qualities of a good waitress or waiter

@happy6162 (3001)
United States
July 2, 2009 5:47pm CST
I worked as a wairtess for 15 years and the first year I thought it was a very easy job, but it is not. I had to learn how to abbreviate so the cook new what i was ordering and then had to remember where the order went to. well i learn after i use different codes to remember what table order what. but the most important thing to me is treating each customer as if they were very special be friendly and polite to them even if they make it hard to sometimes. my questions is what do you think is the most important qualities to making a good waitress?
4 people like this
12 responses
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
2 Jul 09
I have been a waitress before. I think that the qualities of a good waitress is someone who is friendly, kind and who makes sure that the food is right without pestering so much. I've learned to bring extra drinks to the table after the food is there, and to not bother them until after they are done eating. Lol. I know as a customer I get annoyed at a waitress who keeps coming back to the table.
2 people like this
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
3 Jul 09
it irritates me too when a waitress keeps coming to the table and i am trying to eat. making sure that the customer has enough to drink with their meal is a good idea. checking with them after they are done is better than check every 2 minutes. thank you for your response.
1 person likes this
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
3 Jul 09
I do take pity on them though, especially if I can tell they are new at it. People who are new at watressing just have an air about them, lol. They're giddy yet nervous. If I can, I give them tips or just say " Your new aren't you? Don't worry I've been there too. Just relax, I won't bite!" lol.
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
3 Jul 09
it is easy to tell when someone has never waiting tables before and i try to make them feel at easy too. many of the new waitress usually tell you that this is their first day and sorry for the inconvenients.
1 person likes this
• China
3 Jul 09
To be a waitress is not a easy job, I think waitress all have a good remember, they can remember every table's food, and they almost never miss mistake, this is really hard to do, and I think patient is very important, sometimes the restaurant is very busy, and some customer will order slow, so I think waitress should have patient fro them, when the food is slow, some customs will rude and in a hurry, so the waitress should have enough patient to them, good service is important.
2 people like this
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
3 Jul 09
a waitress does have to have a memory to know what food go where. it was hard when customer got mad because it was taking so long to get their food. all i could do was tell them i would check with the cook and then reassure them that it would not be to much long. thank you for your response.
@KATRINKA (1624)
• United States
2 Jul 09
Waitressing is a difficult job. I've tried it, and I doubt that I could do it again. I think the most important qualities a waitress/waiter should have are being polite and being clean. I'll overlook a screwed up order or having to wait if the waitress isn't nasty or rude and is clean. I was at a restaurant once where the waitress crouched in front of our table and propped her arms and head on the table while she told us the specials. I was grossed out by that. I was afraid to complain or ask for another waitress, because you hear stories about waitstaff spitting in food or dropping your order on the floor and serving it to you. Another time at another restaurant the waitress grabbed my iced tea glass from the inside when she took it to refill it. I know she didn't replace the glass, and I didn't drink any more tea. Also, if you have long hair or bangs, put it up or pin it back. I hate seeing waitresses with hair hanging over their shoulders or long bangs hanging over their faces. Save the pretty tresses for a date. You're serving me food. I don't want hair in my food. If you're attentive but not intrusive, you'll get a good tip from me. I'm told I tip too much, but I know it's rough. If you're dirty and rude, you won't get a tip from me.
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
3 Jul 09
you are right if a waitress/waiter is polite and not rude it would be easier to overlook if he or she makes a mistake. I do not blame you for not drinking any more tea i wonder why she did that guess she was not thinking. thank you for your response.
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
3 Jul 09
i would say all you mentioned. my late hubby and i have always tipped very well to really good waitresses. my aunt was a waitress all her life from 15 to now and she 75! no idea how she has put up with some very mean people that long. i worked for her once way back in my 20's when she was manager of a resturaunt. i only lasted 3 weeks. i spent most of my free time in the back crying because some people were so mean
2 people like this
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
3 Jul 09
your aunt has lots of patiences to put up with all the different attitudes of her customers. i know i would have to readjust my attitude if i took a job as a waitress again. thank you for your responses.
@Gemstar6 (71)
• New Zealand
3 Jul 09
Waitressing is a very tough job. The delicate juggling of getting the middle ground between annoying or neglectful, especially when a busy service is happening I don't envy at all. Then there's the orders and 'special needs' that may throw a curve ball. Chewing gum is revolting, as is loud discussions of personal life "gee I got with that Johnny Smitts last night, he has really baaaad teeth!". Pancake makeup is scary.So are nails that resemble talons, and Amazonian 'wild hair'. The poor waitress if she can pass all these tests then has to interact with the ego-centric monster that is the chef (okay some of them are nice) and be the bearer of bad news when a steak etc is over- or under-cooked. That requires diplomacy parallel to Kofi Annan lol! Speed is also a desirable factor as the meals cannot sit too long under those lights before tha garnish wilts and the crust starts hehe. A good waitress is polite, genuine (or at least APPEAR to care), attentive without being overbearing, resourceful, quick, attractive and definitely have a good sense of humour! That's my opinion, and I'm a Chef lol!
2 people like this
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
3 Jul 09
yes chewing gum is revolting and i see some waitress doing that chewing gum and think what is wrong with them don't they know how revolting that looks. a waitress do have to be fast she will not make much in tips. thank you for your response.
@mmlove (20)
• United States
3 Jul 09
Be polite,deal with the customers attitude,Always keep a smile on your face,and check on the customers and asked the customers If I can get you a refill or ask the customer is everything ok.You should be fine.
