After thirty or so minutes of simply sitting in a Mexican restaurant without a waiter coming to visit, and after the spicy salsa and chips are starting to take a toll on you, you try some desperate tactics.
1) Staring intently at every waiter that passes your table.
It's really too bad that that table of eight seated ten minutes after you. It sucks that those waiters pointedly ignore you, maybe it's because your eyes say "Hey! Hey! I'm trying to look at you! I know you feel my eyes on your soul!" or maybe it's because they figured you've already been waited on. Or maybe they think you're interested in the college football on the overhead televisions. This tactic just doesn't work. It doesn't matter how big your eyes are or how intent you are. Waiters don't respond to it. And you won't act any more aggressively because you don't want to be one of those customers.
And yet you still eat the spicy salsa and salty chips. Good thing you have about two inches of water in that water bottle you left in your purse!
2) Going to the bar to order yourself a drink.
Sounds like a good plan really, but you didn't get any attention at your assigned table. What makes you think that standing at a bar would be any different?
You're just lucky that the hostess was passing by and that you had the moxy to sidle up to her and tell her of your predicament.
3) Actually ordering.
A waiter comes to your table and apologizes, and having waited for about forty minutes now, you go ahead and order your meal too.
This backfires as now your drink order has gone through with your food order. You have now earned extra waiting time. The salsa and chips are just so darn tasty and right there though.
4) You look really sad.
A surprisingly beneficial tactic that happened on accident. You don't mean to have every emotion of yours cross your face, but as you look down at the empty table and realize that the dinner date you made with your sister is going really wrong you can't help but frown.
A waiter comes up to you. Two in the next ten minutes! And you get guacamole because they misunderstood your desire for refreshment.
5) A fluke.
You've been waiting for about an hour now. You only get a drink because your waiter brought you more salty chips. Good for you!
Only he also got your food order wrong.
You tip 25 percent anyway. Why? Because you're not really sure whose fault it is that you had such crappy service.
Guacamole was good though.