People who work in hospitality run into a lot of difficult customers and often face challenging situations that require them to remain patient and composed.
So they’re usually really empathetic clients themselves — why create more problems when they’re already plentiful? Just like Reddit user Rory (who goes on the platform by the nickname Rtice001) and his wife.
However, as Rory explained in his recent post on the subreddit ‘Am I the [Jerk]?’, the waitress that recently served them was so annoying that even they couldn’t sit silent.
This man and his wife went to a respectable restaurant to have a nice dinner
Image credits: halfpoint (not the actual photo)
But the waitress ruined their evening
Image credits: rtice001
Image credits: Andres Siimon (not the actual photo)
A bad server might be tempted to inflate a customer’s bill in an attempt to increase their tip
Since most people tip a percentage of their bill, the more they spend in a restaurant, the higher the tip for the server. So someone who only cares about their own pockets might be tempted to discourage you from ordering tap water.
But is it really worth it? Not according to The Salty Waitress, which is an advice column on The Takeout run by a real-life waitress.
“Plenty of people just order water, for a million reasons,” she writes. “They don’t like soda; they’re recovering alcoholics; they’re the designated driver; maybe they’re just freakin’ thirsty. Fancy restaurants will give you the choice of still or sparkling, bottled or tap or reverse-osmosis or raw water, but you shouldn’t feel guilted into ordering the expensive stuff if you like tap.”
The person taking care of your order isn’t ‘losing’ much from this choice, either. “An iced tea costs, what, $5 tops at an expensive restaurant? If you tip 20 percent, I’m only missing out on a dollar if you just order water,” The Salty Waitress explains. “That’s really not make or break for me. It’s more important that you have a comfortable dinner, which includes enjoying your beverage of choice. Plus, you need to stay hydrated to wash down all this salt, sugar.”
Image credits: Jessie McCall (not the actual photo)
So the consensus seems to be that either the waitress was an idiot or the restaurant are awful and insist she upsells. Leaving was the correct decision in either event.
As a hotelier/restauranteur, let me offer you a more nuanced possibility. If the tap water was metallic or had a slight aftertaste, I’d encourage severs to steer diners away from it. I’d prefer they don’t directly describe the negative qualities of anything. The response isn’t necessarily to upsell, but to help the customer not make a poor choice. Since she isn’t allowed to say “the tap water tastes like c**p” she was pointing out the only positive quality & trying to drive that home. The problem is not everyone picks up on subtleties like this & she didn’t have the skill set to guide them to the proper answer. When asked what she meant by “it’s hydrating” she should have recognized the customers inability to get the hint. Maybe reply with “most guests send it back or order something to replace it” or “this may not be the refreshing, delicious tap water you’re used to. I’ll bring you a glass. Just let me know if you decide you want something else.” Maybe it had a slightcolor or odor.
The whole point of water is to "hydrate", so if she wasn't just being snotty, then she should have certainly picked a better term.
Yup, and the smug"have a blessed day" really drove that home
If these people are from this city, they are probably familiar with the tap water and know what to expect. Regardless If she was concerned about a taste/odour/ discoloration, she is there to serve them what they ask for. I'm pretty sure someone who is ordering tap water, isn't expecting it to taste like spring water and is not likely to complain about the water you served them.
Sorry I don't buy it. If the restaurant wanted to steer patrons away from the tap water 'for their own good' they would have a more affordable option available. Either way it's the restaurants fault and you're using a bunch of corpo speak to try and blame the Frontline employee for the businesses mistake.
I feel like that nuance is just for food and drink that people pay for. Free water I mean... just bring it. If they don't like it, they'll order something else. I served for a long time and she was definitely just acting like she thought they were cheap people. Most fancy restaurants just pour everyone water automatically before they even take a drink order. If people have to ask for tap water and it's that bad, just use Kirkland water. It's 16 cents a bottle. You could sell it for a quarter and still double your money lol
If your tap water tastes that bad, get a filter, or say it's unavailable.
Even worse if the tap water sucks and their ONLY alternative costs 9 bucks (about 45 minutes of work for most people PER GLASS) it's straight up predatory.
If that tap water has an odd taste, for instance, perhaps they shouldn't be cooking with it either. How about not mentioning anything about the water being bad. Just buy inexpensive bottled water to automatically serve to guests. No one needs to know, and no one would be the wiser.
