Am I the Hostess with the Mostess?
I am currently a hostess at a pretty great fish and raw-bar restaurant in downtown Charleston, right in the middle of where the cruise ships drop off their bountiful loads of people and dispense them into the wonders of the number one city in the world (according to Travel and Leisure).
I’m not being biased when I say that my restaurant has the best tuna tacos, and our shrimp and grits were ranked second in the city so that's a pretty big deal. We have oysters that are constantly praise by regulars and foodies alike.
I do love being a hostess. I like speaking with new people, even if it is for 30 seconds and I love helping them have a great experience during their visit. 90 percent of the people who come in are absolutely lovely and I develop a quick friendship in the time it takes to walk them to their table.
However, the other 10 percent of people are actually the worst. This post is dedicated to those 10-percent of restaurant goers who treat the people of the service industry like garbage…from a host’s point of view.
When I greet you with the enthusiasm of a thousand puppies and you ignore me and walk straight to a table.
I’m sure you know that I was rotating sections and sitting there would mean that your server would be triple seated. It’s fine.
When you show up with a party of 6 during prime dinner rush on a weekend and are upset with me you have to wait.
I’m sorry we only have a couple tables that sit a party of that size and all of them figured out how reservations work.
When a 2-top demands to sit at a large table and takes three hours to finish their meal.
It’s okay, I definitely wasn’t going to need that table again for the rest of the evening. Totally fine. Take your time.
When I put you on a wait and you point to an empty table and suggest sitting there.
Oh, I had no idea that table was available. Why don’t you just do my job for me, you seem very qualified to know that the kitchen is backed up, reservations are coming in, AND servers are weeded. Please, go-ahead, sit there.
When someone asks, “Don’t you know who I am?”
I have an entire list of names on this computer, do you want me to list them all? Do you know who I am?
When I take you to a clean table and you point to a dirty one and say you want to sit there.
Alright. Awesome. Definitely not being an inconvenience to me or the other people in line for a table. Let me go clear it off for you – oh you will sit there while you wait. Totally not violating any health codes...wanna help me bring stuff back while you’re at it?
When you thank me for holding the door for you on our way out.
*He’s the reason for the tear drops on my guitar*
In all honesty, hostessing is not hard and I love everyone I work with. I don't even deal with terrible people every day. When I do deal with them, they stick out and they all behave the same way, but that doesn't mean I won't interact with them in the painfully enthusiastic way I do everyone.
To all of the restaurant-goers who treat everyone with respect: thank you, you are the real M.V.P.