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Previously, I put up a post in the year 2010 - tips on being a good customer. During that time, I was working part time in the F & B industry and inspired by the book Waiter rant by Steve Dublanica, I wrote that post to relate in real life what we went through as service providers in Singapore. So now that I am working full time in the F & B industry, I thought I'd revise that list and add in a couple more tips now that I see customers almost everyday at the establishment I work in. So once again, dedicated to all my hard working colleagues at my work place. This section of this long post is for you guys :D
Tips on being a good customer
1) Each restaurant has their way of operating and policies that set them apart from other restaurants. We're just the service providers working for bosses, just the same way that you have to report to bosses. Policies are meant to be there to be followed. With regards to reservation, we have restrictions to what time we are able to accommodate and the amount of people we can seat, it is also subjected to availability. When making a reservation, do not DEMAND that your reservation be taken, I run the bloody restaurant, not you. Start our relationship off well, you demanding a table reservation even though I tell you I'm full for the night isn't going to make you the most loved customer of the night. I still want your business, accept my alternative option for you. And don't give me that bullshit excuse when demanding a table for a celebration with your girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband/friend/going away friend/kids's birthday. EVERY bloody reservation says the same thing. If a table reservation is that important to you, reserve your table early, like 2 weeks beforehand.
2) With the first point in place, when you make reservations, keep them. Be on time, We did you a favor of holding back your table, the least you could do is to come. On time.
3) If for some circumstances you're gonna be late; traffic jam, can't find a parking lot, bullshit reasons that probably are lies, please CALL. Its nice to let us know that you'll be late. Your table will be empty for a long long and hungry diners are waiting for one. Get it ?
4) Never say "I'm friends with the restaurant manager." Restaurant managers do not have any friends. You will not get special privileges or free drinks. You queue up and wait like the rest of the people.
5) Seat where you're seated. Whenever hostesses attempt to seat guests, many customers (usually females) will walk past the proffered seat and hunt around the restaurant for a better table. Please, let the hostess do her job. She's trying to seat customers evenly so that everyone gets the best service possible. The bloody food taste the same which ever table you seat at.
6) Wait to be seated. Don't just saunter into the restaurant like its a food court or KFC. It is a bloody restaurant, wait for the host to attend to you. Walking in and looking for a seat yourself defeats the purpose of dining in a restaurant where by your dining experience begins at the host. And eating out in a restaurant, have some grace, don't act like some uneducated fool who doesn't even know basic courtesy when stepping into someone else's "home", you have to wait to be invited in.
7) Be polite. Say please and thank you. Be courteous to the hostess, waiters and managers at the establishment you're dining at . Treat others as you want to be treated. (Yes, people need to be reminded of this)
8) Never say, "Do you know who I am?" Why ? Did you forgot who you are ?
9) Do not snap your fingers to get the waiter's attention. Remember, we have shears that cut through bone in the kitchen.
10) Once seated, don't walk around with your kid. This is a restaurant, not the zoo. You do not need to see what other diners are doing, you're blocking the way of the waiters and bussers, and you're a potential hazard to other guest considering we have a buffet going on and people are walking around with plates that may shatter your kid's skull.
11) You are dining at a restaurant, not a picnic at the playground. Parents, do not let your kids run around like their in a playground with sesame street characters chasing them. Especially during rush hour. Hot soup on your kid's head is not a good sight.
12) Don't ask for a table next to a power point you cheap bastard. Be it for your iPhone or Laptop. Go to a library or something.
13) Order clearly. Say what you want. Your waiter is not psychic. Clarify the order with the waiter who, if he's smart will repeat the order back to you. It is okay if you do not know how to pronounce the item's name. We will not laugh at you. Honestly. Except if you order a sirLION steak instead of a sirLOIN steak.
14) Don't order off the menu. There is a reason why the menu items are as it is. It doesn't mean that we sell tuna and rice, we can make you sushi. When you order and change things in the menu, you're forcing the chef into a situation where he's cooking something he doesn't make on a regular basis. In a restaurant kitchen, repetition is the key to consistency. You want your heart surgeon to have done ten thousand by passes before he cracks open your chest right? Same with a chef. If he makes the same entree ten thousand times a month, chances are the dish would be a home run every time he churns out one.
