Journal Entry 1 by gumshoe007 from Ottawa, Ontario Canada on Thursday, February 27, 2003

Hooray!!! I got this book in the mail today from Powells. I put it in my bag and took it with me to work....in a restaurant!!! This book was meant for me and any other hospitality industry grunts. I read the first 15 pages already and it promises to keep me laughing and saying, "I know I know! I hear you!" Can't wait. 

Journal Entry 2 by gumshoe007 from Ottawa, Ontario Canada on Tuesday, August 19, 2003

Wow! This book turned out to be more than I thought it would. I really enjoyed it and gave it a rating of ten for a few reasons....

The first, and most obvious, reason is that I am a waitress. I have been a waitress (on and off, but mostly on) for almost 15 years. So the book really meant something to me. I knew it would be funny and I would relate to a lot of the stories within it. But it was more than that. The author talked about a lot of issues concerning the service industry and waitering that I have felt, but maybe not thought about consciously over the years. It really pulled a few heartstrings emotionally for me, validating some areas of my life and making me think about some others. This is a definite reason for a 10 rating!

I LOVED the chapter entitled "tipping (it's not a city in China)". I keep telling my friends I'm going to make a roadtrip to Toronto to go on "Speaker's Corner" to tell the Canadian public (and any possible TV-watching tourists) what tipping is all about. I could have added a few things to Ginsberg's tipping rules but it's a good start.

I loved how she wrote the book in chronological order to give you a story but also to use as examples for what she wanted to explain or describe. I loved hearing about how she became a single mother and what it meant for her waitressing career.

But what was really interesting, intriguing, and thought-provoking was the chapter "hello, i'll be your postfeminist icon this evening". Her thoughts and ideas about waitresses, and society's view of them, in television and film were well-analyzed (in my opinion).

All in all, a great read. It's really made me do some thinking......

I'm hoping to start a combined bookring with this book and another. Will be posting in the forum when I've got something organized. 

Journal Entry 3 by gumshoe007 from Ottawa, Ontario Canada on Thursday, October 09, 2003

Hooray!!! Finally time to send this out in a bookray....a dual "restuarant" bookray with Kitchen Confidential . I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did!

The usual rules apply:

1. read the book
2. make a journal entry
3. PM the next person on the list for their address
4. mail the book

**This is a bookray, so the book will either continue on to more interested BC'ing readers not on the list or may be released by the last person in the ray (hopefully theme released!).

I'd love it if each of you would share ideas about "the restaurant" when you journal. For example:

Job experiences--if you have, or do, work in a restuarant....funny, embarrassing, infuriating moments!

Customer experiences--now we've all been a customer before! Any good, bad, hilarious, unbelievable stories?

Here's the bookray reader list:

1. tho - Portugal
2. Lucycat - UK
3. suzen - France
4. geniedances - USA
5. WarEagle78 - USA
6. schmetterling - USA
7. brideofmessiah - USA
8. MsBook - USA
9. Kymberlie - USA
10.Jas330 - USA
11.Kernow8 - USA
12.RaftQueen - USA
13.hathyia - Malayisa
14.starbytes - Malaysia
15.TramGirl - Australia
16.Katrina77 - NZ
 

Journal Entry 4 by gumshoe007 at -- Controlled Release in Ottawa, Ontario Canada on Monday, October 13, 2003

Release planned for Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at Mailed to Bookcrosser in Ottawa, Ontario Canada.

This is being sent to tho in Portugal as part of the bookray. 

Journal Entry 5 by tho on Monday, October 20, 2003

Just got it in the mail - will start reading it soon .... 

Journal Entry 6 by tho on Tuesday, December 23, 2003

Sorry it took me so long, but this was a book that I enjoyed reading slowly :-)
I loved the way Ginsberg tells her stories - always with humour, and very entertaining, sometimes touching and also quite emotional. I've learned a lot from this book when it comes to what being a waitress really means. I guess it's different from country to country - I know some of the rules don't really apply here in Portugal, but others are probably universal.
Well, needless to say that I enjoyed this book so much that I'll be getting myself a copy as soon as I get the chance :-)
The bookring is continuing its journey and has been mailed today to Lucycat in the UK. 

Journal Entry 7 by lucycat from Hull, East Yorkshire United Kingdom on Sunday, January 04, 2004

Thanks so much Tho (and Gumshoe!)...this actually arrived in the most festive Jiffy bag I've ever seen on the 27th, but I've had fairly limited internet access since then due to ravaging hoards descending...bah, humbug! On the upside, I sat down and read it pretty much in one sitting as soon as they left, so it's ready to roll just as soon as I get an address from Suzen.

It was an extremely fast read...Ginsberg has a nice, easy way about her story-telling that I found very appealing, like sitting down with a friend for a good natter over coffee. The blending of distant past events with present also lent itself very well to the informality of the book.

