So I'm shopping a casual dining restaurant last night. Once the plate from my main course is empty, the server comes by and asks if I'm ready for my check. She's holding a dirty plate she picked up from another table. I tell her I'd like to order dessert. While she's writing down my dessert order, she sets the dirty plate she was holding down on top of my empty plate. There I am, face to face, with someone elses disgusting half-eaten chicken dinner. I made a big point about this in my report. Am I correct that this is not proper "plate management"?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/2013 02:09PM by mitchk.

Depending by what you meant by "a big point". I agree that it is not proper and deserved to be mentioned, but I'm not sure how big a deal I would have made about it.

Yes, and no. It is for you to report exactly what the server did, not your interpretation of it. I'm not sure what you mean by making "a big deal" of it in the report. This could mean that you expressed your disgust; or it could mean that you just made a very explicit, nonjudgemental statement such as, "While taking my order, the server placed the other plate on top of mine, directly in front of me. It contained half eaten portions of x,y, and z." (No adjectives!) Later, in summing up, you might add something like, "Beacuse of [incidents A and B, with no adjectives] I did not feel like a valued customer." That statement, alone, is pretty damning in the service and catering industries.

James, we cross posted, but to the same effect, I think.

I think it is disgusting, would have cancelled dessert unless it was part of the shop. I would have mentioned it in the report also.

Great minds think alike.

walesmaven Wrote:
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> James, we cross posted, but to the same effect, I
> think.

James, would you please refrain from finishing my sentences, especially while I am chewing?

I had that happen at texas roadhouse while I wasn't on a shop.
It was one of a dozen things the server did wrong, though I'm
not 100% sure I would entirely blame her since management
wasn't really helping her and it looked like she was covering
multiple sections while the place was 100% full.

She also dropped the entire tray of alcoholic beverages on a family
two tables away from me. My steak came out raw. Too which the
manager claimed, "of course that part is, it's closer to the bone."

A manager at a steakhouse made that comment? That's scary.

I had a similar experience. The server cleared off some glasses from the table behind me and put them on my table so she could use both her hands to get my check ready. I didn't like it of course. I just reported it as it happened and kept my opinion out of it.

walesmaven Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes, and no. It is for you to report exactly
> what the server did, not your interpretation of
> it. I'm not sure what you mean by making "a big
> deal" of it in the report. This could mean that
> you expressed your disgust; or it could mean that
> you just made a very explicit, nonjudgemental
> statement such as, "While taking my order, the
> server placed the other plate on top of mine,
> directly in front of me. It contained half eaten
> portions of x,y, and z." (No adjectives!)
> Later, in summing up, you might add something
> like, "Beacuse of I did not feel like a valued
> customer." That statement, alone, is pretty
> damning in the service and catering industries.



Yep, I was very explicit, but nonjudgemental. Almost word-for-word what you suggested!

I went to a breakfast shop once and the people who were cleaning the tables left the tip money on the tables. Then new people got seated at the tables and the tip money was still there. I avoid cash whenever possible. It's pretty filthy. I've heard what some people do with cash at strip clubs. I soooooooooo don't want those bills on my breakfast table! Even when you take the yuck factor out of it, what if people started pocketing the tips from the previous customers?

I'd be pretty creeped out having someone elses's plate set down on my table. I would have been bothered enough just to have her standing there talking to me while she's holding on to it. I get that it might be the best use of her time to talk to me on her way back to the kitchen, but really, I'm okay waiting the extra two minutes for her to come back.

I agree with everyone else though that while it's important to report on it, it's equally important to make sure that you just state what happened and not give your opinion of it.

This is why I won't take restaurant shops - I will more than likely side with the server as I know firsthand from more years of being a server than I care to admit to what hell it is to wait on the public. I agree what the OP posted was a lapse of server judgement and not pleasant BUT I was not there and I can understand that often servers are moving in the hellish world of survival that waiting tables is.....Be kind to servers if the restaurant is obviously understaffed!!!! That's all, off my soapbox, and now I'm sure all can see why I won't take restaurant shops lol.

The other icky thing I've noticed servers doing is clearing multiple glasses that have been used by sticking their fingers inside. Then, without washing their hands, they then pick up plates of food to serve to diners. Yuck!

Yuck! Not only bad "plate management," poor service that she didn't ask you if you wanted dessert or anything else prior to asking if you were ready for your check.

I wish I was kidding about this:

A certain buffet restaurant chose the table right in front of mine, to stack and keep stacking, dirty plates. More and more were loaded. At one point, 2 stacks each with 5 plates high. It was nauseating to me to see squished food (weak stomach here) gravy, bits of food, dirty napkins someone wiped their greasy face on, all for me to see, while I dined on my salad....

I lost my appetite.

I reported just what I saw, no emotion, just what I saw: opinion----->They were using a guests table as a bus table....(I did not put that part in the report in those words). Just that they were stacking multiple plates on a diners table.

