Episode 1: Surprise! You're An Essential Worker!

8/23/2021

Even in the Before Times, the restaurant industry had problems. Seventy percent of its women and femme employees said they'd experienced sexual harassment on the job. The EEOC took in more harassment complaints from restaurant workers than any other workplace. And then there's the federal minimum wage for tipped workers - a whopping $2.13 per hour. And then Covid hit. Jeannie and Eula talk with a longtime server in Illinois about how her job changed with the pandemic, and how waiting tables during Covid has changed her.

Resources:

Start by listening to this excellent episode of the NPR history podcast Throughline on the history of tipping, as Jeannie mentioned in the episode.

Want to learn more? Become a patron of the show to access Jeannie's reading and research list for this and every episode!

Transcript:

Eula (00:00):
We are so excited to bring you the first episode of season three of battle tactics for your sexist workplace. Hooray!

Jeannie (00:06):
Yeah. All right.

Eula (00:06):
I'm Eula Scott Bynoe.

Jeannie (00:09):
I'm Jeannie Yandel. And we just want to take a moment to say, if you have listened to previous seasons and you've been waiting for the show to come back, thank you so much. And we are so glad to be here with you again.

Eula (00:23):
And if you've never listened before, oh get ready. Hi, we're so excited that you're here. This show is all about telling the truth that you know, every workplace is sexist. It's just true. We know that. So we share stories and tactics so we can all change things for the better. You can find our other two seasons wherever you're listening now. Yeah.

Jeannie (00:42):
And starting today, we'll be bringing you new episodes every two weeks about sexism and work and what all that looks like during a goddamn pandemic.

Eula (00:53):
Man. Like lots of zooms, all your kids in the room. Like the day is turning into the nicer end of the days, turning into the nights. Okay. I could go on forever. Let's just get started with this new season!

Jeannie (01:04):
Hi Eula.

Eula (01:08):
Hey Jeannie. How are you doing?

Jeannie (01:10):
I'm good. You want to play a game?

Eula (01:13):
I'm going to say yes. Cause I just like it.

Jeannie (01:16):
It's sexist. Sad facts, sexist, sad facts. What about waterpark? Sad facts. I don't know. Let's see sexist waterpark, sad facts.

Eula (01:28):
It's like one of those, it's like a, it's like people who like scary movies, you know what I mean? It's like one of those it's like we're going into a haunted house. Yeah. Okay. I'm ready.

Jeannie (01:35):
Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Which American workplace has had more than 70% of its female employees say they've experienced sexual harassment on the job.

Eula (01:47):
Retail! Cause I've done that.

Jeannie (01:49):
Oh, that's a good guess. You're really close. You're definitely gonna get it from this next one though. Are you ready? You'll definitely get it now.

Eula (01:56):
I don't have it yet? Okay.

Jeannie (01:57):
Okay. So here's here it is. You're totally going to get it from this one, which American workforce was suddenly pushed into frontline worker status during the pandemic? And also it is the only pandemic frontline job with a federal minimum wage of $2.13 per hour.

Eula (02:15):
Ugh. You know, the sad thing is I do know this one. I do know this sad fact, um, the restaurant workers.

Jeannie (02:20):
There it is. There it is. Yeah. A tipped industry.

Jeannie (02:22):
Frontline tipped industry. Yes, yes, yes. Servers restaurant, industry. That's exactly right. Okay. So here's what we know about the restaurant industry from the before times. One thing we know is that women comprise the majority of wait staff in front of house workers in the United States, except in fine dining that's majority, men. And two, we know that with a federal minimum wage set at $2.13 an hour, servers rely very heavily on making good tips in order to make enough money to live because who can live on $2.13 an hour. Right?

Eula (03:03):
Yeah. I mean, what do I take home a week? If that was all I made with them? Nothing.

Katie (03:06):
Yeah. Nothing, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Eula (03:10):
And they take taxes out of that, right?

Jeannie (03:11):
Yes they do. That's your taxable income. Yeah.

Eula (03:14):
Girl! Woman!

Jeannie (03:14):
Yes. I know. So obviously this creates a really awful power dynamic, right? Between the server and the customer where the server is really on the hook to provide service with a smile. Right. You laugh at the customer's jokes. You smile, you try and become their best friend. And you probably keep quiet about harassment and outright assault from customers because is pushing back or saying no, or even drawing boundaries. Is that service with a smile? No, it is not. So you risk off your customers getting lower tip. Right.

Eula (03:49):
And, but we're talking about a job where you were wearing clothes.

Jeannie (03:52):
Oh indeed we are. Oh indeed we are.

Eula (03:55):
It don't sound like it. It don't sound like it. Go on.

Jeannie (03:59):
Okay. So I'm just going to go ahead and uh, tell you this. This is even more depressing than what I already told you. Yeah.

Eula (04:08):
Jeannie!

Jeannie (04:09):
I know, I know. I know.

Eula (04:10):
I'm going to hug myself for this. Go ahead.

Jeannie (04:13):
Guess where the connection between service with a smile and tipping comes from?

