The Late-Night Waiter

Another Anecdote:

A friend and I were at a late night cafe and diner. After much deliberation, my friend ordered a chocolate chip cookie and a glass of milk, and I ordered a smoothie. Our waiter was pale and awkward. Fast forward twenty five minutes and another pale waiter with disheveled hair ran out, and placed two (warm) glasses in front of us, announcing, "a glass of milk and that other thing you ordered." We stared at him, and he made to leave, at which point my friend inquired as to his chocolate chip cookie. "Oh. I think we ran out of those. I'll check on it." That waiter then walked a couple of steps, chugged a can of coke, picked up his apron, and walked out the front door and into the night. After the shock (read: amusement) wore off, my friend flagged down a third waiter and once again inquired as to his chocolate chip cookie. "Oh. I sold the last one right over there about thirty minutes ago," that waiter proudly informed us. "That would have been useful information about twenty five minutes ago," my friend responded. "Yes, it would have," the waiter agreed. He then stared at us some more.  After further awkward conversation, my friend finally settled for coffeecake and we watched the rest of the night unfold with general bemusement. 

Working at night must be tough. Waiting in general is a very tiring, physically and mentally demanding job. Waiting tables at night is rough. It's usually done by people who also have a day job, or go to school, or have other daytime responsibilities. It's often done to supplement income and it can wear down just about anyone. Here's a closer look at what some of our pale, awkward, disheveled friends go through:

Annual Salary: The Occupational Outlook Handbook has limited-service employees making annual wages of about $18,010. I'm sure it also varies based on geographical location, minimum wage, whether the place serves alcohol, and whether or not they serve entrees.

Advantages: Clear and utter lack of supervision. Free Coca Cola. Tips. Food? Also, some websites out there say it's a good workout. I'm not in a position to confirm or deny these allegations. 

Disadvantages: Chatty customers. Drunk Customers. Customers. Memory loss re: cookie inventory. Walking around at night with lots of cash. Being tired.


Finally: I encountered a person once who claimed that waiting tables was good practice for trial lawyers. Waiters face complaints, they said, much like lawyers face clients. Waiters go between customers and the chef, and trial lawyers go between the client and the judge. The metaphor goes on, but I'll spare you. Metaphors like this make me (and probably all lawyers and waiters out there) want to die.