Truthfulness in the Waitress
A waitress should be truthful in spirit, as well as truthful regarding the letter of her contract. We are told sometimes that this is impossible; that it is necessary to tell some falsehoods in order to secure a good place, or to keep one after being in it for a time. But this is not so. An expert waitress need never be without a place, and she need never stay in a place for lack of another after real difficulties have arisen in her way.
How do I know this? Because perfect service never goes a-begging, and if her work is perfect there will always be a demand for it. Think of our servants of the public—the clergy and the doctors. Does a minister who satisfies his congregation ever lack a congregation? Does a successful doctor have to drive
about looking for patients? We know very well that he does not; we know that his office is crowded day after day. How did he come to be successful? First he studied, and then he practised, and when he began to practise he found that there were many things which he did not know. Was he content with the knowledge he had acquired? By no means. He studied more, and put the new knowledge into practice. How did he gain the entire confidence of the persons he serves? By doing well what he professed to do, and by being ready for any emergency. And this is what a waitress must do. First she must study, then she must practise, then she must study more and practise more, and she must be equal to emergencies.
If word comes to a doctor that a child has fallen down-stairs and broken its arm, does the doctor send back word that his hours are over and he cannot go to the child? And if an accident happens in the waitress’s department—if a piece of ceiling falls, for instance,
when she is about to go up to bed—will she say that her hours are over, and some one else must clean up the mortar in the pantry? If the doctor thinks he is all through for the evening and another patient comes in, will he dismiss the late comer without a word? And if, after a table is all laid, an extra guest comes in, will the waitress fail to lay another cover quietly and quickly?
Yes, many will say, so many patients, so much money. But it is not so. The persons who take up a doctor’s time and try his patience almost beyond words are often those who have no idea of the value of his time, and who have no money to pay him for it.
When a maid calls herself a waitress she is not truthful unless she has studied her work until she is familiar with it, and this familiarity can come only after some amount of practice.
Truthfulness includes honesty, and to be honest means very much more than being above taking money or jewels which belong
to others. To be true and honest in spirit is to have an intelligent care of whatever is put in a worker’s charge and which belongs to her department. It is not honest to let a beautiful damask cloth with a little rent in it go to the laundress without first reporting the rent to the owner of the cloth. It is not honest to let a fine carver rust for lack of attention at the proper time. It is not true that no gas is wasted when a gas stove is left partly turned on all night near an open window.
We have often heard that time is money. Now if one does not understand her work as she may understand it if she will study, she is constantly taking other people’s time, which we are told is other people’s money.
That all the world is not honest, that we are not always treated from the standpoint of strictly fair dealing, makes no difference to her. She is not other people, she is herself.
Among the men in one of our Eastern States whose business it is to lay stone walls
is one who has an especial talent for the work. Stones of any shape answer his purpose. He does not ask any direction, he does not have to make any measurements, or use any stakes or a line to lay his stones by. And in the whole State there are no such beautiful walls as this man lays. Does he ever have to tell a falsehood in order to get work? Does he ever talk about other persons interfering with him? Or does he need to care what other persons think? He does his work so much better than other men that it will always be sought. And although he has a special talent for it, he does not let that make him careless. His is true work, honest work, and so long as he keeps his health and there are stone walls to lay he need never rest with idle hands.
With regard to the privileges granted to workers it is not easy to lay down any set of rules that will meet the requirements of every household in the land. In some cities rules are in force to which the majority of
families conform, and they seem to answer very well. But the needs of a family where there are little children differ from the needs of a family of adults. A larger number in a household will necessitate arrangements the need of which does not exist in one made up of a few members. In order to consult the varied tastes and arrange for the comfort of all, special hours must sometimes be considered, and it is not wise for a worker to start out by saying that she must have such and such times for her own. The time offered by the existing arrangements may be, if she will stop to think, much better for her.
It is important to comprehend exactly what is promised, so that there may be no mistake and no disappointment on either side. The time stipulated as belonging to a worker is certainly her own; the rest of her time as certainly belongs to the person to whom she has agreed to give it. But if her sister were going to be married, a girl would feel very grieved if she were not allowed to go to the
wedding, and yet there was nothing said about the wedding when she promised her time. Will she realize the equal importance of the occasion if the lady of the house is obliged to ask her to give up one of her evenings because of some especial entertainment?
There is very little doubt about her securing the proper privileges with regard to outings. Something quite as important is that she should care about her sleeping accommodations. Ladies say that again and again they have taken pleasure in fitting up cosey rooms for the maids who were to do the work of the household, and they have been grievously disappointed to find that their efforts were not in the least appreciated. No care was taken to preserve order and neatness; in fact, carelessness had been so universal that they had lost all heart about it. What is needed is plenty of fresh air, with an opportunity to preserve thorough cleanliness, and no right-minded lady will fail to respect a maid who makes a point of claiming these privileges.
Where many privileges are not granted one is inclined to place the blame no more upon the employers than upon the employed, for I think we must all admit that, aside from some notable exceptions, waitresses have not so comported themselves as to make the persons they served take a keen interest in them.
When a reform is attempted there are always some rough places to be gotten over at first, some pioneer work to be done; but it is possible for a new order of waitresses to raise this department of women’s work to such a standard of excellence that there will be no need to ask for privileges; they will be granted without the asking.