Waiter Woes

“Tequila Mockingbird!”

By Jennie Montgomery

My daughter and I were laughing out loud in the middle of a restaurant as her BFF continued his story about the classic Harper Lee novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird.”

 “Seriously, I always thought it was ‘Tequila Mockingbird’ until we read the book in high school,” Eric confessed.

His “tequila talk” made him think about the bar at the hotel restaurant where he works—and a big blunder. 

The manager had sent a message to the dining staff to keep an eye out for a worker who was coming to fix a plumbing problem.

It was Masters Week and the place was slammed. Hotel guests were checking out and heading to the golf course. Ideally, the plumber would get that bathroom working before new guests arrived.

Now, our boy Eric knew exactly where the plumber was needed, and it was a hike from the restaurant…unless you cut through the kitchen.

When a man walked up and starting to ask him how to get to such-and-such room, Eric noticed his tool bag and said, “Just follow me, it’ll be easier if I take you there myself.”

They walked through the doors into the kitchen, behind the line of cooks and around the huge refrigerators. 

“This is how I get to the room?” the man questioned.

“We’ll just slip right through the dishwasher room,” Eric continued.

“Are you sure there isn’t another way?”

“It’s much longer,” Eric explained, “and you have to go up one elevator and then over to another stairwell. This is a shortcut.” 

The plumber seemed confused but continued to follow Eric.

As they approached the room, Eric pushed open the unlocked door. He waved his arm dramatically, “Here it is. Good luck!” and as he did so, he realized the man was holding out a room key. 

And it was NOT a key to this room.

And it was NOT a tool bag he was carrying, but a carry-on.

And he was NOT the plumber, but a hotel guest who had stopped at the restaurant on the way to his room!

In typical Eric fashion, he had a good laugh with the man and explained that indeed there were other ways to get to his room…a room without any plumbing problems.