stupid servers in stupid restaurants

[brettwasbtd]

I went to Red Robin the other day. I could barely see the tap handles at the bar from my seat. One handle definetely has the letters E S B written vertically. So the waitress comes around and I tell her
ME: I'd like th ESB
HER: "The What?"
ME: "Um The ESB, English Special Bitter, i think it might be a Fullers ESB?"
HER: "We don't have that."
ME: "OK Well whatever that tap handle with the letters ESB are."
HER: "Well I don't know what you want, we have guinness, miller lite, blue moon etc"
ME: "Nevermind, I will just have water"

Never once, did she offer to go check with the bartender or find out what the tap handle was for. When leaving the restaurant I saw it was Red Hook.

Future reference to myself: Fullers has a blue emblem:

 

[DunklesWeissbier]

Your not alone on this one. I got frustrated a long time ago and gave up trying to explain to servers what import means. The funny thing is most tried to argue with me and tell me I was wrong about SA being made in the USA.

Good news is my local BW3 now has a half dozen Michigan craft beers on tap AND has a beer list for them with descriptions. :rockin:

 

[jafo28]

A local restaurant the wife and I goto has their beer listed on the menu, granted this is not an Applebees or Fridays but they have decent beer to choose from. I dug up the list off the website, here it is.

Draft Beer Pints 5.50
Stella Artois - Belgium Bass Ale - England Guinness Stout - Ireland Blue Moon Belgian White - USA Black & Tan - Guinness & Bass Black & Blue - Guinness & Blue Moon Brooklyn Lager - NY Magic Hat “9” - Vermont Yuengling Lager - PA 4.50
Coors Light - Colorado
Bottled Beers
4.50
Duvel Belgian Ale - Belgium 7.00 Sam Smith’s Oatmeal Stout - England 6.50 Sam Smith’s Pale Ale - England 6.50 Boddingtons Ale 16 oz. can - England 6.00 New Castle Brown Ale - England 4.75 Smithwick’s Irish Ale - Ireland 4.75 Harp Lager - Ireland 4.75 Pilsner Uquell - Czech Republic 4.75 Paulaner Hefe-Weizen 16.9 oz. - Germany 6.00 Beck’s Beer - Germany 4.75 Grolsch Lager 16 oz. - Holland 6.00 Heineken & Heineken Light - Holland 4.75 Buckler (non-alc) by Heineken - Holland 4.25 Amstel Light - Holland 4.75 Foster’s Lager - Australia 4.50 Red Stripe - Jamaica 4.50 Corona Extra & Corona Light - Mexico 4.75 Dos Equis XX Lager - Mexico 4.75 Labatt Blue - Canada 4.50 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - California 4.75 Samuel Adams Lager - Boston 4.75
George Killian’s Irish Red - USA Michelob Lager - USA 4.25
4.50
Michelob Ultra Light - USA 4.25 Rolling Rock - PA 4.25 Coors Original - Colorado 4.25 Miller Lite - USA 4.25 Miller Genuine “64” Light Beer - USA 4.25 Budweiser & Bud Light - USA 4.25 “BL” Bud Light Lime - USA 4.25 Odoul’s (non-alcoholic) - USA 4.00

 

[northernlad]

What I want to know is if the OP feels better after attempting to belittle the server.

 

[TwoFortySX]

What I want to know is if the OP feels better after attempting to belittle the server.

I was thinking the same thing. Just because you have more knowledge in a certain area than another individual does not mean that you have to correct the world one waitress at a time. You went home and vented on an internet forum hours after the incident and the girl forgot you and everything you said the minute you walked out of the door. I'm sure creating this thread was all in fun and you did not mean nothing by it. You just wanted to feel cool and get a "that a boy" from a bunch of strangers on the internet for ridiculing a waitress who was doing her job.

This thread is a testament to the amount of beer snobbery that some people have on this board. Its a reason that I find myself having a lot of trouble connecting with some people in the homebrewing community.

