'm taking them to an animated mouse with cheerleaders and a video screen. If I have a 30 year old grown up birthday that I am spending $150 to feed 3 or 4 people, don't sing. Put a candle in the dessert if requested and be done with it.
I HATE birthday groups. Truly hate them. But it's mean to get angry at people because they expect the standard free dessert. Just tell them that and move on.
The guy sounds like an arrogant jerk. I bet this article was REALLY good for business!
Better luck with you next career because I don't think you are cut out for food service OR hospitality. I guess the next time I have to wait 30 minutes for a table PAST my reservation time, I should go yell at the chef.
Wow, this guy has some serious issues (aside from the inflated ego, I mean)!! Hopefully I won't have the misfortune to be stuck in Atlanta ever again in life, but if I am this is one place I WON'T be going, thank you very much –
Wow – hate your job, or what?
This guy doesn't seem to get the concept that people are paying him... Giving a free dessert on someones birthday isn't the end of the world, people inquiring about your menu are potential customers!
I am glad to read that I'm not the only person who was left scratching her head after reading this article. I admit that those in the service industry have a tough job - they deal with rude people, ridiculous demands, physical labor and long hours on their feet...often for very little pay. With very few exceptions, it not only pays to be nice to your waitstaff and restaurant employees, it's also the right thing to do. We're all a part of the human race and everyone deserves respect.
But is this really the way you should treat your guests and potential guests...by creating a laundry list of things you hate that we ALL do? How can this be good PR? Isn't this a BUSINESS, where you are trying to entice people to pay for the service you provide?
This isn't your home, it's your place of business, and if you will give me the respect I deserve, then I will do the same for you. Common courtesy is two-way street, buddy, and this is NO way to win friends and influence people.
right on
Customer service does not require the accomodation of rediculous requests, or rude annoying people. Everyone is saying to "get a new job" if you don't like it...NOBODY LIKES SERVING. Be nice, they're doing it because they have to put food on the table. The type of people who say things like "You just lost my business" are the type of people we're willing to lose as customers.
Nobody like you Mark.....go stab yourself in the face with a chicken wing and shut you stink mouth
Wow, meatman.....you must have a lot of friends.....
well put meatman
that sums up this post
i am down with the meat man on this one
please post the name of your resturant, you are willing to lose us as customers, put up or STFU
The name of the restaurant I work at is EVERYWHERE and the servers are forced to swallow their pride constantly. Chefs are doing what they love to do and many people ruin it for them without even knowing. This article was just a toungue in cheek commentary shedding some light on the situation to people who haven't worked in the industry.
Mark, bullsh@t
I worked in the food industry for years. I live next to a guy who develops resturants around the world, your post is full of sh#t
Well put Mark.
As for the others, who apparently do no know how to behave civilized in a blog, I would suggest to try to work on the other side of the fence for a while and test their "social skills" in the harsh conditions of the restaurant industry.
PS: I am a customer, not a restaurant owner or restaurant staff but worked in the food industry when I was a college student.
outside of the resturant, try that
the world does not revolve around their creation and is not license to treat the customer poorly because you created your little oasis
I like ramen noodles, and can make some elaborate dishes with them.. ketchup can fix anything
good, you two can eat at the chef's resturant together, but step out of line and 'no soup for you'
"shut you stink mouth," I like it. Stay home and eat ramen noodles or mac n cheese if you can't handle life in the outside world. Treat people how you would like to be treated and TRY to understand that the world does not revolve around you and you are NOT always right just because you have walked in to a place of business. Peace n love.
I'm not feeling it on this blog (and in fact at times not contributing to it)
treat others as you would be treated, nice thought if the world were fair, I think I sense you know the world is not fair, and you also know this chef has a warped idea of how to treat the unsuspecting customer that makes the mistake of coming into his resutrant
Restaurants exist because there is a demand for them. You don't have to go if you don't want to. Everyone knows that. Servers and chefs eat at restaurants too, they're easy to point out, they're the ones who aren't rude. Can't we all just get along?
well said
but
not as much fun and there is a heap of truth being written if any in the food service would dare to read this blog
a lot of people have stated with examples how they were treated to an experience they did not enjoy but held up their end nonetheless and PAID for the eating experience they did not enjoy
if you are in the resturant business, your business is not doing well, you could do worse than to read this blog
I dont understand why, Every time I take my lady to a fine restaurant, we are asked to leave as soon as she climbs back out from under the table! getting head in public is sooooo exciting !
I'm so glad that the majority of the comments on here agree when I say that this Chef is a whiney-giney. Publicly talking shyte about your customers is a big no-no, people don't forget. Without us you dont get to pay rent, or buy your precious bottles of imported olive oil or those "special" pots and pans. Your goal is to make money, and to make money you need to make us feel welcomed and provided excellent service, and if that means you need to move some stupid tables around then you do it! It is not the paying customers's job to make your night easy, you are at work, and like the proverbial saying goes "the CUSTOMER is ALWAYS right".
After reading some of these comments I am shocked. The man makes some excellent points. Many chefs consider what they do an art. Do you think a George Lucas or Stephen Speilberg would tollerate people coming on the set and telling them how to make a movie? Or Eric Claption having someone telling him how to write music? It is his restaurant, he can run it like he wants. And he has every right to be upset because the general population can be real assholes in a restaurant sometimes.
He is frying chicken not composing opera. Everything this guy makes eventually turns to crap and most of it starts out that way.
@Joe – the dude is a 'chef' at a chain restaurant not a top notch movie director, singer, composer, etc... It sounds like the majority of people are completely turned off by his attitude; if you're in the same work field, maybe you can learn from this? Best of luck!
that chef sounds like he hates customers.
i was a server for 17 years at mom and pop places, fine dining, and franchise restaurants. i understand the frustrations of being a server, AND of course, being a customer. one thing i learned as a server...caring about my customers and giving excellent service. if people tick you off by being people, then it's a good thing you're in the kitchen away from the customers. but realize, your negative attitude about your customers trickles down to your wait staff. i'll bet your servers are in the kitchen griping about how some customer did this, and another customer expects that, and blah blah blah. they learned that from YOU, mr. big shot chef.
Do the Marines complain when they get shipped off to go get shot at? How bout the Army or Navy or Airforce? Do Firemen complain when theres a fire ythey have to run INTO? How bout the garbage man when he comes to pick up YOUR trash? NO, so Chef Douche, quit bitching about people calling your restaurant DURING hours or people having to move a fucking chair so they will fit at a table. Start getting on your knees and begging us to come back to your place of work so you still have a job there tomorrow. All you people saying your coming to "My House" for dinner can suck a dick. Iif you dont like working in a restaurant, DONT
You get what you give in the service industry. Be a douche, no tip for you. Be nice and helpful, youre more likely to get a bigger tip
By the way chef......you have some ketchup on your face and it looks like you teeth are rotting out of your head. Go to the dentist and wipe the sauce off your fat face
Wow, the Chef in this Article comes across as quite the jerk. Tell ya what buddy, when you start PAYING me to come to your restaurant then you can tell me how to act...as long as I'm paying to eat, I'll tell you how to act or I'll go somewhere else and you can close your restaurant....deal?
What makes this guy an even bigger jerk is that he is the owner of this place and he surely has some employees that are going to lose money in tips and maybe even be out a job at the decline in amount of customers they're going to get after this guy goes on a national news website to rant about how much he hates his customers who pay his way through life.
I hope this chef chokes on his own shit food. If I ever visit his restaurant I will be sure to leave an upperdecker for a tip. Enjoy
Hey, Chef Ron... Keep your bitching in the kitchen where it belongs. And take a vacation before your misplaced bitterness completely devours your face.
I love how the customers who go out to eat, complain about everything and don't realize the possible payback that would happen to their food/drink. You are "that table"! Yes the servers are there to serve you and treat you in a manner you expect to be treated. But servers deserve to be treated better than they get sometimes. They do make 2.13 an hour and I doubt they all come to work trying to piss off customers. However, we all know you can't please everyone and when you get "that table" then sometimes you need to get your payback. I've seen cooks drop a steak on the floor before putting on the plate. I've seen servers spit in your glasses! All because of "that table"! If you are "that table"...then you need to understand that we're people to. We are not beneath you! We are not inferior to you! And if you treat us as such...then chances are, you ate some funky food because you're a d*ck. Don't be a douche to servers and they won't be a douche to you and we'll try to serve you as best we can. If we fail...tip us as such. If we exceed your expectations (which is our goal for the most part)...then tip us well for that. For those of you that don't tip....don't go out to eat. And definately don't go back to the restaurant you didn't tip at.....we will always get you back!
Tough guy, huh? Wow, I'm really scared. You guys like Putin, the Godfather and others not to be messed with, you scare all of us. Man, you wield real clout. Don't mess with food servers because there could be payback!
