Customer Reviews

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter (P.S.)

5 star:		(99)
4 star:		(71)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(25)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

As I read "Waiter Rant", I couldn't help but think that this truly was a bit like the cult film "Office Space", but for the restaurant world. Parts of the book were just flat out funny, in that kind of way that Office Space is funny to those of us who work in the corporate world.

I found I liked "the waiter" from the beginning. He is cynical, he is funny, he is smart, witty and above all not going to take a lot of "#%*%" from you if you start acting like a moron at the establishment he works at.

In the book you get the real picture of what goes in the back, the tyrannical bosses, the mal-adjusted waitstaff, the psycho customers, the good, the bad and the ugly. There are stories of meat sent back one too many times, a roaming squirrel in the dining room, and the case of the coffee that just wasn't hot enough (until the waiter fixes that for good). As he says in the book "Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Waiter". Rule 1: Always be nice to the waitstaff.

I must admit, that I had never read the waiter's prize winning blog before, so I was completely new to his writing, but hope that he keeps up the writing and entertaining us for years to come, in whatever direction his life takes him.

Oh, and do NOT miss the 40 tips on how to be a good customer, noted in the back of the book. Not only are these written with humor, but are truly those things that many of us fellow diners wish that you would stop (ahem, hel-lo cell phone users.....we are trying to have a romantic dinner here and do not really need to know about your mother's kidney stones).

Great Job "Waiter", I would give you a 25% tip for this one, and a smiley on the check to boot :)

Wishing you much success with the book, it was a great read!

I was at a nice restaurant with my now fiance. A man walked in with a small group and proceeded to raise a ruckus. He didn't like the table they assigned. He didn't like the next table. He got angry and firm, finally taking a table near the back despite the protest of the staff. Quite rude and quite thinking he was the only one in the restaurant.

When he sat down his mother, who likely taught him such behavior, said, "First you give them a chance to do it right, then you help them do it right."

We laughed out loud. Their assumption of what they were owed did not disguise the fact they were merely boors.

I'm glad I don't have to deal with such people every day.

But waiters and waitresses do.

The author of this book started out thinking he would like to help people as a priest. He began to study for the priesthood but left when the corruption and the scandals started getting too much. Had a degree in psychology and tried his hand in the mental health care business. Also corrupt and scandal-ridden. Stayed honest, got fired.

Wandered around a little. His brother got him a job in a restaurant. Also corrupt and scandal-ridden, but at least there are no illusions. Stays a waiter. Moves to a nicer place. Begins to write about his experiences on a blog. Then in this book.

That's the background.

The book is a memoir of sorts, but not a typical kind. It's anonymous. It also dwells on a particular setting and makes particular points along the way. It's a memoir with a mission, and this is to illuminate the often hidden world of restaurants. The Waiter, as he is known, touches on important concepts such as management, illegal immigration, rude customers, good and bad service, holidays, waiter revenge, hygiene, and assorted other topics. Each chapter has a particular theme.

Yet, these themes aren't at all obvious at first. The writing is that good. The Waiter is brilliant at showing not telling, that tricky art that foils lesser writers. We are given a story, not a mere rant. He is descriptive, insightful, observing, and honest. The themes are held within an overall story that is his life, a life that has many twists and turns and disappointments.

These disappointments and disillusionment become our boon, however. Because of his background, and his great capability, we are given a wonderful view into an often disguised world. The Waiter brings to bear not only his expertise at his profession, but also psychological and spiritual insights, making this book a surprising deep read. But never overbearing and certainly never self-righteous. The honesty sometimes ventures into the vulgar, but always understandably so. It's not only the story of a man trying to find his way and providing great commentary as he goes. It's also a manual of restaurant etiquette and personalities, becoming a mirror to our often unconsidered actions.

This really is a great book, amazing insight and amazing writing throughout. Profound and readable, all while dwelling on often mundane issues. I'm going to be recommending this to most everyone I know.

Now, I sort of wish he went back into the priesthood, or maybe tried out being a Protestant pastor. I can only imagine how good he would do looking at the convoluted world of church life. But, I suspect his mission is greater than that.

He's a waiter. He's really a writer. And this book should be bought. Brilliant book. Ten stars if I could.

I like to eat, dabble in cooking, read the usual food blogs, but hitherto reading the WR, I must confess that I have never heard of the WaiterRant blog or the mysterious Waiter. (One does however, learn the Waiter's first name by the end of the book. And more importantly, as I learned on wikipedia, the Waiter will shed his anonymity at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, July 29th at Borders Books inside the Time Warner Building in Manhattan.)

