I know a few things about waiters in hotels and bars and pubs, and one of those things is that they smoke a lot. The other thing is that as an unwritten rule, all of them usually have not-so-flattering nicknames for their immediate bosses and supervisors. The third thing that I know about waiters is that most of them are tired of the job and are secretly eyeing a new career in music. Hotel workers smoke a lot of cigarettes, but they do this in hiding from their bosses and supervisors who already know that they smoke anyway. In their world, it’s one thing for your boss to suspect that you smoke, and another thing for him to know for a fact that you actually smoke. Then it’s a completely different thing for him to see you puffing away. So the general trend is to try and hide the vice. Hotel managers and supervisors have their reasons why they are against cigarette smoking among their ranks. First, they consider it as their moral duty, just like a teacher to his or her students, or a doctor to their patient, or a parent to their son/daughter. I have no doubt in me that this strict moral code of conduct is inculcated in them during their time at catering school. Another reason hotel and bar managers dislike waiters who smoke is the fear that as the night wears on and the party gets thicker, a smoking waiter will be tempted to pinch a few cigarettes from patrons’ tables. As a general trend, hospitality establishments usually sell their cigarettes at sometimes double the recommended retail price. What this means is that with their modest earnings, coupled with the fear of being singled out as a smoker on the job, no waiter in their right state of mind can buy cigarettes from their own counter. So what they do is buy about four loose sticks of their favorite brand from the small corner shop on their way to work. These won’t take long as he may smoke one, share another with a colleague in need, while the other two will have been snatched by other colleagues in greater need. This is the reason waiters are open to temptation, and it’s the reason their bosses are against them smoking. However this is not to say that all hotel managers are like this. To begin with, many of them do smoke cigarettes themselves. I know a few that are chain smokers too, and I suspect it has got something to do with the pressures of the job. I have a few friends who are either hotel managers or regular wait staff and what all of these friends should know is that I have one bone to pick with them: Instead of shooting a brother pints whenever you visit them on the job, they will ask you if you like “African tea” or “Black tea”!
