Waiting: The True Confessions of a Waitress

Rating:
Summary: Been There, Done That, Got the Worn Out Shoes to Prove, Too
Review: Before, during, and after getting a BA in English, Debra Ginsberg has been a waitress. "Waiting" is her gerund, gender-neutral form of this occupation. Her book, "Waiting," tells how your server views your dining experience. She cleverly juxtaposes the Bureau of Labor Statistics "Occupational Outlook Handbook" descriptions of the "nature of the work" with the way it is performed and perceived in the Real World.

"Waiting" is a much better perspective, and much better book, that Dr. Barbara Ehrenriech's snobby study "Nickel and Dimed" in which the reader gets the impression that the elitist Ehrenriech views her co-workers as mere animals in the zoo through which the author is day-tripping.

If, like me, you've "been there, done that" in the food service industry, you'll relate to Ginsberg's sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant memoir. If you haven't had the opportunity to view meals "from the other side of the table," you just might be in for an eye-opener. Bon appetite!

Rating:
Summary: Not quite warm enough
Review: WAITING: THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF A WAITRESS is a selection of Debra Ginsberg's recollections and stories based on twenty year's worth of waiting tables. The results are fairly mixed. While the two decades have given her more than her fair share of horror stories and anecdotes, not all of the tales recounted here come across well. The style of the book is very off-putting, as many of the accounts could just as easily been compiled by somebody else. The lack of anything personal really hurts the book, which is quite odd when one considers how much space the author attempts to devote to her own life outside of the apron.

While the waitressing stories can oftentimes be quite funny, there is a curious lack of the personal touch among them. Strangely, I had to continually remind myself that these stories were not being told second-hand. The stories are not told about a friend of a friend, or nor are they manufactured, but are actually experiences from the author herself. Yet the viewpoint of the author makes them feel as though they happened to somebody else -- a somebody else who isn't particularly close to the author. The consequence of this is that the stories feel remote and cold. Rather than drawing us into her confidence, Ginsberg keeps us at arm's length. Even more telling is that the author seems trapped between wanting to share some of her personal life with the reader and not wanting to go into any significant detail. The result is that the memoir seems like neither one thing nor the other, with minor and random facts about herself and her family being thrown into the general whitewash of the rest of the story.

I did enjoy reading the first hundred or so pages. However, after a certain point, I realized that the book wasn't going to get any more introspective and that the faintly hollow feeling that I experienced from the beginning was going to be present throughout the entire book. For a three hundred page memoir, this is not something that is going to work well. Had the book been about half its current length, the lack of depth might not have been as significant a flaw, but to maintain reader interest for that entire length, we really need more interesting material to read about. The message of this book seems to be that waiters and waitresses are real people with real problems, and sometimes whether or not a customer's lasagna is the optimal temperature isn't the most important thing on his or her mind. This is indeed an important message, but hardly an Earth-shattering one. If you are among the few people on the planet who hasn't already realized this fairly simple fact, then not only should you educate yourself with this book, but you must go out immediately, track down every waiter you've ever been rude to, get down on your knees, and apologize profusely. Everyone else can continue to tip well, but can probably skip this book, as apparently they innately understand what Ginsberg goes to a lot of trouble to explain.

Now I don't want to be wholly negative in this review, as there were several anecdotes and stories that I found to be quite amusing. Yes, funny things can happen in restaurants and there are a number of entertaining stories to be read. Some of the accounts here, while occasionally repetitive, are sufficiently distracting enough to be enjoyable. Many of them will have you cringing at the amount of human stupidity displayed by numerous customers of restaurants all across America. A handful of Ginsberg's fellow co-workers occasionally stand out, and it's a pity that we never get to know more than a scattering of details about any of them. I get the impression that there were a lot of great stories concerning these people that we never really got the chance to read about.

Unfortunately, I can't say that WAITING is a fantastic memoir. If your reaction to the revelation of waiters and waitresses being actual (and overworked) human beings is to say, "Yeah, I knew that already," then this book will most likely be a rethread of what you understand to be true anyway. Maybe it's an inherent property of waitressing that most of the things one learns about people are done so within a short amount of time, leaving little room for deeper thoughts or meaningful reflections. But these short musings aren't enough to sustain the entire book. WAITING is only recommended if you genuinely have no idea that waiters are people.

Rating:
Summary: Dry, insightful, interesting
Review: I began this book with the expectation that it was going to be vicariously entertaining by being riddled with war stories from a veteran waitress. It is entertaining, but in an understated and often ironic fashion. Ginsberg's "True Confessions" is largely an introspective memoir and reads like a sociological study. Frequently, I found myself reminded of Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential", perhaps because the territory both covered overlaps, though this hardly an expose.

