A recent (and unfortunate yet valuable) serving experience of mine:
I arrive for my 4:00 PM shift right on time, and a co-worker tells me I already have a table.
The gentlemen order a bottle of red wine which I deliver to the table, complete my wine presentation, watch as one of them tastes the cabernet and approves it, and pour both gentlemen a glass. I place the bottle back on the table and wrap the white serving cloth around the bottle. This is the exact moment I completely regret talking with my hands, because as I ask the men what they'd like for dinner, I swing my left hand precisely enough to hit one of the guest's wine glasses. The red wine projects perfectly from the glass right onto my guest's ivory polo shirt. He tries to scoot away, but the wine finds him like a liquid magnet.
I felt like crawling into a corner and never coming out. I apologized and wiped some of the wine from his side of the booth with the serving cloth. I walked away and found my boss and a couple servers taking a break in the back, and I said, "I just pulled the biggest serving faux pas ever!" When they asked, "What?" my lip quivered. I started CRYING. I just couldn't hold it in! My boss gathered from the tears that he should go visit the table, and some of the other servers took turns visiting the table with washcloths as I calmed down. When I felt more emotionally stable, I went back to the table and apologized again. The gentleman covered in wine told me everything was alright, "mistakes happen," and that I shouldn't worry. For the rest of their visit, they jokingly shielded their wine glasses when I came to the table.
Needless to say, we purchased their dinner and offered to buy my guest a new shirt and pair of pants.
Has anyone else been though a similar experience? :)
(Random thought: How is "server" more gender inclusive than "waiter"?)