The reason you are a food server is because you are a loser! hahahahha
Yeah it is real losery to work in a restaurant to pay for college. Hope you enjoy your sh*t sandwich when you go out to eat. You aren't suppose to fear servers...that's not my point. But if you go out and treat the server like a crap...then chances are you ate somethng tainted. So yeah...treat servers like losers and we'll make sure you enjoy your loogie milkshake!
As a former cook, I can guarentee an asshole like you has eaten someone else's spit/hair/floor spice/etc. Especially if you frequest a particular restaurant with that attitude. Have fun picking through your food for the rest of your life, jerk.
Drew and Joe,
Have fun cleaning up my upperdecker that I left in the men'sroom
Not a problem! It would be our pleasure to clean up after your mess. We'll be sure to serve you the best and freshest turd possible upon your next visit. Would you like it deep fried or sauteed? How about in a nice frosty mug. The last time we served that dish, we had rave reviews from a couple of lovely girls. You can find their review online as 2 girls 1 cup. Bon Apetit!
From the customer side, here's one of my biggest irritations when dining out.
My fiance and I both love steak, and we both love our steak almost rare to the point of still mooing. The problem? If we both order our steaks rare, mine will always come out medium-rare. It doesn't matter what the restaurant is. You'd think they'd cook both steaks the same amount of time, but it's always obvious that mine has been cooked just a little bit longer.
I've often wondered if it's because I'm female, and thus "shouldn't like rare steak".
I can't speak to that but it did bring up a similar point I wish people would understand. Cooking a steak is not an exact science. It is done by temperature, not amount of pink or red in the center. Sometimes the same cuts of meat will look different but have the same temperature. There is nothing we can do about this. Also, there is no temperature between medium and medium-well(or any other "in between"s), if there were it would have it's own name. If you order it in-between x and y, you are going to get the higher of the 2.
#7 Changing the dish. We put *ingredient that you don't like* on it because that's how we think it tastes best. That is also how we prep to make it. Unless you are allergic, pick it off. I hate changing my dish to suit your tastes and it screws up the flow of the kitchen.
The chef who wrote this says a bank will close even if there are people waiting. Well, I work at a bank, and we stay open for 10 extra minutes after close time in case somebody comes, and in the event someone comes right at 6:10, we let them in to help them. Why do we do this? Because our job is to give good customer service. I can see why this guy hates certain things, but when you complain about that stuff, it paints an ugly, ugly picture. You get paid because of these people chef. They are the ones paying your wage.
Nicely said.
So many good comments already, this is a waste...but here it goes
I love to travel, I love to visit great cities all around the world and first thing, find a good place to eat! New York, Chicago, Paris, Canne, Trieste, Atlanta, ....I can't wait to land in Atlanta again and snub my nose as i walk by the old Rosebud whatever it was called (is it still open after this rant by surely a significant other trying to destroy his reputation, really he couldnt have said this stuff out his fat gob??)
!clue about business let alone a social business such as a restaurant – sad
i don't understand your comment.
Give the guy a break; his panties are probably so tight there is no circulation to his brain. The fact that so many restaurants go out of business could be simply explained if this jerk's attitude is common among chefs and restaurant owners. Try handing out your Miss Manners handbook to your potential customers and see how many anatomically challenging suggestions you receive.
My favorite Pizza Shop has a framed sign:
"Everyone brings happiness to my restaurant, some when they come in, some when they leave."
Rosebud Atlanta is the equivalent of Olive Garden, I'm not sure why everyone is being so worked up. So what if a washed up 'chef' hates his patrons, go to the next cookie cutter restaurant instead of the one he works at. They all taste the same.
This whole blog is a collection of people with attitudes. If they are already in their adulthood, it is obvious that their way of thinking "I am the boss since I pay" will not evolve. Basically it is "Me money, me strong": which has nothing to do with a civilized world.
I am a customer and not a chef or restaurant owner but enjoy eating out in nice creative places.
I do agree that some chefs have big egos and are a pain in the neck as they think themselves as divas, but it is far from being the majority of them. On the other side, I have seen way too many customers who are pure brats and take it on the staff under the immunity "I am the customer and I am always right".
Just the tone and words used by so many in this blog prove that egos are very developed on both sides of the fence and that it leads to unfruitful "roosters fight".
Hopefully, the anonymous authors of those harsh words will know how to shut up decently while in a restaurant and not behind a keyboard whether they're customers or restaurant staff.
Let's see Rosebud Restaraunt.. Let me put that on my list of restaraunts NOT TO TRY!! This is exactly why a chef or waitstaff would get a crappy tip from me. Just obnoxious. Be happy, that in this environment, people are even dining out. You don't need to be an obnoxious food geek.
With so many outstanding restaurants in this country, customer service is important. When I go out to eat, I am looking for great service, atmosphere and a great meal. So, Ron Eyester in a few years when you are begging for customers to eat at your restaurant remember that good customer service can sometimes keep people coming back to your mediocre restaurant.
For all you vegitarians don't go to a steack hose and order your veggie meal and demand it be cooked on something meat has never touched. That ain't going to happen you silly rabbit. Also don't go to a seafood joint and have a shell fish allergie because that is what most seafood joints have.
Wow... what a load of wasted time here... think what you all could have done instead.
Yet you used your time to do the same thing, comment about the comments? What a douche.
That's what is great about America! If you don't like the way we do things in an establishment, you're free to take your self-important, whiny, complaining, talking on the cell phone when you're asked a question a$$ elsewhere.
No one points a gun at your head and tell you to eat at a certian place. If the way a place bothers you that much then you just dont go, you dont go back next expecting things to have changed. And honestly a restuarant IS A PLACE BUSINESS!!!! YES, this means if they dont like you they dont have to be polite they can kick your butt to the curb with a smile. And if your on of those people who havent figured out why things arent going your way at every restaurant you go to, its because your social skills fail and deserve to be put thrown out.
You forget that WE are the reason you get PAID. You are not some stupid televesion reality show genuis. We are not here to worship you, just to get fed by you. If we are paying more than $20 per plate, YOU should be asking not if you should jump, but just how high. Just let me meet a contentious chef in real life. I will definitely tear him down to the point he could not even make instant oatmeal. That brings me to another point–with how easy it is to cook everything these days, good chefs are no longer a commodity. Meaning? You are not needed.
All you snooty SERVERS posting on here can stuff it where the sun does not shine. Where is it written that a customer must pay outrageous food / drink prices and then, on top of that, leave you 20% of the bill for just doing your job. Here is a clue...see if you can follow along. If the restaurant you work in is charging $12 for a sandwich or $25 for a small steak or piece of fish.......$10-$12 for a glass of cheap wine......then they are making a HUGE profit. But the owners want the customer to pay your salary too. BULLSHIRT. Go to school so you don't have to depend on the generosity of ripped-off customers to pay your bills.
If you can afford to eat at the restaurant, you can afford to tip good waitstaff ~15%. They may be waiting tables to pay their way through school.
Wow, this article is just one huge b!*chfest about why it sucks to be a chef.
Yeah, I know the chef has a right to complain, but guess what. It's just whining. Every profession has its problems and its moments that are nothing but pure frustration. My personal favorite in this entire story was the following line: "I’m sorry, but we haven’t been waiting around all day for you and your ten friends to pop in – moreover, there was actually some logic and planning that went into putting the tables and chairs where we have them, so leave them the f#@$ alone!" Oh? You haven't been waiting all day for me and my friends to pop in? Well if that's the way you feel, I just won't bother. There are many other places that would be glad to see me and my friends. By all means, pull in that welcome mat. Make your restaurant inaccessible. That's fine by me. Thankfully, we have a free market, and your restaurant is not the only place that offers food. I mean, if you don't want customers to pop in, that's your choice. I just don't see how you're going to make it financially. I might be wrong. Maybe you can spare the customers, and if that's the case, you shouldn't mind losing a few here and there to a restaurant that will let them rearrange the tables instead of asking your wait staff to do it.
I also liked the one about birthday desserts. You know, I don't like birthday celebrations either. If someone were to make a big deal about my birthday, I'd be embarrassed. I especially hate these renditions of the Happy Birthday song as well. They are a cacophony to my ears, so why do you insist on having wait staff, most of whom are not trained to sing, blare out that craptacular noise anyway? If we're counting vices, you hardly come out smelling like a rose.
I really don't think the chef is the a@!hole everyone is making him seem. The article is basically a fun, simple way for him to talk about the pet peeves with his job. Everyone has them no matter where they work and to be completely honest the guy doesn't exactly look like a cocky prick. That bewing said i understand people's frustration with poor service. Having worked as a server and a bartender for several years I understand there are very bad servers ou t there and it's very frustrating when you get one. There are very annoying customers out there that can turn a normal night of work into a night from hell. There are obviously two sides to any night out on the town and most of the time it's a pleasant experience for all.
