05/01/2007

Generation Why

Good service can be its own reward

Busboy takes his job seriously

By KENDRA SHERWOOD

Special to the Record-Eagle

"Hey, I just billed thirty-four,” I said as I rushed past my friend Sean.

"The four-top?” he called behind me. "Yeah, keep an eye on them.”

I finished my way into the kitchen to put my tray away and returned with another tray of orders. I saw him again hunched over the table the customers had just left, clearing plates and trash, while at the same time washing and resetting for the next crowd.

I'm waiting tables at Ivanhof in Schuss Mountain, where my friend Sean works as a busboy. On this particular day, he had been assigned to clear my tables, so recording his every move was easy enough. We make a good team, and he enjoys working my tables, possibly because I don't snap at the busboys, or it may be that I tip him a higher percent than I'm supposed to, but we will go with the personality reason.

In the swirling, crashing, far from serene atmosphere of the restaurant, not many people think about the person who has to clean up after them or how much practice it takes to get the tables just right to accommodate the needs of tired skiers and hard-to-please resort visitors. There are few times this person is ever seen by the customer, while most of the time they are busy in the kitchen or wait station.

Some of the tasks the busboys are required to do include rolling silverware, folding napkins, polishing glasses and filling cups of condiments. One of these few times occurs when the customer is first seated, and the busboy appears to greet them with a pitcher of water and a smile with a sincere, "How are you folks doing today?” or "How's the slopes?” only to be either ignored or given a fake "Great. How are you?” or "They're OK. Do you ski?”

Small talk is the only communication a busboy ever partakes in besides barked commands from an agitated waitress or overbearing manager. One of the things Sean told me is the busboy philosophy: Be invisible, yet always present. He explained that he is always moving just fast enough to get done and out of the way, yet not too fast as to have nothing to do or cross paths with a waitress.

I asked him why he never tries to avoid me and he replied, "You don't bite my head off.” I guess I'm not as intimidating as some of the other wait staff because I have no problem finding help anytime.

Since watching and talking to Sean, I have gained a new respect for busboys. They do all the dirty work and are tipped at a really low percent, not to mention being overworked.

On this particular day, Sean's shift went from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., whereas mine was from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. After all my customers had left and the next waitress was coming in to take over, I spotted Sean, half-asleep, polishing and stacking water glasses in the wait station, so I stepped over to talk to him. I asked him if there was any other position he would rather have, and to my surprise, he said "No.”

With all the tedious, heavy lifting he has to do in a day, he couldn't think of a better job. After my questioning "Why?” his quick response was that he wasn't a people person, and his work helped him get ready for football next year. Then again, Sean could be called an obsessive person. With his keen attention to detail, he is completely at home polishing, arranging, sorting or preparing. I asked him one final question: did he ever think what he would do during the off-season? He answered with a grin, saying, "There're golf courses around here.”

Watching and talking to Sean about his vital job made me feel a little like a slacker. Here he was doing all the difficult tasks, while the most difficult concern I had was making the customers happy, which was easy even if they just came off the hill and were tired.

In all the time I took to pay attention to what he was doing, I took very little time to think about how he was doing it. He wasn't half-heartedly moving things off and on the tables or carelessly partially polishing the silverware or glasses. He was paying really close attention to the way each roll of silverware was pointed, the position of the place mat relative to the table, and the position of the glass on the mat. He wasn't just hunched over the table to clean it but was also looking at the table at different angles to see any possible spot he missed. He actually seemed to care about the appearance of the table and how it would seem to the finicky customer.

The greatest insight I gained from watching Sean was an appreciation for all those people who take pride in providing everyday services. The phrase, "It's not an easy job but someone's got to do it,” most definitely applies to food and beverage businesses. This experience makes me think even higher of my friend, and I hope after reading this, more people will give the respect busboys deserve.

Everywhere in the world there will always be a service provider, and every chance we get, they should be made to feel appreciated.

Kendra Sherwood is a senior at Forest Area High School.