For Previous Lesson, Refer to DNL#1 - How Much Do You Pay a Babysitter?
We got to the restaurant and were excited to be in a place where we were not tripping over bouncy seats. We noticed an old friend, Crystal, was a hostess at the restaurant and got all sorts of warm and fuzzy about being back in Arlington, a place we have so many memories of!
(It's also a place where I have a lot of memories that I forgot to remember because this is where I lived my hard core, hard partying twenties)
I digress.
Ray's the Steaks was awesome. But remember how I told you that Heather and I like to over-tip/over-pay/pretend we are Jay-Z? Well, we also have this need to have the wait staff really like us. We don't like people who snap their fingers at waiters and waitresses and when we connect with our waiter/waitress, we try to let them know that we are not going to be the pain in the butt kind of clientele, but the kind they like. You know, the kind they would want to have a beer with.
So of course, we smiled at all the wait staff extra big because:
a) we were actually out and didn't have a Baby Bjorn attached to us
b) we started getting buzzed pretty quickly just from the first glass of wine
c) we needed to make sure we were the "cool" clientele and that our servers knew we "got" them
Dinner was incredible. We received complimentary amuse bouches, (see how I am using my "Top Chef" vocabulary?) and when it came time for desert, the waitress said, "Oh and Jamie wanted to let you know that dessert is on the house for each of you" and then they gave us these cute little cups of hot chocolate to go with each of our four desserts.
I was bowled over by all the "comp'ed" stuff. I felt like I was rolling vip (My friend Monique says this is 'vip' not V.I.P. Vip is way cooler).
But I was also like, "Who the f%$ is Jamie?"
To which Heather responded, "Jamie must be that hostess in the blue shirt. She always takes care of us and sometimes we slip her some money to say thanks. We should definitely take care of her when we leave."
Now, I already mentioned in my previous post that both Heather and I are both notorious overtippers. Add alcohol to that and we start pretending we are totally rich. So she and I look over the check and make a point to tell Mark and John - we need to tip on EVERYTHING - even if they didn't charge us for it. Mark and John both kind of roll their eyes at us but since Heather and I had already consumed a good deal of wine, they knew it would be silly to argue with us.
(It's silly for them to argue with us even when we are sober. They generally won't win).
We also figured if we took care of the girl in the blue shirt, aka Jamie, then maybe we could roll vip again next time.
So after we pay the check, Heather goes to slip the girl in the blue shirt some cash and says, "Thank you, Jamie." To which the girl responded, "Oh, my name's not Jamie."
So here is my question? Who the heck comp'ed us all this stuff?
1) Was it really our old friend Crystal who comp'ed us and the waitress misspoke? If so, she is probably like, why the heck are they giving my co-worker money? What jerks!
In this case, my hopes of rolling vip again are crushed.
2) Is the girl in the blue shirt like, "Why are these weird people giving me money? I'm not that kind of girl!?"
In this case, the girl in the blue shirt thinks we are odd and will definitely not let us roll vip.
and
3) I still have no f'#%$ing clue who Jamie is. And she or even HE is probably like, that is the last time I take care of those people!
In this case, since I don't even know who Jamie is and we didn't even give that person so much as a thank you, we will definitely not be rolling vip.
So, that is what we got for trying to play (and pay) nice.
Lesson Learned:
Next time somebody "comps" something on your meal, find out who the heck they are. Even if it's a little embarrassing. And then, if you are going to slip someone some money, slip it to the person who comp'ed you and not the random girl in the blue shirt who now thinks you are propositioning her or something and will seat you all the way in the back next time.
If you get seated at all. And if you know how Jamie is, please tell him/her "Thank You" from us.
15 comments:
SO funny! I don't think you needed to slip her any money even if it was the right person :) Tipping on the comps was the right thing to do and you were set. Save the extra cash for more wine. You know you want to!!! Loving this little series and hoping you'll start getting out more!
I'm way to backwards for this...it's like a foriegn language! LOL. I wouldn't know what to do, I'd probaby not tip cuz I wouldn't realize. Or I'd tip but it would be small or not worthy of the comps.
Hmmmm, you have a mystery admirer at the restaurant. Now if this "jamie" starts sending you roses, and candy, and tickets to concerts...
Well, take them.
Maybe you could call the restaurant and ask for Jamie? Then at least you could find out who comped you, and tip them extra nicely next time.
ok. 1. I am super proud of you for knowing you need to tip on what was comped. A+
2. Mrs. Montoya is right. You don't need to slip anyone extra cash. More than likely, Jamie was the manager and I would bet they wouldn't take your extra cash. But A+ of your effort.
3. You're a total vip in my book. Did spell check go nuts on all of your vips?
Maybe because you guys are so cute and smiley you got all the free stuff. They probably thought they were supposed to know YOU.
And good for you for being a great tipper. My husband almost always over tips - but then again, he had a restaurant for years.
Jamie was probably Hugh Heffner... He wanted a bit of 5 way action with a couple of MILF's. I heard a rumour he is starting a new reality show called...Racey Rabbits - follows hot mothers through the challenges of raising a child in the Playboy Mansion.
How funny!
If I'd had enough to drink, I probably would have said, loud enough for everyone to hear me, WHO IS JAMIE????
Now that sounds like a good experience at a restaurant! We hardly ever get anything for free. I'm totally the big smiler and over thanker too.
I bet the whole staff loved you and I hope the random girl in the blue shirt shared her good fortune.
I LOVED this!
You and I have a lot in common - from over tipping to being extra friendly - but it does bring good service.
I'm following Top Chef Masters right now - it comes on Monday nights in Canada, though I think it might be over in the US. In the last episode they had to make an amuse bouche from ingredinets in a vending machine.
What is this "going out without kids" thing you speak of? I've grown unfamiliar with this concept.
Love, Sara (The girl with a Zoe permanently plastered to her hip. Wish that Monique would take her baby back. kthxbai!)
Could you please have a conversation with Neal about the need to tip on things that are comp'd? He doesn't get it...bless his stupid male heart. Maybe Jamie was the waitress, who has spent entirely too much time updating her facebook statuses and now refers to herself in the 3rd person. That's all I got. But I do enjoy a comp every now and then...especially comp'd alcohol. And yes darlin'...I'll have a firefly with you anytime!
OH NO!!! That's freaking hysterical! Seriously, WHO THE HELL IS JAIMIE???!!!!!
Were you so drunk that you didn't hear correctly? Not that I've ever done such a thing.....,
Oh, Miss Kiran, your post really made me laugh. I loved the Top Chef reference ... you would think that as a not quite 2 year old, I wouldn't know what you were talking about, but when I am resisting falling asleep my mommy says F*** that, turns on the TV and we watch reality shows. We heart Tom Colicchio in our house (Tim Gunn too). Love your blog!
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