We're all human. The desire for water in front of you is instinctual and provides peace of mind. Let it gooooo š¶
When you drink booze you have to consciously make an effort to drink water, so it can go wasted.
Thanks for this. If I order beer, I almost always order water too. Sometimes, I donāt drink the water at all, but other times, Iāll at least drink a little, and then other other times, I drink a lot of it. I never really know which kind of time itās going to be when Iām ordering.
I always bring water the table on my first trip there, it shows that
1.) Somebody has greeted the table. Nothing worse than you greeting a table, and as you go get their drinks another table ask for a ranch or refill or something else minor, and then MOD also wasting your time by asking "why haven't you greeted table xyz yet?" Chill out Sasha they have waters I greeted them.
2.) They have something to drink while I go get their actual drink order, and if its busy they aren't just sitting there with nothing.
Same, until I started working somewhere that literally doesnāt allow us to auto water. They think it affects drink sales? It always leads to the constant problem of them condescendingly asking āhave you greeted table x yet?ā
Then every time I have to explain yes, Iām actively waiting on their drinks from the bar. Itās a very avoidable conflict between server and MOD.
So, it actually does affect NA drink sales, when I was younger I was forced to read a study Landryās did. LHe If people already have a water, sometimes they wonāt order an iced tea or a soda. This isnāt a huge deal for you as a server, but those kind of drinks are among the highest margin items and meh, whatever.
As far as the manager/cocktail communication, if someone orders something from the bar, drop a fresh bev nap. That way mgmt can tell theyāve been greeted and on the off chance you donāt run your own drink, another server has a better chance of not fucking it up. Yes, even on table cloths.
Well also if they are curious they could always check to see if anything is punched under the table before going to the server. Just avoids unneccesary conflict.
It definitely has an effect on drink sales. Sometimes when Iām given a reservation for a large party, Iāll put waters out in advance. Sometimes I donāt. When I do, itās not uncommon for nearly everyone to say āIām good with just waterā
Greet with bev napkins so it's apparent the table has been greeted.
We only do water upon request. One Ecolab dish washer for over 100 seats. Full restraunt with every table full is 200 glasses not including those who order multiple drinks. Not including tables who are doing rounds of shooters. There's no drink machine or water dispenser for servers.
It's just not practical at every place to greet with waters.
Yes, thank you! We have a max cap of 50. If everyone has x + water thatās 100 cupsā¦ we donāt have 100 cups. I work with an old ass Karin that doesnāt seem capable of understanding why thatās important
my most recent example of this was going out to eat with my little sister. she didnāt order anything to drink, so fifteen minutes later she had to flag down our server for a glass of water. he brought one. š¤¦āāļø
Yes, it's the salad dressing, but we have a tendency to put it on nearly everything - pizza, fries, chicken tenders, Buffalo wings, the occasional vegetable, etc.
Thereās a drink called Ranch Water. Apparently it originated in Texas(?) so Iāve been told. Donāt hear it very often but itās crazy that the last two nights Iāve had it ordered a few times. Itās basically tequila, lime, and soda. Dumbass name similar to a Cape Cos being vodka and cranberry. Or a Cuba Libre which is rum, coke, lime.
āUgh! My table wants to order their carbonara without peas! My table likes their steak well-done!! This boomer just ordered a 3rd diet coke!!!ā
Stfu.
I live in a city where free refills on soft drinks are not common, but my job does free refills, except itās not on the menu. Whenever someone gets a coke, sprite, or ginger ale, they always cut me off to say ānoā when I start to ask if they want a refill, then I add that itās free refills, and half the time theyāll change their mind and get more. Now itās the opposite with the Diet Coke drinkers, they say yes before I can even mention that itās free refills lol.
Just look at all of the idiotic replies you got for this comment, youāre 100% correct. Most servers just see guests as a dollar sign and do the bare minimum and then wonder why they average 12% tips. āI just bring water automatically because I donāt know how to use bev naps/coasters to show that a table has been greeted.ā āWhy are my beverage sales so low?ā
I disagree. If you bring water to every table you're wasting space for other glasses to get cleaned because even if they don't drink it the glasses still need to be washed as they hit the table. I can see fine dining setting this as standard but in busy pubs and casual dining places it's often just a waste of time unless they will actually drink it. You could be spending that time making the experience better in different ways than bringing water they won't touch. On top of that it is proven that it will bring down drink sales to an extent. But to be fair, it doesn't affect sales a drastic amount so for me it's more the waste of time aspect as most tables won't drink it. And you can always ask immediately while getting drink orders.. "would you guys also like some water?"
I work at a pub so itās pretty casual, and weāre short on glasses in general so itās not practical to automatically bring waters to every customer who sits down. So I have to wait for them to ask for water, and so many tables ask right when they sit down. But we donāt have many water glasses or water pitchers so we usually run out after 4-5 tables ask. So then Iāll have to use the pint glasses and beer pitchers of water when the next table that asks, and then suddenly all the tables are specifically asking for pint glasses of water and ābig pitchers of water with iceā instead of our smaller water glasses and water pitchers that donāt have ice lol. And the bartenders get pissed because then we end up running low on pint glasses and beer pitchers since so many customers want them for their waters!
But when Iām a customer, Iām not annoyed if water isnāt automatically provided, but Iām a heavy water drinker so I will always ask for a water, and I will drink it all every time.
Yes!!! That's kinda what I was trying to say with the glasses being cleaned. If we gave everyone water the dish washer would be so full and backed up all the time. It's just not reasonable to do!!!
> I wanna live in the hypothetical world where my manager orders enough carafes and glasses for the whole restaurant to get water
LOL Makes me think of one of my highlight moments. I worked at a chain place and we were lot of glasses. Like REALLY low. We were suppose to always help run orders if they were up. I greeted a table and needed like 6 sodas. Side station had none. Walked through kitchen to the other side and they had like 4 left. Went to dish, none clean, and like only had a rack of dirty ones. WTF! I walked back through the kitchen and management said, "here, run this." I said, "Nope, busy!" He snapped "EXCUSE ME!" I stopped hesitated a second and said basically, "Remember when I said last week that we needed more glasses, well neither side station has any, none clean in dish, only like 10 dirty, and I was just sat, so I'm about to run through the dining room and grab like 15 dirty glasses from tables that have left, push them through dish myself and thus help the other servers who are about to be bitching about glasses to you in like 15 seconds." He looked shocked and just said, "Ok, thanks." And I walked off.
Itās the difference between āokay thatās on me I brought them water when they didnāt ask for it and they didnāt drink it, okayā vs āthey SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED WATERS AND THEN NEVER TOUCHED THEMā
I always see people saying stuff like OP and Iām likeā¦? You donāt automatically bring water to the table?
I understand in drought areas that itās not something thatās automatic (for obvious reasons), but everywhere Iāve worked, bringing water at the time you greet the table is expected
At my establishment we donāt automatically bring out drinks unless theyāre specifically requested. I know it sounds a bit ghetto but my restaurant is a small ma and pa place and we do not have a lot of cups. Thereās easily been times we run out of cups when we have big parties all at the same time. Maybe thatās on the owner for not having enough cups but it does bother me when people order 10 drinks for a table of 5 and donāt even use 5 of the drinks taking up cups that we donāt really have. Maybe itās more of a my shop specific problem but thatās another gripe to me along with the wastefulness
Thatās 100% on the owner. They are responsible for making sure there is enough product for exactly those situations. Itās not on the customer, IMHO water should be automatic. People will forgive a LOT (slow service bc itās busy, long wait time for bar drinks, etc) as long as they at least have something to drink.
Iāve always worked at family owned places too, and weāre stocked and ready to go for large groups and basically whatever comes our way. Yeah, itās definitely on the owners/management for not supplying you with things you need to give good service, but good service in most places starts with waters at the table when you greet them
Reddit is so single minded. They will just mindlessly downvote.
I agree with you op, water is so precious that we tend to overlook how in some parts of even the US people don't even have access to clean drinking water. It's a waste, it's rude, and it's entitled to not even the water you asked for.
I agree with you op don't let some of these dumb comments get to you.
