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| The Pu Pu Platter. |
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| I freakin love Oatmeal Stouts. The lighter was the Indiana Pale Ale and the red is a Buffalo Bok. |
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| The old pita bread and humus. |
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| Pollo Quesadillas! |
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| BBQ shrimp with cheese. |
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| Sesame chicken in buffalo sauce. |
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| Classic Ribs. |
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| My personal favorite, Buffalo Spring Rolls. These guys are buffalo chicken with goat cheese in filo bread with buffalo sauce and bleu cheese dip. |
After spending the majority of my day being shat on by needy eaters and antagonized by our horrible managers, all I really wanted was some greasy comfort food and a beer to wash it down. Maybe a dark place to sulk. So, a few nights a week, before heading home, I'd stop by Heartland for a little self indulgence. I got to know the beautiful waitresses and always tipped waaaay more than 20%.
Because it fucking sucks to wait tables.
When you eat at your favorite restaurant (I don't mean McDonalds) and that beautiful (or maybe not so beautiful, I don't know where you eat) waitress hands you your food 6 minutes later than you expected, before you decide to short change her, remember that she probably makes--at most--$5 an hour. And the food she just handed you? She didn't cook that, there's a whole kitchen of people making your food--she has nothing to do with it. When the kitchen makes mistakes, or becomes over encumbered with orders, ticket times begin to stretch. Most of the time it is not your server's fault. So leave them alone. What they're doing is a lot of fucking work.
But, lets take a step back from the rant.
I haven't been a waitress for years (I'm now a technician) and when I was, I hated it. Food tends to bring out the primal instincts in people. Think about holidays--have you ever cooked in a roomful of family members? Even in a kitchen full of friends things can get tense. A restaurant is an entire building full of people with food foremost in their thoughts.
The need to satisfy hunger is one of the oldest parts of the brain. It develops first, before abstract thought, before decision making--which means it is part of the survival portion of our brain. So, when we get hungry our subconscious goes into survival mode. Meaning we want food, we want it exactly as we want it and we want it immediately. We might not be aware of it, but we're more aggressive when we're hungry. Imagine your body when about to eat; your mouth waters, you're more aware of smells--I often find myself fantasizing about tearing into whatever is in front of me, destroying it, filling my mouth with taste. Just the act of eating is violent. Imagine that thought process times 30, sometimes 50 and if it's a big restaurant it could be more than 100. And that's just a single hour. Most waiters work between 5 and 12 hours (sometimes more) so you can imagine the amount of people they're helping a day.
The restaurant business is a huge group of people whose job is to make you happy. And, just like myself on those nights so many years ago nursing my beer, it's a form of self indulgence. I have a kitchen, I make enough money to feed myself. Really, I don't need a whole kitchen of people to cook for me. When I go to restaurants, it's because I want someone else to wait on me, because I'm too lazy to cook at home. And, since they're kind enough to do that for me, even if I'm a total stranger, who am I not to tip them?
I'm no one. And if they don't get tipped, that means they've just attended my every need for free.
"that beautiful waitress hands you your food 6 minutes later than you expected, before you decide to short change her, remember that she probably makes--at most--$5 an hour. she has nothing to do with it. Most of the time it is not your server's fault."
ReplyDeleteOver here it's $2.13/hr, but here's why it *CAN* and *MOST LIKELY* it ******IS********** your server's fault:
What you are saying is MOST of the time NOT TRUE at all, here's why, ask yourself:
1. WHEN do you put in my order? Do you wait or do you go put it in immediately after taking it? If you are double sat or triple sat, you can still go put in each order into the computer after taking each table’s order. By not doing that can result in a much longer wait and that would be YOUR FAULT.
2. FORGETTING to put in an order. My husband and I have experienced this for REAL that servers ADMITTED to our faces they have FORGOTTEN TO PUT ORDERS IN. All of them were appetizers, bar drinks, and a cup of soup.
3. Did you put in the order CORRECTLY into the computer? Have had many times servers ADMITTED to our faces they did not do that correctly. Have had wrong entrées before due to our server putting in the order wrong. Have had wrong bar drinks too due to the server putting in the order wrong.
