Scene - Blogs - Attentive waiters when is that a bad thing

Attentive waiters -- when is that a bad thing?
Published: 9/13/2012 7:00 AM
Last Modified: 9/12/2012 6:45 PM

... and then the chef came out and joined the waiters in a rousing chorus of "Would You Like More Water, Sir?"

Having not seen Bro. GoGo in a month of Sundays, I met him for lunch this week.

Our waiter was nicer than iced tea. OK, that probably tells you nothing if you, like me, hate tea. So let's say he was just very nice -- and efficient, as he got our orders correct, brought things promptly, didn't scream obscenities at us, blah, blah, blah.

So why was I bothered by the fact that he came over every five minutes or less? I mean, literally every five minutes, if that. It became almost comical. At one point, I thought about telling the waiter that we were having a horrible argument about politics and that we needed time to ourselves. But that seemed like a sizable karma infraction.

Having been a waiter once (for two weeks and one day), I should esteem him for being what I wasn't: attentive. If I had more than two tables, I'd freak out. One time, I forgot to place a lovely couple's order for salmon in and then blamed it on the kitchen -- "They thought I said chicken, sorry -- your order will be right out. More bread?"

At least this hard-working gentleman was present -- just, perhaps, a smidgen too present.

So how do you prefer your waiter?
(A) Sufficiently efficient but not clingy -- i.e., takes your order, refreshes drinks every 10-15 minutes, brings the check, wham-bam, then you're out.
(B) Super-efficient and somewhat chatty -- i.e., takes order quickly and has food out ASAP, refreshes drinks every 5-10 minutes, and trades two witticisms with you.
(C) Omnipresent -- i.e., returns to your table every 5 minutes or less to see to your every demand but does NOT get too personal.
(D) Chatty "Omnipresent" Cathy -- i.e., an omnipresent Chatty Cathy, which hopefully is self-explanatory.

Peace, love and karma infractions ... XOXO

Reader Comments

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nancybiz (5 months ago)

The worst thing is when your waiter constantly interrupts a good conversation to ask if you need anything. Why can't they just stroll by and let us flag them down if we something?

117015 (5 months ago)

I was a waitress for years, and I have a possible explanation for that. If you are working for a chain restaurant, there are probably secret shops (people who get paid to come in a rate the restaurant and the service). One of the rules on our secret shops was that the server had to check back on the food within two bites or two minutes. Therefore, I am probably going to interrupt your conversation if it is nearing two minutes, because I don't want to get yelled at by my manager if you happen to be a shop! Yes, chains suck, and sometimes the "rules" become more important than the actual service =(

dentalgirl (5 months ago)

A sweet southern boy who hates iced tea? Tell me it's not true.

dentalgirl (5 months ago)

Sorry my answer in A.

billwilcox (5 months ago)

A....all the way

ClanJoyWalkSig (5 months ago)

Somewhere between A and B. I like friendly wait staff who make me feel at home. But I'm with you. Don't ask me every few minutes. Walk by and if I need you I'll say so.

Opus (5 months ago)

Clan, exactly. A-B

not normal (5 months ago)

A or B for me and my wife.

TCH51 (5 months ago)

B is good; otherwise A.

Mar (5 months ago)

A or B.

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Living Wright

While other kids were watching "The Smurfs," Scene Writer Jason Ashley Wright was tuned in to "Style with Elsa Klensch." By fourth grade, he knew he wanted to write, and spent almost three years publishing a weekly teen-oriented magazine, Teen-Zine -- circulation: 2. After earning a degree in journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi, he became the medical reporter and teen board coordinator for the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American, a Gannett newspaper. Eight months later, with visions of Elsa dancing in his head, he applied for the fashion writer position at the Tulsa World, where he began working on Aug. 3, 1998. He is now a general assignment reporter for Scene.

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