The Lambertville record., 1889-03-20
THE WHITE APRONED.
A CHAT WITH A REsTAURATEuR ON
THE SUBJECT or WATERS.

vitors Are Paid the Best wages-The
Difference Between America and Eu-
rope-Tipping Is Good Thing.
waiting is much harder work than most
people think it Is" said popular restaura-
teur to a News reporter. "Some men never
become proficient in it; they never can; and
hence the market Is never overcrowded with
good walters. Barring the summer hotel
season, walters of certain stamp are always
to be had, but this supply Is never such as to
prevent an able man from getting place.
It seems easy, I suppose, to the public for a
man to take an order and bring In the vict-
uals, but there are many difficulties and re-
quirements incident to waiting that are COM
monty overlooked. There are few places In
which more crochets and foibles are exhibited
than In an eating room, and waiter has to
learn much Of human nature and school him
self accordingly to give satisfaction.
'The patron Of restaurant Is the Great
Am. He Is the one to please, and If he kicks
against anybody, save the cook, II Is the
waiter. A pleasant address. a good memory,
promptness and deftness, therefore, are prime
requisites for the waiter. Nobody wants an
i'll natured waiter, yet a large ratio of the
guests are more or less inconsiderate in their
demands In case of dispute or dissatisfaction
we always have to side with the guest, though
we may know that the waiter was In no wise
to blame.
ION complaint Of patrons Of my establish
ment have actually had at times to change
walters to other parts Of the room, and even
lay them of for few days--waiters, too,
whom l knew to be among the best in my
employ. A little clunsiness, forgetfulness
on confusion In distributing the food to tho
guests often bring slightly deserved rebukes,
and woo betide the waiter who incurs the III
win Of the employees behind the screen, for
the promptness Of his service Is sadly Inn
paired and mischief Is sure to follow. In q
certain sense the walters are the butts of an
establishment Many Of the proprietors
faults are saddled on their shoulders, and
many malediction is hurled at the cooks
over their headsn
"How do the merits of white and colored
walters comparean
81 do not think that colored walters equal
white walters, though this may he nero
e 4i>,,,e. IA a,,,-s,is,raa
walters are the moro easily managed Ihey
are satisfied with less, and will stand more.
As rule, good white waiter can command,
say, So week more than colored man Of
the same ability and experience. Seven dol
lars or S8 week and board will satisfy coll
ored waiter better than $40 viii white
man, and the colored man will ask fewer
privileges. Negroes arc less ambitious than
white men, moro subservient, and hence
more easily imposed upon. They are satisfied
with poorer fare, and win grumble less at
long hours and extra duty. That, think,
and not the fact that they have any special
qualifications for the work. is the reason why
so many colored walters are employed.n
WAITER WORTH $4,000.
"Do walters usually stay In the businessf'
eyes, till about middle Life. You will
rarely find waiter more than 40 years of
age. At about that age they drift into other
lines Of occupation. Many become barten-
ders, others porters or janitors, and the Like.
l have been surprised at the number of col
ored walters who find their way to tho va
riety stage You know they are hail fell
low well met class and full Of fun. Few Of
them save anything; they rather are given
to improvidence. Still, have known waters
to work themselves up till they have become
hotel or restaurant proprietors know one
man, John Bremen, who served me as waiter
for years, and who Is today worth $4,000.
But, as rule, the waiter who lays by enough
for full dress waiting suit Is doing well.
"The coveted place most walters aspire to
erage pay is about $40 month. The dress
suits are either furnished free or paid for by
tho waiter by small deductions from his
monthly pay. The people the winter serves
are not miscellaneous public, but select
company, each member of which he soon
knows personally; and when Individual pecu-
larities, likes and dislikes, are known, he
runs less risk Of giving offense or dissatisfac-
tion. He Is sure, further, of good fare and
good usage. Tho club house is tho walters
goaln
American walters have to content with
certain difficulties that European walters
know nothing about" said another well
known hotel proprietor. Europeans are diff
ferent from Americans. They have become
leisurely In habit. They have further learned
an art comparatively rare In America-the
art Of eating. They are more given to wine
and liquor drinking at meals than we. Hence,
as ono might naturally expect, the stamp Of
the people has been impressed upon the wait
ing required In the Old World one Of our
counter restaurants, with its toe treading
and elbow jostling, would be curiosity,
visited once as O freak, but Stunned after
ward. A European waiter, accustomed to
easy going habits, would lose his head and
fall where one Of our walters would be per
fectly calm and self possessed.
I 'No class of people is more pushed in its
work than American walters I'll warrant
that fully so per cent. of all the people who
come into my establishment give special in
Junction to the walters to hurry; and yet
with all the rush they expect the highest do
gree not only of skill but Of courtesy on the
part Of those who serve them. Few Ameri-
cans visit Europe without complaining Of tho
execrably slow service. The fact Is, they
carry over their American habits and expect
Of European walters what they are won't to
exact from walters at home. Hence they arc
disappointed and disguised.
Tipping has been condemned, but think,
altogether too harshlS. 1t Is a universal Gus
tom that has come to stay. I not only counte-
nance 1t, but favor it. think that about
10 per cent. Of the value Of check Is the
right thing to give tho waiter, and IL it bs
given it VIII insure service that no ruling Of
the proprietor can effect. - Chicago News