 

[DunklesWeissbier]

I was thinking the same thing. Just because you have more knowledge in a certain area than another individual does not mean that you have to correct the world one waitress at a time. You went home and vented on an internet forum hours after the incident and the girl forgot you and everything you said the minute you walked out of the door. I'm sure creating this thread was all in fun and you did not mean nothing by it. You just wanted to feel cool and get a "that a boy" from a bunch of strangers on the internet for ridiculing a waitress who was doing her job.

This thread is a testament to the amount of beer snobbery that some people have on this board. Its a reason that I find myself having a lot of trouble connecting with some people in the homebrewing community.

Doing her job?
If I told my customers that my product was "imported" when it is clearly stamped on it "Made in the USA", they would never buy anything from me and I would be out of a job.

 

[TwoFortySX]

Doing her job?
If I told my customers that my product was "improted" when it is clearly stamped on it "Made in the USA", they would never buy anything from me and I would be out of a job.

Thats the difference in her job as a waitress and your career in whatever field you work in. She is probably in high school or college and uses her money to see movies and buy sparkly shirts, whereas you probably have real world priorities which forces you to take your job seriously. Secondly, I am sure less than 10 percent of the people that order a beer from that girl know where each of those beers are made. The other 90 percent orders a BMC and enjoys every last drop of it in their ignorant bliss.

 

[DunklesWeissbier]

I guess being in high school excuses her from being a bad server.

Ignorance is bliss.

 

[Arneba28]

I saw that. Did they get the license? Had some of their homebrew at the AWOG dinner and it was good stuff!

sTILL waiting from what I have heard. Just free sampling I guess.

 

[curlyfat]

Doing her job?
If I told my customers that my product was "improted" when it is clearly stamped on it "Made in the USA", they would never buy anything from me and I would be out of a job.

True statement. I doubt i'd buy anything from you if you told me it was "improted".

 

[DunklesWeissbier]

True statement. I doubt i'd buy anything from you if you told me it was "improted".

Aw come on. Its 12:47am and I've been drinking. I'm entitled to a typo or two aren't I?

 

[curlyfat]

Aw come on. Its 12:47am and I've been drinking. I'm entitled to a typo or two aren't I?

I am drinking as well. You're entitled to a typo, and I'm entitled to a bit of jackassery!

 

[jiggs_casey]

Don't most restaurants have a pre-defined 'domestic' and 'import' list? Did this particular restaurant take menu listing advice from her brother? Just askin'....

 

[northernlad]

Doing her job?
If I told my customers that my product was "imported" when it is clearly stamped on it "Made in the USA", they would never buy anything from me and I would be out of a job.

Lets try it another way...
Pretend you are a Mercedes mechanic who is working on your brother's car. Do you go to your local big box parts store and belittle the high school kid behind the counter or are you going to do your homework and find what you need without his help?

I guarantee that little chippy who served the OP is telling the story about the ********* at table 20 who thinks he knows everything about beer.

 

[MeatyPortion]

It's times like that I just have water. I'm trying to save money if I go out to eat and waiting to have a beer at home is cheaper, and safer if I have too many.

 

[Firebat138]

So they have BOTH kinds of beer.... Bud and Bud Light...

its not only the servers... I have seen it listed that way on the menu

 

[Mosesdanger]

The bar I work at has an import/microbrewer special on thursdays (the only real micro we have is abita). My favorite question that has been asked me was how small are the microbrew bottles..... Lmao..
:cheers:

 

[gratus fermentatio]

A buddy of mine once asked a waitress if the ham was kosher; she actually thought about it (or at least appeared to think) and answered "ya, I think so." Some people are just terminally stupid.

 

[millsware]

I agree with the frustration that 'domestic' means crappy. I had that at a bar a while ago where the bartender told me when I walked in that domestics were on special. I asked if DFH was on special too, and she looked at me like I had horns growing out of my head and said that DFH was a 'premium' beer. At least she didn't say import.

 

[kjung]

No, I know it's not her fault. The manager said they change beer so much that it woudl be "impossible" to keep a list updated all the time...


