Shore thing episode 5: Children.... (long as usual)

[Mottom24]

no matter where you work in the service industry you will run into many many families. with families you get things like parents and children. some parents are proper and have their children well behaved and seated, some parents are cool and let their kids doodle on the place mats and chat up a storm about school, other parents drag their kids around like lugage and just stick a portable dvd player in their face to shut them up.... then there are the worst kind of parents. you know the kind I mean. the kind that ignore their kids, let them run about freely, make a mess of things, and never apologize once for their actions. some places they can get away with it... not where I worked.

ketchup is not a toy

we get spills all the time, and luckily we are on the beach so we can usually just sweep the ice and liquids onto the sand and be done with it... but then there is ketchup. if anyone was ever a busser or server you know the horrors of ketchup and what it can do. it stains, smells, sticks to things, and is the herpes of condiments. our resturaunt used glass heinz ketchup bottles we refill every morning, so they were generally handled with care by customers... not this time.

these folks were on the inside of the resturant near the glass windows. there was a spill of ketchup, as I was told, so I went over with mop in hand with a feeling of dread in my gut. turns out the whole bottle was smashed on the floor, under the table. the table was occupied by a family of 4, one being a small child in a high chair. I clean up the mess, give them a new bottle, and walk away. I had a feeling about them though so I hid on the other side of the bar to keep an eye on them.

not 5 minutes later the small child is reaching for the ketchup bottle. it's on the other side of the table so no threat yet... so what do the nice parents do? they notice the childs interest and tell him "no, not a toy" and I went on to win the lottery later that night and slay the dragon that stole my girlfriend... oh wait... no they didn't. instead they placed the bottle infront of the child and let him grab it with a smile. I tried to rush over but was not quick enough, the kid had plans with the bottle and that plan was to smash it like the first one, because this causes endless amounts of giggles from his cold black heart.

I clean again, and my manager refuses to give them a new bottle, and instead gives them a tiny plate with ketchup poured on it.

forts are cool! until the evil busser storms them

we were kind of slow, but we always manage to get a rush around 12 (who'd a thunk it!?) but we just opened and a family of 5 came in, all 3 kids were very very young and hyper... we gave them the seats near the deck in the shade and they all sat and ordered. so far so good. I went about my morning routine of straightening tables, placing umbrellas on the deck, and sweeping away the sand I'll just have to sweep again 15 minutes later. when I see a tower on the other end of the deck...

I walk over and see the kids destroyed all the tables I straightened to make a great wall in the corner of the northern section of the deck, with all the plastic blue chairs stacked in various ways around and inside said fort. I was not happy... I haven't had my coffee yet and... and redoing something I did 5 minutes ago is a big peeve of mine. I tell them to not move the chairs around and to please go back to their table.... apparently this was a no no. as I was nearly done straightening it up again I get jabbed in the back by a finger.

me- me obviously
SC- crazy mom
AM- awesome manager

SC: excuse me! but you made my little girl cry!
me: I did?
SC: yes! what are you going to do about it?
me:.... ask how I made her cry?
SC: she said you yelled at them and broke down their fort! this place is empty! why didn't you let them have some fun!
me: ummm.. well ma'am this is a resturaunt, the rides and games are outside. we get a rush around 12 and these tables need to be open.
SC: thats no excuse to yell at my little girl and ruin their fun!
me: I don't recall ever yelling
SC: she said you did! now apologize!
me: if I yelled you would have heard me, your only 10 feet away.
SC: apologize!!!!
me: no.
sc: WHAT!?
me: no thanks.

so I start walking off to put my broom away when she storms over to the manager, who was watching from the hostess desk and saw/heard everything. she drags her over to me as I am setting out my wet rags at my station.

AM: can you explain what happened tom?
Me: I explain the events as they unfolded with SC there huffing and pouting at me. she then cuts me off as I got to the part of telling her children to stop.
SC: and then he yelled at them!
AM: did you yell at them?
me: no... did you hear yelling?
AM: only from miss SC... ma'am we need to keep those tables clear, if he yelled we would have heard it. I don't see an issue here, and this resturaunt is a resturaunt, not a playground, you have to keep your children at your table or on the beach please.
SC: this place is empty! don't tell me what to do with my children!
AM: as long as you're in this resturaunt, you will follow this resturaunts rules. and saftey is rule one. having kids run around stacking tables is unsafe.
SC: well I never.. blah blah blah *she goes back to her table in a huff.

the rest of the morning they left a big mess on purpose and scattered the chairs around more than a normal person would when they got up. the poor server was nearly stiffed on a tip, but she didn't care, she was working double that day.


sorry for the long stories, I just like giving alot of detail when explaining them. I am actually surprised that those are my only bad children stories for the 3 summers I worked there. But being a busser, I usually don't interact as much with the customers unless they do wrong or a server sicks me on them. good times.