I did a casual dining shop tonight where the food and service were all good -- but horrendously slow. Everything took about twice as long as it should have. I had a window of 6:00 to 7:30 to "complete the shop." I don't know what that means. Does that mean the shop must end in that window? Does it mean it must start AND end in that window? Does it mean it must START in that window? I had no idea. We got there at about 6:05 and barely got out of there by 7:30. So I'm good either way, but we brought dessert home in a box to accomplish that.

I think the problem was in the kitchen because for the most part our server was adequately attentive. It just took forever for the food to come out. It was hot when it got to us, so I don't think she let it sit before bringing it.

Luckily, other than wanting to be out of there by 7:30, we weren't in a hurry.

OMG, that is disgusting OP. Yuck.

I had an interesting experience yesterday related to being served in a restaurant I thought I would share. I am here in Mexico with my 71 year old mother - both of us are gettting dental work done at much much much lower prices than we would in the US. Yesterday we were at a restaurant and I told the waiter we were ready to order and he just stood there for five minutes before arriving at the table to take the order. Instead of getting annoyed, I was so jealous of the basic human rights this waiter has that I did not have while serving in the United States. I will grant that five minutes is excessive but to me it seems no more extreme than some of the nastiness I had to deal with about time issues that I had no control at all over.

I add this here as obviously this waiter is not getting shopped lol. I only wonder how that shop would go if he were lol.

Secret--I've contacted many a scheduler and asked that question before going to a shop. Better safe than sorry! i've gotten a range of answers (start and finish, start and finish whenever, as long as you walk in before the end of the time frame, etc.). Why aren't companies more specific with that instruction? Anyway, I never take a chance on something like that!

The Server should have taken plate to kitchen, then returned and taken your dessert order. I would have mentioned
it in the report loud and clear.....good job!!!

squireparty Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I had an interesting experience yesterday related
> to being served in a restaurant I thought I would
> share. I am here in Mexico with my 71 year old
> mother - both of us are gettting dental work done
> at much much much lower prices than we would in
> the US. Yesterday we were at a restaurant and I
> told the waiter we were ready to order and he just
> stood there for five minutes before arriving at
> the table to take the order. Instead of getting
> annoyed, I was so jealous of the basic human
> rights this waiter has that I did not have while
> serving in the United States. I will grant that
> five minutes is excessive but to me it seems no
> more extreme than some of the nastiness I had to
> deal with about time issues that I had no control
> at all over.
>
> I add this here as obviously this waiter is not
> getting shopped lol. I only wonder how that shop
> would go if he were lol.

Hi Squire party...(by the way I clicked on like instead of quote the first time) I was just curious about your statement about basic human rights above. I am scratching my head and not understanding what you meant by that. Is this "the basic human right not to do work" when you are hired to do so? I guess I never heard of that right. I can understand not being rushed and having to do three things at once or not being able to take a break or have a trip to the restroom but I am not understanding the server getting to just ignore you when you are there as a human right. Yes, granted some of the pressure in our country to get work done NOW might be a bit much but this seems to be the oposite end of that spectrum. Capitals intended.

sandyf Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> squireparty Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I had an interesting experience yesterday
> related
> > to being served in a restaurant I thought I
> would
> > share. I am here in Mexico with my 71 year old
> > mother - both of us are gettting dental work
> done
> > at much much much lower prices than we would in
> > the US. Yesterday we were at a restaurant and
> I
> > told the waiter we were ready to order and he
> just
> > stood there for five minutes before arriving at
> > the table to take the order. Instead of
> getting
> > annoyed, I was so jealous of the basic human
> > rights this waiter has that I did not have
> while
> > serving in the United States. I will grant
> that
> > five minutes is excessive but to me it seems no
> > more extreme than some of the nastiness I had
> to
> > deal with about time issues that I had no
> control
> > at all over.
> >
> > I add this here as obviously this waiter is not
> > getting shopped lol. I only wonder how that
> shop
> > would go if he were lol.
>
> Hi Squire party...(by the way I clicked on like
> instead of quote the first time) I was just
> curious about your statement about basic human
> rights above. I am scratching my head and not
> understanding what you meant by that. Is this
> "the basic human right not to do work" when you
> are hired to do so? I guess I never heard of that
> right. I can understand not being rushed and
> having to do three things at once or not being
> able to take a break or have a trip to the
> restroom but I am not understanding the server
> getting to just ignore you when you are there as a
> human right. Yes, granted some of the pressure in
> our country to get work done NOW might be a bit
> much but this seems to be the oposite end of that
> spectrum. Capitals intended.

To me after too many years of serving (and I admit this) and dealing with complaints and crankiness over the years due to time issues over which I had no control, such as the speed of the kitchen, it seems like a huge boost in human rights to take your own sweet time to get on over to a table. Now I get this is not going to play well in the United States or any other developed country really, and I get the reasons behind this. But to have to wait five minutes for a waiter to come over and take my order when he knew I was ready - this is any waiter's dream - to not move at that crazy fear based pace and not be continually vulnerable to complaints or consequences. I really felt this waiter had more basic rights than me in this one area - if none other, and I salute the Mexican flag for letting this person have that. (I also noticed the other waiters were quite slow, too, and at another restaurant in town ran across the same). I see Mexico in a more positive light now due to this and I already held it in high regard due to the access Americans have there to much more affordable medical and dental. Did this long windedness answer your question?

