Omaha daily bee., 1902-12-28

tizer you will have. IL is his province to
remember all these things.
II was told by a well dressed woman
the other day that when she came down
town she always lunched here with her hus-
band because, as she explained Il quite
n%aively, her husbands walter always re-
members her fondness for branded cher
ries. She never drink cocktails, but once
in the presence Of this waiter she remarked
that she would like to take them just for
the sake OF the Cherries Now whenever
the wife accompanies her husband, the
waiter thoughtfully adds a couple Of extra
cherries to the cocktail. and these the wife
carefully fishes out with a tOothpick. When
the husband comes alone, he takes his cock
tails dry, and Harry never makes the mis-
take Of giving him cherries. There is al
ways a twinkle in the mans eyes when the
cherries appear. but Harry knows better
than to recognize the humor of the stu
alton by so much as a smile.
Objectionable Customers Got Ria OF.
"A diplomatic waiter is useful to us in
many ways. He can sometimes rid us Of
undesirable customers. II would surprise
you TO- learn Of the annoyance we some
times suffer at the hands Of people that
we dare not order from the place, because
VI NhNA bAdhulAB bOtA1A vi huduNih htu
we try the diplomatic or ingenious waiter.
Last summer a man Of considerable
wealth and eccentric habits came here each
day for lunch. He sat at that small ia
BILE opposite you, and the first thing he did
after sitting down was to take of his
shoes. There he sat day after day, with one
shoeless foot resting on a stool and stuck
out in full view Of our other customers.
The matter called forth unpleasant COM
ment, but we did not know what to do.
FINALLY one Of the walters remarked:
II you agree to stand by me I'll get rid
of that man. We agreed, and the next day
Gascon came down the aisle with a cup
Of coffee in his hand. Just before he
reached the man with hs shoes of he
stumbled adroitly and the coffee fell upon
the protruding foot. The man gave a howl,
then subsidized into abusing the waiter.
Gascon had been careful to chill the coffee
until 1t was only luke warm, but the man
swore roundly that his foot was scalded
and he would sue the proprietor. He showed
aside his luncheon, jerked on his shoes and
departed, without settling his account. We
never saw him again and we don't know to
this day whether It was corns or cussed-
ness.
Working the O~ut-Of-TOwn Man.
THE out-of-town man who entertains at
dinner or lunch is fair game for the waiter
who is up to all ports OF tricks. This type
OF customer feels IL incumbent upon him to
show the men who are his guests that he
has brought a goodly roll into town with
him.. He picks up the bill OF fare with
the air Of one to whom money is no object,
and the observant waiter, who spots him
on the instant, assists in an artful way in
making out the order. He is all attention
to the selections made by the patron, but
he slyly suggests certain dishes in his own
interests.
For instance, after the oysters and the
soup your out of-town man selects a heavy
roast and orders a beef or portion for each
person, at perhaps 60 cents per order.
Now. the waiter, better versed in the appe-
titles OF city men, knows full we'll that four
orders of turkey will not be consumed, so
he sends to the kitchen an order for two or
three at the most. The order for four is
charged UP on the guests ticket, however,
and the waiter pockets the difference when
he settles with the checker for his days
orders and receipts. This, of course, is
only when the waiter pays the
bills. Were the customers to pay the
cashier the trick would be detected and
the firm would make the profit. However,
most managers wink at the trick and do
not begrudge the waiter his extra money.
"Tf a waiter works this scheme on the
roast, the game and the salad, he cleans up
a neat sum on one customer alone, who is
none the wiser and is entirely satisfied II
the service is good and the wines cold.
business Women at Lunch.
= ut Is a mistake to think that elderly
men are the heaviest spenders, particularly 1
In the business district. Young men are
more ex~travagant. Considerable entertain
ing is done down here at noon. Wholesalers
m buyers from out OF town to
lunch, brokers sometimes entertain the
women who handle stocks through them
and good-looking young women employed
In Offices are frequently the noontime
guests not only of their employers, but of
other men tina they meet in a business
way.
These lunches for two play a big part
in the business world, and they have made
me realize how important a role a discreet
m clerk plays In her employers af-
fairs. l have heard many a big deal dis
cussed across our tables, and the women
who come here are as keen and alert as
the men who employ them.
You can tell what their relations are
the instant they settle dow for lunch. A
man makes the presence OF his wife an ex-
cuse for laying aside business questions.
really entertains her. and they study
the menu carefully with a view to enjoy
ing themselves, II a man and a woman
are interested In the same business the
lunch is a secondary matter and they
plunge into business before the waiter has
finished writing out their order.
Personally l regard these lunch confer
ences as bad for the digestion and the gen.
eral health. Business men and business
women should have lunch clubs and drop
business until they return to their ofhces.
you can't change the leopard's spots
nor the habits OF the American in BUSH