Starving to death this morning because ive been to the new local cafe twice this week already and if i go a third time ill look desperate.
Me: I like the goods and/or services you offer in exchange for my money
The cafe, in my head: lmao cringe, kill yrself buddy
The endlessly wailing siren of my social anxiety issues is probably not going to be silenced by the people in the comments pointing out that being a regular at a restaurant is a normal thing for people to be, but I do zero-sarcasm appreciate the attempt, is very kind!
I used to walk into [redacted nonpizza store] in my area and the guy behind the counter would immediately ask me if I wanted a pizza. truly I experienced the mortifying ordeal of being known as the pizza guy
compared to that being a regular at a normal cafe ordering normal breakfast items would be a real relief
Literally dread this scenario, to have your identity *reduced down* to a single item order, to be known as such a plebian with such a restricted palette that your order can be charted in advance, oh widdle ash wants his chicken tendies uwu.
I agree having a set breakfast order is more socially acceptable than a set pizza order. But its not enough; its never enough.
Though life update: i did just go to the cafe in the end. I compromised with my anxiety by ordering a sandwich instead of my typical bagel. It was fine but not as good.
on the flipside, we went to the same place for brunch a couple years, one time my buddy orders something new, and while he’s eating five different members of the wait staff stopped by to be like “did they bring you the wrong thing?”
This thread needs a trigger warning keep the horror stories coming
There was a bakeshop near my house that made soft ginger cookies and and macarons but only 2-3 good flavors. I walked in once and the cashier (who I definitely didn’t recognize) said “let me guess - ginger cookies and cookies-n-cream macarons, right?”
Needless to say, I never returned.
I once went to a McDonald’s, the cashier said “big mac combo meal and a chicken burger, right?” and I said “yeah” and then didn’t come back for two years
This entire genre of concern so fascinatingly foreign to me! the cafeteria pizza guy knows I want 3 slices of whatever veggie pizza he has, and he will have them ready for me without me having to say anything besides a quick murmured thanks, and he smiles when he sees me and starts to grab them, and it feels so good! to be known, even a little bit, to be a small constant in someone else’s life… there’s just something so beautiful and precious and good in that, for me.
When I lived in [the city where I lived for undergrad] there was this place very close to my house with cheap and delicious lamb curry and the people at the counter knew my face and would start scooping the lamb curry into a bowl when they saw me come through the door. I thought this was lovely of them and always made sure to tip generously. Restaurant and regular is a mutually beneficial relationship.
Yeah there’s a bakery/cafe a few doors down from me and reaching the point where they a) remember my face/name and b) know my regular order meant that I can no longer get breakfast anywhere else ever.
Had the guy at the taco truck I routinely went to for lunch who asked me after a few years if I only ate burritos or something, no man I’m just don’t see the need to mix up my lunches.
As someone who’s been both front and back of house in various large and small food services: regulars account for roughly 40% of sales and thier consistency makes it easier to order supplies and keep stock levels stable.
As front of house my regulars were always a welcome sight, an easy serve and clear, a guaranteed a happy customer and pleasant interaction. Especially in diners or lunch spots where reliable turnover = tips and most people never come in more than once, having a familiar face who’s rhythms and tastes you recall makes the rest of your service work easier.
If you have any anxiety about being a regular somewhere just be sure to tip well, and you will magically transform from ‘pizza guy’ or ‘lamb curry dude’ to Beloved Favorite Regular and the servers will squabble to get you seated in thier section.
When I worked for Domino’s Pizza, there was a guy who ordered a pizza, without fail, on Thursday at 6pm. Until the day he didn’t.
One of our drivers was delivering nearby and decided to check on the guy. Turns out the guy got home, got most of the way through the door, and lost consciousness. (If memory serves, it was a diabetic episode.) Driver couldn’t revive him and called 911. Saved the guy’s life.
when i worked in a remote office when i started my job, i went to denny’s for lunch enough that i’d just walk in and a server would go “take a seat over there, I’ll be over with your iced tea to take your order in a moment”
Food service workers love their regulars, especially if you’re a good tipper and are polite, we literally look forward to seeing you every day. Also service workers don’t care if you order the same thing, and us remembering your order means we like you.
^^^^
Also no we aren’t “boiling your personality down to an item/order”, you are. We are offering you preference recall and welcoming you and your *presence* does in fact correspond to our need to give you a certain order. It’s okay for that to happen.
For all my fellow social anxiety sufferers out there. Because my local coffee shop knows I always get iced coffee or a mocha and a biscotti and it stresses me the fuck out because I’m like “What if they think my order is dumb?? What if they’re like there she goes again stuffing her face with biscottis all the time” but nothing matters and a biscotti with your coffee in the morning really makes all the difference in what kinda day you’re gonna have.
I’m legit crying, I got autism and while I was at college I really hated the fact that the food hall would change the meals and sometimes stuff would be cold (which made me miss home a ton) it wasn’t the worst but I wasn’t happy then about my sophomore year I found there was a little bistro owned by the college that would take my card and OH BOY my life changed cause I could choose exactly what I wanted and it was all by a note system (WHICH MY ANXIETY LOVED) anyway I would go just about everyday. And I had my same order EVERYTIME grilled chicken grinder no sauce with mozzarella cheese (I changed my sides sometimes) but that grinder was my life line and the people there knew my order which at first was uncomfortable but as my depression got worse it was just kind of a relief that I had a place where the food was good and hot and I could trust that the people would make it good
Anyway being a regular ROCKS and I miss it everyday
I only learned in my last year at college that the texmex place in the food court had been giving me double chicken in my nachos for years without charging me for it–I only found out because I overheard one of the employees whispering to a new hire that “Shhh no, don’t write it down, we just give her double because she’s nice”.
(Literally all I was doing was smiling, greeting them before ordering, reassuring them when they apologized for long wait times, and saying thank you after getting my food. I wanted to kill someone for how grateful that made them.)
This was the same place that once deliberately wrote down the wrong order with a wink so they could ring me up as a cheaper option when I came in looking like death after a really rough therapy session. Completely turned my day around.
I was openly known as “crazy cheese girl” and I once made a self-deprecating joke about it, only for the girl at the counter to rush to reassure me that they all looked forward to seeing me because I was always patient during the dinner rush. It got to the point where if the place was busy, I wouldn’t even have to order because they’d see me in line and have my food ready by the time I got there!
Hell–my local DRIVE THRU place in grad school, near where I worked and got lunch a few times a week, started to recognize me. They kept upgrading my drinks for free–once while doing a promotion they grinned and told me they deliberately held back their last promo cup for me because they knew it was my usual day. This was a WENDY’S on a BUSY HIGHWAY and they knew my order by heart and would sometimes greet me with it at the drive-thru order box just from recognizing my car.
Guys. Remembering and preferentially preparing your order for you is a signof affection they they are not obligated to perform, and a level of investment that not everyone gets. These places see HUNDREDS of people EVERY DAY. They do not remember hundreds of specific orders off the tops of their heads.
If your local restaurant remembers you, it’s because you’re consistent and probably not a dick about it. It’s because they fucking like you.
i dont self depreciate anymore. i am hot and sexy and my meat is huge and i dont care about anyone elses opinion on the matter except my own because i am the smartest person on earth
