A typical musical tradition is going out to eat at a restaurant, usually an iHop, after a performance. There’s typically a group of 20-ish people, and it’s a whole ordeal. Fun for the cast, but obviously tricky for the service staff. Recently, myself and the cast of ‘Into the Woods Jr’ went out to iHop after our opening night show. 

There were 24 individuals, ranging from eighth grade to twelfth grade. I was in charge of the event, along with another senior. At the end of the night, we pre-bussed the table to help the staff and instructed everyone to tip at least 20%, if not more. By the time everyone had paid, we asked our server if he had received good tips. He had not, so we tipped him on behalf of the whole cast. 

I’ve been going to iHop with this group of people for several years, and only recently have I actually realized how hard it is to be a server. In the past month or so, I have become a server at my place of employment. At my job, I recently served a 20 top that originally was supposed to be only ten people. At first it wasn’t that bad, just a little frustrating. 

What did annoy me, however, was that the people paying together sat at opposite ends of the table, and neglected to inform me they were together until the very end. I would be at one end of the table, serving a guest and a guest on the opposite end would snap at me to get my attention. While yes I got my steps in, it was an annoying way to be summoned by my tables. 

I don’t have all bad tables, however. This past weekend, I had a lot of really nice tables. I had a dad and his daughter tip me 50% on a $50 tab, which was incredible, especially during our peak time. 

Being a server when I go out to eat makes me a lot more patient and understanding than I probably was prior; not saying I wasn’t at all, it just makes it easier to understand.