Omaha daily bee., 1902-12-28
TRICKS WORKED BY WATERS
Methods Employed TO Give FsvOrite Gus
toners the Best Of the Feed.
COURTESY YIELDS HANDSOMELY IN CASH
wealthy but Objectionable People
DipIomsticalIy Disposed Of-Out-
Of-Town Visitors CIeverIy
Pulled.

&119a aaAN NaANaaa wv t1NrN 80
another. A deep flush showed under his
neatly cropped side whlskers, and he raised
his eyes to meet those Of the expectant
waiter. o.
I'm hanged IL I've anything but 10
cents and some L tickets. Not even M
check book, by George"
The waiter bowed obsequiously and mur-
INJURED:
That's all right. sir. Tomorrow-the
next time you come In, sir"
Take my card to the head waiter, or
the cashier"
mot at all. sir. Entirely unnecessary.
You are Mr.. Blank Of the National Secu-
rifles company. It is all right, sir"
The attendant held up his customers
overcoat, and then, with a polite bow.
opened the door for him. This ceremony
over. he marched back to the table and
carried of the soiled dishes with the air
Of a conquering hero.
From his point Of view the waiter had
scored a triumph. He had performed a
service which cost him nothing and which
meant much to a man whose tips had al
ways been liberal, And he had tickled the
customers pride by showing him that
while they had never exchanged a word
Of personal conversation, he had discovered
the customers name and his financial
standing. 1t is a brand Of flattery which
the clever downtown waiter keeps always
on tap.
A Waiter that f. Worth Money.
The head waiter, who had witnessed the
incident, had this to say:
"a waiter like that is worth money to
us. He knows his place and keeps II,
yet, is observant and can give us points
on all his regular customers. Now, had
Mr.. Blank been called upon to explain his
position to our cashier, he would have
settled his account by sending the money
by messenger, but l hardly think he would
have patronized the restaurant again. The
memory OF today's contremps would have
embarrassed him. The waters quick wit
saved him any annoyance and won for us
a good customer.
why could the waiter do this without
consulting his superior? Simply because
he works on a percentage. SO much Of
each order charged up to him remains in
HIS pocket. II is his commission, in lieu
of a salary. Many of the best restaurants
In the financial district pay their walters
a commission instead Of a salary. 1t is to
the employers interest to do 30. A waiter
who works on a commission, II he is at
tentiye and keen at making up menus, will
increase his commission at the expense of
his customers, to be sure, but he makes
business brisk.
For instance, a nervous, over worked
man whose digestion is out Of order comes
in with no definite idea OF what he wants.
Before he is fairly seated at the table he
has some papers spread before him, and he
regards the introduction of a menu as a
highly irritating interruption. Your OBJ
servant walter knows this and discreetly
suggests something particularly delicate
and appetizing. selected from the entrees
br game list. The customer mods his head,
and the waiter continues to build up a
luncheon that sounds good, the customer
not even looking at the price list. His
check may surprise him at the end OF the
meal, but he does not complain because
the lunch has tasted good and he feels
better than when he came in. The waiter
Is an artist at menus and knows how to
line his own purse.
Little Tricks of Favored Walters.
Business men who want the best SER
vice usually patronize one cafe quite reg
hlarly and have their favorite waiter.
Their tips may not be so large as those
Of some transient customers, but the
waiter learns to depend upon them as part
Of his steady income. In consequence, the
regular customer gets more than a polite
bow of recognition and prompt attention.
In fact, he secures small favors which he
does not fully realize and which the I'M
initiate never receive.
For instance, when he orders oyster
cocktails, his attendant. appreciative of
past favors and hopeful for the future,
does not send this order to the kitchen.
He orders raw oysters and carefully mixes
the cocktail sauce himself from condi-
ments selected from the dining room table.
What difference does this make? All the
difference in the world to the connois-
seur in shell fish, Oyster cocktails mixed
In the kitchen as q rule contain seconds
instead OF 'hrsts;' in other words, oysters
that are smaller than those served on the
half shell. The condiments in the kitchen
are also seconds while only the best
sauces and havorings are set forth in the
dining room. That is just one of the reg
ular walters tricks to favor the customers
be likes.
''The walters great ambition Is to estab-
iish and hold a line Of customers. When
I worked in an uptown cafe where table
d'hote dinners and theater suppers are
features of the trade. / remember one
waiter who was often driven to his wits
end to accommodate his regular customers.
ne nhd charge OF lnTee bUaii laDiebi anu II
we could have given him assistants, l
believe he could have filed one side Of
the dining room with people who liked
him to serve them. Patrons actually waited
half an hour to secure a place at his table.
Ibid we raise his salary? That was not
necessary. His customers saw to that. We
paid him 81 a week. His income ran
from $50 to $40. And he earned IL.
what the Diplomatic waiter Does.
This waiter was a born diplomat, and
We turned cranks over TO him as a matter
OF course. A restaurant crank Is a char
aeter worth studying. He will try waiter
after waiter until he finds one who suits
him; why. no one, the waiter least OF all.
can understand. BY some miracle, the
waiter happens, in a lucky moment, to
please the man either by tricks OF serv>
ing OF by tickling his faded palate with
some happy combination OF dishes. And
from that moment the crank is converted.
He sWears by this waiter, and swears after
another fashion IL his favOrlte is not on
hand when he arrives. tribes like pneu~
monia or appendicitis cannot excuse his
absence, and rather than be served by
anyone else, I know one crank who seeks
another restaurant until his ~favorite re-
turns, calmly informing us that all the
raaf NJ our emnIovea are cows for awkward