Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful Insight on this Underrated Profession
Review: I've never been a waitress, however, I do frequent in many restaurants and I have always admired the profession of a waitress. Just watching them handle the HEAVY trays of hot food and always being so pleasant with customers is an art in itself. Debra Ginsberg revealed so much more about the "behind the scenes" which is the most underrated profession and the working conditions in restaurants with humor, empathy, and an understanding of what a waitress must endure when encountering with all sorts of customers, mainly the cheap people who refuses to leave a tip - if you can't leave a tip, don't eat at restaurants!! Remember, all workers, no matter what their profession is, have to make a living and everyone has bills to pay. Everyone who frequents into a restaurant SHOULD READ this book because they will have a better understanding why NO WAITRESS should get a lousy tip. Debra shared the most insightful and SURPRISING revelation on which holidays was the most or least rewarding to be on call. A wonderful read and I appreciate this profession so much more and it deserves minimum of 20% tip!!
Rating: 
Summary: Waiting:the true confessions of a waitress
Review: Excellent book! It gave me an insider's view of a job that is much more difficult than I had ever imagined. I've alwayed believed in tipping well, but now I appreciate the service I recieved even more.
I also enjoyed reading about the small, but satisfying, slices of life that Debra shared; not only about herself, but the soap oprahs behind the swinging doors!
Rating:
Summary: Waiting: Real Life Stories
Review: Excellent book. Enjoyed reading the way life is to Ms. Ginsberg as she relives her days as a waitress. She includes the family life also - her style is very warm, amusing and true to life.
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of juicy stories put together to make one yummy book!
Review: I enjoyed reading Ms. Ginsberg's memoir. She changed my perspective on waiting -- a job I formerly associated with uneducated, untalented, "lower-class" people. Out of 5, I would rate this book a 3 because while it was entertaining and informing, I would have liked the author to go into more details about her family members and close friends. There were too many characters and not enough information about them. Just as I began to feel that I was starting to get to know a character, s/he disappears, only to be replaced by someone else. Hmmm. I guess that just comes with the restaurant business? (Suggestion: Don't read this book when you're hungry.)
Rating:
Summary: Waiting
Review: Excellent descriptions. Waiters are so under-appreciated. She proves to the general public that waiters are human. My perspective was challeneged. She writes from acccounts that have changed her. Main theme: Waiting for life to "really start". Very Authentic, lots of growth. Fun gift for anyone who has ever waited tables.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting subject beaten to death with the dull stick
Review: Dreadful and quite disappointing. What could have been very engaging material suffers from the author's deadly boring style and tendency to overexplain and preach. This woman claims to be a professional writer, yet she has no ability to draw the reader in or to tell a compelling story--and there are many, many compelling stories to be told in the restaurant business.
Rating:
Summary: Eating with Debra Ginsberg !
Review: Memoirs are one of my favorite forms of prose. Debra Ginsberg wrote one of the very best I have ever read---full of fascinating stories of all the various experiences she had during her lifetime as a waitress. She has an uncanny way of writing each chapter as if you were right there, watching, waiting and hoping she has a good night. Will this party of six leave a sufficient tip ? Will this chef be cooperative ? Are her co-workers helpful and friendly or do they make her work more difficult ? Each group of diners really creates a story of its own. The book reads easily--Debra Ginsberg is an excellent writer. You will not want to put this book down, that is for sure.
Rating:
Summary: insightful and true
Review: Ginsberg has spent 20 years as a waitress in various locations and establishments, and she shares her myriad stories of co-workers and customers she has encountered. In each chapter, she injects eye-opening research (and if you've ever waited tables, you always suspected some of this) about the origins of tipping, the requirements to be a waiter (did you know you're supposed to give a health certificate stating you are free of all communicable diseases?), etc. There is also a fine dance between hostess, waiter, chef, busboy, dishwasher and manager, and if someone doesn't like you for whatever reason, your shift can be made into a nightmare. She also writes about people's attitudes towards waiters (she accurately states that everyone thinks that anyone can wait tables, and that anyone can write. Perhaps it's no accident that only one letter is different in the words "waiter" and "writer".)
She tells of how the answer to a question asked on the TV game show Family Feud -- "What is the job you would least like your wife to have?" -- was not "stripper" or "prostitute" but "waitress". But she herself is not without attitude...If you've ever waited tables for even one night, you will appreciate what Ginsberg has to say, and probably see a lot of yourself in that experience.
Rating:
Summary: Waiting: The True Confessions of a Waitress
Review: As a child, Ginsberg marveled at her father's stories about waiting tables, which made restaurants seem exciting and glamorous. At 16, she started working in a luncheonette and has spent over 20 years in all types of eating establishments from a diner to a "prestigious" club. As she recounts the different jobs that she has held, readers discover what it really takes to be a waitress. Ginsberg feels that she must be an actress, a good listener, and a nurturer. She examines the complex physical, mental, and psychological skills required to deal with demanding customers, unscrupulous managers, and uncooperative cooks and busboys. Throughout her career, Ginsberg felt that waiting tables was only a means to her real goal of being a writer. However, over time, she realized that the work allowed her to spend real quality time with her son. With a new insight into this profession, readers will see their next waitperson in an entirely new light.-
Rating:
Summary: leave a little above average tip
Review: I really found the premise of this book interesting. And the author has really paid her dues in the food service department. She has that great cynical waitresses humour which can be the best on the planet but is also a little impersonal. Her experience is varied and she portrays it all with a very knowledgable voice. But it is the voice of a toughened heart who has learned to keep a functional, friendly yet guarded smile on her face.
Having been a waitress myself, I know there are a lot of mixed feelings to being a part of this family. It feels like she just doesn't trust you enough to tell you how she really feels about her place in the 'food chain'.
But, it is really a fun read and you'll really appreciate it if you have ever served a dinner to anyone ever in your life.
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