The Waiter details his beginnings at Amici's, where we meet the first of several psychopathic and dysfunctional managers, fellow waiters, and restaurant owners. He survives the baptism, and soldiers on as a manager at The Bistro for the next six odd years. He deftly handles the crucible that is The Bistro throughout a variety of situations; supervising the infamous Russell Crowe visit, deflecting Fluvio's rants and video camera spying, and handling the day to day obnoxious customers. Some of the chapters may have come from his blog postings, but perhaps the more faithful fans can tell me which portions were newly added.

After finishing the book, his rants inspired me to a bit of introspection regarding how to better treat the wait staff. I've asked for a different table other than my assigned table before. It's amazing what waiters have to put up with, and you will definitely appreciate them more after a good reading. Want suggestions on how to tip better? Then check out Chapter 9, ppg. 105-118. The book also comes with appendices on how to be a better customer (when ordering wine, don't sniff the cork), how to tell you're at a bad restaurant (just look at the employees' bathroom), and tips for waiters. And guys, if you're taking a girl out on a date, the Waiter suggests tipping at least 20%, because she will know.

My one complaint against the Waiter? 30 Minute Meals is his favorite show on FoodTV.

For me there was simply too wide of a gap between what the back cover promised and what WAITER RANT actually delivered. The summary claims to "[tell] the story from the server's point of view, replete with tales of customer stupidity, arrogance, misbehavior and the little unseen bits of human grace[...]" This description sounds like a lot of fun. Unfortunately, while that quote is technically correct, the actual anecdotes that follow are very few and very far between. And the filler wasn't interesting enough to hold my interest.

WAITER RANT shares its name with a blog. It also (alas) shares other aspects of this new form of communication. The book is very shallow, cursory and self-absorbed. It can be difficult to relate to if you do not actually know the person involved. This is something I've noticed with a lot of blogs. For example, a blog entry about the birth of the author's child might be absolutely overwhelmingly joyous news to you if you happen to be a friend of the author, but utterly meaningless if the author is just a random person on the Internet.

Reading a blog over a long period of time may make a reader feel more of a personal connection to the author. In that case, the bite-size, minimalistic style of blog writing may work. However, a novel (or a memoir) is a different medium. It's more immediate. It's not generally read in small doses over a long period of time.

For an instance of how what I'm talking about impacts this book, take chapter two. This is the section where The Waiter discusses the series of events that brought him to the point in his life where he first took a job in the service industry. The chapter deals with his entrance into a Catholic seminary, his disillusionment with a potential life as a priest, his job working in a psychiatric facility, the death of a very close friend, the break-up of a long-term relationship, his disillusionment with the job in the psychiatric facility, and his subsequent firing from the psychiatric facility.

Each of these topics is a life-altering event. Each of these topics deserves time for explanation, for the author to describe the impact. Here's my problem with the way the book is written: chapter two is a little over eight and a half pages long. There is absolutely no time for reflection; we simply jump right into the next sketchy event.

Entering into the substance of the book, the actual anecdotes all seem to fall into a very similar formula (rude customer asks for something ridiculous; waiter stares at him for a bit; customer doesn't get his way and mutters, "Unacceptable"). Unfortunately, the repetitive nature of the storytelling and the lack of genuinely interesting stories hurts. For comparison, I read Anthony Bourdain's KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL years ago, and I can still recall several of the funny tales. It's only been a few days since I read WAITER RANT and already the memories are fading quickly.

The writing style itself doesn't help make the stories memorable either. Many interactions between himself and others are presented as dialogs (the passages are placed within quotation marks, however I must assume that he is only paraphrasing; I can't believe that anyone actually speaks the way they are written here). These sections appear in two basic formats: him patiently explaining something simple to a disgruntled customer (usually accompanied by a "thousand-yard stare" which the author must believe renders well on the printed page) and him patiently (and smugly) dispensing some simple wisdom to a less experienced co-worker. Every person the author interacts with has an extremely similar voice, which is unfortunate given that the actual people span both genders, several ethnic/cultural groups and many age ranges.

I was bored and disappointed by WAITER RANT, especially in comparison to a book like KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL or even compared to the mental image I had created based on the description. The book feels like it should have more meat to it. It promises dirt, but the best is can deliver is a waiter who gets back at customers by meekly pretending that their credit card has been declined before giving up on the joke and making the charge.

There seem to be two ways for a blog to make the leap to book. One is for a publisher to simply gather up all those lovely little bloggy bits in one big between-covers basket. The other is to spot someone with writing skills and a point of view and encourage him/her to stretch them into something more than 500-word posts.

This is the latter. It is not simply a collection of interesting insider stories from the restaurant world (though it has plenty of those). Nor is it simply a picture of what really goes on in your favorite eateries (though it certainly does that).