Oh, my bad. I thought businesses were there to serve customers, not the other way around.
This guy is a complete fat f***. He works in an industry that survives on SERVING people. I worked in the service industry for three weeks and that's all I could handle. Talk about a bunch of miserbale people. "Every customer was a pain in the @$$. Every customer was annoying." It annoyed me that these servers were literally the biggest peices of crap I had ever worked with.
Anyways, the guy that wrote this is a complete idiot. He OWNS a restaruant, and hey, he's allowed to voice his opinion, but if you want to know why he's a chef, the proof is in his pudding (homemade by the way!)...he's just not so bright.
I worked in several restaurants as a young man. While I do recall several different employees feeling over-worked, which led to a bit of resentment towards some customers, there was one belief that ALL of the managers, head chefs, and owners had in common; the service industries are there for the customer, not the other way around. I remember one server being read the riot act for being rude to a customer who only spent a few dollars at the restaurant (meaning small tip for her). The boss laid into her, reminding her that it was HIS choice to spend a few dollars at OUR resautant. We must always keep that in mind. Instead of bickering, we can always take the high road. If we, as customers, aren't happy with the service, we can leave and spend out money elsewhere. At the same time, if we, as service employees, don't like to server customers, then we can always take positions further removed from them.
Would it kill Ron to just say, no we don't do this or that request? People ask for certain things because restaurants with good customer service accomodate these needs. We are not eating at your home, we are paying to eat somewhere and can easily pay to eat elsewhere. Instead of complaining about your customers, be happy they are there, or simply tell them you cannot accomodate their request.
The list of things restaurants do that annoy customers, is probably far greater.
Wow! What an incredible, arrogant d**khead, No wonder someone (no doubt an infuriated customer) pushed his forehead into the grill. This guy does not deserve to run a restaurant...
I waited tables for 5 years and am mortified by this "chef". It's not "your house" buddy, it's a business. You will treat me, the paying customer well, or I will take my business elsewhere. I am polite to waitstaff, but it doesn't change the fact that you are there to please me. If my food sucks, I will send it back. So sorry you and your crew of dopeheads can't drop all the f bombs you want because I'm there (yes, 90% of restaurant staff are constantly high). And if you screw up my order you should be bending over backwards in apology (as I always did as a server). You are an arrogant jerk, and I hope your house er business fails quickly with your attitude.
Ron Eyester is in the wrong line of business. He clearly has no respect for his customers; he should not be in a CUSTOMER SERVICE industry. What an arrogant ass!
Have people forgotten what customer service is? This guy needs a new job...somewhere he doesn't have to deal with people.
I am understanding up to a point. When I order a meal I expect it to be the way I ordered it. I do not make unreasonable demands, I do not allow my children to behave like animals and trash a table, or scream or yell or anything of that nature. I do however expect my server to keep his or her private life out of the earshot while I am trying to dine. I also expect that if I order my steak medium rare, it's not going to come back like it barely kissed the grill. Furthermore, when you have walked by my table 10 times and I have attempted to get your attention several times but you just breeze right by, do not expect to receive a great tip. I generally tip somewhere between 15 and 25% of my bill BEFORE taxes, but if my meal comes back screwed up (and I make the manager aware of the mistake) or you take forever to get back to me, you can expect that 1. I will request a different server the next time I visit your establishment and 2. if the food keeps coming back underdone, or screwed up, I will not be returning and I will inform others who will also be happy to take their business elsewhere. I am not a demanding patron, but I do expect that if I am coming to your establishment to dine that I be treated with decency.
This chef sounds like an ass. While some of his points may actually be valid, his overplayed sarcasm and pretentious attitude are a complete turnoff. I hope some of his regular customers read this and realize they are better off going to a restaurant with an appreciative chef who isn't a jerk.
I agree. If this was a place I could get to, I just wouldn't go there. Some things are better left unsaid, Chef!
Wow. I am generally pretty polite as a customer but if this is how chefs think of me, they are in for it next time.
Yes we all cringe when customers walk in the door at 3pm and sits there talking and make you work through the slow time, but you are open and usually to a customer that means they can come in and get service.
The servers should get mad at the @sshole chef/Owner for keeping the place open during those hours not the customer. Boo Hoo chef!
If 25% of your clients don't follow one of your "rules" I hope they stop coming in and you lose 25% of your business. We'll see how much of an @sshole you are then!
Send this jerk an e-mail at ron@rosebudatlanta.com , some "chef" needs to check their poor attitude and be brought back down to earth.
Those servers like Lisa who complain about low tips should move out of the US for a while. Tipping is a strictly American custom and it sucks. Most people don't get tipped for doing their job, but servers expect it! It's not like servers have Phd's in Food Science or anything else. How much ability does it take to carry a plate of food? In Japan and Australia there is NO TIPPING and it works quite well. If you want to make more than $2 per hour, then get a degree in rocket science and use it! Don't tell ME how much I should tip in your restaurant. I will decide that based on service and attitude.
First off, it doesnt matter how the service is to some people. i know people that it doesnt matter how good the food is they will leave poor/ or no tip. I work in an upscale restaurant where the lowest meal is 18$ and thats only for chicken terriyaki and your getting entertained! Why dont you go work a couple days in the food industry and tell me how much you make and how you can judge who would be a good tipper and who isnt
As far leaving the US, how about you go tell all the illegal immigrants to do that instead of a US resident or the fact that your comment wasnt needed.. Im 20 years old and in college getting a teaching degree im not some person that sits on their ass to wait for tips, its called a side job while in college. Maybe you could understand that someday. I dont need to go to some other country to hear they dont get tipped because some places in japan do. Many people that i work with still go back to their native country, as i said i work in a japanese restaurant, and they know many in the food industry and they do get tips.
Gee, reading this reminds me why I don't go into this guy's dump!
This so-called 'chef' sounds like a monumental ass. He's bitching in #3 about having a customer! Then he bitches because the customer has turned into a regular!
He doesn't want customers to call.
He doesn't want customers to turn into regulars.
Too bad that PAYING customers irk this guy so much.
What a jerk-off.
This is the type of place that is F*****g pretentious and over-priced and ridiculous. The chef sounds like a jerk-wad and I would rather eat McDonald's swill than give this arrogant snob one penny of my money.
i love food, i respect talented chefs, but give me a break. It's not a home it's a business. can you think of one other service company that operates this way. maybe if these idiots realized they'd be closed in a month or two without loyal customers they'd have a little different attitude. you should act like its a priveledge to have customers not expect customers to be thrilled at the chance to bask in your presence. And servers- oh my goodness. you take orders and deliver food. that is your job. even at the nicest restaurants that's still your job. get over yourself- you dont deserve 20% just for showing up.
I would agree, if these cooks agree that they are in it for the money only, and if they don't give us sh** about serving the community that such bull.
Wow-the arrogance of this chef is something. Customers–check out farmers markets. Yes–we do get
the occasional "jerk customer" but they are rare. The vendors are usually friendly and many of them are
chefs, artisans, and farmers. And Michael despite what you write many of them are educated with 4 year
degrees and more from real universities–are sick of the corporate climate and turning to markets to practice
skills that fulfill them.
When I go to a fine dining establishment, I am paying primarily for service. Cooking is not rocket science. You don't need a culinary degree in order to cook fabulous food. I am quite capable of cooking anything on your menu myself, but I choose to pay to have your establishment make, and serve it to me. That said, I am nearly always extremely happy with the food and service i receive because servers and staff remember me (money talks). A polite, repeat customer who thanks the staff, and tips well, will be catered to.
I 'm the customer. I am ALWAYS right.
note to all chefs... your not fking doctors cool it on the ego. you heat food up dingbat. by the way it's not your restaurant, it's the owners, oh so you order stuff and take inventory well so do people at home depot you brat. most people have a hard time getting to the bank cause they work 8-5 m-f. not four days a week you puff. by the way waiters and waitresses make more money than people coming out of college. if i want to move a chair then next time i'll go in the back and stick it up your a-hole. heat food up, put in on plates with some garnish, go in the back and read your anthony bourdain book, and keep your arrogant mouth shut
Well put!
Anyone that disagrees with Ron Eyester's (the article's author) attitude, simply need not dine at his Rosebud Reataurant in Atlanta, GA. When that restaurant closes in the near future, because of his crappy attitude, do not dine at his next reataurant either, or the next...
This entire article was hilarious. It's as if they let a thirteen year old run a business.
You're a cook, a COOK! Fancy named Cook. It would be amusing to see a mechanic saying "You're in my house and you have no right to ask how much you'll pay for that transmission fix."