Eula (04:20):
Our sweet love of capitalism.

Jeannie (04:23):
You're so, so totally close to on the nose. There it is part of the legacy of slavery. Yeah.

Eula (04:36):
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Of course. Like, why am I even surprised? Why don't I start conversations with slavery? Look, it's not a good icebreaker. That's what I have by the way. Doesn't go well, doesn't go well.

Jeannie (04:50):
Oh man. So can I tell you about the wormhole I went down learning about the history of tipping in the United States?

Eula (04:59):
Please do. So I don't have to do it cause I'll do it.

Jeannie (05:01):
Okay. All right. So here's what I learned. We didn't even tip in the United States until after the Civil War. Before the Civil War, it was considered really un-American to tip actually. Oh yeah, yeah. But then the Emancipation Proclamation was signed and millions of formerly enslaved people started looking for jobs right. At the same time that big cities in the north, like Chicago and New York started opening restaurants and providing fancy train travel services for this new white middle class in the north. And those business owners hired formerly enslaved people to serve their white customers. Of course. Yes. In fact, there is one specific example of this rich industrialist named George Pullman. You might know him from the Pullman cars, porters. He was a train engineer. He had a ton of money. Uh, he...

Eula (06:01):
Yeah, I saw a play about Pullman porters.

Jeannie (06:03):
Yeah. So he only hired black men from the south to be porters on his luxury train cars. And the reason he did this was because he said the plantations had trained these men to be pleasing to his customers. And by the way, George Pullman paid his porters next to nothing. So in order to make enough money to live, they had to make good tips. So they did whatever they needed to do to keep these white travelers happy so that they could make enough money to live. This is where the idea of service with a smile comes from.

Eula (06:44):
Ugh. You know, but when I hear that too, I think didn't this hurt white people? Like if before the Emancipation Proclamation, you worked in the service industry because it had to existed up north. Right. And I just think if this was your calling and you felt like it was, you know, something that you were good at and now all these enslaved people are forced to do this for nothing. And for these, you know, handouts truly, where does that leave? So many, you know, other people capable of doing the good work, right? It doesn't make sense to me.

Jeannie (07:16):
You really said a mouthful there, Eula. I mean, if you want an example of how our history with race and gender and class intersect in a modern American workplace, you do not have to look much further than the restaurant industry.

Jeannie (07:35):
This is Battle Tactics for your Sexist Workplace. I'm Jeannie Yandel

Eula (07:40):
I'm Eula Scott Bynoe. And yes, your workplace is sexist. Even if the pandemic has thrust you into being an essential worker

Jeannie (07:48):
While making less than $3 an hour. I mean dog walkers charge more than that. Okay. Eula, I have one more question for you.

Eula (08:01):
Jeannie! The haunted house is over though right?

Jeannie (08:07):
I know I'm just a barrel of monkeys today. We have one more little thing to go through. Okay. Okay. Here it is. And then we're done with the haunted house. So the power dynamic that we talked about in the beginning that comes with a super low hourly wage and relying heavily on tips. Do you think that COVID made that dynamic between customers and servers better or worse? Oh my gosh. I wish people could see your face.

Eula (08:36):
I feel like the haunted house is getting in the car with me on the drive home now because COVID goes everywhere. I go, it. And it has made everything worse. It has made everything worse.

Katie (08:47):
It has really like fallen on the waitstaff and the hosts to make sure that people are following the rules and wearing their masks and people don't generally like to do that so much. And when it's, you know, the front of house staff, the hosts and the servers, and sometimes the bartenders being the ones telling them, excuse me, could you put your mask on also, could you please wear it over your nose? It's been a lot of fun doing that. It's not been my favorite thing. And I'm honestly quite burnt out on telling people to put their masks on.

Jeannie (09:22):
This is Katie, which by the way is not her real name. She doesn't want to lose her job or put her coworkers jobs at risk or get her workplace in trouble. Her workplace is a restaurant in a college town in Illinois. She basically describes it as a step up from a Chili's. And she has worked at this place as a server off and on for six or seven years.

Eula (09:45):
Yeah. And we talked to Katie back in April y'all back when most states had mass mandates for indoor spaces. Uh, Delta, is that you?

Jeannie (09:56):
Point taken! Point taken, but there is a reason we're having this conversation. We're talking about this because the dynamic between Katie and her customers still exists, she still has to calculate what she's got to put up with to make a decent tip, just like many other servers at many other restaurants, including the restaurants, we all.

Eula (10:20):
And it's because if you go to restaurants at all, you too are a customer. And that means that you're a part of this dynamic, right? This terrible power dynamic, this funnel, but don't worry. We battle tactics for your sexist workplace. Have tactics for you at the end.

Jeannie (10:37):
We're here to help. We're not just going to take you through the haunted house. We do have tactics. We are here to help. And so is Katie actually. So let's get back to her. I asked her who ended up shouldering most of the burden when it came to enforcing the mask mandate in her restaurant. And I hope you're sitting down because the answer will shock you. Not really.

Jeannie (11:01):
What does enforcement look like in your restaurant? Like who is responsible for that ultimately?

