The pointers.

Are you one of them!? 
Oh yes. I'm talking about, "The Pointers." 
They are those people at my tables that won't, say, anything. 


"How are you doing tonight?" I ask to a deadpan table, usually not even bothering to look up at me. "Are you ready to order?" crickets.


I'm really not asking for much here, maybe a smile or a nod in my general direction. Anything, to make me feel acknowledged. So I that know, I can either walk away or continue standing here awkwardly. 
Then, when it comes time to order, they look down at their menu and point, 
"I'll have that." 
Sometimes I wonder if it's because they can't read. 


I then have to lean over them, try to figure out what it was they had pointed to and then write it down. 
I would totally understand if I worked in say, a French or Mexican restaurant or something similar.
 If there was some reason they don't know how to say "chicken fingers," I would understand. 
Maybe they just like having me lean over them?
But my guess is, they can say chicken fingers just fine.

Walk this way.

There are some songs that are just so damn fun to walk to. 
If you've ever been a server you have to know what I mean. There are some songs that you just can't help but step in time with. When one of these comes on, I can feel my self stepping with the beat, even unintentionally. It takes everything in me not to just dance up and down the isles sometimes.
 Someone should make a soundtrack for servers. 


The funny thing is, it's not usually a song I like. I'm generally a big fan of classic rock and I guess you could say alternative or indie music. I'm not usually lucky enough to have those play while I'm working. But even if we did. it's not really the same. There's something about awful, fast, lyric lacking music that just makes the shift go by faster.
Of course, now that I'm writing this I can't seem to think of any... but some standouts are (forgive me if I don't know the correct name of the song or musician, I try not to)


"That's not my name." (I don't actually know any other words...)
"Glamorous" (G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S, flossy?....flossy?!)
"Good Night" ( I don't know what it's called. You know, that one that yells Mazel tov!?) 


And then there are always the classics like, 
"Spice up your life" (Ok, I DO know all the words to this one)


I'm sure I'l think of more later! But, if you have any songs you love to work to, no matter the genre, post em'!

I am a real person.

I have a family, seven sisters, two dogs, and one wonderful future husband. I've lived in the same town my whole life. Yes, I like to drink my water with a straw too. Sometimes I have good days, sometimes bad, but I'm alive. I love books, the T.V show LOST, and riding my pink low rider bicycle around town. I go to the bank. I wash my dishes. I take my little sister to the movies. I know and understand you need an extra side of barbeque sauce. I hate the color pink, love Chinese food, and long documentaries about ancient Rome. Someday I'd like to have children and I already have their names picked out. Maybe most importantly, I have a name of my own. Contrary to popular belief, it is not, "Hey Miss", "Ma'am", or "Waitress." I realize it's your lunch hour and you don't have a lot of time, but I'm a real person.

 I just thought maybe you didn't realize.

Table 64.

Why do people feel the need to be so completely rude?

Tonight my second or third table was a couple of women in their 50’s.

“Hi there. How are you ladies doing tonight?”

“Fine”

“Well, my name is Sa-“

“I’ll take a tall Manhattan with Maker’s mark. You have Maker’s mark right? I only want Maker’s mark, no other kinds. And can you put it in a tall glass with extra ice? Every time I come in here they give me this tiny glass and I drink it too fast, so make sure it is a big glass. And olives. Do not bring it to me with cherries. “

Alright… so that was good start. If you didn’t know or failed to realize, Applebee’s has a list of stuff we are supposed to say to each and every table. But, I gave up on this one right away and just let them talk at me.

The other lady took a bit longer to decide. And while I can’t remember what I was saying while she was deciding, she must have been annoyed or bored because she interrupted me to say, “ Can we just drink in peace for while first."

(More as a statement than a question)

Umm...I don't know if she realized, but they still hadn’t finished ordering their drinks. The only reason I was still standing there at all was because they hadn’t ordered anything yet. I couldn’t help but say, “Sure, you can sit here as long as you want. I just want to know what your drink order is.” She sort of rolled her eyes and ordered a beer.

 While this was happening, the rest of my tables were filling up. 

“What are your vegetables?” she asked.

“It’s a mix of steamed Broccoli, carrots and yellow squa..”

“No” she repeated while shaking her head.

“No way. I will not eat them. I hate those.”

“Okay, is there something else I can get you?” I asked.

“What are my options?”

“Well, what are you planning on ordering?”

“Steak”

“Well, you could get just steamed broccoli, or mashed potatoes, fries, baked potato, onion rings, chili fries, a soup or salad for a little extra… “

“I hate broccoli,” she said.

“Oh yes. I hate broccoli too. I can’t even look at it.,” the other woman said while making a gross noise. They talked about broccoli for a minute while I stood awkwardly tapping my pen.

“What are my options again?”

She made me repeat them 2 or 3 times.

Then, after all that, she decided she would just take the vegetables anyway. Yes that’s right.

“But, only to bring home for my husband. Don’t let them touch my other food.”

(Someone is married to her!?)

“No problem” I said.

They continued with their mean little comments while I tried to take the rest of their order. Wishing I could go and greet my other, hopefully more pleasant tables.

“Oh and one more thing,” one of the women said as she closed her menu and shoved it my direction. “I will be so Pissed. Off. If you bring out my dinner before I am finished with my appetizers. Do you understand?”

The other lady chimed in again, “ Yes, they did that last time. It is so awful.”

“Don’t worry. It will be my number one priority.” I said with the sweetest smile I could muster before walking away.