Our guide through all of this is an anonymous male, pushing forty, with unique personal journey behind him (seminary drop-out, among other things). He looks unflinchingly at a world (not just inside restaurants) that can be sweet and ugly, honorable and venal. The characters in the book are both decent and petty, helpful and selfish-- including the narrator himself.

What ultimately most raises this above the level of a simple blog-post collection is The Waiter's point of view, and his own journey as he comes to grips with his own life, its direction, its mistakes, its failings. It is raw and immediate-- part of his journey is the writing of the very book we're reading.

But it is also honest and interesting. The blurb says that you'll never look at restaurants and the people working in them the same way again, and that's true. But it's also true that you will wish you could meet this guy personally.

There are times when the information comes through reported conversations that are a bit too facile and convenient to be believed. But in the end this book is interesting, informative and moving. You can get it for the insider's view of the restaurant biz, but what you also get is a nicely observed, well-crafted little memoir.

I am sure we all like to eat and it is nice to go out to a restaurant as well. Well if you do go out, you may just want to read this memoir that will give you an insight on your restaurant staff and especially waiters. Now before I received this book I must admit that I had never heard of the blog WaiterRant by The Waiter. But when I saw this book, I went to the blog and read only the last two posts and knew that the book would at least flow and be a fast read. And to my pleasant surprise, that assumption was correct.

The author, known only as The Waiter, gives us a brief introduction on his college life in Seminary and how he earned his degree is psychology. And then over a set of circumstances outside of his control ends up working as a waiter for the first time at a restaurant called Amici's, where his brother the waiter gets him the job. In this restaurant we are introduced to a dysfunctional manager and owner, his fellow waiters, and the kitchen staff. He is inducted into the hallow halls of the restaurant business in a very cutthroat environment where he learns fast how to survive and keep his job...for a while.

We start to pick up the tips one would like to learn from The Waiters work at The Bistro as Head Waiter for years. He learn how he handles the everyday stress of working at a upper mid-range restaurant where he waits on people from a couple who cannot really afford to eat there but are nice to celebrities and those he even drives out regardless of the potential tips he forgoes. And on top of waiting tables he has to be the buffer between the explosive owner Fluvio who has a way of going into spontaneous rants with anyone, staff or customer, and a video camera system set up to watch the staff and not aid them in providing better service.

The author not only explains how waiters look at the different customers, but the categories they place them in and how they tip. He also shares some of the secrets on how waiters get bigger tips out of customers. I do not know how much of the book is from his blog postings, but I enjoyed the book. And having worked a couple years in this industry I can tell you he is right on the mark. Especially when he states that a restaurant may be a business, but money is not always the bottom line. If you are rich and obnoxious you will find a harder and harder time fining a table at fine restaurants.

The book is filled with a lot of useful tips, like gentleman you should be aware that your date my judge you by watching how you compensate your waiter, of course this is an easy dilemma to avoid, but you should not have to. Your waiter services are his job and he or she should be compensated for them. The author has also added appendices on how to be a better customer, on how to tell you're at a bad restaurant, and tips for waiters. It was a fast and fun read. One warning, there is some strong language.

As much as I hate the term, I could be considered a "foodie." I love to cook, I love to eat well, I love to eat adventurously, and I love to read and watch almost everything about it all (except for much of The Food Network). I've worked through a number of chef/authors such as Pepin, Bourdain, Ramsay, Zola, etc. and through the huge expensive food porn books filled with chemistry experiments and tiny morsels like Alinea. One piece mostly left out is the experience of the front lines. I had hoped Waiter Rant would be that tale, especially due to the high praise... even from Anthony Bourdain himself. It wasn't. The book is all filler and no meat. A handful of actual tales and page upon page of uninteresting drivel. To make matters worse the "author" really thinks he is good at his craft, and while busy churning out cringe worthy garbage he is tooting his own horn and spending quite a bit of time explaining the actual writing of the book you are reading to again fluff up the page count. Ugh. Amateurish and pretentious at best.

As always this book sits with high marks on sites like this while it honestly doesn't even deserve to be published. I think people's expectations are so low, and the acceptance of terrible writing so high, that no one knows what good is anymore. Or don't care. If it can be read in a few days and not eat up much brainpower while being the literary equivalent of Top 40 radio it is destined for lavish praise and critical acclaim these days. This stuff might make for a middle-of-the-road blog (which it was) but certainly not a book. NOT Recommended.

- read52in52

Waiter Rant greatly exceeded my expectations. I was expecting a slapstick, sophmoric diatribe on the antics that occur in restaurants. Granted, it has some of that, but on the whole, Waiter Rant is a memoir of high order.

The author inserts entertaining episodes from his career as a waiter into the larger context of a deep, reflective memoir. The writing is superb in both the narrative and autobiographical styles that it includes.

