what does a waiter/waitress do between the time you ask them for something and they finally bring it?

Question

just curious

no no no, not when i'm the only one in the whole friggin' restuarant smart ***

Answer 1

All of the above are correct but there have been times I have witnessed a lot of slacking and socializing. And ,maybe because I have been in the business for 15+ years seeing that pisses me off. When I waited tables we were running our a s s 's
off and like the people before me stated doing prep and side work that made our jobs easier.Nothing displeases a guest more than seeing a congregation or servers gabbing. Especially when you are hoping that the server just might just look up(your server ,that is) and finally notice your plates need to be prebussed or your glass is empty.

Answer 2

My mother was a waitress. If they're not waiting on other tables, they may be doing one or more of the following;

washing dishes
rolling silverware
cleaning restrooms, kitchen areas
restocking items
helping the cook prepare your food
taking phone-in orders
or if she's really lucky, getting a much needed break

Usually if you're in a restaurant that has a lot of open tables, it also means they are short on wait staff. When they're not busy, they often send them home. That's why you can be the only customer in the place and still get slow service. The waitress is expected to do many other things besides wait tables.

Answer 3

There's:

Waiting on other people
Fetching drinks
Fetching things like soy sauce or A1 sauce or something
Refilling water pitchers at the wait station
Making more coffee
Cutting up lemons for iced tea
Rolling silverware
Bussing tables
Wiping tables down
Resetting tables
Answering the phone
Taking to-go orders
Making bar drinks
Ringing out customers
Refilling the salad bar
Bagging up the to-go orders
Dealing with another customer's complaint
Informing the kitchen something's wrong or out of something
Refilling salt and pepper shakers
Refilling sugar caddies
Cleaning things
Putting clean dishes and pots and pans away
Marrying ketchups (which you're not supposed to do, but every place does it.)

There's probably more I'm forgetting.

Answer 4

They the order into the computer which it is then sent to the kitchen and/or bar. At that point they usually go check on other tables or if its just simple drink order they may go directly to the bar to get the drinks. Often times everyone in the industry is multitasking so they are doing something to make the experience better. Although some that are not good servers are in the back smoking, talking and slacking.

Answer 5

i was a waitress, i would wipe the tables, put up dishes from other tables; but if ur the only person in the restaurant I would probably just be waiting for your food to b cooked so i could bring it to the table.

Answer 6

There is a lot more to being a waitress than waiting on people that act like they are the only person that deserves respect. I would hide from you, too.

Answer 7

They USUALLY have to wait for something to be prepared. Even if its a drink, the bartender has to make it. Bartenders are often times focused on their own guests and make the servers wait.

Also, as long as the server doesn't do it all night, be patient. They are human too and sometimes they forget.

Answer 8

if their not checking on someone elses food they could be resting , getting a drink,or using the bathroom.or just standing around talking. if its a good waitress give them a break.could you imagion all the different types of people they have to wait on. i know i couldnt do it.there are so many rude people,messy people,impatient people,and people changing things on them. it would suck.

Answer 9

I can't speak for all restaurants, but when I owned one, the wait staff also helped with prep and inventory. If they weren't busy with customers (who should always be the top priority!) they were prepping salads, taking inventory, cleaning, etc. In most places, they probably have other duties.

Answer 10

They do what is called side work, cleaning up tables, filling sugar, salt and pepper etc. and yes when there are other customers in the restaurant they take their orders...... Hope this helps....