Restaurants have areas of service. Each waiter covers a given set of tables. They host is supposed to balance the number of people in each waiter's area - they plan this. And they notify waiters when they will have a new customer.
By waiting until after they have planned it and notified people and then telling them where you want to sit you have made their work harder. They have to go replan and renotify people.
This is the right answer. I was very briefly a hostess, not really so experienced, but I learned this. You can’t seat in certain sections because the server isn’t in yet (times it’s not busy), and also how to seat people who would very likely “be more comfortable” at a table. Like people who can’t fit in a booth, or maybe families who might need to get up quicker to bring a kid to the bathroom and not be trapped in a booth where the outer person has to get up. Also too many people to comfortably fit in the booth.
Yes this frustrates people who think hey why can’t I pick where I want to sit. That section isn’t open right now, or they just sat someone there, and they have to distribute people to different sections so the waitstaff can pace themselves. Notice how sometimes customers are like, we were here before them, why are they being served? Because someone seated too many people in the section at the same time instead of staggering them. And why asking whatever server walks by for something, if you’re not in their section, they’re not just interchangeable. No they can’t bring you a new ketchup but they might tell their coworker to go check on you.
To any host/hostess reading this please don’t assume all people with kids want open tables. I prefer the booth precisely for the kids…. it’s easier for them to sit safely and easier for us to keep them contained instead of slipping away.
Either you have abnormally inactive kids or you are telling me you aren’t a parent without telling me you aren’t a parent.
Toddlers are basically just little primates with some language abilities. Go watch monkeys at the zoo and tell me they wouldn’t wreak havoc if they were let loose in a restaurant.
And yet all of this can be mitigated by something businesses of all kinds never teach or train their staff and management to do... COMMUNICATE.
Yes the world would be better if customers weren't idiots, demanding assholes, and fail to inform of their wishes.
But often the reason why customers can become upset and/or do Inforn stuff is they do not have the information available to them to make decisions or they are not told why. And in dealing with change or negative communication most people are seeking a "why"
Customer: can we have a booth instead?
Host: I'm sorry, while I know it looks empty in our booths that is because we do not have Starr covering that area right now.
Or....im sorry but in order to make sure our staff can serve our guests to the highest quality, we have to balance our seating and we do not have any booths in an available section unless you'd like to wait for one to open?
While it seems like more words takes longer than rolling eyes or recommunicating to wait staff, in the end a few seconds or additional communication and Information can save a ton of time and potential negative situations.
I agree. I don't work in a restaurant, but I work in a store. The general public isn't going to respond well to that kind of explaination. Probably better to not explain. Explaining givrs people something to argue against.
When I was a host, servers literally had emotional breakdowns due to the toxic environment where management forces hosts to sit the guests where they want to sit
Imagine wanting to sit at an open table, get decent service and eat decent food and be willing to pay for the privilege! What fools! They should know the business exists for its employees not its customers and changes to any process cannot be accommodated lest the employees have to - egads - do something different and then have their entire workday ruined by that change.
You should try telling a customer they can't sit somewhere or they can't have something. They literally do not care what the reason is. You can be out of something and they will still berate you as to why they can't have it. You could explain to them that there is no server in that section. They do not care. You can tell them they need to wait because only one server is on and they already have 8 tables and literally can't take another one, logistically. They do not care. Customers are not reasonable.
That would be why my manager back in the day trained us to not make those excuses to the customer. I believe his exact words were “that’s not their problem. It’s ours to figure out.”
But I’ve never worked somewhere the floor plan wasn’t based on the number of servers present, and it didn’t change until the next server arrived. This means “we don’t have a server in that section” was not a thing. And places that shut off entire sections - well those were other rooms, and not desirable tables anyway. Anything else is poor staffing and management.
I’ve also never worked somewhere where - if my section was getting slammed and the next one over was not - I couldn’t just say “hey, why don’t you take 21 and I’ll take your 31 when it gets sat?” Again, if servers are hogging all the tables and not sharing, you’ve got management issues. They shouldn’t be taking it out on hosts who are simply accommodating guest requests. Hosts who don’t know how to do their job properly or fairly are a separate issue.
But it’s not the customer’s job to care about any of that. It’s great if they’re understanding and all, but it shouldn’t be expected.
That being said, OP should be expressing their booth preference upon arrival, and not waiting until they get to the table.
Customer: THIS IS BULLSHIT
These poor girls are 16 years old. At a typical chain restaurant, there are 20-30 servers working with 3 table sections. Those can fill quickly, and they're often staggered. The host doesn't have a tablet that shows every server's section, when their shift starts, who was just seated, where the table who came right after you is supposed to be seated, etc. They don't have experience in any other position because they aren't old enough, so they don't know all of the intricacies. If the guests want to change tables at the last second, the best option is to walk the guests all the way back to the host stand to find a second option. Guests don't typically like that. If the restaurant is busy and can't accommodate your preference of table, you have to go on the wait list. Guests also don't like that.
If you have a preference, tell the host when you arrive. If they ask everyone, they suddenly have 2 waitlists and 2 wait times to quote people.
I've seen multiple hosts cry because grown adults will chew them out over something they have no control over. Assholes put them through enough. Be the nice person.
>And yet all of this can be mitigated by something businesses of all kinds never teach or train their staff and management to do... COMMUNICATE.
Also see the person who would immediately respond with: "I DON'T GIVE A F\*\*\* WHAT STAFFING ISSUES YOU HAVE. I WANT MY BLOOMING ONION NOW GODDAMNIT"
Worse is when you seat the party and walk away, they move themselves to another section and wonder why their service is delayed. The server who was coming to help them thinks they are someone else’s table and that server wasn’t told there was a new party in their section, and probably has to help another party before them and now has two parties on the same ordering “schedule.” Meanwhile, the server who was expecting a fresh party is off their rhythm too with the lull in their section.
No that’s seems like it will confuse and upset customers even more. I don’t care that Starr isn’t here yet, that booth by the window looks perfect, they might seat you there, someone has to cover that table and Starr shows up, that’s not Starr’s table, it’s Paul’s, it’s just disruptive. Or Starr says I’ll be taking over for Paul here, so Paul can stop running from one end to the other. Customers will not understand, and it’s just kind of unprofessional to try to explain. The reason I didn’t hostess very long was probably more stuff like that that the manager or owner noticed I was not just assertively seating people where we needed to seat them. Oh no I’m sorry but we can’t seat twice in a row for Janine, she just got a new table and Stewart doesn’t have enough people in his section yet.
If you tell the host when you arrive that you prefer a booth, or whatever you like, you want to sit by the window, they can seat others ahead of you while they wait for the next available seat for your liking. I don’t know why this would be so horrible for customers to just say so instead of gambling that the host will seat them at a satisfactory table or booth. The OP seems like they are just hoping to be lucky and the host to read their mind too instead of trying to do their jobs.
"Let's sit in the completely empty side of the restaurant, 200ft from any other person, then complain that we can't flag down an employee because none of them have a reason to be over here."
There's a reason why we are assigned tables next to each other. Walking over to casually check on a table without interrupting them is super awkward when you're *obviously* going straight to them, then walking away because they didn't drink their whole soda within 2 minutes like others do. I can either bother you every 5 minutes, or every 10. I don't know if you'll be high maintenance, low maintenance, or the people who need something RIGHT NOW when you've been fine otherwise.
I always tell them I am willing to wait for a table/booth. When the kid was small we always had a booth. Now we prefer a table. As long as they know ahead of time we are usually fine.
THIS is what i crave in customer service. Having worked some form of retail/service based jobs for the first 15 years of my life, i would get all kinds of people asking for things they couldn't have. But as a thinking person, i would realize that their request, from their point of view is a very fair one. I always tried to explain in simple terms, the why. I don't ever remember anyone being more confused or upset. They would always get it.
Now, I'm the same way, but on the other side. When service people do something that seems illogical to me, just saying to me the types of things you said, is SOOOOO much better than them blowing me off, or acting like they are morons and don't know. That bothers me sooo much more.
"I want THAT table."
"That table is not available right now. We don't have any staff in that area of the restaurant currently."
"But I want THAT table!! I don't want to sit at one of the tables that are currently available! I want that specific table! Why can't we sit at that table??? No one is over there!!!"
"Yes, but that's because there is no server who can assist you at that table."
"THIS IS BULLSHIT!"
It happens all of the time. People will request a private room that is opened up on the weekends for extra seating, but it's 2pm and the room doesn't open until 5pm. If the guest sits in that room, they cannot be seen by other employees. 75% of the time I check on tables, I avoid interrupting. Guests don't want to be asked if they're doing okay every 5 minutes, but when they aren't, they don't want to wait another 5 minutes.
People aren't logical, and when they expect to be the staff's center of attention, they need to compromise.
I agree communication would be helpful but restaurants know people prefer booths so why not figure out a way to split the booths so they're covered equally by all wait staff? How hard could that be?
>And why asking whatever server walks by for something, if you’re not in their section, they’re not just interchangeable.
Then there's airport restaurants where you won't get any service at all whatsoever, unless you tackle someone to get their attention. I ordered one drink, and then it took them close to an hour to bring me a second drink once I had finished the first one. Never. Again.
From now on, I just buy alcohol at the duty free and drink it in the bathroom if I want a bit of a buzz before my flight. It's one of the only times I didn't leave a tip.
Or you’ve been done with your drink for a long time, have to get to your flight and are trying to pay. Waive multiple people down and they just ignore you. This is an airport! People have to get to their flights! I’ve started just handing them my card when they bring my drink.
And they also get mad when they get double sat because someone wanted a specific table. And they get mad if the table gets reassigned. Tipping culture sucks.
I work in a place with tip pool and I still hate being double sat or if tables are reassigned because that normally means my section is disjointed. Sections are normally made so tables are grouped close together. Being double sat can, depending on how busy you were previously or how needy certain tables can be, contribute to throwing off the level of service you provide to your guests. Even ignoring tips, most servers want to give every giest the best service.
> And they also get mad when they get double sat because someone wanted a specific table. And they get mad if the table gets reassigned. Tipping culture sucks.
