Monday, March 27, 2006

NCAA Tourney and Everything Else

Sorry all. Not able to do a post this week due to the NCAA tourney.

Most folks love a little bit of drama. Almost everyone likes it when the Little Guy wins. Personally, I can't think of a sweeter sight than watching George Mason topple UConn in OT.

I wasn't able to tear myself away from the couch this weekend. Since my computer is nowhere near my couch, it was impossible to post a story.

However, next weekend I will be posting. I have two good stories in mind. I'm not sure which I'm going with yet. They're both entertaining.

I do want to talk about one little side bit that happened this weekend. The Woman and I went out to meet my parents for dinner on Sunday night. We went to an Italian chain restaurant. This place is a 30-second walk from The Restaurant.

All the servers from this joint used to come over and booze it up when I was the bartender at The Restaurant. They probably made a house payment or two for me.

Looking around, I only recognize one waiter. The rest of the staff had completely turned over in less than two years. Sad.

Our waiter isn't very good. He has little personality, does't know that refills are a good thing, and takes too long in between visits. He only has a three-table section. Inexcusable.

He spends a good portion of his time at the host stand bitching about something to his manager. Maybe he wanted to watch the tourney. Maybe he was pissed that he got a bad shopper report (although if he did, it was deserved). Who knows?

I turn to the woman at one point during dinner and ask her if she missed serving.

"I do." I can see the memories streaming behind slightly glazed eyes. "I don't miss having to rely on other people for my money, but I miss everything else."

She didn't elaborate on "everything else," but I knew what she meant. The other servers. The nights out after a rough shift. The little internal battles between the incompetent managers on power trips and the ingenious servers who were always one step away from their big break. Laughing with the fun tables. The excitement and non-stop madness of a busy weekend night. Putting a bad customer in their place (this doesn't happen often, but when it does, there's nothing sweeter). Seeing a regular walk in and wave to you. And much, much more.

Servers often say, "Everyone should have to wait tables for a month, just so they know how it is." I agree, but not for the same reasons. (Servers usually say this after they get a bad tip, or because they have just waited on one of the hefty number of folks believe that serving is a "low" lot in life.)

I believe that everyone should serve because they too should get to experience "everything else."

14 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:27 PM

    HI, I found your blog linked from the Waiter Rant..I think your writing is brilliant and funny and I'm definitely going to be a regular reader now!

    keep it up :0)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous8:10 AM

    Oh please.

    Serving is just like any other shit job.

    You might as well say everyone should be a fucking maid or butler for a week, so they can see how it is.

    Waiting is just a job. Nothing more. It isn't some secret society where only the worthy gain entrance.

    Anyone who has an IQ higher then a brick and control of their limbs can be a waiter.

    Let's no get carried away with the occupation. You aren't doctors, lawyers, or scientists.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous9:11 AM

    nobody is claiming theyre doctors, lawyers, or scientists. theyre just saying there's more to the job than meets the eye. and if you read more than one post, you should be able to see that it's not as easy as you seem to think.

    have you ever been a waiter, mr IQ?

    youre exactly the egomaniac that treats servers like shit, the kind of person these bloggers rant about. theyre not below you, theyre just kind enough to treat your lazy patronizing behind.

    maybe not everyone needs to be a butler or maid for a week....just you, so that ego can be deflated a bit.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous9:41 AM

    I'll bet a lot of doctors, lawyers, and scientists worked their way through college waiting tables - which one of those are you Mr. Sunshine?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous4:25 PM

    Stove-

    Wrong. Student loans are more then enough to cover the debt for a profession that has a decent outlook in terms of job prospects.

    If I said English majors or philosophy majors, then you could point to being a waiter as a viable career choice.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous4:27 PM

    In response to the second anon:

    All I read from waiter based blogs is how hard it is and how only the select few can hack it at the job.

    I'm just pointing out the truth. Any retard can do the job. It isn't a calling. It's a job, not a career.

    Besides, I hide my jerkiness quite well.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous10:14 AM

    To anon #4:
    Unless I'm mistaken, student loans do not put cash in your pocket, or pay for recreational stuff.

    But you're right about English majors.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous1:56 PM

    Anon #4-- So, wait, it's better to take out massive student loans, thus ensuring debt after college graduation, than to work one's way through college waiting tables?

    Uh-huhhh... I'm sure this will make sense if I think about it long enough...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous6:10 AM

    Waiting must be a terribly difficult job to "get", if the percentage of totally incompetent servers out there is any indication. With the exception of private clubs and very high end restaurants, the service I experience invariably sucks.

    I'm not a difficult customer, I order from the menu, am very happy if I'm just left alone to eat the food, I don't go to restaurants to camp out and I leave 15-20% because that's how I was raised, but almost any waitstaff that I encounter should be in any other profession but serving.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous3:13 PM

    It's hard to take the silver spoon out of your mouth when your head is stuck up your ass!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous1:35 PM

    These aren't haters, they're trolls. They're more interested in provoking a reaction than adding to the discussion.

    I'd like to know what they do for a living!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous7:05 PM

    I believe "everything else" can also be experienced in almost any other job to some capacity or another, but "The Woman" is right- people in normal jobs don't have to rely on other people for thier money. I think this is the big difference here and that's why servers say people should wait tables for a month after they receive a bad tip or are treated badly.

    ReplyDelete
  13. A lot of people who are already out of college like to tell you that it's just a job, it'll be over soon, stop complaining, etc.

    But I find their take on things a little sickening. They tend to view us as a lower form of life just because we're working in a service job, as if it's a career choice. Some people actually do respect that we're working through college, probably because they've been there. On a busy night, those people are saints.

    I like your blog, by the way.

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  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

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