Just in time for the weekend...50 things servers hate

How about a "100 Things I Couldn't Afford to Pay Without My Costumer's Voluntary Tips" article.

I'll get it started:

RENT
CAR PAYMENT
CHILD SUPPORT
TUITION
ELECTRIC BILL
GAS BILL
WATER BILL
CABLE BILL
CREDIT CARD BILL
GROCERY BILL

I work in a sales driven environment. Bashing my clients would get my ass fired. If waiters can live off their $2.13 an hour, then great. If not, don't bite the hand that feeds you. 90 percent of you can easily be replaced.

Going out on a limb here Trent...guessing you've never waited tables. Not as easy as you think. Pretty ballsy to go on a restaurant forum and insult servers. I find it hard to believe that you've never complained about your job. If that's true, where do you work? And, are you hiring?

How about a "100 Things I Couldn't Afford to Pay Without My Costumer's Voluntary Tips" article.

I'll get it started:

RENT
CAR PAYMENT
CHILD SUPPORT
TUITION
ELECTRIC BILL
GAS BILL
WATER BILL
CABLE BILL
CREDIT CARD BILL
GROCERY BILL

I work in a sales driven environment. Bashing my clients would get my ass fired. If waiters can live off their $2.13 an hour, then great. If not, don't bite the hand that feeds you. 90 percent of you can easily be replaced.

I noticed CHILD SUPPORT was on that list. I'm wondering if you employed the same delightful manner in your marriage as you are now directing towards the service industry members of this restaurant based board.

Tell me more about your job as a "Costumer!" That sounds like it could be exciting work!

Tell me more about your job as a "Costumer!" That sounds like it could be exciting work!

Tell me more about your job as a "Costumer!" That sounds like it could be exciting work!

I usually get annoyed when one person makes fun of another person's typo. But I'm making an exception for this one. This one is too damn funny.

Thanks

But seriously, I have to say that I'm personally kind of shocked at the surprise and outrage in some people over this article, particularly this Trent fella.

This article was not written by a band of rogue servers looking to disparage their customer base. It was written by some Jr. Editor who apparently also runs a PR firm at the local San Francisco weekly rag who thought "Wouldn't it be cool and novel if we got the servers perspective on dining?" and asked around. Except that it's not even novel. Anthony Bourdain has routinely been talking some pretty scathing smack about customers (and the owners and the other cooks for that matter) for years now. In fact not too long ago numerous members of this forum paid $40+ a seat to hear him talk smack about them live and it's all very cute and funny.

This is the internet age. It's post-post modern. Interns are blogging about their affairs with the congressman, office drones are making snarky facebook status updates about the office. This was inevitable, and honestly it's kind of funny and nothing to ruffle your feathers about. This was done about servers over a year ago by the NY Times, and turn about is fair play. For better or for worse the age of everyone remaining silent about what they're really thinking is well past us, and it extends far beyond restaurants.

For better or for worse the age of everyone remaining silent about what they're really thinking is well past us, and it extends far beyond restaurants.

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." Abraham Lincoln

Hey, makes sense to me, but I'm just speaking to the reality of the situation these days.

I have sat here silent ...I have only worked in the business for a very short while in college...but as a nurse if I spoke of my patients with the mean spirited way the servers have spoken of their customers I would have been fired.
Makes me question staying on this forum.

I don't think there's anything mean spirited in this thread, other than what Trent said. It seems like a back and forth discussion to me. Which post were you referring to? I just re-read the entire thread, and I didn't really see anything "mean spirited" from either side, just a friendly debate about whether the issues written in the article are valid or not. No one from this forum wrote the article.

[Robin Garr]

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." Abraham Lincoln

Actually, the old Rail Splitter used "be thought dumb," taking advantage of the variant meanings of "dumb" to make that a more layered pun. Maybe a little less PC nowadays ...

[Robin Garr]

I have sat here silent ...I have only worked in the business for a very short while in college...but as a nurse if I spoke of my patients with the mean spirited way the servers have spoken of their customers I would have been fired.
Makes me question staying on this forum.

Bev, I'm sorry you feel that way and hope you'll stay. I think Jeremy's point is on target, though. Consider: One of the values of this forum is that food lovers and dining industry people (fields with considerable overlap) get to talk back and forth here, frankly and usually in a friendly way. There's a lot for both of us to learn, and that's what is going on here - inspired in part by a snarky column from San Francisco that Jeremy nicely dissected in another post.

Most servers don't think of their public that way, and vice-versa. But the relationship between servers and diners is a thought-provoking topic that in my opinion is well worth discussing here.

I can not think of any one that I know that works in ANY type of business that does not complain about customers or clients in some fashion or another and I am sure articles concerning this topic are readily available just a short google search away.

The only customers and clients worth complaining about are those that don't pay as agreed.