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Table Troubles

Waiters in Kathmandu’s restaurants say the least they deserve is some respect for the service they provide

By AKSHAY SHARMA

The expansion of the tourism industry and the growing trend of eating out have created jobs for those who are ready to make the lives of other people easier. Tell that to waiters of Kathmandu’s restaurants and you get what is unmistakably a half-sneer.

From five-star hotels to regular restaurants, waiters tell you how they have to put up with people of all dispositions and temperaments. For some, this may be a swell job. A lot of others understand that the people you’re dealing with can make or break your day.

Waiters complain that the discomforts they have to endure are hardly noticed. "Some customers make unwanted advances," says Sapana Ghimire, who works at Friendly Restaurant at Durbar Marg to finance her studies at Shanker Dev Campus.

Some customers are understanding. "These people are not servants," says Sameer Shrestha of Baluwatar, who describes himself as a frequent restaurant-goer. "I wonder how they can endure the insults thrown at them."

A nice tip may be a consolation, but not everyone can expect one. Some waiters are handicapped by language. "I don’t handle foreigners because I can’t speak English. Nepali customers rarely tip," says 20-year-old Shambhu Karki of Sindhupalchowk, who works at the G4 Cafe in Bishalnagar.

But tips are just part of the problem. "People just come in and they tell me they have a reservation, yet they refuse to give me a name. Why can’t people save themselves and us time by just giving a name first?" Ajit Gurung grumbled to us on condition that the establishment he works for not be named.

"People try and make a reservation on a Saturday night, 15 minutes before they want to come. When I tell them I don’t have a good table for them until later in the evening they tell me they deserve one because they know the owner. Oh how nice. I know the owner, too, and where has that got me in life?" says Satish Thapa, who works at the Radisson Hotel. "This guy didn’t even know the owner. He just lives on the same street as our owner and he thought he should get the window."

The small ones sometimes pose a big problem. "I just cannot understand why people bring small children to a fine dining establishment. The people cannot enjoy their time because of all the whining and crying," says Pratik Pradhan. "Then they don’t watch them and think that I am supposed to double as some kind of babysitter."

Some waiters say they wished people just paid more attention to the menu. "I hate it when people sit there and order something on the menu that says it’s scalding hot and when they begin to eat it they break into a deep sweat and say, ‘That’s really hot, spicy’, engaging in a variety of facial contortions," complains one who works at a Durbar Marg restaurant.

Preferences not related to the taste buds also create problems. "The other night we had this tidal wave of people come in and I was hurriedly seating people at their tables. This party of four stops me to ask what the score of the cricket game was," says Pabitra Shrestha, who works at the Discovery Hotel in Thamel. "I said, ‘I have no idea, this isn’t a bar, we don’t have a TV up here." So they ask me if I will go next door and find out what the game score was. Like I don’t have a million other things to do. Luckily I was able to pawn that score-finding duty onto the manager."

Uttam Nepali, a 14-year-old from Dhangadhi in far-western Nepal who came to Kathmandu a year ago and works at the Valley Sweets at Ratna Park, says, "Tipping is actually showing appreciation for the service we provide people." Although that kind of appreciation need not necessarily come with a monetary value, it is nevertheless scarce.