15) Reasonable menu changes are all right for food allergies. Don't lie and say that you have an allergy so that the chef will make something special just for you. You know who you are.
16) After ordering, wait for your food. Have patience, you are not the only customer in the whole restaurant. Don't exaggerate your waiting time. You've only waited 5 minutes, not 20 minutes.
17) If you're in a rush, please don't dine with us, go to Mcdonalds or something, they're way way way faster than us.
18) The secret to being treated like a regular customer? Be a regular customer. Everybody likes to have a favourite restaurant whereby the waiter knows his favourite drink and the owner makes a fuss over him. We all want a special place where we'll always get a good table or a last minute reservation. The problem is, most patrons think they're entitled to that level of fawning on their first visit to the restaurant. Wrong ! If you want to be treated like a regular customer, you have to patronize an establishment at least once or twice a month.
19) Don't monopolize the waiter's time. Sure I'd like to talk with you, only if I have 5 waiters but only 2 tables in the restaurant. And please, call me over when you are ready to order. I don't want to stand by your table while your date is a clueless person who has no idea what he/she wants. I can always come back later while you discuss your food preference with your partner. You are always welcomed to ask me for recommendations, I'll give them to you. But unless you're gorgeous with a cleavage, don't get me to stand there and wait while you're having a mini meeting on what you're gonna eat.
20) In Singapore, tipping is not a norm. Mostly customers in Singapore don't tip because they assume that they've already paid service charge. What most people don't know is that the service charged paid does not go to the waiters and managers like practiced in other countries. Only a handful of establishments in Singapore splits up the service charge to the waiters. Unfortunately, the establishment I work in isn't one of those handful. The money to pay for broken dishes and damaged restaurant property has to come from somewhere right ?
So moral of this point ? Tip us ! Haha.
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2011 NBA Champions
In other news, the Dallas Mavericks won the 2011 NBA finals. Finally a ring for the franchise and a ring for my favorite player of all time - Jason Kidd. After 17 long years in the league and coming close to winning it 2 times with the New Jersey Nets, JKidd finally got what he deserves, the ring in the team he was originally drafted to. That's awesome.
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Eun Jung
T-ara and Eunjung came to town recently, I didn't have time and tickets to go catch them. Wasted. I bet Eunjun looks really gorgeous in real life.
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Plants VS Zombies
I've been losing a lot of sleep recently to this bloody game. I've been playing it religiously every single night before I go to sleep. Round after round after round. My iPad has fingerprints at a certain places where I control the game. Seriously funny.
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Waisan visit
Waisan recently came back to town. We arranged a weekday night basketball session where by lots of the guys turned up. Which goes to show that we're really lazy and not putting in effort to exercise more. The Hongkong dude comes back and everyone comes out for ball just to give "face". Haha. Prata followed after that and it was a great, nostalgic night. Awesome.
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16 signs to quit your job
Previously I did a quiz that was posted on Yahoo's page on reasons to quit your job. I scored 5 out of 10. Couple of weeks back, smack in the middle of Yahoo's page was this headline - 16 signs to quit your job. I'm thinking many people are reconsidering changing jobs now that the economy is getting better, that is why the recent post on quitting jobs for greener pasture smacked in Yahoo's front pages every now and then. Anyway, I copied the 16 reasons down and I'm not going to answer them this time, just in case my upper management reads my blog. haha. But see how much you fare !
Nightmares about work. There's nothing worse than dreaming about work. It's like spending hours at the office--without getting paid. The worst part is that employment nightmares can throw off your work-life balance, making you feel as if you have not had a healthy amount of time away from the office. Sometimes the dreams are so realistic, you wake up feeling like you've worked a 24-hour shift. These reflections of your subconscious might be sending you a message: Find a new job!
