Blog Profile / Waiter Rant
| URL : | http://waiterrant.net/ | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed Under: | Customer Service / Food Service | |
| Posts on Regator: | 176 | |
| Posts / Week: | 0.8 | |
| Archived Since: | December 20, 2008 | |
Blog Post Archive
Vengeance is yours!
If you ever worked for gratuities you’ve felt the compulsion to seek revenge against bad tippers, I know I did. Sometimes I crossed the line. While I never enhanced a patron’s entree with my DNA I lost reservations, told customers that their credit cards had been declined, stuck patrons at horrible tables and slipped into [...]
100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do (Part 2) WTF?
Here we go again! 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do (Part 2) By BRUCE BUSCHEL This is the second half of the 100 do’s and don’ts from last week’s post. Again, this list is for one particular restaurant, mine, which is under construction in Bridgehampton, N.Y., and will, with any luck, open this spring. I realize that [...]
Damn!
This is an actual check from Nello’s restaurant in New York City. $47,221.09! Goddamn! Talk about living large.
Of course everybody’s wondering who got to keep that $7328.20 tip! (Did you notice it was calculated pre-tax?) As a former waiter I knew no single server got to keep all that scratch. If they tried they’d risk [...]
The Today Show - Again!
Hey everybody. I’ll be on The Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda between 10 and 10:30 (EST) this morning. My second time on Today! Tune in!
Rumor Control
There’s been a rumor floating around the internet for some time that Oprah Winfrey once said, referring to the depressed state of the economy, that “It’s okay to tip 10%.” After receiving countless emails on this subject I thought I’d put this matter to rest. Oprah never said that! In fact a spokesman [...]
One Hundred Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do! WTF?
There was an entry in today’s “You’re the Boss” blog on the New York Times website entitled “One Hundred Things Restaurant Staffers should never do. (Part 1).” Oh man, I just had this rip a new one. My responses are in italics. ONE HUNDRED THINGS RESTAURANT STAFFERS SHOULD NEVER DO By BRUCE BUSCHEL Herewith is a modest list [...]
Balance
It’s 7:00 AM and I’m running late for work. It’s my fault of course. I didn’t get much sleep last night and the snooze bar on my alarm clock was too tempting to pass up. When I finally achieved consciousness I realized I had only half an hour to shower, shave and drive to the [...]
It’s a Zen Thing
The Brown-Eyed Girl and I parted ways a little while back so, to help lift my spirits, my friend Phil took me to the rifle range to blast cartoon zombies with his AR-15. I know what your thinking, high powered rifles and breakups don’t mix. But hey, it works for me. “The rifle’s zeroed [...]
Waiter Fired Over Twitter Comment!
This is messed up. That’s just wrong. They didn’t need to fire him. I think an email to Barney Greengrass asking that the waiter be reinstated is in order. Here’s the address. Guy’s got a kid to support. What do you guys think?...
Tip in Hand
After looking reading though the discussion thread from the last post I noticed that some people find that actually having to physically hand a tip to a worker is a stressful experience. Why is that? Why is handing a tip to a bellhop, valet, baggage handler, taxi driver or bathroom attendant different from tipping a [...]
Tipping Anxiety
Hi everybody. Sorry I’ve been away for so long. But I have a question for all of YOU. What tipping situations cause you the most anxiety? Do you ever run into situations where you’re unsure a tip would be appropriate or not? And if a tip is called are you often in the dark as [...]
The Kids Are All Right
I’m walking Buster though my neighborhood when I spot a young boy sitting in the middle of the sidewalk staring at something very intently. Since his back is to me I can’t see what he’s looking at. My interest piqued, Buster and I creep up on him and look over his shoulder. Ah ha. Now [...]
Three’s a Crowd
It’s Friday night and the Brown-Eyed Girl and I are having a romantic candlelight dinner on my porch. Brown-Eyes has a thing for porches. Because she lives in Manhattan, a city with the some of the most expensive real estate on Earth, she doesn’t have one. But she’s made no secret of the fact that [...]
Oprah Redux
Sorry for the late notice, but my Oprah episode “Are you Rude?” from last October will be re-airing today on ABC! If you missed it the first time, check it out!
Two Gun Mack
It’s a rainy Tuesday night and I’m sitting on the outdoor patio of a North Jersey bar smoking cigars and drinking draft beer with a guy I’m going to call Mack. As I suck smoke from a Punch maduro, a burst of lightening skitters across the Manhattan skyline, casting the Empire State Building in a [...]
Just for Me
In all the years I’ve written this blog I’ve only taken down one post. This morning I took down another one. The story I removed was the one about the trip Brown-Eyes and I took to Maine. No one asked me to take it down. Heck, Brown-Eyes even liked it. But after reviewing the comments [...]
No Place is Perfect
It’s a warm Saturday night and Brown-Eyes and I are attending an outdoor wedding on the coast of Maine. As weddings go it’s a low key, classy affair – short on ceremony with plenty of great food, conversation and lots of dancing. Brown-Eyes knows the bride from her time in Barcelona, Spain so, as we [...]
NYT Bestseller List
I’m happy to announce that the paperback edition of Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip - Confessions of a Cynical Waiter hit the New York Times Extended Bestseller List! Thanks everybody!
Book Signing!
I’ll be doing a book signing at the Barnes & Noble in Tribeca at 7:00 PM tonight. The address is 97 Warren St. (at Greenwich St.) New York, NY 10007 Come on down! I’d love to meet you!
Showmanship
I’m walking down 49th Street when my stomach starts rumbling. Actually it’s screaming. I haven’t eaten breakfast and my blood sugar’s in the cellar. If I don’t get something into my gut soon I’ll pass out. Luckily for my stomach, but unfortunately for my cholesterol levels, a hotdog stand suddenly materializes into view. I’m not [...]