What do waiters/waitresses think of this?

[Teenagehorrorbag]

Just posting for views really.....

DH always stacks up the plates when we've been out for a meal. I've always found this a bit odd, but some of the people clearing up do seem grateful, and I suppose it makes sense.

I never did this before meeting him. I think if we ever went anywhere really smart then I would suggest he didn't do it - although I'm not sure why (and we don't anyway, with two young kids and an eye on the budget)!

I think if I were clearing up I'd prefer to do it 'my way' - which might not mean wobbly piles of different size items. But then again, if they are in a rush and trying to get tables cleared rather than fussing about technique - I could be wrong.

Anyone any views? Thanks.

I pile. Dh doesnt

It used to drive me mad when I was a waitress.
You plan how to clear certain tables depending on the room between other tables, elbow room between diners etc. If someone stacks something the wrong way you can either end up sticking your thumb in someone’s sauce -yuk- or be dropping cutlery all the way back to the kitchen.

This is going to sound awful but this just sounds so naff. It's what you do in a canteen, not a restaurant. I'd be mortified, sorry!

Hated it!! We called it housewife stacking. Made our jobs so much harder!

Whay does this have to do with Covid?

Depends on how swift the service is. I tend to stack as we prefer the space.

What*

I stack them, as I want the space.

Also, wrong board!

I also stack to get the plates out my way
And I shift glasses over to the side too

Is this coz of covid? They would have touched the plates anyway so I think it's fine.

You definitely don’t stack. It inconveniences the staff and makes them look bad because they haven’t cleared your plates in a timely fashion. You wait for the waiting staff to remove your plate, you don’t touch it yourself.

Yes agree with pp that it makes cleaning the table less efficient. I always had a system for stacking so that I could make the fewest possible journeys.

However it’s hugely preferable to customers ignoring you as you put down food/clear plates - the ones that pretend you don’t exist are the worst!

It’s depends - TGI Fridays / pizza express I might stack.

A fancy restaurant I 100% would not and I think the wait staff would annoyed if you did as they are trained to clear in a particular way

I was out for dinner tonight and didn't stack as it was a bit more posh and I was with friends
Nandos with family and I'll often stack them

Oh gawd I think I do that, and pass them up to one end of the table.

I also put those boxes in Macdonald's into the bin, but I see that some people leave them on the table, along with napkins, cups, food remnants, the occasional nappy and fluff from their pockets.

Not helpful (and terrible manners!).

I've just left hospitality but I was a waitress for the last 2 1/2 years in an extremely busy and fast paced chain so I always had a lot of tables and massively appreciate people doing this. Far better than a big table and no one has even bothered to pass them to the end so you have to awkwardly reach over people to clear the table!

Stacking plates is for the home, not for a restaurant..

What do waiters/waitresses think of this?

people answering saying they stack when they dine out, yet ignoring the fact that people who are actually waitressing are saying it’s a total PITA when you do it

It reminds me of the line from Class (or was it Noblesse Oblige?)
"do you stack at table, or are you gentry?

As a diner I hate it. I'm happy, especially in Covid times, to pass my finished plate, but i dislike other people stacking plates in front of me.

Depends where I am. Pub, or somewhere else casual, I stack. Usually to make space to do something with DS (colouring or something). Posh places I leave it.

I was a waitress for years, it never bothered me in the slightest either way.

I'm a waitress. I really appreciate it when they are stacked correctly, it saves me time and makes things easier. But it is a huge PITA when they are stacked all wobbly or have cutlery piled on top ready to fall off the moment I move. And the absolute worst is when people stack glasses on top of plates! Total lack of common sense. I always take them off and leave them on the table until I come back to make a point.

However, even the wobbly stacking (which I can rearrange if need be) is much better than the people that just ignore you when you are trying to get their plate. They either don't budge to the side slightly so completely block you or don't even so much as look at you when their plate is out of your reach, let alone pass it to you. They are the worst!

Gross and annoying.

As a professional server you're trained never to stack plates –you balance them across your fingers and forearms to spread the weight and help you organise to make the handoff to the KP as smooth and quick as possible.

When guests stack the plates you end up having to carry a whole pile (because now there's food and sauce on the bottom of the plates), which is heavier and harder to navigate between tables and other staff, always badly organised, gives the KP a harder time, and often means you have to do multiple trips instead of one.

I know many people are trying to be nice, but it's not helpful. Servers know what they're doing and they're doing it their way for a reason!

DD is a waitress & always insists we stacks the plates etc for the server when we eat out, but I guess she knows how to do it "correctly" so it's helpful rather than a hindrance to the server

@Crunchymum

Whay does this have to do with Covid?

Depends on how swift the service is. I tend to stack as we prefer the space.

Sorry - nothing to do with Covid, I thought I was just in Talk......

Will see if I can move it!

I don't stack them, as a PP said it means the plate is dirty top and bottom then.
You have no idea what the staff in any particular place would want doing with them, so I leave well alone apart from passing my empty plate over if they can't reach it.