The world of the service industry is a constant foray into sociological observation. I've been working service jobs for about nine years now, and I still meet people who surprise me, who intrigue me, disappoint me, and impress me. I guess it's the nature of man to fulfill every possible segment of what we consider to be society. Darwin did say that it is through variation that we grow, change, and evolve. The problem is that I sometimes wonder how far we've come...
Last night is what got me thinking about this whole curiosity...
Although the cliche is extremely old, working as a bartender for a certain amount of time should contribute toward practicum time either as a post-degree sociology program, or for a psychology degree. Last night, I had the pleasure of encountering a mother and daughter who were in the middle of some family issues that really shouldn't make it into a public place. The 40ish daughter was arguing with her mother (who was celebrating her 60th birthday, nonetheless), and upon checking on the two ladies who were both extremely emotional, I learned that, supposedly, the mother had spent a lifetime beating the daughter and was likely going to do so again that night. I also learned that the daughter was dealing with other issues related to the fact that she had just been released from jail and her children had been taken away from her in the process. Far too much information to bring to the guy slinging drinks behind the bar.
At the other end of the spectrum, I had a couple in from California that were enjoying a few late-night beverages. Fantastic couple... pleasant, decent tippers just out for a good time. The unfortunate thing was, they encountered the aforementioned daughter who had stumbled into them and began to unload every imaginable social disfunction she had encountered on this lovely vacationing couple. I had a cab coming for the daughter so as to prevent any encounters with this nice couple or any other patrons, but unfortunately, the cab couldn't come quickly enough. The mother had already left in a cab 15 minutes prior. This is the point where the people from the show Intervention should show up and take control of the situation. No luck with that though. Luckily, A (the wife from the couple) led the daughter to the front door and waited for the cab with her... she'd been a nurse for the past 15 years, and had a rare nurturing spirit and didn't mind the interruption. I didn't know how to deal with the woman beyond hustling her out the door, so I was relieved that A stepped in to help. After many apologies and words of thanks, I discounted a couple drinks from their bill so the experience wasn't a total bust, and got to chat with the two for the last 20 minutes before they retired for the night. I left work that night thinking that maybe the whole of humanity wasn't on a fast track to the shitter, which is the impression I sometimes receive after dealing with crack addicts, hustlers, and bitter drunks who threaten me with cue-balls (which just happened just 2 weeks ago).
People wonder if I'm going to miss the service industry... I don't really think I will, but I still don't think that I'll be able to stop working with people. No matter how much they may seem to disappoint you, there's always people to curb the pessimistic/cynical tendancies that come along with the job description.... there may even be more people who turn up the spirits than bring them down. It's just funny that we can always find negative things to focus on, when there's a world of good folk out there just trying to make the day livable, and maybe even enjoyable...
- T
3 comments:
The service industry always brings with it a lot of interesting times. Some make for great stories to tell for years, others make you happy when you're finally gone.
I think every single person needs to spend time in the front line of the service industry, though, for a minimum of 6 months. What you learn about dealing with people and problem-solving while doing retail, food service, or any other service industry job becomes invaluable later on...
One of my favourite quotes from the restaurant industry: "We're not in the food business serving people, we're in the people business serving food."
I agree... the service industry has a variety of experiences that contribute to skills and abilities down the road. But there's definitely nights that I just want to toss in the towel. Nature of the beast, I guess...
- T
Hello Trev. I'm reading a book right now called "Kitchen Confidential" (Anthony Bourdain), and holy poo, it is so good. I haven't put it down in 3 days. If you want some great insights into the restaurant/bar industry from the perspective of the kitchen, this is the book for you. I wish I'd read it while I was still serving!
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