Time Warp
There’s a time warp between the servers and those being served. Don’t believe me? Have you ever had a server check on you what seemed like every 5 min? Haven’t even finished the first bite of your meal and here they come again interrupting your chat? That’s a classic example of the time warp.
Server time and served time are vastly different. In a server’s mind, about 10 minutes have gone by when it’s been more like 3 minutes. Behind the scenes and during your first bite, they probably ran food to 3 tables, did their running sidework (filling the ranch dressing bin, for example), prebussed a table, and refilled drinks.
The more seasoned servers can get a pretty good read at what’s going on at a table and can adjust pretty smoothly. I can think of several of my co-workers who are amazing at that. It’s a learned skill that takes time to master.
