Side Work Podcast

Today we talk kids: the "good", the bad, and the very bad scenarios servers find themselves in waiting on children. We throw it back and talk about our experiences going out to eat as wee little rug rats then move into present day where it seems entitled little tots and clueless parents are the name of the game. It's a tough topic so we've got advice for servers and parents on how to make it a tolerable experience for all parties and not end up having the owner banish your family to a life dining at Denny's only. After that, the fabulous and fearless Jen Kirkman stops into the podcast to dish on the strange, classist habits of elite country club members she had to wait on in Beverly Hills and more!

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Our history of women in the service industry continues as we explore the beautiful world of gender and race discrimination within the job. In short: it was a woman's job, then it wasn't, then it was again while men were at war, then men came back and kicked us out of the job, then it was our job again after some legislation passed, but then we were pushed out of fine dining and potential to earn good money. And where that left POC is an entirely different struggle that still needs a lot of correcting. Proud that this episode arrives right on the heels of Equal Pay Day.

Then our dear friend and amazing comedian and writer Jordan Carlos, host of WNYC's "Adulting" podcast sits down with us to talk about the wild streets of Glendale as well as his time bussing tables and being the "Do Boy" at a Manhattan restaurant. There's a great rat story, too. 

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We are back with some more hungover history of women and their role in the service industry in America. Kyle's ghost makes some appearances throughout the episode and we talk about The Harvey Girls who are pivotal to women becoming self-sufficient wage earners in the West! Then our girl Renee Gauthier, a floor captain, top server, team manager and BOSS BITCH when it came to waiting tables and bartending drops by to enlighten us with her competitive edge which made her shine on the job.

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We decided it was time to look into the origins of American women in the service industry and discovered that for nearly 150 years not only was it illegal for a woman to work in a restaurant or bar, we weren't even allowed to be in one. V COOL. We dive into the always brilliant laws men create to keep a lady down, but don't worry we are the queens of subversion! Our hungover research will stretch across a few episodes but for now we talk about Puritanical society in the 1830's, Ordinaries, Snugs, The Temperance Movement and laws that kept women from bartending until the 1970's. WTF. Then our sister in arms Jackie Zebrowski drops by the podcast to detail 8 1/2 years managing the Blue Stove in Brooklyn. Even though she's in anger management, no, she won't make your  dumb kid a "babyccino".

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We explore the world of unsung food service heroes - counter workers! Brooke, Andrea & Kyle recall definitely being exploited as teenagers at an array of bagel, ice cream, and coffee counters for about $5 an hour. The trend of waiter-less restaurants taking over Los Angeles is debated - especially how you tip at some of these places. But really, in this episode we step aside to let comedian and writer wunderkind Mike Lawrence  tell us about his six year stint working at McDonald's in Davie, Florida. We can't hold a candle to that level of dedication and Mike brings some great insight into the fast food life - we're lovin' it!

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Side Work podcast has officially made it past 10 episodes which is something to celebrate! This week we are comping you some extra content featuring interview moments that didn't make it into episodes, an update on one of our guests, and additional discussions from your servers. Thanks again to Matt Braunger, Brandy Barber, Jason Woolfolk and Aaron Sine for the bottomless stories and opinions regarding service industry madness.

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We talk about all the ways in which the service industry breaks you down physically and emotionally which makes sense because restaurants seem to be constructed of glass, knives, fire, sharp corners, slippery floors and dim lighting. We thoroughly discuss how effed up our feet are and will be for the remainder of our lives. Then our buddy Renee Felice Smith (of NCIS fame!!) drops by to discuss how she hustled big bucks out of customers at Applebee's in Long Island for two years. Who knew Applebee's was open until 2AM?!

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We jump right in and discuss the mind blowing noise levels of modern restaurants that blast their speakers -- are we old or is this trend really annoying? We share another server submitted story which launches us into a tirade on aristocratic customers. Then we return to the topic of dating your co-waiters and how this always always always goes down in grease fire flames. Fabulous writer, director and actress Brandy Barber stops into the pod to give us the low down on her long career balancing the hi-low serving experience starting in a literal backyard bar decorated as a bait and tackle shop and ending years later as team captain of one of the worlds finest dining destinations in NYC.

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In this very special episode we discuss what Valentine's Day means to servers. Hint: It's not good. Whether you call it V-Day, The Valentine's Tip Massacre, Amateur Hour for Love.... it's a dreaded shift for a multitude of reasons and no amount of chocolate dipped strawberries and cheap champagne will make us change our attitude. Then Beth Stelling, aka Sweet Beth drops by and talks about a solid Ohio upbringing working as a cater-waiter, steamed bagel sandwich maker and ultimately a fancy-pants, $5 cup-o-coffee pouring barista.

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Today's Special: sleeping with your co-workers. It was time we speak of it and turns out this topic will be a mini-series. Then we put some funny #serverlife tweets on blast. Writer, comedian and former lunch server at Stir Fire Grill, John Roy stops by to talk about the chicken brain we all inhabit while waiting tables, and the oldest known ketchup on Navy Pier in Chicago.

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