What a pompous a**, I wouldn't want this guy touching my food with his poor attitude, forehead herpes, and beard hairs getting in my soup. I will never eat in this restaurant as long as I live. Keep running your mouth like this buddy and you'll surely be out of a job shortly.
#6 – Are you really wondering why people need to confer with the rest of their party after they ask you for a window of time they could get a table? There's some narcissism going on if you think people should chart out all their friends' schedules before conferring with you because you might find collaboration annoying.
To all http://www.values.com/inspirational-stories-tv-spots/67-Deli
And a good book to read to understand people on both side: Generation Me by Twenge
It is not a black and white situation, "This is my home" versus "This is your business". It is more about the fact about how people can behave with common sense, respect and decency on both sides and leave their super inflated egos at home when they come to a shared space, whether it is considered as home or as a business.
In my opinion, people are too self absorbed to have the capacity to lead normal business relations whether they are customers or suppliers.
Try this: walk in a restaurant, be nice and courteous and imagine yourself humbly in the shoes of the waiter or the chef.
if you are a waiter or a chef do the same thing about your customer. Empathy usually gives good vibes and solves it all.
how about you try this... quit thinking you are the greatest
it is a job, you are in the service industry, you are PAID to provide the service
GET OVER YOURSELF
This whole blog is a collection of people with attitudes. If they are already in their adulthood, it is obvious that their way of thinking "I am the boss since I pay" will not evolve. Basically it is "Me money, me strong": which has nothing to do with a civilized world.
I am a customer and not a chef or restaurant owner but enjoy eating out in nice creative places.
I do agree that some chefs have big egos and are a pain in the neck as they think themselves as divas, but it is far from being the majority of them. On the other side, I have seen way too many customers who are pure brats and take it on the staff under the immunity "I am the customer and I am always right".
Just the tone and words used by so many in this blog prove that egos are very developed on both sides of the fence and that it leads to unfruitful "roosters fight".
Hopefully, the anonymous authors of those harsh words will know how to shut up decently while in a restaurant and not behind a keyboard whether they're customers or restaurant staff.
I think the chef and food staff have gotten out of control
I think I have read some very healthy thoughts about why the chefs have brought this on themselves
Oh screw it, chef. I'm just not going to eat at a restaurant anymore and cook at home. Have fun on the unemployment line, chef. I'm sure people will be much nicer to you there.
the chef is a first class jack a$$
I am so tired of these babies crying about how they are treated, STFU
These kinds of things have been going on for years. Somebody needs to ask Chef Boy R Dee here why he became a chef in the first place if he knew how people acked.
For all of you that have never worked in the food service industry (and I'm not talking McDonalds), then you don't truly know what it's like to have people complain when you are doing your best to please everyone.
Then get out of the business dumbass. Problem solved!!!!
Why so incredibly rude???
this chef and for that matter much of the food service industry has evoved into 'they are providing the great experience' bullsh#t
this article is not a fluke, most of the industry has this same poor attitude, screw them, I'll eat at home, complain about me moving chairs? how about no customer? how does that grab you?
See? This is a problem.... In a society with, what I always thought was, civilized people, you shouldn't expect a beneficial exchange of ideas if you start the discussion by calling someone a dumbass. We've devolved so far...... sad.
what I read is some sound career advice for a chef who condems the customers en masse
and one Lyntak who is butting in
I am an avid restaurant-goer and have been to many places of higher and lower caliber. I see, read, understand and agree with many things posted here. But I just wish the ugly name calling ('Mr. Roadmap on His Face'-type stuff) and swearing (STFU, etc) could be done away with... that's all. You can have a productive conversation and offer constructive criticism without all that. Are you very open to helpful criticism if the person starts out by calling you derogatory names? I know I'm not.
STFU is a very tame way to express outrage, are you so repressed that no outrage can be expressed?
he needs to face his extreme cluelessness, he wont, open conversation is nice, but all feeling cannot be expressed in your private frame of what is acceptable
if you are not open to any discussion, you miss out on learning, even unpleasant discussion (roadmap) has its place, this is not such a bad place
I am always open to plenty of discussion, pleasant or not. But degrading someone because of a birthmark on their face has no place in a discussion of points of view. It never will. Stick to the actual points of disagreement. And I would never, ever use STFU as an expression of 'mild' outrage. That's highly inflammatory. I'm a believer in the old rule... "Once you've begun swearing, you've lost the argument." I guess we can just agree to disagree and, I do so respectfully.
I've been losing the argument since I was five years old, and will until I fall out of the wheel chair with congestive... well you get the idea
I would rather lose
as for the birthmark... it does look like a road map
and you as a collective group have more cry babies than any other industry
STFU and change careers
Is it really necessary to swear at this person?
the person who wrote this article has no problem mentioning the 'F' bomb and how his customers deserve to have it reference TO THEM behind their backs
he and defenders of him need to be sworn at back, obviously they have no tact
So.... let me get this straight.... You say they have no tact in their comments, so you need to lower yourself to their level by swearing back. Interesting. This explains an awful lot about the degradation of society.
society is not what I am referring to
I am referring to chef(s) who abuse the idea of eating out and good feeling
as for lowering the discussion to their level, I don't want to talk over their heads
Ok, I get your point. Well put! :-)
I'm in this career because I love people and love to make them as happy as I can. I know I can't please them all, but it's the ones that complain about something I have absolutely no control over that irritate me.
I have been in the food industry for 3 years now and am ready to get out because all of these issues are true.
Yes, you may have a reservation at 6:30 but that doesnt mean we can seat you automatically. There is this thing called the busy hour where customers come in without reservations and we sit them when they arrive as long as there isnt a wait. I know with the restaurant i work at, we will have you sat by ten minutes after your reservation because we "hold" it for 10 minutes. I work in a japanese restaurant with the habachi grill where chefs come out and cook in front of you. Not only are you insulting me when you leave less then 15% tip but you are also insulting the chef. Oh yeah, i dont get the percentage of my tips that most of you servers get, i only get 45%, 50% goes to the chef and then 5% to the bar.
I also love when customers complain about how bad there food is but yet their plate was pretty much licked clean, im not stupid, im not giving you a free meal or a discount.
To Hoax22: i have done the same except they gave me 120.00$ on a 119.25$ tip, i come back with their 75cents and they said oh thats yours. i gave it to them and said no, you need it more than i do. Its people like that that dont understand. If your going to eat out, you need to leave at least 15% but at a restaurant like mine you should be leaving 17%. Besides the fact, we are only making 2$ an hour!
Sorry to disrespect you personally, however I find it comical that in America every server thinks the bar begins at 15%.
(I will ramble on because it is the industry and our attitudes at fault, not you the individual) It is a SERVICE industry, if you don't provide the service, you don't get the tip! It should not be a given that you get 15%. EARN IT.
Don't like that advice? Don't be a waiter. This is a tough one: if you don't possess the skills to land a job above a waiter, you don't get to bitch about the condition.
Flame on...
What a cranky guy, I will never eat in this restaurant, he sounds like he hates people, I wouldn't want him cooking my food.
I don't know who the hell this tub thinks he is, but I will never visit his restaurant. You are who you are because people eat at your restaurants(s). So take your fat ass to the back and cook me up some fries, b*tch.
your business is doing just fine with out me, and I'm doing great with out sitting in your mecca for food
how about your STFU
I could care less how you feel about what customers do... they came for a feeling of fun NOT for some a$$ to tell them how they should behave at their place
I will not be going to a place owned by you, and will read with glee about how your business suffers
Is it really necessary to call this guy rude names and use such foul language? C'mon! Let's see some civility here. No wonder kids are being bullied to death. They have such adults to learn from. No need for such nastiness.
knowing what you have to put up with, and what you don't
I hope you are not a door mat, you sound like you might be
lynn, why do you not just pluck the dingleberries from his mappy face fuzz
Grow up, whiney servers and hostesses. You'll never make it in the real world with those attitudes. Just because you intimately know the menu and particular trends of your restaurant (due to the fact that it is your job) doesn't mean I should be expected to know them. I don't bit©h and moan when you come to my office looking for a mortgage loan asking questions that are common knowledge to me (and it's so much fun trying to verify a service-industry employee's income). If my job was so easy, people wouldn't pay me for my service. I’m soooo over feeling obligated to tip for a $hitty meal, $hitty service, and a $hitty attitude. What part of “service” industry do its employees not understand?
This chef has an attitude. Get over yourself. SERVICE is the name of the game. AND what is that god awful skin condition on your forehead? No wonder you have problems with customers. Go see a dermatologist.
Porfirio, the 'condition' on his forehead, not that it's any of your business, appears to me to be a birth mark.
If I'm eating in "his" restaurant, it sure as hell is my business. God knows what it is, but I don't want it near my food.
