Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1900-12-11
TRICKS OF WALTERS.
METHODS eywH,cH THEY INCREASE
= THEIR REVENUES. + -

-------"., ~s,,D..,- ~ ,,
They Get Small Wages, but Manage
to Swell Their Pay BY Tips, by
Making Mistakes and By '.Standin9
In with the Cashiers"
Men who pntronize the German resorts
which are q combination of barroom,
club, restaurant and debating society and
possess many of the characteristics Of the
real German "bierlokal," have seen q
great change in the manner of conduct
ing them in the last few years. There
are still some places where the regular
customer, the ''stammgast," makes his
own score and tells the waiter how much
he owes when he leaves the place, and
there are many places where the walters
call for what they want for their patrons
and make lump settlement before 60
ing home. But those IRE the small places,
and even in these there are cash regis
ters as checks on the person who finally
handles the money.
But in the larger establishments there
are many elaborate systems by which
the waiter is held in check and COM
PEELED to curb his inclination to tip him.
self. A system which was introduced
by one of the largest resorts Of this kind
is known Us the metal check system.
When the waiter goes to work, he buys
$40 worth of metal checks, and with
these he pays for what he takes from
the bar. At the end Of the day or night
he receives cash from the cashier for
the checks still in his possession.
THAT system worked splendidly," said
an old waiter, "as long as the cashier
was honest, but when he formed a COM
bination with waiter or with several
it became an easy matter to make nice
bit every day. a waiter would throw
down dollar check and receive twice
as much in change. and at the end Of
the day or week there would be a d.
vision. Could this last? Well, should
think so. have been here for seven
years, and in that time several $50 a
week cashiers have opened places Of
their own.
''Some Of the best places in town be-
long to men who were walters and cash
iers, and when they become proprictors
their help docs them just as they did
their former bosses. But. the metal
checks were not enough for the new
saloon people, and they put in n new
stamps. cash registers and spoilers were
employed to keep the cash out of the
walters pockets.
"Well, that was the worst Of all. Com
binations can be made in that game just
as we'll as in the old one, and at one
place the walters ran things SO high that
the smart ones cleared as much US $40
a night Wait till get this ORDER" and
he halted in his German discourse.
Eyes," he resumed, Its pretty hard
for an honest man. because he gets no
credit for being honest. The boss knows
that he's being swindled, but he makes
money just the same, and if he got all
he made he would be able to ride about
in a carriage on his day off the same as
the cashier does. Low wages do it all.
A cashier gets from $40 to SIS week
and handles all the cash. and he natural
~ pays. himself a little every duy on
account. He usually swears at the wait
~ers and puts on stern front, but those
who know all about the business will tell
you that the walters at whom he yells
the most are the ones who are his secret
partners.
"A waiter ut bier kneipe gets the
princely pay of 81 to 81 a week. In
some Of the best places there are old
hands who get as much as ~, but they
arc few. They 90 on duty at O'Clock
in the evening and remain until l O'Clock
in the morning, and in those places where
there are dancing halls i'll connection
with the regular business the walters
often have to remain until 3 o'clock and
later. Many of these walters have
down town jobs during the day, where
they work from 10 o'clock in the morning
until 3 in the afternoon for 81 week.
What do you think Of that?" And after
propounding that question the waiter
hurried off to fill an order.
But the waiter doesn't get left" he
resumed, making marks on the pad which
he carried, land tips make the jobs worth
holding. In places like this walters make
good pay even when they don't stand in
with the cashier. Men give big tips to
show off before the women, and ut times
when there's fight at table as to who
shall pay, when every ono insists that he
should foot the bill, the fellows who get
off free usually tip the waiter literally,
but in such a way that every one ut the
table sees just how much they give.
Cases of that kind make up for those
where a man gets even with the house for
serving beer with too much or too little
collar or q poor sandwich, or u fiat 81
phon Of water, or mustard with fly in
it, by refusing to give the waiter tip.
Making q mistake in addition is fine
way to make an extra dollar in those
places where the check is not made out
at the desk, but, taking it all in all, stand
ing in with the cashier is the best game
Many walters in up town establish
ments took their first degree in the serv-
ice in Bowery resorts where Drawn and
muscle were counted among the necessa-
~ requisites for success. The old waiter
was one Of this class. In speaking OF bis
early experience he said:
down there we had to serve rough,
tough gang and often had to fight for
our pay. Occasionally we could do a
man who had too much or forgot to set
tie for a trayful of stuff at the bar, or
maybe sneak couple Of glasses in the
rush. But that's the only way there was
|of making an extra cent The bosses
know that. and that's why walters in the
Bowery district. where tips are scarce,
get three times as much pay rs the men
who work up town. A good, stout waiter
who will keep sober during business
ho,,rz oon rnoLo S1k q weox in vADas in