Book Review: Server Manifesto

Server Manifesto, by Wesley Bauman

As a reader always on the prowl for free books [1], I found this short book by happenstance while Facebooking. The author, Wesley Bauman, spent a lot of time living in Southern California and now lives in Hillsboro and works in downtown Portland. After reading this book, the biggest impression about the author that I have is that I hope I never get stuck at his table in any restaurant. For one, he is a deeply cynical and crude person whose lack of respect for customers is pretty alarming, if not necessarily surprising given his field. This book is certainly intended as an educational guide for those who are in the hospitality industry, and is intended to help people out in becoming a little more jaded and cynical about serving.

Although I do not eat out as often as I used to, I must say that I do enjoy going out to eat a fair amount and I also write about it a fair amount [2]. I have never worked in the hospitality industry and it is something that I do not think I would enjoy very much with its frequent deception and its dependence on easy money, contempt, anonymous sex, and cigarettes and alcohol. I do, however, greatly enjoy eating out. Reading this book, it became clear that I had some habits that would probably not be viewed endearingly by many servers, along with others that might be viewed more highly. For one, I tend to be a bit of a “camper” who likes to stay at a restaurant for a while, and I don’t like drinking alcohol, while I do enjoy special orders, which apparently bug some servers. On the other hand, I tip well. I suppose that compensates for many quirks.

The pamphlet itself is organized in a very blunt way, showing first how there is rampant discrimination in hiring practices in restaurants largely because of the demands of customers for very cute and perky young hostesses (I must admit to this preference for young ladies myself, I suppose, though I suppose that admission would surprise no one who knew me) as well as the general preference for women as servers over men. Our own biases lead to biased hiring policies. The second chapter deals with “us,” that is, the restaurant staff in all of its caste system and hierarchies and the games that servers play with customers and each other, as well as how servers deal with job turnover by forgetting their erstwhile coworkers. The third chapter deals with “them,” that is, customers, in all of our stereotypes as well as awkward situations (including credit card declines and breastfeeding, which are kind of awkward situations to deal with). Chapter four deals with tips, both good tips, questions about tipping etiquette, as well as an offensive (and heavily anti-Semitic) look at bad tipping. The book closes with a series of good rules to follow (including never dating the perky and cute young hostess as well as never antagonize the kitchen staff) as well as a series of 20 situations to test the behavior of the would-be server.

There are a few notes to make about the book. For one, this book is extremely hostile to management [3], and is full of coarse language that is racist, sexist, and anti-Semitic in nature. This sort of coarseness could easily be described as honesty by people who think and feel like the author does, but it does not make me think of the author as particularly sympathetic, given that my own attitude and worldview are highly different from that of the author. There are no doubt many people who share the mindset of the author, and many who share the experiences of the author, but I am not one, and the tone and language that the author uses diminish my enjoyment of this particular work of the author, and also make me disinclined either to visit any restaurant where he is a server or to read anything more of what he has written, which is a shame.

[1] http://projectpoppycock.com/the-server-manifesto-is-free-to-all/

[2] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/10/04/ramen-life/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/08/27/im-po-but-im-proud/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/creatures-of-habit/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/exploring-pdx-part-one/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/11/01/im-in-no-hurry/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/09/29/exploring-cartlandia/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/the-quest-for-kow-soy/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/a-naturalistic-observation-of-chiang-rai/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/paradise-taxes/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2011/11/24/something-to-be-thankful-for/