Waiting. . .
I saw that this movie will be coming out soon. It isn't my brand of humor, so I may not actually see it. however, it got me to thinking about my own experiences in waiting. . .Here are my observations:
1. The Pay is bad. Yes, you can have very good nights, such as Saturday, but you also have to work the Monday lunch shift. Everything is inconsistent, and you have no idea what you're going to make on any given day. My offical pay is $2.15 an hour, which is just enough to cover taxes and insurance. I have seen one experienced waitress cry her eyes out after working a bad shift. She needed rent money, and didn't have it.
2. You are a servant. And make no bones about it, you are also treated like a servant by the management. The customers can't tell much of a difference, but at a fancy restaurant, life for a waiter is like Edwardian England. You must provide all your own tools (wine opener, lighter, pad, bank, etc.), and anything you need with the Willie G's logo must be purchased from the restaurant. Your shirts must be oxford white, pressed and starched for a visible crease along the sleeve. You must know the menu perfectly, and while you are lined up for inspection during preshift (no joke - lined up!), you are quizzed on drink specials, 86ed items, etc. If you don't look perfect or you show any lack of knowledge about the menu. . . you are sent home that day, period.
3. Serving is hard work. On any given day, my feet have migranes and my legs tingle when I sit down. A busy shift finds you in a constant state of motion, which can go on for 4-5 hours straight. There are no breaks, and no free food during your shift. On any given day, I will walk out of the restaurant tired, sweaty, hungry, and dehydrated. Plus, those trays are heavy and more awkward than they look. When you see people carrying those things around, you are not seeing some balanced piece of engineering, you are seeing ALOT of practice.
4. The restaurant is full of assholes. The servers and kitchen staff are in a very stressful world where you have no idea what their monentary future may hold. While in such a state of manufactured desperation, there is no time to be polite or ask nicely. One one will volunteer to train the new kid on how to debone a flounder at the table, or teach him to open a bottle of wine. Everyone is on their own. The conditions are cramped and hot, and the wait staff must move through the stations like ants, crawling over on another and violating space in a desperate attempt to stay ahead of their tables. It's a world of youth and energy, full of cocky, self-assured people with raging hormones.
5. Waiters are very brave. No one is there to help them, and most of them can't fall back on a degree or a savings account, as I have been able to do since I moved to Galveston. They aren't asking anyone to help them make their way either. They gladly live there on the precipice, working toward their hand-to-mouth daily bread and taking each day as it comes. Anynoe can do if for spare money, but I dare you to make a living at it.
In any case, I won't be doing this much longer. I am still looking for a "real" job, but despite what my future may hold, I will always have an appreciation of this gig. I will certainly never tip the same way again.
posted by Chris W. @ 8:20 AM