[lilstu50]

well done for sticking up for yourself, silly parent. Whats a busser ??

[IT Grunt]

First set of parents: Thick skulled. A bottle gets smashed, and you let your kid have one just so he can smash it again? Chances are the kid smashed the first one.

Second set of parents: Ah, the old 'you don't tell my kids what to do'. So long as you're under their roof lady, they can. Deal with it.

[Mottom24]

a busser is a guy/girl who cleans off tables, and keeps the resturaunt clean. usually only used in a place that is busy regularly. so much so that the servers can't keep up with cleaning and serving.

[Imogene]

Quoth lilstu50

Whats a busser ??

A busboy... clears tables of used dishes and silverware, and wipes them down so they're clean for the next guest.

[Mnemjian]

Your stories are always entertaining! I just can't believe some of these people. I get that these people are all probably on vacation, but the amount of EW behavior is just shocking. Re: the second story, that mother is really teaching her daughter how to be a SC. I fear for those kinds in the future; if anything ever is not to their liking, they will start demanding apologies (and free food most likely )

Quoth Mottom24

I clean again, and my manager refuses to give them a new bottle, and instead gives them a tiny plate with ketchup poured on it.

Your manager sounds cool. Hopefully that embarrassed them into behaving themselves?

[Mottom24]

Quoth Mnemjian

Your stories are always entertaining! I just can't believe some of these people. I get that these people are all probably on vacation, but the amount of EW behavior is just shocking. Re: the second story, that mother is really teaching her daughter how to be a SC. I fear for those kinds in the future; if anything ever is not to their liking, they will start demanding apologies (and free food most likely )



Your manager sounds cool. Hopefully that embarrassed them into behaving themselves?

I worked there for 3 summers, so I have alot of stories from that place. the reason most are over the top is because 90% of the people we get in are most likely tourists. some tourists are fine, but many act VERY entitled. thinking "this is my special time! I paid to come to this state/shore/country so I deserve special treatment!" some treat our home like a amusment park and just toss trash and push around locals as if they are there to entertain them. it gets rough sometimes. but you're only going to hear my best stories, so it's concentrated. keep in mind, most of my stories take place weeks, months or even a few years apart. I'm just organizing them by subject

and they did behave afterwards. they weren't "bad" customers, they just weren't that bright. I would rather have dumb customers than jerks

[friendofjimmyk]

Quoth lilstu50

Whats a busser ??

I didn't read ahead to see if your question was answered...so sorry if I repeat information...

a busser is a person employed by the restaurant who's primary job is to clear and clean tables after the customers have left. They usually have other duties - like take out trash or bring out fresh side plates or silverware if the restaurant has items like that - but the main function is clearing finished tables.

In most restaurants I worked, this was a tipped position - meaning the servers and bartenders had to tip out to the bussers. I didn't mind, but they had a shit job if you asked me and because they were tipped employees - they got paid less than minimum wage like the servers. They got more an hour than the servers, but not much.

[tropicsgoddess]

The first "parents" were freaking morons for letting their baby play with a GLASS bottle of Heinz ketchup. As for the SC parent, well it is a restaurant NOT a playground, if you wanted them to play while you wait for the food you should've gone to Chuck E.Cheese for that.

[Mottom24]

Quoth friendofjimmyk

I didn't read ahead to see if your question was answered...so sorry if I repeat information...

a busser is a person employed by the restaurant who's primary job is to clear and clean tables after the customers have left. They usually have other duties - like take out trash or bring out fresh side plates or silverware if the restaurant has items like that - but the main function is clearing finished tables.

In most restaurants I worked, this was a tipped position - meaning the servers and bartenders had to tip out to the bussers. I didn't mind, but they had a shit job if you asked me and because they were tipped employees - they got paid less than minimum wage like the servers. They got more an hour than the servers, but not much.

you know your stuff! where I worked we tipped out differently though. I actually didn't get a cut of the servers or bartenders tips, I got a percentage of the overall income of the place. I think it was something like .25% (pretty sure that was it... been a while), which sounds small, but was actually amazing. there would be days where we are very busy, and the servers may get stiffed over and over, but my tips would be consistant because people kept ordering food. aslong as food is ordered, I get tipped. our servers got 2 bucks an hour while I got 4, but because of the hot spot, most days we would walk away with 150 or more bucks. but because it depends so much on the weather, if its a rainy summer, we get jack shit, which is why I quit and went more inland. if you ever worked at jenkinsons pavilion for a year, any and every resturaunt will hire you on the spot, because they know you can handle the worst kind of customers and the biggest crowds