I’ve worked at multiple restaurants before (well, 2), and let me tell you, there’s no other job quite like it. I’ve worked as both a cook and a server. You meet a lot of people, and you see a lot of things. When people trust you with their food and drinks, sometimes they let their guard down and reveal their true personality and traits…

Today’s lesson is for the servers/waiters/busboys/garçons.

One of the most annoying things I see at restaurants are Seat Hogs. These are people who use up a bigger table than they really should. For example, 4 people sitting at a table of 8. It gets more infuriating when three people sit at a table of eight when there are plenty of good 4-person tables available!

There are two types of Seat Hogs:

The first type is the Unaware Seat Hog. It’s a group that has no idea that they’re doing something wrong by taking a large table; they just sat there for no greedy reason. Allow me to illustrate this point by using a diagram:

 

As you can see, they’re all sitting at one end of the table, unaware of their situation.

The other type is the Aware Seat Hog. It’s a group of people who know that they’re being selfish by taking a larger table, but dammit, they’re going to take it! They march right into your restaurant, and they will take the table that they feel deserved. Here’s an example:

Why do ASHs do this? Sometimes they’re obese, and need more room (although a square 4-seater has more than enough room). Maybe it’s selfishness and inconsideration for others. I lean toward the latter.

So, what can you do as a server if this happens? There are various options with mixed results. See if you can pick out the best one:

1. Choose the surface option. Go over to them and say “Hey, you’re taking up too much room. Move to another table!” Proceed to get fired.
2. The subliminal option. When taking their order, ask, “So, is it just the four of you today?” Maybe they’ll get the hint and feel bad.
3. The lying option. Tell them the table’s saved for a bigger group coming later (there’s always another group bigger, in case you’re having a moral dilemma). They’ll move if they’re decent, and they’ll stay put if they’re jerks. Either way, you’ll end up with less trust if no one shows up, and less tips for moving them.
4. Do nothing. It’s not worth minimum wage to bicker, and if a bigger group needs the table later the Seat Hogs will take the fall and be the scapegoat.

This ClashBang.com article was written by Chris Chu. Tired of privately venting his frustration in vain, Chris decided to share his discontent with the rest of the world.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 17th, 2007 at 9:29 am and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.