Waiters with incredible memories

[ShortCutie7]

I’m consistently shocked when a waiter or waitress I don’t see regularly remembers my order!  I’m blown away by how incredible their memories are; I can barely remember what I ate yesterday!  Is there some sort of trick to remembering orders that is helping them or do they all just happen to have amazing memories?

[wsc]

Facial recognition software at work? 

After months if not a year of being away, I went back to a bar I used to go to with some regularity. I came in, sat at the bar, then a server I had never seen before came up holding a Scottish ale I very much favored and saying, "Look what I've got for you!" Liked the ale but find the software angle creepy.

Or yours may just have a fantastic memory.

[+ sync]

Eons ago there was a bar named Company on Third Avenue in NYC which employed a bartender who, when he came on duty, exhibited a remarkable memory.  He would go from patron to patron all around the bar taking their verbal drink orders.  He would then prepare all of the drink orders, eight to ten or more, and serve them unerringly.

Beyond all that, I recall him being a handsome blond and very personable.

Oh for a time machine!

[ShortCutie7]

5 hours ago, wsc said:

Facial recognition software at work? 

After months if not a year of being away, I went back to a bar I used to go to with some regularity. I came in, sat at the bar, then a server I had never seen before came up holding a Scottish ale I very much favored and saying, "Look what I've got for you!" Liked the ale but find the software angle creepy.

Or yours may just have a fantastic memory.

I don’t think so, these were servers in small restaurants remembering something I ordered a couple times.

4 hours ago, sync said:

Eons ago there was a bar named Company on Third Avenue in NYC which employed a bartender who, when he came on duty, exhibited a remarkable memory.  He would go from patron to patron all around the bar taking their verbal drink orders.  He would then prepare all of the drink orders, eight to ten or more, and serve them unerringly.

Beyond all that, I recall him being a handsome blond and very personable.

Oh for a time machine!

That’s an amazing short term memory (I have also witnessed that and am impressed when servers don’t write anything down)!  What I’m referring to is a waiter remembering something I ordered once or twice several months ago!

[+ poolboy48220]

If you tipped well they're more likely to remember you.

[pubic_assistance]

There is a small family owned coffee shop and lunch place near my house. The owner and his two handsome sons all possess a memory for people's orders that seems beyond the normal realm of the human brain.

If its breakfast, they know my order, if I walk in at lunch they know THAT order ..as I stand there waiting they systematically tell every person who walks in the door their order before they say it themselves. Its like watching a magic show !!  Not to mention, the place is always busy and therefore I am talking about 100's of orders every day. They never cease to amaze me. I always wonder what the secret is.

Edited Monday at 02:44 PM by pubic_assistance
grammar

[+ sync]

1 hour ago, pubic_assistance said:

There is a small family owned coffee shop and lunch place near my house. The owner and his two handsome sons all possess a memory for people's orders that seems beyond the normal realm of the human brain.

If its breakfast, they know my order, if I walk in at lunch they know THAT order ..as I stand there waiting they systematically tell every person who walks in the door their order before they say it themselves. Its like watching a magic show !!  Not to mention, the place is always busy and therefore I am talking about 100's of orders every day. They never cease to amaze me. I always wonder what the secret is.

All that would inspire me to suspect AI.  😄

[jeezifonly]

A stage actor once told me that the question she would always get from audience talkbacks after the show was "How do you  remember all the lines?" Her response was always "Because it's my job." 

 

[pubic_assistance]

1 hour ago, sync said:

All that would inspire me to suspect AI.  😄

They've been serving the community this way for more than ten years. Long before computers took facial recognition to a new level. 

[MikeBiDude]

Many customers never vary from ordering the SAME thing every time they go to a restaurant. So, it becomes easy to remember that customer’s same thing, never a variation.

[+ sniper]

When it's your job to remember things the physical structures in your brain do change. A cab driver in London(where they are or at least were required to know the entire map of London) will have  significantly larger hippocampus than the average person. The process of studying actually causes this change.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

1 hour ago, MikeBiDude said:

Many customers never vary from ordering the SAME thing every time they go to a restaurant. So, it becomes easy to remember that customer’s same thing, never a variation.

At the turn of the century, I delivered lunches to students at a private high school several days per week for 3 years.  The students usually ordered the same thing every week.  After a 2 year hiatus, I returned to the high school for a visit.  Every student that recognized me walked up to me to say hello.  I could remember  what their regular weekly orders were from 2 years prior; but, I couldn't remember any of their names.

Edited Monday at 07:31 PM by Vegas_Millennial
Semicolon

[LookingAround]

When you make a return Rez it's in the software what you ordered last time. Lol

[Luv2play]

7 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

There is a small family owned coffee shop and lunch place near my house. The owner and his two handsome sons all possess a memory for people's orders that seems beyond the normal realm of the human brain.

If its breakfast, they know my order, if I walk in at lunch they know THAT order ..as I stand there waiting they systematically tell every person who walks in the door their order before they say it themselves. Its like watching a magic show !!  Not to mention, the place is always busy and therefore I am talking about 100's of orders every day. They never cease to amaze me. I always wonder what the secret is.

