During a shift, a server has a lot more work to do than just wait on their tables. In this post, I will discuss the additional tasks servers must complete during a shift waiting tables.
Before I started waiting tables, I would often wonder what my server was doing in the kitchen for extended periods of time. I used to think they were just being lazy or talking with their friends instead of paying attention to their tables. Although when the restaurant is slow, servers often are just talking with each other in the back, most of the time they are actually working hard and the customers just don't see it.
Each shift, a server is assigned "running side work" to complete. These are tasks that need to be completed consistently throughout a shift. For example, some of these include refilling the ice bin under the soda machine, making tea when it is low, making butterballs when they run out, and emptying the trash bins. On a slow night, servers usually will just stick to their side work, but on the weekends or a busy night - servers will do whatever is needed in the back. So if one server who is assigned making tea is extremely busy, whoever has a chance will start making it. It often takes up to five minutes to do these tasks and that is time spent away from their tables. So customers should not assume that just because you don't see your server for a few minutes, they are in the back slacking off. Probably, they are trying to support other servers and do the work the restaurant as a whole needs.
The most important task a server needs to do during a shift besides focus on their tables is to run food. Food running is one of the most important parts of waiting tables. Servers should try their best to run their own food to tables, but they also need to help one another out. Especially on a night when everyone is busy, any spare time you have needs to be spent running food. If you don't take time to run other people's food, your food will get stuck behind theirs and your tables will suffer (and your tips) as a response.
Food running needs to be done on both cold side (salads/appetizers) and hot side (entrees). If servers are not running salads, their tables won't have enough time on their salads and their tips will again suffer. Running salads is usually extremely quick and easy because all you have to do is grab them (if there are 1 or 2) or toss them on a tray and you are off. If there is a soup involved, it takes another minute because you must fill the bowl yourself and add any toppings required, but it is still very quick.
Hot side is a totally different issue, however. There is usually an "expo" on hot side, but not always. The expo is in charge of pulling plates from the hot window, arranging them in order on the tray, and preparing them to be taken to the table. To order the plates, we always ring in food in order of the people sitting at the table so that we are not auctioning off food when we get there. This way, any server can run the food - not just the server waiting on that table. To prepare the food to go to the table, there is often a lot to do. As a steakhouse, Outback server A LOT of baked potatoes. People all like their potatoes with different toppings. So there is a potato bar with the butter, sour cream, cheese, bacon, and chives and the expo will add the toppings the customer requested onto the potato when the food is arranged on the tray. Also, all our vegetables are steamed so the bag must be removed from them. Some of the foods require speciality sauces and those too must be added. For example, our pork tenderloin has a sweet glaze that we must put on top when the food comes out. Mashed potatoes are kept out front so those must be put on the plate by the expo. The expo also must make sure the plate looks presentably. If there is too much sauce or the plate is messy, they will move the food to a different plate or organize it to be more presentable. These are only a couple of the tasks that must be completed before food is sent out. When an expo isn't there, the servers must read the tickets and do these tasks. Also, there are two trays to arrange and prepare the food on so often time an expo will be preparing one tray and a server will be preparing another.
As you can tell from my description of food running, it is quite a time consuming task just preparing the food to be taken out. However, once you get the food to the table there are other things that you may be required to do. For example, it may taken a couple minutes just to give out the food at the table - especially if it is a party of more than 4 people. Also, the servers are supposed to "prebus" or take the dirty dishes from their table as the customers finish with them, but often they do not or are too busy. So if you take food to a table, you must also remove those dirty dishes and put them in dish. At Outback, you are also required to ask if they need anything else to go with their meal. About half the time, the customers will ask for steak sauce, dressings to accompany their meal, or extra of something. You, as the server who asked the question, are then required to take what they need to their table. It doesn't matter if you have a table you need to attend to - at that point you are the responsible party and must finish helping them.
Hopefully my description of running side work and food running illustrates that if you don't see your server for five minutes, do not assume the worst. They may be helping out a fellow server, making sweet tea, or running food out to another table. All of these things are extremely necessary to the restaurant functioning as a whole. If your server wasn't doing those things, the others would not either and your experience as a whole would suffer.
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