Late? Please Wait....

Wow, Sunday morning is probably not the best time to post this blog.  After a super frustrating and non-lucrative Saturday night, I may be a tad bit viscous, so I apologize in advance.

So we were expecting a party of eight at eight o' clock last night, and come twenty-five after, they had neither arrived nor called.  Now at this point, I'm playing waiter, hostess, and Maitre' D, and we are on a twenty to thirty minute wait.  And it's really difficult to take care of your customers in the dining room when you've got several groups up front, staring you down at every move, hungry like coyotes watching a maimed deer for a table.

So I break up the party of eight and get two of those groups sat.  Of course, moments later the children of the people who reserved said party meander in and demand their table.  Rut-Roh.  When the parents make it in, I explained what happened as politely as possible, imploring them to simply call in the future of they were going to be late.  They didn't care.  I was further convinced of their self-centric view of the universe when I realized they had been shopping along the main street on which "the joint" is located all night, and any one of them could have stopped by to check in and let me know they intended to come whenever the hell they felt like it, despite the reservations they'd made.  So I minded little, making them wait forty-five minutes up front by the cold door like kennel dogs waiting for their kibble for a table.  I even smiled a little when they were sat and I saw it was my turn for a table.

That they were extremely difficult from there on out, ordered as cheaply as possible and tipped around 12% despite my best efforts to be personable is neither here nor there.  IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE LATE FOR A RESERVATION, WHETHER IT'S ONE  PERSON OR TWELVE, FIVE MINUTES OR TWO HOURS, SATURDAY NIGHT OR TUESDAY BREAKFAST, PULL OUT YOUR CELL AND CALL THE PLACE FOR PETE'S SAKE.  How much effort does that take?  In a time when cell phones are glued to our frreakin hands, is such a simple courtesy too much effort?

And if you see that your lateness has caused a seating issue, or any added, un-necessary stress on the staff, tip the Maitre'D, the hostess, the bus-boy- and everybody gets 20%