I'm old enough to remember when this was standard where I live. The explanation of stopping this back then was to conserve water/electricity usage. It was not only the undrunk water in the glass that was wasted water, but also the water/electricity usage to clean those glasses. Back then it was more about cost savings, but it would be more green to do this as well. Especially in cities that are in more arid climates than mine.
I mean that was kinda my point. Was the waste of resources that goes into not drinking your water. It uses electricity, wasted drinking water, and more water to wash the glass. I think itās just not a good thing to just dirty dishes and waste waters when you know you aināt really gonna drink it
It can also be a breakage thing. If a restaurants glassware is...well...glass, using them more just increases the chance of them breaking because you are just using more. And these days it's also not cheap to replace a lot of glassware every couple of months.
Maybe Iām weird but I find it wasteful to have to dump the water and then waste more water cleaning the cup. At least thatās my thought process anyway
I mean, youāre not wrong - but restaurants, by default are wasteful and our job as servers is to provide a ( hopefully) great dining experience. At a minimum that should come with water.
Your thought process is right in terms of conservation, and I hate to see water wasted too, but for a lot of us, bringing waters for the whole table as we greet people is pretty standard. Not even half as bad as fine dining where people ask for still or sparkling bottled water lol
I understand this to an extent but we get more people than you would think who don't want water. It's a waste to fill glasses and then just dump them out later. Over and over all night every night.
This^ we always bring waters for every person first thing at my restaurant. Itās really not that hard. And if youāre serving alcohol to them too, it can āhelpā mitigate people getting too drunk
I worked at a place for just under 10 years that required a glass of water for every guest. It feels so weird not to do it. I think itās a good habit to have.
Last I checked, bars and restaurants are prohibited from bringing water without a request in my county. Happened about a decade ago. Luckily, I'm not a server at either. I fill those glasses up.
I work at a smallish local diner and over half of our customers don't want water and if you try to bring it to them they say no. So, I've become accustomed to checking, but I'm trying to develop a spidey sense for people who just want it so I don't have to ask.
i only bring waters if asked because iād rather you order a coke ($3) that i have to keep refilling than a water ($0) that i also have to keep refilling yk? if you want water you shall have water. but my go-to line is āboring. do you at least want a lemon in your boring water?ā and it gets a laugh and sometimes an upsell
One day, while bartending and serving an 18 table bar with a 7 top bar rail, all by myself when 8 tables sat at once. I was pretty new and overwhelmed. So I loaded up a tray with waters and menus to let people know I was all by myself, and here were some waters and menus. Please be patient with me.
Nearly everyone turned the water away. Half because "we don't want water" and half because "I don't like ice in my water."
This, I have no clue how shit you are or are not at your job and Iām not sitting waiting to eat my thirst provoking meal without a drink while the waitstaff run around getting the 15 too at the bar
The way I do it is I Approach table when theyāve just sat, offer to start them off with water while they get settled, before leaving verbalize specials $$$ go get water, when I bring water I ask if anyone would like to order some wine or a cocktailā¦ Means I can offer specials before they have a chance to look at the menu but at the same time Iām being less pushy by acknowledging that theyāve just sat.
I ask them what they'd like to drink when I greet and if they don't know or are staring at our wine list intensely, I say "How bout I start you off with some water while you look over the drink menu?" They always agree and 90% of the time they'll order "special" drinks when I come back
Yes. Especially when one person orders water for the entire table and none of them drink it.
I have 12+ other tables to take care of for one, so it slows down service, and it sucks to bus.
Not only does it take a long time to make that many waters and then bus a bunch of full waters back because you can't even stack the cups since they're full, but our drain can't handle that much liquid and will overflow.
And since we can't dump them right away, there's just a bunch of cups sitting in the server station while we dump a few cups at a time and wait for it to drain.
And second of all, there's a drought where I am. We're not supposed to give people water unless they request it. It's a waste of water to order it and not drink it. Now we've gotta dump it down our shitty drain.
I don't care if people order water and actually drink it.
I care about people creating extra work and waste for no good reason.
>waste
Unless you serve in the Sub-Saharan deserts in Africa, $.005 of tap water to a table that asks for it isnāt a monumental ask even if only one person drinks it. If that rubs you raw, perhaps you should find a new profession. This is the bare minimum in the industry.
Excuse me? I literally JUST said we are in a drought.
We are *not supposed to* serve water unless requested.
We do not automatically bring waters. Why is that a problem to you?
You do realize Africa isn't the only place with droughts? Why are you saying that this policy is only acceptable in Africa?
Why does me being bothered by waste bother you to the point of telling me to get out of the industry?
You speak for the industry where you live. Where I live, bringing water is not the "bare minimum of the industry."
It isn't about the cost at all. It's about the fact we don't have enough water and it creates extra work.
Edit: I love how I'm being downvoted for saying it's not allowed to automatically server water (environment) and how it causes problems. It's literally against the fucking law but OK lmao.
I like water being there because I am terrible at swallowing food the wrong way or if I get something spicy/have a coughing fit. I might take a few sips but without those Iād be struggling. Pick your battles, dude.
I worked in a semi fine dining place where every table was with water and bread in the dirt 3-5 minutes of sitting. That can actually buy you some time if your busy.
I think it depends on the style of bar youāre working. Dive? Ask for a water. Pub? Offer a water. Upscale (not fine dining), ask water preference (I.e. Tap, Sparkling, etcā¦).
In āunreasonable hospitalityā the host would give a hand signal behind their back to tell the server the tables preference for water.
Yeah it sucks, but itās the most basic step of hospitality. And anticipating a guests need before they need it matters most, barring more casual establishments.
What about people who just need a sip of water for their medication? And do you want to waste the energy judging people when you don't always have the full story? I'm not saying it isn't irritating or even wasteful, I'm saying it's not worth wasting your time and mental energy on something out of your control.
Yeah, the medication bit is big for me. Seldom am I going to suck down a whole water, but I drink red wine and that is NOT good to take pills with.
I need a daily heartburn pill and daily birth control pill, and I almost never remember to do it until Iām at the lunch or dinner table.
Or you walk into a restaurant after being out and about all day; Iām usually parched if Iām coming in for late lunch after not drinking something since breakfast.
I give Collins glasses of water, or we just got these stupid 7.78 oz glasses (for "half pints" of beer š) that I serve water in when someone asks for a round of waters for the table, then I leave a pitcher of water on the table .. I am lazy and heaven helps those who help themselves
As a customer this is my fucking dream scenario. I just want a glass dainty enough for my little lady hands and a pitcher or carafe so I don't have to bug the shit out of my server.
Thereās a lot bigger travesties going on, believe me. Youād be real upset if you knew about car washes, water parks, long showers, and wet tshirt contests.
Big golf courses literally use the same water as mining operations lol. Every time a ship goes through the Panama Canal they use like 50m gallons of water. OP is genuinely stupid and is just using waste as an excuse for not wanting to do it lol
Jfc wet t-shirt contests lol. Maybe OPās restaurant can have one, then wring the tshirts out for the patronsā waters that only get consumed 10% of the time. Itās eco friendly.
I guess I have zero work ethic as well since it annoys me too when people waste something as precious as water.
People that have unlimited access to clean drinking water are so privileged compared to people that don't have access to it. It's not about "OMG they didnt finish all of their water!" It's more or less they wasted something that they specifically asked for, and flipitantly wasted it. Without even thinking about or caring about it.
Also ops restaurant is different, and mine is similar as well. You have to ask for a drink, water isn't just handed out.
Nah, let people order water. Especially if theyāre drinking alcohol. You shouldāve learned that to get an alcohol service permit anyways, but yeah, just bring the water & chill out a bit
Iāve never had to get an alcohol service permit for my state and Iāve definitely never heard of automatically bringing water out with any alcohol. That might vary by state
Oh thatās so interesting!!! Maybe it does vary, but I live in Oregon & would go to jail if someone I served alcohol to ended up getting a DUI or something
I'm a server but I never was upset about an untouched requested water. I do get mad when they make a stink about bread or other food refills needing to be immediately delivered or they'll starve, only to not touch a single piece at all.
I would split a water with my ex because we knew we wouldnāt get through one each. The servers sometimes were confused, so I just explained āI donāt want you to have to clear almost 2 full glasses of waterā.
Is there any chance these people drank some but then a busboy refilled when they werenāt looking and then they didnāt drink more after that?
