# Food service...you know where this is going **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 9, 2004, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132 "2004-04-09T05:30:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/21 "2004-04-09T16:27:24Z")
This thread reminds me of how much I hated waitressing. I remember those folks who liked to sit and chat way past the time the restaurant closed. We’d clear everything off their table, including salt and pepper, etc. Then we’d blow out all the candles of all the tables, all but turn off the lights, etc. and hope they’d get the hint. We were meanies. haha. I feel the pain of people in retail, which is why I go out of my way to be low maintenance. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/22 "2004-04-09T16:41:58Z")
Indygrrl, Indygrrl, Indygrrl, that’s when you break out the vacuum cleaner and make sure the floor under all the adjacent tables is spotless. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/23 "2004-04-09T16:44:04Z")
> [@kung fu lola](#): > > Today we had some Princessy little fag Was this supposed to be some sort of joke? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/24 "2004-04-09T16:45:22Z")
Not food service, but still retail. Back in college, I worked at Ross Dress for Less. One Sunday, after closing, a woman irately started banging on the glass door, demanding that we open immediately. We told her we were closed. She shouted back that we had closed an hour early, and heads were going to roll unless we opened up the store NOW. We informed her that the previous evening clocks had been set ahead for Daylight Savings. The look on her face was priceless. I wish someone had taken a picture. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/25 "2004-04-09T16:48:45Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > Was this supposed to be some sort of joke? **kung fu lola** is a lesbian (IIRC), so I’m assuming it’s something like that. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/26 "2004-04-09T16:52:59Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Indygrrl, Indygrrl, Indygrrl, that’s when you break out the vacuum cleaner and make sure the floor under all the adjacent tables is spotless. . . . and some people _still_ don’t get the hint or, even worse, will chew you out for it! Actually, I was recently _with_ one of those people who doesn’t get the hint. I make it a personal policy not to walk into a restaurant less than an hour before it closes (unless I’m getting a To-Go order, but even then I shoot for at least 30 minutes before closing). Well. I went for sushi with a friend, and we arrived at the place at 8 pm. It closed at 10. No problem, right? Shhhhhhhyeah. We were still there at 10:30 (hoooo, that girl can _eat_–they kept bringing the check, she kept ordering more food and booze, and would then sit there waving her chopsticks and gabbing instead of EATING, so that I had to stifle an overwhelming urge to start force-feeding her), and probably would have been there longer had I not started feeling TOTALLY squirmy (especially since they had started vacuuming) and just insisted that we leave. I mentioned that the vacuuming is generally a big hint that it’s time to leave . . . . . . and she said, “Oh, they ALWAYS start vacuuming while I’m here!” So yeah. I think that hint only works on people who’ve actually been IN foodservice. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![htns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@htns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/htns)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/27 "2004-04-09T16:57:19Z")
> [@kung fu lola](#): > > Today we had some Princessy little fag ask for “sweet mustard”, which technically doesn’t exist, so we asked him to clarify. He just repeated “sweet mustard”, oblivious to any synonyms the item might have, and got angry when we put honey mustard on his sandwich. We had to make him a whole other one. Turns out he wanted plain old French’s mustard. > > Maroon. Hijack…how did you know his sexual orientation? You can’t tell by looking, ya know. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/28 "2004-04-09T17:01:18Z")
> [@Ferret Herder](#): > > **kung fu lola** is a lesbian (IIRC), so I’m assuming it’s something like that. Oh. I didn’t realize being gay gave people a free pass to insult others with overly inflammatory words. My mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Intent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5e9695/32.png) [@Intent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intent)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/29 "2004-04-09T17:04:33Z")
Hehehe, one of the great things about my work is that we’re never allowed to open the door after close. Once the doors are locked, people can only go out, even employees. It’s a security thing, and I can be fired for letting people in. Customer: “But it’s 11:01. I’ll be really fast!” Me: “Sorry! Try again tomorrow!” Hahaha. sorry, it feels good to laugh at that. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/30 "2004-04-09T17:07:06Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > Oh. I didn’t realize being gay gave people a free pass to insult others with overly inflammatory words. My mistake. That wasn’t what I said. The phrase “something like that” was intentionally chosen to be vague. After all, terms like “fag” (cf. “fag hag” for starters) are used somewhat commonly as non-inflammatory words, and I wasn’t going to make any assumptions in this case. I was merely attempting to shed a bit of light on the situation. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/31 "2004-04-09T18:35:04Z")
