Waiters asking for names at dinner, new trend?

[RWebb]

I dunno, boss

[Baz]

It has always been my opinion that eating out is not the positive experience certain persons think it is.

Please note that I say certain persons.

Those certain persons enjoy the experience solely on the basis they can artificially elevate their status by having servants wait on them hand and foot. Not unlike slaves.

Some of the posts here (Denis's for example) bear out my theory.

When you think of all the variables that you have no control over which can and [often times] will go wrong....that has to be why certain persons consider eating out a treat.

Like many here I have worked part-time in restaurants from kitchen to delivery to wait staff to food server so I can relate to the whole scenario.

For those of you who do not consider wait staff as merely "the help" you are very wise and you have my respect - please continue to enjoy your dining experiences.

To all others - enjoy your wretched existences.

[Por_sha911]

Just say
"Thank you for asking. I'll have a coke and order in a minute"

A smart waiter will get the hint but not be offended. A bad one will insist on asking for your name and at that point you can politely ask "Is this something you are required to do?" When he answers then politely say
"Oh, OK, thank you for letting me know. I'll have a coke and order in a minute"

[Bill Douglas]

You could have a bit of fun. When the waiter asks you could say "My name is Fart, her's is Puss and the guy over there his name is Tosser." So when he comes back and says "Hey Tosser, how do you want that steak done?" you all get a giggle.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Bob Hancock

Well isn't this special. A keyboard postulation made in the dark, followed by a wager in the light which will never be consummated, hence your post. Joisting at windmills can be fun I hear, but never profitable.

Tilting, it's tilting at windmills, I'm not sure what joisting is, does it involve roofing?

Jousting would make sense, contextually, but it's still tilting.

[Bob Hancock]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Tilting, it's tilting at windmills, I'm not sure what joisting is, does it involve roofing?

Jousting would make sense, contextually, but it's still tilting.

Tilting is a precursor to jousting. Same context different word.

[BE911SC]

Better be nice and play their name game. They're handling your food.

[BE911SC]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

You could have a bit of fun. When the waiter asks you could say "My name is Fart, her's is Puss and the guy over there his name is Tosser." So when he comes back and says "Hey Tosser, how do you want that steak done?" you all get a giggle.

Or Dick. Hey Dick, how would you like your steak?

[Gretch]

The one I can not abide is the female attention whore waitress who has to engage in conversation to tell you all about herself (boring life, talk the ears off a brass monkey) or the fat broad who has to wise crack as a form of flirting (Not enough whiskey in ALL of Tennessee).

Fortunately these types generally can only get jobs in greasy spoons....... But hey, I am a hill billy, those are the places I eat!

The other one is in swanky places where the fag waiter wants to be a precious snow flake.........Geebus, just shoot me now.

[Jim Bremner]

My starbucks name is Heyu

I tell them it's yiddish for Jim

[stomachmonkey]

Better be nice and play their name game. They're handling your food.

As my brother is fond of saying, "never piss off the waiter before they bring the food"

[Porsche-O-Phile]

"Lucas, Lucas Buttsleeve. What's yours?"

Say it with a straight face. 9 times out of 10 they'll go with it and call you "Lucas" or even "Mr. Lucas". I have yet to get a "Mr. Buttsleeve" though.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Baz

It has always been my opinion that eating out is not the positive experience certain persons think it is.

Please note that I say certain persons.

Those certain persons enjoy the experience solely on the basis they can artificially elevate their status by having servants wait on them hand and foot. Not unlike slaves.

Some of the posts here (Denis's for example) bear out my theory.

When you think of all the variables that you have no control over which can and [often times] will go wrong....that has to be why certain persons consider eating out a treat.

Like many here I have worked part-time in restaurants from kitchen to delivery to wait staff to food server so I can relate to the whole scenario.

For those of you who do not consider wait staff as merely "the help" you are very wise and you have my respect - please continue to enjoy your dining experiences.

To all others - enjoy your wretched existences.

I'm not sure I completely understand your post. For me, eating out or any other service is a 2-way street. However, if the service person prefers to patronize the customer in a small way, I'll accept that in the context that I'm the one asking for the service and paying for same.

To that extent, I'll add in that I don't particularly like counter order/pick up establishments that ask for your name when taking your order so that they can announce over the PA system, "Zeke, your order is ready."

