#1 Rule for Getting Good Service: Attitude

The one first-impression thing, above all others, that'll make me, your waitress, like you and take care of you is this: a smile. No joke.

I walk up to your table, say "Hi how're you doing tonight" and how you respond to that first interaction colors everything from there on out. People who don't respond, or mutter, or don't look at me, or whatever are more likely to be high maintenance, entitled, a poor tipper, etc. They don't like me already, and we just met. People who look right at me, smile, and say some variation of "Good, and you?" are much more prone to be pleasant to wait on. Thus, I'm immediately more inclined to take good care of them.

There are many other factors that go into what you can do to get good service, like be a regular who tips well, know what you want (I'm not a mind reader, honestly), etc. But, above all, the thing that matters most is the first impression you make on me.

Last night I had two tables. Table one: two gals who were out to chat with each other and have a drink. As soon as I walked up, the one was already smiling at me. They each had a drink, split an appetizer, and drank water. Tip = %20.

Table two: a couple who didn't smile when I walked up. They had two drinks each, split an order of nachos. They needed forks too. For crying out loud, it's nachos! Tip = %20.

Who do I want back? Who did I take better care of? Exactly. Not to say I neglected the people who need forks for nachos, but with the other gals I genuinely wanted to ensure they had a nice evening, which meant paying extra attention to their body language.

Sometimes, I don't think people understand how much their own attitude affects how people react to them. It's fascinating when people complain about how much their bar/restaurant experience sucked and never once think that their own attitude and behavior had anything to do with how they were treated.

Not that I'm trying to excuse bad service, but when I go out to eat, my waiter/waitress rarely disappoints me so utterly as do those of these complainers. That's even counting the time I went out with the writers group and our waiter was blatantly stoned and couldn't remember who ordered what, whose credit card slip was whose, and even confused people sitting across the table from each other and who were different genders.

But, on the bright side, he did remember to refill our water glasses which is something not often seen at this particular eatery. His service was far from perfect, but it didn't ruin my life either. I still got my hamburger and one of my friends even got a free milkshake since the waiter was too baked to add it to the ticket.

So, note to all those who have horrid dining/drinking experiences: Look to yourself. If you are an asshole or determined to have a bad experience, well, you got it. If service really is that terrible, don't have a hissy fit, talk to the manager and/or find a different eatery or bar. Life goes on.