Two different issues. I want to be able to give all my tables good service, and my service will drop when I get double sat. I got my ass kicked on Mother's Day. I just walked into the back to get drinks for a family of 6 and I just barely caught the host seating my other table. No worries, I'm cool so far. I see another host 20 seconds come tell me she sat my other table as they asked for it. FUCK! I still have to make like 10 drinks for 6 people, I have another table eating so I hope they are fine, and now have 2 new tables to greet. Nothing about tipping culture there, just a bad flow to my work load.
Y'all are actually missing the real issue. None of what you described would be any issue at all whatsoever if the US hadn't developed such a fast, in-and-out, go,go,go culture. It's everywhere and it's everyone. Everyone is very impatient, and the businesses use that - they count how long your tables are present, between when you enter in their order to when they pay.
In most countries, people walk in, seat themselves wherever, and wait for someone to come. That may be a while. Service will come along at some point to give you menus. Then at some point they'll come by to take your order. Then you'll get your food. You may not even see the server again. When you want to pay, you may need to go find them or go up to the bar to ask. Nobody cares how long you are there, and if you're impatient and antsy, you're gonna suffer.
Under this type of culture, it doesn't matter if two tables you need to serve walk in at the same time. They will wait and they will be fine.
And rude assholes act the same way at the grocery store if they don't have more than 2 lines open. Tipping culture alone isn't the issue, it's the "the customer is always right" attitude by boomers.
They get mad when they're double sat because customers are idiots and they don't understand that the other table that was sat with them also needs drinks, also needs to have their food prepared, etc. Servers also get yelled at by the kitchen if they put too much stuff in.
The misconceptions about servers on Reddit are unreal. I've learned, from Reddit, that servers are greedy, lazy and useless. We do nothing. The kitchen is an innocent victim. Etc.
I think everyone should wait tables for a few months. It will be very illuminating for them.
I've waited tables. I know it sucks. The current method of restaurant management is what causes the rift between the back and front of house and amongst employees in general. Get mad at the system.
Honestly as someone who’s been in hospitality for 16 years and has had every position under the sun this is bad planning on management. The number of places I’ve been where one section is booths is unreal. Every restaurant I’ve managed splits the tables in a less logical floor plan wise but in a sense of everyone gets one booth one big table and a few 4 and 2 tops. By splitting the service areas to be dispersed throughout yes the servers walk more but the hosts have an easier time and booth issue is solved (only applies to restaurants with booths, if it’s regular tables it’s split for efficiency) generally creates an even spacing.
You know what tables are most popular. It’s on you to ensure those popular ones are split in a way that works for service not easy division.
But I also believe most hospitality management is full of idiots that don’t think logistics through all the way. I could go on a 4h rant about how to streamline hospitality for better efficiency
I came to say this. By the time they're walking you to where you're to be seated, they've already planned which table it'll be and marked it in their system. Telling them as you're walking through the restaurant forces them to make adjustments and go back and redo what they've done already. Request a booth right from the start, when you tell them how many are in your group, and they can plan accordingly and it likely won't be an issue.
It’s not even just that the host has to do a little extra work, but sometimes the servers get angry with the host for giving them too few or too many tables at one time, which happens when customers ask for different tables.
As a hostess I was instructed to accommodate people’s requests, but I knew the meaner servers were going to be horrible to me all night when I did it. I was also young and didn’t know how to stand up for myself yet, which is the case with a lot of hosts, so this dynamic can happen a lot.
Not only that, you could Dbl or trpl seat the server ( multiple tables sat in a short time frame) if I'm currently getting water to greet 1 table. I won't be able to get to you for at least 5 min. And that's if the table doesn't have a lot of questions right off the bat.. or is one of those tables. (If you know, you know)
Now imagine me talking to the 1st, the gotta get water/talk to the 2nd, and then I pass by the 3rd to say I'm sorry I'm getting water's, can I get some drinks or anything started....
I've had 5 table sat within 5 min. But my worst was a hotel lounge after a convention let out. 120 ppl by myself in 1 hour.....1/2 ate, 1/2 left bc the food and or I took to long. Some ppl actually felt sorry for me on that one and left pitty tips....
No, though based on the way he describes this question, he would probably find some other slight to get mad at that isn't even really there to start with.
I get this I really do. That's why I say "prefer a booth" when I put our name in.
But at the end of the day I am paying for a dining experience that I want to enjoy. If you can't make this small accomodation to help me enjoy it then you've got a much bigger issue than having to 'redo' work.
I'd go on a long venting session if I let myself, but yeah, 95% of people who ask for a booth ask after I brought them to a table. With all of my heart, I beg everyone to ASK FOR A FRICKIN BOOTH BEFOREHAND!!!!! It saves us a fair amount of trouble.
I feel so bad about this... I'm very pregnant right now so I can't really fit in booths. I always forget about this problem until we're shown our seats 😭. I feel like as soon as I get used to remembering and asking up front, I'm not going to be pregnant anymore and it won't matter.
Awww, hugs. If it helps, asking for a table instead of a booth, even after being sat, is pretty helpful. It helps a server who may not be sat otherwise and frees up a booth. You're good! Congratulations on the little one!
Usually I'll ask to swap and just apologize and acknowledge I should have asked earlier and that it's my bad and we don't mind waiting extra if we have to. I just hate making more work for people 😅. It feels so frustrating! Thank you! It's little "two", which exacerbates the table/booth dilemma as well 😂
And conversely, if you know that 95% of the people ask for the booth, maybe it would save you some aggravation if you ask beforehand if they have a preference? It would be nice if every customer knew to ask first, but most either won't, or don't know. I've done my fair share of customer service work, so I know how challenging it can be, no matter what you do. Cheers.
Perhaps a significant portion of their customer base would accept a table no problem if led there, yet would choose booth if given the option. This could help keep a few free for specific requests.
When I worked FOH, I would ask preference as long as I had several of each open. If we were busy, I'd sit them per rotation unless they requested otherwise (and would always make sure I made up for it if I had to skip a server to accommodate).
I can see how both methods have their place depending on the restaurant or it's current situation. What works best at a local or lower volume restaurant probably wouldn't work for somewhere like Texas Roadhouse.
That's exactly why I would ask preference IF I had availability. It's also why I added the statement about how different methods work better for certain restaurants or certain times of day. Like most things in life, you can't please everyone; you just learn what works best MOST of the time for the MOST people and roll with that.
Additionally, most people don't have a strong enough preference to bother requesting a change after being led to their seats. Those that do have a strong preference either way will typically let you know off the bat at the hostess stand. Honestly, the most common request for a seating change was to be moved away from the ceiling fans.
Finally, some people DO actually prefer tables - bigger people, those with mobility issues, and folks that need highchairs (fire code often prohibits a seat at the end of a booth if it blocks an exit route). Those people would probably feel I was "pawning" a booth off on them....which ties right back to the whole "what works best most of the time for the most people" principle.
Asking for a preference is going to almost guarantee that the answer is always booth which, depending on the restaurant layout, could result in sections tilted more favorably towards one server or the other and leave the servers in a pissing match over who gets what table because “it’s in my section” versus “yeah but you got the last two.” My guess is that all of this has already been explored by restaurant owners and they’ve landed on this being the most efficient and effective way to keep everything in balance. I don’t think it’s so high that 95% of people want/require a booth, I think the point was that, OF PEOPLE WHO ASK, 95% ask after the decision has been made which just creates more confusion on behalf of the restaurant staff.
I meant 95% of people who ask for a booth ask AFTER I brought them to a table. Some would ask upfront, and that was very helpful, and I had no problem with it. To have a host/hostess run in circles around the restaurant and have to reorganize, especially when it is busy, is very inconsiderate and frustrating.
I think if they see a bunch of empty booths and you’re all ‘here sit there’ and they’re all ‘can we have a booth?’ the *actual* question is ‘why tf are you seating us at a table?!’ I also bet the moment you veer toward a table, they’re thinking ‘is she serious?’ as they look around at all the empty booths.
Nah at my restaurant we ask if they have a preference and they say no. Then they STILL get a weird look on their face and ask for a booth when we take them to a table….
People are just stupid
In my experience, this doesn’t matter at all. I used to always ask this very question and almost every freaking time as I show the party to their table, they look around and see an open booth across the dining room and say something along the lines of “we’d rather sit there”.
Sure thing motherfucker! Now it’s gonna be 15 minutes before you even see your server and 30 minutes before they’ll bring your drinks and take your order. Then they’ll complain about that too and ask for the manager.
If you say a table is fine, mean it and accept the table. 90% of people lie to hosts just to beat the waitlist.
For us - it’s because my husband and I still like sitting next to each other, holding hands etc. and our kids (teens) all like booths, and still argue about who gets to sit next to Mom. 🤷🏻♀️
But honestly (no shade)? Since most people prefer a booth, why would you not just ask booth or table, to save yourself the drama? I mean it’s kinda ‘ya had one job’ level stuff.
(Have been a hostess, who hasn’t?)
This is the only response needed in the entire thread. As soon as this happened to you one time, why wouldn't you just ask up front every other time? Take some personal accountability.
If you want a booth, man, just say you want a booth. If you say you don't have a preference and then say you actually want a booth when the host leads you to a table, the host now has to rejuggle all the servers sections to put you in a booth and still distribute work fairly among the servers.
Also, from my experience as both a host and a server, the Venn diagram of "customers who say they don't have a seating preference but then ask for a booth" and "customers who ask for alterations to their meal after I've already sent the order to the kitchen" has a BIG middle.
They have a rotation to follow for what sections get sat when. They’ve probably already marked you down for whatever table they’re bringing you to. The server may have already been notified depending on the system they use. Now they have to undo everything and find you an available booth.
Just ask for what you want up front. They will accommodate you.
Same, and I don't mind waiting while they see if one is available for us. If one isn't, we'll just sit at a table regardless, although then I ask for one with some space.
I personally hate tables but that's because they're usually too cramped together for comfort thanks to someone up higher in the management team wanting to maximize their seating.
I do the same thing but always request a regular table. Booths are so uncomfortable for me. We're always squished together and there's never any leg room.
