Annoying Passengers - A waiter's perspective

[Germancruiser]

Nasty, overbearing, rude or " loud" passengers, guest suffer mostly from a severy inferiority complex. Some who suffer from that are sometimes found in very very high places - jobwise...! I heard from the " how to deal with rude quests " rule!

[OzKiwiJJ]

You'd think the writer of the article could proofread his work. Or, at least pass it on to a coworker to proofread. It's almost unreadable starting with the first issue: "ordering multiply main courses" and "This is brought to Maitre D attention and they try to make this torsos happy." If you want a job in journalism, be professional.

 

Agreed! I don't think the article is correct/appropriate on many levels.....grammar being among them! (but then again.....I'm not the epitome of grammar/spelling myself!! ;p)

 

Perhaps the writer is someone for whom English not their primary language?

[Mecha-man]

Had to smile that the "cell phone/texting" issue was relatively high on the waiter's list. Personally, if we are at a table with anyone who enjoys texting or chatting on his/her phone...we will not be at that table a 2nd time. We have no time for folks that think its appropriate to be using phones at the table (unless there is a very good reason). Many folks think its fine, but we are old fashioned and think its appropriate to pay attention and socialize with your table mates...not with your phone. It has only happened to us one time on a cruise...and we had the Maitre'd move us for the next meal.

 

For those into using their phone while at the table...we would suggest that is simply being rude to everyone else at the table. If you must use the phone, simply excuse yourself and go out of the dining room to do your thing. Otherwise...learn some proper manners.

 

Hank

Where is the "LIKE" button for this post

[griffy116]

We travel with my Grandson who has been cruising since 3 and who is now 23.He's slim,tall and eats A LOT. We always warn the waiter on night one that he will need two entrees. I often order two appetizers because I find that I usually like them better than the entree. We order them at the beginning so that everyone isn't kept waiting and so that the waiter has ONE list and ONE trip to get all the food. We look at this as being considerate of the waiter, while satisfying our needs for the meal. It's always eaten. We trust and listen to the waiter's recommendations when ordering. We seldom stray from his recommendations. Maybe we have just been fortunate, but out of 15-16 cruises, we've never had a bad waiter or asst. waiter. We love hearing their comments and we have nothing but praise for them... and we are attentive to them, but we don't hold them up with a lot of idle chit chat. I know how hard they try to be everywhere in the dining room and the time crunch they are under. We always do the auto-gratuities and we have always found our waiters worthy of the additional cash tip we give them at the end of the cruise. Not saying they are janitors, but we're three generations of people that have been taught to treat the janitor with the same respect as the CEO of a company. I'm horrified at the way some of the passengers treat the waiter and the cabin stewards.

[mikesam]

Onboard right now...this morning heard a loud whistle on the outside deck of Oceanview.....it was a passenger summoning a server so he could get his coffee drink. Unbelievable

 

 

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[Fish Lover]

Onboard right now...this morning heard a loud whistle on the outside deck of Oceanview.....it was a passenger summoning a server so he could get his coffee drink. Unbelievable

 

 

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Unbelievable. I would probably ask him if he left his servants bell at home. How incredibly rude to everyone, not just the server..

[jasm8449]

If this is true, security should be having a talk with whistle guy. Reminds me of 2 land based unusual ways to get a servers attention. A very elderly gentleman (?) banging a spoon against his cup in order to summon the server for a tea refill. At an upscale hotel during brunch, a woman who wanted an unclean plate exchanged but could not get anyone's attention, simply and silently held the plate straight up high in the air and held it there. A server was at her side in 10 seconds.

 

 

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[keithm]

So I'm sure there are a TON of rude people out there, but I'd hope that they are greatly outweighed by the nice folk. Anyone in a customer service role has their horror stores - and there is a special place in heaven for the good ones!

 

BUT....

 

1 - Sometimes I want to try something on the menu (be adventurous), but am not sure I will like it. I don't want to hold up my table by having to order another appetizer/entree, so I order two at once. **I** view it as being considerate of my fellow table-mates. I don't do it all the time, but to think that I'm being a pig isn't correct.

