After returning from a brief vacation to visit the best Columbia, MO dentist I know and documenting the Jardines mess, it is time to get things back to normal. This is the fourth installment of theœsimple tricks for servers series. If you missed the others, check out parts one, two, and three. These are some […]
About David Hayden
Author Archive | David Hayden
Ten Bad Server Habits To Break
I spend a fair amount of time on the sister site of this blog discussing guest behaviors that annoy servers. I am sometimes a guest as well. On the occasions when I take my tips and spend them at a restaurant, I expect quality service. While I tend to not critique servers, there are definitely […]
Is A Service Charge A Gratuity?
 tagged banquets, can a restaurant keep part of my tips, gratuity, is a service charge legal, is a service charge the same as a tip, keeping part of the tip, large psrties, maggianos, mandatory service charge, private parties, restaurant lawsuit, server lawsuit, service charge, service charge in restaurant, stealing tips, Tips, what is a service […]
Why Your Non-Slip Shoes Matter
I had a conversation last night with some former servers about the “serving lifestyle.â€Â  They fondly recalled sleeping until noon and closing down the late night bars.  Those are some of the more glamorous parts of being a server.  The part people don’t often fondly recall is being uninsured and any injury being catastrophic.  If you cannot work, you […]
How To Fold A Napkin
 The “how to” series continues this week with a lesson on how to fold a napkin.  I will start with the standard triangle “stand up†fold and then the more interesting “pouch†fold. This may be very remedial to some, but most restaurants in America still use the standard “roll up.â€Â For the benefit of […]
About The Author
David Hayden was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He took his first serving job in 1996. Since that time, he has worked for over a dozen different restaurant companies. He has held both hourly and salaried positions at independent and corporate restaurants. He has waited on over 100,000 guests and trained hundreds of servers. He has been named "Best Server in Kansas City" the last three years by the local weekly paper.