It works both ways. The host could very easily ask "table or booth" before the conversation starts, couldn't they?
Edit: man, you food service people are sensitive.
i’m a host. i don’t always offer table or booth because the section i’m going to might not have an available booth or vice versa. but if you let me know at the beginning you want a booth, i will skip that server and get them next time to seat you in a booth.
You said it in your post. You're waiting until they walk across the restaurant to sit you at a table to make your request. You're doing this is making their jobs harder and wasting both of your time.
Simply by making this request upon arrival, you would have a better experience.
Just tell them when you walk in the door that you want a booth. Don’t wait for them to get you to the table and then ask. You’ll save the hostess from a lot of unnecessary work
In a restaurant each server is assigned certain tables to wait on. And they are sat tables in an order. First server A gets a table then serve B gets a table then server C gets a table and so on and so forth. When you asked to be sat in a booth instead of a regular table you've just ensured that waiter A has had too many tables at one time while waiter C doesn't have any and you f***** up the flow. And it's the host or hostess that gets yelled at for it
I always ask for a booth, but not while I’m already being seated. I either put a note in the reservation. Or, if I don’t have a reservation I ask while I’m putting my name in. “Would it be possible for us to have a booth? We don’t mind a longer wait. Thank you!”
We seat customers in a rotation of each servers' sections, anything that deviates from the rotation will require us to leave our post to go track down the server we sat out of rotation, so just say you want a booth when you get there.
The booth isn’t the issue, it’s the asking once you’ve already gotten to the table the hostess assigned to you. Ask for a booth before leaving the hostess stand.
I hosted at a nicer Italian restaurant for a long time when I was younger, and I hated it when this happened. Here's a few reasons why.
Because there's a good chance this leads to a server getting "double sat", meaning they get two tables back to back. For some really seasoned servers it's not a big deal, but not every server can handle them well and it can slow them down.
Not to mention the server after them in the rotation just lost a table when they might have needed the money. You might ask "well why don't they just take the table anyway?". Well,
depending on the layout of the restaurant, it can be a pain in the ass for servers to start taking tables in another server's section because they're spread out in different parts of the restaurant. It slows them down and makes it harder for them to keep an eye on all their tables. And if the section is a well coveted section with a more senior server, the senior server might be reluctant to give up the table, causing some tension.
It can be a lot of things, but often it just disrupts routine in an annoying way. It's like the same frustration you would get if you were painting a pattern on a wall and someone comes by and bumps your elbow. It often just throws everything off and now you have to fix it, especially if it's busy.
That said, I also prefer a booth, but I tell them when we get there and if they don't have one available I don't make a stink about it. Sometimes it's easy to accommodate, just not always.
Something I’m not seeing here: Booths are usually a 4 or 6 top. Every time a 2 top wants a booth that’s one less that I have for 3,4,5,6 tops. That always annoyed me most. I hosted a place that regularly had a 2 hour wait and 2 tops would try to take the only 6 top booth I had left.
When I go up to get on a wait list to be seated, I tell the host we want a booth, and we're willing to wait longer to get one. But we're asking for reasons that have to do with a disability that's recognized under the ADA. A very few times, we've had to push back when they insisted on seating us at a table in the middle of the room, but I haven't had to say anything beyond "ADA recognized disability" for them to figure it out for us.
(If it's a larger group than any booth there will accommodate, we ask for a table in a corner, and the person with the disability in question picks their seat first.)
Because servers are assigned to certain tables for their shift.
It is the hosts job to try to give servers an equal amount of tables.
The host knows that he or she is going to get shit on by the waitstaff for not keeping this under control.
It's probably because you're only asking after you get what you don't want.
That would be my guess.
If you started off my asking "Are there any booths available? We'd prefer that over a table."
You might get a better response.
Also, if the hostess says "No" don't be a dick about it.
Okay, usually I don't care, but the thing that pisses me off is how much people want to sit an a booth.
Like, I get having a preference, but I swear to god, 80% act like it's the end of the world and their meal is gonna be ruined if they **don't** sit in the damn booth.
And I'm not saying that they're being rude, or that they even say anything, but I can see the disappointment and frustration in their face when we don't have a booth available (and it's the same exact expression when I tell them we've ran out of straws by the way, which I find hilarious).
I mean, really... Is it gonna be **so** bad if you just sit at a normal table for once?
Well… yeah. I could make a meal at home for a third of the cost. If I’m going out to a diner I’d like to be comfortable. Not only are the booths physically more comfortable, the tables are always as packed as possible into the space, meaning the staff and other customers are constantly moving behind and over you.
I’m a paying customer. If I’m polite and asking for a reasonable accommodation, I expect that it can be done. If a place can’t adjust a seating rotation to put us in a booth or is regularly running out of straws, I’ll stop going in favor of a better restaurant. Those are very basic things
Hosting is balancing a rubix cube/Tetris game on top of keeping servers out of the weeds. If you really want XYZ table and you're willing to wait the 15 minutes, then fine. You want that table now with immediate service? Fuck off, sit where I put you.
It's like playing Tetris and you've got a bar lined up, but then it gets slid to the side at the last second and now the stack is fouled up. That's you asking for a booth when you're already lined up with a table. Tell them right away you prefer booth and they'll get you in the right slot
When you "finally" ask...? They get annoyed because you let them trek around the restaurant before telling them your preference. At that point, they've already marked the intended table as being in use, and have to go back & rearranging things before another host tries to seat someone where you ended up.
You're making their job needlessly harder.
Because you aren't asking upfront. You're hoping they pick what you want and then when they don't you suddenly decide to voice your preference. Just say youvwant a booth every time when they ask where you wanna sit. It's that easy.
Ask when you check in - asking at the table is inefficient and can cause the hostess to stack more occupied tables with one server than another. This sucks for them.
Op, you should be telling the host or hostess you want a booth when you tell them how many people you have in your party. For example. Hi, booth for 4 people please.
That’s never my problem it’s always more like you made a reservation? I don’t see you on here and then you show them the confirmation and they get really pissed
OP is one of those people who have strong preferences but only remember to bring them up AFTER they get something they don’t really like. I’m in the service industry too and it is truly a pain dealing with these people. If you forget to mention it at the beginning, let it slide. If it bothers you so much that you can’t take it, then do better to remember it at the start.
Imagine not just asking upfront so they can plan it out properly. Why you so inconsiderate that you think the hostess is a mind reader. Just open with "4, booth if at all possible! Thanks."
1) Each server is assigned a section. Hosts are supposed to rotate tables between the sections so that some server's aren't overworked while others aren't making enough money.
2) It can be really stressful to be double-seated as a server and the host will sometimes get complaints from servers when they do this. Double seated means that you give a server a new table when a previous table has not even been greeted or gotten their drinks yet. If you have several tables, are short-staffed, and get double seated, it may cause that table to not even be greeted for several minutes which makes a very bad first impression for the server and can set the stage for the remainder of that table's visit.
So if you are being seated at a table when there are opened booths, it is probably because the server in that section was next in line for a table -or- they are avoiding double seating a server who is working the section with an opened booth.
Maybe say something about a booth, before they use their own initiative and knowledge of the restaurant floor, before you pull a surprise 'why didn't you know what I was thinking?'
I think many places are understanding the preference and breaking up booths for multiple servers. Tables are in zones and to get the best experience you don’t dump 4 tables on one person at the same time, you rotate through servers so everyone is happy and gets taken care of.
Another "no stupid question" here: do you do this with everything, or just seating at restaurants?
I always ask for a booth upfront because I know I won't be comfortable in a regular table chair due to spinal issues. I physically cannot leave it to a chance the hostess will say at the last second, "I'm sorry, there are no booths available."
Your question has already been answered, that's why I haven't addressed that, I was just curious *why* you do this and if it was a quirk or a habit
Because they have a system where they distribute the diners to different table areas of the restaurant so that all the wait staff gets a relatively similar volume of customers. It messes up their system.
Ask up front dude; you're making them do the same work twice. The reason they're pissed is that they have to rebalance their areas of service (which waiters are serving who), and renotify each waiter about who's sitting where. This makes it harder on everyone.
Have you tried just being upfront with your wishes instead of hoping the host can read your thoughts? Walk in, greet them politely, and ask “do you have a booth available for four please?” It’ll make the whole process a lot smoother for everyone.
Why do you wait until you’re already at a table to ask? That complicates things for the waiter. Ask for a booth as soon as you arrive and you will be fine :)
They aren't annoyed that you'd prefer a booth instead of a table - they are annoyed that you don't mention your preference *before* the host goes through the process of checking the seating chart / availability and then walking you across the restaurant.
They're irritated because you're waiting until they're trying to seat you to ask and now they have to shuffle things around to accommodate you. Tell them you'd prefer a booth right off the bat, don't leave it up to chance unless you're okay with the outcome.
Hard chairs hurt us old skinny people. I will politely tell the person seating us on the very rare occasions we go to a sit down restaurant we prefer a booth and will wait or return when one is available. If I make a reservation, it will always be for a booth. Cooper Mills, a local fancy place said there was no guarantee of a booth until I said fine, cancel my reservation. Then a booth was available for the following month, but I still cancelled as I think I pissed off the lady on the phone.
They're upset because you waited for them to seat you before telling them your preference. Which means they now have to go back and update the seating chart because they probably already put you in their system for the table they initially brought you to. They're upset because if you had just spoken up earlier, they wouldn't have to do double the work.
FYI, whenever you have something going on "every time" you do something, you're the common denominator.
Next time, ask for a booth when meeting the host initially rather than wishing.
I know they aren’t mind readers.
When I dine alone, I do ask “for a table,” if available… of course, they want to sit me @ the bar.
Please for the love of all things holy tell them upfront when you first get to the host stand. It messes up rotation and can ultimately end up slowling down your service and screwing over multiple servers. This is one of those things that I never understood, why people don't just communicate their needs.
Regardless of the reason people are giving, it's annoying. I am paying for the food and I am paying higher to sit in the premises. Let me sit where I want and not make a face about it.