How hard would it be to have a whiteboard near the entrance with the current craft beers on tap list?

By "impossible", he meant "I'm too lazy to do something like that." There's a pub that opened in my town at the end of last summer, catering to the craft beer market. They not only have brand new beer lists every day, one for taps and another for bottles, they update their FB page and website EVERY TIME they change a beer. All it takes is a little effort...which just might be asking too much.

I was thinking the same thing. Just because you have more knowledge in a certain area than another individual does not mean that you have to correct the world one waitress at a time....
You just wanted to feel cool and get a "that a boy" from a bunch of strangers on the internet for ridiculing a waitress who was doing her job.

So you think that he should just let her go on being misinformed, and subsequently misinforming others?
She's a waitress. Knowing about the beer that she serves, as well as the food, is a large part of her job! Not knowing the definition of "imported" is a sign that A) she's an idiot, B) the school system she went through is horrible, or C) (what seems like the most likely choice) she just doesn't give a damn about doing her job properly.

This thread is a testament to the amount of beer snobbery that some people have on this board. Its a reason that I find myself having a lot of trouble connecting with some people in the homebrewing community.

I don't think it has anything to do with "beer snobbery." It has to do with expecting someone to know their job. Period.

 

[cimirie]

What I want to know is if the OP feels better after attempting to belittle the server.

Absolutely. I woke up that morning and said, "Dammit, I want to make a teenage girl cry today. What can I do?" I have to say, she held up well. I was kinda pissed she didn't shed a single tear!

Wasn't attempting to belittle her. I know she didn't choose which category her restaurant places beer into. Was attempting to inject some customer frustration into something this restaurant (which I happen to like) does that is clearly wrong. But to seriously answer your question, do I feel better having said something to her? Absolutely. If we sit back and let mistakes continue (even innocent, doesn't really matter ones) we are part of the problem.

You went home and vented on an internet forum hours after the incident and the girl forgot you and everything you said the minute you walked out of the door. I'm sure creating this thread was all in fun and you did not mean nothing by it. You just wanted to feel cool and get a "that a boy" from a bunch of strangers on the internet for ridiculing a waitress who was doing her job.

The thread was created because what she said was so surreal. I've had this happen to me dozens of times, but I've never written about it before. Why now? What she said was classic. It was, quite possibly, my favorite spoken paragraph of the month. It amused me and I thought that others who are serious about beer would get a kick out of it. And sure, if you can't get a little anonymous self-validation and good natured chuckles on the net, why use it at all.

This thread is a testament to the amount of beer snobbery that some people have on this board. Its a reason that I find myself having a lot of trouble connecting with some people in the homebrewing community.

Right. It's the beer snobbery why you don't connect. It has nothing to do with you going all holier than thou in a post clearly meant for humor.

I guarantee that little chippy who served the OP is telling the story about the ********* at table 20 who thinks he knows everything about beer.

A) If she did, she had a right to her opinion
B) She didn't think think that way at all. There was only the normal amount of spit in my meal.
C) I never said anything most normal people don't know. Labatt says "Canadian lager" on the damn bottle!

Bottom line is this. You can say, "she's just doing her job" and cut her a break because she doesn't know beer. I won't cut her a break. She was a sweet girl, sure. But her job is to take orders, see if I need anything, make suggestions, and know her product line to answer customer questions. She obviously doesn't know her product. If she had said, "yeah, the categories are stupid/wrong/funny but that's the way it is," it would be done. Almost every other server ive had in that same situation has handled it that way. But instead, she tells me I'm wrong because I don't know what a word means. To a small extent, that irked me as a customer (but I'm not one who feels the customer is always/usually right, so no big deal there). To a larger one, her explanation didn't even make sense!

But as I said she was sweet, she was nice, we joked at the table, she got a nice tip. I don't hate her. I don't pity her. She just said some funny sh!t and that's that.