As a server, I must say that this article definitely made me laugh. I understand that we, the people who work in the restaurant business, are there to help you customers and to make sure that your experience is a pleasant one, but frankly, altogether too many people behave with an utter lack of common sense in restaurants (it's enough to make one want to go to the grocery store instead!).
I empathize. The thing about the chairs made me laugh the most.
I agree 100%! When I worked in a restaurant, my favorite was the moms who put highchairs wherever they felt like it and then got all flustered when we told them no. It's like they couldn't believe their perfect little angel, who was usually howling like a banshee or eating crayons at that point, couldn't sit wherever it pleased. Ugh.
Wow, is this loser in the wrong business. Any kernels of truth in his diatribe is coated, probably like the food at his business, in way too much sourness.
Oh and to Shelly there. I have only one thing to say. Well, LA-DI-DA. I be no one ever accused you of having your head up in the clouds. Not Talk about condescending.
It's condescending to recognize that not all restaurants are the same and are not all catering to the same customers?
If someone is late for their res, then it makes others who had a res at a set time wait for their table. It's not the chefs fault at all, but when customers complain about it, it's the employees that hear it, not the people who took 3 hrs to eat. Most restaurants do res for 2 hrs. Sometimes they get really busy, people are late &/or take forever to eat. Stop complaining to me about it, tell it to the person that caused you to wait. I will be more than willing to ask a customer to leave so you can have a table as long as I can ask you to do the same for someone else.
And people wonder why the failure rate of restaurants is so high. They don't call it the service industry for nothing. If you don't want to take care of your customers, I will, and I will laugh all the way to the bank.
Is that really necessary? That's incredibly mean.
very funny, but a little mean
A curse in the first point? Didn't take you long to get worked up. You need an anger management class AND a new career. A restaurant is NOT a bank or a flight or my home... and just like stars who resent autograph hounds, you show a complete disdain for the REAL people who keep you successful (or don't).
Meaner than the lying, apparently insincere, acting chef you mean? Don't worry, it will be a maximum-star review!
yes it was look at the chef looks like he has got hit in the forehead hehehe i know its a birthmark
tip to "chefs"....you are not Gordon Ramsey, drop the attitude and get to cooking there. Its food, not some god like creation from a genius. get over yourself.
I am fed up with restaurateurs who act as though they are doing us a favor by being open. I, for one, havenever entered a restaurant after hours, but I have frequently found myself at restaurants an hour before the posted closing time that are closing because the place is empty and the hostess wants to go home. I make a point of returning to such places for the auction sale that follows their failure, though lately I find that the Dept. of Health is closing them down faster than they can re-open with a fresh batch of roaches. Simply, restaurants are part of the hospitality industry, and any restaurant that fails to understand this (e.g., Crave on 42nd Street) will be out of business, and the sooner the better.
I don't have to eat in Atlanta, but I would make a point of avoiding this nimrod's venue if I did.
I am posting late but had read a lot of the ranting and raving about this one and there are definitely 2 sides to everything.
The chef's home really is the place they work they are there from open to close and believe me those are longer hours then most of anyone here actually works. so them calling it coming to my house well i can not complain about it they do practically live there and see their actual home maybe for 6 hours out of a day if that.
No I am not a chef but have a respect for them as they do work hard to please everyone and here I am seeing most people who do not even cook at home are bashing those who do it for a profession.
Just my 2 cents, bash me if you like not really gonna care much but trying to put out some common sense on this discussion.
common sense has no place here Dork
He sounds a little arrogant to me. Like who he thinks he is. I'm a paying customer. You don't have to bow down to me or anything but how about a little common courtesy. And if I have questions, answer them politely. Then I may consider eating at your establishment.
Okay, except for #4 and #5 this list is a display of total douchery. SERVICE is what makes people go to restaurants. I can cook great meals at home! If you want my patronage, suck it up and smile. Your doors would be closed if it weren't for those "annoying, demanding customers". Ugh! I don't expect servers to bend over backwards, but I do expect: 1) Politeness, 2) For them to accommodate large groups without grumbling (more checks, hellooooo!), 3) to be knowledgeable and courteous in explaining the menu (yeah, because we all took culinary training in Italy- sppft!).
When I worked in the kitchen the thing that most annoyed me was the customer that ordered most expensive cut of meat on the menu and insisted that we cook it well. They were often encouraged to save their money and eat something that would not be ruined by over cooking.
Undercooked is awful. I like well done meat. Your SNOOTY opinion is that you like it raw. That is why chefs are annoying...we don't want to have you push your tastse on us...cook it like we want...that's your job and what you get paid for.
Why is it CNN insists on putting F*ing banner ads right over the POST button when replying to people's rants? Someone over there asleep at the wheel, or is this just another way to censor people?
It's amusing to me to see how many people think that chefs and waiters are all working at the local greasy spoon. It's pretty clear that the author of this piece is talking about fine dining, which relies on a mastery of making great food and providing a certain ambiance. I avoid restaurants with giant menus, Happy Birthday-singing waiters and paper placemats for a reason – I don't want to spend my money there, because the food is terrible, the ambiance is non-existent and I'd like to see a wine list that includes more than three options all from the same label.
When you come into a fine dining restaurant and demand that they accommodate your TGIFridays tastes (rearranging the dining room, requesting free food, complaining about the wait when you missed your reservation), yes, you do ruin it for everyone else.These restaurants are not built on a business model that needs you to come in and buy a $14 sandwich while turning the restaurant inside out to try to meet your every whim. Instead, they rely on people ordering many courses, with wine, and coming back because they like the atmosphere. I know many, MANY business owners who would rather refuse to serve a bad customer than have to put their staff through the ringer like that. And it makes sense – a waiter in a nice restaurant is not there to bring you your food – they know how to serve unobtrusively, know the wine menu, know how to help you pick out an entree – that's not something you'll find at National Chain McFunsters.
uh, its cooking food, not curing cancer.
It's entertainment. If you don't care to be entertained or can't tell the difference between a meal at a nice restaurant and one at a national chain, then go to the chain and let the rest of us have our night of grown up indulgence.
for a night of grown up indulgence
and I won't give you the list from this chef, my offering is welcoming
YES! Thank you, Shelly! You have perfectly summarized what I wanted to say. I was holding off on responding because I couldn't believe how many "entitled" people were going off about how they are the paying customer and, therefore, should have the run of the place. Ugh... I've never worked inside a restaurant, but I enjoy fine dining and I completely understand and agree with this Chef's vent. It made me laugh – mostly because it's TRUE! As opposed to all the angry people out there, I will make it a point to visit this restaurant next time I am in the Atlanta area. It sounds like all of you won't be going, which will make it a very nice experience for me. :)
Just remember that eating out is a luxury expense, and is not necessary for survival. If chefs and wait staff want to hold such a begrudging attitude towards their clients, just remember what business would be like without them. Perhaps its time for someone to organize a national "no-eating-out" week.
you wanted to be voted on to your high school student council but got spurned reapeatedly, right?
anyway, I agree with your emotion, but think bigger
we need a revolution, arm yourselves, we need to rise up against this tyranny
This article was completely condescending. I worked in the restaurant industry through college. There has to be some give and take on both sides. Don't expect the customer, however, to kiss your a** because they want to eat in your establishment. When I go out to eat with friends, I want to be comfortable. If that means moving some chairs, then so be it. Stop being so anal and let the customer enjoy their experience. Not that this gives the customer a reason to be rude, but remember, they help pay your bills by eating in your establishment.
Demonfeed has made the only worthwhile comment in this entire playground of comments.
(I’m nominating this article for a Durian Award) This is a common attitude among chefs. For the most part they are pretentious, miserable people. I've only met a few that actually know jack about food. I fired every chef that I ever hired (6) for either being drunk or for just being a jack hole or both. Ron, you sir are worthless and have a very unsuccessful restaurant career in your future and so does the goofball at CNN that published it. I bet your food sucks just as bad as your attitude. Christ, I’ll never get this 5 minutes of my life back.
Does anyone else that Tipping doesn't make sense sometimes? A friend ordered a salad and asked for multiple refills of their (tap) water. I order the Surf & Turf along with a nice expensive glass of wine. We both probably tipped around 20% but his tip was less than $2 while mine was over $11 even though the waiter probably helped him 6x while only 2x for myself.
And I thought the Soup Nazi was just a character on Seinfield.
Great example of how to be bad in the service industry.
The Soup Nazi is actually based on a real restaurant owner in NYC who had similar complaints about his customers and dealt with them in a surly fashion (rules include no "five tops" EVER). He's still in business. So, there must be something to sticking to your principals as the owner/operator of a dining establishment and not bending over backwards for pain in the ass customers.
I guess Jerry making money off of jokes about him didn't sit well with him, Jerry could at times be a parasite
OVERBOOKING Yes it is hard to know exactly when and how many people with reservations will show, But then there is also no excuse to book 2 or more times the number of people that you can handle and expect people to just hang out 45 min to an hour.