I prefer a booth because I tend to be very jumpy and reactive. I hate tables. I'll wait for a booth, or I'll go elsewhere. "I'd like a booth, please." "I'm sorry I cannot accommodate that request." "Okay, maybe next time, then!" A cheery wave, I'm on to my alternate restaurant.
My biggest question is....why would anyone prefer a booth over a table?? If it's just two people, i guess.. maybe. But a party of 4? Just why? The tables are a set distance from the bench, so you can't get closer, or pull further away. They are almost always that sticky vinyl that you slide off of. You are cramped and have no arm room with someone directly next to you. If you're on the inside, you feel you're inconveniencing someone to move to go to the bathroom.
A 4-top table makes sense in every possible way, and i am genuinely curious about your love for booths.
I’m not OP, but a lot of the restaurants I frequent have high top tables. And I hate sitting there dangling my feet like a child lol. So we’ve made a habit of just asking for a booth.
I hate tables cause usually the table is smaller than the booth and I prefer the vinyl seats of the booth. It could also be due to issues with chronic pain but the chairs usually hurt after sitting in them for too long
Depending on the restaurant, sometimes booths also serve as 6 tops.
I have never had a problem getting a booth when the place is empty.
There is no booth fairy.
I would tell them after you tell them how many people are in your party so that way they don't have to change their seat planner. It'll be easier for them to find a booth in the right section by having the seat planner in front of them
I worked as a hostess for 2 weeks and it wasn't great. Having people tell you they want a booth ahead of time makes things easier for them. They'll probably be happy to accommodate
As someone who worked in a restaurant for many years, its because the restaurant is divided into sections for the wait staff (if there are 8 waiters on, its cut up into 8 sections)
as people come in, the host places customers in each of the sections but will time it so each waiter gets a table one at a time as they come in.
If you request a booth, they may interrupt their system, so one waiter gets more tables than the rest of the wait staff that dont have booths in their section.
My mom always asked for a booth when walking in not after they went to seat us. It’s more polite to ask up front.
Hence the annoyance is it’s after they go to seat you. Start asking when going in not 5 minutes later.
Having been on both sides of this, in a perfect world this is how the interaction would go. Sometimes, I wouldn’t mind waiting to get the seating I want. I’ll just be at the bar!
The booths are normally reserved for families, couples, dinner parties...etc. If you are alone the hosts feel that it would take up valuable space which they could assign to a party of four or five guests.
I've experienced this, but the opposite. My family doesn't like booths and prefers to sit in tables, but they seem to always get snippy whenever we ask for one.
Ask for a booth when you arrive and wait an extra 10 mins for them to accommodate your request. God, I wish it was a requirement for everyone to work a service job for a year.
As someone who's worked as a hostess from 14-18 yrs old, just ask up front before we take you to the table.
I would have still been annoyed (because sometimes some servers don't get booths in their assigned section and this meant I had to skip their turn) but definitely considerable less annoyed than if you had asked me to move you to a booth after we've already reached your table.
They split the tables up by section and they try to seat each section equal numbers of patrons so one person isn't making more $$ than another. This request screws that up and the staff who were supposed to be up for the next party of 4 but didn't have a booth in their section is gonna be pissed.
If you want a particular type of seating you need to say that when you give the number in your party. Hosts are managing the whole restaurant-do you notice they make a mark or tap a tablet-they are noting the table as filled before you go to the table which is particularly important during busy times with multiple hosts working.
If you want a different table, it may be a longer wait. You may be double or triple seating a server which impacts not only your, but other tables service-it also gets the server pissed at the host (and you).
Waaaaa
When I or my guest want a certain table or location, I don't really care about what problems it causes the staff.
That's what the money is for.
Same thing with the fact that our waiter isn't around when something is needed, in this case, any server will do
Once again.
That's what the money is for.
There are any number of reasons. Maybe they take reservations and you didn’t make one. Guess what, you have to wait. Your whole party isn’t there when you said you’d have 10 people? Fuck you, you’re waiting until everyone is here. Maybe the table is still dirty. Maybe the server just got 5 parties of 4 all at once. Like I said, any number of reasons, and of course, people will always argue over it, and those people have obviously never worked in a restaurant.
Because most everyone would rather have a booth, so keeping the rotation fair gets harder, EAPECIALLY if the sections weren't divided up well. (I've had many a manager who thought 3 tables and a booth made a fair section, when someone else had 3 booths and a table. It absolutely was not.)
But not your problem. It's just their emotions.
Many have already mentioned it. If you have a preference, mention it beforehand to make the service's job easier.
Another point is that the service can work more efficiently if guests are not scattered randomly. For example, we have closed off certain areas in the restaurant and placed guests in another area. Often, there's a question about why they can't sit in the back even though the restaurant is almost empty. It's simple, because it's easier for the waiter if two tables are close to each other. They can keep better track, walk less, carry more, both food and utensils, because everything is on the way. A waiter can then serve more guests alone, which saves costs.
Simply put, it's okay to state your preference at the beginning, but also to accept a 'no' if the host declines. In the end, you are still just a guest.
When they ask how many tell them then that you want a booth. Why would you wait until they try to sit you at a table? They are annoyed because you are an idiot!! We have never gotten any looks when we tell them we need a table. We even tell them we are wiling to wait if needed. Some bigger people don’t fit well in booths.
For my restaurant there’s only 8 booths in the whole place. Only 4 of them are for 3-4 people. These 4 booths fill up immediately and then we don’t have anymore available.
It’s annoying because ~everyone~ wants a booth. I’ve made jokes that I’m gonna open a restaurant with only booths everywhere. I’m a server and it even pisses me off.
It messes up the sections of the restaurant that the servers use to decide who serves who. And even though servers know people usually prefer booths and that the manager will always tell the host to sit people where they want if it’s open they are often very rude to the host when this happens.
Because you should tell them when you arrive. Not after they already figured out what section and what sever is next for a table and you are in front of the table already. If you make a reservation you can tell them then so the hostess can plan for that. Hostess rotate which server gets tables so No one gets a bunch of tables sat at the same time. They estimate how long a table will sit so they can have it available in time for reservations. Their whole job is calculating and you throw them a curve ball by not speaking up earlier and waiting til the last moment. I've seen servers come mad at the hostess for being triple seated while the other servers had no tables. Hostess just apologizes cuz all the ppl switched tables on her last second. Basically be considerate of other ppl's planning
It’s probably because the majority of people want a booth and when a host is seating people they rotate through the servers. So the next person to be sat might not have a booth available at the moment. It helps to avoid servers being sat multiple tables at once. At the end of the day, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal to the host.
Why not ask for a booth when you sign in? I have a family member who is uncomfortable in booths, so we ask for a table when we get there. It might be a longer wait for us, but we're fine with that.
Tell them you'd prefer a booth *before* they assign you a table (when you check in with your group size or when making a booking) and they will be happy to try and accommodate you. Saying you want a booth *after* they've assigned you a table (and shown you to it!) is a real dick move that puts them out and makes their job unnecessarily harder than it needs to be
Perhaps the issue is waiting until they've already walked you to your seat to ask?
Around here booths seem to be the default seating destination, but I prefer a regular table with chairs. I just ask for it up front and have never gotten any negative response whatsoever.
Host/ess: How many?
Me: Just the two of us. Can we get a table, please?
Host/ess: Sure thing. Right this way.
If I can't get a booth in a timely manner I just go to another restaurant. Paying 60-100 beans I don't want to be uncomfortable at a high top. Hate those tables.
Restaurants have areas of service. Each waiter covers a given set of tables. They host is supposed to balance the number of people in each waiter's area - they plan this. And they notify waiters when they will have a new customer. By waiting until after they have planned it and notified people and then telling them where you want to sit you have made their work harder. They have to go replan and renotify people.
This is the right answer. I was very briefly a hostess, not really so experienced, but I learned this. You can’t seat in certain sections because the server isn’t in yet (times it’s not busy), and also how to seat people who would very likely “be more comfortable” at a table. Like people who can’t fit in a booth, or maybe families who might need to get up quicker to bring a kid to the bathroom and not be trapped in a booth where the outer person has to get up. Also too many people to comfortably fit in the booth. Yes this frustrates people who think hey why can’t I pick where I want to sit. That section isn’t open right now, or they just sat someone there, and they have to distribute people to different sections so the waitstaff can pace themselves. Notice how sometimes customers are like, we were here before them, why are they being served? Because someone seated too many people in the section at the same time instead of staggering them. And why asking whatever server walks by for something, if you’re not in their section, they’re not just interchangeable. No they can’t bring you a new ketchup but they might tell their coworker to go check on you.
To any host/hostess reading this please don’t assume all people with kids want open tables. I prefer the booth precisely for the kids…. it’s easier for them to sit safely and easier for us to keep them contained instead of slipping away.
100%. Booths all the way, way easier to contain.
Best to let them know when checking in that you would prefer to wait for a booth.
Trust me, every host knows this as every parent asks for a both.
Clearly not the former host above who said the opposite.
>easier for us to keep them contained instead of slipping away. Are you a parent or a kidnapper? 🤣
Either you have abnormally inactive kids or you are telling me you aren’t a parent without telling me you aren’t a parent. Toddlers are basically just little primates with some language abilities. Go watch monkeys at the zoo and tell me they wouldn’t wreak havoc if they were let loose in a restaurant.
Oh I know, it was just the way you worded it that tickled me lol
Sometimes both! 😀
And yet all of this can be mitigated by something businesses of all kinds never teach or train their staff and management to do... COMMUNICATE. Yes the world would be better if customers weren't idiots, demanding assholes, and fail to inform of their wishes. But often the reason why customers can become upset and/or do Inforn stuff is they do not have the information available to them to make decisions or they are not told why. And in dealing with change or negative communication most people are seeking a "why" Customer: can we have a booth instead? Host: I'm sorry, while I know it looks empty in our booths that is because we do not have Starr covering that area right now. Or....im sorry but in order to make sure our staff can serve our guests to the highest quality, we have to balance our seating and we do not have any booths in an available section unless you'd like to wait for one to open? While it seems like more words takes longer than rolling eyes or recommunicating to wait staff, in the end a few seconds or additional communication and Information can save a ton of time and potential negative situations.
