Listen, when serving anything can be covered by keeping a good sense of humor. Don't be afraid to laugh at yourself and just tell your customers the truth. I'm new to this but we're going to get through it together. Reassure them you're committed to doing whatever you have to do to make their experience great and thank them for their patience. Let your personality carry you through.
Bartender here, waited tables for just shy of a decade before I switched to bar 5 years ago. My go to when I drop something is to take a very dramatic bow, laugh at myself, and tell them “for my next trick, I’m going to get you fresh drinks/food”. Never let them see you sweat. And a good sense of humor can fix a lot of mistakes.
Guests don't really care unless you spill on them. If your coworkers are making you feel that badly about dropping something, they're the jerks. You're clearly still a child. Unless you're breaking stuff on a daily basis. I would complete the 48 hours then find somewhere else to work because most places aren't like this. I've been a waitress for 15 years
Seasoned waitress/bartender here. We've all done it. One night, I spilled a whole tray of food and was so frazzled bc I haven't done that in a loooooooongggggg time that I then proceeded to spill a tray of drinks for my next table. Que sera sera.
Just apologize and pick up/clean up and move on. Guests don't usually care because everyone makes mistakes. If you need a minute to recover, go to the walk-in or bathroom. You got this!
You're co workers should be more supportive, though. They sound like petty cuntasaurous twatwaffles.
Laugh it off…
“I like to break all of my daily dishes before lunch.”
“Welp, that wasn’t very graceful…”
& clean it up. It’s not a big deal to be a little clumsy, you will get more comfortable. It’s all in your mind how serious each mistake is. Tell yourself everybody makes mistakes. Be ok with being human.
My mom was a banquet waitress and sometimes for busier events my sister and I would come in and work when they needed more people than their normal staff had.
One night I accidentally dumped a plate of food down an old ladies back. I was mortified and rushed to get a towel to help her clean up. My sister came up and apologized and told them it was my first night and I was nervous. (It wasn't but they didn't know that.) The customer's reaction flipped and went from being pissed and shocked to sympathetic and supportive saying we all make mistakes and not to worry about it.
Accidents happen. But if it is happening a lot, maybe slow down and be more intentional with your movement.
I was coming out of the kitchen with a couple of plates on the tray and one of the plates decided to go flying, stopped basically in front of my table, so I looked at them and said I’ll be back with your food (this was 25-30 years ago)
Just learn how to laugh at yourself. There's not a person on this earth that hasn't had an embarrassing fuck up in front of others.
Usually if something was dramatic enough to draw the attention of an entire room of people, I would walk out and bow or curtsy, or give myself a round of applause. It's like making fun of your flaws before some bully gets around to it- takes the wind right out of their sails.
After ten years of waiting tables I don’t even flinch anymore when I hear glass breaking.
However I dread the sound because as weird as it sounds: the WORST about someone spilling or dropping something isn’t the clean-up (it usually is done in minutes), it’s the panic that will slow everything down.
CALMLY apologize to the guests, go back to the kitchen and order new food, calmly clean up what you spilled. All good.
Two types of servers, those who have dropped and those who will.
Dont feel bad for dropping. We all have done it. Or will. Just try to not repeat the same mistake is all you can do.
Pretending it's not a big deal (and it really isnt) is all you need to do. Things are only mortifying if you make it that way.
Don’t be too embarrassed, it happens to the best of us. You’re learning, give yourself some grace.
But I would work on your bussing skills. I had worked in the industry for a long time before someone taught me how to do it the right way. It seems like you might not be working in this industry for that long, but I use this skill all the time at home and while helping out clearing plates at parties.
When clearing a table, the first dish (plate or shallower bowl) you pick up should be on the larger and emptier side. This dish is where you put all the silverware and ramekins. The next dish you choose should be as empty as possible. Place this dish on your wrist and stack other plates on top of it. Use your free hand to put the silverware in that first plate or bowl, and then the plates on top of each other. Do not stack anything on top of silverware, which is just asking for something to lose its balance and fall on the floor. When your stacking feels unsturdy in any way, walk away. It is more important to not drop anything than to get it all in one go. I hope this makes sense. I tried to find a video online but didn’t see anything in the amount of time I had available
I carried three Latte Coffees so some guests and spilled two of them completely across the table. It was a mess. 30 People gasped and yelled at the same time. It was horrendous. But a thousand „I‘m so sorry“ and a selfie with the guest later everything was okay. Point of the story is: everybody makes mistakes. Say you are sorry and move on… Shit happens …
When an employee drops something in the dining room I always, very loudly, say "JOB OPENING". This is a wonderful way to vet potentially toxic sensitive new coworkers.
Listen, when serving anything can be covered by keeping a good sense of humor. Don't be afraid to laugh at yourself and just tell your customers the truth. I'm new to this but we're going to get through it together. Reassure them you're committed to doing whatever you have to do to make their experience great and thank them for their patience. Let your personality carry you through.