4. Did you FORGET ANYTHING I ORDERED such as a SIDE DISH? We have had this happen a number of times as well.
5. Did you DROP anything I ordered? Luckily, we have not had this happen, but I have seen a server once drop some fries from a plate before and I did have a waiter spill some margarita martini when pouring into a martini glass. In other words, it is possible, not likely, but very possible.
6. Did you remember to GET my food? We have had a server do that before. Also, we have had a number of servers forget bar drinks.
7. Did you bring out my food obviously correctly if you bring my food out? Do you realize how many times OUR OWN SERVER brings out DUH mistakes like the side dish is wrong, the entrée is wrong, something obvious is not correct bacon that isn’t covered up isn’t extra, extra crispy when you can clearly notice that it isn’t without touching anything, etc.? Every DUH mistake you bring out is YOUR FAULT I am waiting for what I did order by you wasting my time bringing me the wrong item or wrongly prepared item or forgot something. While we all make mistakes, I would have to say a good 90% of the time, servers NEVER COMPARE THE WRITTEN ORDERS TO THE FOOD, because they are TOO LAZY and DON’T CARE!!
If it’s another server, it still doesn’t make it the kitchen staff’s fault I have the wrong side dish for example since that is something that’s obvious. It’s either my server that didn’t put in my order correctly or this other server that didn’t compare the ticket to the food or that this other server did compare the ticket to the food, but just missed it(HIGHLY UNLIKELY, but possible).
So QUIT LYING to the public, because what you are saying isn’t true MOST of the time. MOST of the time, your server had SOMETHING to do with HOW LONG YOU waited for your food or bar drinks. I didn’t say always, but most of the time, your server is WHY you are waiting longer in general. That is the truth, you can’t argue with facts. I KNOW, WE EXPERIENCED IT!! My husband and I have been going out to eat just about almost every weekend(2-3 times a weekend) since Nov. 2000 since we met, so we know more than you do!!
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ReplyDeleteI also thought about some more things that the server can control with how long you wait for your food:
1. Once, we had a Red Lobster waitress had our 2 entrées on the tray as well as 2 side salads that were for a couple that wasn’t even there when we ordered. Anyway, instead of bypassing their table to hand us ours first since WE DID ORDER FIRST(common sense would tell you that it takes more time to cook food than it does to fix a side salad anyways even if it wasn’t our server that delivered our food, but it was our waitress that delivered our food), she decided to hand them theirs first off the tray. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS IN THE SERVER’S CONTROL TO HAND OUT THINGS OFF THE SAME TRAY IN THE ORDER IN WHICH IT WAS ORDERED IN!!
2. Once, we had a waitress that greeted us which we ordered an appetizer as well as our drinks when greeted. I saw she tucking in chairs at empty tables and pretty much doing everything but coming back to get our entrée order. Well, I found out what happened. She brought out our appetizer and when I asked she said that she wanted to wait to put in our entrée orders. The thing is, that delayed us more by not at least coming to GET our orders. That way, when the appetizer was ready, we wouldn’t have gotten delayed eating our appetizer since we then had to give our entrée orders when we could have given our entrée orders WELL BEFORE THAT and we would have gotten our entrées faster due to that she could have just left to put our entrée orders into the computer after delivering our appetizer instead of taking time to order when our appetizer was sitting in front of us.
The point is, SHE delayed our entrées as well as to be able to start eating our appetizer because she could have at least TAKEN our entrée orders and then when our appetizer would have been brought out, could have immediately gone to the computer to put our entrée orders in.
What she did was make us wait while our hot appetizer was sitting in front of us, we couldn’t touch it, because we had to order our entrées and could have done that wayyy before that.
She also delayed our entrées because we had to spend extra time AFTER our appetizer arrived to give her our entrée orders when we could have done that wayyyy before that.
