down any set of rules that will meet the requirements of every
household in the land. In some cities rules are in force to which the
majority of families conform, and they seem to answer very well. But 111
the needs of a family where there are little children differ from the
needs of a family of adults. A larger number in a household will
necessitate arrangements the need of which does not exist in one made
up of a few members. In order to consult the varied tastes and arrange
for the comfort of all, special hours must sometimes be considered,
and it is not wise for a worker to start out by saying that she must
have such and such times for her own. The time offered by the existing
arrangements may be, if she will stop to think, much better for her.
It is important to comprehend exactly what is promised, so that there
may be no mistake and no disappointment on either side. The time
stipulated as belonging to a worker is certainly her own; the rest of
her time as certainly belongs to the person to whom she has agreed to
give it. But if her sister were going to be married, a girl would feel
very grieved if she were not allowed to go to the wedding, and yet 112
there was nothing said about the wedding when she promised her time.
Will she realize the equal importance of the occasion if the lady of
the house is obliged to ask her to give up one of her evenings because
of some especial entertainment?
There is very little doubt about her securing the proper privileges
with regard to outings. Something quite as important is that she
should care about her sleeping accommodations. Ladies say that again
and again they have taken pleasure in fitting up cosey rooms for the
maids who were to do the work of the household, and they have been
grievously disappointed to find that their efforts were not in the
least appreciated. No care was taken to preserve order and neatness;
in fact, carelessness had been so universal that they had lost all
heart about it. What is needed is plenty of fresh air, with an
opportunity to preserve thorough cleanliness, and no right-minded lady
will fail to respect a maid who makes a point of claiming these
privileges.
Where many privileges are not granted one is inclined to place the 113
blame no more upon the employers than upon the employed, for I think
we must all admit that, aside from some notable exceptions, waitresses
have not so comported themselves as to make the persons they served
take a keen interest in them.
When a reform is attempted there are always some rough places to be
gotten over at first, some pioneer work to be done; but it is possible
for a new order of waitresses to raise this department of women’s work
to such a standard of excellence that there will be no need to ask for
privileges; they will be granted without the asking.
Adaptability 114
When a waitress has gone into a home, and has made a contract which is
satisfactory to herself and to her employer, she will need to adapt
herself to her new surroundings, as she must not expect that they will
in all things adapt themselves to her.
The first thing to which she may have to adapt herself is the fact
that she is not looked upon as a person in whom one can repose perfect
confidence. But she must remember that waitresses of the old order
have in many cases abused their position, that they have sent too much
china and cut glass to the ash barrel for any owner of such valuable
articles to consider these and other belongings safe in new hands.
A waitress will, if possible, go into a new home in the morning, and
not attempt a dinner until she has had time to take the bearings of 115
dining-room and pantry. While she is serving luncheon, and is going
back and forth from the pantry, she need not be surprised if she hears
a conversation something like this:
“The new waitress does very nicely, mamma.”
“Yes, a new broom sweeps clean, my dear.”
“But she looks as if she knew how to work.”
“She may know how; but I suppose she will be like all the rest. I have
no faith in any of them any more.”
The new waitress need not be angry. She need not be even enough
disturbed to let the blood rush into her cheeks, for she knows that
she is competent and she can afford to bide her time.
She will make some haste with the luncheon dishes, for there is an
important piece of work to be done before dinner. She will take out
her memorandum-book, with its nicely sharpened pencil, and begin to
make a list of all chipped china and glass and of all silver that
is marred. The lady of the house will be expecting questions, and 116
should be asked to make this possible by showing where all pieces are
kept which she wishes to have used. If objection be made, it is only
necessary to say modestly but firmly that a contract which holds one
responsible for all breakage makes it necessary that such a list
should be made. The truth of this will at once be apparent and full
opportunity given.
When finished, a copy of the list should be taken to the lady of the
house, that she may compare it with the original and so avoid any
mistake.
Next to making a list of the dishes should come a thorough study of
the pantry. This it will not be possible to make all in one day. The
new waitress will not be discouraged by anything that may be in the
pantry, for what seems a defect the first day may prove a merit the
next. Some things cannot be changed. The window, the sink, the shelves
for dishes, are fixtures, and these are some of the things to which 117
she must adapt herself. There are other things which may be made to
adapt themselves to the new-comer.
When she finds something which she would like to have changed she
should make a note of it, and not feel sure that she is right until
she has tested it well. She should go on making notes until she has
put down everything which in her judgment seems necessary. The list
should then be well studied, and anything which cannot be remedied
should be crossed off.
When she has been in the house long enough to know whether she is
likely to please; when she has at least shown that she understands her
business, she will show the list to her employer and tell her what
things she would like to have in order to make her work more
convenient. Possibly a lady may consider her pantry already perfect
and be annoyed by any suggestion; but it is more than likely that she
will be gratified to find that she has some one in her employ who
really cares how and by what means the work is done. She will probably 118
say that she is glad to see such a list; that the articles asked for
she was careful to provide when she began her house-keeping, but she
found they were neglected, broken, or thrown away. The list would
probably be something like this:
Neat brass hooks for fresh white apron, brooms, and dusters.
