With Eyes Wide Open...
...I could not confirm Erin's observation. You'll recall that Erin noticed that restaurant wait staff often compliments the man on his dinner choices (e.g. "excellent choice, sir"). I did not observe this Sunday night when I was with my wife and two teenage girls; my order was not praised any more than the orders placed by the females in the party.
However, there may be several reasons for this:
- This was not "fine dining"; this was an On the Border in Mira Mesa.
- The "wait staff" was female. I wonder if this praise is only lavished by male waiters.
- I ordered a taco salad. How do you praise a taco salad?
Incidentally, this dinner visit was after a quick trip to Tijuana on Sunday. Pictures later.
Comments
He said that he would usually size up the people. Most of the time he would not be too chatty with the female if it was a date type situation, because you learn quickly that guys are more prone to give guys a lower tip if they appear to be a threat.
In clearer words, if the guy seemed to be the one who would be paying then he would talk more to the guy because he didn't want to offend the guy by appearing to flirt with the date.
It seems a little silly but he says it's pretty commonly done with waiters. They are careful to avoid offending people and male tippers on dates are often easy to offend.