Is The Professional And Courteous Waiter Dead?

Dunno 'bout you but I've noticed a marker downward spiral when it comes to service in a restaurant. Too often waiters act as though they are doing you a favor or are inattentive to your needs as a customer.

It's so consistent and prevalent now that whenever we dine out and are given excellent service it's like an anomaly in our lives. We're not sure how to handle it. Indeed, if society doesn't be careful we'll forget what constitutes good service and leading us to accept the lesser version.

A restaurant can serve the best food in town. But if the service is sub-par is it fair to argue that it reflects the values and professional ethic of the establishment?

This problem is further compounded by the fact that many people go into the business not knowing anything about it. It’s painful to watch owners sit at the bar barely finding the energy or courage to talk to patrons and ensure that everything is alright.

Why is this happening? Is it temporary? Are they a minority? Is it a reflection of the general impolite malaise in society as a whole? Are waiter merely reflecting this? Are owners the problem? Are there economic factors for this?

One thing is for sure, for those restaurant's and cafe's who fail on this front, my wallet isn’t going to wait around for the answer.