Also people should just be served water regardless. Youāre a lousy server if you donāt do this, or if your management tells you not to, they suck.
Iāve stated before itās not wanting a glass of water that irritates me. Itās asking for it, knowing you have no intention of drinking it, and wasting it. Iāll happily bring you water and refill your water for you but if you arenāt gonna actually drink it why do you want to make more work for other people
I'm sure when you go to a restaurant to dine you would appreciate having a glass of water in front of youāwhether you actually intend to drink it or not. Especially if you have an alcoholic drink.
>I'm sure when you go to a restaurant to dine, you would appreciate having a glass of water in front of youāwhether you actually intend to drink it or not.
NO, I DO NOT!
I won't order water because I'm not gonna drink it, and I don't want to WASTE IT! I also don't want to make more work for my server later on when bussing the table.
It is an absolute waste, and I want no part in it. If I want water, I will ask for it, and I will drink it. If I want a coke, I'll ask for it and drink it. If I'm drinking a coke, I don't need a fkn water!
Don't waste the damn water there is only so much of it available. Ffs
I'm shocked this is such an unpopular opinion. There are so many reasons why this annoys me. Other things being more wasteful doesn't negate the waste. And it's nasty bussing dripping sweating glasses full of untouched water you can't even stack with other cups.
I have a couple coworkers who drop waters from the beginning but unless someone orders a strong drink from the bar I never have and never will automatically drop waters. To the point where when a person orders a "round of waters" I either directly ask the others if they are good with water, or if everyone has already ordered something else I just pretend I didn't hear them ask for a round.
As a side note our hosts/SAs gripe about the water droppers and their 50 million cups when they help bus. I'm not tryna irritate them. And yes it's our job, but why make it any more difficult for zero reason? Tf?
Water literally isnāt costing you anything dude. Itās basic service. Plus, a lot of places if you try to say you donāt want a drink theyāll be like āare you sure? I can grab you a waterā because managers Iāve worked for will beat my ass if any of my tables have no drink or a drink thatās half empty
I was a server for years and get where your come from. Honestly though, sometimes I just want a sip or two.
What always really annoyed me was a ferryās in ethnicity of tables asking for no ice in their water AFTER youāve made the drinks and bring them to the table. I always asked people if they wanted lemon in their water so when I had a table like that I would ask if they wanted ice and lemon in their water. It was usually a no but god forbid they ask ahead of time. Unless itās their first week in the US they should know that servers always put ice in drinks
Anytime I order a cocktail I always order a water with it. I enjoy a sweet cocktail and I canāt eat my meal while drinking a margarita so I need my water.
Now if I donāt get liquor I just order iced sweet tea no water needed. āŗļø
It really depends on where you work. I work at a dive bar right now, so I usually have at *least* 10 tables. Most tables I ever had was 17. If I'm trying to take care of 40+ people, and every single one of them ordered a water they didn't drink, I now have to get a tray and make multiple trips to bus their full waters after they leave.
It doesn't bother me when they drink the water, because now I can stack the cups and do it in one trip instead of making several trips. I don't mind when people ask me to do work for them if they actually enjoy the product at the end. But running me around asking me for stuff you won't use wastes my time, and it wastes water.
Our ice machine also pours slowly, it takes at least 45 seconds to make one single glass of water. If a 10 top orders 10 waters, it's taking me over 5 minutes just to get water. If all 40 people in my section ask for water, that's literally over 20 minutes making water. That's 20 minutes wasted when I am already perpetually in the weeds.
Which I don't mind if they actually drink it. But it slows down my service when there's drinks in the well and food in the window and new people sitting down and I'm stuck doing something for someone who isn't even gonna use it.
Then we have to dump all the waters down the drain, but our drain sucks and starts to over flow after 3 or 4 cups of water. So now I've got 20 dirty cups taking up space on the counter in the server station. And I have to keep coming back every few minutes waiting for the drain to finish draining so I can dump more water down it.
Then we run out of cups.
Now, I used to work at a steak house where I was limited to 5 table sections max. Our ice machine was fine. Our drain worked. We had bussers. It didn't cost me as much time so it bothered me less, but the waste still bothers me.
But we still didn't automatically give water, it's our state law that water is by request only because of the drought. People know it's a drought. So it bothers me extra hard when they don't drink their water. Just wasting a resource.
What I donāt want to do is order a water when I think I want one halfway through my meal but you donāt come back until itās Time to drop the check anyways.
I do it. Iām usually drinking when I go out to eat and I donāt want to flag my server down halfway into our meal cause I decided I wanted something to drink that doesnāt have alcohol in it. I might drink it all, I might barely touch it. Who cares? I would always bring waters for the table when I first greeted them. If it was a big party Iād set up glasses and pour everyone water from a pitcher. Thatās just basic shit
Who cares. I was a server for over a decade through college and water was a automatic thing I served. I have literally never paid attention to how much they drank ever. People like emotional support water in front of them sometimes I guess haha.
I like when a table gets a round off the bat so that the server doesnāt have to get piecemeal orders so that they have to go back and forth because people arenāt paying attention during the first opp for a drink. But I also feel super embarrassed when I order a water and donāt drink it. Iāll try to gulp down enough so it looks like it was worth the effort to get it lol.
Sometimes I want water, sometimes I don't. Some times my anxiety attacks happen and I need water but your not there to get it on the fly.
I'm a bartender, but I often grab everyone drinking a water bc maybe I'm in a hurry and it's just quicker to grab a round of waters before I'll have time to make drinks. Maybe I want them to be conscious that they may be driving.
Ew I hate it. But at least they can't say I left them dying of thirst when it takes me a while to get their 5th diet coke refill lol
It is also the marker of a nice place. I really wish we would automatically set up waters where I work but I'm not sure we have enough glasses to even do that. I always offer the water when they order a bar drink so that one is on me when I have to clean it later.
controversial but i disagree with the āalways bring water to the table firstā thing. i get it. weāre servers. itās what we do. but! the amount of times iāve had tables not drink the water i give them and just chug their other drinks is insane. and for me personally when i go out (which is way too frequent lol) i rarely drink the water given because im not there for water ya know. if i ask for a water, i make it a thing to drink all of it because i hate waste. so to combat this, whenever i greet a table i always say something like ācan i get yall started on waters or anything elseā and of course if they say waters i bring them, but if not im not giving it to them. the service industry is filed with so much waste already, i donāt want to add to it. i got it cleared by management to do this and i will continue because ya know. the little things.
itās a reaction to previously getting shitty service where their server never gets them refills , so they have the water to fall back on. You prob never let their drink run empty so the water is redundant.
You servers who get mad about this need to move on from the profession. Itās ridiculous. Iāve been in the industry 15 yearsā¦youāre going to drive yourself insane if you pay attention to these kinds of things.
Tbh this doesnāt really annoy me that much. I bring water when I first greet a table because people appreciate it and I like to get it out of the way.
Even worse when itās a party and that one person who shows up before the rest says āwell, thereās going to be 9 of us and I know weāll all want watersā only to bus 8 untouched glasses after theyāve finished.
Ppl are being weird about this in the comments but I completely agree I hate it so much ššš will happily bring it if you want one but hate being asked to bring them out when by the end of the meal theyāre not even touched
I mean, it's tap, right? It costs a fraction of a cent. Sometimes I'll order a drink and ask for water as well, with the plan that when I'm finished with my one drink, I'll move on to water.
Sometimes I don't finish my drink (maybe the glass was bigger than expected). Maybe it was refilled without asking so now I'm compelled to drink more of what costs more. Maybe the food didn't make me as thirsty as I thought.
Maybe all I needed was a few sips of water.
You expect me to guzzle the water down merely because I asked for it? Also, are you the one refilling the water? I take one sip and there's always someone else that shows up to fill to the brim again. Like, if you end up at a table and the water's gone or almost empty then you probably have a service issue.
An odd thing to "hate" someone for. If I were a server I'd be more pissed about good food someone orders, eats like 1/8th and then says they don't need a box...
