Rule Ten: Pessimism is a self-fulfilling prophecy Every restaurant has at least one server who is chronically pessimistic. They come in for every shift expecting the worse. Even when they are proven wrong they find a reason to complain. If the ceiling started raining hundred dollar bills, they would complain about having to pay […]
Tag Archives | Rules for Servers
The Rules of Serving: Rule Nine
Rule Nine: Never Get Just One Some of the most influential philosophers of the last five hundred years have done some of their greatest writing on the concept of a “social contract.â€Â Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Rawls, and many other have written at length on the subject. The notion of a “social contract†pertains to the […]
The Rules of Serving: Rule Eight
(Note: One thing that became apparent to me when I wrote “The Best of Tips for Improving your Tips†last week was that I really need to wrap up my “Rules of Serving†series. This week I am going to post the final three rules.) Rule Eight: Never count your money until you run your […]
The Rules of Serving: Rule Seven
Rule Seven: Be the coworker you want to have.  Once you have been at a particular restaurant for any length of time, the floor chart can tell you a great deal about how your shift will go. Most servers can see the people they are working with and find reason for either optimism or […]
Seafood During Pregnancy
If you sell seafood at your restaurant, you will inevitably come in contact with pregnant women concerned whether or not it is safe. During pregnancy the only thing you get more than designer baby clothes that the child won’t be able to appreciate is advice on what not to eat. Seafood is confusing to expectant […]
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.