Remember that old phrase “service with a smile”? Last Saturday you could forget the smile, just give me some damn service! In this day and age it still boggles my mind why restaurant service can be so horrible with no reason. I get it if a restaurant is swamped with customers, but when the evening appears to be just an average evening, one has to wonder, what the hell?



I can speak in these terms because I have been a server. I get how it works. Nothing is worse than someone who bitches about something, yet has never actually experienced said something. So, I get it. I really do.



I am not going to name the restaurant of fault. My reason behind this decision is basic. I am not a restaurant critic. Furthermore, by the time we left, the restaurant had redeemed itself. But I am still compelled to write about it.



The husband and I arrived at the restaurant around 7:30, prime dinnertime. This is a casual restaurant, so no reservations are taken or needed. The main dining area looked a little busy and there were lots of kids, so we chose to sit in the bar. There were about four tables available that were all un-bused.



We chose one and sat down, but not before we moved the glasses, crumpled napkins and used limes to the end of the table. After a minute or two a server arrived. She removed the leftovers and proceeded to wipe the table down with a very wet bleach towel.

God bless my husband, he said, “Don’t put your elbows down! You’ll ruin your blouse.” So I grabbed my new napkin and wiped my area off. Oh how I love the smell of bleach before I eat.



So for the next 10 minutes we sit. No water, no menu, no nothing. Finally my stink-eye caught our server’s attention — still nothing. A few more minutes and she finally brought water and menus. Again we waited. A different server arrived to take our order. Ah, relief at last. And then we waited.



Ten more minutes went by as I watched my vodka soda and my husband’s beer sit at the bar. I finally walked over and asked the bartender, “Can I take these?” That’s when the bar back gave ME the stink-eye. My drink was wrong of course; tonic water not soda and the bartender graciously made me a new drink.



The rest of the evening went much better. The bartender came to check on us a few times and exclaimed, “I don’t know what is up with these servers tonight.” We promptly were given a new server and all was right with the world.



The moral to the story is a good server, no matter how busy, can B.S. their customers into thinking their getting cracker-jack attention. There is a lot to be said about eye contact (even stink-eye contact) and use the phrase, “I will be right with you,” as many times as you have to. A smile goes a mile too.