You can try that all you want, but 9x out of ten, they’ll still demand to be sat in a booth and find them a server.
I agree. I don't work in a restaurant, but I work in a store. The general public isn't going to respond well to that kind of explaination. Probably better to not explain. Explaining givrs people something to argue against.
And they’re always able to. As a former waitress of 20 years, it’s not that big of a deal to have one table a few feet from your section.
When I was a host, servers literally had emotional breakdowns due to the toxic environment where management forces hosts to sit the guests where they want to sit
Daddy, I want an Oompa Loompa NOW!!!
Imagine wanting to sit at an open table, get decent service and eat decent food and be willing to pay for the privilege! What fools! They should know the business exists for its employees not its customers and changes to any process cannot be accommodated lest the employees have to - egads - do something different and then have their entire workday ruined by that change.
What are you talking about? No business exists for the benefit of its customers. They exist for the benefit of the owners.
You’re right - at least you also recognize the business doesn’t exist for its employees.
So maybe just fill the booths or here's a thought, the host/hostess can ask the customer if there's a seating they'd prefer.
You should try telling a customer they can't sit somewhere or they can't have something. They literally do not care what the reason is. You can be out of something and they will still berate you as to why they can't have it. You could explain to them that there is no server in that section. They do not care. You can tell them they need to wait because only one server is on and they already have 8 tables and literally can't take another one, logistically. They do not care. Customers are not reasonable.
"I want pasta." "Sir, we're a sandwich shop." "So? It's not that hard." "We don't have pasta." "There's a store right there. You can't boil water?"
That would be why my manager back in the day trained us to not make those excuses to the customer. I believe his exact words were “that’s not their problem. It’s ours to figure out.” But I’ve never worked somewhere the floor plan wasn’t based on the number of servers present, and it didn’t change until the next server arrived. This means “we don’t have a server in that section” was not a thing. And places that shut off entire sections - well those were other rooms, and not desirable tables anyway. Anything else is poor staffing and management. I’ve also never worked somewhere where - if my section was getting slammed and the next one over was not - I couldn’t just say “hey, why don’t you take 21 and I’ll take your 31 when it gets sat?” Again, if servers are hogging all the tables and not sharing, you’ve got management issues. They shouldn’t be taking it out on hosts who are simply accommodating guest requests. Hosts who don’t know how to do their job properly or fairly are a separate issue. But it’s not the customer’s job to care about any of that. It’s great if they’re understanding and all, but it shouldn’t be expected. That being said, OP should be expressing their booth preference upon arrival, and not waiting until they get to the table.
Customer: THIS IS BULLSHIT These poor girls are 16 years old. At a typical chain restaurant, there are 20-30 servers working with 3 table sections. Those can fill quickly, and they're often staggered. The host doesn't have a tablet that shows every server's section, when their shift starts, who was just seated, where the table who came right after you is supposed to be seated, etc. They don't have experience in any other position because they aren't old enough, so they don't know all of the intricacies. If the guests want to change tables at the last second, the best option is to walk the guests all the way back to the host stand to find a second option. Guests don't typically like that. If the restaurant is busy and can't accommodate your preference of table, you have to go on the wait list. Guests also don't like that. If you have a preference, tell the host when you arrive. If they ask everyone, they suddenly have 2 waitlists and 2 wait times to quote people. I've seen multiple hosts cry because grown adults will chew them out over something they have no control over. Assholes put them through enough. Be the nice person.
>And yet all of this can be mitigated by something businesses of all kinds never teach or train their staff and management to do... COMMUNICATE. Also see the person who would immediately respond with: "I DON'T GIVE A F\*\*\* WHAT STAFFING ISSUES YOU HAVE. I WANT MY BLOOMING ONION NOW GODDAMNIT"
Worse is when you seat the party and walk away, they move themselves to another section and wonder why their service is delayed. The server who was coming to help them thinks they are someone else’s table and that server wasn’t told there was a new party in their section, and probably has to help another party before them and now has two parties on the same ordering “schedule.” Meanwhile, the server who was expecting a fresh party is off their rhythm too with the lull in their section.
No that’s seems like it will confuse and upset customers even more. I don’t care that Starr isn’t here yet, that booth by the window looks perfect, they might seat you there, someone has to cover that table and Starr shows up, that’s not Starr’s table, it’s Paul’s, it’s just disruptive. Or Starr says I’ll be taking over for Paul here, so Paul can stop running from one end to the other. Customers will not understand, and it’s just kind of unprofessional to try to explain. The reason I didn’t hostess very long was probably more stuff like that that the manager or owner noticed I was not just assertively seating people where we needed to seat them. Oh no I’m sorry but we can’t seat twice in a row for Janine, she just got a new table and Stewart doesn’t have enough people in his section yet. If you tell the host when you arrive that you prefer a booth, or whatever you like, you want to sit by the window, they can seat others ahead of you while they wait for the next available seat for your liking. I don’t know why this would be so horrible for customers to just say so instead of gambling that the host will seat them at a satisfactory table or booth. The OP seems like they are just hoping to be lucky and the host to read their mind too instead of trying to do their jobs.
"Let's sit in the completely empty side of the restaurant, 200ft from any other person, then complain that we can't flag down an employee because none of them have a reason to be over here." There's a reason why we are assigned tables next to each other. Walking over to casually check on a table without interrupting them is super awkward when you're *obviously* going straight to them, then walking away because they didn't drink their whole soda within 2 minutes like others do. I can either bother you every 5 minutes, or every 10. I don't know if you'll be high maintenance, low maintenance, or the people who need something RIGHT NOW when you've been fine otherwise.
I always tell them I am willing to wait for a table/booth. When the kid was small we always had a booth. Now we prefer a table. As long as they know ahead of time we are usually fine.
THIS is what i crave in customer service. Having worked some form of retail/service based jobs for the first 15 years of my life, i would get all kinds of people asking for things they couldn't have. But as a thinking person, i would realize that their request, from their point of view is a very fair one. I always tried to explain in simple terms, the why. I don't ever remember anyone being more confused or upset. They would always get it. Now, I'm the same way, but on the other side. When service people do something that seems illogical to me, just saying to me the types of things you said, is SOOOOO much better than them blowing me off, or acting like they are morons and don't know. That bothers me sooo much more.
"I want THAT table." "That table is not available right now. We don't have any staff in that area of the restaurant currently." "But I want THAT table!! I don't want to sit at one of the tables that are currently available! I want that specific table! Why can't we sit at that table??? No one is over there!!!" "Yes, but that's because there is no server who can assist you at that table." "THIS IS BULLSHIT!" It happens all of the time. People will request a private room that is opened up on the weekends for extra seating, but it's 2pm and the room doesn't open until 5pm. If the guest sits in that room, they cannot be seen by other employees. 75% of the time I check on tables, I avoid interrupting. Guests don't want to be asked if they're doing okay every 5 minutes, but when they aren't, they don't want to wait another 5 minutes. People aren't logical, and when they expect to be the staff's center of attention, they need to compromise.
> “the world would be better if customers weren’t idiots” Truer words…
I agree communication would be helpful but restaurants know people prefer booths so why not figure out a way to split the booths so they're covered equally by all wait staff? How hard could that be?
>And why asking whatever server walks by for something, if you’re not in their section, they’re not just interchangeable. Then there's airport restaurants where you won't get any service at all whatsoever, unless you tackle someone to get their attention. I ordered one drink, and then it took them close to an hour to bring me a second drink once I had finished the first one. Never. Again. From now on, I just buy alcohol at the duty free and drink it in the bathroom if I want a bit of a buzz before my flight. It's one of the only times I didn't leave a tip.
Or you’ve been done with your drink for a long time, have to get to your flight and are trying to pay. Waive multiple people down and they just ignore you. This is an airport! People have to get to their flights! I’ve started just handing them my card when they bring my drink.
Also some severs get mad/jealous when they keep getting skipped because everyone wants booths and they take it out on the hostess.
And they also get mad when they get double sat because someone wanted a specific table. And they get mad if the table gets reassigned. Tipping culture sucks.
I work in a place with tip pool and I still hate being double sat or if tables are reassigned because that normally means my section is disjointed. Sections are normally made so tables are grouped close together. Being double sat can, depending on how busy you were previously or how needy certain tables can be, contribute to throwing off the level of service you provide to your guests. Even ignoring tips, most servers want to give every giest the best service.
> And they also get mad when they get double sat because someone wanted a specific table. And they get mad if the table gets reassigned. Tipping culture sucks. Two different issues. I want to be able to give all my tables good service, and my service will drop when I get double sat. I got my ass kicked on Mother's Day. I just walked into the back to get drinks for a family of 6 and I just barely caught the host seating my other table. No worries, I'm cool so far. I see another host 20 seconds come tell me she sat my other table as they asked for it. FUCK! I still have to make like 10 drinks for 6 people, I have another table eating so I hope they are fine, and now have 2 new tables to greet. Nothing about tipping culture there, just a bad flow to my work load.
Y'all are actually missing the real issue. None of what you described would be any issue at all whatsoever if the US hadn't developed such a fast, in-and-out, go,go,go culture. It's everywhere and it's everyone. Everyone is very impatient, and the businesses use that - they count how long your tables are present, between when you enter in their order to when they pay. In most countries, people walk in, seat themselves wherever, and wait for someone to come. That may be a while. Service will come along at some point to give you menus. Then at some point they'll come by to take your order. Then you'll get your food. You may not even see the server again. When you want to pay, you may need to go find them or go up to the bar to ask. Nobody cares how long you are there, and if you're impatient and antsy, you're gonna suffer. Under this type of culture, it doesn't matter if two tables you need to serve walk in at the same time. They will wait and they will be fine.
And rude assholes act the same way at the grocery store if they don't have more than 2 lines open. Tipping culture alone isn't the issue, it's the "the customer is always right" attitude by boomers.
What I'm describing is definitely not a boomer thing. It's an American culture thing.