Waiter Rant offers glimpses of the author's background and perspectives. We learn he had ambitions of priesthood and graduated from seminary with a degree in psychology after turning in a different direction. He definitely possesses the thoughtfulness and depth of insight one might expect from a seminary graduate. This is combined with the rough and tough world of mental healthcare and the restaurant business in NYC. The product is something for every reader to enjoy and appreciate.

There is no doubt that the main attraction to this book is the insights and episodes from the restaurants where the Waiter works. These are interesting, funny, sad, and astonishing. The narrator, the Waiter, is likeable, endearing, conflicted, honest, open, etc.,--all those things that are the foundation of a good autobiographical work along with writing talent and the ability to make it interesting. This is the total package.

This book will naturally appeal to readers who work in the restaurant field, but I never have and really enjoyed it. You don't have to have any connections to restaurants besides eating at them to enjoy this book.

When finishing reading Waiter Rant, I had the feeling I have after reading all good memoirs...that of wanting more. I hope the Waiter delivers a second course. (I know that was probably the cheesiest line I have ever written, but it is true.)

Review by the author of Shakespeare On Spirituality: Life-Changing Wisdom from Shakespeare's Plays

I received a copy for review, and I liked the book - I give it 5 stars. It is reminisient of "Kitchen Confidential" but for Front-of-House rather than concentrating on the Back-of-House.

Reading this book can increase your chance of having a good experience at an expensive restaurant. If you invest money in going to this type of establishmnet you would be wise to read this book and invest some time in understanding it.

For the Waitron in the business there are some valuable tips and insights into food service, some stories you can borrow for gossip, and for the person considering opening their own restaurant there are some warnings to give you pause.

"The Waiter" includes a classification of 13 types of tippers in chapter 9 ("The tip's the Thing")including: "the verbal tipper" "the Flat Tipper" "The tip's the Thing". Which type are you? Does that explain the usual service you get?

The book includes some useful Appendix:

40 Tips on how to be a good customer.

50 ways to tell you're working in a bad restaurant.

items a waiter should carry at all times

I have been reading the Waiter Rant blog for a little less than a year and I've also heard him being interviewed (as the voice of waiters everywhere) on the radio. I have always been impressed by his clever, honest style. When I got a chance to preview his long awaited book I jumped at it.

I travel for both business and pleasure a great deal and dining out is a big part of my life so I was interested in what a working waiter had to say about his job, his customers and HIS life. "The Waiter" (his real name is Steve Dublanica) takes us through a tour of his early life as a seminary student, a mental health worker and finally as a waiter at an upscale New York restaurant that he refers to simply as "the Bistro". The book offers both stories of being on the front line of a small but popular dining establishment and witty observations of customers and coworkers alike. Some The Waiter's musings include:

* Why waiters and waitresses are generally poor managers of their personal finances

* Why one should avoid dining out on Saturday nights and major holidays

* Why customers fight over getting the "best table"

* Why substance abuse in common with both restaurant workers and their customers

* Why restaurant owners are generally arrogant jerks (everyone claims to be friends of the owner, he writes, but owners don't have any friends)

* Why diners tip (or don't tip) as they do

His insights should be as interesting to those who share his profession as they are to those of us whom they serve. Some of these observations I have read previously in his blog, but they are either longer or more in depth here, plus, there is enough new material to keep even ardent readers of his blog entertained.

Some of my favorite stories of his include the one of him watching fireworks on the 4th of July; the lady that literally suffers a stroke at his restaurant only to annoy a quartet of customers wanting her table; any story that involved Fluvio (his boss); and of course, the Russell Crowe incident.

Chapters where I think The Waiter shares his greatest insights include the one where he list the different types of tippers by names; when he attempts to tie his perceived rise of arrogant, know-it-all patrons with the popularity of cooking channels; and (this is the scariest part of the book) his treatise on how many different ways a server can get back at you.

I really enjoyed the bonus chapters at the end of the book. Two of them were "Tips on how to be a better customer" and "How to know if you are working in a bad restaurant". These comments are not only hilarious, some of them could actually be very helpful to readers (both patrons and restaurant owners) who are guilty of some of these offenses.

This book is everything that I expected, however I did grow a little tired of his constant references to his blog and his efforts to get his book published. I know that it is a part of his story but it makes me feel less interested in him as a real person, one who is sharing his daily struggles and joys with me and instead see him more as just another guy trying to start a new enterprise and wants me to invest in it. However, this is not a big deal, just slightly disappointing.

All three of my sons either do or have worked as waiters. I am going to buy each of them a copy of Waiter Rant. Servers everywhere will love this book. Finally, someone is on their side.