Waiters who disappear

Paul Motter · #1 (**permalink**) December 28th, 2009, 06:40 PM

Is there anything worse - you get delivered a plate of reasonably hot food, but you need one item before you start eating; butter, salt, a fork... and your waiter is nowhere in sight and never shows up.

Usually it happens when someone else delivers your food because your waiter is having a smoke or something. He won't be back for five minutes and he thinks everything is covered because he asked someone to deliver your food.

All the other waiters have blinders on because you aren't in their section.

What do you do - get up and take it from another table, sit there and steam, or flag down another waiter (which isn't always that easy).

Fern · #2 (**permalink**) December 28th, 2009, 08:39 PM

I steam for a few minutes

then, if what I want is on an unoccupied nearby table, I get up and get it myself (salt, pepper, cutlery...). I've also been known to help myself from the waiter's station

!

If it's something from the kitchen that I need I usually wait until the waiter or the assistant waiter comes back, but I might flag down another waiter if my food is getting cold

.

These situations don't happen often, but when they do it generally attracts the attention of the Head Waiter who appears to be "horrified"

!

Paul Motter · #3 (**permalink**) December 28th, 2009, 08:48 PM

"appears horrified"

I remember one waiter in Solstice who put up with this most obnoxious lady. He would deliver every dish and check with her every five minutes to make sure it was OK. Half the time she sent it back. He knew her name & everything.

I guess she was a good tipper (obviously moneyed), but "ah My Gawd" she was such an obnoxious Long Islander (if you know what I mean) it was just awful to watch how she treated him. She was insulting and demanding and demeaning. I really have to give him credit. if he wasn't being tipped separately by her then I have to say he was just a plain great waiter.

But yeah, I just don't care for the headwaiters who seem to do nothing but come around and chat with you. What is their job anyway? If there was a problem they should have seen it before it happened, not after you told them about it.

nlb1050 · #4 (**permalink**) December 28th, 2009, 08:48 PM

Fortunately for us the only time we have had this problem on a ship was on our only NCL cruise, and it happenned in more than one dining room. That is one of the reasons we won't sail with NCL again. And we just keep waving until someone came. And fortunatley this has not happenned often at a regular resturant.

Ron · #5 (**permalink**) December 28th, 2009, 09:47 PM

I'm pretty easy going--I can usually tell pretty quickly if the waiter/ service staff is going to be ok or not.
I have been known to get up and get silverware, salt, etc. and even water and coffee. Usually after someone sees you do that once, you don't have to do it again.

green_rd · #6 (**permalink**) December 29th, 2009, 07:54 AM

I suppose another reason waiters disappear is diners who keep straggling in, so they have to make multiple trips to the galley to fetch salad for one, dinner for another, and dessert for a third.

Paul Motter · #7 (**permalink**) December 29th, 2009, 11:27 AM

One of the challenges of open-seating dining, I'm afraid. I think it took a few years for the cruise lines to get open seating down, they were so used to serving everyone at once.

nlb1050 · #8 (**permalink**) December 29th, 2009, 02:00 PM

Paul, we used the anytime dining on Princess and never had that problem but NCL I think it is more a case of too many dining options and on our cruise we found the problem in all of the non extra pay resturants. Though in the main dining rooms there were more than enough waitersbut not many diners and I think that lead to the problem, none of the waiters seemd like they wanted to be in there.

Wando · #9 (**permalink**) December 29th, 2009, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Motter

"appears horrified"

I remember one waiter in Solstice who put up with this most obnoxious lady. He would deliver every dish and check with her every five minutes to make sure it was OK. Half the time she sent it back. He knew her name & everything.

I guess she was a good tipper (obviously moneyed), but "ah My Gawd" she was such an obnoxious Long Islander (if you know what I mean) it was just awful to watch how she treated him. She was insulting and demanding and demeaning. I really have to give him credit. if he wasn't being tipped separately by her then I have to say he was just a plain great waiter.

But yeah, I just don't care for the headwaiters who seem to do nothing but come around and chat with you. What is their job anyway? If there was a problem they should have seen it before it happened, not after you told them about it.

If I were to guess the passenger probably also complains a lot to the cruise line about every little thing and writes up bad reports on the comment cards. My guess is that waiter's boss told him that he better get a good review for her and if he doesn't he will be demoted or look forward to extra duties for the next month. From what you said about her I doubt she tips or tips over and above.

As far as disappearing waiters are concerned he may have been asked to do extra work by his supervisor (eg. help out in another section) or needed to run down to the Lido to get something for a passenger that wasn't available or they ran out of it in the dining room.

DayvidB · #10 (**permalink**) January 7th, 2010, 03:28 PM

To be honest, and as a seasoned cruiser and a PERSON. I could not do the job these guys do in waiting and putting up with the ever changing clientele and demands that some can make on you.

It appears that “some” forget that this is a person, a person doing a job and not some "Awipe" that is only there for their own personal gratification or for them to confirm how important that they think they are in their own little world when on a cruise ship.

I know SNOBS, I shoot with the gentry in the UK and no way as rich people and some have class would they treat any waiting staff in the way I have witnessed $500 buck cruisers treat the people that serve them.

I envy and admire the patience of those doing that job in the environment they are in.

As a person, do it to me I would dump your dinner on your lap.

Hey that’s why I’m not a waiter!!! Some forget they are dealing with PEOPLE

DayvidB · #11 (**permalink**) January 7th, 2010, 03:29 PM

To be honest, and as a seasoned cruiser and a PERSON. I could not do the job these guys do in waiting and putting up with the ever changing clientele and demands that some can make on you.

It appears that �some� forget that this is a person, a person doing a job and not some "Awipe" that is only there for their own personal gratification or for them to confirm how important that they think they are in their own little world when on a cruise ship.

I know SNOBS, I shoot with the gentry in the UK and no way as rich people and some have class would they treat any waiting staff in the way I have witnessed $500 buck cruisers treat the people that serve them.

I envy and admire the patience of those doing that job in the environment they are in.

As a person, do it to me I would dump your dinner on your lap.

Hey that�s why I�m not a waiter!!! Some forget they are dealing with PEOPLE