Katie (11:08):
The first person would be the hosts because they're standing at the door when the guests walk in and they greet the guests. Um, so they're the first people telling them to wear their mask. And, um, our hosts generally are young. Actually right now we have recently hired a bunch of young men and they've been hosting a lot, which has been a huge change from what I've been used to the whole time I've worked there. It's almost always been young girls, um, like 16, 17, 18, 19, like 20. Um, sometimes they're a little older than that, but usually when they hit about that age, we'll make them servers or bartenders. Um, so usually the hosts are younger girls and we're relying on these younger girls to confront every single person that walks in this restaurant and make sure that they're wearing their mask. And as we know, the masks have become such a politicized issue that people have, you know, these really strong opinions about wearing a piece of cloth over their face.

Katie (12:07):
Like, and sometimes, you know, they're getting mad at, they're getting mad at like 17 year old girl. Who's just telling them to do what the three signs that they walk past on their way in were also telling them to do so. A lot of the burden falls on them, but some of them I can tell, have just given up as well. Like a lot of them don't even really say anything when somebody walks in without a mask, they'll just seat them. Because I mean, I don't blame them. They're probably sick of arguing with people twice or three times their age about following the rule. And then, you know, the rest of the burden just kind of falls on, whoever's walking around the front of house, which is generally servers, bartenders to tell people, to put their mask on when they're going to the bathroom, when they're walking through the restaurant entering or leaving. And you know, it's exhausting getting the eye rolls from people or the people that hold their mask in their hand and then don't put on their face and just hope that you're not going to say anything to them. So it's just a whole lot of...

Eula (13:08):
What are their reactions? Like, what are their responses when you say like, Hey, we just got to put on a mask. Like, what is the most like, or what are the best comebacks? What are the most common coming back to that? Oh, I don't care about, you

Katie (13:20):
No, I've never heard that one yet. Um, I've heard like this is stupid coronavirus isn't even real. Or like now, lately we're getting, I've been vaccinated, so it's fine. Or like we get like a lot of scoffing. Um, that's the, probably the most common one is like scoffing and eye rolls and begrudgingly doing it. Um, but even, even those, you know, aggressions wear on you having somebody scoff at me all day long because I'm asking them to follow a rule, which to me amounts is like wearing a piece of clothing that you're supposed to wear. It's just, I don't know, to me, it's such a minor thing to wear the mask on my face. Like I will do it for anywhere from like three hours, if it's a short shift to like 12 hours, if I'm on a double and I'll wear it over my face the whole time and like, I'm still alive, I'm breathing just fine. And I think other people can too, but you know, it's just a big argument. A lot of the time.

Jeannie (14:24):
Have you noticed a pattern like who's, I guess who's being the shittiest about this?

Katie (14:29):
I would definitely say that like older men are the worst population when it comes to the mask thing. And then second place is probably like older white women. Um, but first place is definitely like older men are given us more trouble and then, you know, they use their gruff voice and they're scoffing to kind of shame us from wanting to continue to ask them to wear their masks. Um, and then with, you know, the women, when we were kind of constantly having to remind them, typically they'll just go, you know, oh, I'm so sorry and throw it back up and then, you know, not take it off again and a little bit, or, you know, have to be asked again. But at least when we asked the women, they tend to just comply and not argue. Um, but I get the most arguing, uh, from older men.

Eula (15:23):
I worked in food service for just a blip of my life. And I did it as a, um, well, I would say I worked at in fast food and then I worked as a hostess for just a blip. But when I worked in customer service and like retail, I would tell people, you know, this is one of the few interactions these people might have in a day, right. We tend to live a life through devices now. And so a person has come in here to make a purchase. It really makes a difference in how you interact with them. But also like if they're coming in with bad energy is probably energy that, you know, that hit them way before they got to us. And, um, and we're the ones that have the ability to turn it, you know, and to create really dynamic relationships.

Eula (16:03):
And I know, you know, this as a food server, cause people come back way more frequently than they do to like buy a pair of sunglasses or buy a pair of jeans, you know? Um, but I, I always feel like with those people, they're always really hoping for a conversation just to trigger their energy good or bad.

Katie (16:19):
Yeah. Like it's a, you know, invitation to start something.

Eula (16:25):
Yeah. And they're just lonely. And I mean, do you feel like you're seeing that more too in this dynamic because I mean, restaurants are an outlet, an escape. It's like the they're like the most mini vacation thing we have to do with our days. And now we don't even get to go inside.

Katie (16:41):
No, it was, it was actually crazy. Um, back when they, they fully closed indoor dining here for a while. And, um, it was maybe like a month, month and a half that indoor dining was completely closed and my restaurant has a patio on it. And it was just crazy to see that people would come out and eat on our patio. Our restaurant stayed open. They stayed open, um, during the indoor shutdown because we had an outdoor patio, but this was in like December and January and people were coming out to eat in like in the cold. And they would sit up on the patio and just sit there in the cold, in 20 degree weather, 40 degree weather if you were lucky, and come out to eat.

