There is a television commercial out there that pretty much just confirms what we all know already: waiting tables sucks ass. It’s an ad for AT&T and they say every second counts. Have you seen this shit? It’s basically a rip off of that crappy ass movie Sliding Doors that Gweneth Paltrow did a few years ago. The ad shows this woman who is downloading something on her phone and since she isn’t using the miracle that is AT&T, her download takes too much time and the opportunity of a lifetime passes her right by. Because she is using some other crap service (T-Mobile, probably…) she does not meet the people who could turn her into a big time fancy ass ballerina diva bitch and instead she ends up being…wait for it…wait for it…a server. That’s right. If only she would have used AT&T all of her dreams would have come true but instead she has to wear a white shirt and black tie and be a waitress. In bad lighting. With a sour look on her face. Call me a purist, but I think she needs more than AT&T to make it as ballet dancer. Her technique is poor and her turn out is awful. And I know. I took two semesters of ballet in 1986 and I also watch So You Think You Can Dance.
The point is, why did they choose waitress as her alternative career? Should we take offense? What if they would have shown her as a kindergarten teacher and she was all depressed and miserable passing out coloring books to snot nosed brats? Then the teachers of America would rise up and cry out that they have been insulted. What if they showed her as nurse who hated being at her job? Or a bus driver? These other occupations were not chosen for her “loser life” because the advertisers thought that the most pathetic career she could have instead of ballet dancer is that of waitress. And they also figured that most servers would see the commercial and be like, “yep, my job sucks. I better go get me some AT&T in my life, pronto.” At the end of the commercial, she is shown sitting in a theater watching a ballet instead of dancing in it. Watching her dreams from afar. And probably smelling like fajita. I say be proud of your waitress career, girl. At least you don’t work at a fucking Houlihan’s. Or Pizzeria Uno. Carry that tray with pride. Even though it is a far cry from the life you expected, wanted, worked towards, dreamed about or cried for. You’re a waitress. With shitty cell phone service. Can you hear me now?
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girlygirl
AT&T is one of the biggest rip off mafia con companies to ever run a business.. I purchased and signed a two year wirless card for my computer from AT& Tand never got service. I made at least 20 complaint calls to them about how there card didnt pick up signals and I couldnt get internet with the stupid card,still in the end I was forced to pay a bit over 200 dollars for a suck service ..I have been waiting tables and bartending for 2o plus years and Id gladly continue the good hard honest work of waiting tables (with great pay) any day over being an AT&T lieing con artist customer service rep or affiliated with them anyday..plus I make it a point to tell everone I can think of (customers and all ) how AT&T ripped me off and advise them not to fall for there trap . wow !!! thanks for the vent. I was more then justified
J9
The irony is that they should have put her in a cubicle farm at AT&T, THAT is what often happens, and it is sad.
badbadwebbis
Yeah, okay, I just saw that commercial. Entirely stupid. Someone on the street is just going to be all, 'Hey! Do you dance? Would you like to have a starring role in my company?' because you dropped something on the ground. If this is NYC, as I suspect it was meant to be, then what would actually have happened is that the guy would have kicked the item that she dropped and then taken no notice of her whatsoever. And I'd like to point out that AT&T's customer service people have suckier jobs than any server. Except possibly anyone who works at Chunk E. Cheese.
Runner Mom
last three lines…exactly why I keep coming back. To all of those who think servers are the only ones spending their lives serving…think again. Unless you work for yourself, in a hole, we ALL serve others. Even it's only our children. Once again, you've made my evening blog fest.
Anonymous
i agree with the other anon. Who aspires to to be a waiter/waitress? A ballerina gets a little glam at least. There is NOTHING glamorous about being a server. You are the lowest of low. You bring other people food, they could easily do that themselves. Basically you are like a servant. 🙂 have a great day slave!
Kate
last line = you're fucking hilarious. keep up the good work i love reading this blog.
Anonymous
Let's be honest; even you said you'd rather be an actor than a server.There's a similar commercial through a community college ad, where the waitress has other servers singing a birthday song to a customer in the background and she talks about how much she wants a career. Does anyone really aspire to be a server? I did fast food, and that was rough enough.
SkippyMom
Thank you for posting this. It is mind boggling that AT&T would do this [and they have lost me as a customer forever now] – No kidding that is an insulting commercial. Wow.In all my years waitressing I never had a guest tell me I should go back to school to get a better job – then again I didn't think it was a crappy job – it was paying for a lot of my expenses at Georgetown University, so Anon I have to agree with the Bartender – bite it.
Brahm (alfred lives here)
I say don't be offended by a stupid commercial. It's AT&T for chrissake!Besides, Gwyneth Paltrow has made one decent movie in her career (The Talented Mr Ripley), so as they are copying one of her crappier movies, then clearly they are douchebags. How can you feel insulted when the maybe insult comes from douchebags?
The Bartender
@ Tricia & JerBear – I hate those commercials too!@Anonymous – yes, because BALLERINA requires a higher education. Oh, and I have my Masters, and I bartend. So suck it.