MISMATCHED priceing. If I wanted low cost, cheap food, no service, I'd go fast food, for every were elese I expect two of the following, Great food, Great Service, Moderate cost.
Chef, first off I will be sure to stay far far away from your establishment. Second, you obviously must have your head up your @#$ when it comes to CUSTOMER SERVICE. Finally, I am amazed at the arrogance, selfishness and flat out stupidity you display. Hey Chef, believe it or not it;s not about you, although it's nice to know what your really think of your paying customers.
So many haters, so little time.
Is this chef the one serving his customers, because it sure seems that he wants to be served by his customers? Whatever happened to "the customer is always right?"
It went out with the Depresssion Era.
"You don’t get free pair of gloves or socks from Old Navy when you buy an outfit on your birthday."
And I also don't go to Old Navy to celebrate my birthday over a meal with my friends and family.
I think the thing that ticks me off the most when I eat out is when they forget to put the toy in my Happy Meal.
Good stuff!!
i wonder how many of the angry chefs beard hairs end up in his dishes
"I’m sorry, but we haven’t been waiting around all day for you and your ten friends to pop in..."
- Oh, I'm sorry! I thought you were running a BUSINESS!
I worked in the food industry for years. The thing I hate is the $2. tipper. I used to have reg. customers who would request me as a server I would give them good service but regardless of the bill all they would leave is $2. they would drink mixed drinks, get steak, crab soup. you name it a min of a $60 + in drinks then add 40+ in food and all they would leave is $2. I hated these people. because the $2. would then go to the bartender i made no money off of these people. i got mine i up and quit because of the owner one day i waited till they were done eating the put the $2. in their bill folder and i picked it up looked at it and said " you must need this more that I do" put it back down and walked out. I hope I embarrased the crap outof them to the point they dont eat out anymore. if you dont know how or dont want to tip dont eat out servers and bartenders make less than $2. an hour where i worked. that isnt enough to put up with you and your crap for less than 15%
Hey – for once these 5 things actually make sense. Every thing thtis chef listed would be totally rude !
All of you on both sides of this equation need to remember your convictions about the Service issue when you are a patient in a hospital and your call light isn't answered quickly enough, the nurse didn't bring the PRN med you didn't tell them you want, you didn't think of everything to tell them all at once, etc. Also be aware that there are many, many nurses out there who are equally angry, and who equally justify their being so. I take care of the a$$, keep it cllean; and with the emphasis on patient satisfaction scores, kiss it, no matter how nice or unpleasant the patient is it is attached to. And all with a smile on my face, because it accomplishes nothing positive to do otherwise. All of the Customer Service issues mentioned on this page are beyond inconsequential when compared to those of modern Nursing.
What a total prima donna. While I can understand and agree with some points – there is no excuse for putting down monthly patrons for one, pooping on someones birthday and throwing a hissy fit coz your servers have a CHAIR IN THEIR WAY. Fine dining is about merriment.
in most places, espicially busier ones, the layout of the tables and chairs is meant to optimize service by creating lanes for foot traffic. while it may not seem like a big deal, crowding up one of those lanes can cause small issues throughout the night that could add up to slower service or over crowding in an area. if you come in with a large party however the seats should already be set up for you in a way that is comfortable and doesnt get in the way. that is a responsibility of whoever is seating you, the guest should never have the need to move it around in the first place.
Dear chefs I will stop rearranging your chairs and tables when you learn how to get my order correct. When I say I want my bacon extra crispy that means just that it does not mean that it should a soggy floppy mess. If you can't make bacon you should quit.
Dear Servers I will stop insisting that you sing for my birthday when you stop disappearing for 2 hours after you have given me my check. Perhaps the people who are waiting for my table would get it sooner if bills were processed in a timely manner. Also, since it doesn't seem all that important to you that I actually pay my bill perhaps I should just start leaving after 45 minutes.
If you stop modifing your orders it would be correct..
Dude,
When I make a reservation, I expect my table to be waiting for me. I should not have to tip you to seat me ahead of others because I made the reservation. Your holding me up from a reserved time is presumptuous on your part. You anticipate being busy and you should accommodate those who planned ahead accordingly. You should be grateful I and others are giving you business, instead of delighting in giving us the business.
And while we're on the subject, I don't care if you fancy yourself a Batali or Flay, it's beef and potatoes and green beans and salad. You can decorate it up, give it all kinds of French-sounding names, dally up the description all you want, it's still beef and potatoes and green beans and salad. Give presumptuous people deviled ham on a triscuit and provide a fancy name and they'll go goo-goo for it. Get over yourselves. You are not a "god" just because you can boil water...and your career can come to a screeching halt if I give you a negative review. Just snug the apron, give me my seat when I arrive, provide good, quality, properly-prepared food and we'll both be happy.
That's the end of it.
Here's an idea......if patrons are taking too long after they have finished their meal? If this has become a big problem in restaurants, then why don't we CHANGE THE RULES and put a time limit on lingering customers after they have finished their meals? Say....put a note in fine print on the door of the establishment or on the menu: "Customers, once you have finished your meal, you may linger at the table no longer than (?) minutes". Something like that? What would be so wrong with that? In this day & age, it is not rude in my opinion, but a necessity. Perhaps when the server approaches the customers, as he/she gives his/her "spiel"..."Hi, my name is 'Jean', I will be your server, blah, blah, blah. You may linger no more than thirty minutes at this table after your meal is complete in order to accomodate other patrons".....etc. Works for me! People, what do you think of this idea?
This won't work, because the offending table never EVER realizes they are the problem. It's like the idiot driving in the left lane holding up traffic instead of getting the F* over and letting people by. Then they get pi$$ed when you flash your lights to let them know they are an idiot.
I won't be spending my money in a place run by a chef with that attitude.
Every time I read the comment section after an article, I am so struck by the anger and name-calling that people so easily sling at each other!! If people had to speak face-to-face instead of in black & white, I doubt they would be so brazen in their criticism and nastiness. Why can't people just agree to disagree, 'shake hands' and move on?? What example are you all setting for your kids? So mean..... why? And we wonder why kids are bullying each other so much...some with disastrous consequences??
yes, it is the responsibility of the service industry to provide a pleasant and enjoyable experience for the guest. in most establishments (should be all) the number one priority is guest satisfaction. it is our job to prepare and serve quality food and beverage in a timely matter. but the largest and most difficult part of the job is dealing with the obnoxious people who come in and show no respect to the people who work there. just because we are serving you doesnt mean you should be a complete a-hole and expect us to "deal with it". if something is wrong then it is on us to correct it right away but for the love of god it wouldnt kill people to just try to be polite to another person. as far as the chef worrying about reservations being early or late, im not quite on the same page. i am a lead cook and my head chef has always made sure we accomodate the guest no matter what. if we can make the food a bit early then we do, if the guest is late then we serve them too as soon as is possible. if they are late enough to have to wait for a table then they just have to wait, but when they sit down we serve them right away too. i dont see why that upsets this guy.
I love food and very much enjoy going out to a beyond fancy restaurant the couple times a year we can afford to drop some coin. For the money that we spend on dinner, I would expect a degree of flexibility and special treatment that I would not receive at some family feedbag restaurant. Back in the day, Marco Pierre White would boot customers out of his restaurant for being rude. However, at the core of this (if you listen/read interviews) he realized that it was his job to provide a great dining experience for ALL of his diners paying a high degree of money for his services. I know that Bourdain has made it popular to gripe about the customer/restaurant biz...but he would be the first to admit that he never has taken any restaurant to the next level of perfection. Something to think about when you gripe over a free slice of cake for the couple that just dropped $300 on dinner/wine.
With a show like he11's kitchen, that ignoramous that is going around telling everybody they stink, and get out, and calling them every name in the book....he's the reason good chefs can get a bad name. I wouldn't go to that idiot's restaurant if he invited me and my family for a free dinner and paid the airfare to get there.
His food is for snobs. Gimme my BBQ ribs on a charcoal grill and I'm happy. I don't need some snooty chef giving me gourmet snails or octopus or whatever it is. So long as it isn't burned crispy or raw, I'm fine with it.
Come on guys, give the chef here a break. All of us at one time or another have vented our frustrations about our jobs. I have to agree with him on most of his gripes as a restaurant employee and as a patron. He's just asking for a little respect for the industry and that is not too much to ask...........he's just a little rough about it.:)
Why is a chef whining about things that do not have to do with the kitchen? Was he too busy being up on his high horse that he let a waiter write his complaints? Why would the cook worry himself over reservation complaints anyway?
