Serving up laughs — Anyone who’s ever worked in the service industry knows both the perks and perils: With the flexible hours come with achin’ feet, and those great tips are offset by the rudest, foulest, strangest morons imaginable — meaning both your customers and your co-workers.
All that abuse day in and day out leads up to some serious frustration, and donttipthewaiter.com offers some much-needed comic relief. A collection of satirical articles, the publication was founded in August 2004 by Detroit-area waiter Dennis Rymarz, who describes it as “The Onion meets the restaurant business.” The venture began in print, distributed to a few metro Detroit eateries and bars, but Rymarz says the launch of the Web site last month has resulted in a flurry of attention.
Articles include such fodder as “Bartender Admits: I May Have a Drinking Problem” and “Next Shift After Work Party Extremely Uncomfortable.” A sampling from the latter:
“‘K______ didn’t even come in for her shift. But then again, I don’t think I would show my face either if I spent almost the whole party in my brother’s minivan parked in our garage, letting all the dishwashers tag team me.’”
Rymarz says future content will include a buy and sell section that serves as a “sort of eBay for servers and bartenders,” entitled “Starving Server Exchange” — and it’s free to use, good news for those who blew all their hard-earned tips on the other side of the bar.
Check it out for a few giggles — and, just remember, folks, be nice to your waitstaff, or you may end up with an extra side of loogie with that burger.
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