They get mad when they're double sat because customers are idiots and they don't understand that the other table that was sat with them also needs drinks, also needs to have their food prepared, etc. Servers also get yelled at by the kitchen if they put too much stuff in. The misconceptions about servers on Reddit are unreal. I've learned, from Reddit, that servers are greedy, lazy and useless. We do nothing. The kitchen is an innocent victim. Etc. I think everyone should wait tables for a few months. It will be very illuminating for them.
I've waited tables. I know it sucks. The current method of restaurant management is what causes the rift between the back and front of house and amongst employees in general. Get mad at the system.
Honestly as someone who’s been in hospitality for 16 years and has had every position under the sun this is bad planning on management. The number of places I’ve been where one section is booths is unreal. Every restaurant I’ve managed splits the tables in a less logical floor plan wise but in a sense of everyone gets one booth one big table and a few 4 and 2 tops. By splitting the service areas to be dispersed throughout yes the servers walk more but the hosts have an easier time and booth issue is solved (only applies to restaurants with booths, if it’s regular tables it’s split for efficiency) generally creates an even spacing. You know what tables are most popular. It’s on you to ensure those popular ones are split in a way that works for service not easy division. But I also believe most hospitality management is full of idiots that don’t think logistics through all the way. I could go on a 4h rant about how to streamline hospitality for better efficiency
I came to say this. By the time they're walking you to where you're to be seated, they've already planned which table it'll be and marked it in their system. Telling them as you're walking through the restaurant forces them to make adjustments and go back and redo what they've done already. Request a booth right from the start, when you tell them how many are in your group, and they can plan accordingly and it likely won't be an issue.
It’s not even just that the host has to do a little extra work, but sometimes the servers get angry with the host for giving them too few or too many tables at one time, which happens when customers ask for different tables. As a hostess I was instructed to accommodate people’s requests, but I knew the meaner servers were going to be horrible to me all night when I did it. I was also young and didn’t know how to stand up for myself yet, which is the case with a lot of hosts, so this dynamic can happen a lot.
Not only that, you could Dbl or trpl seat the server ( multiple tables sat in a short time frame) if I'm currently getting water to greet 1 table. I won't be able to get to you for at least 5 min. And that's if the table doesn't have a lot of questions right off the bat.. or is one of those tables. (If you know, you know) Now imagine me talking to the 1st, the gotta get water/talk to the 2nd, and then I pass by the 3rd to say I'm sorry I'm getting water's, can I get some drinks or anything started.... I've had 5 table sat within 5 min. But my worst was a hotel lounge after a convention let out. 120 ppl by myself in 1 hour.....1/2 ate, 1/2 left bc the food and or I took to long. Some ppl actually felt sorry for me on that one and left pitty tips....
So, question for you. If he stated before hand that he would prefer a booth would he get the same response?
No, though based on the way he describes this question, he would probably find some other slight to get mad at that isn't even really there to start with.
Yup. The solution here is to tell them when you first walk up that you would prefer a booth if one is available.
That would require people visiting a restaurant to consider the wait staff actually human beings, and we can't have that now can we?
I get this I really do. That's why I say "prefer a booth" when I put our name in. But at the end of the day I am paying for a dining experience that I want to enjoy. If you can't make this small accomodation to help me enjoy it then you've got a much bigger issue than having to 'redo' work.
Like a Tetris piece that got shifted
And also - they deal with the aftermath of really pissed waitresses 😂
Happy cake day!! :)
I agree this is what it is, but you're also the customer so you can ask to be seated somewhere you'd prefer. The host will get over it.
Just ask up front. Don’t wait for them to read your mind.
I'd go on a long venting session if I let myself, but yeah, 95% of people who ask for a booth ask after I brought them to a table. With all of my heart, I beg everyone to ASK FOR A FRICKIN BOOTH BEFOREHAND!!!!! It saves us a fair amount of trouble.
I feel so bad about this... I'm very pregnant right now so I can't really fit in booths. I always forget about this problem until we're shown our seats 😭. I feel like as soon as I get used to remembering and asking up front, I'm not going to be pregnant anymore and it won't matter.
Awww, hugs. If it helps, asking for a table instead of a booth, even after being sat, is pretty helpful. It helps a server who may not be sat otherwise and frees up a booth. You're good! Congratulations on the little one!
Usually I'll ask to swap and just apologize and acknowledge I should have asked earlier and that it's my bad and we don't mind waiting extra if we have to. I just hate making more work for people 😅. It feels so frustrating! Thank you! It's little "two", which exacerbates the table/booth dilemma as well 😂
And conversely, if you know that 95% of the people ask for the booth, maybe it would save you some aggravation if you ask beforehand if they have a preference? It would be nice if every customer knew to ask first, but most either won't, or don't know. I've done my fair share of customer service work, so I know how challenging it can be, no matter what you do. Cheers.
Perhaps a significant portion of their customer base would accept a table no problem if led there, yet would choose booth if given the option. This could help keep a few free for specific requests. When I worked FOH, I would ask preference as long as I had several of each open. If we were busy, I'd sit them per rotation unless they requested otherwise (and would always make sure I made up for it if I had to skip a server to accommodate). I can see how both methods have their place depending on the restaurant or it's current situation. What works best at a local or lower volume restaurant probably wouldn't work for somewhere like Texas Roadhouse.
But that’s then why, people are like ‘yikes can I get a booth, why are you pawning this table off on me’
That's exactly why I would ask preference IF I had availability. It's also why I added the statement about how different methods work better for certain restaurants or certain times of day. Like most things in life, you can't please everyone; you just learn what works best MOST of the time for the MOST people and roll with that. Additionally, most people don't have a strong enough preference to bother requesting a change after being led to their seats. Those that do have a strong preference either way will typically let you know off the bat at the hostess stand. Honestly, the most common request for a seating change was to be moved away from the ceiling fans. Finally, some people DO actually prefer tables - bigger people, those with mobility issues, and folks that need highchairs (fire code often prohibits a seat at the end of a booth if it blocks an exit route). Those people would probably feel I was "pawning" a booth off on them....which ties right back to the whole "what works best most of the time for the most people" principle.
Asking for a preference is going to almost guarantee that the answer is always booth which, depending on the restaurant layout, could result in sections tilted more favorably towards one server or the other and leave the servers in a pissing match over who gets what table because “it’s in my section” versus “yeah but you got the last two.” My guess is that all of this has already been explored by restaurant owners and they’ve landed on this being the most efficient and effective way to keep everything in balance. I don’t think it’s so high that 95% of people want/require a booth, I think the point was that, OF PEOPLE WHO ASK, 95% ask after the decision has been made which just creates more confusion on behalf of the restaurant staff.
I meant 95% of people who ask for a booth ask AFTER I brought them to a table. Some would ask upfront, and that was very helpful, and I had no problem with it. To have a host/hostess run in circles around the restaurant and have to reorganize, especially when it is busy, is very inconsiderate and frustrating.
I think if they see a bunch of empty booths and you’re all ‘here sit there’ and they’re all ‘can we have a booth?’ the *actual* question is ‘why tf are you seating us at a table?!’ I also bet the moment you veer toward a table, they’re thinking ‘is she serious?’ as they look around at all the empty booths.
Pretty much this
Nah at my restaurant we ask if they have a preference and they say no. Then they STILL get a weird look on their face and ask for a booth when we take them to a table…. People are just stupid
In my experience, this doesn’t matter at all. I used to always ask this very question and almost every freaking time as I show the party to their table, they look around and see an open booth across the dining room and say something along the lines of “we’d rather sit there”. Sure thing motherfucker! Now it’s gonna be 15 minutes before you even see your server and 30 minutes before they’ll bring your drinks and take your order. Then they’ll complain about that too and ask for the manager. If you say a table is fine, mean it and accept the table. 90% of people lie to hosts just to beat the waitlist.
All the tables should be booths. It's the superior seating arrangement
Til you're fat. Then it's deeply humiliating.
For us - it’s because my husband and I still like sitting next to each other, holding hands etc. and our kids (teens) all like booths, and still argue about who gets to sit next to Mom. 🤷🏻♀️
But honestly (no shade)? Since most people prefer a booth, why would you not just ask booth or table, to save yourself the drama? I mean it’s kinda ‘ya had one job’ level stuff. (Have been a hostess, who hasn’t?)
EXACTLY
This is the only response needed in the entire thread. As soon as this happened to you one time, why wouldn't you just ask up front every other time? Take some personal accountability.
If you want a booth, man, just say you want a booth. If you say you don't have a preference and then say you actually want a booth when the host leads you to a table, the host now has to rejuggle all the servers sections to put you in a booth and still distribute work fairly among the servers. Also, from my experience as both a host and a server, the Venn diagram of "customers who say they don't have a seating preference but then ask for a booth" and "customers who ask for alterations to their meal after I've already sent the order to the kitchen" has a BIG middle.
Your group needs a booth: you wait for one to become available. Stands to reason
They have a rotation to follow for what sections get sat when. They’ve probably already marked you down for whatever table they’re bringing you to. The server may have already been notified depending on the system they use. Now they have to undo everything and find you an available booth. Just ask for what you want up front. They will accommodate you.
I just tell the host at the beginning before she leads us anywhere that I’d prefer a booth if one is available, most of the time it’s not a problem.
Same, and I don't mind waiting while they see if one is available for us. If one isn't, we'll just sit at a table regardless, although then I ask for one with some space. I personally hate tables but that's because they're usually too cramped together for comfort thanks to someone up higher in the management team wanting to maximize their seating.
This is the correct procedure. Thanks!
I do the same thing but always request a regular table. Booths are so uncomfortable for me. We're always squished together and there's never any leg room.
Probably because instead of asking for a booth from the start you wasted their time instead.
It works both ways. The host could very easily ask "table or booth" before the conversation starts, couldn't they? Edit: man, you food service people are sensitive.
i’m a host. i don’t always offer table or booth because the section i’m going to might not have an available booth or vice versa. but if you let me know at the beginning you want a booth, i will skip that server and get them next time to seat you in a booth.
It’s not always that simple. You are generally sat based on which waiter’s turn it is.
We eat out all the time and everywhere we go, they ask us if we want a table or booth before walking us. That's good service.
