餐厅服务员眼中的情人节
Valentine's Day is one of the busiest days of the year for those who work in restaurants.
对于在餐厅工作的人来说，情人节是一年中最忙的一天。
It's also a day that many in the industry love to hate.
这也是餐饮行业的人们又爱又恨的一天。
Second only to Mother's Day, Valentine's Day is the most popular day of the year to dine out, according to the National Restaurant Association.
去美国餐饮协会统计，在人们最乐意出出外就餐的日子里，情人节是一年中仅次于母亲节的一天。
For couples, it can be a long-awaited night out on the town.
对情侣们来说，这可能会是在市区度过的长长的一夜。
But for servers and others in the industry who wait on them, it can be a night of dread, where expectations are high, the volume of customers relentless, and the tips often underwhelming.
但对服务员们和其他餐饮行业的工作人员们来说，这是可怕的一夜，这时，人们的期望值会很高，顾客量也超级多，而小费却给得比较少。
"We kind of refer to it jokingly as 'rookie night.' It's a night where everyone wants to come out and dine," says Kip Mullin, general manager of Circa 1918 in Newport News, Va. Many of those customers, however, don't normally dine out at other times of the year.
“我们一般会把它称为'新秀之夜'，这天晚上人人都想出来就餐，”吉普·穆林说道，他是弗吉利亚州的纽波特纽斯市一家名为大约1918的餐厅的经理。
"It's a somewhat different vibe on Valentine's Day than other nights," Mullin says.
“情人节这一天的气氛跟其他晚上不同。”穆林说道。
"Because we do about two-and-a-half to three times the business of a regular night. It's a much more expensive menu than other nights."
“因为这一天用餐的客户量是平时的2.5到3倍之多，这一晚的菜单价格也比平时要贵。”
"It's a lot like herding cats" trying to confirm everybody's reservation, he says.
“就好像一大群流浪猫想要吃光每个人的存粮一样。”他说。
While Valentine's business can be solid for restaurants, it can be a different type of busy.
尽管餐厅在情人节这一天生意很好，但这是一种不同的忙碌。
Dining rooms are packed full of couples, leaving little room for larger parties that can garner servers bigger tips.
餐厅里会挤满情侣，这样就没有多少空间去承办大聚会了，而聚会的小费我还会更多。
"I call it deuce factory, because it's two by two by two by two and it's very, very boring," says Jackie Roberts, owner of The Pink Door in Seattle.
“我把它称为双人工厂，因为他们总是两人两人两人地来，非常的无趣。”杰克西·罗伯茨说道，他是西雅图的粉红门餐厅的老板。
She says the hype of Valentine's Day turns up the pressure on servers to make a guest's evening perfect.
她说情人节的宣传会给服务员们带来压力，他们必须给客人带来完美的一夜。
"Everyone's taking the holiday way too seriously. They want to perform way too well and there's not as much spontaneity as we usually have on a regular night."
“每个人都把这个节日看得太隆重了，他们老是想表现得很好，所以就不会有我们平时的那种自然。”
There are surprises for the servers, sometimes.
有时服务员们还会遇到一些意外状况。
"I've definitely seen tables that are clearly on a date," says executive chef Brian Riggenbach of The Mockingbird in Nashville.
“我绝对见过那种明显是一对来约会的，”纳什维尔市的嘲笑鸟餐厅的执行主厨布莱恩·瑞金巴赫说道。
"And one of the people will leave their [phone] number for the server, which might tell you how that date's going."
“然后其中一人会把他们的电话号码留给服务员，这就可以告诉你约会进行的如何。”
Less pleasant surprises can be common, too.
还有一些不那么令人愉快的意外状况。
"We had once where one of the guests drank too much and went and threw up all over the bathroom and then left with their date to hopefully not, you know, get too intimate," says Lara Valente, general manager of Tilia in Minneapolis.
“我们有一次遇到了这样的客人，喝太多，然后在卫生间里吐的到处都是，然后跟自己的对象走了，你知道吗？真希望他们不会进展太好，”劳拉·瓦伦特说道，她是明尼阿波利斯州椴树餐厅的总经理。
Riggenbach has a philosophy for dealing with difficult customers.
对于那些难缠的客户，瑞金巴赫有自己的一套哲学。
"I think my biggest takeaway ... if I have a very difficult guest was, I only have to spend the next hour and a half with you, and you have to spend the rest of your life with you."
“我想我遇到最难缠的客户，如果遇到的话，我就想，我需要跟他相处一个半小时，而他的伴侣却要跟他相处一生。”
If it's any consolation for restaurant staff, there can also be unpleasant surprises in store for customers.
也许可以告慰餐厅员工们的是，对顾客来说也会存在一些不愉快的意外。
"This guy came in early and he was really excited and he was all dressed up in a suit and he had flowers and he was going to propose to his fiancée. And when she showed up, she had a notebook and it was a list of everything that was wrong with him. And she sat there for an hour and read it to him."
“有一次一个家伙，很早就来了，他非常的兴奋，打扮得非常正式，带了花，准备向他的未婚妻求婚。等她出现的时候，她带了一个笔记本，上面列出了他的种种过错，然后呢，她在那里坐一个小时一条一条地念给他听。”
This Friday evening, Valente's approach to get through the craziness is going to be all business: "It's a hustling night, put on your running shoes. Try to look nice and let's go go go!"
这周五晚上，瓦伦特平安度过今夜的方法是很敬业的，“这是一个忙碌的夜晚，所以换上跑鞋，尽量让自己调整好状态，让我们冲冲冲吧。”
But even for the most harried server, the overarching rule comes from Mullin: "I just say to myself, 'Hey we're not curing cancer here. All we're doing is slinging food.' "
对于那些极度困扰的服务员们，穆林的首要原则是：“我会对自己说，哎，毕竟我们也不是在治疗癌症，我们只不过是在上菜而已。”
问
题
文中提到的一次求婚，成功了吗？
留言回复正确答案，前10名朋友可以获得红包奖励哦，赶快来试试吧。
完
感谢关注
跟amber一起看世界