Private Parties - Why They Are Bad For Waiters
I want to share a story about something that has happened to me twice during my time working in the service industry as a waiter. Warning: in no way does my opinion speak for anyone in my restaurant or for Darden.
It was a Wednesday night when I clocked in at 4pm. I noticed something fishy when an entire room (about 12 sections) was closed off exclusively under my name. I asked my manager why so many tables, since our maximum tables at the Olive Garden is 3 per server. She informed me that a group of people came to play cards every Wednesday night and I would be accommodating their needs throughout the night. The difficulty of this unusual setting was not to be overestimated. Allow me to highlight the issues that arose over the course of the night. This group of people had no definitive number and as such came and went when they pleased. Issue 1- the trickling of guests. My initial response was to simply take their order and assign each guest a number on my paper pen. Issue 2- the revolving of tables. Guests did not simply stay at the same table where I initially greeted them. They constantly moved throughout the room to play cards with different partners. While a small group size of 5-10 people would be manageable, the trickling of guests by the end of the night according to my count reached a peak of 35 card players. My solution was to record names with orders, however that only partially worked since many of these people had the same name. Issue 3- no order guests. I would be servicing guests that would order a water and go. Over the entire 5 hour shift I worked I made roughly 15 USD in tips spending more time collecting beers and waters than actually making food orders.
More recently, I had a similar experience for an anniversary event of a local church with a 50 top. Fortunately there were 3 servers assigned to this particular party. The section was closed out at noon on a Sunday afternoon—it took over an hour to setup and seat the guests. Add on about 30 more minutes because a majority of them were late. So one hour and thirty minutes I had zero guests and earned 2.13 an hour while the other sections of the restaurant were waiting full tables. The nightmares of large parties over 20 are overwhelming except for the most experiences servers. From specific requests, to complaints, and cashing out the amount of variables in ensuring 100% guest satisfaction is a difficult hoop to shoot. We were very fortunate to receive the 20% tip that was so well-deserved. Over the course of a 5 hour period (including setup and seating) 3 of us servers snagged 42 USD each on ONE party. What if they didn’t tip us fairly? After all, they had no obligation to. Call me the devil’s advocate but I do want to address an underlying issue in the service industry, specifically Darden that might need a second look at.
BLUF, a restaurant is not a public venue you can use to host your events rent-free. It is an eating establishment meant for family and friends. The fact that there are people who take advantage of these shortfalls in the system are selfishly destroying the quality of life for servers. Who is even more at fault for this are the managers that can’t say no to such requests because they have been conditioned to be ‘yes’ men in an industry that competes heavily for cliente to increase profit. There are public spaces specifically made for hosting events. I am frustrated from a servers point of view, however I do understand the benefits of hosting events . It gives guests that have never heard of the restaurant a chance to experience it’s culture. In this day and age social media is a huge tool for promoting the establishment.
Probably the most important question on my mind is finding a working solution to this repeat offense I’m sure has happened to other servers besides just myself. Initially gratuity is a thought that comes to mind. But because of the way the IRS works in conjunction with Darden and server wages, not only would we be losing money by getting taxed on those ‘tips’ we earn for the party, we wouldn’t even see the gratituity money until the weekly paycheck rolled over. The second solution I thought of is charging a flat rate for using the space. Factors to take in consideration can include limited menu options, amount of time spent, ect. An interesting example I found by browsing the web was Lightfoot’s Restaurant in Virginia (see http://www.lightfootrestaurant.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/EventPackage1-30-14.pdf). The structure of their policy makes it very clear what the expectations and process of the restaurant is. I think if Darden spent some time crafting a business model to address events like private parties and fundraisers or charities events there would be a much happier quality of life for servers.
I would really love some feedback and thoughtful criticism on your own personal experiences working in the service industry along with potential solutions or missed holes I forgot to address in this article.
V/R,
Travis McCallum