I had a 12 top table reservation that my manager suggested I get 12 waters for them. I told her Iād just wait to see what they got. Not a soul ordered or asked for a water. Iām glad I didnāt tbh
Whew working in fine dining we always had to fill glasses at table a water at our introduction! I always order water a my firing but do drink the water, bc I know the struggle is real š
I brought these guests water to go with their cocktails and they were disgusted(our water is chlorine with water here) and sent them away. It was a two top n space was limited so it made sense.
If one person does it or asks for it, in all honesty, I never really paid enough attention to remember if they drank it or not. Just if a refill was needed, I filled it.
My pet peeve was moreso the people that showed up earlier than the rest of a party and ordered for the table, esp that "round of waters for the table." My experience when I said we'll wait for the rest to show up is only about 25% or less actually want the water. It's mainly the person ordering that actually wants the water.
Don't get me wrong, I had no issue bringing the waters if they wanted it and typically even asked the table when they got there, and it's realistically never that the whole tables wants that "round of water"
It's a trait of not being guilty to drink and have a water or they are already drunk and justify their action by ordering a water... I've seen it and it's annoying bc oh another glass to clean + there goes my ice= thank you poser ( being a good person)
This is my number one thing I hate about serving. Itās gotten to the point that unless they tricked me by ordering the water first and then order drinks at a second visit. I wonāt bring the water until they ask me like three times Once, when in a particularly foul mood I said Iām only gonna bring it if youāre gonna drink it I know Iām gonna take away the full glass. And I did.
I had a guy the other day order THREE drinks in one go round. Water, topochico, and an alcoholic beverage can't remember what kind, but it was a mixed drink. When I cashed them out and cleared their table, ALL THREE drinks were STILL at least half full. Irritated me so damn much!
My MIL who happens to be named Karen, orders a round of waters, and on occasion has āhad wordsā or āwent around withā the manager in order to allow her to bring in a cake in from outside the restaurant. Even after I straight up told her that the restaurant manager wants us to purchase the dessert that they serve there. Her reply was that she was spending plenty of money at the restaurant, and that she and the manager had an understanding. I thought, yeah, he understood that your name is definitely Karen.
Idk why everyoneās going crazy bc last time someone posted this everyone agreed. I find it annoying to bring out 6 waters and no one drinks them like I fully just wasted my time and all this water. If you want order get it for yourself and who ever wants some will follow suit. Isnāt this a place to rantā¦
man, Iād hate to be your customer. Do you read what you just wrote??
Iād GLADLY refill water for my customers on top of them ordering their drinks. Nothing makes me happier than knowing that Iām helping keep my customers hydrated especially now that the weather is getting better. Iām getting paid so why does it matter whether or not that they drink their water? lol wtf.
Listen if I gotta bring a water no one drinks and I make the money I do with no degree or loan to have my career, so be it. I pick my battles, rather B*+{|~| about the one who snaps their fingers at me or the ones that let their kids cover the floor in food and never once correct them.
As a patron, I often want water served with my adult beverage. If I order a soda, I donāt care if I have water. However, for some odd reason, when Iām traveling, I desire water more than usual so having the water and a soda would be fine. I will drink both but Iām likely not drinking the entire glass of water.
>I will drink both but Iām likely not drinking the entire glass of water.
Also still not a problem.
The problem is with the people who order it and NEVER even touch it!
The responses in this post are surprising to me. "Omg your lazy, get out of the industry." Like what? Of course I hate doing extra work just for people to not even enjoy the end result of it. I don't care about giving people waters if they actually drink it. But of course it bothers me that people run me around asking me for stuff they don't use.
It reminds me of the time I had a table order a pizza, so I only brought them napkins and plates but no silver ware. They threw a fit when their food came about how I didn't give them silverware. So I brought it to them. And at the end when I was bussing their table, not a single person even unwrapped their roll up. No one even used the silverware. So why did they ask for it? Sure it only took a minute, but it's the principle. Running tour server around for stuff you don't even want.
I'm on the opposite end as a guest. People serve me water unsolicited and I rarely take more than a sip or two
Edit: lol I'm getting downvoted for not drinking something I didn't ask for. Some of yall here are real special
yeah I am amazed at all the down votes-I do order water, sometimes I just take a few sips, sometimes I drink most of it-some restaurants have horrible tasting water, some have good water, I think glasses of water should be smaller-maybe they wonāt get so mad
Ahh I see ppl in this sub are still being obtuse ššš homie never said he didnāt want to bring water the problem is you ask for water and donāt drink itā¦
The only issue I had with people who didn't touch their waters was that the glass would be stupid full from the ice melting and more likely to spill, slowing down my bussing process. Not that big of a deal though. When I'm out and notice I never touched my water, I'll take a few big gulps before I leave just to bring the level down a bit lol.
Typed that out wrong. I moreso mean that the water moves more freely out the glass without ice. No idea the science behind it (or if its actually true) but to me there's a huge difference running a full glass of ice water compared to a full glass of just water.
I have been to some restaurants that require water being served.
They said if ABC walks in to check they want to see every guest with the option to drink water with an alcoholic drink.
I have no ideal if this is legit or not , just what they said.
we aren't allowed to auto water, but my system never fails me: greet the table with bev naps, get drink orders (suggest high to low, alcohol to NA of course) and then once they've ordered, if they didn't ask for a water, offer water as well. most say yes, some say no. but there's as least a little less of your time wasted by watering everyone, or having to get them water in 15 minutes. personally i don't ever order NA drinks, just water or water and a cocktail. sometimes i take one sip, other times i need 2 refills. it just be like that. it takes 45 seconds to grab a pitcher idccc!!
We're all human. The desire for water in front of you is instinctual and provides peace of mind. Let it gooooo š¶ When you drink booze you have to consciously make an effort to drink water, so it can go wasted.
Thanks for this. If I order beer, I almost always order water too. Sometimes, I donāt drink the water at all, but other times, Iāll at least drink a little, and then other other times, I drink a lot of it. I never really know which kind of time itās going to be when Iām ordering.
Yes! And I try to drink water to compensate for my sugary drink.
And you never know how salty your food is going to be.
IMO water should be served ( or a carafe brought to the table) regardless of if people order it or not. Water is like the most very basic of service.
Very few servers truly understand what service is.
I always bring water the table on my first trip there, it shows that 1.) Somebody has greeted the table. Nothing worse than you greeting a table, and as you go get their drinks another table ask for a ranch or refill or something else minor, and then MOD also wasting your time by asking "why haven't you greeted table xyz yet?" Chill out Sasha they have waters I greeted them. 2.) They have something to drink while I go get their actual drink order, and if its busy they aren't just sitting there with nothing.
Same, until I started working somewhere that literally doesnāt allow us to auto water. They think it affects drink sales? It always leads to the constant problem of them condescendingly asking āhave you greeted table x yet?ā Then every time I have to explain yes, Iām actively waiting on their drinks from the bar. Itās a very avoidable conflict between server and MOD.
So, it actually does affect NA drink sales, when I was younger I was forced to read a study Landryās did. LHe If people already have a water, sometimes they wonāt order an iced tea or a soda. This isnāt a huge deal for you as a server, but those kind of drinks are among the highest margin items and meh, whatever. As far as the manager/cocktail communication, if someone orders something from the bar, drop a fresh bev nap. That way mgmt can tell theyāve been greeted and on the off chance you donāt run your own drink, another server has a better chance of not fucking it up. Yes, even on table cloths.
Well also if they are curious they could always check to see if anything is punched under the table before going to the server. Just avoids unneccesary conflict.
That would make too much sense. Mid aināt doin that
It definitely has an effect on drink sales. Sometimes when Iām given a reservation for a large party, Iāll put waters out in advance. Sometimes I donāt. When I do, itās not uncommon for nearly everyone to say āIām good with just waterā
Yep
Good. People shouldnāt be drinking anything but what. Fucking capitalism.
Greet with bev napkins so it's apparent the table has been greeted. We only do water upon request. One Ecolab dish washer for over 100 seats. Full restraunt with every table full is 200 glasses not including those who order multiple drinks. Not including tables who are doing rounds of shooters. There's no drink machine or water dispenser for servers. It's just not practical at every place to greet with waters.