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
3 Jul 09
the smile on your face will let the customer know that you are happy to see them and should make the customer appreciate everything you do. thank you for your response.
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
20 Oct 09
When I waw a waitress I would always be polite to the customer even when some of them were pretty rude. I was following the golden rule to be polite to them if though they did not deserve it. I know I could not be a waitress again because it is a hard job and some people make it even harder by the way they treat a waitress.
• United States
20 Oct 09
I always tried to waitress with the "golden rule in mind": do exactly what you would want the waitress to do if you were dining. This works really good if you're serving a family (be nice to the kiddos) or if it's a couple's romantic meal (try your best not to bother them) and never seem as though you're trying to get a big tip- treat everyone with equal respect, even if it's obvious they're not going to leave a tip. That being said, I can't even make the golden rue work for me any more because now that I know how tough waiting is, I'm in no way picky or judgemental of any waiter, in fact, I usually avoid eating out because I'm always reminded of how stressful a restaurant is. I don't know if I could ever be a waitress again. Bless the waiters and waitresses of the world...
@clorissa123 (4926)
• United States
3 Jul 09
The most important qualities for a waitress to consider is treating their customers with nice attitude, and with concern about their satisfaction with the food and the service they are receiving. I never been a waiter before, but I work at a restaurant to help out for while. From my observation, and personal experience. Even the rude customers are wrong, we have to treat them sincerely and nicely too. They are our meal ticket there, and no way we going to offend them. I just hope that they will return more often. Accept your customers criticism, and improve it in every way.
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
3 Jul 09
yes even if a customer is rude and wrong you have to treat them nicely if you want them to come back and hopefully the next time they will not be rude because the waitress was nice to them. thank you for your response
@cobra1368 (702)
• United States
3 Jul 09
I was a waitress for 8 years, all through high school and college, and I think that a good memory is definitely a plus. You have to be able to remember the table set-up, remember who nees what if all of your tables happen to need something on your way back to the kitchen, and, as you said, you need to remember the shorthand for the cooks in the back. Multi-tasking also comes in handy. Patience in dealing with people, and being personable in general are also good qualities to possess as waitstaff. One of the things I would do in order to get larger tips is take the whole order down in my head, without writing it down, in large parties (15 people is the most I've ever done). One party of people even all switched places just to try to mess me up, and I STILL got it right! I could even do that if people had substitutions, as long as they weren't really weird ones (like, skip the rice, but I'd like a small pile of tomatoes instead). So, above all, a good attitude and a good memory are key in being a good waiter/waitress!
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
3 Jul 09
You definitely have a good memory. i know i could not have done that when i was a waitress and definitely could not do it now. Patience is in the top 5 that a waitress has because you never know how a customer will react if the order is not right. thank you for your response.
• United States
18 Jul 09
I have been a customer in restaurants along the east coast for years and years; but it wasnt until I decided to start my own business (and settle down) that I noticed how demanding a waitress occupation really is. I go to this small restaurant (at off hours) nearly every day. Now; Im getting to the point where they know what kinds of food I order. But Im realizing things about those women also. One day one waitress's boy friend showed up "drunk as a skunk"/she had to prop him up in a chair. He came to her because he wanted more money. This waitress gave her (very hansome) drunk boyfriend more money and he left. Now I feel this woman has some serious problems at home but she is young and cant see the forrest for the trees? (We all have to learn some things on our own.) This woman has been at waitressing for 2 years now and is sloppy at it. I dont usually get her / I know her tables. The waitress who waits on me is 26 and a college graduate--she has talked to me about some of her life. (Ive sort-of known her for 4years). She is personable as well as a good server. I know I give a 25% tip to her but I feel good when I leave. And isnt that the goal of restaurant staff?
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
18 Jul 09
yes, the restaurant staff should make you feel special so you will want to come back to their restaurant again and again and again. i have known some waitress and other restaurant staff that are sloppy and just lazy. thank you for your response. happy mylotting.
• India
3 Jul 09
It is indeed a difficult job. But as a matter of fact, the most important factor a waitress require is politeness. Jonny depp gave a wholesome bomb to a polite and friendly waiter. Even though the business is with the owner the waitress is the earner for the man. she should have good memory power to remember the right things for the right table and also should be composed even if the customer is rude
1 person likes this
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
3 Jul 09
you are right if the waitress and service is bad at a restaurant people will not go back and more than likely tell their friends about the waitress and service. i did not give that a thought but it true. thank you for your response.
• United States
25 Feb 10
Oh my goodness I remember when I first started waiting tables, I diddn't know where any of the tables were, I had no way of keeping track of who ordered what food and I ran around from table to table and asking people if they ordered this? I couldn't even remember to come back to you with that ketchup you needed. People yelled and I couldn't get any thing right. I don't think I made $10 that day and I believe it was a busy day or so it seemed.
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
6 Mar 10
The first time I waited on customer I wonder how I would remember what order went where. What I did was number the tables in my head and then on the order paper I wrote the table number it work very well. Thank you for your response and happy mylotting.
• China
2 May 10
waitess is a hard job. As a restaurant owner, they have the responsibility to creat a proper circumtance for their waiters. There is a system called waiter caller system which can make the job easier and more efficient, for the details, you can refer to:www.waitercaller.com
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
19 May 10
You are right about the responsibilities of the restaurant owners. Thank you for your response. Happy mylotting.