Three new hand towels.
Zinc dish drainer.
Small towel rack.
Lamp in bracket, to throw light on dishes to be washed in the evening.
Two dozen towels for glass and fine china.
Two new salad cloths.
If the lady be a busy person she may imagine that some of these
requests are unnecessary and therefore unreasonable; but she will go
into the pantry to see what is already there. She will not be
surprised to find her salad cloths with the silver cleaning materials,
for she has had too much experience to be surprised at anything. She 119
will sort out the hand towels from the lamp cloths, and see that she
needs new towels for silver and china. It is more than probable that
the rack, the hook, and the drainer will be promised, although no time
may be set for the fulfilment of the promise.
Now is the opportunity to prove that real thought has been given to
the matter. The waitress should be ready to say, “To-morrow will be my
afternoon out. If you like I will get the hooks; they will cost so
many cents apiece. Where I get those I can get a small towel rack for
so much. I have measured the sink and find that the drainer needs to
be so long and so wide, and I know that the plumber three blocks away
will make it for so much.” The amounts will be so small, while the
convenience will be so apparent, that she will probably be
commissioned to get them at once. She must be sure of her prices and
in no case must she exceed them. She must not ask for one thing on one
day and another thing on another day. All requests should be made at 120
one time, and nothing further asked for until it becomes absolutely
necessary.
When she has adapted herself to her pantry and her pantry to herself,
so that she can do her work in the best possible manner, she may turn
her attention more entirely to the peculiarities of the family which
she has agreed to serve, for it goes without saying that they have
their peculiarities just as she has her own. For instance, we will
suppose that one of the gentlemen always wishes butter at dinner, no
matter how many sauces have been provided. Half of the time he does
not touch it; but he wishes it there. She cannot change that any more
than she can make the near-sighted lady see by taking away her
glasses. What she is to do is never to forget that butter. Some
persons have a habit of saying, “No, thank you,” when a dish is
offered, and asking for it the moment it has been set down. She can
soon determine if any one who does this is at the table and need not
be “upset” by the request. If she can learn to make a bit of a pause 121
at the plate--not disrespectfully, but by way of suggestion that some
of the dish may be cared for--she will soon have no trouble.
In every household there are some things that will puzzle an ignorant
girl and some that may puzzle even a competent, well-trained waitress;
but study and careful thought will make her find the best way to
promote the general comfort and keep each person at table happy and
serene.
A Servant’s Contract 122
One reason of the lack of confidence which exists between mistress and
maid is the constant change which takes place between the employers
and the employed. If a remedy is to be found for this--and a remedy
must be found--it will be necessary to know the reason why, with some
exceptions, maids are seeking good places, and good places are waiting
for the right maids to come and fill them.
Without doubt the chief reason is the lack of a clear understanding
between mistress and maid at the beginning of an engagement. Promises
are made very much at hap-hazard, and a contract entered into, the
conditions of which are not fully understood by either side. To avoid
mistakes it is necessary first to understand the meaning of a contract.
A contract is an agreement between two or more persons by which 123
something is promised on one side in return for something promised by
the other side. A contract is just as binding upon one party as upon
the other. It is not something to be kept on one side, while it lets
the other go free of responsibility. If responsibility be shirked by
one party, then the other is at liberty to consider the contract
broken, and decline to keep his part of it. For instance, a carpenter
agrees to build a house for a certain sum of money. If he fails to
build the house, the man for whom he agreed to build it does not feel
bound to pay him anything for promising to build it. If a caterer
agrees to furnish refreshments for an evening entertainment, and fails
to send them, the person who had given the order would certainly not
feel obliged to pay the bill, if presented.
In the case we are considering the contract is between two persons. It
is an agreement by which a certain amount of service of a specified 124
kind is promised for a stipulated sum of money and a home.
Every maid who goes into a home says that she will do certain things,
and that she will do them well. She claims that she knows how to do
and will do her work in the best manner. On this understanding she is
employed, and is promised a certain sum of money in addition to her
bed and her board. Often a few days prove that there has been a
mistake. In the first place, she does not know how to do her work in a
first-class manner, and in the second place she does not try to do it
well. Her employer talks with her about it, tries to show her better
ways, begs her not to be careless, all to no purpose. After a fair
trial she is told that she will not answer the requirements of the
place. Does it ever occur to her to take less than the stipulated
wages? By no means. She has not at all come up to the promises of her
agreement; or, in other words, she has broken her contract. This would
certainly justify the party on the other side in breaking hers to the 125
extent of paying only for the kind of work that has been given,
instead of paying for the first-class work that was promised. But
ladies do not like to be called mean, and they pay out their money
knowing that they have not received the value of it.
In order for a waitress to know whether she has fulfilled her part of
a contract, and whether the blame rests with her, she will need to
understand very fully what she has contracted to do.
