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"According to The Waiter, 80 percent of customers are nice people just looking for something to eat. The remaining 20 percent, however, are socially maladjusted psychopaths." (From the back cover of the Harper Perennial edition.)
Having spent plenty of my younger days as a server in different types of restaurants, I adored Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter
. Everyone who has worked or eaten in a restaurant will recognize stories from this book and not always in a good way. (I hope you don't recognize yourself among those customers who snap their fingers to get a server's attention!)Accentuating both the bohemian exhilaration and painful craziness of life in the "front of the house", Waiter Rant is great fun to read and might teach some folks a little respect for those men and women who bring them their food on a packed Saturday night. If not, believe me, spitting in the food is only the beginning of the revenge tactics a server has in the arsenal. ;-)
15 comments:
I've been wanting to read this book and am glad you enjoyed it, Lezlie. I haven't worked as a server before (other than the two lobster fests and working in the school cafeteria in elementary school, which don't really count in reference to this book's topic), but my husband and I do eat out a lot.
I do want to read this one! I've never worked in a restaurant, but I had a roommate who did once and she used to tell me all kinds of interesting stories.
Literary Feline ~ I'll bet you and your husband are the nice customers servers love! :-)
Jeane ~ My best work-related stories all come from my years as a server. Sometimes I really miss it.
Lezlie
I used to work for a restaurant company in their IT dept and of course, worked many years as a server to help with college costs. This looks fun to read!
I bet I'd like this one too since my first job was waiting tables.
Care ~ One of the interesting aspects of this book is that he didn't start waiting tables until he was in his thirties, so he has a different perspecive than many of us former servers. That is part of what made it so fun!
Bermudaonion ~ Anyone who has waited tabled will most likely enjoy this book. It brought back so many memories!
Lezlie
Having also put in my time as a server, I've long had this one on my to-read list. Glad to see you enjoyed it!
Bookshelf Monstrosity ~ This one made me put Kitchen Confidential on my TBR. It will be fun to read the "back of the house" version. :-)
Lezlie
I've seen this book on the shelves at the bookstore and have always wondered about it. I'd love to read this.
I waited tables all through college! I agree with that statement, lol!! I would probably like this book too.... just wish I would have thought of writing it first. ;)
Serena ~ It's a really fun break from more serious reading!
Jenny ~ I second that one!
Lezlie
My mom is a waitress and she's one of the best ones you'll ever have (she can have the worst section and still make more money than the other girls on a slow night) but it didn't get passed on to me. I HATED waitressing and I'd almost always get the jerks. So glad I was able to quit lol.
Ladytink ~ It's an easy job to hate, that's for sure. I don't think a lot of people realize just how difficult it really is.
Lezlie
I've had my eye on this one, and now you've convinced me to read it. I've never been a waitress, but my daughter was a busser at age 15. She had a customer who complained about how terrible the lasagna was, and the plate was completely finished! Couldn't have been so bad! We've laughed about this story for years.
Nan ~ That is so funny! A running joke with my husband is to tell the waitress he isn't sure he likes his food and he'll need another serving to make sure. :-)
Lezlie
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