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)

Enjoyable true story.

Every battle weary server will see themselves here. And people who have never worked in restaurants will learn a lot.

Must listen for anyone in the industry or curious about it.

The narration in this one is flawless, which is always a beef of mine with other audio books.

I was glued to this from start to finish, and often listened during downtime at work. I laughed, teared up, and felt anger for the narrator.

When you finish this, I recommend listening to the B*tchy Waiter’s novel as well.

Like I said, it’s a must listen. I feel like the world would be full of better people if this was a required read.

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.

A good read....

This book was informative as well as funny.

amusing

I thought this was an amusing recap of the life of an extroverted waiter. The narrator was terrific, and brought life to the story.