Heather
I've been in the service industry (even waited a few hundred tables) for most of my life and it sucks ass, not the job, just the frickin' people… that you have to serve! And so, yeah the comment that school teachers make a ton of money is retarded. My mother, sister and 3 close friends are all teachers and I made more money (less than $39,000) talking on the phone one year than they did and they all have master's degrees and 2 of them also have specialist degrees. I don't know where that "wage data" comes from? Probably people who are really bitter about not getting a summer vacation, but it's wrong. I hate to call you out on your idiocy on the rockin' bitchy waiter's page but one of your gifts of fat aint counting money, obviously.Great post by the way! Love your spin on AT&T's smudgy smear of restaurant staff 😉
Mama Sky
Was I not hit by the AT&T miracle fairy dust that explodes out of your phone and makes your dreams come true for just using there 'better' service? My phone must be defective because Ive had AT&T for years and my life is still on the sucky level it was when i tried T-mobile, cingular, verizon… Maybe I should head over to customer service and demand the magic phone. The only thing AT&T has done for me was get me a damn ticket two days ago for talking on it while driving. <- not a normal thing but I recieved a call from someone who only calls during high extreme emergencies. Cop got me just as I flicked it to my ear- yea he completly ignored the physco granny driver who was half on the curb and road going 8 mph over the sl. And what was the damn emergency? Cake- yea I was pissed they called me about cake.
Bagel Fairy
I had AT&T for years and I'm still in food service. Fuck that shit. I spend a hell of a lot more time working on my writing than downloading things on my phone, too.
Shannon Hilson
Maybe if she'd spend more time networking, working on her technique like you said, and looking for opportunities to break into the ballet business instead of downloading shit onto her phone while "life passes her by"? I'm not a server myself. However, I do make my living working in the arts, so I'm personally more insulted that the commercial makes it sound like someone doesn't actually have to work at it or bother with being good at what they do if they want to break into a specific business. It's actually all about luck? Sure it is.
Shannon Hilson
This comment has been removed by the author.
badbadwebbis
I think we can all agree that it might have been better to show her working at an amusement park, wearing a polyester uniform with a visor and sweeping up crap in the 'streets.' Or maybe sitting in a cubicle, dreaming of working as a server. Because I would take the second option over the cubicle any day.
Anonymous
If I was an AT&T executive I would eat at home now unless I like my meals with lots of SPIT!
Hotcakes
Omg, very well said. You have a great point.
Anonymous
Maybe they portrayed waiting tables as they did because being a waiter/waitress takes pretty much no higher education to perform the job. So basically anyone could do. Why would you want to work in such a crappy job field anyway?
Wendy
SHIT!!! You mean that's why i don't have the "life of my dreams"?!?!I'd best run out and get me some A T and fuckin T!!!Thanks Bitchy for cluing me in! I really *can't* live without you!=-)
Molly Malone
I thought the exact same thing when I saw that commercial – how bloody rude!
HowLoverly
That's a nice observation. Haha. I've seen this commercial 65498674598 times and I didn't even think about the fact that they're pretty much indirectly insulting all of us waiters/waitresses out there. Society pretty much likes to believe that the lowest occupation you can have is in fact waitressing. Probably because we don't even get paid minimum wage but if you work at the right place, you most of the time find yourself making more than minimum wage.
The Ranter's Box
The commercial only confirms that AT&T's marketing/advertising department is as sucky as the services they "provide". xo The Empresshttp://rantersbox.blogspot.com
dirtydisher
Everyone knows AT&T is littered with broken dreams. Their customer specialists wish they were smart enough to wait tables.
Kalei's Best Friend
I think they chose the waitress job because they ASSume that its easier to get a job as a waitress? just saying…. I'd be a bit miffed too
Xylina Myia
Seriously they should of made her a bum or something. Although that would of been offensive to because Bum's can not afford Phone services. Either way I do not pay attention to commercials anymore. They are all outrageous and straight lies! I hate liars more than anything and that is why I cannot stand commercials. Seriously I hear that being a waitress or waiter can be addicting because of all the money you make on tips. I know some places you make more in tips than others but the people I do know who wait tables say its hard work but money is good. I have never waited tables, I want to try it at least once in my life but I am too scared of messing up someone's order and they have an allergic reaction or spilling/ breaking something. Also I am a nice person to a point but once someone says something rude to me I snap. I have zero tolerance for rudeness. So I do not think I would do well in being a waitress.
Anonymous
Bud Light had a commercial called 'The Patron' that depicted someone tripping the waiter and making them fall through the glass window, almost endorsing that as an acceptable way to treat servers.I emailed them and let them know how uncool it was.Never saw that ad again.Guess it's time to email AT&T…Dignity and RespectMe, The JerBear
California Girl
Tim Gunn was on one of the morning shows (GMA I thinkn) and he said, "You can always tell what a person is like by the way they treat the waitstaff in the restaurant."
Mary A.
Because she drops her ballet slippers just as Queen Dance walks by & of course he discovers her. As IF. They couldn't make her a kindergarten teacher because even though it is a crappy job, public school teachers make a ton of money. They do. They don't THINK they do, but the wage data consistently shows public school teachers make incomes on par with other professionals such as architects,acountants and even engineers. Only they don't have as much schooling and they get summers off.People are going to flame me now.
Tricia
Quite certain that commercial is indeed offensive. As is the one where 'every second counts' and if you've got the right phone you meet Miss Right and later the two of you give birth to the future president of the United States.
BeMistified
I would most definitely take offense. Of course I think no matter what job they put her doing because of that lost moment, someone could take offense. AT&T sucks any way!