The only thing that really jarred was the section (and frequent comments) on tipping. It's a subject she obviously feels extremely strongly about, and certainly doesn't hold back.

There are some salient points to consider - I had no idea that waiters and waitresses in America are allowed to be paid less than minimum wage and rely on their tips to bump their earnings up to an acceptable level. But the level of venom expresses towards customers who leave what she considers to be a desultory or downright insulting amount, or worse still, 'stiff'' their waitress, I found nothing short of shocking - one quote attributed to co-workers suggested that they would rather receive nothing than an 'insulting' five or ten percent tip. My mum used to be fond of referring to this kind of self-defeating behaviour as 'cutting off your nose to spite your face.'

To make note of the differences between catering industries in the US and UK, I'd say that we *do* have a minimum wage now, but that it only came into play in 1996. Before that there was no minimum wage in any industry. And also as far as I know, service is *not* included in British restaurants. It would be fair to say that I always tip well (my best friend has been in catering for as long as I have been in retail...which would be about nine years now, so I was taught by a pro), but my tipping does depend wholly on the standard of service I receive, not the expections of my waiter/waitress.

I think what I found most galling about this section was the assumption that all Europeans would be lousy customers and would leave a measley tip, if they remembered to tip at all, followed by the sweeping assumption that :

'Of course, in Europe, the service is included in the bill, so the argument can be made that these guests are unaware that they are supposed to tip in this country. However, the level of sophistication among our European patrons implies that they are, in fact, aware of this American custom and simply chose to feign ignorance.'

So, well-meaning but ignorant or intelligent and mean? Or maybe the UK just tumbled off Europe again, as it frequently does, and I have nothing to growl about but a perceived geographical slight. Anyhoo...!

Good book, great story-telling, could have lived without the lecture.

C'est la vie!

As I didn't hear back from Suzen, this headed off to Geniedances on Jan 5th.
 

Journal Entry 8 by geniedances from Houston, Texas USA on Monday, February 23, 2004

Book arrived today. What great timing as I was thinking about this book just yesterday. I plan to begin reading it ASAP and get it mailed to the next person in line very soon. 

Journal Entry 9 by geniedances from Houston, Texas USA on Tuesday, March 02, 2004

Having grown up in a family owned restaurant I can certainly identify with this book. So many of the stories rang true from my own first hand experience. Looking back, I think the experience gave me an insite into dealing with the public that I wouldn't have had otherwise.

A favorite chapter is "the luncheonette". I also worked for my father when I was in my early teens. My family's restaurant was in a small town. Dealing with the local townsfolk was both interesting and trying at times. There were occasions when new bits of gossip developed in the restaurant itself. This almost made rolling silverware, folding napkins, empting ashtrays and bussing tables interesting.

Can't help but remember one couple in particular that no one wanted to wait on. She (Soup Lady) always ordered "an itsie bitsie" bowl of soup and left a tip of equal size. Fly Boy (he flew a crop duster)always ordered a blue plate special and left a small or nonexistent tip. They would come in at peak traffic time and expect the waitress to spend her entire time with them. Altogether too typical.

As to tipping, after dealing with some of the people and situations I dealt with myself it never occurs to me not to tip. Not so long ago I odered a pizza delivery and gave the deliveryman a tip. He thanked me and said I was the only one on his route who had tipped him so far that evening. The lack of consideration of so many customers is unacceptable. Anyone who has worked in the industry knows that the tips are the real pay. Hopefully those who are from outside the food industry who read this book will learn this fact while enjoying the book!


 

Journal Entry 10 by WarEagle78 from Hoover, Alabama USA on Saturday, March 13, 2004

Sorry, just realized I'd forgotten to journal that this book was received in mail. I got it on March 5. Have one book ahead of it; will journal again when read. 

Journal Entry 11 by WarEagle78 from Hoover, Alabama USA on Saturday, April 03, 2004

This was an interesting book that really increased my appreciation for wait staff. The story flowed nicely for non-fiction, although as expected the excursions into economics and sociology grew a bit tedious. I agree with lucycat's comment that it was like sitting down with a friend chatting about her work and life.

Thanks for sharing, gumshoe007! I look forward to my turn at Kitchen Confidential.

In mail to schmetterling today. Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 12 by schmetterling from Durham, North Carolina USA on Tuesday, April 06, 2004

Caught! This book is next up on the TBR. 

Journal Entry 13 by schmetterling from Durham, North Carolina USA on Thursday, April 15, 2004

I found this book to be a fast read, as did some of the other readers in this ring. Part of it was the author's easy, humorous style, and part of it was my being at home for the spring holidays (ick!). What I really should have done is read parts of this book aloud, especially the "postfeminist icon" chapter, but I hadn't gotten to that part yet while still at my parents'. (They might not understand the term "postfeminist" anyway since they're still living in a "prefeminist" environment...)

