Exhausting: when the service in a restaurant is excessively nice
Laurens loves eating out. And he certainly appreciates good service. But honestly, honestly… it can be overdone. ‘I’m not a sponge, I’m just a human being!’
‘I really love eating out. No hassle with groceries or washing up, just a good restaurant, a nice glass of wine, people cooking for you – what more could you want?
Overly attentive
But there’s one thing that pulls me out of that relaxed vibe: servers who put on such an exaggerated performance and come to your table every five minutes to ask whether it still “tastes good”. People, I get it, I know you want to be attentive, but I just want to… eat in peace. Without having to constantly give a progress report.
‘Can I pour you something already?’
It happened to me again recently. I walked in somewhere, and the waiter greeted me as if I were the long-lost king of a distant land. ‘Welcome, sir, your table is waiting for you!’ he said while giving a deep bow. Before my wife and I had even properly sat down, let alone looked at the menu, his colleague appeared. An excessively enthusiastic waitress with a smile as if she had just won the lottery. ‘Wonderful that you chose this table, sir! Shall I pour you something delicious to start with?’
And I was already afraid of it… it continued like that all evening. The food arrived, and she put the plates down – very neatly, mind you, everything presented beautifully, but before we had even taken that first bite, she was already standing next to me again: ‘Is it not too hot? Not too cold? How did that first bite taste?’ Ma’am, I don’t know, I haven’t got any further than properly arranging my napkin! I almost feel guilty that I can’t immediately publish a review.
‘Is everything to your liking? Does it taste good?’
And then, of course, you get the classics all evening long: ‘Is everything to your liking? Does it taste good?’ I thought: ‘Well, if I hadn’t already said I was happy, surely that mouthful of spaghetti says enough, doesn’t it?’ I can’t even have a conversation with my wife because that pushy waitress keeps interrupting us.
A little while later: ‘Can I get you anything else to drink?’ ‘I’m not a sponge, I’m just a human being!’ I want to say, but of course I don’t. But seriously, I normally drink at a relaxed pace, but at this rate I’m almost forced to down my glass in one go, because otherwise she’ll come back again in a minute to ask whether I want another drink.
Pushy service
And sure enough, as soon as I’ve taken my last bite, she comes running over again: ‘And? Did you enjoy it?’ I almost felt like answering: ‘No, I’ve been distracted by this survey the whole time!’
Dear service staff, I truly appreciate you. It’s not that I’m unfriendly. I love good service. But too nice, too enthusiastic, too pushy… Just a subtle nod, a genuine smile and the occasional question would be much nicer.’
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Laurens’ name has been changed for privacy reasons. His real name is known to the editors. Would you also like to share a personal story (anonymously!)? You can email us at info@favorflav.com
