Your Hostess Hates You Because... You're Preoccupied with Your iPhone

Don't you think it's awfully rude of someone to take a personal phone call in the middle of your stimulating conversation?

Your hostess does.

It's just a matter of respect to look someone in the eyes while you're talking to them. Even if it's just for a minute, always look your hostess in the eye when you're talking to her.

Scenario:
A party of 5 people walk in the restaurant and one person steps to the hostess to ask for a table, her name is Josie and she's on her cell phone.

Storyline:
Hostess: 'Hi there! Welcome to This Restaurant at This Mall, how may I help you today?
Josie: *On cell phone* We're going to be 5 people, and you can put it under Josie *Talks on phone*, yeah.... Uh hunh... Yeah...
Hostess: Would you like that inside or would you prefer our covered patio?
Josie: .... I'm sorry?
Hostess: I said would you prefer inside or-
Josie: Inside... Yeah, what? No...

Hostess: No problem, give me about 15-20 minutes and we should have your table. *Hands Josie the pager* This'll buzz when we're about ready to call you and doesn't work inside the mall.
Josie: Thank you *Walks into the mall with friends in tow* - Uh-huh, yeah, no, no, no.

*30 minutes later*

Josie: *Phone surgically removed from ear* Hi, we were a party of 5 and we were just wondering if our name had been called already?

Hostess: *Checks computer, although already knowing who Josie is* - Yes, Josie party of 5 we'd called your name about 10 minutes ago.

Josie: What?! That's impossible, we were waiting just outside in the mall! You said it would buzz and it never buzzed!

Hostess: I'm sorry Josie but I told you that the pagers do not work in the mall when you put your name in.

Josie: You didn't say that.....

Hostess: *shrugs*

Josie: Well, what happen to my table?

Hostess: I had to give it to the next party of 5 because you didn't show up. But I'll make sure you get the next available table for 5.

Josie: How long will that be?

Hostess: about 10 to 15 minutes.

Josie: What?! You did not tell me the pagers don't work in the mall! This is ridiculous and I would like to speak with your manager because I've already waited 30 minutes and you told me 10 minutes and refuse to wait almost an hour for the next table, I just simply refuse!

*Manager comes over*

Manager: What seems to be the problem?

Josie: I've just had the rudest service I've ever had, this lady just told me I have to wait another 10 to 15 minutes for my table after I'd been waiting 30 minutes already for it and on top of all of this, she'd told me the wait was going to be 10 minutes.

Manager: That's terrible, I'll just check what I have available in the restaurant right now, how many people do you have?

Josie: I have 5 people, this is just simply ridiculous.

*2 minutes later*

Hostess 2: Josie, Party of 5? Josie?

Josie: *Texting, phone in hand*

Hostess 2: *Louder this time* Josie! Party of 5! Josie!

Josie: *Still texting* - Oh! That's me, that's us, that's us *Walks up to hostess* - Okay, we're here, where's our table?

Hostess 2: You can follow me right this way.

Josie: (To friends) *Face in phone while following hostess through restaurant* We should totally get a free meal for this horrible service we've received... People are soooo rude here I can't believe it.

This Is Why Your Hostess Hates You:

When you're speaking with someone, especially as far as preferences of your table and inquiring a wait time, you should give them your full undivided attention. I can't count how many people have approached my hostess desk with their iPhone attached to their ear for whatever reason, giving me hand gestures to answer my questions as if I'm not important enough to be spoken too. I also can't count how many people had to come back to the hostess desk to ask how long is the wait time because they were too busy, like Josie, to take the phone away from their face for 1 minute. I've even witnessed a couple people who didn't get the table they preferred because they were too busy on the phone to say 'May I get a booth'. Bottom line: PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR HOST and you won't end up like Josie.

Signed,
The [UN]Happy Hostess