Recycled Story: Quitting the Radisson After One Day*

I know – one day. But…

Things I wish I had known before I applied:
- On average, breakfast servers only make $35 in tips for an 7-8 hour shift – and that’s the busiest time of day.
- A “busy” day consists of 35 tables in the entire shift.
- Most tips are only 10% on a $10-20 bill. You do the math.
- Asking guests if everything is okay more than once is considered harassing them.
- Being a waitress also means being a hostess, cashier, busboy, cook, and room service runner.
- There is so little organization that the tables aren’t even numbered and they don’t require their servers to learn the menu.
- “Good service” is not being polite, friendly, and welcoming – it’s being invisible.

So, yeah. I feel kind of bad quitting after a day, but that’s only because they’re pretty nice people there. But, oh well. It was a waste of time and definitely not worth getting up at 4:30 in the morning for.

The Radisson markets itself as an upscale hotel, but it’s all fake… Once you get behind the scenes, out of the public areas, it’s obvious that the management needs to seriously assess that situation. The kitchen is huge, but so open and empty…They don’t do enough business to keep it totally stocked (except for banquets and such, I’m guessing). The walls have huge stains on them, the wallpaper is old and faded, it seemed like everything was dirty, some of their cloth napkins have holes in them…It’s fake luxury. It’s all about appearances there. “We’ll set our tables and people will think we’re high-end, so they’ll pay $7 for a continental breakfast.” Sadly, it seems to work – although apparently not THAT well, considering how slow they are.

*Full disclosure: I originally wrote this in June 2007, when my brief stint at the hotel actually occurred.

Rat Race: Yes, I Kept It

Two cute guys sat in my section tonight. When I was clearing their table after they left, I noticed that they left their receipt on the table with the word “hottie” written on it. Danielle thinks they left it there as a “hey, you’re hot” kind of thing, since they were flirting with me the whole time. I think it would’ve been more effective to write “thanks, hottie” or something along those lines. Or to write it on my credit card slip that I was guaranteed to find. So I’m not so sure it was directed at me. Either way… weird. Amusing, but weird.

I Tend to Do That

About a month ago I was searching for a new planner because the one I have now is a) only until December and b) ugly and hard to read at a glance. I found a black one I really liked at Office Depot, but it was only for 2008. So I said okay, I can deal with this ugly planner for another few months, no big deal.

Today at Wal-Mart I found a cute little planner that is easy to read, for 2007-2008, and was $15 cheaper. Sooo now I have two planners for next semester and I really don’t need them both. Since I can’t return the black one because I have no idea where the receipt is, I guess I’ll use the new one this school year and the black one next fall, since the new one stops at July 2007 but the black one has all of 2008. At least I won’t have to buy a planner next school year, right?

Anyway, moral of this story: I’m an idiot.

Rat Race: Too Young for That

I had a five year old try to order whiskey on Monday night.

His mom laughed and ordered him a “kid’s whiskey” instead. Definition: “Sprite with a shot of Coke.”

Five year old boys should not know what whiskey is.

Also: The guy at McDonald’s yesterday recognized me from the gas station I had seen him at earlier. It was a little strange.

True Story

Two years ago, I took off my shoes and ran through the elementary school playground barefoot. It was nearly 4am and the grass was soaking wet, a mix of dew and recycled lake water from the sprinklers. I was completely alone, swinging on the monkey bars and slipping off the balance beam. Eventually I wandered away from the playground, shoes in hand, jeans soaked to the knee. A puddle had formed in the parking lot and I ran towards and it jumped – SPLASH – right into the middle. It was childish and spontaneous and a little gross, but I didn’t care.

I was happy.