As the Tables Turn, Chapter I

On Friday evenings I wait tables at the Elks Club Lodge. For those of you not familiar with the Elks, it’s a national private club with members all over the US. If you belong to the Elks Club (or Emblem Club for women) you are welcome at any Lodge by simply showing your membership card.

In Homer they have a weekly sit down dinner with a choice of two entrees. For anyone that has been a server you know how stressful it can get when ‘you’re in the weeds,’ restaurant lingo meaning slammed. I work here because it is a relaxing gig with the same weekly crowd and only occasional visitors from other locations, plus it gives me some human interaction away from dog camp. Dinner is served from 6-8:30 and I usually walk out with at least $100 in tips plus $9.25/hour, leaving early enough to still have a Friday night.

The routine is members go directly to the bar for a few cocktails before meandering in for dinner. The crowd is normally staggered so that it’s never slammed at any one time in the dining room, just nice and steady. The bar is approximately 50-75 feet away and there are no cocktail servers. Volunteers man the entire place with only a few paid positions such as the Chef, responsible for prepping, cooking and washing dishes, a bartender that serves the bar and restaurant, and one server.  Members normally go to the bar, get their drink and return to the dining area. And when it does get backed up in the kitchen members are happy to volunteer their help. It’s the family type atmosphere that keeps me out of the weeds most of the time.

On this particular evening we are offering a choice of Prime Rib or Stuffed Halibut for entrees.  I know from experience that Elks members are meat eaters and love Prime Rib night. The bartender has warned us that we might get busy tonight. Straight-up 6 o’clock a few unfamiliar ladies come in and request a table for thirteen people. Since they are the only ones in the restaurant at the time I offer to get their drinks from the bar and help move tables together to accommodate their group that will continue to drift in over the next hour to join Table #12. 

In just a short time the entire dining room fills up, with everyone sitting down in the space of about five minutes. The choice of Prime Rib has caused them to by-pass the bar and come directly to the dining room in search of the Meat. I find myself with twelve tables of four to six people, plus the table of 13 to take orders, get salads, bus salad dishes, bring on the entrees, bus those dishes, take dessert orders, clear those plates, give them the bill and send them to the bartender to settle up. OMG! Where are the volunteers when I need them? In the swarm of people I only see a few familiar faces, instead we have a dining room full of visiting Elks members that are staying in MoHo’s in the parking lot. The bartender is trying desperately to help with salads but she too is slammed at the bar and can’t get away. Chaos ensues, so much for a relaxing night.

Frantically taking orders, I manage to get my head out of the weeds long enough to notice that Table #12 is now all seated and flagging me for more drinks. I tell them they have to order drinks at the bar and begin taking their dinner orders. The server’s nightmare, everyone at Table #12 wants something substituted or extra, with a gazillion questions. All the while out of my peripheral vision, I see other diners glaring at me with raised eyebrows and thumping fingers on tabletops, waiting. . .  I finally have the order of nine prime rib dinners and four stuffed halibut entrees for Table #12. On the fly I get their salads and ‘special’ dressings that I manage to drop off without another special request. I turn the order into the Chef, while I continue to serve, bus, take orders from waiting customers and basically run my ass off.

About 15 minutes later I go in the kitchen and the Chef tells me the dreaded news. We ran out of Prime Rib just before Table #12’s order appeared on the round. OMG, I have to tell them? Holy Shit! I can offer them rib-eye steaks but they will have to thaw and it will take some time. Lovely. . . I return to the table and say: “I have some bad news, we just ran out of Prime Rib. I can offer you Rib-Eye Steaks but they need to thaw so it may take some time, or you can have the halibut.” Silence. . . before the eruption.

“This is unacceptable, totally unacceptable,” replied the lady in charge. “We came here last Saturday night thinking we could have dinner and then found out it was only served on Friday, and now this? We were here promptly at 6 PM (3 of them were and they were interested in drinking and waiting to order) and we want Prime Rib.” (tough shit, honey. I smile through clenched teeth, as she rants on wondering how much of my time she is going to waste). Finally she came up for air and I jumped in. . . 

“I’m sorry madam but there’s really nothing I can do.” I say. One couple rises to leave, while eight people order the steak and the other four stick with their original stuffed halibut order. I return to the kitchen with the new order, tell the bartender their response and tend to the rest of the restaurant, serving the last of the prime rib to the table next to them (I don’t get mad, just even). The bartender goes to the table gives them a complimentary round of drinks and offers the ones that had ordered Prime Rib a voucher for a free dinner the next time we serve prime.

By this time it is close to 8 PM and the other tables are finally winding down. I now have an aversion to Table #12. Every time I pass by they want to change something on the order, request another extra, or ask how much longer it’s going to be (how the hell would I know that, I’m not cooking). There comes a time when an invisible line is crossed and you know, no matter what food you serve, they will find fault. Exasperating to say the least, I can’t wait to see their backsides. But first, there is more drama.

After approximately 45 minutes the steaks are done. Huge slabs of meat adorn the plates with garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables. I get the dinners served and wait about ten minutes before checking to see if everything is okay. A cranky, pinched, wrinkled-face woman spoke up first: “this is the toughest, worst halibut I have ever had in my life.” At this point I just smile and move on, what can I say anyhow? There are no more choices, dinner has official ended. I walk to the other end of the table waiting for someone, anyone to compliment the steak. Nada, no one said a thing as they chow down on the meat. The side show is a lady at the other end stabbing, poking and jabbing her fork into the rubbery halibut demonstrating to anyone watching just how tough it is, mumbling her dissatisfaction for all to hear. I pass by smiling sweetly, all the while muttering FU under my breath.

I return to the kitchen to report the comments. Well, it turns out since we had to wait for the steaks the halibut got cold. And the Chef, if you want to call him a Chef – more like a cook – had nuked it. “WHAT? You nuked the halibut?” was all I could say. OMG, let’s just dry it out and make jerky, shall we? Obviously it was tough as shoe leather. There goes my tip - out the window – and after all the abuse I’ve endured from Table #12.. . . The Cook and I have history. Last week he announced the special was Seafood Fettuccini and he used linguini noodles. Seriously? I insisted he rename the dish to Seafood Pasta. Duhhhh. What the hell?

Maybe I can salvage some part of this situation yet. I went back to the table and offered them free desserts of Chocolate Decadence with Ice Cream. Of course they all took me up on it without even as much as a thank you. Never mind the thank you, just leave the money - I continue to keep the smile on my face. They licked their dessert plates clean but not one of them admitted it was good. In fact, not one of them said a nice thing about anything they ate. I found out later the bartender had also taken the halibut dinners off the tab. OMG will I ever turn this table and get the hell out of here. It is now 9:30, so much for MY Friday night. The good news, well they did leave me a decent trip after all was said and done.

I was telling my son, who is a Behaviorist about this incident. His response was that we had merely reinforced their complaining behavior by giving them freebies. He has an elderly client that has made a habit of complaining in every restaurant he goes to and ends up with a free meal and dessert every time. This man has not paid for dinner out in over a decade. Obviously there is something to be said about offering too much when things go wrong. 

I was definitely not sorry to see Table #12 leave, saving my breath of relief until the door actually closed and locked behind their asses. I just hope to hell I’m not working on the night they choose to use their free Prime Rib dinner vouchers. I don’t think I can endure the complaining that no doubt will occur, with a fake smile on my face. 

And, if the Cook nukes the halibut again I will personally strangle him.

Bon Appétit!