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How to Burn Down the House: The Infamous Waiter and Bartender's Scam Bible by Two Bourbon Street Waiters
 
 
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How to Burn Down the House: The Infamous Waiter and Bartender's Scam Bible by Two Bourbon Street Waiters (Paperback)

~ Peter Francis (Author), R.Chip DeGlinkta (Author), Nigel Pickhardt - Cover art & design (Illustrator), Travis Klein - Graphic designer (Illustrator) "You are dining at your favorite restaurant..." (more)
Key Phrases: fake check, separate checks, House Salad, Burn Down the House, Cup Soup (more...)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
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Frequently Bought Together

How to Burn Down the House: The Infamous Waiter and Bartender's Scam Bible by Two Bourbon Street Waiters + Preventing Internal Theft : A Bar Owners Guide + The Food Service Professional Guide to Controlling Liquor, Wine & Beverage Costs (Food Service Professional Guide to, 8) (Food Service Professionals Guide to)
Total List Price: $52.85
Price For All Three: $50.26

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A rare book...readers will be overwhelmed at the sheer volume and complexity of many of the schemes described." -- WHERE Y'AT Magazine

"Burn Bourbon Burn!" -- OFFBEAT Magazine

"This is the book they hoped no one would ever write." -- Bill Marvin,

Product Description

"How to Burn Down the House" is first insider’s guide to restaurant and barroom con games. It contains humorous step by step descriptions of every scam in the business with detailed instructions on how to pull them off undetected.

Two Bourbon Street veterans usher the reader into the hilarious world of America’s most overworked and under-appreciated criminal. Take an enlightening tour through the enterprising mind of the "Pump Handle", the enigmatic anti-hero of the service industry. For the first time his ingenious bag of tricks is revealed and examined in detail. After reading the Scam Bible you will never look at your waiter or bartender quite the same way again.

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Product Details

  • Paperback: 96 pages
  • Publisher: Promethean Books; 1st edition (November 11, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0974867705
  • ISBN-13: 978-0974867700
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #248,390 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #60 in  Books > Entertainment > Humor > Cooking
    #97 in  Books > Entertainment > Humor > Business & Professional

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More About the Author

Peter Francis
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
You are dining at your favorite restaurant. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
fake check, separate checks
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
House Salad, Burn Down the House, Cup Soup, Bahama Mania, Seat One Seat Two Seat Three, Friendly Delivery, Jerk Chicken Salad, Bud Light, Primavera Figure
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Scam Bible is a hoot!, December 2, 2004
By Big Tipper (Boston, Mass.) - See all my reviews
I read this straight thru and laughed time and time again. This is one of the funniest most irreverent books i have ever read. Not only is it hilarious, but it is a real education. I never guessed that the waiters and bartenders had such a vast and ingenius repertoire of crime. I haved showed it to people in the business and just avid diners and they have all raised an eyebrow but also cracked a smile. There is a lot of unexpected depth here. If the waiters are this developed, what about everyone else?! Five stars easy.
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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars So much more than a Scam Bible, September 3, 2005
By Andre (Texas) - See all my reviews
Wow! Having worked as a waiter and bartender all over the country, through college and even supplementing my income as a struggling entrepreneur, I am so happy to find a book, at last, that truly does this rich environment and unique subculture justice.
There have been a few somewhat amusing books, like "Kitchen Confidential", written by a tongue and cheek chef, that have made our stomachs turn and hair stand up, but the truth is, to really cut the meat right to the funny bone, the stories and the tricks needs to be told by the workers themselves. And further by workers that have truly mingled in the trenches and gotten their feet wet so to speak. Anything less is a euphamism and can only be considered goose-knecking and second hand info.
The previous review and others seem to condemn these guys as promoting theft, but I think they miss the point entirely. It is only from this predatory and unscrupulous perspective, that one gets the clearest picture of really the most interesting, the funniest, and a truly ingenius aspect of the restaurant and bar experience that no one outside knows about and no one inside has ever had the backbone to write about.
I say hats off to DeGlinkta and Francis for sticking their necks out and delivering a great, gut-busting, and extremely useful read. Surely they must have known how the moralizing majority would react. If they never write another book (and I hope that's not the case)they have written a classic.
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11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Short book could have been shorter, July 13, 2006
By H. B. Co "Mitch Harper" (Riverside, California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
It seems that the editor wanted to have as many pages in this booklet, so he could call it a book, that he could muster. Large type, small pages, and liberal use of white space still couldn't get it even to 100 pages. The editor even started counting at the title page, so by the time you get to chapter 1, you're already on page 21. I guess the editor took some of the lessons from the authors, about how to rip-off the customers, to heart. I don't read very fast, and spent less than two hours to completely study this novelette.

The authors try and convey a image of rampant rip-offs by a single waiter being possible, but I just don't believe that the scale of their implications are possible. There are a few good scams that may be possible, such as recycling customer checks, but any decent restaurateur has these beat with a good point of sale system, and security cameras.

The references to how bartenders rip-off the customers and store were extremely weak, and probably thrown into the book"let" in order to claim that area is covered. I seriously doubt that the authors ever worked behind the bar, or even interviewed any bartenders before writing this book. For example, they say the bartender should short pour to rip-off his customers. What good is that going to do the bartender? They don't pay for the liquor, the owner does. If anything, over pour so you get larger tips. Duh! Remember, the owner is paying for it, and a customer appreciates and rewards a bartender pouring heavy.

At $12.95 the book is overpriced. It would be appropriately priced around $3.95, provided you always received free shipping. So, for the Amazon rating, if you took $12.95 and divided it by 5 stars, each star is worth $2.59. ($3.95 value / $12.95 cost) * 5 stars) = 1.53 Amazon stars, and we round up to 2 (plus I'm feeling pretty generous right now).

On the positive side, I like the concept of the book, and would like to read one that is more detailed, accurate, and covers more real life situations.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Humorous but...
This is a quick and funny read. Except for the bartender scams, I find it hard to believe that these kind of shenanigans go on in a restaurant; maybe because I am an honest,... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Rosey

2.0 out of 5 stars Restaurant owners need not bother with this book
I own a 400+ seat restaurant that stays open 24/7. The biggest threat to my business is theft by my employees. Read more
Published 14 months ago by George Venetoklis

4.0 out of 5 stars For every restaurant owner
This book offers good tips for any restaurant owner, especially an absent one. The amount stolen from a business, whether it's goods or time, grows exponentially to the number of... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Rudedog

1.0 out of 5 stars Just for restaurant employees
I had been led to believe that this book also included comments about what happens when customers complain about their food. Read more
Published on January 9, 2007 by James R. Ashberry

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!!!
This book is revolutionary. Eye opening insight to the world of restaurants and the staff that "run" them. Read more
Published on November 13, 2006 by Cherie Ashe

4.0 out of 5 stars Shocking but very revealing
A must read for every restaurant manager/owner and even for restaurant customers. After reading the various ways that servers can line their pockets above and beyond tips, it... Read more
Published on November 9, 2006 by D. Kenyon

5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC
This book provided the information I needed to run an efficient food establishment. It also gave me the secrets on what to look out for in the latest restaurant and bar scams... Read more
Published on July 20, 2006 by Paul Rodriguez

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting behind the scenes
obviously written for the waiter/co-conspirator(s), 'how the burn down the house' is an inside glimpse into the world of how 'waitstaff' steal from customers and restaurant owners... Read more
Published on February 10, 2005 by htbdth-reader

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