Still Working on That

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Michael Nolan calling from Carbondale, Illinois.

Hello, Michael. How are you?

Hi, Michael.

Well, Michael, what are you calling us about today?

Well, I’m calling you about one of my pet peeves. It’s when I’m at a nice restaurant and finishing up a meal, and a waiter or a waitress comes by and says, “Are you still working on that?” I hate it.

Sometimes I use the short abbreviation, still working. How do you respond? What do you say to them?

Well, you don’t want to be rude, so usually I just say, “No, I’m not finished,” or, “Yes, I’m still eating the dinner.” But I wonder how this might ever have gotten started and what people can do to stamp it out.

Yeah, I completely agree. It drives me crazy. How about you, Grant?

It just, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, they come up to me and they say, “Are you still working on it?” And I feel like saying something like, “Well, let me remove my hard hat and wipe the sweat, and, you know, don’t trip over the orange safety cones on your way out.” You know, I mean, I just, working.

Yeah, but there is. It’s sort of unconscious, I think, when people say things like that.

Right. It’s a formality. They’re a real question. The subtext to what they’re saying is, “When are you going to leave?” And that’s what’s kind of bothersome about that, right? You’re taking up a table that I could put another paying customer in.

Well, do you think they’re really saying that, though, you guys? I mean, I think they’re inquiring whether you’re ready for them to take the plate away or not.

So they should say that maybe, right?

Well, you know what? I’ve heard many times also, and I don’t know if you’ve heard this, Michael, but, I mean, people will come up and say instead of, “Are you still working?” They’ll say, “Are you still enjoying that?”

Oh, that’s better. Do you like that?

Yeah, I like that. No, I got to the bad part that you hit underneath the cherry, you know, whatever.

Yeah, I don’t know. I think that sounds so contrived, like they’re actively trying not to say, “Are you still working on it?” “Are you still enjoying it?” It’s like, you know, no, I was enjoying it.

Yeah, exactly. Just like you said, Grant. I don’t like it. “Are you still working on that?” “Are you ready for me to take your plate?”

Yeah, what’s wrong with that? They’re in a position where they want to be not too friendly and not too colloquial. It’s not like your aunt feeding you dessert at the table or something, right? There’s a kind of business relationship there that requires certain kind of formality of the language.

Right. I can kind of get to how this is infective, this kind of speech, because you’ve heard many other waiters go from restaurant to restaurant. People tend not to stay put. It’s spread across the culture. I mean, you can find people moaning about this phrase in opinion columns in the newspaper as far back as 20 years, maybe even further.

Oh, really?

Yeah.

Oh, yeah, this exact phrase because it’s something that they say everywhere I’ve ever been.

Yeah, and I just want to say to them, wait, you’re the one who’s working. I’m relaxing, you know.

There is one book called The Waiting Game. It’s kind of an advice and actually how to be a waiter. And they specifically say, “Are you still working on that?” is wrong.

Oh, they do? Really?

I think there’s an understanding in the business that you shouldn’t say that. But I know perfectly well how hard it is to avoid that.

One other thing that I’m seeing, there’s a book called The Cork Jester’s Guide to Wine. And ordinarily, Jennifer Rosen, who wrote the book, writes about wine and all the things related to wine. But in one particular column, she goes off about this.

Oh, really?

Yeah, this is from 2006. And she said something that I liked. She said, “They fight you for your plate before you’re finished. Are you still working on that?” And then whip it away fast enough to serve the same steak to three different tables that night.

And that’s kind of the impression you get that it’s called table turnover. You want to turn over your deck or turn over your tops, as they say in the business, right? You got a two-top, two people can sit there. You want to get more sets of two people every night increases your restaurant’s overall take and your tips and all that stuff that a restaurant needs to survive.

So you can see why they’re pushing you out the door, but you don’t want to be pushed, right?

Right. You’re paying for the pleasure to enjoy your meal.

Exactly. Well, I do feel for the waiters because I think that it’s hard to find exactly the right verbiage. But I think your suggestion of just saying, “May I take that?” is about as good as it gets.

Well, I know we’re going to hear about this, so thanks for raising the issue, Michael. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to raise it in public.

All right. Thank you so much for your call, Michael.

Thank you. Bye.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

Yes, we do welcome your emails and calls about this. We’d love to hear your perspective, maybe something else that could be said instead of, “Are you still working on that?” Give us a call. The number is 1-877-929-9673 or send us an email. The address is words@waywordradio.org.