🚀 go-pugleaf

I hate to be the lone voice of dissent (yea, right), but politeness goes both
ways.  Wait staff are not a lower form of life, they are human beings and 
deserve the same politeness and respect due any other human.  I am sure that
there are lousy waiters/waitresses out there (I have seen my share), but there
are also lousy coustomers, and the person waiting tables has a right to be 
offended by uncalled-for rudeness.  I have found that if I make an effort to
be friendly, instead of treating the person like they are a serf and I am some
kind of feudal lord, I usually get good to great service.

I am pointing this out because, while I have not worked in a food service 
establishment, my sister was a professional cook for several years.  Some of
the stories she brought back about how the wait staff was treated by the 
coustomers was horrifying.  Some people would come in with a hugue attitude, 
and be purposfully rude to the staff just to get some little power thrill, or
to show off to their family, date, buddy, etc..  Others were even worse - I
recall one waitress who had to edure groping from the coustomer, up to the
point where he put his hand up her skirt.  She was professional, the manager
did not toss the coustomer out (after all, the coustomer is always right),
and the SOB got his meal.

At any rate, what I am saying is that while we, as coustomers, have a right
to expect good service, the person waiting on us has a right to be treated 
with the dignity and politeness deserved by all human beings.  Just because
being polite to a jerk is included in someone's job description does NOT mean
that they have to like it, or that they cannot complain about it.  I wonder
how many poeple out there who have waited tables have horror stories about 
customers who recieved good service but were still terrible to deal with?
--GDD