Feeling as I do, I think it is quite wise and fair that I never take restaurant shops as there is no way I am not going to side with the server except in cases of obvious rudeness or hostility on the server's part.

Equating that situation to human rights is a stretch and somewhat of an insult to the many people in the world who are subjected to real human rights violations on a daily basis.

What you were seeing was a simple cultural difference that is not as uncommon as you think. Thirty years ago I worked for a restaurant owner who was originally from Sicily. He could not understand the common U.S. practice of "grabbing dinner" before going to a movie or some other function. He was raised in a culture where dinner was the event. People met, ate several courses over a few hours and enjoyed each other's company. That you saw the exact same behavior in more than one restaurant leads me to believe it is more custom than a case of the waiter just choosing to ignore you for an additional five minutes.

LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Equating that situation to human rights is a
> stretch and somewhat of an insult to the many
> people in the world who are subjected to real
> human rights violations on a daily basis.
>
> What you were seeing was a simple cultural
> difference that is not as uncommon as you think.
> Thirty years ago I worked for a restaurant owner
> who was originally from Sicily. He could not
> understand the common U.S. practice of "grabbing
> dinner" before going to a movie or some other
> function. He was raised in a culture where dinner
> was the event. People met, ate several courses
> over a few hours and enjoyed each other's company.
> That you saw the exact same behavior in more than
> one restaurant leads me to believe it is more
> custom than a case of the waiter just choosing to
> ignore you for an additional five minutes.


Hi, Lisa. Agreed. Maybe the term human rights is a bit extreme considering some of the insanity going on in the world - after all on any serving job I was always free to quit, and always made sure I had at least six months float in the credit union should I ever need to. So I agree human rights may be a bit strong. I am thinking that maybe what works for me is what I consider a much more human and sane concept of time in general - the American, or even Western, concept of time has never really worked for me and you could say then why do you serve, you would have a point. It is quick cash in hand and then over to the credit union, this is why, but I am getting older now and am ready for a change and I guess this is showing in my attitude. I also agree with you that there are quite likely some cultural differences going on here.

But there's a little more to the story if anyone cares to read. Yesterday morning my mother had her last appointment at the dentist's, to have her upper plate ground down on the left side as it was irritating her. The dentist shows up on time, pulls out the plate, then disappears for 45 minutes. I know where he was too, as I was outside the dental office waiting in the sun. Someone had come to pay him a social call and he was outside BSing - it was no emergency, my limited Spanish could grasp that. After 45 minutes he went back to my mother and quickly finished her job and got her on her way with no additional fee for the grinding. I was utterly charmed by this and was not annoyed and offended at all, and I still am quite jealous that he is in a culture where he can "get away" with this. Calling this human rights may not be quite right, but what would you call it if you approved of it? Squireparty

I never said I disapproved. I actually find the European customs to be more charming and relaxing. You will not find me having dinner at a restaurant and looking at my watch.

Well Squire Party, sounds like moving to another country some day might just be your cup of tea, or perhaps your cup of horchata. I have lived in several other countries and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. But then there are some big differences depending on where you live in this country as well. I have lived in many places here and found the pace of life to vary a lot from one to the other.
You may even be able to continue as a mystery shopper elsewhere...let's see, for that retail job your fee will be 2 pesos if you get it done in the next week and 1 peso if it takes you a few months to get around to it.

sandyf Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well Squire Party, sounds like moving to another
> country some day might just be your cup of tea, or
> perhaps your cup of horchata. I have lived in
> several other countries and thoroughly enjoyed the
> experience. But then there are some big
> differences depending on where you live in this
> country as well. I have lived in many places here
> and found the pace of life to vary a lot from one
> to the other.
> You may even be able to continue as a mystery
> shopper elsewhere...let's see, for that retail job
> your fee will be 2 pesos if you get it done in the
> next week and 1 peso if it takes you a few months
> to get around to it.


lol I'd be willing to take a pretty large standard of living cut to have more control over my time, that's for sure. And I have thought about leaving before.....right now I have too many family issues to do it but in the future, it's definitely a possibility.

There are a lot of Americans who retire to Mexico because everything (especially medical care) costs less. By the time we retire, we can truly appreciate the tradition of the "siesta" and with the cost of living there being so low (in American dollars) people can have a really comfortable retirement and boost the economy of the communities they settle in.

My younger sister's best friend's mother lived (and died) in Mexico when she retired, and my sister's friend lives there most of the time now and loves it.

Having 13 first (Jewish) cousins living in Mexico City, I have visited numerous times, and seems to me, manyana is their
word of choice. They never rush, or apoligize, which I found rather engaging at that time. We do have different "rules"
in different countries, so flexibility while traveling is the best policy. Human rights is a strong word, they are people oriented
and connection is more important than "timings".