Acts of Kindness for the Wait Staff

12 and Up, All Ages, Elementary, Middle School, Preschool

Acts of Kindness

Free, Kindness Quest, Round Up of Ideas, Traveling, Under $10

By Sheila @ Pennies of Time
March 30, 2015

While on our Kindness Quest Road Trip, we wanted to be prepared to do acts of kindness for the wait staff in the restaurants we would go to. Here are two instances we wanted to share with you with tips at the end that really cost NOTHING at all.

The moment we walked into the Palace Café in a little town in Louisiana we were accepted as family. They pulled the boys over to the old fashioned soda counter and let them pick a show to watch while they waited for their very customized food choices. They were patient with our questions about local favorite dishes and even went so far as to make a call to help with finding out about a local camp site. And, it just wasn’t our waitress. The hostess, the cook, and the other waitress all came over to chat and get to know us.

The boys wanted to do something extra special for them. So, while Little Brother and Dad distracted everyone in the restaurant, Big Brother and I went to the car to make paper flowers and create a bouquet of thanks! (Yes, we had pipe cleaners and tissue paper in our Kindness Kit. He also added Laffy Taffy and a nice note to each one.)

Both boys handed out the flowers, and I wish you could have seen how delighted they were with Big Brother’s creations. So fun to make others smile!

After I took the picture, I asked if the restaurant had an email address. The waitress looked at me all confused and said, “I don’t know what that is, but our address is PO Box . . . .” And, yes, she got a big kick out of seeing my smartphone!

Later in the week, we were all thumbs at the table, dropping our drinks and fries and ordering the wrong thing. Our waitress was fantastic with our boys and patient with us all as she helped us with all of our problems.

We had prepped a little gift box for her before we even entered the restaurant, but the boys wanted to give her even more after we had been so clumsy at dinner. Little Brother and Big Brother went back outside and repackaged candy, a nice note, and a “cool” candle for her. (They also asked Dad to leave a nice tip.)

The smile on her face was worth every effort we put into making it special!

Ideas for Acts of Kindness for the Wait Staff at Restaurants

Putting your electronic devices away while ordering or communicating with the wait staff.
Leaving a nice note.
Leaving a gift.
Taking the time to get to know your wait staff. At least use his or her name, it probably is right there on the nametag.
Speak kindly when addressing a problem.
Teaching the kids to wait patiently for service.
Acknowledging their kindness and helpfulness.
Leaving a generous tip.
Telling the manager how well you enjoyed your experience because of the wait staff.
Rewarding good experiences with an act of kindness is fun and easy to do, but extending that same kindness to a cranky waiter or terse waitress harder. Remember that your act of kindness could completely turn their day around and help them.