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No Communication
Jan. 11th, 2007 10:55 pmToday I went to a burger joint which shall remain unnamed (suspense builds!) for the first time in probably 20 years. They have burgers and not just fries but also onion rings, tater tots, and I thought I saw home-made chips. They have shakes. And limeaid. I think I had only a milkshake last time I was there.
I walked in and there was one booth open, so I sat there. Then I thought I should sit at the bar and not hog a whole booth. But the emptyish-looking places at the bar had water cups at them, so I stayed at the booth.
The waitresses were very quick. One asked what drink I wanted (water this time) and handed me a menu. I tried a cheeseburger. The small one was about $3.50. This is why I haven't gone there in 20 years (because I think that's expensive for fast food). I didn't get any sides because I've been eating plenty of snacks at work and don't need fried potatoes. Twice I got asked if I was sure I wanted only a burger and once if I liked the burger.
I'd heard good things about the burger, like that it was cooked on the griddle with onion bits smashed into it. It was a very thin burger with tomato, pickles, maybe some more crunchy stuff, and mayonnaise on a white bun. The top of the bun was shiny with grease. It tasted good. You don't need a big hunk of meat if a skinny patty has enough flavor to it, and this did.
The bill was for $3.75. I had already decided to pay with a $20 so I could get some change because I was planning to pay for just my part of some meals coming up and wanted to have more change so I could contribute exact change. It didn't look like I was going to get much change. At least I didn't have to feel guilty about taking all their ones or whatever.
When I got my change, the receipt was gone and I had received $16. I actually felt in all of the compartments to see if I was jumping to conclusions about receiving only $16. Nope. All the evidence pointed to $16. I understand when people short you a penny or two because it's a pain, but a whole quarter?
This made me angry. I had been planning to tip her a dollar, but that quarter was coming off the top. I dug through my wallet hoping I had three quarters. I did. So she got $0.75. That's still a reasonable percentage, so it probably didn't send any kind of message.
What if I had only been able to find two quarters? Or one quarter and three nickles? Would I have left just that as a tip? I might have.
So maybe she was thinking--that bitch took a whole booth and then only got a burger and water. I'm never going to get any tip unless I take things into my own hands. Or maybe she had my quarter and got distracted before handing it to me. Or maybe people paying cash are expected to pay at the register. I don't know.
I had been thinking the place was overpriced but otherwise had promise and had really good service right until I got that lack of change. I've been told that wait staff sometimes bring you the kind of change that makes it easy for you to give the kind of tip they would like to get. She only made it easy for me to give her a dollar (and a quarter) (or just a quarter). And she kept my receipt, as if that will keep me from noticing her theft. I vowed never to return! (I've calmed down since then, but I'll probably continue not happening to go there most of the time like I've done so far.)
And neither of us said a word of any of this to each other.
**
Favorite quote from dance class today: "Next week we'll get to walking."
We also inadvertently got taught a pilates-thing like today. Here's what you do. Take a step forward and put all your weight on the ball of that foot. Now press your other foot into the floor, without using it to hold your body up at all and squeeze your thighs together, which will make you turn a quarter turn in the direction of your back leg. Then pull your thighs apart to turn another half turn in the same direction. make sure all your weight is still on the same front, which used to be in front but is now in back. Now squeeze your thighs together and apart again to turn back to your starting position. If you start with one foot directly in front of the other, and do this ten times or so very slowly, it's hard to balance and uses very interesting muscles. (That's what pilates is all about, right? Using weird muscles and suddenly finding it difficult to balance, right? No?)
I walked in and there was one booth open, so I sat there. Then I thought I should sit at the bar and not hog a whole booth. But the emptyish-looking places at the bar had water cups at them, so I stayed at the booth.
The waitresses were very quick. One asked what drink I wanted (water this time) and handed me a menu. I tried a cheeseburger. The small one was about $3.50. This is why I haven't gone there in 20 years (because I think that's expensive for fast food). I didn't get any sides because I've been eating plenty of snacks at work and don't need fried potatoes. Twice I got asked if I was sure I wanted only a burger and once if I liked the burger.
I'd heard good things about the burger, like that it was cooked on the griddle with onion bits smashed into it. It was a very thin burger with tomato, pickles, maybe some more crunchy stuff, and mayonnaise on a white bun. The top of the bun was shiny with grease. It tasted good. You don't need a big hunk of meat if a skinny patty has enough flavor to it, and this did.
The bill was for $3.75. I had already decided to pay with a $20 so I could get some change because I was planning to pay for just my part of some meals coming up and wanted to have more change so I could contribute exact change. It didn't look like I was going to get much change. At least I didn't have to feel guilty about taking all their ones or whatever.
When I got my change, the receipt was gone and I had received $16. I actually felt in all of the compartments to see if I was jumping to conclusions about receiving only $16. Nope. All the evidence pointed to $16. I understand when people short you a penny or two because it's a pain, but a whole quarter?
This made me angry. I had been planning to tip her a dollar, but that quarter was coming off the top. I dug through my wallet hoping I had three quarters. I did. So she got $0.75. That's still a reasonable percentage, so it probably didn't send any kind of message.
What if I had only been able to find two quarters? Or one quarter and three nickles? Would I have left just that as a tip? I might have.
So maybe she was thinking--that bitch took a whole booth and then only got a burger and water. I'm never going to get any tip unless I take things into my own hands. Or maybe she had my quarter and got distracted before handing it to me. Or maybe people paying cash are expected to pay at the register. I don't know.
I had been thinking the place was overpriced but otherwise had promise and had really good service right until I got that lack of change. I've been told that wait staff sometimes bring you the kind of change that makes it easy for you to give the kind of tip they would like to get. She only made it easy for me to give her a dollar (and a quarter) (or just a quarter). And she kept my receipt, as if that will keep me from noticing her theft. I vowed never to return! (I've calmed down since then, but I'll probably continue not happening to go there most of the time like I've done so far.)
And neither of us said a word of any of this to each other.
**
Favorite quote from dance class today: "Next week we'll get to walking."
We also inadvertently got taught a pilates-thing like today. Here's what you do. Take a step forward and put all your weight on the ball of that foot. Now press your other foot into the floor, without using it to hold your body up at all and squeeze your thighs together, which will make you turn a quarter turn in the direction of your back leg. Then pull your thighs apart to turn another half turn in the same direction. make sure all your weight is still on the same front, which used to be in front but is now in back. Now squeeze your thighs together and apart again to turn back to your starting position. If you start with one foot directly in front of the other, and do this ten times or so very slowly, it's hard to balance and uses very interesting muscles. (That's what pilates is all about, right? Using weird muscles and suddenly finding it difficult to balance, right? No?)