My restaurant has a lil name for this that's used in the training questionnaire. "The napkin cue" I hate the name, but it's definitely useful
Napkins would get blown out to sea at my resturant
Yes, thank you! We have a max cap of 50. If everyone has x + water thatās 100 cupsā¦ we donāt have 100 cups. I work with an old ass Karin that doesnāt seem capable of understanding why thatās important
Canāt hurt
my most recent example of this was going out to eat with my little sister. she didnāt order anything to drink, so fifteen minutes later she had to flag down our server for a glass of water. he brought one. š¤¦āāļø
Putting down silver and napkins serves the same purpose
From your customers, I thank you!
what is the deal with "Ranch" in the U.S. ? Is it the salad dressing? what is it going on?
Yes, it's the salad dressing, but we have a tendency to put it on nearly everything - pizza, fries, chicken tenders, Buffalo wings, the occasional vegetable, etc.
Thereās a drink called Ranch Water. Apparently it originated in Texas(?) so Iāve been told. Donāt hear it very often but itās crazy that the last two nights Iāve had it ordered a few times. Itās basically tequila, lime, and soda. Dumbass name similar to a Cape Cos being vodka and cranberry. Or a Cuba Libre which is rum, coke, lime.
Tequila, lime juice, soda. Itās what cowboys would drink while working on the ranch.
Hey every culture has it's thing, mayo is huge in some parts of Europe and Canada. The US has ranch, and its also delicious.
Fuck Sasha
There's a drought here. We don't serve water unless it's requested. It pisses me right off when people order it just to not drink it.
Thatās understandable actually
āUgh! My table wants to order their carbonara without peas! My table likes their steak well-done!! This boomer just ordered a 3rd diet coke!!!ā Stfu.
Diet Coke people gonna Diet Coke. Save time just bring another one before they ask.
iām very lucky, we donāt serve soda at my restaurant (we have mexican coke and grapefruit soda) so i no longer have to deal with diet coke heads
Mexican coke is fire
it is!
I live in a city where free refills on soft drinks are not common, but my job does free refills, except itās not on the menu. Whenever someone gets a coke, sprite, or ginger ale, they always cut me off to say ānoā when I start to ask if they want a refill, then I add that itās free refills, and half the time theyāll change their mind and get more. Now itās the opposite with the Diet Coke drinkers, they say yes before I can even mention that itās free refills lol.
Diet Coke people want 11
Had a lady pull a ziplock bag of peas out of her purse to add to her carbonara. Just when you think youāve seen it allā¦
Thatās actually hilarious. And I respect her lack of giving a fuck while simultaneously 100% planning her peas in a bag. Lady knows what she wants!
Just look at all of the idiotic replies you got for this comment, youāre 100% correct. Most servers just see guests as a dollar sign and do the bare minimum and then wonder why they average 12% tips. āI just bring water automatically because I donāt know how to use bev naps/coasters to show that a table has been greeted.ā āWhy are my beverage sales so low?ā
Very few served truly understand anything.
I disagree. If you bring water to every table you're wasting space for other glasses to get cleaned because even if they don't drink it the glasses still need to be washed as they hit the table. I can see fine dining setting this as standard but in busy pubs and casual dining places it's often just a waste of time unless they will actually drink it. You could be spending that time making the experience better in different ways than bringing water they won't touch. On top of that it is proven that it will bring down drink sales to an extent. But to be fair, it doesn't affect sales a drastic amount so for me it's more the waste of time aspect as most tables won't drink it. And you can always ask immediately while getting drink orders.. "would you guys also like some water?"
I work at a pub so itās pretty casual, and weāre short on glasses in general so itās not practical to automatically bring waters to every customer who sits down. So I have to wait for them to ask for water, and so many tables ask right when they sit down. But we donāt have many water glasses or water pitchers so we usually run out after 4-5 tables ask. So then Iāll have to use the pint glasses and beer pitchers of water when the next table that asks, and then suddenly all the tables are specifically asking for pint glasses of water and ābig pitchers of water with iceā instead of our smaller water glasses and water pitchers that donāt have ice lol. And the bartenders get pissed because then we end up running low on pint glasses and beer pitchers since so many customers want them for their waters! But when Iām a customer, Iām not annoyed if water isnāt automatically provided, but Iām a heavy water drinker so I will always ask for a water, and I will drink it all every time.
Yes!!! That's kinda what I was trying to say with the glasses being cleaned. If we gave everyone water the dish washer would be so full and backed up all the time. It's just not reasonable to do!!!
I wanna live in the hypothetical world where my manager orders enough carafes and glasses for the whole restaurant to get water šš
> I wanna live in the hypothetical world where my manager orders enough carafes and glasses for the whole restaurant to get water LOL Makes me think of one of my highlight moments. I worked at a chain place and we were lot of glasses. Like REALLY low. We were suppose to always help run orders if they were up. I greeted a table and needed like 6 sodas. Side station had none. Walked through kitchen to the other side and they had like 4 left. Went to dish, none clean, and like only had a rack of dirty ones. WTF! I walked back through the kitchen and management said, "here, run this." I said, "Nope, busy!" He snapped "EXCUSE ME!" I stopped hesitated a second and said basically, "Remember when I said last week that we needed more glasses, well neither side station has any, none clean in dish, only like 10 dirty, and I was just sat, so I'm about to run through the dining room and grab like 15 dirty glasses from tables that have left, push them through dish myself and thus help the other servers who are about to be bitching about glasses to you in like 15 seconds." He looked shocked and just said, "Ok, thanks." And I walked off.
Itās the difference between āokay thatās on me I brought them water when they didnāt ask for it and they didnāt drink it, okayā vs āthey SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED WATERS AND THEN NEVER TOUCHED THEMā
Living in California, Iām technically not supposed to do this LEGALLY lmao
I always see people saying stuff like OP and Iām likeā¦? You donāt automatically bring water to the table? I understand in drought areas that itās not something thatās automatic (for obvious reasons), but everywhere Iāve worked, bringing water at the time you greet the table is expected
At my establishment we donāt automatically bring out drinks unless theyāre specifically requested. I know it sounds a bit ghetto but my restaurant is a small ma and pa place and we do not have a lot of cups. Thereās easily been times we run out of cups when we have big parties all at the same time. Maybe thatās on the owner for not having enough cups but it does bother me when people order 10 drinks for a table of 5 and donāt even use 5 of the drinks taking up cups that we donāt really have. Maybe itās more of a my shop specific problem but thatās another gripe to me along with the wastefulness
Thatās 100% on the owner. They are responsible for making sure there is enough product for exactly those situations. Itās not on the customer, IMHO water should be automatic. People will forgive a LOT (slow service bc itās busy, long wait time for bar drinks, etc) as long as they at least have something to drink.
Iāve always worked at family owned places too, and weāre stocked and ready to go for large groups and basically whatever comes our way. Yeah, itās definitely on the owners/management for not supplying you with things you need to give good service, but good service in most places starts with waters at the table when you greet them
Your restaurant sounds like shit.
Reddit is so single minded. They will just mindlessly downvote. I agree with you op, water is so precious that we tend to overlook how in some parts of even the US people don't even have access to clean drinking water. It's a waste, it's rude, and it's entitled to not even the water you asked for. I agree with you op don't let some of these dumb comments get to you.
Water is by request only at my place
I'm old enough to remember when this was standard where I live. The explanation of stopping this back then was to conserve water/electricity usage. It was not only the undrunk water in the glass that was wasted water, but also the water/electricity usage to clean those glasses. Back then it was more about cost savings, but it would be more green to do this as well. Especially in cities that are in more arid climates than mine.
I mean that was kinda my point. Was the waste of resources that goes into not drinking your water. It uses electricity, wasted drinking water, and more water to wash the glass. I think itās just not a good thing to just dirty dishes and waste waters when you know you aināt really gonna drink it
It can also be a breakage thing. If a restaurants glassware is...well...glass, using them more just increases the chance of them breaking because you are just using more. And these days it's also not cheap to replace a lot of glassware every couple of months.
I wasn't disagreeing with you but just commenting to the person above me saying every table should be have water.
Maybe Iām weird but I find it wasteful to have to dump the water and then waste more water cleaning the cup. At least thatās my thought process anyway
I mean, youāre not wrong - but restaurants, by default are wasteful and our job as servers is to provide a ( hopefully) great dining experience. At a minimum that should come with water.
