Good cover story in this week's City Paper about the complex relationship between server and diner, as told from the POV of the waitstaffs of 4 unnamed Baltimore restaurants, and half the fun is trying to read into what details are given and figure out what they are. The other half, though, of which there is plenty, is some good old-fashioned sociology. I've worked in the food service industry on and off for a sizeable chunk of my adult life, although I've never waited tables, just because I don't think I'm built for it. First impressions are not my strong suit and I would hate for my wages to be determined by how well I get along with a table full of strangers. The article, however, brings into stark relief how being on the tip-giving rather than receiving end of the power structure doesn't exclude you from being observed and judged. After reading it I'm probably going to be a lot more conscious of making eye contact with waiters and waitresses, which is apparently a huge deal. I think usually I'm bad about that just because they're standing and I'm sitting and I feel weird about looking up (maybe because I'm tall and am not used to looking up to address people, unless I'm talking to Tom or the one guy at work who's taller than me). And/or sometimes they're standing very close to the table, compounding the awkwardness. So I probably have a bad habit of hiding my eyes in the menu. Otherwise I think my restaurant karma is pretty good. My philosophy is: if you can't afford to tip generously, you can't afford to eat out. So either be prepared to shell out 15-20% (even if they lack people skills or make mistakes; hell, especially, they probably need it more), or just go to Taco Bell.

Labels: Baltimore City paper

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 03, 2005 at 2:59 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.