""People put so much weight on this day and then when it's there, it just ends up kind of being a s-t show," said Raquel Duran, a former server who most recently worked at Bar Jabroni."
""Most holidays, people are already on edge," said Marley Trujillo, a banquet server at the French Club. "So on Valentine's Day, you have to be extra sensitive.""
""It's always an interesting service, and it's usually pretty lucrative," Braun said. "My husband is also in the industry, so rather than sit at home, I'm like, let's go out and make some money.""
Bay Area restaurants face one of their busiest and most intense service nights on Valentine's Day as prix fixe menus and split tables fill dining rooms. Coveted reservations are often booked weeks in advance amid rising menu prices and heightened expectations for romance. Inexperienced or infrequent diners add nerves and high-maintenance demands, increasing stress for front-of-house staff. Server responses vary: some dread the chaotic pressure while others request the shift for higher earnings. Tipping patterns fluctuate, with higher check averages and the sheer volume of covers often offsetting lower individual tips.
Read at SFGATE
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