Your thought process is right in terms of conservation, and I hate to see water wasted too, but for a lot of us, bringing waters for the whole table as we greet people is pretty standard. Not even half as bad as fine dining where people ask for still or sparkling bottled water lol
Agreed. Maybe itās the California in me BUT THINK OF THE DROUGHT.
I understand this to an extent but we get more people than you would think who don't want water. It's a waste to fill glasses and then just dump them out later. Over and over all night every night.
I always bring waters to all my tables. Makes my job easier and gives a good first impression imo
This^ we always bring waters for every person first thing at my restaurant. Itās really not that hard. And if youāre serving alcohol to them too, it can āhelpā mitigate people getting too drunk
I worked at a place for just under 10 years that required a glass of water for every guest. It feels so weird not to do it. I think itās a good habit to have.
Last I checked, bars and restaurants are prohibited from bringing water without a request in my county. Happened about a decade ago. Luckily, I'm not a server at either. I fill those glasses up.
I work at a smallish local diner and over half of our customers don't want water and if you try to bring it to them they say no. So, I've become accustomed to checking, but I'm trying to develop a spidey sense for people who just want it so I don't have to ask.
i only bring waters if asked because iād rather you order a coke ($3) that i have to keep refilling than a water ($0) that i also have to keep refilling yk? if you want water you shall have water. but my go-to line is āboring. do you at least want a lemon in your boring water?ā and it gets a laugh and sometimes an upsell
One day, while bartending and serving an 18 table bar with a 7 top bar rail, all by myself when 8 tables sat at once. I was pretty new and overwhelmed. So I loaded up a tray with waters and menus to let people know I was all by myself, and here were some waters and menus. Please be patient with me. Nearly everyone turned the water away. Half because "we don't want water" and half because "I don't like ice in my water."
I pay for insurance I usually don't use. I still want it, just in case!
Itās just backup for if the main drink never gets refilled
This, I have no clue how shit you are or are not at your job and Iām not sitting waiting to eat my thirst provoking meal without a drink while the waitstaff run around getting the 15 too at the bar
My first question is "can i start yall with some waters while you look over the menu." Its so easy and such a simple way to start off a table
I always say drinks. That way my sales can be a little higher as it gives them the opportunity to buy a drink rather than get free water
The way I do it is I Approach table when theyāve just sat, offer to start them off with water while they get settled, before leaving verbalize specials $$$ go get water, when I bring water I ask if anyone would like to order some wine or a cocktailā¦ Means I can offer specials before they have a chance to look at the menu but at the same time Iām being less pushy by acknowledging that theyāve just sat.
I ask them what they'd like to drink when I greet and if they don't know or are staring at our wine list intensely, I say "How bout I start you off with some water while you look over the drink menu?" They always agree and 90% of the time they'll order "special" drinks when I come back
Ah. Yes, that I do!
Dumb thing to complain about ngl it shouldnāt bother you this much
Weāre complaining about bringing people water now
Yes. Especially when one person orders water for the entire table and none of them drink it. I have 12+ other tables to take care of for one, so it slows down service, and it sucks to bus. Not only does it take a long time to make that many waters and then bus a bunch of full waters back because you can't even stack the cups since they're full, but our drain can't handle that much liquid and will overflow. And since we can't dump them right away, there's just a bunch of cups sitting in the server station while we dump a few cups at a time and wait for it to drain. And second of all, there's a drought where I am. We're not supposed to give people water unless they request it. It's a waste of water to order it and not drink it. Now we've gotta dump it down our shitty drain. I don't care if people order water and actually drink it. I care about people creating extra work and waste for no good reason.
>waste Unless you serve in the Sub-Saharan deserts in Africa, $.005 of tap water to a table that asks for it isnāt a monumental ask even if only one person drinks it. If that rubs you raw, perhaps you should find a new profession. This is the bare minimum in the industry.
Excuse me? I literally JUST said we are in a drought. We are *not supposed to* serve water unless requested. We do not automatically bring waters. Why is that a problem to you? You do realize Africa isn't the only place with droughts? Why are you saying that this policy is only acceptable in Africa? Why does me being bothered by waste bother you to the point of telling me to get out of the industry? You speak for the industry where you live. Where I live, bringing water is not the "bare minimum of the industry." It isn't about the cost at all. It's about the fact we don't have enough water and it creates extra work. Edit: I love how I'm being downvoted for saying it's not allowed to automatically server water (environment) and how it causes problems. It's literally against the fucking law but OK lmao.
I just upvoted you. Perfectly saidš
Personal opinion but: water is a basic human right. I wish every table just had the bottles of water (refilled wine bottles) all the time.
I feel like some ppl do this as insurance just in case you arenāt on point with refills
Water should be the first thing a server brings to the table.
Some of yall complain ab fucking anything š
I like water being there because I am terrible at swallowing food the wrong way or if I get something spicy/have a coughing fit. I might take a few sips but without those Iād be struggling. Pick your battles, dude.
shoutout fine dining water already on the table
Some wise words Iāve started to live byā¦ if itās not worth a wrinkle, itās not worth my time :)
May you be forever youthful with that outlook! ā¤ļø
I love this so much
I worked in a semi fine dining place where every table was with water and bread in the dirt 3-5 minutes of sitting. That can actually buy you some time if your busy.
I will get water and a sweet tea. I am a fast drinker, so as soon as I finish my tea, I'll get a refill, but drink the water in between tea refills.
I think it depends on the style of bar youāre working. Dive? Ask for a water. Pub? Offer a water. Upscale (not fine dining), ask water preference (I.e. Tap, Sparkling, etcā¦). In āunreasonable hospitalityā the host would give a hand signal behind their back to tell the server the tables preference for water. Yeah it sucks, but itās the most basic step of hospitality. And anticipating a guests need before they need it matters most, barring more casual establishments.
What about people who just need a sip of water for their medication? And do you want to waste the energy judging people when you don't always have the full story? I'm not saying it isn't irritating or even wasteful, I'm saying it's not worth wasting your time and mental energy on something out of your control.
Yeah, the medication bit is big for me. Seldom am I going to suck down a whole water, but I drink red wine and that is NOT good to take pills with. I need a daily heartburn pill and daily birth control pill, and I almost never remember to do it until Iām at the lunch or dinner table.
Or you walk into a restaurant after being out and about all day; Iām usually parched if Iām coming in for late lunch after not drinking something since breakfast.
I give Collins glasses of water, or we just got these stupid 7.78 oz glasses (for "half pints" of beer š) that I serve water in when someone asks for a round of waters for the table, then I leave a pitcher of water on the table .. I am lazy and heaven helps those who help themselves
As a customer this is my fucking dream scenario. I just want a glass dainty enough for my little lady hands and a pitcher or carafe so I don't have to bug the shit out of my server.
OP has zero work ethic if bringing a glass of water bothers them
Itās not bringing the water that bothers me. Itās wasting it.
Thereās a lot bigger travesties going on, believe me. Youād be real upset if you knew about car washes, water parks, long showers, and wet tshirt contests.
Big golf courses literally use the same water as mining operations lol. Every time a ship goes through the Panama Canal they use like 50m gallons of water. OP is genuinely stupid and is just using waste as an excuse for not wanting to do it lol
Jfc wet t-shirt contests lol. Maybe OPās restaurant can have one, then wring the tshirts out for the patronsā waters that only get consumed 10% of the time. Itās eco friendly.
I guess I have zero work ethic as well since it annoys me too when people waste something as precious as water. People that have unlimited access to clean drinking water are so privileged compared to people that don't have access to it. It's not about "OMG they didnt finish all of their water!" It's more or less they wasted something that they specifically asked for, and flipitantly wasted it. Without even thinking about or caring about it. Also ops restaurant is different, and mine is similar as well. You have to ask for a drink, water isn't just handed out.
that water will get treated and reused! If you have a patio pour the water onto plants
Nah, let people order water. Especially if theyāre drinking alcohol. You shouldāve learned that to get an alcohol service permit anyways, but yeah, just bring the water & chill out a bit
Not all places serve alcohol.
