Ordering in retsaurants

[Ails]

Hiya.......i find it so hard trying to order a meal in a restaurant is anyone else in the same boat as me....?????

[prg5001]

Yes. I'm English and living in Japan now and it's even harder to order in restaurants. When I stammer in a foreign language the person really doesn't understand. Doh.

Still, we get there in the end and most of the time I get what I expect. When I don't it's mainly due to my lack of understanding of Japanese so I eat it anyway.

Cheers,

Paul

[Zachary]

Given, you will run across jerks ...

From my own experiences having worked in a restaurent, and still currently working; The servers don't give jack shit whether you stutter or not. Servers serve people for tips. All they care about is how well you tip out. Don't limit yourself based on their perception of you. Quite frankly, what they do is even more degrading than stuttering, serving people for a living is just a variation of prostitution. The only thing keeping them in the game is the tip outs, which are actually quite lucrative.


Zach

[Zachary]

Moral of the story: Tip your 'effin servers well.

[Curt]

Yeah, I have this problem all the time. Quite often what I will do is keep the menu open in front of me and point to it on there. Sometimes I'll say something like "I'll have this" if I think I can get it out at that moment. Definitely a bit of stressful thing sometimes. Or even just be pointing to it on the menu while you are trying to say it. Even if you are stuttering, the waiter/waitress still knows what you are trying to order and there won't be any confusion over that at least.

[ricardo]

Yes. I'm English and living in Japan now and it's even harder to order in restaurants. When I stammer in a foreign language the person really doesn't understand. Doh.

Still, we get there in the end and most of the time I get what I expect. When I don't it's mainly due to my lack of understanding of Japanese so I eat it anyway.

Cheers,

Paul

Hi Paul, what is your experience of Japan? Are you enjoying it? I also want to move there someday and get a job in my field of work but I really need to learn the language.

[ajsmith]

I think it's just harder to say something when there's a need to say it in a hurry. Waiters, station attendants, receptionists, ("servers" as Zachary says... but aren't we all serving society in one way or another? anyway), they all want to take your order quickly or whatever to keep ahead of schedule, and I find the pressure makes it harder. I don't think you should have to tip people so they don't laugh at you! Maybe just go to a quieter restaurant? Probably most importantly, don't worry about it too much. Most people (or quite a lot, anyway) understand to a certain extent, and are going to be patient and courteous etc with you. If you can't help it, don't worry about it!

[prg5001]

Hi Paul, what is your experience of Japan? Are you enjoying it? I also want to move there someday and get a job in my field of work but I really need to learn the language.

I love Japan. The food is great, the places are clean, the people are polite, the streets are safe, the countryside is stunning. Tokyo took me a while to get used to. It is phenomenal how many people live in such a small area and it still functions.

But, yes, at least learn basic Japanese and be prepared for a crash course when you get here (so much easier to learn when Japanese is everywhere). Everyone learns English at school but most people have never used it after school.

Generally, the Japanese people are hard to get know but when you do they are great friends. I hope you can get over. There's lots of help for foreigners in Tokyo at least. PM me if you want more info.

Apologies for being off topic.

Cheers, Paul

[ptw]

Why should you care about what the waiter thinks? Are you going to build a relationship with him? No, there is absolutely no stress when ordering. If they think you're an idiot so what. Point to the item who cares.

[DVHarris]

Most of my troubles have come at drive thru's when it comes to restaurants.
I hate having to speak at the drive thru speakers.
I have had trouble at movie theaters though.
For some reason ordering from the menu is not a problem for me.
Although I have run into blocks and have substituted words rather than say
the difficult ones.

[nerrad]

It really doesn't bother me because the waiter/waitresses job is requires them to be respectful and proffesional. And if they laugh at one of their customers stuttering, that's not either. If they laugh at you, you could tell the manager or just don't give them a tip lol. It's really not that big of a deal.

[thatCALIdude]

i prefer to order by numbers, i hate the drive through

[Bill Hargis]

I was laughed at by a waiter, my wife complained to the manager. The waiter was fired right then. Remember they want your business. An employee can be replaced, a customer can't be replaced.

[DVHarris]

At the concession stand of a movie theater I got laughed at once when I stuttered
while trying to order some popcorn.
People can be so idiotic and uncaring sometimes.
You would think they would remember they are suppossed to be respectful.

[nerrad]

I was laughed at by a waiter, my wife complained to the manager. The waiter was fired right then. Remember they want your business. An employee can be replaced, a customer can't be replaced.

Exactly my point. You really have nothing to worry about.

[grantM]

I always maintain my composure and temper if a waiter smirks or laughs. By smiling back I think I have a minor victory lol. Some people cannot help how they initially act to situations, but they can be trained.

[nerrad]

...Some people cannot help how they initially act to situations...

Oh don't I know. You should see me before presentations. I'm really lucky if I don't cry.

[howeee]

I used to go with a group of stutterers to dinner. After awhile it was like a fight to be the one that did most of the ordering lol,,trying to show each other up lol lol So with the proper motivation we all can order in a restaurant.

[Justanimage]

^lmao at the story above, good stuff :)

I'm pretty good at that now. Once I was at a family reunion meal, everything was going fine, I was making polite fluent conversation, I ordered my stuff fine. Then my aunt asked me to go ask the waiter for another jug of water. I just went up to him and stood 'blocking' with facial contortions for about 30 seconds, he just put up his hand and walked off without even knowing my motive for confronting him with such a strange act. I walked back to the table so dejected and drenched in sweat I didn't eat anything else and basically left early so I could walk home on my own, and I punched the wall a couple of times on my way back and broke my knuckles till I bled. By the time I came back home I was a mess in an expensive, clean pressed shirt.

However now, although if I was put in that same situation I might do the same thing. I have no issue with ordering food from waiters. I even have the confidence to flirt with attractive waitresses and laugh as I watch other diners do so with more or less success.