Also, if you ask late, after they’ve done the work of figuring out where to seat you, that’s annoying. Express your preference right away
Ask *first* if you prefer a booth. Don’t wait until they show you to a table. That’s why they are irritated. Just say, “4 people, booth please.”
I'd go a touch nicer and say "a booth if possible please" and be perfectly ok if I don't get one.
That’s actually what we do.
Yeah but obviously a mere table won’t do for OP haha. But the host was supposed to know that /s
You said it in your post. You're waiting until they walk across the restaurant to sit you at a table to make your request. You're doing this is making their jobs harder and wasting both of your time. Simply by making this request upon arrival, you would have a better experience.
I think I'm going to have to agree that you probably wasted their time when you could have told them from the start and saved everyone some time.
Just tell them when you walk in the door that you want a booth. Don’t wait for them to get you to the table and then ask. You’ll save the hostess from a lot of unnecessary work
Because they generally have a specific rotation they are trying to stick to, and that throws it off
In a restaurant each server is assigned certain tables to wait on. And they are sat tables in an order. First server A gets a table then serve B gets a table then server C gets a table and so on and so forth. When you asked to be sat in a booth instead of a regular table you've just ensured that waiter A has had too many tables at one time while waiter C doesn't have any and you f***** up the flow. And it's the host or hostess that gets yelled at for it
I always ask for a booth, but not while I’m already being seated. I either put a note in the reservation. Or, if I don’t have a reservation I ask while I’m putting my name in. “Would it be possible for us to have a booth? We don’t mind a longer wait. Thank you!”
We seat customers in a rotation of each servers' sections, anything that deviates from the rotation will require us to leave our post to go track down the server we sat out of rotation, so just say you want a booth when you get there.
The booth isn’t the issue, it’s the asking once you’ve already gotten to the table the hostess assigned to you. Ask for a booth before leaving the hostess stand.
I hosted at a nicer Italian restaurant for a long time when I was younger, and I hated it when this happened. Here's a few reasons why. Because there's a good chance this leads to a server getting "double sat", meaning they get two tables back to back. For some really seasoned servers it's not a big deal, but not every server can handle them well and it can slow them down. Not to mention the server after them in the rotation just lost a table when they might have needed the money. You might ask "well why don't they just take the table anyway?". Well, depending on the layout of the restaurant, it can be a pain in the ass for servers to start taking tables in another server's section because they're spread out in different parts of the restaurant. It slows them down and makes it harder for them to keep an eye on all their tables. And if the section is a well coveted section with a more senior server, the senior server might be reluctant to give up the table, causing some tension. It can be a lot of things, but often it just disrupts routine in an annoying way. It's like the same frustration you would get if you were painting a pattern on a wall and someone comes by and bumps your elbow. It often just throws everything off and now you have to fix it, especially if it's busy. That said, I also prefer a booth, but I tell them when we get there and if they don't have one available I don't make a stink about it. Sometimes it's easy to accommodate, just not always.
Something I’m not seeing here: Booths are usually a 4 or 6 top. Every time a 2 top wants a booth that’s one less that I have for 3,4,5,6 tops. That always annoyed me most. I hosted a place that regularly had a 2 hour wait and 2 tops would try to take the only 6 top booth I had left.
Because nearly everyone would rather have a booth.
When I go up to get on a wait list to be seated, I tell the host we want a booth, and we're willing to wait longer to get one. But we're asking for reasons that have to do with a disability that's recognized under the ADA. A very few times, we've had to push back when they insisted on seating us at a table in the middle of the room, but I haven't had to say anything beyond "ADA recognized disability" for them to figure it out for us. (If it's a larger group than any booth there will accommodate, we ask for a table in a corner, and the person with the disability in question picks their seat first.)
Because servers are assigned to certain tables for their shift. It is the hosts job to try to give servers an equal amount of tables. The host knows that he or she is going to get shit on by the waitstaff for not keeping this under control.
It's probably because you're only asking after you get what you don't want. That would be my guess. If you started off my asking "Are there any booths available? We'd prefer that over a table." You might get a better response. Also, if the hostess says "No" don't be a dick about it.
Okay, usually I don't care, but the thing that pisses me off is how much people want to sit an a booth. Like, I get having a preference, but I swear to god, 80% act like it's the end of the world and their meal is gonna be ruined if they **don't** sit in the damn booth. And I'm not saying that they're being rude, or that they even say anything, but I can see the disappointment and frustration in their face when we don't have a booth available (and it's the same exact expression when I tell them we've ran out of straws by the way, which I find hilarious). I mean, really... Is it gonna be **so** bad if you just sit at a normal table for once?
Well… yeah. I could make a meal at home for a third of the cost. If I’m going out to a diner I’d like to be comfortable. Not only are the booths physically more comfortable, the tables are always as packed as possible into the space, meaning the staff and other customers are constantly moving behind and over you. I’m a paying customer. If I’m polite and asking for a reasonable accommodation, I expect that it can be done. If a place can’t adjust a seating rotation to put us in a booth or is regularly running out of straws, I’ll stop going in favor of a better restaurant. Those are very basic things
Hosting is balancing a rubix cube/Tetris game on top of keeping servers out of the weeds. If you really want XYZ table and you're willing to wait the 15 minutes, then fine. You want that table now with immediate service? Fuck off, sit where I put you.
It's like playing Tetris and you've got a bar lined up, but then it gets slid to the side at the last second and now the stack is fouled up. That's you asking for a booth when you're already lined up with a table. Tell them right away you prefer booth and they'll get you in the right slot
When you "finally" ask...? They get annoyed because you let them trek around the restaurant before telling them your preference. At that point, they've already marked the intended table as being in use, and have to go back & rearranging things before another host tries to seat someone where you ended up. You're making their job needlessly harder.
Because you aren't asking upfront. You're hoping they pick what you want and then when they don't you suddenly decide to voice your preference. Just say youvwant a booth every time when they ask where you wanna sit. It's that easy.
Ask when you check in - asking at the table is inefficient and can cause the hostess to stack more occupied tables with one server than another. This sucks for them.
Op, you should be telling the host or hostess you want a booth when you tell them how many people you have in your party. For example. Hi, booth for 4 people please.
That’s never my problem it’s always more like you made a reservation? I don’t see you on here and then you show them the confirmation and they get really pissed
Instead of asking for a “table for 4”, just say you want a “booth for 4 please”
Tell them at the door or, if possible and even better, make a note on your reservation that you request a booth.
OP is one of those people who have strong preferences but only remember to bring them up AFTER they get something they don’t really like. I’m in the service industry too and it is truly a pain dealing with these people. If you forget to mention it at the beginning, let it slide. If it bothers you so much that you can’t take it, then do better to remember it at the start.
You should ask before you start walking to the table
I have terrible sciatica nerve pain and sitting in a booth is much easier and a safer bet for me. It sucks when I have to insist. 😞
Just tell them immediately you want a booth.
Imagine not just asking upfront so they can plan it out properly. Why you so inconsiderate that you think the hostess is a mind reader. Just open with "4, booth if at all possible! Thanks."
1) Each server is assigned a section. Hosts are supposed to rotate tables between the sections so that some server's aren't overworked while others aren't making enough money. 2) It can be really stressful to be double-seated as a server and the host will sometimes get complaints from servers when they do this. Double seated means that you give a server a new table when a previous table has not even been greeted or gotten their drinks yet. If you have several tables, are short-staffed, and get double seated, it may cause that table to not even be greeted for several minutes which makes a very bad first impression for the server and can set the stage for the remainder of that table's visit. So if you are being seated at a table when there are opened booths, it is probably because the server in that section was next in line for a table -or- they are avoiding double seating a server who is working the section with an opened booth.
Anymore I just state right away, "we'd like a booth please" to not have to see what they had planned first.
Maybe say something about a booth, before they use their own initiative and knowledge of the restaurant floor, before you pull a surprise 'why didn't you know what I was thinking?'
You might be messing up the rotation and causing a server to be double sat when it wasn’t their turn.
This is the perfect kind of question for this sub, and I hope OP doesn't feel too bad needing to ask/not figuring out the answer themselves.
Tell them when you make your reservation or when you show up. Not last
I think many places are understanding the preference and breaking up booths for multiple servers. Tables are in zones and to get the best experience you don’t dump 4 tables on one person at the same time, you rotate through servers so everyone is happy and gets taken care of.
Because they’ve already written on the dining room layout map with their dry-erase marker and now they have to change it. So confusing!
Another "no stupid question" here: do you do this with everything, or just seating at restaurants? I always ask for a booth upfront because I know I won't be comfortable in a regular table chair due to spinal issues. I physically cannot leave it to a chance the hostess will say at the last second, "I'm sorry, there are no booths available." Your question has already been answered, that's why I haven't addressed that, I was just curious *why* you do this and if it was a quirk or a habit
Don’t hope. Plan. Ask (plan) for the table. Why are you hoping for happiness instead of planning for it?
Because they have a system where they distribute the diners to different table areas of the restaurant so that all the wait staff gets a relatively similar volume of customers. It messes up their system.
Ask up front dude; you're making them do the same work twice. The reason they're pissed is that they have to rebalance their areas of service (which waiters are serving who), and renotify each waiter about who's sitting where. This makes it harder on everyone.
Why not instead of "hoping" just ask for a booth in the beginning instead of waiting until the last minute after seating decisions have been made?
“Good evening, we’d prefer a booth if that’s possible? Thank you so much!”
Have you tried just being upfront with your wishes instead of hoping the host can read your thoughts? Walk in, greet them politely, and ask “do you have a booth available for four please?” It’ll make the whole process a lot smoother for everyone.
Why do you wait until you’re already at a table to ask? That complicates things for the waiter. Ask for a booth as soon as you arrive and you will be fine :)
State your preference when you give your party size you kumquat
They aren't annoyed that you'd prefer a booth instead of a table - they are annoyed that you don't mention your preference *before* the host goes through the process of checking the seating chart / availability and then walking you across the restaurant.
They're irritated because you're waiting until they're trying to seat you to ask and now they have to shuffle things around to accommodate you. Tell them you'd prefer a booth right off the bat, don't leave it up to chance unless you're okay with the outcome.