Any smart chef manager would read the complaints an on both sides of the table and get it all right, don't like to take reservations when it is convienent for the customer, too bad set it up so someone can do it. Ron I would never ever eat at any pace you work
ATTENTION: Residents and Tourist of Georgia: DO NOT EAT AT "Rosebud Restaurant" in Atlanta. The chef (and I use the term loosely) thinks all customers are idiots and upset him. Not to mention he has a very scraggly beard and probably drops hair into your food. He is a pompous jerk and does not deserve your patronage. In fact, I think everyone should call the restaurant between 11:00 and 2:00 (404) 347-9747) to make a reservation and then NOT show up! See how the jackazz likes that!
The article and responses point out why I prefer to eat at home. Too many modern american experiences (restaurants, airlines, hotels) have become like an old-time trip to the dentist: where it costs so much to be so miserable.
IF YOU CANT TAKE THE HEAT GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN PUN INTENDED I HATE MY JOB TOO BUT I KNEW WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN I SIGHED ON
Sweeping generalizations about customers or restaurant staff doesn't really contribute to an open dialogue here. I think we can all say we've all experienced bad service eating out, and been with people (if it isn't ourselves) who have acted like total bastards while dining at a place. These kinds of list-making exercises just lead to complaining. Didn't have a good restaurant experience? Don't go there again – and tell the management if you want. Want to be a good patron, don't assume you get everything on a silver platter just because you want it your way. Every eatery isn't a McDonalds. Most restaurants were created by their chefs and owners as a labor of love, with very special ideas of how they wanted to serve people interested in their food and experience their art – high art or low. It is all a give and take process, but in the end, it is the patron who is deciding to eat at an establishment that is taking the leap of faith.... hoping the dining experience will be a good one. Like anything in life, taking a new job, seeing a movie, starting a family, there will be good times and bad, but unless someone is hurt, deal with the idea that things won't be 100% perfect. That goes for restaurant owners too – if people don't buy your dream or rules for running your place, prepare to go out of business. Personally, I agreed with most of the chef's complaints (would have added a few about certain types of patrons ruining the experience not just for the restaurant but for other patrons as well).... but I treat restaurants occasions to try something new or special. I won't do fast food restaurants because honestly, why spend money on crap when there's better food at home or small independent shops....
A lot of people commenting here dont seem to know the difference between fine dining and "going out to eat". Applebees, Fridays and Olive Garden are not fine dining, they are just fancy quick food resteraunts. Nothing special, nothing fancy, but nice if you don't want to cook and take a step above fast food. Now fine dining is completely different so if you don't even know that difference your opinion on this story really doesn't matter to anyone but yourself.
Well, here's one restaurant I will be sure to avoid like the plague should I ever visit Atlanta! Thank you for making my decision that much easier.
Sounds to me like an ungrateful chef looking for the unemployment line. You are providing a service, not doing us a favor. AND keep in mind there are way too many providing the same service to be served by an ingrate.
@ Chef Eyester......you sure sound like a complete jackazz. SCREW YOU. If you do not want to deal with the public then I suggest you sell your restaurant and become a hermit. I hear Pakistan has some very nice caves. Snobs like you are the reason I hate going out to eat. Restaurants want to charge you an arm and a leg and THEN on top of that, want you to pay their wait staff. Everyone enjoys paying $5 for a domestic beer and $10 for a glass of California chardonnay. So take your pompous attitude and fricassee it......A-hole! I live in Atlanta and I assure you my family will never darken the doorway of your schitthole restaurant.
Please? ALL OF YOU...stay home.
Cosigned
easy to do, I'm a better cook anyway, and the tip stays with the family
Some of you just don't get it. And you never will. You're irrational and entitled. Go to Europe and try some you're "dining manners" out. And that's why we irrationally, and inexplicably spit in your food.
We're the customer – so deal "the f**k" w/ it... Stop whining...
Maybe we will take our business to your competitor.
Alright. If you open a business, then you expect to make money. If you expect to make money, then you want to please the person who is giving you the money no? Refering to a restaurant as your home sounds all nostalgic and nice but its not the case is it? Its a BUSINESS. If you are too darn arrogant and simple to do what you have to in order to please the people paying your darn salary, then close up and go home and let someone else do the work. All I read in that entire list was a bunch of crying ans whining by some pompus fat head who doesnt like it when things arent run his/her way. Tough. Deal with it or quit.
Thanks Eyester! I know where I'm not eating.
I'd like to see this moRon Eyester putz have a chat with Gordon Ramsay about his philosophies regarding customers. It's amazing that this guy is in business at all. Atlanta, speak with your wallets. People like this do NOT deserve your business. It's just food, you eat three times a day, you'll survive if you don't plop down at this pretentious parvenu yutz's shrine to his own ego. The 2010 "Get Over Yourself" award goes to Ron Eyester and Rosebud Restaurant.
As someone who has worked with chefs for years, I can tell you this one is typical. As I have remarked several times, if no one buys your fancy food it goes in the garbage. Not everything is made to order. Let's keep everything in perspective shall we.
i've had it with the retail/CSR complaints. take it with a smile on your face or find another job. end of story. Yes the publc are jerks. but it's not rocket science, a warm body could probably replace you.
they prob could but one visit from you and they would quit their job!
This man is in the wrong business.
Because food is more and more of an "art they are many that think its just fuel for the body.. the pompous cooks, think they are gods, guess what i can go on youtube.com or cooking network and do it myself... And i prefer to be the "star" at my house. I prefer for my patrons, not to have to worry about shitty staff , or lazy hostesses. I do as much coooking as possible for my friends. When im done cooking i know i made a dinner for 15-20 friends and it cost me less than $120 to feed them with scallops, filet mignon, salads, soups, and a dessert...... DONT FORGET WAITSTAFF, if everyone wasn't overworked and tired, had some extra time, we wouldnt need you.... i know how to cook a steak, i know how to make a burger... there is nothing you can do that i can replace... YOU WORK FOR US... if you dont like something people use the internet and let us know about these egotistical.... Your just cooking and cleaning... MOM does it BEST...and i rather tip her.
Bottom line is that this guy's a tool. Don't forget who feeds you Chef Boyardee.
Anyone every notice that Restaurants are the only business where their Customer's are not #1? Ever go into a place where it is almost empty but get seated right next to other people? They say it is to help the servers, so I guess their servers are #1 and their customers are somewhere further down their priorities.
My date & I once went to this place for an early dinner and there was only one other couple in the whole place but can you guess where they sat us? That is correct, right next to the other people which looked at the host like she was crazy or inconsiderate. The tables were so close together that I had to turn sideways to get to my seat and I was actually only inches from the guy next to me (which was actually much closer than the person I was with). Of course they offered to seat us somewhere else when we got up to leave but we said no thanks and never went back. That was fine since we hadn't ordered and could leave but this has also happened after we had already order and were eating our dinner.
That is fine that they want to help make it easier for their servers (and less comfortable for their customers) but they need to admit that it is because their customers are not #1.
I agree steve.... LEts see the wait staffs chores... between 5-7 openers. typical restaurant 30 tables have to be set.... HOW LONG YOU BEEN doing this? should take 15-30 minutes. oh wait thats hard to do when you get to stand around and chit chat... no lets move onto drinks, setting cups up and the dispensers, lets stop talking about last night one night stand and get to work so you can finish 15 minutes of work in 35. you get my drift... you want $20 an hour to do what a maid does in a hotel for minimum wage... I havent met one waitress or stff that i was like WOW i need to tip him more.. YOUR DOING YOUR JOB. get over your self.
This article just makes you sound like a jerk and a bad businessman. The customer is king and you should be willing to go the extra mile for them when possible... sometimes that means staying open and moving chairs around.
Dining out has become like flying. It's just not worth the hassle anymore to me. CIustomers are mean and act like they're the only people on the face of the earth, and the people who work there are too hard to deal with to even make it worthwhile. I generally get good service, and I try to be a good guest. But restaurants are so noisy now and so frantic, it's just not the pleasant experience it used to be. A few exceptions in my town that are favorites and I still go there, but not as often as I once did. Here's what I do now when I want a really good dining experience with friends. There are many good places where you can go and get food that has been prepared very nicely and buy it, along with some nice wine from a package store. I take it home, set a lovely table, put the food out, and my friends and I can dine in comfortable surroundings and linger as long as we like.
This guy is a complete moron. He sounds like his job is a big inconvenience – that there sin't anything "service" oriented about it. If you don't want 10 people at your restaurant, then shut the damn doors you idiot. I used to be a restaurant manager – and if I had to deal with a chef like this jerk I would probably find myself having dreams of deep-frying his knuckles!
what a pompous cook. This is the type who is a legend in their own mind and destined to utter mediocrity.
