John R. Fischer

Working as a waiter in my 20s taught me a lot about serving others, including that the customer is not always right…but sometimes, they are.

I was reminded of this on Valentine’s Day when a group of friends and I met up at a restaurant called Guantanamera, in Queens, for a singles party (haha, I know, the cliche of it). It has a 3.8 star rating on Yelp, so not too bad, and my friend who organized our get together had heard good things from others about the place.

We arrived a few minutes before our 8:30 pm reservation. I understand that people often dawdle and don’t pay attention to the time, and that it can take a good ten to fifteen minutes on busy nights to clear out and set up a table. But a good waiter or waitress will tell the people sitting down in advance that the table is reserved for later on, and that they only have a certain amount of time to dine before they have to relinguish it. The will remind the people again when the reserved party arrives.

That did not happen here. Instead, the maitre d kept telling us for over twenty minutes that our table would be ready soon without even pointing out where we would sit. I don’t even think she knew and was just waiting for some random one to become available.

When a family of four left their table, the wait staff began setting it up to fit seven people, only to realize it was too small. They then spent the next ten minutes getting another table from the back to bring out and combine it with the other.

We ended up waiting a total of 35 minutes to sit down and then another 30 before a waiter even came by to take our drink and food orders and bring us water. It also was missing cutlery, which I’m not sure was done purposely or forgotten in the haste of setting things up.

We then waited an hour and a half for the food. During that time, I had to get up three times just to ask for water refills. Each time the waiter said they would come and only on the third try did they do so.

When the food did arrive, it was good but definitely not worth the wait, and there were mistakes made. I was missing a side of potatos with my steak. I had asked the waiter for a side of rice and black beans and specifically made it clear that I wanted both that side and the potatoes. The rice came but not the potatoes. I told the waiter, and he told me he would get me it but never did.

Another person had asked for two plates of rice while we were waiting and the maitre d said it was on the house because of the long wait. Based on the bad service we had endured all night, none of us were shocked when the bill charged him for both plates, as well as me for the potatoes I never received. We sent the bill back twice before they came back with the right amount.

Additionally, while we knew ahead of time that there would be music, the singer was so loud that we had to shout just to hear one another. It felt more like a club and less like the nice, quiet restaurant with some soft music we had in mind. Maybe that’s just the vibe of this place, and we didn’t realize, but it just made our situation more frustrating.

Growing up, I was always taught to leave a tip even when the service was not good, because it’s the right thing that reflects that you care about others and are a bigger person when the service is not good. I asked my friends if we should just leave $5 each since the service was so horrible, but they all said no. They felt that the wait staff did not deserve a tip because of the poor service and more importantly, their indifference about providing it in the first place. After a second of thinking about it, I agreed, and we promptly put down $0.00 on the tip line and made a hasty exit in case they tried to question us.

Later, my friend put up a Yelp review on how horrible the service was, giving them a one star because Yelp for some reason does not allow you to put zero stars. I think it’s again that old-fashioned mentality of doing the right thing, giving someone a break. But what about doing the right thing when serving others? If someone does a bad job and shows no remorse, do they deserve a break?

Yes, it’s true. Waiters and waitresses often work long hours and are underpaid, having to put up with ridiculous demands from outrageous and rude customers at times. However, in this scenario, we were the complete opposite. We were polite in how we approached them with our requests, never taking a tone or argumentative attitude, only to be met with empty hearted responses of, “It’s coming,” or “I’ll do that now” and then not doing it. Only one waiter apologized for the delay and even then, he just said, “Sorry for the wait, it will be here in ten minutes.” We waited fifteen minutes for him to come back.

Tipping in America is a choice and often, I would encourage people to tip. But it’s still part of a transaction, a benefit in exchange for good service. Believe me, as a waiter, I had my fair share of busy nights where we were swamped. And yes, I will admit there were nights where I was off my game. But never did I make anyone wait as long as this restaurant made us wait and when I was asked for something, I always did my best to get it for someone as soon as I could and profusely apologized for any tardiness.

I am not blaming the wait staff entirely. Management is largely responsible, as the restaurant was severely understaffed, and I’m guessing the kitchen was too, as things were backed up there I heard. While some couples did get there food on time, others were waiting almost as long as we were. On a holiday like Valentine’s Day, management should make sure to have enough staff on board to help, even if it has to hire temps for the night.

Maybe things are tight financially, and they can’t, which I understand. But in that case, be practical and don’t overbook and reserve tables if you can’t deliver good service. Also, train wait staff on how to ask people to leave when a table is reserved for another party coming in; teach them to be transparent and polite when addressing situations like long waiting periods; and help them to deal with requests immediately.

Another thing I will add is that while I understand Valentine’s Day is about couples, from a business standpoint, ignoring a table of seven all night is not just disrespectful but unwise, as it can cost you a tip, as it did in this case.

I understand that it’s not the wait staff’s fault if the restaurant is understaffed, and that they feel stressed. I remember nights like that too when I was in their shoes. But on those night, I didn’t just say, “It’s coming” or “I’ll get that.” I was transparent, apologetic and upfront about any issues. I made sure to do all I could to ensure my customers were taken care of while waiting and that they were seen to as soon as possible.

This wait staff did not show this work ethic and therefore, were not doing their best. There attitude and indifference, in my book and those of my friends, said, “We do not care enough to show you the grace and respect that you deserve for a good tip.” Okay. So, in return, our response was, “Understood. We respect your choice of not caring and in exchange for that and this poor service, we will give you no tip. Thank you.”