This would be an appropriate to ask someone having to drink a gallong of colonoscopy prep liquid – “are you still working on that?” – that’s a chore. Salads – not so much.

I never said I was ‘right’ and a discussion isn’t a competition.

Your comment must not be longer than the blog post.

Socialization is never the answer to progress, what you end up with in that scenario is mediocre at best. Why bother trying to achieve or excel if there’s no benefit? It works great in a lazy society, but the smart go getters (and lets face it, they are the ones that make things happen) end up feeling cheated. If I put in a hundred and ten percent I should get a hundred and ten percent return, not share it equally with those who only wish to put in 90%. That just makes no sense because it penalizes those who are willing to go the extra mile. I hate hearing people whine about not being given the same opportunity as others. Save your money and go dine there, hopefully by the time you get there PI will have them whipped into shape for you. If you can’t afford to go, sacrifice your internet or some fancy tv programming and perhaps you could. Or, here’s another idea… get a better job. No one hiring you? Do like I did, be persistent, keep trying and eventually you’ll manage to dig your way through that veil of nepotism and find a real job.

Oh, by the way… when the entire world shares equally in the spoils I’ll wish you luck finding a fine restaurant anywhere. Servers will be impossible to find. After all, why should I serve you food when I can take a job and get paid the same as a brain surgeon? Feel bad for the poor patients as I haven’t got the talent to do brain surgery but I’m entitled to equal everything so I’m a brain surgeon today. Never mind the fact that I’ve done nothing to deserve being called one. But that’s life under your plan.

Nuff said.. sorry PI, seems I made a mess of your very fine blog.

I respect your decision not to publicly call the restaurant out PI. Let’s hope they will work those kinks out before they permanently harm their reputations. Not many other people will give them that opportunity to redeem themselves. It’s rare you hear good feedback in the service industry, but one bad day and everyone knows about it. I might recommend you send them a copy of this blog entry though with a small note saying “Guess who”.

Exploiting? If you’re being exploited, go work someplace where you get paid what you’re “really worth.” The reason jobs like being a waiter pay low are because (a) if the current employee left, they could find someone else who would do it for that amount, and (b) it’s not that tough of a job (at least to do it to the standards Americans expect – in France, expectations are higher, and pay is higher). Granted, this particular restaurant should pay enough that they get people who actually provide good service – and perhaps be more discerning in their hiring.

Also… I find it hard to believe that you really think “We need empathy for our fellow citizens” when you say “I have no empathy for people who…” What, they’re not your fellow citizens, just because they make more money than you?

The reality is, when the markets aren’t being abused (which, as far as I can tell in this case, they aren’t), Money is the unit of caring of our society – it shows how much the society values a particular item or service. Being a waiter is not valued – both because people willing to be waiters are not scarce, and because the value of the service provided is low.

[rant off]

I’m kinda curious what the restaurant is… if the food’s that good, I might want to check it out.

I work at at a job where all day I talk to people to are complaining about things I can’t afford to buy and they think I understand when they talk about a guest room or a second home, neither of which I have ever owned. I have no empathy for people who have exponentially more stuff than me yet zero comprehension that they can only afford so much by exploiting people like me in the first place.

Remember how incredulous you were when Bush sr was amazed at a grocery checkout scanner and Imelda Marcos’s shoe collection and the constant stream of celebrities who get away with murder and other crimes simply because of wealth and charisma, well, maybe the place to start to change such a world is to have some empathy. Time to stop the angry fist shaking at homeless people, not for them as much as for you. The change begins with you.

There are a thousand billionaires in this country and many many tens of thousands of millionaires but they didn’t get that way by sharing their wealth.

We need empathy for our fellow citizens not an attitude of Marie Antoinette distain.

We were there last Friday and it was outstanding. Been there three times and have never had an issue with being rushed along. I think they would have let us sit there as long as we wanted on Friday, and there were people waiting to be seated.