"We have a name for these regulars. We named this one girl, School Girl. When she walks in, we all just say, "Fuck! It's School Girl." School Girl means...

She's nearly sixty, but she loves to have her hair perfect and she powders herself and everything, and she walks in the room and it smells like a fucking funeral home."

--Waiter in the Village

..........

Things have changed so much in the restaurant industry in the last decade or so. I'm wondering how many of you realize that many of the places we eat at, while not necessarily chains, are basically owned by the same corporation.

It's a way to keep down food costs. So instead of one restaurant buying wines, bread and meat, it's six restaurant operating under a corporation buying the same stuff. They just vary the presentation slightly so that it appears that the French place down in the Village is a different place than the one up in Midtown.

But along with savings comes a loss of individuality. It might be hard to notice, unless you're a guy like Patrick who has been waiting tables in Manhattan for the last 25 years. Here his is talking about waiting tables while studying Latin, and why he can't stand the upsell.

*******

And even while I'm working, ya' know what, I'm no brain surgeon. If I fuck up and they get spaghetti and meatballs instead of spaghetti and sausage, it's not like, "Oh it was the left lobe of the brain, I was supposed to be operating on the right lobe."

Like last semester, I was taking Latin and I had all my conjugations and declensions on the back of my notepad. I've been doing this all my life. Is my restaurant a crazy place to work? When shit hits the fan, it really hits the fan. But I've been doing this so long, that even when there's complete chaos, I can still study my Latin.

While I'm on the floor.

So it's a great job and I can still take home $1200 - $1500 a week while studying at night, on the floor.

You just need common sense. That's the one character trait that I find is most needed in a waiter. Stay focused. Ya' know what? I guess I'm not focused if I'm studying Latin or if I'm flipping cards to find out what piece of art belonged to which period. I'm really not focusing on the restaurant; I'm focusing on my exams. But I still get the job done. So, I don't know about saying focused. Organizational skills and finding out what needs to be done first. That's important.

And realizing that I can't do everything. There are a lot of people out there who are paid to support me, the bus staff, the management...and I'm not...The restaurant industry has really changed since I started. It's become where you're really a glorified salesmen, especially in the corporate restaurant where I work. Water isn't just water; it's a chance to upsell. Vodka isn't vodka, It's a chance to increase your check rate. And they really look at that.

2:06:47 PM     comment []