the waitress

So, in my story there is a restaurant scene. And, of course, a waitress. At first I wrote the scene without giving the waitress a name or too much of a role. However, I'm starting to wonder if this is a bit of a missed opportunity. Most waitresses or waiters introduce themselves when they come to the table, right? So, I should probably give mine a name, right? And while there is stuff happening at the restaurant, I'm thinking that this waitress should get more involved. It will change things quite a bit, I imagine, if I develop this character. I kind of know I should, but for some reason I am a bit reluctant to make these changes. That's probably just because it's more work. Probably better for the story and more realistic given this is a restaurant scene.

I'm sure we've all written a restaurant scene or two. Do you name your waitstaff? Do they play a role in the story? Should they? I don't want to clutter the scene, but there is little need for underdeveloped or paper-thin characters. Even for characters that don't make repeat appearances in the overall story, how much character development do you put into them? I think these changes could add flavor and do other things. I'm not entirely sure what those things are, but this chapter is a little shorter than my others. It's an important stop for my characters to make, but the chapter is a bit bare or sparse. I kind of got right to the point, and in doing so maybe missed the point. How much life do you put into your sideline characters?

 

Yes, in my experience most do introduce themselves.
But as an article on this site says, "dialog is not a transcript." Most people start conversations with things like:

"Hi, 'rats, how ya doing?"
"Not bad. Yourself?"
"Could be better. The boss wants to see you."​

Of all that, odds are only "Hey, 'rats, the boss wants to see you" would wind up in a story.

So while the waitress might in real life introduce herself, you can skip it and the reader won't notice. She can start ith "What can I get you?" and that's fine.

That said, if you want to get her more involved, then sure, have her introduce herself. It's up to you.

You can develop sideline characters all you want: create a whole life story for the waitress if you want. The question is, how much of that do you put on the page? In many cases, it's none: a paper thin character is what you want, because it's all the story requires and you don't want to clutter the story up with irrelevant stuff. Sometimes you put more depth in, even if the story doesn't require it, to give the world more depth. But there should be a purpose -- usually plot or world-building -- to what you reveal of a secondary character.

One of my tertiary characters is a teenage boy with a chip on his shoulder over his family; they're a cadet branch of a much more famous family and he's a bit defensive about that. So he gets into fights, and in the culture he lives in, that's okay as long as he doesn't bully weaker kids or take it too far. The point of him being fleshed out (in Book 1 anyway) is to show the details of that aspect of that culture.

 

Whilst your classic Americana waitress might say:

'Hi, I'm Patricia, what can I get you folks?'

That is not universal.

In a UK dining-scene - such form might indicate an 'over-familiarity,' or a 'corporate-yuckiness,' or even simply an American-themed restaurant.

I recall even when I was twenty I was trained in a new venture restaurant, the Old Orleans, to slide aside the customer, tell them my name, and smile and so forth. I lost a lot of sleep in the terror and through the training, and got punched by a builder when I sat on his kneecap. People used to like that story. My Dad made me repeat it often and I wasn't a very good waiter.

 

I'd say the waitstaff introducing themselves is 50/50 at best. Regardless of whether they do or no, the waiter having a name doesn't make him a "character" unless you want him to be. You don't owe it to every extra to be full character, have agency, etc. Some people can simply be part of the scenery.

The waitress got my order and moved on to the next table.

That's all you really need to say to make it a real restaurant scene. You don't have to describe how a transaction with waitstaff works anymore than you have to describe how using a toilet works. Unless one or both make the story go, I don't see the point in including unnecessary dialogue or exposition.

 

My experience is that servers have a sort of script depending on how nice the restaurant is.

 

I live in the UK and have never had a waitress introduce herself (but sometimes they wear a name tag). So it's obviously not universal.
If she plays no impact role in the character keep her as a silent extra. I've seen movies based in America with restaurant scenes where no waitress even speaks or it's one line asking if they want anything. While, in real life we may get involved in polite but useless conversation, I don't think you need it in a book where other more important things need to be covered.
Just my opinion.

 

In germany a waitress wouldn't introduce herself.
As a reader I'd expect the waitress to be relevant for the plot/world building if you'd introduce her. But of course, this is also the chance to highlight other aspects of your main character through the eyes of somebody with another background.

