I remember being a waitress myself many years ago and there was one day when I exhibited the same symptoms you list, only I wasn't high -- I had the flu and was running a 101 degree fever and didn't realize it...I thought I was just tired or hung over and would feel fine once I got some coffee in me (hey, I was young and stupid back then!). Luckily our manager noticed eventually, felt my forehead and sent me home on the spot!

During that same time period (mid-1970's), while I was waitressing I used to go to another restaurant in Hollywood to unwind after work...just a local hangout, not a fancy place. I always sat in the same station b/c I had a favorite waiter who brought me my usual as soon as he saw me walk in the door. One Saturday night it was a total madhouse, every table overflowing with drunken, rowdy people after the local bars had closed, and he seemed distracted and not up to par. I asked him if he was OK and he said he was called in on his night off b/c several waiters were out sick. He had just taken LSD right before they called him, and had told his manager that, but the manager didn't care and told him to get his butt in there anyway b/c they only had one other person on the floor that night. I felt sorry for the guy so I just grabbed a coffee pot and water pitcher and started giving everyone their way-overdue refills! Just the idea of waiting on a roomful of drunken, rowdy customers while peaking on LSD is enough to make me shudder :o

Actually just the thought of taking LSD at all anymore is enough to make me shudder...I can't BELIEVE the stupid things my friends and I did back we were young and "invincible" (i.e. stupid)!

Not disappointed. Its good for comic relief. :S-

What's even worse than a high waitstaff person is a sick one. It really turns me off if the waitperson is coughing or sneezing - ugh!

Al LaCarte, cute! Is that you, Kal?

"So what do you do when this happens?"

I doesn't seem like anything actually "happened." Unless you've administered a drug test and received the results, you are making an giant assumption. If your service was bad that should be reflected in the tip. If it was really bad, complain to the manager about the service and he/she will likely have a chat w/the server and be able to evaluate their condition. Accusing someone of something that could cost them their job shouldn't be taken lightly with no real knowledge of their situation.

Unless he uses Jack Daniels as cologne, you can usually tell if he is tanked. I've worked at a restaurant and it wasn't uncommon to see a server or two high or having drinks in the back when managers were gone. I quit jobs where people gripe all the time, they get high.

IMO it's not your business and you don't know for sure what is going on. If the service is bad, I would make a complaint to the manager. If it's good, I don't see what difference it makes how your waitperson props themself up to deal with the public every night. If you think the wait staff doesn't drink on shift, you're kidding yourself.

Wow--I am surprised at all the people here who think the service staff isn't getting high. During college I worked in two different very nice, white tablecloth restaurants and I saw and witnessed (did not partake, mind you) more drugs swapped between servers than I care to remember. My best friend worked at a restaurant at the beach during the summers and it was the same story there--lots of pill popping, weed smoking, and other recreational drugs.

Granted, I am not sure it ever really affected the service per se; I think most of the people I knew were more "normal" acting when they were high than when they were sober! But I do think it happens more often than people realize. Think about it: it's a lot easier, faster, and less noticeable to pop a pill than drink a drink when you're working.

You remind me of my father-in-law. He thinks everyone is high, swears that catnip has marijuana in it. And hates hippies.

A good friend is a server at a very upscale restaurant here, and he is one of only two servers (out of about 25) there who do not regularly do drugs -- and many of them only get through their shifts by partaking just before going on duty. This is not unusual today.

Wow! I waitressed during college and we never had drugs going on among servers. I do agree with the comment about the drunk cook though. Actually, it was the owner of the upscale Continental restaurant. Sometimes she was drunk when she showed up, but always got drunker as the night wore on. One night she was impatiently showing a server how to prepare Cherries Jubilee, sloshed herself and became a human torch! Thank goodness the booze burned quickly - no harm done. But, she never acknowledged anything happened.

I didn't participate in the "Food Back" thread - cause I just don't want to know. But, add high servers to the spiteful ones. I may not eat out anymore :-)

Who cares? People get drunk. People get stoned. People have problems. They try to function as best they can. You are making all kinds of assumptions here. If you received your food & everything was ok what's the problem? So, the waiter did not "maintain eye contact" w/ either of you. And, his "words were very mechanical". That sums up about 99% of the people in the service industry. You are making a big deal about nothing.

As long as it was the waiter and not the pilot I wouldn't be so exercised.

...and beware of servers that are both high AND spiteful...dangerous combination :D Oh the stories I could tell (not things that I did, of course...just some fellow servers...:P)