Customer Reviews

Clam Chowder: The Server's Field Manual

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Matt Lehman learned plenty about the restaurant business in his twelve years of service.

After reading many books, he decided to write a humorous tale of what really happens behind the scenes. With chapters entitled Where to work, Welcome to the family, and so on, Lehman brings readers into the business. Chapter one explains why people decide to work for a restaurant while chapter two details the many types of places to work. Chapter three explains the many people who actually work in a restaurant. Many other chapters follow, some serious and some hilarious stories. While Clam Chowder explains the restaurant business, Matt Lehman adds plenty of hilarious real life stories. He talks about both the workers and the customers. Very fast to read, Clam Chowder will have readers, of any situation, laugh at the funny antics of the author.

A well written very humerous inside look at the restaurant industry. Matt has this wonderful way of stringing words together to bring to life the madness that is the reality of the biz. Loved it! If you are in the hospitality industry, do yourself a favor and buy the book and the game!

CLAM CHOWDER is genius - Mr. Lehman takes the guesswork out of what your server is really thinking and how much control they have over your lunch break, dinner date, Business drinks (i.e. life).

The best thing about Clam Chowder is it's spirited energy. I realized about a third of the way through this book that I had this smile on my face, like I was listening to some stand-up comedy routine. Although Matt is really trying to help his fellow professional Servers survive, his dialogue can help all of us with tough gigs. We all need to wake up and not take for granted the techniques we have learned to get through our daily grinds.

Clam Chowder is not a textbook, instruction manual or undercover mystery on the restaurant industry. It is a very entertaining and lighthearted conversation about dealing with being a Server. Everyday thousands of Americans decide that being a Sever will be a great temporary employment choice while working towards their next phase in life. If they're lucky, someone will turn them onto this book so that they can quickly learn some of the tricks of the trade. There's a lot here for us customers to learn too. Matt does give us some tips that can make our restaurant experiences a little less suspenseful. Just to stop and think about how often we all deal with Servers throughout our lives is an eye opener. Do we ever talk about the millions of Servers out there, unless one of them has pissed us off? I always thought that being a Server could be a cool way to make money if you could handle picky customers, extreme walking and a lot of garbage. But once you read this book you'll understand why every career Server should have one. They all really need a Servers manual complete with tips, tricks and games to fight stress, help prevent mental illness and all the rest of the occupational hazards that come with a tough gig.

This is a fun book that can help us all lighten up!

This book is a fast read and funny. I would suggest going to the website and buying it there. www.clamchowder.biz The author gets all the money and he'll sign and number it, too. be sure to ask for it, though.

Dare I say a book about working in the restaurant industry could change the world?
This book opened my eyes to how I treat my waitress or waiter, actually practically everyone I come in contact with.
Servers are saints for putting up with obnoxious, inconsiderate, and cheap people every day. They are also saints for making their job fun and letting it all roll off their shoulders (Matt Lehman states the nightmares eventually get to you guys).
A humorous (this is why I couldn't stop reading the book and continue to re-read it), insightful book for someone like me who frequents restaurants for business and pleasure 6 times a week. I suspect my dining experience will always be enjoyable because now I can relate.

This is definitely a book to read! I too was once in the "service industry". I remember the days of wearing pina coladas, crocks of salsa and flaming hot fajitas. I wish I knew the tip about Scotch Guard back then! I wish I knew about all of those tips ... they definitely can make the job more bearable. Matt has truly inspired me. I just might go out and get another serving position ... NOT! I also wish I knew about "sex in the walk-in". I think my experience would have been much more enjoyable (smile). This book made me laugh and reminisce about my previous experiences. It also gave me some great pointers as a customer as well. If you ever have worked in the service industry, plan to or frequent them ... this is the book to read. It is filled with many off-the-wall (but sadly true) stories that will make your side ache from laughter. Every restaurant manager should supply their servers with a copy of this book ... it will definitely improve their turn-over! I also recommend the card game. Be sure to order a copy on Clamchowder.biz! You can buy both the book and game for a great price! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, and don't forget ... be sure to tip your servers!

This book brightens my day. The author understand my frustration in my job. He just makes my shifts even happier.

I would, however, purchase this book from www.clamchowder.biz That's how I somehow found it.

I really enjoyed this book by Matt Lehman. Funny, wry, insightful and true. A great read. While this is not a character-driven story, I do wish the "Kevin" character would have received more "screen time". To be honest, I could easily see a spin-off of that character into books, multi-picture movie deals, maybe even an HBO series. It's that good.

There are lots of other characters in the book as well. Read it, and find your favorite.

Clam Chowder, The Server's Field Manual is one of the funniest books I have ever read. It's best function in my home is it's place on the shelf in the main powder room. When guests come to visit, we often lose them for hours and hear them cracking up laughing in the powder room!! Good conversations always follow after one of my guests picks up this book! Most bring it out to the group and it gets passed around to all. It's a great way to spice up a party!

Suzi Newcomb

La Quinta, CA