Friday, December 16, 2011

"Adventure's In Babysitting"

Hello all.  Yes it has been a very long time and I apologize.  I am just back from a much needed vacation and it was wonderful.

As servers we all have our stories about kids in our stations.  This will be my topic for today.

On my first day back to work I walked in feeling very refreshed and ready to make all the money back that I had spent on my vacation.  I checked out where my station was, as usual, and was just a little disappointed but hey, I was going to make it work.

The first table the hostess sat me was a party of four.  Two adults, husband and wife, and two toddlers.  One of them in a stroller and the other in a booster seat.

As I approach the table and introduce myself the two adults look at me with a blank stare.  Then their 4 or 5 year old proceeds to speak to his parents, Spanish I think.  Great, now I have to get through this table by using a 5 year old to translate to his parents.  This is going to be fun.  Oh, and on top of that, they were first time guests.

Here's a rundown on their order...they had drinks, apps, dinner, which by the way, they shared with their two young children, and dessert.

They seemed very happy and everything was going just so so when, as I make my way out of the kitchen with their appetizers, I run into the little boy that was translating.  He was standing right outside the kitchen, away from his parents.  I asked him if he needed anything and he just smiled so I took him by the hand and directed him back to his table.

These people were at my table for two very long hours and the entire time their 5 year old son was wondering around the restaurant and kitchen.  His parents did not budge from their seats one time to fetch his little behind.  I think I directed him back to his table 20 or more times.

Now, 99% of the time, I don't really have this sort of problem with children.  Most are very well behaved.  On this occasion, however, I felt more like a babysitter than a waitress.  I was so frustrated at the fact that these parents didn't seem to care about how their child was behaving and even more so, they expected me to watch over little Timmy while they enjoyed their meal.  I had three other tables to wait on, what the hell are these people thinking!

You would think that because I was able to be an extremely good sport and follow after their son for 2 hours and still make time for them that they would pitch in a couple extra dollars for my tip, but oh no.  After presenting the check, three different times I might add...three different credit cards, all declined, they finally gathered their belongings(kids) and made their way out the door.

SURPRISE SURPRISE.....CHECK-$78.67....TIP....drum roll please...$6.00.  WTF!!!!!!