More Restaurant Annoyances

Ok, so lately I've noticed almost every time I've gone out to dinner, sometimes with small parties, sometimes with large parties, the servers no longer write down orders but rather have taken to awing us with magic of memorization.

Let me just say one thing:  I'm not.  (Awed, that is.)

Two things.  1)  I was a server for four years.  2)  I have a phenomenal memory.  I realize this line sounds somewhat conceited, but pretty much EVERYONE I know will vouch for this.  I will forget small silly things like someone telling me what he or she is doing over the weekend, but I can remember some absurd minor details for years.  

That being said....I was never comfortable with the 'memorizing the order' notion.  I do not feel confident that I could perform said skill with 100% accuracy.  There are too many customers, too many modifications (no onions, fries instead, etc.).   And although there might be some out there who, you could say, are possibly better servers with better memories - I find it hard to believe that, generally speaking, every other server could do this with a very high level of accuracy.  

Anyhow, I think this just annoys me because it's meant to be impressive, but quite frankly, for me, it has the adverse effect.  I like my food the way I order it.  When I see someone write my order down, I feel confident.  

However, seeing these servers try to show off their memory is kind of like watching someone juggling balls of fire and arm's length away - regardless of it being a 'cool trick', it makes me nervous.   The whole time period between placing my order and getting my food is twenty to thirty minutes of anxiety for me.  If tipping is performance based - this merits a deduction in my book.