The book has more than its fair share of humorous recollections presented in an unvarnished fashion -- but none will make you laugh out loud. "True Confessions" is largely a defense of the reasons to endorse working as a "server" and observations on the behaviors and personalities of restaurant patrons. Throughout the book Ginsberg takes offense over the proletarian pigeonholeing people do of waiters and waitresses. Ironically, however, she doesn't do much to bolster the image with her passages about disfunctional personalities, commonplace alcoholism, and the prevalence sex literally in the work place among employees and patrons. Her descriptions depict a profession that draws more than a fair share of bottom feeders, and the accounts of intimate relationships rather than being titillating instead make you want to take a shower.

From the perspective of learning more about a segment of society with whom we all personally interact on a daily basis, yet one most perceive as a lower caste and keep at a distance, this is an interesting read. Ginsberg makes many apt observations, but her writing is some what stilted and wooden, perhaps as a subconscious protest that being educated and a "server" aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. Rather in than the category of humor, I'd shelve this book with Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed"; something thought provoking and engaging that will hopefully heighten your sensitivity toward the working class.

Rating:
Summary: Amazingly funny and completely true!
Review: Of course, I'm a waitress, so I can relate to Ginsberg's feelings from dealing with bad tippers and rude guests, to that one table that smiles at you and makes your night go by so much easier. It's a tricky job because every guests wants personalized service, but everyone is different! It's just unfortunate that those who really should read the book are those who will probably see Ginsberg as a complainer! Not many people realize how difficult being a foodserver really is - but anyone lucky enough to serve someone who has read this book will be thankful - it really gets under the surface and explains what goes on in our heads during every shift! Since not everyone has to put in their time wearing the apron, everyone should have to read this book, just to get a taste...

Rating:
Summary: Amusing at times, but too long-winded.
Review: "Waiting" contains some interesting behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the restaurant business. However, the book should have been edited down to about half its length. I was really struggling to get through the last 50 pages or so. Parts of the book could have been eliminated altogether, like the chapter about cinematic portrayals of waitresses.

Rating:
Summary: If I wanted a lecture, I woulda called my Mom...
Review: Ultimately, I found this book to be less satisfying and funny than I would have liked. Having read all of the professional reviews, I got the impression that I would be giggling my way through the book. I found myself somewhat resenting the lecturing tone of many passages about the wait staff's lot. Having worked in many different aspects of the service profession at different times, I'm sure there are many more horror stories that could have been included that would be more entertaining than many different blow-by-blow accounts on why it's so hard to be a waitress. I found this book to be a little whiney. It read quickly, and frankly I found myself glad to be done with it, rather than wishing there was more.

Rating:
Summary: ZZZZZZZZ
Review: Boring, repetitive anecdotes. I wasted two hours reading this book, I'm glad I didn't waste any money on it (it was passed on from a friend). If waiting tables is so distasteful, why did the author do it for so long?

Rating:
Summary: I loved it
Review: I am a 7th grader from Markham Place School. We needed to read a biography or auto-biography so i chose this one. I thought the book was very interesting. I loved it. Yes, it did have a few parts where you might not think it is very apropriate for a 7th grader to read, but it wasn't too bad. It's amazing how she seems to get over all her problems. This is a really good book. I hope you think so too if you read it.

Rating:
Summary: Reviews as insightful as the book!
Review: I find it amusing that most of the reviews I've read for this book follow a similar pattern. Former and/or current servers love it. Readers who have never served hate it and even seem angry at Ginsberg for writing it.

"Waiting" is hilarious. It's full of fun tales from behind the scenes in the food service business. Better yet, it's an honest glimpse into the writer's life. Not heavy, but meaty enough make the book more than a collection of amusing anecdotes--which wouldn't be so bad, either.

So why do so many non-servers dislike it? Perhaps they don't like knowing that the person overseeing their dining experience is a real person. Maybe they don't appreciate learning how their servers probabaly feel about them. Or maybe they just don't like looking into the mirror Ginsberg places squarely before them in this book.

My advice? Why don't you all find a manager to complain to. Maybe you can get a free desert out of it.

Rating:
Summary: be nice to your waitress
Review: This was a very funny book. It answered all my questions: Yes waiters can sometimes be pushed so hard that they punish an obnoxious guest by spitting the food. Yes, it possible that your flatware isn't clean and it's likely that the chef is insane. After the gross out aspects the book gets complicated. The author tells a bit more about herself than she probably intended. She doesn't come off as being the easiest person in the world to deal with and some of her career and personal choices are hard to understand but luckily just when things start getting grim she tells another funny story. The moral of the tale: Stop looking down and waiters and waitresses and remember that the person who brings you your food better be in a good mood or you may be eating more or less than what you paid for!