By: Aletash Wakgira
There are just some things you don’t want to talk about while dining out at a fancy restaurant. And anyone that has ever worked in the service industry can tell you why.
What if you were dining and decided to bring up what happened on spring break in Cancun, just a bit too loudly? Maybe you served a table and accidentally heard something you really wish you didn’t. Chances are, someone around you heard about “that one time,” that people often share over drinks with friends.
Here are some of the most outrageous stories that some waiters in Atlanta have overheard.
In Atlanta’s West Midtown, the staff of Jct. Kitchen & Bar share moments of overheard conversations from guests. For individual reasons, each person asked not to identify their last name.
Newly hired server Taylor says she often accidentally hears her table’s conversations while creating enjoyable dining experiences.
“Sometimes I hear the funniest things while pouring my guests’ water. All I can do is try my best not to bust out laughing,” says Taylor. “Like when I stopped by to drop off straws to a table and heard one blonde lady say ‘…and then I just shoved it right in there. No lube or anything.’”
Waiters like Taylor try their best not to laugh at the racy conversations at tables. Instead, they find themselves running back to the kitchen to share with their peers in privacy.
“I love telling my coworkers what I overheard in real time, so that way they can pass by that table and understand how something so unexpected came from that person,” says Ryan of Jct. Ryan, who has been a waiter for the last three years, claims to always catch surprising moments at tables.
“This really old lady who looked like your typical Southern belle, told her husband flat out, ‘You’re gonna need your magic pill tonight honey. This wine has me hot,’” Ryan recalls.
Over at the CNN Center, employees at McCormick & Schmicks Seafood and Steaks claim guests often are winding down from work and sometimes don’t think to save certain conversations for later. Baillie, a four-year cocktail waitress, says that she regularly hears inappropriate and often offensive chatter.
“I was working a private party of 18 guests who happened to all be young, white businessmen. So I walk in to offer a last round of drinks since they already took shots, and one guy is impersonating a pimp by wearing a hat to the side and saying ‘Better have my money b****, yah-mean.’ The guy saw me and instantly turned beet red. I think that’s why he tipped me an extra $100.”
In one instance, Baillie says she also had a guest complain about the coffee being cold, then overheard him stating, “I like my coffee hot and black like my women.”
Back at Jct., Brooks, who has been with the company for five years, claims to have heard it all as a waiter. He says that since President Trump has been in office, political conversations can either be agreeable or extremely tense at tables.
Brooks says, “When the whole kneeling during the anthem movement began, this white father told his family ‘Colin Kaepernick disrespected our country and since he feels so strongly he should leave the country entirely.’”
Like Brooks, many servers find that the conversations they overhear reveal something about the people they are helping. Some servers are mindful not to take such conversations personally or else it may affect their earnings from that table, as well as the customer relationship.
It’s not just waiters that can recall ridiculous stories, but the rest of the front of house staff as well (those who work directly in the dining area). Jaqueline, the lead host of Jct., describes the moment that she helped a woman prepare a surprise proposal at the most visible table in the restaurant, the “chef’s” table.
“So, the bar manager and I helped her set everything up from the time she made the reservation to setting up the dessert she brought and Champagne and stuff. After they ate dinner, she pulls out the ring to ask him the big question, and he literally says, ‘I think we should get to know each other more,’” said Jaqueline.
In case you were wondering what happened to that couple, they continued to share that not-so celebratory cake and Champagne the woman set up minutes before. Jaqueline was just feet away at the hostess stand, trying to avoid staring at them with a face of complete embarrassment for the woman. No surprise that the story definitely made its way back to the kitchen and continued to be the conversation for the rest of evening.
So what is to be learned when dining out? Be mindful that any embarrassing story you share, or extreme political views you voice, will most likely be heard by someone outside of your table. And if you expect to work in the service industry, it’s likely you’ll witness a failed proposal or hear indelicate comments about the type of women a guest likes. Long story short: Be aware!