 

Simply referring to the side character by occupation and some basic visual description would make it easier to follow the story than yet another name to connect with someone.

 

My experience with servers introducing themselves is probably less than 50%. Some have name tags which you could use as a substitute.
The server came to the table. Dan noticed her name tag which read 'Tiffany'. He wondered silently why parents named their offspring in such trite ways.
A character with a small supporting role need not have a name. I had a restaurant scene in my one book with a server who never had a name. She comes back later in the story as a witness and I still didn't find it necessary to name her.
A more involved character may or may not require a name. Even a nickname like 'Miss Blonde Waitress' can be used.

 

If you think the waitress can add something to the scene, then why not let her? You don't have to have her introduce herself by name in order to write her in. Sounds like you probably have a few ideas bubbling for her already.
Also, we can discern a lot about a person's character (real or fictional), by observing how they interact with people in the service industry. You could very well be missing a trick by not taking advantage of that.

 

Now that is something I've never heard of.

Also, perhaps @matwoolf was working at The Outback Steakhouse? Last few times I was there the server actually sat down next to us in our booth while she took our initial order. The ladies at Hooters and The Tilted Kilt know better than to take such risks

 

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Yes of course it was me Mr Aschendalesan, my cutest bunny boy customer. So handsome in your smart waistcoat.


...And is this that wife of yours you are always describing? Wow, I could eat you both.


Pleased to meet you too, honey, and such a very lovely lady, and this big fella like a big lollipop, isn't he just, heh? I bet you do, a big hairy lollipop laddie, a twitcher, heh heh heh. Probably. He looks like a twitcher.


Iain, you are twitching, ain't he twitching?


Look, I would love to join you both if I had a spare minute in the bubblebath, this booth, tee hee hee, so tender in the flesh is me mmmm me...breathe...breathe...mindful...center...zone.


By the way I love your hair Mrs Ashholeden. Where is my pencil? Hew. Sorry about that. I recommend the Wagamoo Flank sharing plate at $2999 and a bottle of the Rico Potvin Choice to celebrate Monday breakfast.


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I didn't know you had to work at tips these days. Just stand behind the counter next to one of those square registers that lets the customer choose between 25,20, 15, or no % gratuity.

 

I always tip cash, don't trust people like Homer to give the servers everything they've earned.

 

Here in the UK it's the done thing to either add the service to your bill when you go to pay it, or put cash in a cup or container near the checkout. The tips are (supposedly, anyway) shared out by all the staff working in the place.

I'm ambivalent about this. When I was in the USA (and I worked in all sorts of restaurants, but NOT as a waitress—unless the place was temporarily stuck for staff) I never begrudged the wait staff their tips. Tips usually meant the customer was happy. The fact that we all worked behind the scenes to make them happy wasn't really an issue for me. The wait staff had to put up with a lot of shit, while we could just stay in the kitchen and do our work in relative peace.

I always appreciated working for a boss who would stand up for his wait staff, and not allow them to take undue abuse, though. Unfortunately some bosses are reluctant to interfere, for fear of chasing away customers. My view was 'who needs those kinds of customers?' Other customers see what's happening, and they are not impressed, are they?

 

Some characters play only an incidental role. A waitress might be one of these, and you might only use her to help pace the scene and embellish the setting (e.g. your mc and an important secondary character are discussing a major issue for your story over a meal; just the comings and goings of the waitress can help break up blocks of dialogue). In that case, no, I don't think she should be named. Each named character is someone the reader will have to remember, and you don't want to weigh your story down, unnecessarily. OTOH, your mc might be a regular in the restaurant (or diner, or bar, etc.) and the waitress might know him/her and be a source of information. In which case, you would definitely want to name her and flesh out her character a bit.

In the work I'm now pitching, I had one character whom I didn't name, a cop at a crime scene who made an incidental comment about my mc to her partner and then vanished from the ms. In revision, he gradually morphed into a precinct detective...who became an ongoing member of the investigation...and had something of a crush on my mc...and briefly replaced her partner...so, I had to give him a name. He developed into a good, supporting character.

So, keep at it.

 

What he said, I reckon. It applies to any/all secondary characters who are just placeholder/spear-carriers. Give them a name, and people will be thinking they'll need to remember that name. If they aren't going to be important characters who personally influence the plot, then names aren't necessary. You can use them, of course, but be aware of their potential to distract or mislead.