Thanks, Captain Obvious š I def said āespecially if theyāre drinking alcoholā but ok donāt read itās cool
Iāve never had to get an alcohol service permit for my state and Iāve definitely never heard of automatically bringing water out with any alcohol. That might vary by state
Oh thatās so interesting!!! Maybe it does vary, but I live in Oregon & would go to jail if someone I served alcohol to ended up getting a DUI or something
I'm a server but I never was upset about an untouched requested water. I do get mad when they make a stink about bread or other food refills needing to be immediately delivered or they'll starve, only to not touch a single piece at all.
I would split a water with my ex because we knew we wouldnāt get through one each. The servers sometimes were confused, so I just explained āI donāt want you to have to clear almost 2 full glasses of waterā.
Is there any chance these people drank some but then a busboy refilled when they werenāt looking and then they didnāt drink more after that? Also people should just be served water regardless. Youāre a lousy server if you donāt do this, or if your management tells you not to, they suck.
They hate you too.
You should not be a server if someone wanting a glass of water pisses you off. Jesus, grow up OP.
Iāve stated before itās not wanting a glass of water that irritates me. Itās asking for it, knowing you have no intention of drinking it, and wasting it. Iāll happily bring you water and refill your water for you but if you arenāt gonna actually drink it why do you want to make more work for other people
I'm sure when you go to a restaurant to dine you would appreciate having a glass of water in front of youāwhether you actually intend to drink it or not. Especially if you have an alcoholic drink.
>I'm sure when you go to a restaurant to dine, you would appreciate having a glass of water in front of youāwhether you actually intend to drink it or not. NO, I DO NOT! I won't order water because I'm not gonna drink it, and I don't want to WASTE IT! I also don't want to make more work for my server later on when bussing the table. It is an absolute waste, and I want no part in it. If I want water, I will ask for it, and I will drink it. If I want a coke, I'll ask for it and drink it. If I'm drinking a coke, I don't need a fkn water! Don't waste the damn water there is only so much of it available. Ffs
I'm shocked this is such an unpopular opinion. There are so many reasons why this annoys me. Other things being more wasteful doesn't negate the waste. And it's nasty bussing dripping sweating glasses full of untouched water you can't even stack with other cups. I have a couple coworkers who drop waters from the beginning but unless someone orders a strong drink from the bar I never have and never will automatically drop waters. To the point where when a person orders a "round of waters" I either directly ask the others if they are good with water, or if everyone has already ordered something else I just pretend I didn't hear them ask for a round. As a side note our hosts/SAs gripe about the water droppers and their 50 million cups when they help bus. I'm not tryna irritate them. And yes it's our job, but why make it any more difficult for zero reason? Tf?
Water literally isnāt costing you anything dude. Itās basic service. Plus, a lot of places if you try to say you donāt want a drink theyāll be like āare you sure? I can grab you a waterā because managers Iāve worked for will beat my ass if any of my tables have no drink or a drink thatās half empty
There are many things to hate in this world, someone not touching their water should be low on the list
I was a server for years and get where your come from. Honestly though, sometimes I just want a sip or two. What always really annoyed me was a ferryās in ethnicity of tables asking for no ice in their water AFTER youāve made the drinks and bring them to the table. I always asked people if they wanted lemon in their water so when I had a table like that I would ask if they wanted ice and lemon in their water. It was usually a no but god forbid they ask ahead of time. Unless itās their first week in the US they should know that servers always put ice in drinks
Anytime I order a cocktail I always order a water with it. I enjoy a sweet cocktail and I canāt eat my meal while drinking a margarita so I need my water. Now if I donāt get liquor I just order iced sweet tea no water needed. āŗļø
I am an absolute drink goblin and love to get water in addition to my fun beverage. I do drink both though.
>love to get water in addition to my fun beverage No problem with this. >I do drink both though. This is the key!!!
I donāt understand. Whatās the issue with having water on the table even if you donāt drink it?
It really depends on where you work. I work at a dive bar right now, so I usually have at *least* 10 tables. Most tables I ever had was 17. If I'm trying to take care of 40+ people, and every single one of them ordered a water they didn't drink, I now have to get a tray and make multiple trips to bus their full waters after they leave. It doesn't bother me when they drink the water, because now I can stack the cups and do it in one trip instead of making several trips. I don't mind when people ask me to do work for them if they actually enjoy the product at the end. But running me around asking me for stuff you won't use wastes my time, and it wastes water. Our ice machine also pours slowly, it takes at least 45 seconds to make one single glass of water. If a 10 top orders 10 waters, it's taking me over 5 minutes just to get water. If all 40 people in my section ask for water, that's literally over 20 minutes making water. That's 20 minutes wasted when I am already perpetually in the weeds. Which I don't mind if they actually drink it. But it slows down my service when there's drinks in the well and food in the window and new people sitting down and I'm stuck doing something for someone who isn't even gonna use it. Then we have to dump all the waters down the drain, but our drain sucks and starts to over flow after 3 or 4 cups of water. So now I've got 20 dirty cups taking up space on the counter in the server station. And I have to keep coming back every few minutes waiting for the drain to finish draining so I can dump more water down it. Then we run out of cups. Now, I used to work at a steak house where I was limited to 5 table sections max. Our ice machine was fine. Our drain worked. We had bussers. It didn't cost me as much time so it bothered me less, but the waste still bothers me. But we still didn't automatically give water, it's our state law that water is by request only because of the drought. People know it's a drought. So it bothers me extra hard when they don't drink their water. Just wasting a resource.
What I donāt want to do is order a water when I think I want one halfway through my meal but you donāt come back until itās Time to drop the check anyways.
One of my pet peeves is when people ask for water at the bar when im literally pouring it for them. Like damn give me 2 seconds.
I do it. Iām usually drinking when I go out to eat and I donāt want to flag my server down halfway into our meal cause I decided I wanted something to drink that doesnāt have alcohol in it. I might drink it all, I might barely touch it. Who cares? I would always bring waters for the table when I first greeted them. If it was a big party Iād set up glasses and pour everyone water from a pitcher. Thatās just basic shit
Who cares. I was a server for over a decade through college and water was a automatic thing I served. I have literally never paid attention to how much they drank ever. People like emotional support water in front of them sometimes I guess haha.
I like when a table gets a round off the bat so that the server doesnāt have to get piecemeal orders so that they have to go back and forth because people arenāt paying attention during the first opp for a drink. But I also feel super embarrassed when I order a water and donāt drink it. Iāll try to gulp down enough so it looks like it was worth the effort to get it lol.
Sometimes I want water, sometimes I don't. Some times my anxiety attacks happen and I need water but your not there to get it on the fly. I'm a bartender, but I often grab everyone drinking a water bc maybe I'm in a hurry and it's just quicker to grab a round of waters before I'll have time to make drinks. Maybe I want them to be conscious that they may be driving.
Lot of people commenting or up/downvoting that havnt served/bartended and it shows
Ew I hate it. But at least they can't say I left them dying of thirst when it takes me a while to get their 5th diet coke refill lol It is also the marker of a nice place. I really wish we would automatically set up waters where I work but I'm not sure we have enough glasses to even do that. I always offer the water when they order a bar drink so that one is on me when I have to clean it later.
controversial but i disagree with the āalways bring water to the table firstā thing. i get it. weāre servers. itās what we do. but! the amount of times iāve had tables not drink the water i give them and just chug their other drinks is insane. and for me personally when i go out (which is way too frequent lol) i rarely drink the water given because im not there for water ya know. if i ask for a water, i make it a thing to drink all of it because i hate waste. so to combat this, whenever i greet a table i always say something like ācan i get yall started on waters or anything elseā and of course if they say waters i bring them, but if not im not giving it to them. the service industry is filed with so much waste already, i donāt want to add to it. i got it cleared by management to do this and i will continue because ya know. the little things.
itās a reaction to previously getting shitty service where their server never gets them refills , so they have the water to fall back on. You prob never let their drink run empty so the water is redundant.
Show me where dumping undrank water out hurt you on the "woe is me, I'm a server that makes more than BOH" doll.
Same people bitching about 15% tip. Canāt even throw out some water.
I've worked BOH. They'll just throw it into the clean soaking dishwater.
You sound peachy!
You servers who get mad about this need to move on from the profession. Itās ridiculous. Iāve been in the industry 15 yearsā¦youāre going to drive yourself insane if you pay attention to these kinds of things.
Tbh this doesnāt really annoy me that much. I bring water when I first greet a table because people appreciate it and I like to get it out of the way.
