A Waitress's Instructions on Tipping The poem "A Waitress's Instructions on tipping or Get the Cash up and Don't Waste My Time" by Jan Beatty shows more depth and insight on the realities and in fractures of tipping. This poem is an example of a free verse. It has no rhyming or formal structure where it shows her experience as an irritated, mad and greedy waitress. She remarks on several points like the importance of the tipping, because it is the wage for waitresses. Moreover, any and every special request needs to be tipped extra. There is never an over tip for a waitress. Lastly, customers do not own the waitress. Beatty uses exaggerations in her poem to make sure we all perceive her message (Importance). In this poem, Beatty shows how some waitresses live from tips. On line eleven she says, "Remember, I am somebody's mother or daughter."(706) This is one of the strongest images in the poem. In some way she is calling out to her customers who probably have or are someone's mother or daughter. She is trying to make them see that she is a human and loved just like they are. The content of the poem help us understand of waitresses. "Throughout the poem, while we are being lectured on proper tipping, we come to understand that the waitress is in a position where she depends on our gratuities."(Importance). For a waitress, every special request is a waste of time if the customer does not appreciate the waitress's job and gives a good tip. The waitress would rather be helping someone who will appreciate her effort to accommodate them. The poem remarks several times: "Double tips for special orders." "If I call a taxi for you, tip me." "If I hang your coat for you, tip me." "If I get cigarettes for you, tip me." (706-707) With these lines, she give specific examples of services that need to be tipped. Her specific examples show us the importance of her service, and therefore give the final line more significance. (importance) "If you are miserable, there's not enough money in the world."(707) Jan Beatty continues teaching us how to tip but this time by telling us that there is never an over tip. Sometimes she makes the waitress seem that she is only thinking of tips. She uses the word tip many times throughout the poem. This gives a feeling that money is everything and she will never do anything for free. Her tone is more greedy than irritated. "Never leave change instead of bills." "Never leave pennies at all." And, "Always leave extra when using coupons, better yet, do not use coupons." Why did Beatty add this lines to her poem? Is it to make us see that some customers do not appreciate the waitress’s job or to show how waitresses only think about tips? Maybe Beatty is trying to show us that in this world we have all kinds of people. Some customers who are cheap and some waitresses that are very attracted to money. "At the end of line 29, she describes her self as cold, materialistic, and unattached from her customers"(Importance). As the poem continues, we see that Beatty now focuses on customers’ attitudes. There are customers who act like the waitress is a servant and will do anything for a tip. Her tone is irritated and mad. For example Beatty repeats "Don't" five times at the end of the poem. “Don’t fold a bill and hand it to me like you are a big shot.” “Don’t say, there’s a big tip for you if…” “Don’t say, I want to make sure you get this, like a busboy would steal it.” “Don’t say, Here, honey, this is for you. – ever" "Don's say, I will make it worth your while" (707). She sounds really mad. The waitresses do need the money to live but there is a big difference between a servant and a waitress. A servant will do anything for the person who is paying. A waitress only help with anything that is food related. If a waitress does more that is not food service definitely she will be expecting a good tip. That is what Beatty Jan show us in the poem. After reading the poem, we understand what the waitress, who depends on tips, has to go through a lot while helping customers. Some are good experience and some are bad. With this great poem as a tool that Beatty gave us will be easier. Just remember 20% minimum.
McMahan, Elizabeth, Susan Day, and Robert Funk. "A waitress's Instructions on Tipping or Get the Cash Up and Don't waste My Time" Literature and the Writing Process. Ninth ed. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print.
"Importance of Character in Jan Beatty's Poem, A Waitress's Instructions on Tipping or Get the Cash." 123HelpMe. Web. 13 February 2013.
