Complaining

Everyone is entitled to have a bitch fest. Life at times throws curve balls at you that are hard to deal with. We've all been there when things just aren't going our way and we don't know how to handle it. Problems seem to work themselves out whether you like the outcome or not and happier times return.

What I find useless is complaining about minute things. I, myself, use to be guilty of this travesty. Nowadays, I find it quite annoying (although I'm working on not letting it bother me). This ordeal tends to happen often at work. Since we live off of tips, the types of tables we get are very important. Nobody likes waiting on cheap people. For example, I had two ladies that sat for two hours at my table and left me $5 on a $38 check. Number one, they sat for two hours. Number two, that's not even 15%. Now, I could have made a big deal about it, gotten upset, and let it ruin my night. But why? These ladies were going home to relax ignorant of the fact that they offended me. What kind of satisfaction would that have brought me? None, absolutely none.

What I was happy about, was that I waited on a couple, which there bill totaled $57 and left me $15. That's over 25%!! Now out of the two tables, which one should I concentrate on? The one that left me a horrible tip or the one that took care of me? It's obvious to me that the one that took care of me is the winner. Let me tell you, that I made little money yesterday. That one table made the day worth it. I refuse to concentrate on the negative. At times, it is a difficult task to accomplish. It takes a lot of effort to step outside of the situation and look in.

There's a guy that works with me who is nicest guy you could ever know. If you ever need anything, he's right there to help you out. He's a great team player and just plain nice. His downfall--complains way too much. He finds fault in everything to the point that I sometimes walk away. I refuse to surround myself with that negativity. Let's be honest. Waiting tables is not the best job in the world. Don't make it worse by complaining about it.

I keep on telling him that he should concentrate on better things than what kind of shitty tables he's getting or if the kitchen is taking too long with his food or that he's not getting sat (BTW, I'm not the only one that tells him that). His response is that he's very positive with his tables. My response is "Well you're not being that positive if you stand around and complain about it." At which his response is "I don't need to hear that I'm being negative." At which I respond, "Well then stop complaining."

I know he gets annoyed with me and the other people that tell him the same thing. He doesn't seem to understand that by complaining about every little thing that goes wrong, he's annoying others. Waiting tables is the kind of job that if you become cranky, you cause a domino effect. Once the dominoes begin falling, it is very difficult to stop them. You know what? It's affecting his pocket. He doesn't make much money. The days that he does make money, I don't hear a peep out of his mouth.

Maybe next time he starts complaining about the little stuff I'll remind him that on days he does make decent cash, he's not complaining. Maybe, just maybe, he'll see the connection, which will change his outlook. I work on seeing the good out of every situation, whether it's a good situation or a bad one. There are times where stepping out of the situation is impossible to do because of the heat of the moment. As long as you try your best, I guarantee you will feel better.