{"id":340,"date":"2010-06-22T17:31:46","date_gmt":"2010-06-23T00:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rayivey.com\/wordpress\/?p=340"},"modified":"2010-06-22T17:31:46","modified_gmt":"2010-06-23T00:31:46","slug":"you-should-know-that-dear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rayivey.com\/wordpress\/you-should-know-that-dear\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"rss\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>

I realize that the following piece will remove any doubt from the minds of many that I\u2019m a complete jerk.\u00a0 But I cannot be silenced as I insist on discussing the important topics of the day.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s burning issue:\u00a0 The education and training of Denny\u2019s waitresses.<\/p>\n

When I am teaching a room of lawyers how to create a legal brief in Microsoft Word, it\u2019s not enough that I know how to explain the mechanics of the template and macros to them.\u00a0 I actually need to understand some of the context of their work.\u00a0 Of course, it\u2019s not necessary for me to have attended law school, but it helps if I can say things like, \u201cAs you know, the only three fonts allowed by California courts for pleadings are Times Roman, Arial and Courier.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In other words, it\u2019s not enough for me to know how to teach<\/em> the thing, I need some broader knowledge relevant to my customers (lawyers, paralegals, legal secretaries).<\/p>\n

That\u2019s true for every job.\u00a0 You need the base skill set<\/em> along with an understanding of your customer\u2019s needs<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Even if you are a waitress at Denny\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Now I certainly understand that my waitress at Denny\u2019s isn\u2019t a nutritionist, or a dietitian, or a food scientist.\u00a0 But it\u2019s not enough that she knows how to take my order and bring me my food, no matter how ravishingly well she does those two things.\u00a0 She should know what, in terms of the products she\u2019s providing me, a \u201ccarbohydrate\u201d is.\u00a0 Seriously.<\/p>\n

Particularly if she is a waitress at a Denny\u2019s in California.\u00a0 Particularly<\/em> if she\u2019s a waitress at a Denny\u2019s in Los Angeles<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0 Because her customers are vegans.\u00a0 And raw fooders.\u00a0 And lacto-ovo-vegetarians.\u00a0 And kosher.\u00a0 And on low-fat diets.\u00a0 And on low-carb diets<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Perhaps nowhere in the known universe are food and diet more Balkanized than in sunny LA.\u00a0 And yes, it\u2019s your JOB to understand that at least a tiny little bit, <\/em>Denny\u2019s Waitress.<\/p>\n

So when I say, \u201cI\u2019m on a low-carb diet . . . could I have the fajita vegetable mix instead of the pancakes and hash browns with my omelet, \u201d you really shouldn\u2019t say, \u201cOh, so you\u2019d like egg whites?\u201d<\/p>\n

No, mi chica tierna<\/em>.\u00a0 That\u2019s low-fat<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On my last trip to I-Hop the waitress offered me corn as a substitute for rice.<\/p>\n

Corn.\u00a0 Instead of rice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, I don\u2019t know what a carbohydrate is, \u201d she said sheepishly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYOU SELL FOOD FOR A LIVING!!\u201d I screamed in my inner monologue.<\/p>\n

I know it sounds cranky, but for a waitress to not know what a carbohydrate is would be like a gardener not knowing what a flower is.\u00a0 Or a carnival pitchman not knowing what a mooch was. \u00a0Or a porno actress not knowing what — but you get my point.<\/p>\n

Last week when I asked for my omelet order to be low carb \u2013 specifically, vegetables instead of the bread and hash browns, she responded by proudly depositing an omelet in front of me which had no meat.<\/p>\n

On a \u201cMeat Lovers\u2019\u201d omelet.<\/p>\n

Okay.\u00a0 Let me put it to you this way, honey. <\/em>\u00a0You work mostly for tips.\u00a0 It would be in your professional self-interest to learn what a low-fat diet is.\u00a0 And what a carbohydrate is.\u00a0 And what on your menu is kosher.\u00a0 And which soups have no beef or chicken stock in them.\u00a0 Yes, these are things you should know for your job<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Learn these things, and I bet your tips would improve.\u00a0 At least they would from me.<\/p>\n

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