Eula (17:24):
I'm so glad you can't see me because I'm crying.

Katie (17:28):
Cause they weren't that desperate to, they were that desperate for the experience of like getting waited on. Cause I mean everywhere, but still doing to go. So they still could've gotten the same food they would've gotten, but it was like they needed the experience of coming out to eat and they will be like bundled up in their coats. They have gloves, hats, blankets, even. And when people call trying to make reservations, I would tell them, bring blankets it's cold. And they would show up,

Eula (17:50):
oh my God, it's Illinois we're talking about?

Jeannie (17:53):
Winter in the Midwest sucks.

Eula (17:53):
Was there ever snow right behind them?

Katie (17:59):
Oh yes. Oh, there, there was snow and like freezing rain happening on one shift where I was serving people. And the patio was like almost full to like all the tables were full. We were not expecting that to happen because it was raining and it was very cold.

Katie (18:15):
It was freezing type rain. And I was just running my butt off, going crazy, trying to keep up with all the tables. Cause I was the only person there because they weren't expecting it to get crazy. So they only had me. And so I was doing, taking care of all those tables, answering the phone, taking care of the, to go orders, to making all the drinks because I was the only person there besides the managers and the managers were stuck, like doing everything else that I couldn't do. I don't know anyone who's listening to this who has ever worked in a restaurant before knows about the serving nightmares. And this was a serving nightmare come to life. This was like, I couldn't believe it when it was happening. Cause it was like just reminiscent of every serving nightmare I've had because it was like I had three tables. I had to take their order. I had two more tables whose drinks were downstairs. It's snowing outside. I have table walking in at the door. Who's like waiting for me to go see them. And there's no one else, no other staff members available. I'm just the one who has to do all of it. And uh, I haven't had a serving nightmare since, because I think my brain is decided, okay, we prepared you, you handled that. So you don't need to have these nightmares had a serving nightmare sentence or the tips way better when they, these snowflakes, um, they were, it was like weird. Cause I feel like a lot of the people that were coming out and sitting at an outdoor restaurant and that type of weather, we're not the people that are the most thoughtful, ready. Um, so it was like either really bad tips or really good tips because they were nice people that understood what's going on or they were just not nice people who didn't really care.

Eula (20:03):
What do you mean when you say there? They usually like, tell me about this kind of customer.

Katie (20:08):
I mean, they're just the type of person who is like very out of touch with what other people might be going through. And they're probably only thinking of, you know, I need to go out to eat to dinner and like, I don't care about the experience, my servers having there. They're also the same type of people who while indoor dining was shut down would argue in, beg me to let them sit inside. Um, and I would say, I can't, you know, we're only outdoor. We have to follow these rules and they will go, well, just open, open the door, put the table next to the door and open the door. And then that's pretty much out the door and I'm like, I really cannot do that. But thanks for the idea.

Jeannie (20:44):
Wow.

Eula (20:47):
Thank you for this dumbass idea you dumbass. It's a global pandemic so it's the air that makes you sick. It's the air you dummy. And so here's the thing. When you come in here with your air and your breath, you might make me sick. You're so dumb.

Katie (21:01):
Yeah. I learned to really enjoy telling people NO. I never used to like get enjoyment from telling people no, but in order to cope with how things have been, I had to learn to like get some type of intrinsic happiness from telling people no. And then telling them no again, when they don't listen to the first one.

Eula (21:24):
And you're still doing it. Oh my God. Okay. So I, me and Jeannie have this joke that like, we've, I'm sure we've met in the past life, but in the past life, we probably got burned at the stake together because we're too spicy. But, um, but like we would have got burned at this job very quickly.

Jeannie (21:40):
Yeah. I'm kind of wondering, like after a year of this, particularly dudes feeling like they can just get gruff with you about a mask mandate. Um, how are you doing? How was that affecting you at this point?

Katie (21:56):
If you had asked me like a week ago, I probably would have a different answer than right now because I just got back from a vacation. So I'm feeling rejuvenated right now!

Eula (22:03):
So so good.

Katie (22:09):
But touching back on, you know, how I was feeling burnt out is the most accurate and complete description of how I'm feeling about dealing with customers with COVID going on. Cause it's just exhausting. Like every single day, just a new person with a bad attitude about wearing the mask, coming in and having something to say to me or giving me attitude, eye rolls, like it just builds up and wears you down and burns you out.

Jeannie (22:43):
I did a little research on the hourly wage for tipped workers around the country. So the federal minimum wage for tipped workers is $2.13 an hour, Which is, I don't even, I don't even know...

Eula (23:00):
Like a minute?

Jeannie (23:00):
No, it's $2.13 an hour. It's different in Illinois. As you know, Katie, like they just changed it in January. It's supposed to be $6.60 per hour now.

Katie (23:13):
Oh wait, maybe I need to even look at my pay stubs because that's what I'm getting. Okay. Last time I looked down, I was getting six an hour. Um, but I might've just not inspected it closely enough. But um, when I get a check, I get a paper that says this is not a check because all of my wages pay taxes on my tips. So I don't even really look at my checks that hard because there's $0 and 0 cents.

