Waiter rant : thanks for the tip--confessions of a cynical waiter
Dublanica, Steve
Adult Nonfiction TX925 .D83 2008

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From Publishers' Weekly:

The anonymous restaurant professional behind the Bloggie Award-winning WaiterRant.net expands on his postings in his first book. The result is an enjoyable if utterly unromantic personal exposé on the inner workings of the New York City-area restaurants that have employed him since 1999. To his first job, the Waiter brought abandoned dreams and ambitions for a religious vocation, an eventual psychology degree and employment experiences in a drug-rehabilitation center. That history proved useful in professional service, particularly a restaurant that, with its corrupt manager and dictatorial boss and despite its upmarket setting, clientele and business volume, was an example of the very worst in the industry. The narrative hangs on the author's professional development from restaurant newbie to jaded industry-spokesperson; he makes ample room for extended riffs on manners, money, morals and even meals. He catalogues the grime-and-gross-out factors (some obscene), so comparisons to Kitchen Confidential are inevitable. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved All rights reserved.

From Library Journal:

These two working life memoirs seek to capitalize on the popularity of books like Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed and Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential but fall somewhat short of the mark. Alexander, a former marine officer and advertising executive, left his high-powered career in his early forties owing to client-contact burnout to become a minimum-wage pizza delivery driver, ice cream scooper, medical tech, construction site cleanup guy, fast-food worker, and cowboy. While he describes the jobs adequately, at times even humorously, he offers no analysis of the experiment or descriptions of its impact on his financial bottom line. What final insights he does list are too specific to be broadly applicable (tip your pizza guy at least five bucks and be polite to ER staff); his closing recommendation to become a big fish in a little pond and find work as a consultant will be valuable only to other career executives who have built strong portfolios and contacts. The Waiter (real name unknown) unfolds his story along more stereotypical memoir lines, mixing anecdotes from his near-decade of waiting tables with stories from his personal life. The author first found an audience at his blog WaiterRant.net, and although the book starts much too harshly (in tone and language), it eventually settles into an engaging and funny narrative that leaves the reader with a sense of the dignity that can be found in performing any job, even one as prone to customer abuse and lack of respect as food service. Alexander's title is not recommended, although a blurb from Stephen Colbert may deliver some readers; Waiter Rant is recommended for larger public libraries and those seeking to add depth to their memoir collections.--Sarah Statz Cords, Madison P.L., WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.