B******t mate. If this was the situation it was easily handled. "Tap in this area is low quality, you sure?" Would suffice. Then again, having decent tap water should not be an issue in any western nation.
$12 for water? Rip off, I'd leave as well... especially if you perceive that this server is judging you by your choice of beverage
Aside from areas where the water is unsafe, I don't know why anyone buys still water. You're willingly throwing your money away!
Now in week six of our annual "boil water" advisory. At this point I don't trust it even when they say it's safe.
I buy bottled water. Tap water here isn't unsafe, but it's not a pleasant experience. It tastes awful and I'd rather be in the hospital for dehydration, or pay for bottled, than drink tap. Tap water where my aunt lives actually tastes decent and will some ice, it's good.
Same. I have a well, the water tastes funny and smells like sulfer, but tests safe to drink. I use it for cooking and cleaning but buy gallon jugs from Sam's for drinking.
A. Because it does taste different B. Because who knows the last time they cleaned the ice machine, and they will put ice in your water automatically.
I love people who don't even consider why others might do something. I had a moron tell me people who use straws are terrible, just drink out of the glass or use reusable ones. At that time, silicone straws didn't exist, the options were disposable plastic, reusable hard plastic, metal non bendable pulp or nothing. They didn't bother considering that elderly and disabled people with swallowing issues or physical limitations need vehicles to help them drink, and sippy cups don't always work. There's a reason aside the painfully obvious to most things, it pays to bother thinking beyond your own ego
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We eat a different restaurants, you and I. Just last night the 1L bottled flat water was $18 and I thought that was better than $24 1L sparkling. To be fair, I wasn’t seeking out pricey water, but I definitely expect at least $20 for my non-alcoholic drink. Also, it’s either a special occasion or more likely in an airport when I’m “dining out.”
Americans aren't accustomed to paying for water with meals. Assuming you're a Londoner.
We are, if it's commercial water. If it came out of a sink or fountain, no, we're not used to paying for pour and go.
I'm American and order bottled water all the time. Who wants water that taste like chlorine or worse.
Anaheim, California has some of the worst tap water ever. It tastes like sweat. It's convenient for Disney, because you have to buy drinks at Disneyland unless you enjoy sweat.
Why are you being down voted?
We don’t have the full context here, and it’s important. A lot depends on HOW she said it, and what her facial expression was while the words were coming out. She may have been trying to hint that the tap water was bad, without coming right out and saying it and possibly losing her job. She may be forced to upsell the overly expensive water, also on threat of losing her job, and that was the best she could say about the tap water. You never know when the boss is eavesdropping and looking for a reason to yell at an employee. She may have cheerfully said goodbye to you because she knows that the tap water is bad and that trying to coerce people into paying $9 or $12 just for a glass of water is f*****g ridiculous, and her boss, who is forcing employees to push people into unnecessarily paying for a f*****g glass of water, deserves to go out of business. I bet she’s got, or is getting, another job lined up as we speak. Either any of that, or she’s greedy, or stupid, or just a b***h. You never know, without the context.
Smirking when they left tells me that the latter is true... the former may also be true, but that is speculation.
You're not wrong, but all we have is this excerpt and since this is a conversation thread, that's what people are gonna do.
So the consensus seems to be that either the waitress was an idiot or the restaurant are awful and insist she upsells. Leaving was the correct decision in either event.
As a hotelier/restauranteur, let me offer you a more nuanced possibility. If the tap water was metallic or had a slight aftertaste, I’d encourage severs to steer diners away from it. I’d prefer they don’t directly describe the negative qualities of anything. The response isn’t necessarily to upsell, but to help the customer not make a poor choice. Since she isn’t allowed to say “the tap water tastes like c**p” she was pointing out the only positive quality & trying to drive that home. The problem is not everyone picks up on subtleties like this & she didn’t have the skill set to guide them to the proper answer. When asked what she meant by “it’s hydrating” she should have recognized the customers inability to get the hint. Maybe reply with “most guests send it back or order something to replace it” or “this may not be the refreshing, delicious tap water you’re used to. I’ll bring you a glass. Just let me know if you decide you want something else.” Maybe it had a slightcolor or odor.
The whole point of water is to "hydrate", so if she wasn't just being snotty, then she should have certainly picked a better term.
Yup, and the smug"have a blessed day" really drove that home
If these people are from this city, they are probably familiar with the tap water and know what to expect. Regardless If she was concerned about a taste/odour/ discoloration, she is there to serve them what they ask for. I'm pretty sure someone who is ordering tap water, isn't expecting it to taste like spring water and is not likely to complain about the water you served them.
