Posted on 05/12/2023 6:15:44 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Mother's Day is one of the busiest days for the American restaurant industry. It also has a reputation among waiters and restaurant staff as one of the most grueling days on the calendar.
"Every server knows that working on Mother's Day is hell. In fact, if I die and go to hell, I completely expect it to be Mother's Day. 365 days a year," wrote Darron Cardosa, in his book "The Bitchy Waiter: I'm Really Good at Pretending to Care."
What's so bad about it? From big groups that show up in waves ("most of us are here!"), to food-fussy kids and grandmas to splitting the check dramas and three-coffee-cup lingerers, restaurants hate this holiday. This year is expected to be particularly challenging as high inflation and rising menu prices give some restaurant-goers an extra sense of entitlement.
"The anticipation alone can make you anxious," said Joe Haley, an abstract artist who works as a server at a Quincy, Massachusetts, Italian-American restaurant. It gets "jam-packed. People are calling at the last minute for a reservation, there are other people who made multiple reservations so Mom could have her pick and they never cancel... people who take out their mother once a year tell you 'Nothing can go wrong!'" he said.
But it does. With big tables, a few late arrivals can kick the kitchen into chaos. "And every family has at least one black sheep or in-law who can't be relied upon to save their lives. Mother's Day: I dread it," Haley added.
Chefs, servers and owners said that this year guests have set their expectations high: Special occasion meals in a time of rising food prices. In a post-pandemic world, luxury -- or rather the appearance of luxury and excess -- is "in."
(Excerpt) Read more at channel3000.com ...
Tastes have changed, literally, since Covid, said Chef Art Smith, who has been personal chef to Oprah Winfrey and Jeb Bush. He will be serving hundreds of Mother's Day meals at his four restaurants including his Homecomin' at Disney Springs at Walt Disney World.
The people who visit? "They're drinking more. They want more carbs -- If it's mac and cheese, it has to be the cheesiest. But they want salads, and they want more veg sides, too. They just want more."
We’ve never gone out to eat on Mother’s Day. To crowded.
Remind me - how many thousands of restaurants CLOSED due to Mother Government over-reach over the past 3 years?
What a bunch of complainers! Besides? Who is working these days? I though staffing was a HUGE issue.
Talk about biting the hand that literally FEEDS you...YOUR CUSTOMERS!
*Rolleyes*
I never thought of Mother’s Day as a restaurant day. Maybe I am weird. I usually think in terms of get togethers at a family member’s house.
On popular restaurant holidays like mothers day and valentine’s day if I don’t have a reservation I made way in advance I wouldn’t even consider going out......even then I think twice because it is so crowded.......we have gone out for valentine’s day the day before or after on many occasions.
The food is terrible!
And such small portions!
Article translated: We don’t want to work if it gets busy. But we still want tips and you better tip more.
Jeb Bush has a personal chef?
I put myself through college as a line cook at a steak & seafood place and any of the holidays were rough. Larger groups come in than the typical day. Getting entrees timed all together for a group of 10-12 is no easy feat. And then mid-order someone changes their mind to a different entree. And someone send their steak back because they wanted it extra well done, and it’s not. (Which tells me you don’t like steak, get the seafood or chicken)
It paid my bills and paid for college which I’m grateful for, but you earn every penny.
Cook something at home, and then take mom out the following weekend, when the waitresses are celebrating their mothers’ Day.
Bullcrap… this is just note of the standard “bitch about every single decent thing” school of journalism.
Mother’s Day, as “pure hell”. It a busy packed day and lots of money and tips get made. Makes me think the writer has never even had a small taste of pure hell.
B****, whine and complain.
Mothers day is always at home. Usually ribs or cajun shrimp boil, or plain old burgers and brats.
It’s family time. Right?
The Left’s new target: Mother’s day. A Canadian school is banning Mother’s day as not everyone has a mother.
“It paid my bills and paid for college which I’m grateful for, but you earn every penny.”
My life for a DECADE, managing a Garden Center. It could still be -20 degrees and snowing in Wisconsin in May, but you’d BETTER have a hundred thousand hanging flower baskets for people to choose from to give to Dear Old Mom on Mother’s Day. ;)
Somewhat tangential, a friend of mine waited tables at a restaurant in NYC and was offered the sole work on a table of 30 diners. He jumped at it. The host was Pete Seeger, the famous folk singer.
What he didn’t know was that Seeger was a communist who NEVER tipped. Marx wrote a paper on the evils of tipping. The other wait people knew this from past experience and gave my friend the Seeger job, knowing he would be working for below minimum wage that night.
“...as not everyone has a mother.”
~~~
This mad me chuckle but it’s really sad how fast we’ve arrived at idiocracy
Yes. On the one hand they complain that it's a tremendously busy day with demanding patrons, and on the other hand they complain about people who linger at the table over 3 cups of coffee. Seems like that would provide a bit of downtime for overworked staff.
The last time I celebrated mother’s day we went to a couple of larger towns and went through greenhouses/parking lots looking for flowers. Love crazy petunias!
— We also stopped off at Burger King for malts. It was fun... and ice cream is always good. ;)
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