 

[rycov]

i'm with the op. its not like he said, "fix it you stupid bitch!" or anything. and i don't think it has anything to do with beer snobbery either. more word usage that happens to be about beer. if its from america, then its not imported (beer, wine, cheeto's... whatever). besides all of that he posted it in the drunken ramblings section. i think posting here gives him the right to bitch about whatever he wants.

i vote we start using the term "reverse snobbery" where people get all snobby and tell you that your a snob.

 

[Homercidal]

i'm with the op. its not like he said, "fix it you stupid bitch!" or anything. and i don't think it has anything to do with beer snobbery either. more word usage that happens to be about beer. if its from america, then its not imported (beer, wine, cheeto's... whatever). besides all of that he posted it in the drunken ramblings section. i think posting here gives him the right to bitch about whatever he wants.

i vote we start using the term "reverse snobbery" where people get all snobby and tell you that your a snob.

Agreed, but we have to find a better term than 'reverse snobbery'. It's not creative and snobbish enough.

 

[rycov]

true... RE AC?

 

[Homercidal]

true... RE AC?

You read my mind!

 

[Bobby_M]

I was thinking the same thing. Just because you have more knowledge in a certain area than another individual does not mean that you have to correct the world one waitress at a time. You went home and vented on an internet forum hours after the incident and the girl forgot you and everything you said the minute you walked out of the door. I'm sure creating this thread was all in fun and you did not mean nothing by it. You just wanted to feel cool and get a "that a boy" from a bunch of strangers on the internet for ridiculing a waitress who was doing her job.

This thread is a testament to the amount of beer snobbery that some people have on this board. Its a reason that I find myself having a lot of trouble connecting with some people in the homebrewing community.

I honestly don't see any "beer snobbery" in the OP's post. It might be a little snarky to expect a young waitress to understand what the word import means, but it has no relationship to feeling like he has superior beer knowledge or tastes.

The actual answer we'd like to hear is "I know they are not really imports but the restaurant pays more for some beers and needs to charge a slightly higher price for them. Most people have come to accept that imported beers cost more so we generically label these premium beers as imports to avoid confusion. I know it's silly but I'm not in a position to argue with management over it. Would you like to order something or should I spit directly into your mouth?" Ok, maybe not that last part.

 

[JetSmooth]

Agreed, but we have to find a better term than 'reverse snobbery'. It's not creative and snobbish enough.

I've got a term. But it's probably beyond your ability to appreciate it.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I was in a Spaghetti Warehouse. The special was clearly wriiten to "Buy any domestic brewed beer on draft for $3.00 and you keep the glass".

I ordered two beers. A Coop Ale Works 'Native Amber' and Samuel Adams 'Boston Lager'. I eat my lunch, I drink my beer, I collect my check and I see that I was charged nearly $9.00 for the two beers.

Oh Hell No.

The Manager explained that those beers are on the Premium Import list to which i explained that Coop Ale Works is located at 50th and Western a mere 3 to 4 miles away from this restaurant, and that Sam Adams, made by Boston Beer Company was brewed at one of two locations in either Boston Massachusets or in Breningville Pennsylvania. I further commented that I have traveled to both Massachusettes and to Pennsylvania and neither required the use of a passport nor did my possession have to pass customs.

Then I asked "What quilification of Domestic Brewed do these two not meet?"

I was only charged $6.00 for the beers, and they brought me two clean glasses to take home.

The next time I went to that restaurant the offer was still there, but the menu had changed to show a category for "Domestic Craft" and the offer had a disclaimer to include only those products from AB-Inbev, Miller, or Coors breweries.

So, naturally, I ordered was later to become a $3.00, with a free glass, Blue Moon. :rockin:

 

[kcold0403]

I woke up that morning and said, "Dammit, I want to make a teenage girl cry today. What can I do?"

Who doesn't do that everyday?

 

[rycov]

Would you like to order something or should I spit directly into your mouth?"

nice. wanted to say this a LOT when i waited tables.

I've got a term. But it's probably beyond your ability to appreciate it.

*******