'She calls everyone "honey” and “sweetie," and chit chats with patrons instead of just letting them eat': Georgia-born waitress asks coworker why she doesn't get as many tips, gets mad when he says New Jersey customers don't appreciate her southern charm

There's a huge difference between what constitutes respect in the Northern and Southern United States. When my family moved to Texas, we collectively went through a huge amount of culture shock regarding the term "ma'am." I hated that I was expected to call every adult woman "ma'am," and my mom hated that everyone around her suddenly started calling her "ma'am." There is nothing inherently nefarious about the term, but to my mom, who was a lifelong Midwesterner, it made her feel old. I remember asking my 2nd grade teacher, "May I go to the restroom, please?" And she corrected me, "May I go to the restroom, ma'am." It was something we had to get used to, even if we didn't ever actually start using the term.

The same kind of culture shock can apply when a Southerner moves to New Jersey. The waitress in this story tried to use the tricks that charmed Georgians, but they fell flat at her new job.

Advertisement

01

via Carol Highsmith's America

_{This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}
Advertisement
02

via u/Wild_Consequence8353
03

via u/Wild_Consequence8353
04

via u/Wild_Consequence8353
Advertisement
05

via u/Wild_Consequence8353
06

via u/Wild_Consequence8353
Advertisement
07

via u/Wild_Consequence8353
08

via u/Wild_Consequence8353
Advertisement
09

via u/Wild_Consequence8353
It's an honest mistake, but she should listen after her managers and colleagues have said the same thing. It's not that hard not to overly talk with patrons, and it's objectively less work to do the emotional labor of talking to customers when not doing so actually increases the number of tips you get.
10

via u/Waste_Worker6122
11

via u/Open-Trouble-7264
Advertisement
12

via u/Elaan21
13

via u/MaddyKet
14

via u/Designer-Escape6264
Advertisement
15

via u/WeddingFickle6513
16

via u/Zose
17

via u/Wild_Consequence8353
Advertisement
18

via u/silly_goose_egg
19

via u/No_Ship_2787
20

via u/SarcasticAzaleaRose
Advertisement
21

via u/stroppo
22

via u/CatOutrageous9135
23

via u/TemptingPenguin369
Advertisement
24

via u/lovepotao
25

via u/WeddingFickle6513
26

via u/lovepotao
Advertisement
27

via u/Original_Archer5984
28

via u/Original_Archer5984
29

via u/Original_Archer5984
Advertisement
30

via u/Nicki-ryan
31

via u/Nicki-ryan

Stay entertained and up to date by following us on Facebook and Instagram!

Tags

customer service southern northeast server servers coworkers customers restaurant customer coworker the south restaurant server Georgia new york city New Jersey

Scroll Down For The Next Article

Also From Memebase

21 Employee Burnout Memes to Get You Through Your Late-Week Work Slump (December 27th, 2024)

21 Employee Burnout Memes to Get You Through Your Late-Week Work Slump (December 27th, 2024)

Next Article