Do people always eat the same breakfast? I don’t. I enjoy some variety in my diet. The same goes for lunch and dinner. 

[pubic_assistance]

4 hours ago, Luv2play said:

Do people always eat the same breakfast? I don’t. I enjoy some variety in my diet. The same goes for lunch and dinner. 

It seems that everyone has their favorites. When I go to this place, I go for something in particular. I am sure if I ate there EVERY day, then I would have more variety in my order. As far as coffee.. THAT is always a repeat order for most people.

Edited Tuesday at 03:36 AM by pubic_assistance
spelling

[MikeBiDude]

35 minutes ago, Luv2play said:

Do people always eat the same breakfast? I don’t. I enjoy some variety in my diet. The same goes for lunch and dinner. 

If you ever worked in food service, I believe you’d be surprised at the lack of diversity of some customers. Like you…I like variety. But believe me that’s not always the case. Hence “the usual?”.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

1 hour ago, MikeBiDude said:

If you ever worked in food service, I believe you’d be surprised at the lack of diversity of some customers. Like you…I like variety. But believe me that’s not always the case. Hence “the usual?”.

For variety, I like to order something different.  But at Junior's Restaurant in NYC, "Something Different" is an actual menu item.  It's good.  But having Something Different every day gets old fast.  Then I order Something Else.

 

49TH ST – NYC

WWW.JUNIORSCHEESECAKE.COM

---

New York Cheesecake served in our Brooklyn & NYC Locations. Ship our Cheesecake anywhere...

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 12:49 AM by Vegas_Millennial
Added menu and link to restaurant

[Luv2play]

2 hours ago, MikeBiDude said:

If you ever worked in food service, I believe you’d be surprised at the lack of diversity of some customers. Like you…I like variety. But believe me that’s not always the case. Hence “the usual?”.

I remember reading about Pamela Harriman’s second husband, Leyland Hayward, the producer of  The Sound of Music. He only ate white food, white chicken, white potatoes and white vegetables. He died young anyways. 

[Luv2play]

43 minutes ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

For variety, I like to order something different.  But at Junior's Restaurant in NYC, "Something Different" is an actual menu item.  It's good.  But having Something Different every day gets old fast.  Then I order Something Else.

 

49TH ST – NYC

WWW.JUNIORSCHEESECAKE.COM

---

New York Cheesecake served in our Brooklyn & NYC Locations. Ship our Cheesecake anywhere...

 

 

A 22dollar hot dog! 

[ShortCutie7]

11 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

There is a small family owned coffee shop and lunch place near my house. The owner and his two handsome sons all possess a memory for people's orders that seems beyond the normal realm of the human brain.

If its breakfast, they know my order, if I walk in at lunch they know THAT order ..as I stand there waiting they systematically tell every person who walks in the door their order before they say it themselves. Its like watching a magic show !!  Not to mention, the place is always busy and therefore I am talking about 100's of orders every day. They never cease to amaze me. I always wonder what the secret is.

Yes, this is the exact situation I am talking about!  And no, there is no way these servers are using AI/facial recognition software or previous reservations/online orders.

[pubic_assistance]

1 hour ago, ShortCutie7 said:

And no, there is no way these servers are using AI/facial recognition software or previous reservations/online orders.

For this little shop...no. Definitely not "software". When you walk in (when there's not a line) the gentleman who owns the shop or one of his sons, looks you straight in the eye, smiles with a look of joyful recognition and recites your order before you've even fully approach the counter. Never looking at a computer screen. Always eye contact. 

The overall effect makes you feel like you're a family member...not just another customer. Needless to say, they have been wildly successful in the community. Wonderful business strategy and yes...incredibly baffling to remember that many people and that many orders. But they all do.  

Edited Tuesday at 03:48 AM by pubic_assistance
grammar

[wsc]

10 hours ago, sniper said:

When it's your job to remember things the physical structures in your brain do change. A cab driver in London(where they are or at least were required to know the entire map of London) will have  significantly larger hippocampus than the average person. The process of studying actually causes this change.

I once watched a PBS nature program that focused on the behavior of ground squirrels on a New England college campus. The study found that in preparation for the squirrels starting to gather and bury the nuts they'll feed on during the cold and snowy campus winter, the squirrels' brains expanded by about 30%, giving them additional memory for keeping track of the hundreds of nuts the squirrel would hide as its winter stash. The recall of the average squirrel came near to 80%, with some individuals being even higher!

If I had to do that for my food, I'd starve. I can't even keep track of the six pairs of reading glasses I leave around the house.

[ICTJOCK]

One of my restaurant haunts is a local Mexican place with some great wait staff.   They always remember what drink I order and most of the time what food I generally focus on as I limit the amount and calories I'm eating.   I finally asked how some of them remember what items I tend to order.   One was finally honest and they said my name and list is on a sheet in back.   They said they keep track of all their regulars and their favorite orders.   Makes sense!