Name: Rolland D`Souza, 27
Occupation: Room-service waiter
Background: D`Souza, a native of Pakistan and a U.S. resident since 1972, has lived in Chicago since 1979. He worked part-time at the Radisson Hotel in Chicago while studying at DeVry Institute of Technology. When the Radisson closed in 1983, he moved to the Palmer House. After graduating in 1986 with a degree in computer science, D`Souza decided to continue in the hotel industry full-time.
Years in present position: 8
Some people think room service is just a fast-food operation. Take the tray up, dump it in the room, say ”Thank you” and leave. It`s not like that. We present the food as we would serve it in the restaurant. You seat the guest, take off the cover, make a presentation.
Sometimes a guest won`t tip because he thinks all we do is bring the food in. He doesn`t know what we do downstairs. I think we do more in room service than we would do in a restaurant. In a restaurant you have a busboy to help you set up and bring water glasses. In room service, you do everything yourself, from scratch. You get the order and a bare table, you set everything up, you make it look good.
I work the evening shift, so I start work at 3. The captain has a pre-shift meeting telling us the events of the day and any major conventions, groups or VIPs we are likely to come across. We are also assigned side works, or special jobs, that we are to do. These include removing trays from all the floors, filling salt and pepper shakers, setting up coffee cups. We work on these tasks until about 6, when the dinner rush begins.
From 6 to 10, all we do is deliver dinners and remove trays from the floors when we see them. We have order takers who take the orders on the phone. Then we have a number system for delivering the orders. When a waiter comes down from a delivery, he puts his number on the sheet and then the order taker calls the numbers.
The order is already rung up when we get it. The waiter has to set up the table, make sure he has everything he needs for that particular order and go to the kitchen and pick up the food or drink. The waiter checks to be sure that the order is correct, and then the captain checks it, too. After that, the waiter is on his own.
The waiter has to pay attention to every detail on the tray. If something is missing, it can ruin the whole meal. The guest is paying good money, and he expects good service. It may not sound like a big deal, but if there`s no ketchup for the cheeseburger, that`s a negative comment on our service. So the waiter checks the table at least two times and the captain checks it once.
After 10, we have to redo the setups again before we leave the shift. We get the coffee cups, sugar, salt and pepper ready for the breakfast shift. We don`t want them to come in and have nothing.
I can make one delivery in about 15 minutes, from start to finish, depending upon the situation in the kitchen-how busy it is. How long I spend in a room depends a lot on how much the guest wants to talk. I can do everything I need to do in a room in two or three minutes. If it`s backed up in the kitchen, I have to make the conversation short out of consideration for the other guests.
On an average night I`ll deliver 20 to 25 orders. On a very busy night it could go up to 32 or 35 orders.
When I make a delivery, I always knock first and say, ”Room service.”
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When they open the door, I greet them by name, not ”Sir” or ”Ma`am” or
”Mister.” Their names are on the check. I walk in with the table or tray and talk with them a little about the weather or where they`re from. I ask them where they would like their meal, in front of the TV or at the dining-room table if they have one. I present the food and confirm that this is what they ordered. I read the check out to the guest: ”Steak, medium rare. Is that how you want it? Baked potato.” We agree on everything before I leave. But still, mistakes can happen. Nobody`s perfect.
I`ve dealt with guests who say, ”My steak is not right,” and they want another one. But they`ve already eaten half of it. There`s nothing I can do about it then. Maybe once or twice a week someone might send something back because it isn`t cooked the way he wanted it. Not as often as it might happen in a restaurant.
We try to give perfect service. Sometimes a guest wants 110 percent instead of 100 percent. It may seem perfect to us, but the guest wants some little extra thing. We may not know what it is, but he wants it.
I talk to people. If they`re watching a game, I find out which team they`re rooting for, where they`re from. They ask me, sometimes, which team I`m for, and I say, ”If Chicago is out, I`m neutral.”
Guests always ask me what to do or see in the city or where to go dancing, and I tell them. I recommend the Rush Street area. If they ask about restaurants, I ask what kind of food they`re interested in. I usually recommend the Palmer House restaurants first. I think we have very good restaurants. But if the guest wants to go out, I make other recommendations.
For sightseers, I recommend the boat tours, and I tell them that we have the tallest building in the world here and they should see that. Even if they don`t ask me, I usually ask them if they`ve seen the city. I think they like it if I start a conversation about Chicago and what it has to offer.
My tips are sometimes as high as 25 percent, but other times I don`t get anything. That`s part of the job. One day I may make $100 and the next day $20. There`s nothing I can do about it. It does seem that sometimes men tip more than ladies. At times a lady will give me $10 for something that a man would give me $5 for, but very often they do tip less. I guess some ladies think their smile is your tip.
Hospitality suites, sponsored by companies, tend to tip more. I guess because it goes on the company account. I once got $800, just for one day, working at a hospitality suite. Another time I got $500 from a tool company and a gift certificate for $300 in tools. But, basically, tips are 15 percent, just like in a restaurant.
I`ve never worried about anything happening to me when I go into a room. Nothing dangerous has ever happened, so I`ve never really thought about it. I just walk in, do what I have to do and don`t let anything distract me. I think that`s important.
I`ve never seen anything in a room that shouldn`t be there. Not even a pet. I think there are too many security officers around for anything like that to happen. Whatever is going on in a room, when I knock on the door, it stops. If there`s drinking or a party, they control it while the waiter is there.
No, women don`t make advances toward me when I deliver food to their rooms. Oh, you might call some things advances, but I`ve never taken advantage of it. It`s not worth it to get in trouble for something like that.
I`ve served a lot of celebrities. I served Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was filming a movie here. He never ordered much. Just low-calorie stuff and salads. I served Lucie Arnaz, Bob Hope and Walter Mondale when he was running for president. I treat everybody the same. It`s an honor to work for these people, but I don`t do anything special for them. I don`t usually ask for any autographs. The only autograph I ever took was because my girlfriend wanted it. That was for the singing group, Sha Na Na. I once had my picture taken with Stefanie Powers, but I gave it away.
When I grew up in Pakistan, just the idea of being in America was a big thing for me. Forget about serving celebrities or meeting former vice presidents. I never even dreamed about that. Now it`s a reality, and it`s one of the reasons I like this job.
I would have to say that you don`t need any special skills to do this job, just common sense. As time goes by, you learn what to do. I just treat the guest as I would like to be treated myself.
As much as I love it, I have to admit this is a very strenuous job, especially when we`re very busy. You`re dealing with a lot of people, and you`re tired at the end of a shift.
Originally I wanted to work with computers. I studied computers and I tried to work with them, but it`s too boring. It`s just you and the computer, eight hours a day. Now I have fallen in love with the food industry. I have good co-workers and good bosses, and I`m happy with the decision I`ve made. A lot of people are ashamed to say they work as a waiter. I`m not. If you`re a good waiter, you make good money.