The Decline of Table Service

publication date: Jan 21, 2008

 | 

author/source: David Paul Larousse

There was a time, early in my life as a chef, when the only important element to consider in restaurant dining experiences was the food. I viewed the delivery of that food as secondary to the all-important plates of food, and as long as the dishes ordered were delivered reasonably promptly - hot food hot, cold food cold - and the server was reasonably attentive, I was a happy diner. My focus then was on the quality and style of the food preparation.

In the 1980's, while teaching culinary arts at a reputable University, I discovered one of the Table Service instructors directing his students to introduce themselves by name. "Oh, how quaint and California," I thought at the time. This instructor's demeanor also happened to be rather vain and haughty - so it was logical that he would adopt this very unprofessional element into his instruction.

A quarter-century later, my attitude has come full-circle, and I have realized that the service is just as important as the food items on the plate.

Unfortunately, it has now become standard practice for a food server to announce him-or-herself by name. Some feel this is open-minded and acceptable - as if to assert "Well they are people too!..." But my disdain for this practice has nothing to do with the acknowledgement of personhood. What this is about is service, as in Food Service, and it is a genuine skill that requires genuine training. Indeed, in the nations where working in the Hospitality Industry is considered an honorable trade - not a job you wander into while your agent sells that screenplay or manuscript - no food server will ever walk up to a table and announce him-or-herself by name. Only in the United States has it become customary for a food server to "bond" with their clients, and have some kind of "experience" with them.

I have worked virtually every position in restaurants and food service establishments over a quarter-century, from the bar to the dining room to every station in the kitchen - which is to say that I understand the skill involved in a food server performing his/her duties in a competent and professional manner. Yet with all the many training programs throughout North America, we have failed to impart the most important lesson of all to our young charges - that this is a service business, and that performing the duties of a Hospitality Industry professional - no matter what the specific discipline - in the highest calling of a very honorable trade.

For those workers who have not gone through formal schooling, one would imagine that restaurateurs would have serious interest in making sure that their servers provide the best possible service to their clientele - which is all part of building a business and keeping it running successfully. Yet it seems that restaurateurs do not understand the importance of professional service. As chef at an exclusive, $1,000 per day fishing lodge in Alaska, I watched as a guest trudged into the kitchen and opened a refrigerator in search of a bottle of ketchup for his breakfast - while a young, inexperienced and untutored waitress stood idly by in the dining room.

In truth, dining out has become such a chore, that I have begun to avoid it of late, becoming exhausted at the thought of how much work it is to interact with the untrained. Some recent highlights follow, some of which have left me stunned and speechless:

• At a restaurant in northwestern New Jersey this year, as my sweetheart and I dined upon our main course, the waitress came up to the table, flipped her palms open about waist high, and bellowed, "Welllll?!?!"
• A waitress at an establishment in southeastern Georgia, as she delivered dessert, asked me - in full earshot of my sweetheart - "What's that cologne you are wearing?";
• At a very elegant Minneapolis restaurant, I was asked not once, not twice, but five times throughout the evening: "Is everything okay?";
• At a local fish grill, part of a 30-state group, after the ubiquitous "Hi, my name is _________, and I will be your waiter tonight...", the young lad instructed me to "...pass me the olive oil..." which was stationed at the opposite end of the table, and which he intended to pour onto a plate for us.

I cannot count the times that food servers have interrupted my conversation, with the ever-mindless inquiry "Is everything okay?"

I am well aware that there are greater issues and problems facing humanity on our beleaguered planet - even as our own government continues to rattle their war sabers while falling deeper into the quagmire of an enormously unpopular and unprovoked war. Yet even in times of uncertainty and war and chaos, people will dine - or at least break bread together - which means that the table is one of the few safe and secure havens where the good things of life can be savored.

And here is my wish list, for the food servers of our nation, who desire to perform their jobs with professionalism and competency, and who care that their guests enjoy their dining experience:

• I am not dining out in order to have an experience with you, nor will we strike up a life-long friendship. I simply wish to dine out with my wife, significant other, family members, and/or close friends.
• Please do not assume that I want to know your name, where you went to school, or when you are going to marry your college sweetheart; if I wish to know any of the details of your life, I promise, I will ask - politely, and with genuine interest.
• Do not ask me "Is everything okay?" As a professional, you should be able to discern this WITHOUT asking - and if you cannot, then you should consider entering a different profession.
• Unless the kitchen has just erupted in flames, please do not interrupt my conversation.
• If I pay the bill with cash, do NOT EVER ask me if I want my change. Bring the change - always. As a food professional, I promise I will reward your fine service with an appropriate gratuity.
• If you flirt with me in front of my wife, and she responds by jumping up and slugging you in the face - I will not interfere.