> [@Intent](#): > > Hehehe, one of the great things about my work is that we’re never allowed to open the door after close. Once the doors are locked, people can only go out, even employees. It’s a security thing, and I can be fired for letting people in. One of the few times I enjoyed my job was playing bouncer (holding the door open while not letting anyone in) when the store closed, while everybody else chased out the people still wandering around the store. “But it’s only 11:58!” “Not by our clocks.” “I’LL NEVER SHOP HERE AGAIN!” “Alright, I’m sorry to hear that.” “…oh PLEASE, I only need one thing.” “Nope.” ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/32 "2004-04-09T18:38:59Z")
> [@htns](#): > > Hijack…how did you know his sexual orientation? You can’t tell by looking, ya know. Sometimes you just know. Or, maybe she recognizes ‘family’ when she see them. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/33 "2004-04-09T19:50:26Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > Oh. I didn’t realize being gay gave people a free pass to insult others with overly inflammatory words. My mistake. That’s OK. Just don’t let it happen again. While your at it, don’t get offended if I make an off-hand remark about some ghetto-ass nigger. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/34 "2004-04-10T05:16:52Z")
> [@JuanitaTech](#): > > That’s OK. Just don’t let it happen again. While your at it, don’t get offended if I make an off-hand remark about some ghetto-ass nigger. CHhck. And hopefully no one will mind if I make comments about tight-ass honky crackers. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/35 "2004-04-10T16:34:16Z")
Liquor stores have state mandated hours… if you’re open past 11pm in Kansas you can be fined and shut down. Don’t knock on the door at 11:10 and ask to be let in. It’s not going to happen… EVER. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/36 "2004-04-10T16:49:34Z")
\ > [@kung fu lola](#): > > ask for “sweet mustard”, which technically doesn’t exist, . > [@spooje](#): > > [http://www.pinetel.com/~half/clients/hcmustard/](http://www.pinetel.com/~half/clients/hcmustard/) French’s mustard also makes “sweet mustard”. It’s virutally indistinguishable from the classic yellow mustard. It just has a hint of onion to create the “sweetness.” Aside from that “sweet mustard” (traditional Bavarian type) tends to include a hint of brown icing sugar or caramel sugar syrup. \ ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/37 "2004-04-10T17:25:38Z")
When I said that sweet mustard doesn’t exist, I meant it doesn’t exist in the Subwayverse. As everyone knows, once you walk into a branded restaurant, you are in their universe and nothing exists outside of it :p. It stands to reason that someone who walks into a fast food place, where uniformity reigns, and knows EXACTLY what they want, would also be aware of what said store does and does not offer. Someone who is familiar enough with McDonald’s to have a “usual” order would not order something they KNOW McDonald’s does not carry. I was pitting Princess Mustard because he used confusing language when ordering. What he meant was “NOT Dijon mustard”, which would just be “mustard”, unless you are an asshole, in which case you ask for “sweet mustard”. He’s not the first person to do this. We have one regular who, despite having his order screwed up on two occasions because of the way he phrased his order, still asks for it the same way. Except that guy wasn’t a fag, just ugly. PS, I personally have no problem with black people using the n-word, or white people being referred to as honkys or crackers, by other white people or anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![7\_up\_yours](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/919ad9/32.png) [@7\_up\_yours](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7_up_yours)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/38 "2004-04-10T17:55:41Z")
Most people here have a beef about customers coming in during closing, but since I normally work the morning shifts, I usually have to deal with pricks asking me over and over again when we open. Just because there are people working doesn’t mean I can take your order and get you food. During the winter, we usually open at 6:30 (7:30 on weekends) and that means I’m at work at 6:15, setting up. Setting up is relatively easy. I just put out the muffins, take out the plastic utensils, get the newspaper. However, I can’t do all this if I have people asking me over and over again when I open and “If you could just get me a cup of coffee.” Besides the fact that I have to run around setting things up, the till isn’t opened yet! I can’t take your money, and I can’t give you change if the fucking till isn’t opened and won’t be opened until we pull the gate. Sometimes, we give a leeway with the newspapers because some people have exact change. Then, they can leave the $0.75 on the side and I can punch it into the register later. But most of the time, one of them sees this going on, and come up to me waving a five dollar bill in his hands asking for a paper. I then have to wait to explain to him that THE TILL ISN’T OPENED, SO TAKE THAT FIVE AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS! Except not really because he’ll pull it out a minute later and it’ll be filled with shit. Everyone knows that it’s a health hazard to have shit around food. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/39 "2004-04-10T19:55:45Z")
