Service at a wedding

This past weekend's wedding taught me quite a bit about the character of my clients as well as other life lessons learned. It wasn't all bad. One of the bright spots was working with a wonderful caterer. To be quite honest, I don't usually get to know the caterer very much; they go about their business, drop the food off, show up a little before the dinner, serve, clean up and leave. There isn't a lot of time to chit chat or get to know their style. But that wasn't the case at this wedding. She had to use the kitchen at the venue and did her actual cooking there, starting the day before. Let me tell you that Mary is a true professional. Bubbly, happy, content, self-assured, knows her craft, and adapts easily to the worse of conditions. Case in point....

The venue decided to host a steak fry the same night as the wedding. (You can already tell that weddings are not their priority.) The workers for the steak fry were rude and crude, swearing and angry people. It was their kitchen and they resented the intrusion. Coffee pots didn't work, staff didn't seem to know their right hand from their left, no ventilation system, ovens that didn't work (kind of necessary for lasagna!), no cooperation, no nothing.

Mary delivered a delicious meal-on time-despite the above mentioned obstacles. It was a great meal (3 courses for under $10.00/person!), lots of great food, served with a smile, and always replenished. At no one time did wedding guests ever have to wait for food to be brought in from the kitchen. It was always there, piping hot and ready. Lots of compliments and lots of left overs so no one went away from the wedding hungry. We even served the head table and two reserved tables while the guests were helping themselves to a beautifully decorated buffet line. Over 200 people served in less than 25 minutes, no spills, no mishaps, no problems---that is the mark of a true professional.

So, if the service was great, the food delicious, the compliments flowing, why did she get stiffed on the tip? Yes, you read that right, Mary did not receive a gratuity for her outstanding performance. She included it with the bill, as is customary, but when she received payment, she was minus the gratuity amount. Talk about a bum deal!

Again, I have to ask, where is the respect? If you are receiving great service, please reward your service provider. I had to clean the hall (not in my contract), ended up with missing linens (that will come out of my pocket), had to deal with drunk revelers, angry couples, and a venue staff that couldn't care less. The caterer put up with obstacles at every turn, a kitchen staff that wished her gone to eternity, and food specifics. We did an outstanding job under the worse of conditions and kept a smile on our faces the entire time. Neither one of us received anything from the family or couple noting our achievements over and above the usual; nothing to note that they were truly thankful for making their wedding as perfect as humanly possible.

Wedding families---don't stiff the help. You have no idea what we do behind the kitchen or storage doors to make sure your wedding is wonderful. We didn't bother you all night, you partied and had a great time, yet you under appreciate the time and effort it took us to give you that privilege. If the service is great-please let them know. If the service isn't so hot, do us all a favor and buy a bucket of chicken like the last party did.