Most important of all in this connection is the promise not to abuse
the china and silver. We all know more or less about the china
craze--the collecting of pieces of old china, some of it not so fine
as may be bought in the shops to-day, but old. This old china has
passed through a great many hands, and been washed a great many times.
Some of it has passed from pantry to pantry, as it became the
possession of one family after another, and a great deal of it is
neither broken, cracked, nor chipped. This proves that somebody, or a
good many somebodies, must have known how to wash china without 126
injuring it in any way, and what has been done in this way may be done
again. It will not be done by ignorant girls who have no idea of
learning the best ways; but it will be done by the many who are
anxious to do always what is right, even at some inconvenience to
themselves.
Superstition must be gotten rid of in the beginning. Some persons say,
“There! I have broken that; now I must break three things before I can
stop;” or, “Now I have begun to break, there is no telling when I can
stop,” as if they were not responsible for the damage done. For this
there is one sure remedy, and possibly one only, which has been tried
in a number of cases, and always with success. The person who breaks
china or defaces silver must, so far as is possible, repair from her
own purse the damage done.
But accidents? Yes, once in a lifetime a dumb-waiter breaks down, a
cleat under a shelf gives way, or a child runs against a door and
knocks a tray full of dishes out of a steady hand. All these are 127
accidents. There is no question about them: they could not have been
helped. When anything cannot be provided against it may be called an
accident; when it happens from lack of foresight it may be called
carelessness.
One point to be considered is that the articles which a maid destroys
are often too valuable for her to replace. Even if she has the
willingness, she has not the money to buy pieces of equal value. All
the more should she provide herself with all possible safeguards
against the destruction of other persons’ property. A contract might
be entered into which would be something like this: A certain sum of
money is promised to a waitress in return for work performed in an
acceptable manner. If at the end of each month no china, glass, or
silver is broken or defaced, then one-fifth or one-quarter of the sum
promised is to be added to the original amount. If pieces are broken
or marred, then the extra dollars are to go towards replacing what has 128
been spoiled. That is, if the maid keeps her contract by doing her
work in the manner she has promised, she will be paid for good work
and careful management. If she breaks her contract by carelessness and
heedless handling, there is some slight provision made against the
damage done.
When the idea is once grasped that a contract is not a one-sided
affair, when a maid realizes that she is as much bound by it as her
employer, then she will think before she promises, and she will not
undertake more than she has capacity and training to perform. Then she
will not expect to be paid for what she has not done, and she will
have too much self-respect to accept wages which she has not earned.
Another thing which will not fail to be discussed by reformers of this
branch of household service which we are considering is the question
of tips and souvenirs. We are told that the reason why the system of
tips prevails on railway trains and in hotels is because the wages of 129
the employés are not sufficient for their support. This is not true of
all these workers; and if it be true of some, it need not be true of
the household. A really good waitress can always command a proper
return for her services. If she has brains enough to become a model
waitress she will have sense enough to know what her services are
worth, and her demands will be gladly acceded to when she has proved
that her work is worth the price which she has placed upon it. This
point being settled, she will be satisfied with the stated amount, and
bend her mind to her work without any idea of attracting the favor of,
or receiving tips from, any member or guest of the household. How else
can she preserve her self-respect?
Souvenirs are not tips, and may be considered. The new order of
waitresses will so conduct themselves that after a time no one will
think of offering them tips; but there are occasions when souvenirs
are quite suitable, and may be accepted with perfect propriety.
Suppose that preparations are made some morning for a child’s party to 130
take place in the afternoon. A little guest confides to the waitress
that she is going to wear her sweet white dress that was finished just
before she left home. She begs her nurse to show it, and the nurse
goes to a trunk to take it out. Alas for the child’s hopes! The sash,
which is an important part of the dress, is hopelessly crushed, so
that it is not fit to wear. Nurse is too busy to freshen it up;
another dress must answer. The waitress may not half comprehend what a
terrible disappointment this is to the child, yet she carries away the
sash, and, long before time for the party, brings it back as smooth
and fresh as it was in the beginning.
When the mamma returns she listens to a wonderful tale of distress and
joy, and it means far more to her than to the child. When she is about
to leave the house, if she wishes to show that she remembers how
thoughtful the waitress had been, and offers her some pretty gift, 131
there is no reason in the world why she should not accept it with
pleasure.
If old people are among the guests, there are many little things
outside the line of prescribed duties which may sometimes be done for
them. Elderly persons are so grateful to those who see and remember
their especial needs and wishes that it seems quite natural and proper
that they should offer gifts to those who are thoughtful for them.
But the things I speak of are those which a true waitress will do
wherever she is placed. She will do them for a person without money as
quickly as for one who has money. She will do them not because she is
a waitress, but because she is a woman--a woman with a warm heart and
a willing hand.
THE END
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End of Project Gutenberg's The Expert Waitress, by Anne Frances Springsteed