On the Bright Side

Upset Waitress recently put up a post about hostess frustration: http://upsetwaitress.com/?p=24

For a while now, as I've perused others' rants and raves, I've had moments where I've thought, "I'm glad I work where I do." Given that I work at a bar, and a small, non-chain one at that, I have certain advantages. In the spirit of optimism and such, I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on some positivity. Here are some of the good parts about my place of employment:

1. No name tags.
2. No host/hostess.
3. No hamburgers/steaks to be cooked particular ways.
4. No busboys.
5. Come 2 a.m., by law, we have to kick everyone out.
6. I can often find out quickly who's a tipper and who's not and adjust accordingly without wasting lots of time on people who're going to stiff me.
7. I serve a lot more drinks than food. It's hard to whine about a bottle of beer.
8. On the whole, I have good co-workers.
9. The owners aren't always super savvy about the business, but they're not trying to screw their employees over either.
10. We have a door guy who helps alleviate my boredom on slow weekends, besides doing typical door guy things too.

I think, of the whole list, my favorite point is #5. After hearing/reading everyone's frustrations about having to stay late just so a table could sit around, I have a new found appreciation for the fact that not only can we run people out, we must. Granted, they all look at me very sadly when I take their half-finished drink away, but that's the law. Tough luck. Now, get out.

It's always easier when they leave on their own, but from time to time the vindictive side gets a certain degree of satisfaction from telling that obnoxious lingering table that they really do have to leave. That, and hearing Julia yell it loud enough for people downstairs to hear.