{"id":2212,"date":"2010-07-29T20:05:56","date_gmt":"2010-07-30T03:05:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bspcn.com\/?p=2212"},"modified":"2010-07-29T20:05:56","modified_gmt":"2010-07-30T03:05:56","slug":"20-secrets-your-waiter-wont-tell-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/2010\/07\/29\/20-secrets-your-waiter-wont-tell-you\/","title":{"rendered":"20 Secrets Your Waiter Won’t Tell You"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Michelle Crouch<\/a><\/p>\n

We asked two dozen servers to reveal what goes on behind the kitchen doors.<\/h3>\n

1.What You’re Really Swallowing<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In most restaurants, after 8 p.m. or so, all the coffee is decaf because no one wants to clean two different coffeepots. I\u2019ll bring out a tray with 12 coffees on it and give some to the customers who ordered regular, others to the ones who ordered decaf. But they’re all decaf.<\/p>\n

\u2014Charity Ohlund<\/p>\n

2.What You Don’t Want to Know<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We put sugar in our kids’ meals so kids will like them more. Seriously. We even put extra sugar in the dough for the kids’ pizzas.<\/p>\n

\u2014Waitress at a well-known pizza chain<\/p>\n

3.What We Lie About<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If you’re a vegetarian and you ask if we use vegetable stock, I\u2019m going to say yes, even if we don\u2019t. You\u2019ll never know the difference.<\/p>\n

4.What You Don’t Want to Know<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

At a lot of restaurants, the special is whatever they need to sell before it goes bad. Especially watch out for the soup of the day. If it contains fish or if it\u2019s some kind of “gumbo,” it’s probably the stuff they’re trying to get rid of.<\/p>\n

\u2014Kathy Kniss, who waited tables for ten years in Los Angeles<\/p>\n

5.What You Don’t Want to Know<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Now that I\u2019ve worked in a restaurant, I never ask for lemon in a drink. Everybody touches them. Nobody washes them. We just peel the stickers off, cut them up, and throw them in your iced tea.<\/p>\n

\u2014Charity Ohlund, Kansas City waitress<\/p>\n

6.What You Don’t Want to Know<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If you ask me how many calories are in a particular dish, I’m not allowed to tell you even if I know. I’m supposed to say, “All that information is available online.”<\/p>\n

\u2014Waitress at a well-known pizza chain<\/p>\n

7.What You Don’t Want to Know<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I’ve never seen anybody do anything to your food, but I have seen servers mess with your credit card. If a server doesn\u2019t like you, he might try to embarrass you in front of your business associate or date by bringing your credit card back and saying, “Do you have another card? This one didn\u2019t go through.”<\/p>\n

\u2014Charity Ohlund<\/p>\n

8.What You’re Really Swallowing<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Skim milk is almost never skim milk. Very few restaurants outside Starbucks carry whole milk, 2 percent milk, skim milk, and half-and-half; it’s just not practical.<\/p>\n

\u2014Chris<\/p>\n

9.What You’re Really Swallowing<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Some places buy salad dressings in one-gallon jars, then add a few ingredients, like a blue cheese crumble or fresh herbs, and call it homemade on the menu.<\/p>\n

\u2014Former waiter Jake Blanton, who spent ten years in restaurants in Virginia, North Carolina, and California<\/p>\n

10.What Drives Us Crazy<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The single greatest way to get your waiter to hate you? Ask for hot tea. For some reason, an industry that\u2019s managed to streamline everything else hasn\u2019t been able to streamline that. You’ve got to get a pot, boil the water, get the lemons, get the honey, bring a cup and spoon. It\u2019s a lot of work for little reward.<\/p>\n

\u2014Christopher Fehlinger, ma\u00eetre d\u2019 at a popular New York City restaurant<\/p>\n

11.What We Want You to Know<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In many restaurants, the tips are pooled, so if you have a bad experience with the server, you\u2019re stiffing the bartender who made your drinks, the water boy who poured your water, sometimes the hostess, the food runners, and maybe the other waiters.<\/p>\n

\u2014Christopher Fehlinger<\/p>\n

12.What We Want You to Know<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Even at the best breakfast buffet in the world, 99 times out of 100, the big pan of scrambled eggs is made from a powder.<\/p>\n

\u2014Jake Blanton<\/p>\n

13.What We Want You to Know<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

People think that just because your food took a long time, it’s the server’s fault. Nine times out of ten, it’s the kitchen. Or it’s the fact that you ordered a well-done burger.<\/p>\n

\u2014Judi Santana<\/p>\n

14.What We Want You to Know<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re with the woman who’s not your wife, you\u2019re a lot nicer to us, probably because you know that we know it\u2019s not your wife.<\/p>\n

\u2014Caroline Radaj, waitress at a members-only club outside Milwaukee<\/p>\n

15.How to Be a Good Customer<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It\u2019s much easier to be recognized as a regular on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays. Once you\u2019re recognized as a regular, good things start to happen. You\u2019ll find your wineglass gets filled without being put on your bill, or the chef might bring you a sample.<\/p>\n

\u2014Christopher Fehlinger<\/p>\n

16.How to Be a Good Customer<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Avoid Mother\u2019s Day and Valentine\u2019s Day like the black plague. It\u2019s crazy busy, so they\u2019re not going to be able to pay as much attention to quality. Plus, they bring out a special menu where everything is overpriced.<\/p>\n

\u2014Steve Dublanica<\/p>\n

17.How to Be a Good Customer<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If the restaurant is busy and your child is shy, please order for him. Kids can sit there forever trying to decide, or they whisper and you can\u2019t hear them. Meanwhile, the people at the next table are yelling at you to come over.<\/p>\n

\u2014Derek Dudley, a waiter at a casual pizza restaurant in Phoenix<\/p>\n

18.What You Need to Know About Tipping<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The best tippers tend to be middle-class or people who have worked for everything they have, not the really wealthy or the kid who inherited the trust fund. Which is not to say that we mind if you use coupons. But when you do, tip on the amount the bill would have been without them.<\/p>\n

\u2014Judi Santana<\/p>\n

19.What You Need to Know About Tipping<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

First dates, especially blind Internet dates, are great for tips. You know he\u2019ll probably order a bottle of wine and leave a 20 to 25 percent tip because he’s showing off.<\/p>\n

\u2014Jeremy Burton, waiter at a grill in southwest Michigan<\/p>\n

20.What Else We\u2019d Like You to Know<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t order fish on Sunday or Monday. The fish deliveries are usually twice a week, so Tuesday through Friday are great days. Or ask the restaurant when they get theirs.<\/p>\n

\u2014Steve Dublanica<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Michelle Crouch We asked two dozen servers to reveal what goes on behind the kitchen doors. 1.What You’re Really Swallowing In most restaurants, after 8 p.m. or so, all the coffee is decaf because no one wants to clean two different coffeepots. I\u2019ll bring out a tray with 12 coffees on it and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2213,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212\/revisions\/2213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}