Jeannie (23:42):
What happens to your tips when you have to ask to put their masks on and then they push back on you? What, like, what does that mean for your tips?

Katie (23:49):
That is a great question. It means bad things for my tips. I now really will only ask people to put their masks on if they're not my table. Um, if they're walking around the restaurant and it's someone else's customer, that's gotten up from their table to like go to the bathroom or leave or whatever, I will say something then. But if it is my own table, I usually do not. I don't make them put their masks on when I'm at the table serving them because I am afraid it will affect my kids. And it definitely has in the past before I used to insist that my tables would politely insist that my tables would put their mask on. When I was like standing close to the table, taking their order, et cetera, I would, when I actually approached the table with their initial drinks, I would stand a few feet back holding their drinks and just like smile at them. But they couldn't see. Cause I remember asking them, but just look at that man, waiting for them to put their masks up or I would approach the table and give them their drinks. Um, but doing that for awhile, I really did see it affect my tips. So now I just am resigned to the fact that I have to expose myself to people, possibly having COVID to take their orders and serve them so that it does not hurt my income.

Jeannie (25:12):
So Katie, you said you've made a decision, basically. You've made a calculation to not ask your tables, to put their masks on because you want to make better tips. You don't want it to, you don't want it to take a, um, you don't want to take a hit when it comes to your wage, the amount of money you make, I want to ask and you know, you don't have to answer this if you don't want to. But how often have you seen your restaurant, the other restaurants in town kind of skirt or ignore COVID regulations in order to keep making money in order to stay open in order to keep serving people?

Katie (25:50):
Um, it is unfortunately pretty common. I don't really go out to eat because I'm not comfortable at other restaurants. I know like we do our best, but when it comes down to it, like you are depending on a lot of different people to follow a lot of specific rules perfectly. So, you know, you're, depending on every cook, washing their hands a lot when, and when a restaurant gets really, really busy and there's a bunch of tickets in the window. I mean, do you, do you think that the cooks are stopping to wash their hands every 10, every 15 minutes? Um, or they just, you know, go, go, go. We gotta get through these tickets. And you're, you know, you're depending on a busy busser to spray down every inch of a table and wipe down every corner, are they going? If they have, you know, five tables and a bunch of people waiting to be sat, are they really going to, you know, especially if it's like an 18 year old bus or a 16 year old busser, in some cases, do you think they're going to take that care to wipe it down perfectly, um, and take that extra time or do you think they're just going to get through it as fast as they can because they have a lot of work piled up behind them.

Katie (27:07):
Um, it's probably happening a lot more than people would like to think just because when things get busy and you have a lot to do, it's hard to want to follow every last little thing perfectly. And then it's even harder to want to follow every last little thing perfectly when your tables are not wanting to respect you enough to wear a mask when you're coming up and talking to them, sometimes I make sure to, you know, always do the absolute best I can and being clean. I wash my hands whenever I bring dirty dishes back to dish. But the evil side of me sometimes thinks, you know, why am I trying so hard for you when you won't even put a piece of cloth over your face? So I can come and take your order safely, but I do it. I do it. But the cynical and frustrated side of me definitely doesn't like that.

Eula (28:02):
Yeah, you're a good person. You know, it's funny. Cause we, we, I said we were, we weren't going to ask it, but in my head I'm like, you're walking me through this. So if people, if they're, sir, if they're, you know, are some people in the kitchen who aren't washing their hands every five minutes and there are some bussers who are washing their hands every five minutes. And then there are some customers not wearing masks. Has anybody in your restaurant contracted COVID? And I should tell you as a side note, I have a friend who told me about a friend who works at a restaurant in New York where everyone caught COVID and they didn't tell anyone.

Katie (28:33):
Um, yeah, we have had a number of COVID cases. Most of them came up from outside the restaurant and the employee stayed home, but we did have one situation where a server had COVID and was made to work, even though he was known to be COVID positive and actually got his results during the shift. Um, and then the following day that server's roommate was exhibiting symptoms, but did not yet have a positive test and the general manager to the dismay of every single other person working in that restaurant, um, made that person with symptoms who was the roommate to the person who had a COVID positive test work has double shift from open to close.

Jeannie (29:22):
Oh my God.

Katie (29:23):
Yeah. So when that happened that he didn't even tell us for the first shift. So we were unaware for the first shift and then my manager, who is also my friend, she came in and she kind of pulled me aside and was like, I can't believe this, but I'm telling you because I feel like it's the right thing to do. And she told me that he was there and he was COVID positive. And I went into damage control and I was like, okay, we need to find extra cloth masks, everyone. He needs to wear the COVID positive guy or the guy with the symptoms who had the next day got his COVID positive test. But, um, he, I was like, he needs to be wearing two masks right now. I'm putting on two masks and make sure everybody who wants to wear two can wear two. Um, so pretty much the whole like front of house staff put on two masks after that, I don't think anybody contracted COVID from him thankfully, but he did have symptoms. He was waiting tables. Um, and nobody even knew for the first half of the shift.

