It's a rant(a small one)

I'm trying to figure out what makes someone "elite" over anyone else and who decides this?

Firmly biting my tounge....

[Robin Garr]

I'm trying to figure out what makes someone "elite" over anyone else and who decides this?

If you fly Delta, it's because you either paid for or used a miles upgrade for Business Elite. Or is that Continental? Anyway, I think it's something like that. It's a money thing.

I think thats the nature with most Country Clubs. During my career in the kitchen I cooked at 2 different clubs in Louisville. Both had their fair share of snobs that treated us as sub-human. I think its the "I pay dues" syndrome. Most pay a big membership fee on top of quarterly dining fees so they feel entitled to whatever they want. Two of my favorite examples: A couple complained to the chef that they dont come to the fish fry on Fridays (by the way, a HUGE hit with most members) because we serve fried fish! Another great moment, during Friday dinner rush (I know the country club rush is not a real restaurant rush) a member walked into the kitchen with steaks and chicken from his own freezer and demanded we cook them for him because his grill was out of propane. Outrageous in my book.

I believe the real question should not be elite; that's a whole different topic. It's my opinion whether or not someone is pretentious regarding the subject. I'm not going to stick my nose in the air at people flying coach on an airplane when flying First Class. But this is getting off topic. A bit.

So Phil, where'd you go to college? Just curious. I agree with your post by the way.

On the other hand if ya don't like bein called a rotton sumbitch; don't be one.

Amen, brotha! LOL

And, Dan, with your full name, nice picture and obviously disclosed employment, the bitten tongue is probably a very good idea. Plus, as we all know, there are no such snobbies at B.S.

I know I get myself in trouble when I provide minority opinions on issues, However:

Some times terms such as "elitists", "snobs", "country clubbers" etc. are used to describe people who have either been raised with money or people who have achieved a modicum of financial success. Either being raised with money or having money does not make you a snob. Again, it is a person's intrinsic value system that determines the manner you treat people, no matter what social strata the current society may choose to place them in.

If a person in a restaurant acts like a jack ass and is a demanding, demeaning, reprobate, that does not mean that they are "some rich jerk." The person is just a jerk!

I believe there is a lot of grey area here. People who are born into money can have a sense of entitlement, that can't be denied. People who are recently rich or self made can be changed by money. I in no way believe all rich people feel they are better than the rest of us yet it cannot also be denied that money can change people. It may be generalizing to say this but when you work at a country club a larger number of the people you serve definitely feel a sense of entitlement and they do in fact own the club. It can be quite a balancing act between serving people and meeting their (sometimes out of control) needs and running a smooth operation, that while it does not have to make a profit, it does have to at least break even.

"Crow", can become one of those things a chef just has to eat from time to time if he plans on keeping all of his customers happy....

Well said:)

I have always wanted to be a concierge and thought it would be an interesting challenge to get things for people that have been proclaimed "impossible" to get. Often, it is not that some one is wealthy, snobby or elitist. They just might be a bit "quirky" and this person makes the world a more fascinating place to live in. Hey, maybe your customer has a phobia about big potatoes because when she was a kid in fourth grade the bully in the class used to throw "Idahos" at her. Perhaps she wants to eat a certain sized baked potato because it reminds her of her first husband's testicles! Who knows! When your in the service industry you will meet all kinds. Hey, I'm not easy to please and pride myself on being rather quirky. No one said it was going to be easy...........................

I was thinking that maybe it was because a lot of our members grew up in the great depression so they can't stand to waste anything, but the testicle thing could be it. As far as eating "crow" believe me I know that is necessary and the potato thing was humorous if also aggravating(at the time). Our FOH manager had a rather drunk member tell her the other day "that it would be in your best interests to shut your mouth and walk away before something happens" the problem; the person who cleared their table was not the same as the runner who dropped it off. Quirky I can deal with but people like this are the reason I am glad I am a kitchen vampire and not a FOH person. I understand that when a person gets in this business that they (me, you) have to deal with all sorts of personalities but their still must be a certain limit of what is acceptable and not, just because we work in a service industry does not mean we are not people. If you cut me do I not bleed, if my heart breaks do I not cry.