 

3 - Maybe my birthday isn't ON that day....maybe it's close and I want to celebrate with my family. What's wrong with that?

 

4 - I know how hard waiting tables is and try to acknowledge my wait(er/ess) with a "hello" and a smile.....but maybe I was in the throngs of a conversation when you introduced yourself and didn't want to lose my thought. I blurted out "Can I have a Diet Coke" so you could go on about your business and I wouldn't forget what I was saying (at my age that happens - a LOT!).

 

5 - food photos.....how may times has someone on CC posted pictures for the foodies out there and everyone said "Oh thank you! I am thrilled to know what is offered"? This cruise food is new and exciting to me.....I want to show off to my friends after the cruise. Ya never know, they might be your next customer!

 

8 & 9 - these are appropriate for land based restaurants, but when was the last time you saw anyone talking on their phone on a cruise? And just why do I need a pen at dinner on a cruise?

 

10 - Auto-tipping has all but made this a non-issue. These boards are full of people chastising others for removing the auto-tips. I'm guessing it is the exception rather than the rule.

 

11 - Who really picks up their plate/glass and hands it to the waiter? Not sure how often this really happens.

 

12 - Free stuff?? Like a free pen or like a free meal? I know that there are some out there that will complain about everything just to get a free <something>, but I'll bet they are few and far between (including the one-and-done rants that we see from time to time)

 

I know there will be some who will disagree with me on these points. I totally understand.....but this is my opinion.....yours may be different...but be nice when responding please!

Not sure, but I kind of think you met nearly ALL the criteria that waiters hate.

[billydog]

I would never consider ordering two entrees. I would consider it either gluttony or just extremely wasteful.

[keithm]

I don't need you, or anyone else, to lecture me about how much food I order or put on my plate. That is my business, not yours. I find it arrogant of people who seem to think that they are of a higher moral caliber than the rest of us and insist on telling us how to eat. How much I do or do not waste is between me and the cruise line.

 

Stay the heck out of my plate. :mad:

If you load your plate & waste most of it, then you're just plain disgusting.

[keithm]

I agree with some of your comments. Also, there is no indication whatever that this "article" was written by a server on a cruise line. In fact, there is no indication whatever who wrote it. Frankly, it just sounds to me as though someone wrote a list of things they personally think are unforgiveable and then gave it a title to make it seem as though it is written from the viewpoint of a server.

 

Do I agree with some of it, yes. All of it, no. Some of these items are contrary to my experience and some are just silly. For instance, why on earth would someone "steal" a server's pen. If this happens, it's just a mistake and there are polite and courteous non-accusing ways to ask for it back. Further, on a cruise ship a server never walks away and leaves his pen with the passenger as in a restaurant.

 

I don't take articles without an author seriously and neither should anyone else.

I'm an owner of a large catering company & I agree with most of what was said!

[keithm]

My experience has been that if I can't decide between two dishes on a cruise ship and ask which is better, the waiter often voluntarily brings me both.

 

The writer of that article appears to be someone whose native language is not English, so I would not criticize him for his use of language, but rather for his attitude.

 

It appears from all his complaints that he is easily annoyed and does not enjoy being a waiter at all; someone who would probably be happier in a job that does not involve dealing with the public.

 

The best waiters tend to be easy going, good-natured people who genuinely enjoy making their customers happy and are quite tolerant of the human foibles and faux pas of others.

 

Try owning a catering company & dealing with the drunks/people hitting on your staff/ the in laws fighting & every other annoyance that seems to happen on numerous weekends. Yes, we do try our best, but there are an amazing amount of people out there, that NO matter what you do, will not be satisfied & will be rude & obnoxious to the max. I'd suggest you come down off your cloud & try walking in a waiter/waitress shoes for a summer or 2.

[keithm]

You'd think the writer of the article could proofread his work. Or, at least pass it on to a coworker to proofread. It's almost unreadable starting with the first issue: "ordering multiply main courses" and "This is brought to Maitre D attention and they try to make this torsos happy." If you want a job in journalism, be professional.