3. Once, we had a waitress that assumed that because they were out of raspberry topping for a cheesecake slice when we had ordered dessert that she’d bring us strawberry. Turns out, she knew when she put in the order that the computer had it the manager told us. So she did it on PURPOSE to be so lazy and uncaring as to not come to ask if we wanted the next closest thing. We didn’t, we sent it back, so she had MORE WORK. Also, she didn’t even think about what if someone is allergic to strawberries. I just honestly can’t believe someone would do that. If they are out of something, common sense would be to come to see if the next closest thing is ok. Not everyone wants the next closest thing. So it wasn’t like it was just getting the order wrong by accident or by not verifying the written order with what she was bringing or putting in the order wrong by accident, this was on PURPOSE to be LAZY and to ASSUME. I didn’t know at first that she did that. I thought at first she just was that stupid(or truly just messed up(highly doubt it)) to bring us strawberries on top of a cheesecake when we ordered raspberries.
4. Your server delays coming to get your order or delays you ordering due to personal conversation. We have had that before as well. Once, we had a waiter that we didn’t know after waiting 15 mins. for a table on Mardi Gras day ask us BEFORE we ORDERED ANYTHING “How’s y’all’s Mardi Gras” “Go to any parades.” See, I don’t mind chit chat with a stranger, but be considerate to do it AFTER we have our orders into the computer so you don’t take up our time. THAT was in the server’s control as well. We have also had servers not come to get our order due to playing around. That’s in the server’s control too.
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ReplyDeleteSometimes taking a long time or a longer time has A LOT to do with the server:
My husband and I have had 3 TIMES where servers FORGOT to put food orders into the computer. We also have 4 times servers forget to get bar drinks from the bar. Once a waitress forgot to put in a bar drink into the computer. Two of the 3 times it was an appetizer and the servers ADMITTED doing so. The third time was a cup of bisque which is normally served before a meal just like a side salad is.
We also have had delays due to that the servers delayed putting orders into the computer when they COULD have such as deciding to buss a table first or decide instead of a mini-greet(I’ll be right with you all), one waiter I saw decided to take a party of 6 people’s drink/appetizer orders instead of putting in our food orders into the computer. I can understand if they call you over, but if they don’t, you should be putting that order into the computer not delaying our food. The longer you wait to put in orders, the LONGER WE WAIT!!
So truly think about that MOST of the time when you wait a LONG TIME for your food or bar drinks even, it could be the server’s fault.
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ReplyDelete"When I notice the order is wrong I am on your side. I am fighting the kitchen to make sure you get what YOU want,when you want it. We are common allies here in this scenario, so please, do not punish your server by not tipping him for something the kitchen is responsible for."
Most of the issues with food *ARE* the server's fault, here's why:
90% of the time it’s the SERVER’S FAULT:
1. They can put in the order wrong into the computer or if it’s a written ticket they submit, they could have written something down wrong or hard to read.
2. They could have forgotten to put in the order in the first place.
3. Servers can also misunderstand what the customer is saying such as 2 times when I ordered 2 sides of bbq sauce and the stupid idiot servers thought I didn’t want bbq sauce on my ribs when I NEVER ONCE SAID I didn’t and I didn’t say “ON THE SIDE”, I SAID SIDES, which means extra. One of those times I said extra even.
4. Most mistakes with food are visible:
A. Condiments of any kind regardless of who brings out the food can be brought out by the server ahead of time.
B. If someone orders extra crispy bacon with their pancakes, then the bacon looks limp, not stiff, and you can even see some white fat on it, guess what? MY SERVER COULD HAVE SEEN THAT TOO AND TOLD THE COOKS IT WASN’T CORRECT, TO RECOOK IT INSTEAD OF BRINGING IT TO ME WRONG IN THE FIRST PLACE!
C. Any wrong side dishes or entrees are the fault of the server if they bring out the food even if they put in the order right. You can tell the difference between a baked potato and mac n’ cheese, yet, a waiter at Logan’s Roadhouse was so stupid as to bring me mac n’ cheese when I ordered a baked potato. I noticed it within 5 seconds of the food hitting my table. Like DUH a baked potato looks completely different from mac n’ cheese.
D. Any MISSING side dishes, appetizers, condiments, or entrees ARE the server’s fault if they bring out the food as well. Have had that happen a few times or so. Our servers aren’t blind, so they can tell if something is missing or not.
