Monday, August 24, 2009

i know a guy who actually says 'make that paper' when he means 'go to work'

sometimes it seems that having a potty mouth can bite you in the ass.

there are many times at work that i find myself fantasizing about how nice it would feel to tell the customers what i really think. for example, come on people, you're not allergic to parsley, just say you don't like it. the chef will be slightly less annoyed with you if you're honest and don't try to make up a bullshit allergy.

but our customers never see the inside of the kitchen or get to look the chef in the face. perhaps that enables them to be more demanding. and we never see them so maybe it's easier for us to assume they're being difficult because they have nothing better to do. i can't say for sure, but i do know that not one night at work goes by without at least a few customers submitting some absurd requests, followed by a healthy bitch-fest by a chef.

then i heard about the wiener circle in chicago. their unique flavor of customer service, while amusing to many, was actually developed out of need. the customer base is largely drunk white people leaving the bars. the mostly black employees shout gems like 'how many motherfucking cheese fries do you want?!'

for many at this particular food establishment, it's how they support their families, even if that means taking insults from drunks calling them all kinds of degrading racial slurs.

i found this video of the trash talkers in action, it's taken from a tv program so it's a bit long. right around the 2:25 minute mark you meet poochie, the manager, who seems to be great at what she does. around the 5:00 minute mark, she talks about some of the customers who get a little too carried away with the shit talking.



i'm not exactly sure how long i'd be able to put up with that kind of talk at my job. or maybe i just don't like drunk people. or then again, maybe it'd be different because even the jew slurs don't bother me, and i can't imagine anything someone could say that's not specific to me personally that would upset me.

what do you think? would you last at the wiener circle, or would you prefer to do your shit talking behind closed doors?

9 comments:

MJenks said...

Even playing basketball, I was never very good at talking shit. I preferred to let my game do the talking.

However, my "game" for this would be how well I can make cheese fries. Plus, I hate drunk people. So, I don't think I'd last long there before I jacked some dicknose in the throat.

Mr. Condescending said...

I find that if you make fun of peoples weight, it usually hits em pretty hard!

Proud Maisie said...

Wow. There is a restaurant in London's Chinatown that is famous for its rude staff. But it's all very British. People go there to be mildly abused, but wouldn't dream of retaliating.
As for this place... well, I could work there if it was always just tongue in cheek abuse and swearing, but I am way too sensitive to handle any other stuff. And I would become too depressed at having to regularly deal with the darker side of human nature...

Lana said...

mjenks- remind me to be nice if you ever come to my job for dinner :)

mr. c- i can see that, but i know that's not the best you have.

courtney- i would so love to see you work there!! i'd come and talk shit to the other jerks talking shit, and then eat a hot dog :)

maisie- i think you summed up pretty much how i'd feel about the situation. it's ok for laughs, but when people lose perspective and say hurtful things on purpose it might be too much for me.

miss. chief said...

i used to work in a deli in an all organic grocery store, it was ridiculously expensive and the deli case was 99% vegetarian stuff and you should have seen the freaks in there.

seriously, the allergies people actually do have are astounding

"do you have a gluten free dairy free sugar free wheat free low sodium muffin?"

(we had TWO!) haha

mylittlebecky said...

i LOVE this american life! LOVE! anywho, i despise and detest having to tell people about my allergies. it is the worst thing ever. i never know how to go about it and i apologize like a million times. i'd give it up but food is what it's all about for everyone.

'Cuz I Felt Like It! said...

That job sounds like HEAVEN.

Lana said...

miss- now i feel like an ass for mocking allergies, i guess it never meant much to me because i've always been free to eat whatever i wanted.

becky- i would so make you a gluten-wheat-soy free meal if you came into my job, because i'm sure you wouldn't act all crazy about it. don't feel bad!

cuz- somehow i knew that would be a perfect fit for you. a new business venture, perhaps? :)

Badass Geek said...

I much prefer to shit-talk about people behind closed doors. I tend to lock up under pressure.