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Sat 21 May, 2005 08:04 pm
Tonight Mr. B, Mo and I went out to dinner.
Mr. B selected a restaurant that we hadn't been to in years; a place where we used to be regulars; a hole in the wall, off the beaten track place.
When we walked in we were greeted by She. Our waitress from the past.
I said: When we decided to come here I thought about you and wondered if you were still here.
She said: It's been a long time. I don't think you had a kid the last time you were here.
I said: We adopted him two years ago. He's four now.
She said: I had a baby too. Seven months ago.
She seated us at the same table we always sat in before. She remembered the weird specifics of our orders, the fact that I liked an extra tortillia rather than a salad, that Mr. B prefers his margarita unsalted while I like salt. She remembered to bring our check after we ordered the second round of drinks, knowing that we wouldn't order more and that we wouldn't want to hang at the counter to pay.
I said: Do you have a picture?
She did. And she brought it out and she showed me her darling and we talked mom for a bit. Nice.
Once upon a time I waited tables and I know how hard that job is.
This woman blew me away. Two and a half years later she remembers my tortillia. And my salt. And my family.
Wow.
Tell me about your favorite waiter.
There is a women, Miss Devany, at a local Bob Evans who is just like that. I can walk through the door after having been absent for months and months, and she will have already set a place at the counter for me, and be in the process of putting just exactly as much sugar in my coffee as i would myself.
People like that are really not that rare, and they remember you and treat you so well because you have treated them well in the past--treated them as friends, and not some invisible automaton who makes the food suddenly appear.
There is a great sushi and Chessie seafood place on the bay about 30miles south of here. Its not a great hike but an evening out. We have a really good waitress who remembers us and brings the drinks we prefer , the makeup of our sushi preferences arent rocket surgery but she remembers them nonetheless and the fact that I like a big ole dollop of wassabi.
Shes a great one for letting us now about some non special off the menu stuff that the staff was trying, (the way they gear up for new entrees)
Attentive and Creative in her concern. However, she knows the food is good and we are captives so she does a little food S&M with us.
"I dont think we can give you another futomaki"
" If you dont try Johns new dessert we wont give you back your tires"
Shes fun in a non scripted , comfortable way. And she doesnt call us "hon"
You're very right Setanta that it is a two way street. I remember that more from my bartending days than my table waiting days but it works for both. Some people do treat waiters terribly ---I can't even imagine doing that -- but some of them are .... special.
framerman, your story reminds me of another favoirite, long gone, from a famous and expensive restaurant where Mr. B and I used to go for lunch at least once a week -- until the waitress left.
Anyone who recommends off the menu stuff or who can get you your favorites out of season is worth habituating.
People who threaten to steal your tires and who know your sugar preferences are a rare breed.
Miss Devany has met ehBeth exactly once, and she never fails to inquire after her, and to tell me to say she sends her regards. She doesn't just act like a friend, she is a friend.
Now I'm going to be walking around singing the theme song to "Cheers" and making my family nuts, Setanta.
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