[greenbean]

Oh boy, tyger, good luck!
All I can say is that if you make a mistake (and you will!) just apologize and make it up to your patron. People really get pissed if something goes wrong and they feel like you dont care. Also, always check on each table even if they look like everything is fine. When I started serving I felt like if my patrons looked content, I didnt want to bother them,...but I was wrong because I would get complaints that once I brought the order I never checked back to make sure they were satisified. I assumed they would just wave to me if they needed something but for the most part, people dont want to have to do that.
People will be jerks to you but you just have to grin and bear it, and save your anger for ranting on this board!

Speaking of rants....! Do you ever get those snobby patrons that like to test you? Last night a patron asked me what "maduros" meant, as he pointed to "platanos maduros" on the menu. I said it meant "sweet", and he said, "no it means ripe, but that was close!" !!! Can you believe that jerk! He was friggin testing me! grrrr.

[sybarite]

Greenbean, I used to hate those people who were seemingly professional restaurant-goers. Inevitably they were trying to impress the people they were with by showing off how much they knew about food or wine. I've always said you can tell a lot about people by how they behave to waitstaff.

Tyger, I haven't worked in restaurants for years, but for me training was usually about halfway helpful. You learn the specifics (usually anecdotally) about how that particular place works which is useful, but you're also given a bunch of busywork instructions (sorting out condiments to folding napkins and polishing silverware) about doing those tasks correctly which frankly, IME, can be a load of crap. It's good not to shirk those tasks because you'll piss off your coworkers otherwise, but generally working the floor is the real learning curve. You'll be fine; you'll pick up the lion's share of what you need to know through experience. And yes, always ask questions if you're unsure and always admit to mistakes. You're only human. And good luck! I learned so much about dealine with people and workplace politics from waitressing.