10 Things Waitresses and Waiters Hate About Their Jobs

Photo by: Ashley Alonzo

After conducting a poll about how many students at Ottawa University have worked or currently work as waitresses or waiters, results show that out of 237 students who took the poll, only 116 have worked in the restaurant industry. This means that 121 students polled have not yet experienced the struggles of waiting tables. The following list addresses some of the most frustrating things that happen on the job.

1. An abundance of modifications

It is very annoying when a customer orders something from the menu but proceeds to say something like, “Can I have a double bacon cheeseburger with no bacon, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, the special sauce and no meat?”

“So … do you want the bread and cheese only?”

“No, I just don’t want bacon, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, the special sauce and no meat.“

2. When they compliment you but leave no tip

“Oh my God, you’re so pretty! You have the most beautiful smile! You are so nice! I am asking for you every time I come in!” Then you start thinking about what you are going to buy with the massive tip you are about to get.

Customer leaves all happy, you check the table … no tip. You check the Visa slip … no tip. You check your tip cup … not more than what you already knew about.

Then you start cursing them in your mind, saying, “They better not come in next time. Do they think that I can pay my rent with compliments?!”

3. The timewaster

“Um … Can I have… Um… What do you think about… Um… You know what; I’ll just have my regular.”

Have you ever had a regular customer that always gets the same thing, but they always try to make life a little more difficult by spending five minutes, that you do not have, trying to find something new to eat? Meanwhile, you were just double sat and table 12 needs condiments and refills.

4. “Oh, I forgot to ask for …”

Have you ever had those customers who forgot to ask for no onions on their burger, so you kindly take it back and have the cooks remake it? Those customers are not so bad, right?

What about the customers who eat three fourths of the burger, complain about it, and then ask you to remake it because it had onions? Yeah, that happens more frequently than you could imagine.

5. Not being considered a real waitress

Ever worked at a place that has a drive thru window, but they also have a dining area designated for waitresses to serve anyone who wishes to dine in? People do not think the dining area is considered a real restaurant dining experience because of the drive thru. So you take their order, bring their drinks, their food, their check and you constantly attend to their needs, yet they don’t leave you a single penny as a tip. This kind of situations often makes wait staff want to quit or punch someone in the face.

 All because you are getting served at a Pizza Hut, Freddy’s, In and Out or any other restaurant with a drive thru, that does not mean that you are not receiving a service from the wait staff, and you should tip appropriately.

6. “I only came here for this waiter, and that’s why I am not leaving you a tip”

“Is he here today? He left already? Dang, I missed him! Okay I guess you can be my waiter. I always tip my waiter very well, maybe you can work hard so I can leave you some tips. You know, it depends on your performance.”

In your head: “Lady, if you're about to be stuck up, there is a door right by your left side, and I can escort you if you need me to. What you actually say: “We’ll see, ha ha.”

7. Leftovers everywhere

You know those customers who barely spend any time eating, and they exit pretty fast but leave a big mess everywhere? Like you’re about to pick the plates up and you are missing forks and you see a bunch of napkins everywhere and … you end up finding the missing forks.

8. Special drink night

Whenever you have a special beverage night, you know people only come in to get that drink. The thing is not serving one table of 15 with beverages, but serving multiple tables with a variety of people and bringing nothing other than drinks and not getting a single tip because they don’t think you served them much. Really annoying!

9. Let me talk to your manager

You know it’s about to go down when you hear these six words. Either the customer is going to complain about your service, and your boss will be mad, or he/she will ignore the costumer’s comments. 

10. Last minute orders

Have you ever gotten a customer who likes to make last minute orders, when you had already told them that the kitchen was about to close, and they tell you they don’t need anything else? Yet they call you over five minutes later asking for a to-go order when you had already given the last call.

Here you have them! Waiters and waitresses go through a lot more, but these are the 10 main things we hate. Every day is a new day to hate something about a waitressing job. Not every customer is the same; some actually are nice and don’t make the waitressing job too difficult.

So be polite to your servers, and don’t be that annoying customer who every server is yet to add to their “OMG it is them again” list.