I used to have a friend who was horrible to waiters. Every time we went to a restaurant together, I would get nervous of what she would do or say to the waiter/waitress. The night would start nice and easy and then she would notice a little something that bugged her. Her nose would point up, her lips would get tensed with impatience. She would look at us while she talked to the waiter. Why did they call this dish by that name when it was clearly something else? Couldn’t they bring a bottle of water instead of constantly coming back to fill our glasses? Could the chef leave out the gravy in her duck plate because didn’t he know that duck was fat enough?
I felt so uncomfortable that I forced myself to smile big smiles to the waiter, trying to establish an eye contact code that meant « I’m sorry. I promise I’ll never bring her here again. » I knew I would have to compensate with a bigger tip. I always got nervous they would spit on our plates and frankly, if they did, I could not blame them. Why do some people think that waiters are slaves, dumb, and that they don’t deserve the most basic respect they give to all other strangers?
I never had the courage to confront that woman about her condescending manners. She clearly had no idea what she was doing and enjoyed the rest of the meal while my stomach tensed up. If I had printed this list of rules (from the funny Waiter Rant blog) and given it to her to read, things might have gotten better. To all the waiters who have dealt with her or will deal with her, I offer my apologies.
Blog discovered via This boy is toast
