Waiter Rant

Thanks for the Tip - Confessions of a Cynical Waiter

By: Steve Dublanica

Narrated by: Dan John Miller

Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

According to The Waiter, 80 percent of customers are nice people just looking for something to eat. The remaining 20 percent, however, are socially maladjusted psychopaths.

Waiter Rant offers the server's unique point of view, replete with tales of customer stupidity, arrogant misbehavior, and unseen bits of human grace transpiring in the most unlikely places.

Through outrageous stories, The Waiter reveals the secrets to getting good service, proper tipping etiquette, and how to keep him from spitting in your food. The Waiter also shares his ongoing struggle, at age 38, to figure out if he can finally leave the first job at which he's really thrived.

Public Domain (P)2008 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The other shoe finally drops. The front-of-the-house version of Kitchen Confidential; a painfully funny, excruciatingly true-life account of the waiter's life. As useful as it is entertaining." (Anthony Bourdain)
"I really enjoyed Waiter Rant. The book is engaging and funny, a story told from my polar opposite perspective." (John DeLucie, chef of The Waverly Inn)

Stories to remember while you're dining out

The Waiter was an interesting listen when you're hearing the stories of annoying customers, awful management, and kooky coworkers. The narrator of this book does a good job bringing personality to "the waiter" and also paints a convincing narrative of the customers he encounters. Where the book loses a few stars is the overly stylized dialogue that you'll hear when you're listening to the water recount conversations with his co-worker Beth - it sounds more like a Dawson's Creek script then how real friends would converse. I also could have skipped the waiter's psychoanalysis of customers and co-workers - he seems to think his background in psychology allows him to analyze the behaviors of others. But overall it's a good listen - it is fast paced, funny and leaves you with tips and stories you'll remember and consider the next time you're eating out!

Good but one-sided

I liked this and it certainly gives some real insight into the restaurant world (ugly insight most of the time!) It also justifiably highlights the pretentiousness of people, their demands, rudeness, etc. It even gives 40 ways to be a good customer. But it noticeably includes very little about waitstaff conduct, and therefore, 40 ways to be a good waiter. I'm not one of the jerks (20% is my standard tip) but I've had plenty of pretentious, uninterested, inflexible servers. And yes, the few that have been really bad, I've stiffed them --sorry but that's how it goes! Also, there are a lot of other jobs (in a commercial laundry as a teenager was a great one) that are just as tiring, and filled with rotten management. So my sympathy runs thin at times. Aside from those aspects, it was entertaining. Just wish he'd been a bit more balanced.

If you've ever waited tables.....

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book for those that aren't looking for any earth shattering revelations about the food industry. It was entertaining and reminded me that I quit waiting on tables for a reason. Even though I look back on those times as key to shaping my work ethics and developing skills that have helped me deal with difficult personalities.

Want to B a waiter?

I liked the honesty in this ebook. I love restaurants and always try to be polite and give a good tip. Once someone has worked for tips they will always be generous to others.
This book interested me because I have friends in the food industry. It is Avery demanding and time consuming career. Pay is not so great so better be a calling or desperation.
I enjoyed this narration and story.

Read the blog first

If you're looking for funny customer stories or gory details of what actually happens in a kitchen, you might be disappointed.

Although it does feature a few stories, the book is mainly about the waiter psycho-analysing himself and everyone around him. The narrator does a good job narrating what can be a somewhat boring (at times) autobiography. But if you dive into this knowing what to expect, it could be a very enjoyable 9 hrs.

Good, but could be better.

Skips Chapters 1 & 2

I would skip the first two chapters, which give the backstory of how the author became a waiter. The rest of the book is fun and amusing, probably more so for people in the restaurant business and people who dine out often.

Vengeance is Mine!, sayeth The Waiter!

Great inside look at the restaurant world from the server's eye view. Well written, interesting and insightful. Should be required reading for the many manners-challenged people who forget The Golden Rule whenever they step into a restaurant.

Respect your Waiter, they have a Life Too

Would you recommend Waiter Rant to your friends? Why or why not?

We all eat at restaurants, while this takes on a dairy like story of the narrator and not the gross things we expect to hear when you send a meal back to the kitchen, it shows that our servers have to put up with a lot of things to do their job. When they do it well, tip them - with money.

What aspect of Dan John Miller’s performance would you have changed?

A couple of times it is referenced a tip above 20% is required for exceptional service, this seems to be aside from the social norm.

See from another side

The narrator is good.
This book stayed with me long after the listening was over. it's gift is viewing the world from the other side of the table.
Good choice.

Things we don't notice

This narration is a guide and a description of everyday restaurant life. For both sides: employees and customers.