I was going to take a break from writing until school is out, because honestly. But I had to come back to start a new campaign.
I have witnessed atrocities over the last week that are so unbelievable that I can't believe these things are still going on in our country. Young men and women who are desperately looking for a job are promised hundreds of dollars for a few hours' work every evening. They are expected to do hard physical labor with little rest and no complaining.
At the end of their work day, they are put before a committee of bored, wealthy individuals and berated for every mistake they have made. They are then put on trial for every mistake their fellow employees make, and even blamed for things that have gone wrong in the committee members' personal lives. The committee then docks their pay, many times until there isn't a single dollar left, for all issues -- real or perceived, and tells them to come back the next day and try again.
The young men and women are the people who work in the service industry in our country, and the committee members are the self-righteous idiots whom they serve. I watched a lady literally scream at a server for bringing too much food to the table. I see people set dollars at the table and dramatically remove one every time their server doesn't guess exactly what's going on in their tiny little brains. I seen men complain to managers about their service in order to get a free meal, then brag about it to their friends as the waitress is getting fired in the background.
I've seen tables of twenty people keep a server running back and forth to the bar to bring hundreds of dollars' worth of beer, and then suddenly run out of money at tip time. I've seen people sit at a table and complain about the rude people at work ruining their day while they simultaneously allow a human being to wait on them hand and foot without so much as a thank you.
When you are out to dinner, don't be an asshole. If you need something, you wait until all the stuff in your server's hands is set on the table before you expect her to get you anything else. You ask for everything you need at once, so she doesn't have to run back and forth for you. If you need a second thing, you freaking apologize for being inconsiderate, and ask nicely for the thing you forgot. If your food is cooked wrong or you don't like it, remember that the person bringing it to you is rarely the same person responsible for making it taste good.
And if you break any rule of etiquette, you can get out your little food journal and go ahead and note that you probably just ate spaghetti with spit-sauce. Ask your personal trainer (if you even speak to him) how many lunges you need to do in order to work off the extra floor-dirt that got mixed into your steak seasoning. Find out what diseases your waitstaff may have and have yourself tested for anything that can be transferred through ice or pickles or licking your spoon after you sent it back because it had a scratch on it. And know that anything "extra" you may have been served was absolutely deserved.
Grow up, people.
And if you see someone abusing their server, stand up and say something.
