The Golden Rule... So Easily Forgotten

I was at work one night this past week, when we experienced what we like to call a "nightmare" table. Six red necks with nothing but bad attitudes, chips on their shoulders, and "Mullets" down their backs. Like my fifteen year old says; "business in the front, party in the back!" The chief complainer was a big, muscular bald headed "A" hole, who griped from the jump. It was clear from his demeanor, he once had a mullet; probably one as big as Joe Dirt's. It was during our busy time, and YES, the sequence of service was off a bit. Once we cut servers from the floor (they aren't waiting on tables anymore) they seem to forget to help those of us who are still waiting on customers, trying to run out the salads to the tables, and get the dinners out in a timely fashion. Well, unfortunately... this table did not get their salads as quick as they should have... and YES it WAS our fault. But sometimes the customer acts like we are deliberately holding their salads back just to tick them off. But you know what? WE ARE HUMAN, and unfortunately mistakes sometimes happen. At this point in their dinner, I was unaware of any problem, I was busy with my own tables, and training a new employee. I saw their food up in the window, and went to run it to the guests. When I put the food down in front of the guests, I thought it was in the correct order... the cooks always line it up in the order that it should go out. Well, unbeknown to me, the food had already been taken to the table, but our pleasant little friends were irritated that they had to wait for their salads. Whoever brought the food back to the window, put in back down in the wrong order. They had switched places with a nine ounce filet, with a seven ounce filet. When I ran the food, I did not know the temperature of the steaks that I had... A nine ounce filet can look like a seven ounce filet if it is cooked to the temperature of medium well or well done. So my big, bossy unfriendly guest asked me if his steak was a nine ounce, to which I replied ( taking for granted that the servers who had taken the food out before had placed it back in the heat window in its proper order(mistake #one). "Yes Sir, it is." To which our little bit of Heaven replied "Well somebody needs to get a new damn scale in the back." I almost wanted to kiss him on the lips and say "Thanks for being so sweet about It", but the server who's table it was, saw the mistake immediately, and switched the two steaks quickly and apologized. When he made his comment to me, I just looked at him, not really knowing how to respond. Once the two steaks were switched, all seemed to be OK. OHHH NOOOO not by a long shot. They asked for a manager, who they told..."the girl( I am 48) who brought us our food rolled her eyes at us, and just "STARED" at him when he said something to her". Number one, I have been a server for 30 years, and I know that eye rolls come when you are in the kitchen, or at least far away from the guest. "Number two" (appropriate choice of words for THIS guy), when someone is speaking to me, I generally TRY to look at them. They proceeded to complain and gripe until the server was in tears, and a manager had to be called to the table so they could tell them about the horrible "staring" experience they had had with "THAT OTHER GIRL." I offered to go back and apologize for my horrific mistake of looking at a customer while they belittled and berated me... but after a visit to the table, the manager said "DON'T YOU EVEN DO IT." So let me get this right, someone can jump down my throat with no provocation from me, just because a salad gets to a table a little later than it should... we should let them speak to us like we are a hired servant that they obviously under pay as well as treat like dirt? Last time I checked, The Golden Rule was still a rule of thumb.... Had I initiated it upon his response to me, I would have just slapped him across the face, and said "HELL YEAH, THAT'S YOUR STEAK... EAT IT, YA BIG BOOB!!!" It amazed me for a number of reasons... They enjoyed their salads, had time to finish them, and all of their meals were delivered, cooked perfectly and hot; just two steaks were set down in the wrong position on the table. For PETE'S SAKE... where is the HUGE, GIGANTIC, TREMENDOUS, HORRIFIC problem? After I consoled my co worker, and told her that her tears were not worthy of spilling because of this guy's tirade... I started to think... THE GOLDEN RULE... do you really expect to go through life and act that irresponsibly over a steak, and not get it right back at ya? I would love to see his reaction when they tell him he has terminal cancer. If he is THAT ballistic over a steak being set down in the wrong position... not cooked wrong, not cold, not unpleasing in any way... What is his reaction to gigantic, life altering , important, significant news that he may one day receive? Is it such big of a deal, when EVERY once in a while, a server... a GOOD server, makes a mistake, or is trying to recover from other servers screwing up their table? And if you react the way this guy did... do you not expect to be treated a little differently; or at least to realize that you have treated another human being like they are your dog, servant or personal assistant? So for this occasion, I decided upon myself to enforce the GOLDEN RULE.... I felt like saying when he barked at me and made my good friend cry... " SOOO THAT'S THE WAY YOU WANT THINGS TO BE, YOU BIG GOOF... You know what, we all feel truly sorry for you and your misguided sense of importance in life... And GOD BLESS YOUR WIFE..." But what I did was suck it up, and think to myself... I would NEVER ,EVER want someone to treat me or my friends that way over a lousy piece of meat not being set right down in front of me like I was Henry The 8TH . But from what I have read about OLE K H #8, these two guys are a lot alike. I hope this guy's wife , at least gets to keep HER head. Till next time.. COTTON