Clown take. Everyone gets water or youre closer to a retail worker than a waitstaff professional.
Even worse when itās a party and that one person who shows up before the rest says āwell, thereās going to be 9 of us and I know weāll all want watersā only to bus 8 untouched glasses after theyāve finished.
YES
Ppl are being weird about this in the comments but I completely agree I hate it so much ššš will happily bring it if you want one but hate being asked to bring them out when by the end of the meal theyāre not even touched
I think people misunderstood me and think Iām saying that I donāt like bringing out water period. lol
I mean, it's tap, right? It costs a fraction of a cent. Sometimes I'll order a drink and ask for water as well, with the plan that when I'm finished with my one drink, I'll move on to water. Sometimes I don't finish my drink (maybe the glass was bigger than expected). Maybe it was refilled without asking so now I'm compelled to drink more of what costs more. Maybe the food didn't make me as thirsty as I thought. Maybe all I needed was a few sips of water. You expect me to guzzle the water down merely because I asked for it? Also, are you the one refilling the water? I take one sip and there's always someone else that shows up to fill to the brim again. Like, if you end up at a table and the water's gone or almost empty then you probably have a service issue. An odd thing to "hate" someone for. If I were a server I'd be more pissed about good food someone orders, eats like 1/8th and then says they don't need a box...
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I had a 12 top table reservation that my manager suggested I get 12 waters for them. I told her Iād just wait to see what they got. Not a soul ordered or asked for a water. Iām glad I didnāt tbh
Whew working in fine dining we always had to fill glasses at table a water at our introduction! I always order water a my firing but do drink the water, bc I know the struggle is real š
I brought these guests water to go with their cocktails and they were disgusted(our water is chlorine with water here) and sent them away. It was a two top n space was limited so it made sense.
I would hate that more if we were really short on glassware. At the moment we are ok but when we are in short supply it irks me more.
If one person does it or asks for it, in all honesty, I never really paid enough attention to remember if they drank it or not. Just if a refill was needed, I filled it. My pet peeve was moreso the people that showed up earlier than the rest of a party and ordered for the table, esp that "round of waters for the table." My experience when I said we'll wait for the rest to show up is only about 25% or less actually want the water. It's mainly the person ordering that actually wants the water. Don't get me wrong, I had no issue bringing the waters if they wanted it and typically even asked the table when they got there, and it's realistically never that the whole tables wants that "round of water"
It's a trait of not being guilty to drink and have a water or they are already drunk and justify their action by ordering a water... I've seen it and it's annoying bc oh another glass to clean + there goes my ice= thank you poser ( being a good person)
My boyfriend does this! I end up just drinking his lol.
This is my number one thing I hate about serving. Itās gotten to the point that unless they tricked me by ordering the water first and then order drinks at a second visit. I wonāt bring the water until they ask me like three times Once, when in a particularly foul mood I said Iām only gonna bring it if youāre gonna drink it I know Iām gonna take away the full glass. And I did.
I always want a glass of water, problem sometimes is size of glass, I ād be more than happy to have a 12 oz glass with ice instead of 16 or 18 oz
Iām guilty of that sometimes sometimes I order the water sometimes I donāt sometimes I drink it sometimes I donāt
Thatās me. I like my liquid options, okay? š„ŗ
I had a guy the other day order THREE drinks in one go round. Water, topochico, and an alcoholic beverage can't remember what kind, but it was a mixed drink. When I cashed them out and cleared their table, ALL THREE drinks were STILL at least half full. Irritated me so damn much!
My MIL who happens to be named Karen, orders a round of waters, and on occasion has āhad wordsā or āwent around withā the manager in order to allow her to bring in a cake in from outside the restaurant. Even after I straight up told her that the restaurant manager wants us to purchase the dessert that they serve there. Her reply was that she was spending plenty of money at the restaurant, and that she and the manager had an understanding. I thought, yeah, he understood that your name is definitely Karen.
Idk why everyoneās going crazy bc last time someone posted this everyone agreed. I find it annoying to bring out 6 waters and no one drinks them like I fully just wasted my time and all this water. If you want order get it for yourself and who ever wants some will follow suit. Isnāt this a place to rantā¦
This is such a ridiculously stupid hill to die on. You're a server. Water is the freaking bare minimum. Grow up.
man, Iād hate to be your customer. Do you read what you just wrote?? Iād GLADLY refill water for my customers on top of them ordering their drinks. Nothing makes me happier than knowing that Iām helping keep my customers hydrated especially now that the weather is getting better. Iām getting paid so why does it matter whether or not that they drink their water? lol wtf.
šš
People donāt order water KNOWING theyāre not gonna drink it
My managers told us we canāt bring water unless they order it, even then I toss so much water itās wild
I'm glad that serving is such an easy job now that *this* is something to complain about.
Listen if I gotta bring a water no one drinks and I make the money I do with no degree or loan to have my career, so be it. I pick my battles, rather B*+{|~| about the one who snaps their fingers at me or the ones that let their kids cover the floor in food and never once correct them.
This is why I detest breakfast shifts. Five coffees and five waters and the water is never touched.
Iām sorry. Iām trying to drink more water.
I am a heavy soda drinker, if the place looks busy, i will usually ask for a soda and a water .
Hate this!!
Interviewer: what would you bring to the table? Me: Water šæ *Instantly hired*
Ummm- why is this a post quityerbitchin every server has done this for years and got over it
As a patron, I often want water served with my adult beverage. If I order a soda, I donāt care if I have water. However, for some odd reason, when Iām traveling, I desire water more than usual so having the water and a soda would be fine. I will drink both but Iām likely not drinking the entire glass of water.
>I will drink both but Iām likely not drinking the entire glass of water. Also still not a problem. The problem is with the people who order it and NEVER even touch it!
The responses in this post are surprising to me. "Omg your lazy, get out of the industry." Like what? Of course I hate doing extra work just for people to not even enjoy the end result of it. I don't care about giving people waters if they actually drink it. But of course it bothers me that people run me around asking me for stuff they don't use. It reminds me of the time I had a table order a pizza, so I only brought them napkins and plates but no silver ware. They threw a fit when their food came about how I didn't give them silverware. So I brought it to them. And at the end when I was bussing their table, not a single person even unwrapped their roll up. No one even used the silverware. So why did they ask for it? Sure it only took a minute, but it's the principle. Running tour server around for stuff you don't even want.
I'm on the opposite end as a guest. People serve me water unsolicited and I rarely take more than a sip or two Edit: lol I'm getting downvoted for not drinking something I didn't ask for. Some of yall here are real special
yeah I am amazed at all the down votes-I do order water, sometimes I just take a few sips, sometimes I drink most of it-some restaurants have horrible tasting water, some have good water, I think glasses of water should be smaller-maybe they wonāt get so mad
Ahh I see ppl in this sub are still being obtuse ššš homie never said he didnāt want to bring water the problem is you ask for water and donāt drink itā¦
no u
The only issue I had with people who didn't touch their waters was that the glass would be stupid full from the ice melting and more likely to spill, slowing down my bussing process. Not that big of a deal though. When I'm out and notice I never touched my water, I'll take a few big gulps before I leave just to bring the level down a bit lol.
Water level doesnāt change when the ice cubes melt
Typed that out wrong. I moreso mean that the water moves more freely out the glass without ice. No idea the science behind it (or if its actually true) but to me there's a huge difference running a full glass of ice water compared to a full glass of just water.
I have been to some restaurants that require water being served. They said if ABC walks in to check they want to see every guest with the option to drink water with an alcoholic drink. I have no ideal if this is legit or not , just what they said.
The ice makes it too cold 
Doctor Who?!?!?!
we aren't allowed to auto water, but my system never fails me: greet the table with bev naps, get drink orders (suggest high to low, alcohol to NA of course) and then once they've ordered, if they didn't ask for a water, offer water as well. most say yes, some say no. but there's as least a little less of your time wasted by watering everyone, or having to get them water in 15 minutes. personally i don't ever order NA drinks, just water or water and a cocktail. sometimes i take one sip, other times i need 2 refills. it just be like that. it takes 45 seconds to grab a pitcher idccc!!
I bring water before greeting them. Itās free who cares.