Boredom/predictability. When the minutes feel like hours, it's time to move on. Boredom is a "gateway problem" to a host of ugly things. While the feeling might appear harmless, sustained periods of boredom can lead to a plethora of psychological and physical issues, including anxiety and depression. If you know everything your coworkers will do--before they do it--it's time to go. Ennui is more than a mild irritant, it might be a telltale sign that a new job is needed.
Try, try, try. If you have spent the past year employing all of the tactics you've read on career advice blogs and in employment books, but keep winding up back in the same dark place, it's time to find a new job. Sometimes advice can be summed up in two letters: G-O!
Your Gut. Oftentimes, our minds and hearts will know the answer to a question. But rather than accept that, we ask anyone who will listen. And while these folks will do their best to deliver solid answers, the answer to seek new employment lies within. Ignore your instinct at your own peril. If a little voice keeps telling you to move on, you should listen up.
Management issues. If the people running the show appear confused, odds are, they are confused--and that doesn't bode well for employees. Personnel can change, but company culture is much less likely to evolve quickly. Working amongst chaos is a major stressor, one that often outweighs a job's perks. If your company doesn't have their stuff together, you need to get your stuff together and leave.
Misaligned values. The ideal work scenario has you working for, and alongside, people who share a similar core value system with you. If the head honchos have different philosophical beliefs than you (i.e., let's not recycle paper or let's stay two hours late every night), the organization might not be a good fit for you.
Work is work. Every job should come with some fun. If the good times have been completely drained from your 9-to-5, you need to move on. Even employees conducting the most macabre jobs are able to share some laughs. If you find yourself working at Sourpuss Central, start sending out resumes and regain your inner child. Even a fake smile has a value!
Life change. As you collect your regular paychecks, life changes around you. Regularly evaluate your priorities. If you are planning to start a family or considering a cross-country move, it might be time to analyze how your current job stacks up against your new needs and wants. There's no shame in changing, but it is a shame to not recognize that a change is needed.
Checked out. Helplessness and hopelessness have no place in positive lives. If work has made you question your own worth or value as an employee, you need to spruce up that resume.
Change in appearance. From weight gain or loss to bags under the eyes, if you've thrown in the towel with regards to your looks, or you find yourself either unable to eat or using food to pacify your angst, it may be time to punch up that resume. Appearance and confidence go hand-in-hand. Take a long look in the mirror and ask yourself if you like what you see.
Lack of sleep. Bad dreams are one thing, but insomnia brought on by the dread you feel waiting for the alarm clock to sound, is another. If you manage to catch a few winks, and they are restless and disturbed, take a hard look at your lifestyle. Is it the foods you are eating? A lack of exercise? Or is it your job?
Complaining about work. Some people just can't leave their troubles at the office. They are defined by their jobs. If you suddenly find yourself consumed by work and unable to shake the negative attitude you have toward it, you may be heading down a dead-end path. In many cases, this behavior starts with a small work clique. Each member works the other ones up on how horrible everything job-related is. Ironically, you soon end up feeling isolated and miserable. Nothing productive comes out of chronic complaining, so get your butt in gear and put your money where your mouth is.
Job-search addiction. You start by checking once a day, then twice a day, before you know it, you're practically living on job boards. The worst part is, you're giving serious consideration to jobs that are unrelated to your skillset and pay substantially less than what your skills are worth. Check please!
Internet-search balance shift. Sure, most of us surf the Web at some point during our workday. But if you find that you are spending more and more time Web window shopping or treating fantasy football like it was reality football, you might as well start clearing out your desk. Give yourself this one-question quiz: Are you begging to be caught?
Your boss is cruel. Yelling. Manipulative games. Arrogance. If dealing with your boss is a royal pain and your company does not have the proper communication channels set up for you to address the issue, it might be time to move on. A bad boss might be tolerable, but a sadistic boss is unacceptable.
Your company doesn't foster employee growth. Self motivation is exhausting. It's a big plus to have your employer in your corner, helping you learn and grow as an employee. From tuition reimbursement to management mentoring programs, if your employer is not invested in you, you can't expect to grow.
PS. I scored 9 out of 16 ._.
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Funnies
Boss checks in. Awesome.