E. I have seen a red steak delivered to someone before at Outback which means let’s say the customer ordered their steak well done, that the server could have noticed the color difference as in your example “Steak cooked rare instead of well done ? It’s not your server’s fault, they didn’t cook it, it’s the kitchen’s fault.”
F. If something LOOKS burnt such as a piece of bread with the food and the person didn’t order it burnt, my server is at fault for serving me that.
G. If my server forgets an item that an entree or appetizer comes with, that’s their fault if they brought me my food without the item such as a side dish or ranch.
H. I have ordered at Outback my fries “lightly cooked” “Not overdone and yellow not brown.” I have had their fries before cooked the way I like them before many of times before this time I am talking about. This stupid waitress decided to blame the kitchen staff for REALLY DARK BROWN FRIES as if she was blind or something and my husband even told me he could see that they were really dark. My husband may not agree with me on every subject of course, but with that, you could EASILY tell just by LOOKING that those fries were overdone and very dark. She said she put in the order correctly. I am thinking, SO? I wish I could have said “Are you blind?” That was HER FAULT she DECIDED TO SERVE ME THOSE FRIES THAT WEREN’T CORRECT. I noticed the mistake within 3 seconds of my food being placed in front of me.
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ReplyDeleteMy server’s job isn’t just to bring out what the kitchen staff gives them, it’s also getting the order OBVIOUSLY correct to the table as much as possible in order to get that good tip. As someone said on a blog or forum “They just want to be tipped well and will do pretty much anything reasonable to get your money”, which that IS VERY REASONABLE to think OUR SERVERS ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT THEIR TIP TO GET THINGS RIGHT TO HAVE A BETTER TIP!
You also can notice if someone has wing sauce “On the side” vs. “On the wings” themselves. This isn’t rocket science.
Most of the things that are wrong with the food can be caught by the server if they bring out the food, even if they didn’t cook it. If it’s another server, they can catch obvious errors on the ticket and menu(such as menu states the item comes with bbq sauce and the ticket doesn’t say “no bbq sauce”) if the ticket was correctly put in by the original server that took the order. Condiments(in bottles or on the side in containers) can always be offered to be brought out ahead of time REGARDLESS of WHO brings out the food to the table.
So most of the time when the food has something wrong with it, chances are, your server or another server could have caught the mistake before it got to you in most instances. I NEVER said ALL, but in most cases, it can be caught BEFORE bringing out the food(unless another server brings out the food with the ticket wrong), because then the original server that took the order is at fault for putting the order in incorrectly into the computer.
There are few rare cases where the food being wrong is the kitchen staff’s fault such as raw food(such as raw chicken), slightly undercooked or overcooked food that you’d have to CUT into to know if it was under or overcooked, or anything the server cannot see with their eyes unless they were to TOUCH the food. Things such as a pickle under a bun the server can’t notice unless they lift the bun, so unless they put the order in wrong, they wouldn’t be at fault, but in general most food mistakes can be caught BEFORE bringing the food to the table.
What I am saying is, MOST mistakes ARE PREVENTABLE by the SERVER if they bring your order to you that they can NOTICE things wrong by comparing those written orders to the plates of food.
Once a waiter at Chili’s said “The kitchen forgot” when I had ordered 2 sides of mayo and 1 side of mustard. The thing is, my waiter brought out the food, so NO, HE HE HE HE HE FORGOT, the kitchen staff didn’t step out the kitchen to bring me my food and forget obvious missing containers from my plate that aren’t covered up by anything. MY WAITER DID THOUGH!!
You walk in one room in your house with a plate of food, but forget the ranch. Even if your mom or significant other plated your food, which you even told her you wanted a side of ranch for your fries, but you bring it to another room. HOW IS THAT THEIR FAULT? It’s YOUR FAULT YOU LEFT THE ROOM WITHOUT THE RANCH AND DIDN’T NOTICE IT SINCE IT’S SOMETHING OBVIOUS YOU DON’T HAVE TO *TOUCH* TO NOTICE THE MISTAKE!!