Jeannie (30:25):
Oh my God.

Eula (30:27):
That's crazy.

Katie (30:29):
Yeah. I mean, we were all pretty shocked. Um, after that the, a lot of the front of house staff made a really big deal about it and the restaurant did, um, shut down to make sure that everybody got tested and while it was shut down, um, we had a letter given to our GM expressing our concern and upset and he actually did apologize, um, and said that they would be more careful and thoughtful in the future. So hopefully they stick to that. But yeah, it was not, it was not a good situation when it happened. And um, we kind of all banded together and put our foot down and, you know, felt like we got our voices heard.

Eula (31:14):
You know, that's just rough. I mean, I mean, I'm just the way the numbers work. I imagine there's somebody who works in your restaurant who lost someone last year, you know what I mean? And so just knowing that if, if that happened to one, you know, just period, just with that alone with the kind of energy would bring into the space, you know,

Katie (31:33):
I've got a friend who works in another restaurant in town and she's told me that it's been very similar things over there.

Jeannie (31:44):
Similar, like people who are COVID positive or who have symptoms there, they still have to work?

Katie (31:49):
Yes.

Jeannie (31:50):
And their coworkers aren't informed about this?

Katie (31:53):
Like, I don't know if they're, if they would go as far as to making someone who had a positive test work, but definitely like being very cavalier about it. Like if someone tested positive, like not really making their staff all get tested or the people that, you know, our staff members and friends with that person and hung out with them, still letting them come to work without getting tested type thing. Cause they don't, they lose money when they shut down, closed the doors for a few days. And they're already losing a lot of money because of the limited business from the pandemic. So closing their doors to properly deal with COVID positive staff members is just making them bleed more money. So they just don't want to do it. And that's our, our society that we live in right now is money is the most important thing. So

Eula (32:38):
How do you deal with where money is the most important thing? Like how many lines do you support on your income?

Katie (32:43):
I support myself, my fiance, um, and two little kittens. Um, and then I do, I have some family members that live in my household as well. Um, and we all kind of contribute and work together. I do not have any kids.

Eula (33:01):
Still. I mean, cats cost money.

Katie (33:03):
Yes they do. But they're worth it.

Eula (33:05):
I mean, yeah, kids too, I guess. I'm joking. They are.

Jeannie (33:12):
We go back and forth on that sometimes.

Eula (33:13):
So we know animals are worth it. Do you feel like after this last year, do you feel like people are worth it?

Katie (33:20):
Oh man, I still, I, my major was a humanitarian major, so I've always had a lot of love for people I I've, you know, before COVID I really, really liked my job. I always got along well with my tables. I'm very personable. I liked talking to people, but it has been really hard seeing how little a lot of people will care to take a precaution that could save someone's life. Cause like, if, if I'm wrong about thinking that masks really work and do their job, the worst thing that happens is you wore mask on your face. Like what not, you know, that's the worst thing that happened is you wore a mask and you didn't need to.

Eula (34:04):
You look like a duck all day.

Katie (34:08):
Exactly. But if I'm right, and the masks are helping to prevent people from dying, then not wearing the mask is so dangerous. And it's just, it's such a weird thing to me that people don't feel compelled to want to take those small actions to help others from getting hurt, sick, dying.

Jeannie (34:34):
Yeah. What's your, I mean, what do you think about your general manager at this point? What has he been like to work with? Do you feel like he's had your back over the last year?

Katie (34:42):
I feel at the beginning he did, but as time went by, I definitely feel like he less and less was concerned about COVID. I think that he would not be bothered if we stopped enforcing the mask rule at all. Um, but his entire front of house staff and the managers below him, everyone supports wearing the masks. So he's pretty outnumbered, but I think if he thought he could get away with it, he would kind of make the restaurant like some of the other restaurants in town that, um, don't really care about the mask thing at all, because there are some.

Jeannie (35:23):
When he has come out to talk to customers about not wearing masks or about not complying with other regulations, what kind of response does he get? Does he get the kind of pushback you get?

Katie (35:35):
He specifically, I wouldn't say he's ever came out and dealt with a table that was having a mask issue. Other managers have, but not our general manager, but he has had to, um, handle tables who are upset because they couldn't sit in a large group because there was a period of time when mandates said that you could only have parties of a certain size, I think six. So there would be parties larger than six that would show up and want to sit together, but we couldn't seat them together. We would have to seat them at separate tables to follow the mandates. And they would be really, really unhappy about that. So, you know, when they're talking to the 17 year old host, it's one thing. But then when our general manager comes out and he tells them in his polite general manager voice that they just can't do it, but we'll do our best to accommodate them at the separate tables. Um, it's, you know, like it's coming from a completely different person. I mean, it is, it's like they just respect it in a completely different way. And I mean, even we have, um, um, one of our managers is a woman and even just the way that she'll handle a complaint, if he's, if the GM is there and she's there sometimes, you know, they don't like what she has to say. So she'll have to go get the GM and he'll come talk to the table. And then it's like, sometimes even him just walking up to the table, they're not mad anymore. And he'll tell them the exact same thing that the server did, the exact same thing that the, the woman manager did. And then when he comes out and says it it's, you know, it's like, they're hearing it with new ears.

