I love my job, I really do.  I enjoy customer service.  I enjoy talking to people, I enjoy serving food.  But no matter how much I love my job, after each weekend, (sometimes after each shift), someone or something has given me a reason to need to rant, rave, and vent.

I enjoy going to CustomersSuck.com, just to see the other horrendous stories and realize I am not alone.  Today I just really need to vent a little.

I have come to realize over the years that people just DON’T LISTEN.  Yet this continues to be one of my biggest pet-peeves at work.  Here are some examples of customers not listening, and these are things that have happened personally to me or to other people I work with.

Me = Me, smiling and doing the best I can
C = Customer (C1 and c2, etc. if there is more than one person at the table)

Example 1;
C1; “I’ll have the Ham and Eggs”
Me; “And how would you like your eggs?
C1; “Over Medium.  And with wheat toast.”
Me; “Okay. :-)   And what would you like?”  (turning to the next customer)
c2; “I want the same thing”
Me; “The same?  You want Ham and Eggs?”
c2; “Yes, the same as her.”
Me; “Okay.  Over medium eggs and with wheat toast?”
C2; “Yes.”
(Note, I repeated the order to the 2nd customer just to be sure.  Because sometimes people will say they want the same thing, but then end up ordering something completley different.)
Later, I deliver the food.
Me; “Here is your ham and eggs.”
C1; “Thankyou”
C2; “Uhhhh… I wanted bacon.”

Example 2;
During a busy shift, I am delivering food, taking orders, and clearing plates from several tables as fast as I can.  As I am delivering food to one table, walking with my arms, full, I notice that a different table is running low on coffee.  As I pass by them with my arms full of plates, I pause to smile at them, make eye contact and say “I’ll be right back with some more coffee for you.” and continue on to the other table to deliver the food.  I drop off all the plates, make sure this table has all their food, then turn around to go to the back to get the coffee pot.  On my way, I notice the other table waving at me.  The one that I just told I would be back with coffee.  I figure maybe they need something else.  So I turn around, walk all the way back to their booth, “Yes, can I get you something?”
“Umm, coffee please?”
Me; “$@#^%”  ”Yes, I’ll be right back”
It’s really hard to keep my composure sometimes.  I mean, I had TOLD them I was gonna get some more coffee.  I hadn’t even made it back to the drink station yet.  I would have been at their table with a pot of coffee in 10 seconds if they hadn’t stopped me and waved me back.

Example 3;
Delivering food.  I can’t carry it ALL.  I can’t carry a huge heavy tray.  Sometimes I can get another server to follow me with a few plates, but most of the time I will just carry what I can, drop it off, and then go back for the rest.
Me; “Here’s your breakfast,” (naming each item and depositing each plate in front of each customer,) “and I’ll be right back with your toast.  Can I get you anything else?”
C1; “Um, don’t I get toast with this?”
Me; ” Yeah, I just told you I’d be right back with that, jerk.” “Yeah, I’m sorry, I couldn’t carry everything at once, I’ll be right back with that.”

Another variant of example 3;
Me, delivering food; “Here’s your pancakes and bacon!  I’ll be right back with some syrup, is there anything else you want with that?”
C; “umm, syrup?”

and again;
Me; “I’ll be right back with some steak sauce for you, is there anything else I can get you?”
C; “Um, yeah, can I have some steak sauce?”
*SIGH*

Please, before you go out to eat, clean out your ears, turn on your hearing aid, and try bringing some manners with you.  I realize you didn’t come out so that you could talk to me, but listening to your waitress will help keep her in a good mood, and you might even realize that you are recieving excellent service if you would just stop and LISTEN!