I served today at Flat Top during Father's Day...to say the least, it wasn't all that eventful, but there was a man who came by himself and ate three bowls...I wish I would have asked what he was doing this weekend, mostly just to get an idea why someone would be going out to eat for dinner by themselves on Father's Day. I just sincerely hope it wasn't for a really depressing reason. Although, he seemed cheerful enough and drank about five gallons of tea (we're brewing it now, which is brilliant...SO much better).
Probably the most eventful part was needing to avoid table 30 for a really dumb, juvenile reason. What do you do when you notice someone you haven't been friends with someone for over four years? Without going into specifics, I've seen this person randomly throughout the years (since Fort Wayne's basically just a large village...everyone knows everyone through someone...) and have never just said, "Hey, what's up? How've you been?" Instead, I walked by the table at least 30 times, pretending to have tunnel vision, which is actually very possible since I tend to be oblivious to obvious things. And, really, there's nothing TO say. Ah, the excuses we carry...
But it's been great being back at the Grill. I try to keep a positive outlook on tables, especially when they represent the stereotypes that only servers can understand...such as the middle-aged women who come into the restaurant already holding their free stir-fry coupons. Or teenagers. Yes, teenagers generally suck as tippers, but plenty have surprised me and for that reason alone, I pretend like they're all going to tip well. And, if they don't...is that really such a big deal? At least, is it to the point where I lose motivation to serve other tables well? Because what's the point in getting yourself down when someone tips lousily or acts like the exact texture of their chicken will determine the fate of mankind? There's so many excuses for why we let others' actions determine our own reactions: "They cheated me", "I worked hard for something I didn't get", "If I let this go then how will they learn?", "They didn't tip me? Well, those bitches are fat and ugly, so I'm glad."
The worst part is that I get it. I get the anger and seeming need for vengeance/justice. We get treated unfairly, we want to return it. Just last Friday, I tore up a guest's e-mail sign-up sheet (where they receive free stir-fry on birthdays) because they tipped a dollar on a $25 bill. At the time, I justified it, thinking, "They'll just come back and cheat another server." But, of course, I wasn't altruistic in my act...I wanted to cheat them out of something. And why? Did those extra few dollars even matter? My husband has a good job, I already make good tips...it was that feeling of being cheated that led me to tear them up. If I would have told any other server, they would've supported me. But I don't think they should. Sure, it's crappy behavior, but what does this say about my reactions? Probably the best advice I heard from my counselor was, "You can't control others or the world around you, but you can control yourself." Basically, my inner peace outweighs all the chaos around me, and that's what I want to strive for.
So that I don't end on too philosophical of a point, here's a question for you:
Would you rather drink a glass of your own pee every day or pee your pants every time you rode in a car?
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