Tips n' Cents

gots me a [cute little] job

2008-12-03T21:13:00.000-08:00

awwwww yeeah.

i am pretty excited to start serving again.

especially since i am employed at a cute little family-run indian restaurant.

i will learn so much, and have such different clientele than i did at the last place i worked at.

hopefully i'll get some cute little notes left for me on the table.

i will at least have some cute little stories about my cute little job

back at it.

2008-11-28T10:06:00.000-08:00

UGGGGGGH.

So this blog will likely be updated more frequently again, as I am BACK IN THE MARKET FOR A SERVING JOB.

Fake enthusiasm? Maybe real?

I miss the social aspect of working in a restaurant. But I certainly don't miss trying to find a damn position. I must have applied to at least 30 places and NADA. Don't they realize how fabulous I am?

I suppose I should stop typing on here and go look for some more 'now hiring' signs.

*sigh*

best. customer. ever.

2008-04-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

sure thing. get your own damn coffee. *thumbs up*

patio season is here

2008-04-07T23:24:00.000-07:00

hot damn that makes me happy.

even though I had to wear approximately 23 layers, and hold my raspberry wheat beer in my fleece-lined brown wool mittens, it was on a patio.

Cafe Diplomatico (http://www.diplomatico.ca/) was RAMMED in the middle of the day, so we were worried that we'd have to wait in line to get a patio spot. It turns out that those were the WEAK patio-goers, and that we were the true patio patrons.

This patio excursion exemplified what is beautiful about the patio experience - random drop ins! A fellow longboarder joined us for some water and a ridiculously soft bun with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and as we were almost done our main courses, a friend from out of town stopped in to have a glass of Valpolicella (which she struggled to almost finish, saying it was only slightly better than red wine vinegar).

The service was pretty awesome considering that he had a whole section inside as well as having to deal with us early-bird patio-goers. I was truly amazed with his ability to carry so many things at once. We both ordered pasta, (mine alongside chicken parmesean:)

which came out before I even realized I was hungry, only to discover that I, most definitely, was:

(that last sentence was for all you grammar nerds)

i didn't leave a note with the bill, but I expressed great delight in my meal. the server seemed pleased.

p.s. this post will also be published in my other blog http://www.littlebitesbigwood.wordpress.com/ ... which i update much more frequently.

REVIEW RESTAURANTS

2008-04-02T18:01:00.001-07:00

that's what you should do.
in comments, and then i'll organize them, or make them into something else.

grampa. please start with your tips n' cents

um. i quittttttttededed

2008-04-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

yeah.....
YEAH!!!!

i'm not a server anymore... so I'm going to have to think of a new way to use this blog.
but i'm pretty damn happy that I just get to appreciate other servers instead being one for a while.

good luck to all y'all... and i promise to keep tippin' well, and leaving notes as often as possible.

p.s. these images are from www.nataliedee.com i love her. you should too.
p.p.s. you should check out my other blog... www.littlebitesbigwood.wordpress.com which will likely still have stuff to do with food and serving, since it has infested my soul and will likely be there forEVER.

giving some of my own medicine

2008-03-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

I went to have breakfast at maggie's today
http://www.toronto.com/restaurants/article/379761
Like always, they were adorable, and the food was reliably delicious.
You used to get unending free refills, but they've cut back on that, but happily give you some if you ask for it, or go up to the counter to get it.
When I left, I decided to leave my own little note :)

it felt nice. I encourage others to do the same.

Kids are honest.

2008-03-18T17:48:00.000-07:00

This is from so long ago, but I found a folder today and had to include this.

Some restaurants hand out colouring sheets for kids with free crayons (which always get left behind and thrown out because no kid ever wants the crayon that's already been crayoned, but i digress)... and some of these colouring sheet designers think it's a great idea to offer a little space for kids to draw their server.

Sometimes we get monster-like interpretations, and mostly we get a lot of scribbles, but this one time I had a particularly verbose young girl who left me this gem:

You can't judge a book by its cover

2008-03-18T17:04:00.001-07:00

I had a table of three, and they were a little bit bizarre... no offense to them if they read this... but they were... kind of particular in the way they ordered, and apparently they were kind of odd about how they asked for a table in the first place... one of the guests sitting on the floor in the hallway while the others smoked, instead of just coming in.

I thought it would be a table that wouldn't make me a lot of money, since they all ordered water and really seemed to scrutinize the prices. Turned out, they just were really dedicated to getting exactly what they wanted! They ordered drinks later, and were very appreciative of me ensuring they had what they needed.

They left very nice tips and the following notes.

I like these ones the most, and are the main reason why I started this blog.

Being responsible pays off

2008-03-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

I had a table that was coming into my restaurant for dinner before going out to a show. A teenage son and his parents.

They were very sweet.

They left their credit card behind, and I accidently took the credit card home with me. I realized it when I was at a bar later that night, and immediately called the credit card company to make sure that they would either cancel it, or tell the customers that I had it.

They were very grateful, but I didn't realize it until a week later I got a little envelope at work with a 20 dollar bill and the following note:

Totally unexpected, totally generous, and totally made my week.

amazing.

Here's why I started this in the first place.

2008-03-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

So I'm a server. There are a lot of us. When we get together, we talk about our customers and coworkers.... a lot. And if you're not one of us, you really notice how much we do it!

I am dedicating this site to the discussions of these customers... good and bad, but mostly to focus on the customers that keep me in this business.... the ones that really appreciate what I do and let me know about it.

To those of you who do this, thank you. Servers appreciate it more than you probably realize it....

i like blogs

2008-02-26T08:28:00.000-08:00

image from www.nataliedee.com

i like blogs... but i usually quit them..

here's a new one

let's see if it lasts