The writer's first language is most likely NOT English. lighten up a little & don't come off so ignorant of others.

[TFLG]

Try owning a catering company & dealing with the drunks/people hitting on your staff/ the in laws fighting & every other annoyance that seems to happen on numerous weekends. Yes, we do try our best, but there are an amazing amount of people out there, that NO matter what you do, will not be satisfied & will be rude & obnoxious to the max. I'd suggest you come down off your cloud & try walking in a waiter/waitress shoes for a summer or 2.

 

Right! I was the asst GM at a large golf facility, one of the busiest in the US. We would have 300-400 golfers per day, and we averaged 3 wedding receptions a weekend. On an average Saturday we would have nearly 1000 guests to deal with. Fortunately 99% or more were fantastic customers. But the other 1%:rolleyes::mad::loudcry:

[Pushka]

I've never understood celebrating a birthday on a cruise when it doesn't fall during the cruise. A private celebration of course but expecting the cruise line to provide birthday cake etc is nonsense to me. I do post pictures of food to another travel site but don't upload until I'm on my own. And I don't talk on the phone during dinner.

 

I am not a big eater and most times just can't finish a normal size meal. Can't imagine asking for 2 main meals but I can imagine asking for 2 appetizers (we call them entree in Australia) in place of the larger size meal, that we call main meal in Australia but are called entree on ships. Gosh that's confusing.

[keithm]

Right! I was the asst GM at a large golf facility, one of the busiest in the US. We would have 300-400 golfers per day, and we averaged 3 wedding receptions a weekend. On an average Saturday we would have nearly 1000 guests to deal with. Fortunately 99% or more were fantastic customers. But the other 1%:rolleyes::mad::loudcry:

Nothing more fun than breaking up a fight among the in-laws!

[willcruiseanythyme]

Geez, no wonder my husband and I enjoy a table for 2!! I don't want anyone silently or not so silently judging me based on what I order or don't order!! REALLY???

 

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[Fish Lover]

I'm an owner of a large catering company & I agree with most of what was said!

 

This person, whomever they are, is writing on behalf of cruise line servers. That's a whole different ballgame from land based businesses. My point is that quite a bit of what he said doesn't even apply. And some of it doesn't even rise to the level of being a complaint.

[Pushka]

This person, whomever they are, is writing on behalf of cruise line servers. That's a whole different ballgame from land based businesses. My point is that quite a bit of what he said doesn't even apply. And some of it doesn't even rise to the level of being a complaint.

 

 

Yes. Agree with that. Most not relevant to cruising.

[Tatka]

I would never consider ordering two entrees. I would consider it either gluttony or just extremely wasteful.

 

 

 

Even if both are eaten?

[Pushka]

Even if both are eaten?

 

 

They did mention gluttony so I guess so.

[GUT2407]

Geez, no wonder my husband and I enjoy a table for 2!! I don't want anyone silently or not so silently judging me based on what I order or don't order!! REALLY???

 

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Yeah except I don't give a ...... what anyone thinks of me, well maybe other than Mrs Gut.

[gvhafke]

I confess I try not to photograph my food too much, but the presentation is usually so impressive that I really want to record and remember it. For city dwellers who dine out often I'm sure it's not that big a deal, but for those of us from rural or small town backgrounds the artistic endeavors of the culinary staff are definitely one of the WOW factors of cruising.

 

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[DirtyDawg]

I confess I try not to photograph my food too much, but the presentation is usually so impressive that I really want to record and remember it. For city dwellers who dine out often I'm sure it's not that big a deal, but for those of us from rural or small town backgrounds the artistic endeavors of the culinary staff are definitely one of the WOW factors of cruising.

 

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Well, go get some absolution and don't do it again.:)

[Presto2]

Here are some of the most annoying things passengers on a cruise ship can do from a waiter’s point of view.

 

http://crew-center.com/most-annoying-things-cruise-ship-passengers-do-dining-room

 

Must admit, I read this and just think it is sad that people treat the waiters like this! Having said that, we have seen some really rude passengers talking to the staff like they were dirt and have gone to their managers to compliment the staff concerned on their professionalism and patience !