The Waiter Management

 

At a surgeon’s conference, after the day jam-packed with academic activities, the surgeons gathered to enjoy a few moments of relaxation and bonding with each other over a few solid and liquid refreshments, accompanied by a live cultural program. There were round tables on the lawn to sit around and waiters were circulating with plates loaded with snacks to distribute to the doctors sitting at the tables and standing in groups on the lawn.

The head of the department (HOD) of surgery and other senior doctors sat at a table and started partaking in the tasty tidbits while sipping their drinks. The snack plates soon become empty. The HOD asked the junior resident standing nearby to arrange for some more tidbits to munch along with the drinks.

The junior resident waved towards one of the fast-moving waiters circulating the ground with trays loaded with hot delicacies. The waiter without paying attention to them continued his circumambulation around the ground distributing his appetizers to doctors standing on the ground. The junior resident gestured to another waiter passing nearby and was successful in getting him to stop at their table. The waiter hurriedly served a few pieces from his tray and swiftly departed with his tray still filled with delectable morsels, to circulate and distribute around the ground.

Exasperated, the junior resident applied his brain to think of some solution to this problem. When another waiter passed near their table, the junior resident stopped him, thrust a Rs 50 note (around $ 1) in his hand, and asked him to please pay attention to the HOD’s table. The waiter was surprised as in such a gathering only the organizers pay a tip collectively to the entire serving staff at the end of the banquet. The waiter emptied his entire tray at their table and left for the kitchen. Soon, he was back with his tray loaded with a wide variety of snacks, which he again emptied at their table.

The waiter will come first to their table, serve them and only go onwards after they had their fill. This continued for more than an hour. Then the enthusiasm of the waiter started waning. Sensing this the junior resident gave him another tip of Rs 50 (~ $ 1) note and asked to him not stop and keep on serving his HOD and professors with dedication. This second tip served as a booster dose with a lasting effect and the waiter kept on serving them almost exclusively for the remaining evening.

This is an example of micro-management seen at the banquet dinner. Good managers or people who can manage other people are always in great demand. This is true even for the medical field and even at the level of junior residency.

Tips are usually given at the end after someone renders good service, but giving tip at the beginning can sometimes work wonders especially if it is supplemented with a booster dose.

— ND

(Based on allegedly true incident.)

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DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purposes. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use the information herein is at your one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal, and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Practice should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost. The author recommends that Medical Education should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient and students as foremost and according to NMC and other Board norms. 

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