Eula (37:11):
Yeah. This is why we need a woman president just so people can see that we're good at jobs. But go ahead, sorry, Jeannie. Then they'll see. It they'll go. Oh, like she could be president. Maybe she also knows the rules of this restaurant, but I feel like now they're just like, I don't know. She's not my mom, but she looks like my mom. Where's dad? I mean, hearing what his power looks like in terms of his ability to come and command the space you wish he was at the front door the whole time, you know, throughout all of this. Has there ever been a time where you thought about quitting or walking away from this, you know, from this industry for now?

Katie (37:49):
Um, a lot of times, if I felt like I had an alternative where I could make similar money, I would probably have taken that at a lot of different points since I returned to the restaurant industry in June, but I just didn't and I still don't feel like I have an option. I, um, I have been looking for other jobs, especially that go along with my degree. Um, I had recently applied for a job that required my degree, the level of education that I have and, um, experience that I have from other jobs that I've worked and they wanted to pay me $12.17 an hour for a call. Like this is a job requiring a college degree, a college degree that cost somewhere around $50,000 for me to earn and they want to pay me $12.13 an hour. I make more than that waiting tables after my tips. So I, you know, I was just, I was very upset about, um, that situation. So I decided that probably the best path for now is to just suck it up, deal with what's going on. Um, continue to argue with people about wearing masks whenever I have the energy to do it and go to grad school so that I can get into a career that I enjoy. And I'm making similar money to what I'm making now, which, and requiring a master's degree, which is just crazy to me.

Jeannie (39:23):
So I'm curious about what you think might change as a result of this last year. I mean, at this point you've gotten, you've gotten at least one vaccine shot, right? Katie?

Katie (39:35):
Yeah.

Jeannie (39:36):
Okay. And so, you know, by the time people hear this, we could possibly be emerging from this pandemic or we could be in a fourth wave because of new variants and you know, too early reopenings and all of that other fun stuff. So I'm curious what you think is going to change for you at work as a result of this year, this just colossal asshole of a year.

Katie (40:04):
Oh my gosh. I mean, besides what's already changed, it's just, it's so hard to like, think about what's going to happen because it's been so unpredictable already. I am hopeful that things will kind of return to how they were before the job was a lot more enjoyable before. Um, it, it was like, I didn't, I didn't take as much home as I do now. Um, as much stress, it just kind of like stayed at work and then, you know, we would also we'd blow off steam after work. We like all the whole shift would like go out and like have a beer and complain about the shift and then it would be done and over with, and we can't, we don't really do that anymore. Um, we all just kind of go home and then stew at home and think about how the next day is just more of the same. Um, so I like to think that going forward, I'm trying to be positive and think that with the vaccines rolling out, that things can slowly return to normal. Um, I know it's probably going to become a worst battle with the masks thing, because now we're going to get people saying that they're they're vaccinated so they don't have to wear their mask. Right. Um, so that's probably going to be a new challenge, but I'm gonna, I'm just hoping that things will really turn the corner and we'll get this under control and things can go a little bit back to how they were over a year ago.

Eula (41:38):
So we asked Katie for her tactics. She had two big ones. Her first was all of us who ordered takeout from our favorite restaurants, our favorite places. She says, when you can order pickup directly from the restaurant and pick it up yourself, right? Delivery apps take a cut of every order and they don't let you to the staff or the restaurant.

Jeannie (41:57):
Yes. And Katie's other tactic was for managers of restaurants and bars. She says, think about how much you're expecting your front of house staff to enforce mandates and laws and help them. Uh, she suggested signage at every table telling customers that they had to wear masks. She says that might've really helped her during the height of the pandemic. At least then she and her coworkers could have just pointed to the sign at the table instead of having to ask and argue and persuade. Um, and also like, I feel like we should point out that restaurants already know how to do this. They're already pretty good at it. There are signs in every restaurant, sometimes on the menu that you look at saying that customers have to show ID to prove that they're old enough to, to get alcohol. Like, it's not like restaurants don't know how to do this already, you know?

Eula (42:48):
No.

Jeannie (42:48):
Yeah. Okay. So we have one tactic as well that we wanted to share. This is about tipping. So in previous episodes of the show, we've talked about taking anti-bias tests online. Like the one that Harvard makes. And I'm sorry to say, there is no anti-bias test out there for how you tip servers. That doesn't exist. So we have a challenge for you. Think about how you measure good service, like really, really think about it. Is there any piece of good service that includes whether you personally like your server, whether they were friendly to you, whether you got service with a smile, and if there is a piece of good service, that includes that service with a smile thing, how does that balance against whether your server actually did their job, which is taking your order correctly, getting it out to you at the right temperature, following up with you to make sure that you have everything that you need, because that's the actual job, not becoming your best friend.