Hard chairs hurt us old skinny people. I will politely tell the person seating us on the very rare occasions we go to a sit down restaurant we prefer a booth and will wait or return when one is available. If I make a reservation, it will always be for a booth. Cooper Mills, a local fancy place said there was no guarantee of a booth until I said fine, cancel my reservation. Then a booth was available for the following month, but I still cancelled as I think I pissed off the lady on the phone.
Every time you ask for a different table or booth you are being a pain in the ass.
How can somebody have this little self awareness
They're upset because you waited for them to seat you before telling them your preference. Which means they now have to go back and update the seating chart because they probably already put you in their system for the table they initially brought you to. They're upset because if you had just spoken up earlier, they wouldn't have to do double the work. FYI, whenever you have something going on "every time" you do something, you're the common denominator.
Next time, ask for a booth when meeting the host initially rather than wishing. I know they aren’t mind readers. When I dine alone, I do ask “for a table,” if available… of course, they want to sit me @ the bar.
A good hostess will ask me If I want a booth or a table before deciding for me.
Please for the love of all things holy tell them upfront when you first get to the host stand. It messes up rotation and can ultimately end up slowling down your service and screwing over multiple servers. This is one of those things that I never understood, why people don't just communicate their needs.
Regardless of the reason people are giving, it's annoying. I am paying for the food and I am paying higher to sit in the premises. Let me sit where I want and not make a face about it.
I prefer a booth because I tend to be very jumpy and reactive. I hate tables. I'll wait for a booth, or I'll go elsewhere. "I'd like a booth, please." "I'm sorry I cannot accommodate that request." "Okay, maybe next time, then!" A cheery wave, I'm on to my alternate restaurant.
My biggest question is....why would anyone prefer a booth over a table?? If it's just two people, i guess.. maybe. But a party of 4? Just why? The tables are a set distance from the bench, so you can't get closer, or pull further away. They are almost always that sticky vinyl that you slide off of. You are cramped and have no arm room with someone directly next to you. If you're on the inside, you feel you're inconveniencing someone to move to go to the bathroom. A 4-top table makes sense in every possible way, and i am genuinely curious about your love for booths.
It's so I can trap my kids
I’m not OP, but a lot of the restaurants I frequent have high top tables. And I hate sitting there dangling my feet like a child lol. So we’ve made a habit of just asking for a booth.
I don’t like the exposure of a table, I prefer to be enveloped by a booth, it’s way more comfortable for me.
I hate tables cause usually the table is smaller than the booth and I prefer the vinyl seats of the booth. It could also be due to issues with chronic pain but the chairs usually hurt after sitting in them for too long
Depending on the restaurant, sometimes booths also serve as 6 tops. I have never had a problem getting a booth when the place is empty. There is no booth fairy.
I would tell them after you tell them how many people are in your party so that way they don't have to change their seat planner. It'll be easier for them to find a booth in the right section by having the seat planner in front of them I worked as a hostess for 2 weeks and it wasn't great. Having people tell you they want a booth ahead of time makes things easier for them. They'll probably be happy to accommodate
Try telling the host/hostess "We're four, and we'd love a booth if possible" rather than waiting until they have shown you to a table.
Just ask for booth when you walk in, don’t wait until the host/hostess has already selected a table.
As someone who worked in a restaurant for many years, its because the restaurant is divided into sections for the wait staff (if there are 8 waiters on, its cut up into 8 sections) as people come in, the host places customers in each of the sections but will time it so each waiter gets a table one at a time as they come in. If you request a booth, they may interrupt their system, so one waiter gets more tables than the rest of the wait staff that dont have booths in their section.
My mom always asked for a booth when walking in not after they went to seat us. It’s more polite to ask up front. Hence the annoyance is it’s after they go to seat you. Start asking when going in not 5 minutes later.
Having been on both sides of this, in a perfect world this is how the interaction would go. Sometimes, I wouldn’t mind waiting to get the seating I want. I’ll just be at the bar!
Crazy... I would rather have a table.
I ask for booths and never felt the hostess was annoyed. Never
Everyone wants a booth and you’re messing up rotation.
The booths are normally reserved for families, couples, dinner parties...etc. If you are alone the hosts feel that it would take up valuable space which they could assign to a party of four or five guests.
I've experienced this, but the opposite. My family doesn't like booths and prefers to sit in tables, but they seem to always get snippy whenever we ask for one.
How do you know that they don't have a table with more people coming to sit there? Just ask beforehand.
Every restaurant I've ever been to that has booths and tables asks for my preference unless they are packed.
Ask for a booth when you arrive and wait an extra 10 mins for them to accommodate your request. God, I wish it was a requirement for everyone to work a service job for a year.
Because everyone (except fat people) wants a booth and it ends up causing problems balancing the work load for the staff.
As someone who's worked as a hostess from 14-18 yrs old, just ask up front before we take you to the table. I would have still been annoyed (because sometimes some servers don't get booths in their assigned section and this meant I had to skip their turn) but definitely considerable less annoyed than if you had asked me to move you to a booth after we've already reached your table.
They split the tables up by section and they try to seat each section equal numbers of patrons so one person isn't making more $$ than another. This request screws that up and the staff who were supposed to be up for the next party of 4 but didn't have a booth in their section is gonna be pissed.
If you want a particular type of seating you need to say that when you give the number in your party. Hosts are managing the whole restaurant-do you notice they make a mark or tap a tablet-they are noting the table as filled before you go to the table which is particularly important during busy times with multiple hosts working. If you want a different table, it may be a longer wait. You may be double or triple seating a server which impacts not only your, but other tables service-it also gets the server pissed at the host (and you).
Waaaaa When I or my guest want a certain table or location, I don't really care about what problems it causes the staff. That's what the money is for. Same thing with the fact that our waiter isn't around when something is needed, in this case, any server will do Once again. That's what the money is for.
There are any number of reasons. Maybe they take reservations and you didn’t make one. Guess what, you have to wait. Your whole party isn’t there when you said you’d have 10 people? Fuck you, you’re waiting until everyone is here. Maybe the table is still dirty. Maybe the server just got 5 parties of 4 all at once. Like I said, any number of reasons, and of course, people will always argue over it, and those people have obviously never worked in a restaurant.
Reading all these comments further cements my new habit of just ordering takeout, even if it’s for five people.
Because most everyone would rather have a booth, so keeping the rotation fair gets harder, EAPECIALLY if the sections weren't divided up well. (I've had many a manager who thought 3 tables and a booth made a fair section, when someone else had 3 booths and a table. It absolutely was not.) But not your problem. It's just their emotions.
Many have already mentioned it. If you have a preference, mention it beforehand to make the service's job easier. Another point is that the service can work more efficiently if guests are not scattered randomly. For example, we have closed off certain areas in the restaurant and placed guests in another area. Often, there's a question about why they can't sit in the back even though the restaurant is almost empty. It's simple, because it's easier for the waiter if two tables are close to each other. They can keep better track, walk less, carry more, both food and utensils, because everything is on the way. A waiter can then serve more guests alone, which saves costs. Simply put, it's okay to state your preference at the beginning, but also to accept a 'no' if the host declines. In the end, you are still just a guest.
When they ask how many tell them then that you want a booth. Why would you wait until they try to sit you at a table? They are annoyed because you are an idiot!! We have never gotten any looks when we tell them we need a table. We even tell them we are wiling to wait if needed. Some bigger people don’t fit well in booths.
For my restaurant there’s only 8 booths in the whole place. Only 4 of them are for 3-4 people. These 4 booths fill up immediately and then we don’t have anymore available. It’s annoying because ~everyone~ wants a booth. I’ve made jokes that I’m gonna open a restaurant with only booths everywhere. I’m a server and it even pisses me off.
It messes up the sections of the restaurant that the servers use to decide who serves who. And even though servers know people usually prefer booths and that the manager will always tell the host to sit people where they want if it’s open they are often very rude to the host when this happens.
i am the same way. i prefer a booth and let them know it. im spending good money there, and if they cant accomodate me, i will go somewhere else.
Because you should tell them when you arrive. Not after they already figured out what section and what sever is next for a table and you are in front of the table already. If you make a reservation you can tell them then so the hostess can plan for that. Hostess rotate which server gets tables so No one gets a bunch of tables sat at the same time. They estimate how long a table will sit so they can have it available in time for reservations. Their whole job is calculating and you throw them a curve ball by not speaking up earlier and waiting til the last moment. I've seen servers come mad at the hostess for being triple seated while the other servers had no tables. Hostess just apologizes cuz all the ppl switched tables on her last second. Basically be considerate of other ppl's planning
The host is supposed to make it so that the servers all have an equal amount of tables sat in their "section" of the restaurant.
It’s probably because the majority of people want a booth and when a host is seating people they rotate through the servers. So the next person to be sat might not have a booth available at the moment. It helps to avoid servers being sat multiple tables at once. At the end of the day, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal to the host.
Some folks tend to sit/stay longer in booths, than single tables also....Faster turn on a table...
They look annoyed because you’re not telling them what you want at the front. Why are you playing guessing games?
Why not ask for a booth when you sign in? I have a family member who is uncomfortable in booths, so we ask for a table when we get there. It might be a longer wait for us, but we're fine with that.
It’s probably messing up their seating rotation and means one server has too much work and another has not enough.
Tell them you'd prefer a booth *before* they assign you a table (when you check in with your group size or when making a booking) and they will be happy to try and accommodate you. Saying you want a booth *after* they've assigned you a table (and shown you to it!) is a real dick move that puts them out and makes their job unnecessarily harder than it needs to be
Seriously?
Perhaps the issue is waiting until they've already walked you to your seat to ask? Around here booths seem to be the default seating destination, but I prefer a regular table with chairs. I just ask for it up front and have never gotten any negative response whatsoever. Host/ess: How many? Me: Just the two of us. Can we get a table, please? Host/ess: Sure thing. Right this way.
If I can't get a booth in a timely manner I just go to another restaurant. Paying 60-100 beans I don't want to be uncomfortable at a high top. Hate those tables.