Even if he didn’t bring out the food, that waiter could have prevented that type of thing from being forgotten since it needs no cooking to bring it out ahead of time. It is always the person bringing out the food that is at fault for any type of mistake that you don’t have to TOUCH the food to notice the mistake, unless of course, the order was put in wrong by the original server that took the order with another server bringing out the food. Of course unless, the kitchen goofs up, making it correctly even if the ticket is wrong, but that’s highly unlikely scenario.
I cannot believe you honestly think that the server is not at fault for most food mistakes. WE LIVED THROUGH THE “DUH” MISTAKES, SO WE CAN SEE WITH OUR EYES WHO WAS AT FAULT!!
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ReplyDeleteWe had a waiter once admitted he grabbed the wrong entrée from the kitchen. It was just my husband and I. This waiter not only admitted he didn’t compare the WRITTEN ORDER with the entrées he was bringing out, but also we saw he had other entrées for another table that he didn’t ONCE get his pad of paper out to see WHICH ENTRÉE WENT WITH WHICH TABLE!! So 2 times he could have caught his mistake, but didn’t *****TRY HIS BEST AS HE SHOULD HAVE, because that’s HIS JOB**!!
He admitted that he grabbed the wrong entrée from the kitchen. He brought my husband fried shrimp w/fries when he ordered crawfish au gratin w/baked potato. Those items look NOTHING A LIKE, but yet THAT WAITER WAS TOO LAZY AND UNCARING TO VERIFY *WHAT* HE WAS BRINGING US!! We still left him 17% BTW, just to let you know since he profusely apologized TWICE and FIXED THE SITUATION IMMEDIATELY just about. We honestly shouldn’t have though, because that really didn’t make him LEARN anything. If I had to do it all over again, I would have tipped 13%. It’s because since that happened(a number of years ago, maybe like 4), me and my husband have had some terrible experiences. We have had good ones too of course, but the servers need to LEARN that they can’t just hand you ANYTHING like McDonald’s cashiers do. They are there to EARN a tip, NOT to just hand you anything.
It’s very rare that it’s not the server’s fault. Things like if I order no pickles if you took my order and brought out my food, which there are some pickles under a bun that you’d have to lift it to see it, unless you admitted putting in the order wrong, I will assume it’s the kitchen staff that is at fault and probably is.
Things like raw chicken tenders aren’t the fault of the server unless they are pink or something.
A slightly over or undercooked steak if the order was put in correctly is not the server’s fault.
If another server brings out a wrong side dish or if they are missing items other than condiments, no it’s not the server’s fault if they put in the order correctly, but it still counts against the tip. It’s part of the service.
Why also is it when you say “no pickles” or “ONLY lettuce and onions”, they still have a pickle on the plate? WHY you servers can’t understand that if the customer states they don’t want pickles, that means on the plate, because otherwise, they’d specifically state they would have wanted it “ON THE SIDE.” Think about it. WHY do I keep having servers bring me some pickles on the plate when I ordered no pickles? NO SERVERS ARE BLIND OR ILLITERATE that they cannot determine any of the obvious errors that don’t have to be touched to notice the mistakes or mistake.
As far as bar drinks go, you can notice salt on a rim of a glass without any drink in it. You can notice if I have red in my drink or if it’s yellow or if I am being brought a white russian vs. a black russian, etc.
People are usually smart enough to know in MOST cases(I didn’t say all), WHO CAUSED the problem. When we have, it’s because another server in *OUR SERVICE* since that’s what the tip is based on, has not done a good job such as brought out obvious errors to the table even though our server put in the order correctly and especially then even when you nicely tell this other server, they don’t apologize and most don’t fix the problem even or also when you ask another server that runs your food to you for a refill or something else, they don’t get it or relay the message even or the other server is rude.
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ReplyDeletehttp://www.bunrab.com/dailyfeed/dailyfeed_images_feb-07/df07_02-04_baconn.jpg
You can tell in this picture above the bacon is very crispy just by simply LOOKING at it.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vv2IGE5obwk/RwVi-0hZziI/AAAAAAAABjc/m6bP-Te_wJE/s320/IMG_8338.jpg
You can tell in this picture above the bacon is NOT CRISPY, just by simple LOOKING at the bacon.