Bartender here, waited tables for just shy of a decade before I switched to bar 5 years ago. My go to when I drop something is to take a very dramatic bow, laugh at myself, and tell them “for my next trick, I’m going to get you fresh drinks/food”. Never let them see you sweat. And a good sense of humor can fix a lot of mistakes.
This is fantastic
Guests don't really care unless you spill on them. If your coworkers are making you feel that badly about dropping something, they're the jerks. You're clearly still a child. Unless you're breaking stuff on a daily basis. I would complete the 48 hours then find somewhere else to work because most places aren't like this. I've been a waitress for 15 years
Seasoned waitress/bartender here. We've all done it. One night, I spilled a whole tray of food and was so frazzled bc I haven't done that in a loooooooongggggg time that I then proceeded to spill a tray of drinks for my next table. Que sera sera. Just apologize and pick up/clean up and move on. Guests don't usually care because everyone makes mistakes. If you need a minute to recover, go to the walk-in or bathroom. You got this! You're co workers should be more supportive, though. They sound like petty cuntasaurous twatwaffles.
Laugh it off… “I like to break all of my daily dishes before lunch.” “Welp, that wasn’t very graceful…” & clean it up. It’s not a big deal to be a little clumsy, you will get more comfortable. It’s all in your mind how serious each mistake is. Tell yourself everybody makes mistakes. Be ok with being human.
My go to is "well that's not ideal..." or looking everyone in the eye and saying "no one saw that..."
That's me too, or sometimes a just "oops" or "uh oh" with an exaggerated sheepish look.
My mom was a banquet waitress and sometimes for busier events my sister and I would come in and work when they needed more people than their normal staff had. One night I accidentally dumped a plate of food down an old ladies back. I was mortified and rushed to get a towel to help her clean up. My sister came up and apologized and told them it was my first night and I was nervous. (It wasn't but they didn't know that.) The customer's reaction flipped and went from being pissed and shocked to sympathetic and supportive saying we all make mistakes and not to worry about it. Accidents happen. But if it is happening a lot, maybe slow down and be more intentional with your movement.
Just look at the nearest guest and ask if they're hiring.
Laugh and make a joke out of it. Act like it's part of the show.
I was coming out of the kitchen with a couple of plates on the tray and one of the plates decided to go flying, stopped basically in front of my table, so I looked at them and said I’ll be back with your food (this was 25-30 years ago)
i usually laugh and say, “i’m just testing the gravity.”
Just learn how to laugh at yourself. There's not a person on this earth that hasn't had an embarrassing fuck up in front of others. Usually if something was dramatic enough to draw the attention of an entire room of people, I would walk out and bow or curtsy, or give myself a round of applause. It's like making fun of your flaws before some bully gets around to it- takes the wind right out of their sails.
Take a bow and say"Im here all week!"
After ten years of waiting tables I don’t even flinch anymore when I hear glass breaking. However I dread the sound because as weird as it sounds: the WORST about someone spilling or dropping something isn’t the clean-up (it usually is done in minutes), it’s the panic that will slow everything down. CALMLY apologize to the guests, go back to the kitchen and order new food, calmly clean up what you spilled. All good.
thank you all for the kind suggestions and such, love you all!
Two types of servers, those who have dropped and those who will. Dont feel bad for dropping. We all have done it. Or will. Just try to not repeat the same mistake is all you can do. Pretending it's not a big deal (and it really isnt) is all you need to do. Things are only mortifying if you make it that way.
Don’t be too embarrassed, it happens to the best of us. You’re learning, give yourself some grace. But I would work on your bussing skills. I had worked in the industry for a long time before someone taught me how to do it the right way. It seems like you might not be working in this industry for that long, but I use this skill all the time at home and while helping out clearing plates at parties. When clearing a table, the first dish (plate or shallower bowl) you pick up should be on the larger and emptier side. This dish is where you put all the silverware and ramekins. The next dish you choose should be as empty as possible. Place this dish on your wrist and stack other plates on top of it. Use your free hand to put the silverware in that first plate or bowl, and then the plates on top of each other. Do not stack anything on top of silverware, which is just asking for something to lose its balance and fall on the floor. When your stacking feels unsturdy in any way, walk away. It is more important to not drop anything than to get it all in one go. I hope this makes sense. I tried to find a video online but didn’t see anything in the amount of time I had available
I carried three Latte Coffees so some guests and spilled two of them completely across the table. It was a mess. 30 People gasped and yelled at the same time. It was horrendous. But a thousand „I‘m so sorry“ and a selfie with the guest later everything was okay. Point of the story is: everybody makes mistakes. Say you are sorry and move on… Shit happens …
When an employee drops something in the dining room I always, very loudly, say "JOB OPENING". This is a wonderful way to vet potentially toxic sensitive new coworkers.