My husband and I both worked for a hotel chain at one point early in our marriage. He was working it as a second job, mostly for the employee discount when we traveled. There are many similarities between fast food and hotel service. Some of the most notable stories: We had contract workers for a local factory staying at our hotel. They had negotiated a rate for long stay (35.00 a night). It was a slow part of the season, our regular rate was 109 dollars, so the manager thought at least some income from the rooms was better than nothing. These guys were ultimate trash, I cannot even begin to typify the rude, obnoxious downright sleazy behavior they exhibited. Nonetheless, I was working one morning with my husband and the supervisors credit card had been rejected from the bank when he treid to add another week. The manager was kind of weak so she would not stand up to them. They had been staying free all week and they wanted antoher week, so the bill was over 1,000, still unpaid. We left kind notes for them etc…, finally, my husband who had little care for retaining his job faced off with the supervisor. It went somethtng like this: (Large group of them coming back from breakfast- the free one we offered with a local restaurant) Husband: Excuse me sir, we really need to work on this bill, your credit card was rejected and we will need some form of payment. Jerk: Yeah ill get it to you. H: I need it now. J: No you don’t, i’ll get it to you. (now a crowd of them stood by to watch) H: Sir, we require payment for each night, your crew has not paid in 8 days, I need it now, or they will each have to pay their own bill. Jerk2: Whatever buddy, just go back to your job. H: _ignore_ jerk2, we really need the money Jerk3: Hey, we pay top dolalr for these rooms and we should have a litttle leeway. H: _laughs_ yeah top dollar, ok look, this is getting out of hand, you will have to pay now J: Well we are not going to, what are you going to do about it. H: (With a casual smile on my husbands face, he reached down to the automated door controller- the one that scans all new key cards and can blank out all cards at once. He punches a few buttons and then just turns back and says) I am sorry you will have pay. J: What did you just do? H: I just locked all of you out of your rooms. Come back when you can pay. I thought they guy was going to come over the counter. He screamed, he whined, they all did, they threatened to call corporate and my husband picked up and dialed the phone to hand it to them. Over the next 20 minutes they all came up with enough cash/credit to pay for their individual rooms because it turns out their boss did not have any money. He opened their rooms up one by one as they paid. It was great. The other case is when people think that rooms are negotiable beyond lower prices. The best was one night when a real jerk of a businessman comes in at midnight and wants a room. He was so smug and demanding, treating my husband like he was a dirtbag. He referred numerous times to how much money he made and made little dismissive waves of the hand when engaged in conversation. Suffice it to say, my husband told him it would be the corproate rate of 64.00 a night. The man said he would pay $45. My husband said, this is not a negotation, it is 64.00. The man became abusive, trying to explain to my husband how business was done (negotiating and such) and someone as lowly (with a low paying job) as him would not understand. My husband kindly told him to go to another hotel, they might take 45. The man continued to berate him and then said he would take his business elsewhere, to which my husband replied fine. The man stormed out. 20 minutes later, he came back and said that all other places are booked up. He then said he would pay the 64.00 but he will complain to the manager in the morning, will get the rate he wanted and my husband will be lucky to have a job. To which my husband replied: “Oh, since all the rooms in town are booked up, that means I have to charge you rack rate, 109.00 dollars for the room sir.” Man: “What? I will pay 64.00 you cant raise the rate?” H: Actually, I can, that is our published rate, I have decided that we can get that out of the room so I am offering no more discounts since I am only obligated to offer 10% of the rooms at a discounted rate. So do you want to sleep in your car or in the room?" After much anger and threats, the man paid for the room, said he would have his job yadda yadda yadda. As he was walking away my husband said, “Excuse me sir, I just wanted to tell you that THIS is how you do business, I hope you have learned from our encounter” The other staff were laughing their butts off and the man stormed away. He never got the disocunted rate because the manager backed up my husband. Score one for the little guy. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132/40 "2004-04-10T20:04:26Z")
I haven’t read any of the posts here because I don’t want to get pissed-off before I post: I just wanted to pop in and say that waiters and waitresses are people I admire right up there with nurses. Hard, hard work, dealing with The Public (which, maddeningly, is usually full of _people_), not much money, bad hours. I could never do that job–I have no balance, upper-body strength or patience. So, a salute (and a 20% tip of the hat) to wait-people! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-service-you-know-where-this-is-going/239132.md?page=3)