Wait staff is over paid, underworked, and expects TIPS.... Most of wait staff deserves a pay of $10 to $12 an hour max... NOTHING MORE... you dont need a degree, you dont need an education. you just have to work and smile. THATS IT... you people better watch out because if you keep on expecting more all that has to happen is patrons to stop showing up and then you wont make any money.... I cooked here and there mostly chains. we didnt get tips for making 145 meals an hour. with less than 5 issues EVERY night... we helped the wait staff to close up .... WAIT STAFF DOES NOTHING that a 12 year old kid cant do for their mother... what organize forks? well jeeze heres a tip for that one difficult task...
You, sir, are an absolute idiot. Overpaid? Industry standard at 98% of *all* restaraunts is $2.13/hr. They DEPEND on their tips to even break minimum wage. Underworked? Every restaraunt makes their waitstaff show up up to TWO HOURS early to do menial tasks like fill condoment bottles, clean, set tables, polish silver, fold napkins, vacuum... And for those two hours, ALL THEY MAKE IS $.2.13!!! And when their shift is OVER, before they're allowed to leave, they have to spend ANOTHER hour getting paid two bucks to clean up after your sloppy ass. Wipe down tables, wipe down the salad bar, clean the bar area, mop the back, do silver again, fill salt and pepper, etc.
That's when they're NOT running back and forth trying to get your sorry ass your diet teas and rum and cokes and extra ranch sauce and such.
It's backbreaking when you do it 50 hours a week. It's utterly thankless, and you hardly make what you probably deserve.
All that said, I don't care lol. It's their job. So they're gonna serve me the way I want to be served. They are my servents, after all. I'm just happy they know their place. =)
Now go and get me some extra napkins, sweetheart. I've got a mess to make on your newly-cleaned table lol.
Protip:Pour salt all over the floor under the table. They HATE that. I like to imagine them at teh end of a long night, wanting to go home to their loved onees/ drugs/ whatever, and having to stay and wrench their back out trying to get the hokey around the legs of the table to clean up the salt LMAO. XD
You don't want to acknowledge a birthday? Well I don't want to tip 15 to 30% anymore. First off, I will guarantee I will never tip a cook or waiter because of this article, I will make sure none of my friends ever tip again and make sure they make sure their friends don't and thats after I show them this arrogant article. I wonder if the same person who invented the free dessert on birthdays is the same person who invented tip the waiter. Hmm probably not but they sure stand around you wanting to grab that extra money they think they deserve for doing their job. I hope waiters around the world never get tipped again after reading this and any Chef and waiters who think like this well, To the Chef, I hope you lose your business and have to eat out of dumpsters you ungrateful peon and I hope waiters around the world never get tipped again. Spent my life under the impression that tipping 15 to 20% of a good thing and 30% to really good waiters but after reading this ? ha never again I promise you that. I will make it my goal to do all the things on this list for now on. I swear to you now me or none of my friends and none of their friends will ever tip again after this BS in this article. NONE OF YOU would have a job or business if not for the customers coming in. If I am paying you for a service then at the moment you are working for me. I hope Every chef or restaurant owner that thinks like this is out of business tomorrow because you aren't worth the spit on the bottom of my shoe.
Wow, you're really a jackass.
Waiters around the world don't get tipped, this is an American piece of foolishness.
How horrible for the chef- actually having customers that want to give him their money! I bet he hasn't posted his "five things" on the door to his restaurant. If he did, his little "customer" problem would be gone- and he'd be out of business!
Good article. It really helps show what irritates the people who are being paid to do a job don't like about their jobs.
Now be quiet, go back into the kitchen, and try to actually take my order within a half hour of my being seated, if that's not too much trouble.
If you don't like the job, get a different line of work. Oh, wait, I forgot – you're not actually a waiter, you're an actor, you're just doing this until your big break comes along.
I wouldn't think of doing any of these things in any restaurant, but I won't be patronizing any of Mr. Eyester's restaurants if this reflects his general attitude towards customers. It's obvious that even his best customers are not appreciated but merely tolerated.
I totally agree! I have never done any of those things on his list. I waited tables to support myself through college, so I have experienced both sides. I was never rude to a customer nor did I ever contaminate anyone's food... even if the customer was rude and/or happened to be wrong. When I used to dine out, I would always tip at least 25%. The final straw came for me when a waitress AND a manager tried to convince me that the chicken in tomato basil sauce really was the lemon caper chicken I had ordered... A spice must have turned the sauce that funny red colour. (I guess the "spice" also made it smell, and taste, like tomato basil.) I sent the dish back. They offered to make me another dish, besides the lemon chicken (yes, they were still not willing to admit it was the wrong dish), for free. I refused. I do not come into a restaurant looking for freebies, but I do expect to get what I order and not have the staff try to pass something else off on me in order to save a few bucks.
I now make my lemon caper chicken at home. It still hasn't turned out red and tasting of basil.
Well "chef", you're not exactly splitting atoms for a living are you? I can't believe the level of arrogance the "chef" shows. If it is that hard for you to produce polite and PROFESSIONAL service then you are in the wrong field. I too work in a customer service field. I work for an airline on the maintenance end of the business. Would you like me to show the same consideration and professionalism you display?! I think not...
All I know is this chef has nothing to worry about because I the "CUSTOMER" would not set foot in their establishment!!!!!
There are two sides to every story and this whinner is only presenting one.
Chef said: "Why do people always seem to call the restaurant at the absolute worst time (i.e. between 12:45 and 1:30 p.m. and 7 and 9 p.m."
To take the analogy you have been liberally, "Guess what, I can call an airline at any time during the day or night and they will politely give me information"
These responses nicely illustrate how Americans refuse to believe that service is a vocation. The waitstaff aren't your servants, etymological similarities aside. Yes, your waiter should do what s/he can to help you enjoy your meal more fully and should not be snobbish and make you feel small, but in what other social setting in the 21st cen. is snapping your fingers to get someone's attention acceptable?
How funny. You all started a fight over someone's right to freedom of speech where they were merely commenting the article. Wow! My first job was in teh food service environment and I learned enough lessons to last a lifetime about how to treat those who are waiting on me. I also am acutely aware of the service being provided by the server(s), the management, and the business as a whole. You cannot paint everyone with the same broad brush. Easy enough to never return to any establishment where the service was below expectations and where indications are that it's the atmosphere created by the management or the business. Problem solved. Now if I am part of a larger dining party, I'll ask the staff if we can accomodate the crowd and if they do so then I don't feel bad about moving the tables. If it's that large then the gratuity is likely automatic anyway so it should cover their hassle at moving furniture. I don't care if the staff doesn't write down my order. What I care about is getting what I ordered. If you can't multi-task then don't work where there are options. And more to my fellow diners than to the staff...could you please go blow your nose in the restroom, could you please take your cellphone conversation outside, and could you please chew with your mouth closed? Thanks so much and happy eating!
And these restaurants wonder why no one goes out to eat anymore.
I'm disgusted by these defenders of bad customer service whimpering about how they must serve those who pay their salaries.
why is it always the chefs fault if the customer orders it wrong. "ummm, id like a number 2 combo" (picture on menu board and wording is double with no cheese) but they come back screaming and ranting that they wanted cheese, which is a number 1 combo, not number 2! The person who wrote the book, the "Customer is always right", did no favors for business owners because customers abuse that line, "the customer is always right"
Wow this is a touchy topic, If you are stuck in traffic, call the restaurant and let them know.
The reason chefs are chefs is they are trained, and know how to put flavours, and combinations to complement eachother and if the server suggests a wine, it is probably because they have been trained.
Sometimes when a kitchen gets backed up, life will not end, have a drink and enjoy your company.
Glad I'm not the only one who thinks this guy is a whiney b1tch. Suck it up, port-wine, or go to a non-customer-focused industry.
ridiculous. the restaurant is there to serve customers, not vice versa. if you don't like it, get outta the business.
Yea RESERVATIONS!, I made a resi for my mothers birthday we had 11 people they were 20 minutes late seating us then took an hour to get our food the place is packed kitchen BACKED up but they keep seating and taking orders trying to make that extra buck all the while they have 50 people waiting for FOOD. We said something to the General Manager he ends up chasing us out of the restaurant yelling hes going to call the cops if we don't leave. And you know what its been two years and NONE of us has been back!
Justin, I "stiffed" no one: I did not give him money that he did not earn. This servers only suggestion was to put my dinner in the microwave. As the face of this restaurant. he offered no alternatives and (as far as I know) did not consult his supervisor. He could not resolve the issue professionally and I left rather than turn this into a vacation killing conflict.
Of course he had a bad attitude! I did not "punish" him. I did the civilized thing and left!. Tip him and never go back? what would the tip be for?
Thanks for posting this so I can scratch Rosebud off of my list of places to eat in Atlanta.
There are thousands of talented chefs in America and I'll continue to patronize the ones that set themselves apart not only by being able to cook, but by appreciating the people who keep them in business.
my only complaint is with #6. maybe we only c