Dear Jewish Fairy Godmother:

My husband and I have a favorite Sunday brunch place. We’ve gone
there more than a decade, almost weekly. In the past month we have
had consistently bad service from one waitress, who has worked there
for ten years. She wears a perpetually pouty expression, serves people
who were seated after us first, doesn&'t offer coffee refills, and is
generally sullen and non-responsive To be best of my knowledge
we’ve never stiffed her on a tip, but that’s an increasingly warranted
and likely outcome. When we finally said something to her last week,
she answered, “Do I look like I care?” I was dumbfounded. Should we
boycott the place, boycott her, tell the owner, or just swallow her bad
behavior and hope it will pass?

Dismissed

 
Dear Dismissed:

Once is a bad day. Twice is a concern. Three feels personal. At a
minimum, ask to be seated in a different section than the one she
serves. It’ll be worth the wait for a different table.
Every employer who owns or manages a service business relies on the
performance and style of their staff. I cannot imagine a supervisor not
wanting to know about the attitude and behaviors you describe. You
should ask for the email address of the owner/manger to put your
observations in writings. It may be hard to get this, and the person
you’ll ask may shield the waitress if they are friends. But at least the
notice that people are willing to complain will serve as some kind of
notice that her behavior has created a negative response. Be sure to
stress your loyal patronage over time at the beginning and end of the
complaint. But be clear that the person in question is a deterrent to
you continuing to do so. You may feel like a Grinch, but you’re not
asking for the waitress to be fired, just given an attitude adjustment. I
you do not get some satisfaction; start browsing for a new place to
brunch. You might be happily surprised.