I want to be greeted with a smile, seated comfortably, informed about the specials of the day, then given time to think!

I want a neat, clean, professional server to take my order and I want it brought to me before Tuesday of next week. I wish for it to come neither before nor, after my friend's meal.

It must be hot, tastey, appealing to the eye, and served on CLEAN dishes.

Oh, and if I am still waiting for my water, wine, or silverware when my meal arrives, I want dessert for free,... and espresso!

Now, do you think I'm being a bit unreasonable? I don't beleive I'm being unreasonable at all. As the young lady in When Harry Met Sally put it, "I JUST WANT IT THE WAY I WANT IT"!

The food must not only be reasonably good, but the service, - if not SUPERB, must, at least, be so as not to make me want to fire the server myself!

I believe in tipping well when deserved and, I think forgiveness is in order for small oversites such as a bent fork.

However, I detest it when a server in a high end restaurant looks down on me because I'm not wearing Prada or, Gucci and act as if they are certain my tip will not be worth their time! Know the type?It is my opinion that it is THEY who are the snobs, not their usual beloved clientele. It is even worse when management behaves in this way. I have had managers glare across the room when the host or hostess has seated me in a prime location such as a window overlooking water (because I requested it), or because I was a woman dining alone. Some people just don't seem to know which side their bread is buttered on!

My money may not be abounding but, it IS green. It spends the same as anyone else's and it didn't come easy! I have the right to expect fair and just compensation for it. All of it! On one too many occasions, I've walked out of a restaurant feeling utterly disappointed. It is bad enough to be robbed of a decent meal; yet, it is worse to be robbed of an otherwise enjoyable time with friends.This happens occasionally due to poor kitchen help, it's true. Yet, more times than I care to say, it was the front dining room which bore the blame.

Bad food cannot always be the fault of the server but, oftentimes it CAN BE and IS. Aren't they, after all, the last ones to see it before it's brought to the table?Tell me they can't tell the difference between a rare steak and a well one or, between a slab of ribs and a barbecue chicken!

When was the last time you got a meal intended for someone at another table? I'll bet the server walked away before you could notify them, too, didn't they? By the time you could wave them down, the rest of your party had paid the check!

I've been tough, I know. I've BEEN a restaurant employee in a past life and I DO know it's not easy. Customers can be impossible. I've worn that label myself. (Bet you never would have guessed.) Still, there is just no excuse for miserably poor restaurant service in any establishment, no matter how many stars they sport.

Bon appetite!

Learn more about this author, Cynthia Baum.
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