The author has been working in restaurants for longer than I have (me=10 years) (TEN YEARS?! AUGUGGHHH!!) and has worked in a greater variety of places, but it seems that overall the experience is the same. I was particularly touched by the way her whole family was involved in the industry and at one point owned their own pizzeria. (Gracious, if only there were a nice family-owned pizzeria here, instead of chain stores!) In my family I am the only one who has ever worked in food service (except my brothers' after-school teenage fast-food servitude) and the thought that a whole family could even be "into" that sort of thing astounds me.

While most seasoned wait staff will insist that it's possible to know what kind of tip you are getting before you even greet the table, I have learned otherwise. Specifically: [here comes my I'm-a-closet-racist story] one afternoon many moons ago I was seated a table full of black women and their school-age children. Of course I rolled my eyes, because it was the end of the shift, because all of my other tables were about done, because I wanted to sit down and eat lunch, and of course, because the last thing I needed was a table full of amateurs. Be it said that although we do not necessarily bar people of color from our premises, we are not an attraction for them either. We are situated in a yuppie downtown neighborhood and attract mostly the country-club set or high-rolling lawyers. Often I have bemoaned the total whitewash that is our staff: at this time there are only three people of color who works in the front of the house (none of them black). Anyway, on with my story. I assumed that these women would not know anything about the type of food we serve, they would let their children behave rudely, and would leave me a tip of change.
Boy, was I wrong!! First off, they were not American (and that's what reminded me of this story, because I do not assume that Europeans will tip me poorly, and this story is one reason why I feel that way). Their accents were British, they were unfailingly polite, their children were kept in line, and I ended up really enjoying serving them. And they tipped me as well or better than any of the snotty lawyers that day. I was grateful to them for bringing to my attention my terrible prejudices.

That having been said, I hate waiting on lawyers and doctors, and just about anyone who has a lot of money and thinks that that makes him a king and me a serf. Very often I will wait on large parties of women (birthday, shower, you name it) and unless there is an "enlightened" one in the group, they will behave in a manner that clearly communicates: "it's too bad you didn't go to college or marry a rich man like we did, because you're stuck doing this, but then it's pretty much your own fault." The image of waitress as a poor broken lonely soul with no education and no future is one that transcends all class and geographical boundaries. But then, it's parties like them that force a restaurant like ours to automatically add gratuity onto the check, lest a girl like me get shafted because some sorority chick thinks I didn't bring her cosmopolitans fast enough. [Never mind that her party is upstairs and the bar is downstairs, and the bartender is busy flirting, and the food for my other tables is in the window, and I have to go to the bathroom....]

And yes, I'd rather get no tip than an insultingly small one. Or, if you are going to leave me an insultingly small one, tell me why. I don't give intentionally bad service, so if I am doing something "wrong" then I won't know unless you tell me. At least if I get no tip, I can console myself with the thought that you just forgot (which does happen). 

Journal Entry 14 by brideofmessiah from Hillsboro, Missouri USA on Monday, April 19, 2004

I can't wait! This has been on my wishlist for a while now! 

Journal Entry 15 by brideofmessiah from Hillsboro, Missouri USA on Saturday, August 28, 2004

I just finished this up today. I did enjoy the book, and now feel a bit more like I can understand where my waitress is coming from!

My waiting experience (if you can even call it that) is limited to 3 weeks of Summer Camp when I was in Jr. High. I was the only waitress & was responsible for bringing the food out to all the campers - Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner - as well as responsible for making sure they stayed happy. I didn't get paid, nor collect tips, of course. But I thought it was fun - pure glamour! :)

Getting ready to pass this along to MsBook! 

Journal Entry 16 by gumshoe007 from Ottawa, Ontario Canada on Sunday, January 15, 2006

Just a post to catch the attention of whomever is in possession of this book. This ray seems to have stalled and I am hoping to get it moving again so the other readers on the list can read it as well.

PLease PM me as to this book's whereabouts. Thank you so much!!!

gumshoe007 

Journal Entry 17 by brideofmessiah from Hillsboro, Missouri USA on Monday, October 16, 2006

Yikes! It's ME! I DO still have the book - just realized, or would have PM'd you earlier gumshoe! I have a PM out to MsBook, and if I don't hear back from her w/in a week I'll move on down the list! Sheesh! What a crummy bookcrosser I am, huh? 

Journal Entry 18 by brideofmessiah from Hillsboro, Missouri USA on Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Oh for heaven's sake! I've just found this book - AGAIN! I've no idea whether I ever heard from MsBook - but will PM her (again, I'm sure) right NOW! And book will stay on my desk as a reminder to move on down the list promptly! I guess life got in the way of BookCrossing - Since originally receiving the book I've had a baby, spent just over 2 weeks in the hospital with him, brought him home, we've bought our first house & moved (when I'm sure this book went down for the 2nd time), and now I'm 5 mo. preg. w/#2...sigh!