I wish I was making this up.People like this make me ask myself what is it about their lives that are so horrible, that they feel the need to spread their horribleness to other people? What did I do to deserve being talked to like that?  But, the good news is, they always leave.

After telling this account to my fiancée later, he said that maybe someday we will go somewhere and see them working and we can be as awful to them as they were to me. But, truth be told, I don’t know if I could ever be like that to someone else. Even though these ladies would totally deserve it. I think I would still find it hard to be that mean.

 I hope I never reach the age where I stop being nice and just start being old.

The hostess with the mostess

Yesterday I worked a morning shift, but instead of serving, I was a host. Also called an "SA" or "Server assistant." My very first job was a host actually, for a locally owned family run restaurant in my hometown. I worked there for 3 years before quitting to become a full-time server in yet another restaurant (Pizza hut... but don't even get me started on that one.)  

Anyways the point is, I don't want to be a host anymore. That is not the profession I would like at this moment in my life or probably ever again. It's not that hosting is difficult or anything. But it is frustrating and rewardless. Basically your job is to make sure the door is always opened for the guests, seat them in rotation with the chart, and tell them the soup of the day and their server's name. Then you clean up after them, making about $20-40 dollars a night, compared to the $75-200 you could make as a server.

So honestly, who would want to be a host?

Applequest

This whole experience has really made me look at my job in a new light. I’m usually someone who has an eye for details and I try to notice the little things, even when it comes to people.  But starting this blog has made me look even deeper, wondering where the nameless people at my tables come from, where are they going? Who is the person sitting across from them? Could this be their last meal? Okay I guess that’s a bit morbid, but hey, it could be.

Applebee’s teaches us to try and talk to our guests, to get to know them on a different level then what style potatoes they like. They urge us to ask questions about where they’re from and their plans for the day. This makes sense to me, but now I go a little beyond that. I’m actually a bit interested in the fact that they need a box to save their chicken, and no, not for them? For their cat? Well I don’t know why they told me that, but that is interesting!

My goal tonight is to find out a little something extra about my guests. Some questions I might try-

 

“What are your plans for the evening?”

-Simple, yet I could probably tell a lot about them from their response.

 

“Are they celebrating anything tonight?”

-This response will also let me know if I have to sing “the birthday song” to them or not.

 

“Have you seen any good movies?”

-Ok, this one might be hard to randomly bring up with out feeling like I’m being annoying, but we’ll see. This could be a conversation starter and/or show me what style of movies they like.

 

It would be fun to find someone who answers these, or other questions I come up with and write a little back-story for them, filling in the blanks myself.  Is that weird?

Oh well, we’ll see if anyone interesting comes in tonight. 

If you have any question ideas, leave them below!

Break me?

Applebee's does not give breaks. I take that back, they do give them if they are convenient, or if you smoke, but generally you should not make plans or pack a lunch, because you will be staying straight through your double. 

This Saturday I had the pleasure of spending a solid ten hours at Applebee's. I might add the weather was absolutely beautiful outside. I only know this because of the big windows at my booths facing the highway. It was a nice double, in the fact that I made a great deal of cash, but not so nice in the fact that by 10pm, after serving since 12pm, I was dead on my feet. 

 

The day was ridiculously busy. We were on a wait, (where a host has to take names at the door) for a good seven hours of the day. But even if we hadn't been that busy, I was scheduled as my own relief from my morning shift so I was destined to run my butt off the whole time.

This doesn't seem legal.

 Why are restaurants allowed to schedule people 8 or more hours a day without food or break? In fact, are restaurants allowed?! 

I'll have to look into this and let you know because I gotta run; I'm already late for Appletime! 

Taste the history

People are always asking where Applebee’s gets it’s name.  As if it is something we’re told in training, and maybe we are but I certainly don’t remember. So, I decided to do a little research and find out for myself. I stumbled upon this strange website that is apparently written by one of the original creators of Applebee’s, TJ Palmer. The website is http://applebees-founder.com/. The whole site took me by surprise. It is her story, the trials and tribulations of opening and running a business along with your husband/partner while your marriage crumbles around you. Instead of finding out the name and background to the store, I got sucked in to reading this lady’s kind of heartbreaking life story. I felt for her.

I did find out some other interesting stuff too though.  The original name was supposed to be Appleby’s (which is apparently said the same as Applebee’s.) But that name was taken, so it evolved into,  "TJ Applebee's Edibles and Elixirs."


I guess they wanted an old fashioned drug-store type feel, hence the “edibles and elixirs” contrasting today’s “bar and grill,” which was exactly what they were trying to get away from. There was even an old wooden Indian holding cigars that stood at the entrance of the store. It was also apparently, TJ’s dumb ex-husband who decided hot air balloons should be in their theme (gross.) This is the original stained glass fixture, very similar and maybe the same as the one in our store. 

 It just has a very outdated/reading rainbow type feel to me. Also, all of the stores were originally equipped with glass tiffany's above the booths. Adorned with kitty cats, unicorns, teddy bears, and of course, hot air balloons. This year we remodled along with many other stores for a more modern look. I'm thankful for this mostly because I hit my head on those damn things all the time. 

The website didn’t say exactly say where all the crazy memorabilia on the walls comes in. Everything from firemen hats to 101 dalmation posters are up there. But I guess it kind of goes with the nostalgic idea. Sometimes, on verrrry slow days we will play a sort of "I spy" with the things on the walls. One person will make a list, something along the lines of, 

" A baseball mitt"

"A lasso"

"A toy car"

"Billy-Ray Cyrus"

etc... and we will do our best to spot them all before the end of the shift. 

Don't judge us.