re: Question for high end restaurant waiters/waitresses

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Who's Ruffino?

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You beat me to it.

Slightly off topic, but Vegas? 5-7 years ago we got tipsy and chatty with our waitress at the 24 hour place in our hotel. I believe we were in Monte Carlo or planet Hollywood. This would have been they were transitioning from Alladin.

Waitress told us Vegas is full of career wait staff people because they actually make a wage. At the time she said it was $12 an hour. Along with standard Vegas tipping. She was probably 45-50 years old. She didn't appear to have ever had the looks/tits to cocktail, but she told us how they of course made the big money and as they aged they moved to where she was, or down the Strip to lower end places until you ended up in old school Fremont places.

Any folks with knowledge of this? Or was this woman ( and now I ) talking out of my arse?

Btw I never waited tables because we all realized you have to work during prime party times and days to make big $$$.

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but said he busted his arse his entire life to make it to where he was. I'd guess he had been waiting tables for around 15-20 years at that point. Not something a lot of people are willing to do.

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Not sure about the 15-20 years, but yes it is sometimes really difficult to move into the higher end places as a waiter, especially on good shifts. Some of the old school places have had two or three generations of family come through as waiters, etc.

One thing you will find lacking in people who have not put in their dues to get a position at a high end place is a lack of wine/cocktail knowledge and how it pairs with food.
Yes a somilier might be on staff, but the customer depends alot on the suggestions of the waiter.

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Waiting tables isn't difficult. I'm not sure why certain people can't do it.

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I'm sure it's not "difficult" at most places. 90% of the waiter jobs in this country are about taking an order and helping make sure it gets out to the right people, etc.
And you are right, dealing with shitty kitchens is probably a pain in the arse as well as alot of dumbass customers.

What sets the good servers apart and allows them to get in at the top end restaurants and excel still goes back to expierence.
You need to be able to read a table and figure out what kind of dining experience are they going to want. This includes the pacing of the meal and weather they want you standing over them waiting to fill a glass every 5 minutes or giving them space.
They might want to drink for a while before even opening the menu.

The general consensus at the cattle hearding general chain places is to get people in, get them some highly marked up appetizers in front of them immediatly, get their order in and have them served and out the door asap.

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As far as them aging and moving down the strip..

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Only the women. And more to point cocktail waitresses.

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seems she was talking out her arse and could only work at the 24 hour coffee shop. Haha

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Oh definitely. She was absolutely not casino floor waitress material and probably never has been.

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My wife Uncle is the head waiter for a place in Bellagio, makes crazy good money.

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So your wife's name is "Uncle". Cool. A bit weird, but pics?

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Started as a bus boy at a place years ago and moved around from place to place. He is in early 50s so been doing this for longtime.

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Hmm, this is getting weird. Your wife is a "he"? Never mind on the pics request.

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Lots of people like that in Vegas.

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This statement now makes a lot of sense.

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Quite honestly, I wish I had waited at a higher end restaurant. One of my biggest complaints about waiting tables? Shitty arse kitchens who couldn't get food orders accurate or out in a timely manner. Can't imagine you'd have that issue at a more upscale place.

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