Note: I was given permission and even encouraged by the embarrassed party to post this.
After a morning full of covering Easter activities for the paper, photographer Val and I were ready to eat, so we headed to a local IHOP.
Soon after sitting down the waitress came to take our order. After she wrote down my pancake platter with sausage she turned to Val and said, "And what can I get for you sir?"
Uh oh. Awkward moment.
I sat there and wondered if I should correct the waitress or if she would quickly recognize her mistake. I look at Val who is looking at me, completely red in the face.
I guess our silence made the waitress look up from her pad and realize her mistake.
She continuously apologized through our meal and even gave Val a free glass of chocolate milk. (As if that made up for anything...but Val was happy with it.)
We came to the conclusion it must have been Val's extra short and spiky haircut that confused the waitress.
It made me think of all the times I thought of cutting my hair short, just to do something different. After today though, that idea is out of the question.
Though Val handled that well, I just don't think I would.
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6 comments:
Aww, Janelle. Don't let someone's stupid comment stop you from trying something new. And if you don't like it, it does grow back.
And Val, don't let people's thoughtless comments get to you (not that you did). People say dumb stuff all the time. At least the waitress was nice enough to acknowledge her mistake and apologize.
I've called women sir and the other way around. It's usually not about how they look but about how tired I am. Don't underestimate how grueling an 8 hour stand up shift can be on the feet and brain.
Perhaps that good ol' Southern greeting should be reinstated... "How may I help you, sugar?" Very gender neutral and makes you think back to the day when you could climb up in grandma's lap for a cuddle.
Well at least she noticed her mistake, it could have been worse if she continued to call her sir. :)
It's not the waitress' fault if she didn't recognize the gender of Val. Don't be so self-righteous that you look down on those who makes mistakes as if you don't make dumb mistakes, too. If Val couldn't be immediately identified as female (she is, right?) then couldn't that be her fault, too?
You know she's female because you're with her all the time. You KNOW her. Pity on the rest of us who don't have that advantage.
Geez, worry about something else that's more important than a gender identity crisis that was an honest mistake!
Lol. Wow anonymous #2. I'm sorry you got so offended by a playful post. (Would you happen to be the waitress or maybe a relative?)
Anyhoo, I'm not really calling to have the waitress fired or even saying she should be disciplined. She may not have even been confused about Val's gender, just very tired as Kathryn pointed out.
And did you miss the point of this blog? It's simply about everyday things we go through and everyday isn't filled with talk of war, death or whatever else you personally feel is "important." While some things may rank high on your importance scale others may not.
But thanks for the comment and keep reading!
Me thinks anonymous 2 needs a cuddle on grandma's lap.
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