It is not my problem how they know. They could ask me. They could have different lines, or sections, or some sort of colored flag (yes, I have been to restaurants with "I want alcohol" flags to be displayed or not on tables, which indicates the bartender should visit your table before/after the waiter). I'd be happy to tell them how *I* prefer to be treated, but since they deal with a lot more customers than I do I somewhat expect them to have evolved their business model based on more data than I have alone.
To your question, yes I really really want that, if it saves us a significant amount of money (and, based on common arguments on this subject, a "bare bones" waiter can cost $20+ less than a "highly skilled" waiter for a party of 6).
We obviously value different things in a waiter. I don't want advice on wine. I don't want a discourse on culinary history. I DO want someone who can read their own writing, pronounce words in whatever language the menu is in (and preferably in English as well) correctly, keep my drink filled, and follow simple instructions. The number of waiters at expensive restaurants that can't even manage HALF of that list is astounding, and people who tip them more than their competent counterparts are why they still have a job. Whatever training bad waiters are getting, it isn't making them better WAITERS. It might make them better sommeliers, or better chefs, or better napkin origamists, but those are all things that I am not looking for when someone says to me "Hi, my name is ___ and I'm your waiter for the evening".
ServSafe is a third party proprietary thing that doesn't anything to do with licensing. That's between the restaurant and their insurance company. See above re alcohol flags.
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Date: 2010-08-16 03:07 am (UTC)To your question, yes I really really want that, if it saves us a significant amount of money (and, based on common arguments on this subject, a "bare bones" waiter can cost $20+ less than a "highly skilled" waiter for a party of 6).
We obviously value different things in a waiter. I don't want advice on wine. I don't want a discourse on culinary history. I DO want someone who can read their own writing, pronounce words in whatever language the menu is in (and preferably in English as well) correctly, keep my drink filled, and follow simple instructions. The number of waiters at expensive restaurants that can't even manage HALF of that list is astounding, and people who tip them more than their competent counterparts are why they still have a job. Whatever training bad waiters are getting, it isn't making them better WAITERS. It might make them better sommeliers, or better chefs, or better napkin origamists, but those are all things that I am not looking for when someone says to me "Hi, my name is ___ and I'm your waiter for the evening".
ServSafe is a third party proprietary thing that doesn't anything to do with licensing. That's between the restaurant and their insurance company. See above re alcohol flags.