Lack of Sympathy Charged in Student-Waiter Report

A lack of understanding between the student waiters and those in charge of the service in the Freshman Dining Halls is the chief finding of the Advisory Committee on Student Employment, contained in an exhaustive report issued by that committee late last night.

The report, undertaken to study the success of the student waiting system installed at Gore Hall this fall as an experiment, recommends that in future student headwaiters should replace the professional headwaiters, preferably upperclassmen of standing and ability.

The text in full follows:

In September, 1925, 32 student waiters were on duty in Gore Hall in response to the agitation by undergraduates and graduates urging that this opportunity be given students to earn their board. It was understood that if the system were successful in Gore Hall it would be extended to other Freshman Dormitories and elsewhere in the University.

Under this plan the waiters were to work in two shifts of 16 waiters each, every other day and alternate Sundays. They were required to be in the dining hall seven hours and 20 minutes a day, of which time one half hour before each meal was allowed for eating, making a total of five hours and 50 minutes of actual work. Thus in a bi-weekly period the waiters were to work 40 hours and 50 minutes, for which they would receive 21 meals and $8.00 in cash (or meals), that is the equivalent of two weeks' meals less $1.50, or $.43 an hour. These men were to work under a professional headwaiter and a steward, who are under the supervision of the Superintendent of Dining Halls. The waiters so employed would at all times be subject to strict discipline.

Vacancies Filled by Waitresses

From the beginning difficulties were encountered, with the result that several of the student waiters gave up their positions and it was found difficult to get others to replace them. The vacancies were thereupon filled by professional waitresses, an arrangement which proved unsatisfactory and undesirable.

At this juncture the Advisory Committee on Student Employment, composed of J. L. Carroll Jr. '26, Chairman, W. L. Tibbetts Jr. '26, C. G. T. Lundell '27, undertook an investigation of the situation. This committee finds that the complaints of those in charge of the dining hall are as follows:

1. While there is practically no complaint against the actual service given to the students by these waiters, or against the waiters' punctuality, those in charge do complain that the feeling of responsibility of the waiters toward their work leaves something to be desired, in that they have shown a tendency to cut or quit work without due warning.

2. The service etiquette is not satisfactory. For example, passing in hand the menu on the right hand side instead of on the left; handling turoblers by the top instead of by the base; standing around talking when the work lets up; and wearing knickers instead of long trousers are considered contrary to the established form.

It is especially significant that all the difficulties could be remedied by an efficient management, except that difficulty which is caused by the lack of sufficient applicants for the job. This scarcity of applicants is due to the fact that the men themselves are not contented with the conditions. They make the following complaints:

1. The arrangement of hours, which crowds too much time into the working days, not only makes for less efficiency in their work of waiting on table but also interferes with their studies and other activities.

2. The compensation is insufficent in that they are required to pay a differential of $.75 in order to secure all their meals.

3. The management is not open-minded and does not seek for improvements which will make for greater efficiency. Suggestions made by the waiters have not been given sufficient consideration; it seems that as waiters they are not expected to think.

4. Due to the absence of a student head-waiter who understands and appreciates the students' point of view, there is a decided lack of cooperation and understanding between the waiters and those directly in charge of the dining hall.

5. They are not allowed the entire half hour for eating their own meals as was agreed upon originally, for they are required to give half of this period to setting up the tables. This setting up of tables could be done in five minutes if there were a proper system.

Committee Makes Recommendations

This committee after due consideration of all the factors involved has the following recommendations to make:

1. A student head-waiter should be appointed, preferably an upperclassman of some standing and experience, who will be able to understand and to handle properly the men under him, and who will be able to voice the complaints of the waiters to the proper authorities.

2. The "rush system" should be replaced by a "station system" which will distribute the work more evenly and will encourage individual excellence in waiting.

This "station system" would call for dividing the tables of the dining hall in such a way as to give an equal number of "places" to pairs of student waiters, who would confine themselves to their own stations, doing all the work there, as serving, cleaning, and resetting.

3. The arrangement of shifts should be changed so as to begin with the evening meal and end with the noon meal of the following day. This will eliminate the lack of balance in working hours and the excessive pressure of the "on" days of the present system.

4. The differential of $.75 should be eliminated, thereby giving the waiters all their meals in return for their work.

5. The number of student waiters should be in the same proportion to the number served as the number of professional waiters would be.

These improvements should make the job more attractive and thereby increase the number of applicants for the positions. This in turn, would raise the standard of discipline and bring about a keener sense of responsibility on the part of the waiters.

In concluding, the committee wishes to express its conviction that the system of student waiters should be, and can be, maintained in the University on a practical basis. The committee feels that the lack of success to date has been due in part to the failure of the waiters to realize fully their responsibilities, but more largely to the failure of those responsible for the running of the dining halls to sympathize with and aid in furthering an innovation that enables men, who might not otherwise be able to meet their expenses, to secure a college education