Eula (43:57):
No, not at all. Not laughing at your jokes. Not making you laugh, not being your buddy. This is not, I'm not your mom, your dad, your homie. It's a meal. Yeah. So as you go out to the restaurant, you guys pay close attention to when you think someone is doing a good job as your server and when you don't. Yes.

Jeannie (44:16):
Here's another tactic. Learn more about the history of tipping and movements to raise the minimum wage. There are tons of great resources out there about all this start with an episode of the NPR history podcast Throughline - it's called The Land Of The Fee. It's really eye-opening. That's where I learned about George Pullman and the legacy of slavery and how it connects to tipping actually. And if you are a Patreon member, we have many, many, many more resources to get you started. I have a very long reading list from this episode.

Eula (44:50):
Very good, very good. And also don't let crappy tips stand, right? You might be visiting relatives or friends soon. I mean, we all want to be going out to eat with them. If they want to take you to dinner and insist on paying and skimp on the tip, don't let them get away with it. Like stop them. Take care of the tip yourself. Always have a little bit of cash in your pocket and explain why you're doing it right?This is a person's living wage.

Jeannie (45:14):
Yes.

Eula (45:15):
Okay. So before we go, one last update from Katie. So she's still working at the same restaurant. She's not having to ask customers to wear their masks anymore. So that's part of her job is easier, right? A little bit. Yeah. But Katie is watching these new COVID variants - is that you Delta?? - just like everyone else, just like everyone else. Uh, she knows two people who got COVID after being fully vaccinated y'all so she says, she thinks the masks might be coming back.

Jeannie (45:43):
Yeah, it's possible. Yeah.

Eula (45:44):
Suzanne!

Jeannie (45:46):
I know. Jeez Delta. Also Katie tells us, her restaurant is pretty understaffed now. They can't find enough people to hire, but now customers are getting mad because they're not getting the same level of service they got in the before times. So she's dealing with that now.

Eula (46:05):
Right. So maybe one more tactic is to just be patient know because we're all struggling and exhausted and really trying our best.

Jeannie (46:14):
Yeah.

Eula (46:15):
I know you are. Yep. And let me tell you about like, we're also going to make mistakes, right? This is a true story. Do you need, so after we recorded this with Katie and I got all of this knowledge, did I still move back to Seattle and really badly want to have like Dick's Drive In delivered one time? Yes. Did I know it was wrong? What I did it, yes. Like literally like as I was on the app ordering and I was like "inappropriate, inappropriate in my basket, inappropriate in my basket". And let me tell you how the universe played me back because you can't play the universe. I got no tartar sauces. Did I order them? Yes. I got no shakes. Did I order them? Yes. When I call the delivery, dude, he was like, they just didn't give it to me. I told them. And they told me like, no. And I was like, what? And I couldn't even think of anywhere to complain because I knew I was wrong for placing the order in the first place. Like I was so wrong. I was so wrong. I knew better.

Jeannie (47:18):
Ohhhhh. Also, if you ever want cheeseburgers delivered, I will deliver them. And then we can have them and milkshakes together.

Eula (47:25):
Okay. This is my next birthday. It's just me and you laying up. Yeah. Oh yeah. And we can watch Designing Women!

Jeannie (47:34):
Oh, I'm into it. Delta! Yep. I love it. I love it.

Jeannie (47:40):
Katie is a server at a restaurant in Illinois, a restaurant that is nicer than a Chili's by the way, Katie, thank you so much for talking with us. We really, really appreciate you.

Eula (47:51):
No, seriously. I appreciate you for this conversation and I appreciate you for every single college student that you're putting up with us. I was once one of them, I don't know how I would have survived without you.

Eula (48:05):
Battle Tactics for your sexist workplace is an independent podcast.

Jeannie (48:09):
Our senior producer is Kyle Norris.

Eula (48:12):
Our production partner is StudioToBe Seattle.

Jeannie (48:15):
This podcast was co-founded in partnership with KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio and the University of Washington.

Eula (48:22):
We were inspired by the book Feminist Fight Club by Jessica Bennett.

Jeannie (48:26):
Our music is by Kessiah Gordon and our brand design is by Teo. You can find Teo on Instagram at T E O dot underscore Dora, which is spelled D O R A. And huge, massive bananas large gigantic thanks to Phyllis Fletcher, Bri Ripley, Bethany, Denton, and Dana Bialik. Thank you all so much.

Eula (48:53):
You can get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at BTSW podcast or by emailing BTSWpodcast AT gmail.com. And if you love the show, help us make it! Patronize us, become a patron at patreon.com/btsw

Jeannie (49:13):
As long as you're at your computer or your phone, please take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts. I would love to explain why this is so important. I don't understand why it's so important. I just know that it really increases visibility for our show when people are searching for something new on Apple Podcasts. So take a moment, write a review on apple podcasts and then tell a friend about our show. Word of mouth is actually the biggest way our audience grows, which is extremely cool.

Eula (49:43):
And it's the biggest way the fight continues. All right, you guys keep fighting the good fight. Bye everyone.

Jeannie (49:50):
Bye. Talk to you soon and tip your servers.