Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1882-06-26
naFRM HSFahl
The Losses Not so Great as Might
be suppOsed-Facis About
Walters and Theft
Tricks;
Now York Tribune.

diminished or trittered away entirely
through lack of judgment on the part
Of the heads Of departments, and
through the various leakages that are
apt to occur in every large establish.
ment. In speaking Of the losses Of
hotels. a hotel man said recently:
I'm a we'll managed hotel, however
large. the losses are not so great as
often supposed. Take the provisions.
With careful buying and adequate ice
houses and cooling rooms there should
be very little wasted. Things that are
not used as originally intended can be
utilized in some other way, as for ex-
ample, fruit which is not available for
desert can be turned into tarts and
pies. But the greatest loss in food is
caused by the guests themselves when
meals are served table d'hote. Of
course a frst-olass house presents a
bill of fare for any meal which con-
tains more than five men can eat.
There are some people, however, who
are not accustomed to the best fare,
and are unable to make selections, and
they simply go in on the principle Of
getting their moneys worth. So they
order everything, aud fiat dinner go
straight through from soup to coffee,
calling for every dish the menu con-
,ains. Of course they can't eat one
quarter of the amount and so they
leave a great deal to be wasted. There
is chance also for the walters to
cause a loss by bringing guests more
thugs than they want in the hope
that this undue attention will increase
their fees. But the head waiter and
the controller, who stands at the
doors Of the kitch n, always keep
sharp lookout for this, and when a
waiter is found bringing a guest halt
dozen things instead Of two that are
rarely waited he is Immediately dis
charged. When the meals are served a
Ia carte a great deal Of money is often
lost to the guest By the double cheek
racket, which is fayorite game with
dishonest walters. The guest writes
his orders on a check, which the
waiter takes to the cashiers desk,
where the prices are put on and the
check stamped. But while the guest
is eating his meal, the waiter secretly
makes out another check with the
same orders but with the prices in
creased from 10 to 30 per cent. Then
he hands this raised cheek to the
guest for payment, but gives to the
cashier the first check with the prop
er prices, aud pockets the difference.
If the guest pays his check without
close examination, as he is likely to do
| if he has ladies with him, of course he
| is svindled; and we can't prevent it.
| heard people say they wouldn't go
to the Manhattan, Brighton or Long
Beach hotels again because the
prices were so outrageous, and |
knew at once that the walters had
raised their checks. The only rene
dy is for the guest to carefully com
pare the pri3es on his check with
those on the bill of fare. First class
walters as a rule are very smart men.
They are usually French, German or
Italian, generally speak two, three or
four languages, and often have some
education. The best waiter | ever
knew was something of a linguist
something ola musician, and no mean
artist. Then he was an admirable wal
ter, and had the knack Of satisfactorily
serving a great many people at the
same time. His fees was very large.
he received the usual salary of $50 OF
$35 month and board. We offered
him the position Of head waiter at a
salary OF 500 month and
board and he refused it. He
told me afterwards that he
couldn't afford to lose money by TAX.
ing the place; 80 you see what his fees
must have amounted to. At a great
seaside hotel in the height of the
season a good waiter will make from
So to $l5 a day in fees. 1t is MOI an
| uncommon thing for a waiter to re-
ceive a dollar for a single fee, and il
be is serving large party he some
| times gets So.
But returning to the losses in no
| tells, | come to the bar, which il
Ireally the most important feature o.
a house. Ne hotel can be successful
/ " run without a bar. The goods or
1 not perishable, and the receipts ar
so largely profit that the manage
often expects the bar alone to pa
the expenses Of running the hotel
No system of checks that | know 0
is etfectual in keeping the barkeeper
knocking down, still | don't thin
there is much Of 1t dppe in the bes
houses. The reason is that the hes
men attainable are selected for tn
places, and they are paid good sala
ries. | know q man who next wee
! goes to a Saratoga hotel to be hea
barkeepor. For the season Of thre
months he receives $400 and all hI
expenses, which is not bad pay. An
good bartenders employed the yea
= round often receive $1,000 and $3.50
The linen department of hotel. CT
tensive as it is, is under one heal
! The housekeeper daily allots to eao
y chambermaid, who has a fixed nun
q Der of rooms under her charge, ce
! tain number Of towels and sheet
. These are checked against the chan
- bermaid's name, and, Of course, 81
= has to return the same number.
y like plan is followed with the tab
y linen. Then the laundry is charg,
y with the number of pieces sent TO
o. aud credit is given when they are r
:, : turned. Everything about the hou
u is thus divided into departments, Il
to head Of which are responsible to d
It's manager or proprietor.
i. In the past there has been consi
on cradle money lost through hotel bea
IN and by cashing checks. Buta shire,
to experienced clerk can usually measu
nQ his man pretty exactly. and if he h