While the server didn't "COOK" the bacon, it's obvious to the *SERVER'S* EYES that one batch of bacon is crispy and the other isn't to decide to BRING the food to the customer wrong or not. It's my server's fault if they decide to bring me the bacon that's like in picture 2 if I ordered it crispy that she or he didn't tell the cooks it was wrong and get them to cook the bacon more instead of SERVING it wrong. WHY bring it out only for the food to be sent back?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DzuAhw_RcXU/TAyZ38A67EI/AAAAAAAAALo/R6zLKIKy1do/s1600/DSC_0006.JPG
You can clearly see the fries are overdone in the picture above if the customer ordered them "NOT OVERDONE, lightly cooked."
http://www.orthogonalthought.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/dsc_6087_550.jpg
In this picture above, you can see the fries don't appear overdone and the bacon is NOT CRISPY. If a customer asked for their bacon to be crispy, I would REFUSE to serve it and I would have enough CARING and COMMON SENSE to get that fixed **BEFORE** I brought it to the customer only to have the customer send it back or leave me a bad tip for not caring about their food.
My server's job isn't just to bring out what the kitchen staff gives them, it's also getting the order OBVIOUSLY correct to the table as much as possible in order to get that good tip. As someone said on a blog or forum “They just want to be tipped well and will do pretty much anything reasonable to get your money”, which that IS VERY REASONABLE to think OUR SERVERS ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT THEIR TIP TO GET THINGS RIGHT TO HAVE A BETTER TIP!!
http://www.akronohiomoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/cindy.jpg
You can notice a lot of things on her plate in the picture above like if the customer asked for no sour cream, well DUHH, it's STARING in your face. If the customer asked for a side of ranch(I would have), it's missing, DUHH!! If the customer substituted fries for rice, well DUHH, that's not on the plate.
Get what I am saying here? MOST of the mistakes happen due to either your server if they bring out the food or another server that doesn't compare the ticket to the food(assuming the order was put in correctly by the original server of course).
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ReplyDeleteIn all the cases when another server has caused issues, the tip SHOULD be affected since it’s not fair to the innocent customer that they have to put up with such bad service and it’s not *OUR* fault as the customer you are not splitting your tips in an even fashion of some sort, because if you CHOSE to do so, that person that brought my food out, might ACTUALLY *READ* the ticket BEFORE bringing me my food, offer refills, etc. No incentive, so they don’t do shit most of the time, that’s why service is so shitty today when another server is involved.
We have NEVER and WILL NEVER take out an actual kitchen error on the tip, because the kitchen staff is *NOT* in OUR SERVICE, so they cannot be at fault, UNLESS on a rare occasion, a member of the kitchen staff that prepared the food also brought it out, which is very rare.
So you see, STOP LYING TO THE PUBLIC!! YOU SERVERS HAVE SOOOOOO MUCH CONTROL OVER THE FOOD!!
"What they're doing is a lot of fucking work and they don't owe you anything."
YES THEY DO IF THEY MESS UP IF THEY EXPECT A GOOD TIP!
Now do you see when you said "She didn't cook that, there's a whole kitchen of people making your food--she has nothing to do with it" that you don't know WHAT the HECK you are talking about that A LOT of mistakes are due to the *SERVER*, HUH?
When you said this,"that beautiful waitress hands you your food 6 minutes later than you expected, before you decide to short change her" do you finally realize that you are wrong in most cases?
"becomes over encumbered with orders, ticket times begin to stretch."
While that *CAN* happen, I have seen more times than not the **********SERVER*********** that causes the issue like greeting the next table fully instead of going to put in your orders into the computer. I mean think about it, when you take 4-5 minutes with the next 2 tables, *YOU* have just PURPOSELY put a LONGER WAIT on our food if you don't go put in the order. If someone calls you over, that's different, because it would be rude to ignore the customer, but if they didn't, you should be going to that computer to put the order in and just do a mini-greet of "I'll be right with you all." This way, you won't delay the customer's food at least with that part, but if you put in the order wrong YOU are delaying the food and getting it wrong.
It's just not true that most of the time it's not the server's fault, WHY do you want to LIE HUH?