The Restaurant Industry According to Hollywood #16
It would be difficult to describe something more offensive to people in our industry than the general lack of respect we get in our culture at large. In this clip from Friends, Joey is at the end of his rope and condescends to work at Central Perk as a means of paying his tab. It’s maddening how being unsuccessful is equated with working in the restaurant industry. Ironically, Joey does show a remarkable typical behavior when he blows off his shift for something he deemed more important.
To make matters worse, Rachel decides to impart her own version of professional wisdom (2:55 into the video). Here she does a credible job delivering good advice, right up until she describes serving a frustrating guests a “sneeze muffin.” Yes, it’s a TV show and no, we don’t take it seriously. However, it does paint a depressing and infuriating picture for the public of how our industry works.
Perhaps the only accurate element is when Joey laments his trajectory from actor to server as getting it backwards. In New York, when someone tells you they are an actor your first question may likely be, “Where do you tend bar?” Anyway, don’t let them tell you differently…You are a Rock Star and at least anyone who reads The Daily Rail knows is surely to agree.