Sorry I don't buy it. If the restaurant wanted to steer patrons away from the tap water 'for their own good' they would have a more affordable option available. Either way it's the restaurants fault and you're using a bunch of corpo speak to try and blame the Frontline employee for the businesses mistake.
I feel like that nuance is just for food and drink that people pay for. Free water I mean... just bring it. If they don't like it, they'll order something else. I served for a long time and she was definitely just acting like she thought they were cheap people. Most fancy restaurants just pour everyone water automatically before they even take a drink order. If people have to ask for tap water and it's that bad, just use Kirkland water. It's 16 cents a bottle. You could sell it for a quarter and still double your money lol
If your tap water tastes that bad, get a filter, or say it's unavailable.
Even worse if the tap water sucks and their ONLY alternative costs 9 bucks (about 45 minutes of work for most people PER GLASS) it's straight up predatory.
If that tap water has an odd taste, for instance, perhaps they shouldn't be cooking with it either. How about not mentioning anything about the water being bad. Just buy inexpensive bottled water to automatically serve to guests. No one needs to know, and no one would be the wiser.
B******t mate. If this was the situation it was easily handled. "Tap in this area is low quality, you sure?" Would suffice. Then again, having decent tap water should not be an issue in any western nation.
$12 for water? Rip off, I'd leave as well... especially if you perceive that this server is judging you by your choice of beverage
Aside from areas where the water is unsafe, I don't know why anyone buys still water. You're willingly throwing your money away!
Now in week six of our annual "boil water" advisory. At this point I don't trust it even when they say it's safe.
I buy bottled water. Tap water here isn't unsafe, but it's not a pleasant experience. It tastes awful and I'd rather be in the hospital for dehydration, or pay for bottled, than drink tap. Tap water where my aunt lives actually tastes decent and will some ice, it's good.
Same. I have a well, the water tastes funny and smells like sulfer, but tests safe to drink. I use it for cooking and cleaning but buy gallon jugs from Sam's for drinking.
A. Because it does taste different B. Because who knows the last time they cleaned the ice machine, and they will put ice in your water automatically.
I love people who don't even consider why others might do something. I had a moron tell me people who use straws are terrible, just drink out of the glass or use reusable ones. At that time, silicone straws didn't exist, the options were disposable plastic, reusable hard plastic, metal non bendable pulp or nothing. They didn't bother considering that elderly and disabled people with swallowing issues or physical limitations need vehicles to help them drink, and sippy cups don't always work. There's a reason aside the painfully obvious to most things, it pays to bother thinking beyond your own ego
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
We eat a different restaurants, you and I. Just last night the 1L bottled flat water was $18 and I thought that was better than $24 1L sparkling. To be fair, I wasn’t seeking out pricey water, but I definitely expect at least $20 for my non-alcoholic drink. Also, it’s either a special occasion or more likely in an airport when I’m “dining out.”
Americans aren't accustomed to paying for water with meals. Assuming you're a Londoner.
We are, if it's commercial water. If it came out of a sink or fountain, no, we're not used to paying for pour and go.
I'm American and order bottled water all the time. Who wants water that taste like chlorine or worse.
Anaheim, California has some of the worst tap water ever. It tastes like sweat. It's convenient for Disney, because you have to buy drinks at Disneyland unless you enjoy sweat.
Why are you being down voted?
We don’t have the full context here, and it’s important. A lot depends on HOW she said it, and what her facial expression was while the words were coming out. She may have been trying to hint that the tap water was bad, without coming right out and saying it and possibly losing her job. She may be forced to upsell the overly expensive water, also on threat of losing her job, and that was the best she could say about the tap water. You never know when the boss is eavesdropping and looking for a reason to yell at an employee. She may have cheerfully said goodbye to you because she knows that the tap water is bad and that trying to coerce people into paying $9 or $12 just for a glass of water is f*****g ridiculous, and her boss, who is forcing employees to push people into unnecessarily paying for a f*****g glass of water, deserves to go out of business. I bet she’s got, or is getting, another job lined up as we speak. Either any of that, or she’s greedy, or stupid, or just a b***h. You never know, without the context.
Smirking when they left tells me that the latter is true... the former may also be true, but that is speculation.
You're not wrong, but all we have is this excerpt and since this is a conversation thread, that's what people are gonna do.