But, it gets worse. If I give them my real name, later on it might be, "Hey Milk (Mel, Melt), your order is ready."

I wonder what they do when someone like Dzhokhar Tsarnaev orders.

Can I call you Zeke?

[Por_sha911]

To that extent, I'll add in that I don't particularly like counter order/pick up establishments that ask for your name when taking your order so that they can announce over the PA system, "Zeke, your order is ready."

I love those! I tell them the last name is (and spell out) Phred.
You can tell when my order is ready (or when my table is ready) when the person says "Table for, um, table for, um...."

[R K T]

Any of you ever see the movie "Waiting"? Hilarious and will make you think twice about eating out!


A couple weeks ago wifey and I went to a new steak restaurant that just opened a few weeks ago. The hostess said it would be about 20 minutes and we waited even though we could see at least a dozen empty tables. Possibly short on staff?
When we were seated the waiter came to the table after about five minutes and asked if we had ever been here before. We answered that it was our first time. "Oh boy are you in for a treat!" He went on to tell us that he wasn't a steak eater himself and where he used to work and what his daddy used to say when he was a kid......
Wifey and I just looked at each other with that silent communication thing of 'Do you want to get up and leave' look. Finally took our order and when I ordered the Prime Rib, he announced it would be the best I ever had. Now we've dined at some of the best restaurants in LA, NYC, Dallas and Chicago, with the prime rib at Lawrys in Chicago being the high mark to beat.
He brings out our food and I immediately notice that there is more fat than meat on my plate. He stands there and waits for me to take my first bite wanting me to confirm that it is THE BEST. I respond with 'I'm not so sure' and he disappears. When we are finished eating he re-appears with the same "That was the best RIGHT?" and I tell him politely that it was closer to the worst. There was a pile of fat left on the plate and I probably had 6 good edible bites. He disappears again and comes back with the manager and he apologizes profusely and comps my dinner. I didn't complain and didn't demand a comp. I was ready to just pay the bill and be on our way with the thought of never returning again. Even with the comp, I'm not sure we will return.
Just across the parking is a competitor steak that we have had numerous excellent meals. We ate there yesterday and told our waitress this story. A minute later the manager came to our table after hearing the story and welcomed us back and told us that several of their regulars had the same experience as us.
It's not just the food, it's the people that make dining out enjoyable.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by Bob Hancock

Tilting is a precursor to jousting. Same context different word.

but if tilt wall construction is used, wouldn't tilting be a precursor to joisting??

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Zeke

I'm not sure I completely understand your post. For me, eating out or any other service is a 2-way street. However, if the service person prefers to patronize the customer in a small way, I'll accept that in the context that I'm the one asking for the service and paying for same.---snip---

Sure - here goes another way to put it.....

I believe that there are those who enjoy dining out because they are waited on "hand and foot".

You can call me crazy but I also believe most of them don't realize it but subconsciously they feel like better persons because they have those who fetch food and drink for them - and are at their beck and call.

In other words for the period they are dining out they have "slaves".

I know that sounds pretty far out there and I'm OK if no one else agrees with my theory.

Remember this does not apply to you who are reading this necessarily - just those certain folks who love the idea of being 'treated' by going out for dinner and drinks. The treat is having others wait on you.

It's a mental state and as I said many don't consciously realize it - they just look at dining out as a positive - even when it's not a positive because of all the things that can go wrong. (At least they have someone waiting on them - thus the positive).

[VINMAN]

I kind of agree with what Baz is getting at. I know a lot of people that go out to eat for the "experience". Especially when it comes to "fine dining". They enjoy paying high prices for food, and drinks for the privilege of getting their asses kissed by the staff.
But then again, I'm a Diners, Drive-in and Dives" type of person. I'd much rather get good tasty affordable food at a nice roadside place, then sit in some snooty ass dining room.

[MRM]

Tilting is when you use the lance on horseback against a fixed object. Jousting is when you try to strike another rider with your lance. That's why Don Quixote was described as "tilting" at windmills rather than jousting with them.

I have not noticed a great difference between the language skills of our continental brethren, or our British compatriots, for that matter. But if there is, I would postulate that it comes from them being trained in American English as a second language, and therefore being more careful writing in it.

[Baz]

I'm with you Vinny.

I hate going out.

I MUCH prefer home cooking and relaxation and privacy of my castle.

Once in a while I'm "forced" to dine out though....what a PITA!

YMMV folks.