Friday, September 28, 2007

I hate Ramadan!

If you aren't familiar with Ramadan, it is a period of religious observances by Muslims. A significant practice of Ramadan is fasting, where practitioners fas all day long, and celebrate after their fourth prayer of the day (at sunset) with a feast. This means a lot of visits to Red Lobster. This also means lots of bad tips. I'm not sure if it is the going all day without food or what, but our guests who adhere to the Ramadan practices generally are at best 10% tippers, and frequently worse. This is multiplied by the fact that in their celebration, they are eating everything they can get their hands on. It is frustrating.

I do however enjoy the opportunity to have more than the normal amount of exposure to this culture. I am strongly opposed to their world view, but it is nonetheless fascinating. Seeing the different types of dress depending on which sect they adhere to. Seeing those who are very strict in their practices with full face coverings, to those who come in wearing blue jeans and knee high boots. Strange, but interesting.


17 comments:

Anonymous said...

We have a large Muslim community here in Nashville also, but they generally avoid my restaurant for some reason. I only had to deal with a Ramadan Rush a few years ago when I worked for O'Charleys. It's been so long ago, I don't even remember what they really ate, only that for a day or two, the whole building was like Iraq. I didn't make much money that week, being an infidel....but what can ya do?

RagingServer.com

Unknown said...

Do you think it's just a coincidence that this celebration is during all you can eat shrimp?


I don't!

Unknown said...

Moslems don't eat shrimp! Shell fish is not Halal. If anything, CAIR and other terrorist front groups, should try to move endless shrimp away from Rama-dama-ding-dong.

Unknown said...

PS check out my blog - willworkfortips.wordpress.com

Unknown said...

Well then...no shellfish...then Red Lobster seems like the obvious place fr them to go....ummmm okay...sure.

Anonymous said...

Ok, Mr. LobsterBoy. I've been leaving comments, with my site, because I can't find an e-mail address to contact you with it. I would like a link on your page if you wouldn't mind adding one. I'll leave it alone if you dont, but I would really like it, and I'd like to think having a link to yours on mine, www.ragingserver.com, is helping your traffic at least a little.
Anyway, help me out, server to server

Lobster Boy said...

Ribeye,
It'll be a few days, but I will add you in. I don't post my email address because I'm terrible at checking it. I only look at email ever week or two.

Lobster Boy

Monica said...

I've been lurking for awhile, but had to comment here.. you're "strongly opposed to their world view."? And saying what they wear is "strange"
They don't wear different dress depending on sect too.. I'm not sure where you got your (mis)information.
This was one of the most ignorant things I've read in awhile.. I thought your blog was better than that.

Chris Meirose said...

I know the Muslim people where I live (Minneapolis-St. Paul) have quite a range of clothing. We have some who wear Western clothes, looking just like your "typical" American. We have others who wear full face coverage (women). It is quite a range. My understanding is it is as much about which country they come from as anything. Somali are different from Lebanese who are different from Iranian who are different from the Saudi people I serve. Within that there is a great range of people and dress. And indeed there are more strict forms of Islam (sects or denominations if you prefer) as the Lobster Boy points out.

Tony said...

I think Lobsterboy talks about world view due more to a lack of knowledge rather than trying to be insuling. Basing one's idea of a Muslim's worldview on the actions of terrorists is like basing one's idea of a Christian's worldview on the actions of David Koresh.

April said...

Okay, so you don't like black people who frequent your restaurant and now you don't like Muslims either?

I've been a lurker for a while now, and while your comments about black people have bothered me (they're ALL bad tippers. They're ALL from the 'hood. They're ALL rude.) I just figured your opinion was because of the area of town you work in. Or because writing about well mannered people isn't what this blog is about. But, now I realize that you are just prejudiced against anyone who isn't white, or your definition of an American. Never mind the fact that one's religion, or skin color, does not depict whether or not they are, in fact, American.

Since when did bigotry become the "in" thing again?

staticwarp said...

bigotry never went out, sweet tooth. prejudice is a fact of life, and we are all at its mercy. rash generalizations are never 100% correct. however, when 100% of the people from a certain social group that you come into contact with behave a certain way, then from your point of view, "they" are in fact, "all" from the hood, rude, bad tippers, etc. this applies to any social group that generalizations are made about.

it is not bigotry, it is subjective reality.

how's the weather up there on your high horse, btw?

staticwarp said...

btw, what the hell happened to this blog? all the service industry blogs i read are slowly being abandoned, and i'm sorry to see this one go too. you are my only connection to red lobster, seeing as i've never eaten there. all that's well, ends, i suppose.

Lobster Boy said...

I'm still here. I've just been busy with some other projects lately, and as life goes, the blog is a very low priority.

April,
I've addressed this numerous times, but I find it funny that people simply assume that I'm white because I complain about crappy ghetto tables. I work with people every color but green, and believe me, they ALL complain about the ghetto tables. White, Black, Indian, Asia, the guy we suspect is half kangaroo - we all get the same tables, and all complain about it. My particular ethnicity give me a foot into multiple worlds. Your criticism is noted and welcome, but I think misplaced, especially when you mistakenly assume I am Caucasian.

I have also made note of the fact if you dig back through posts on this blog that without question some of my very favorite regulars and best tippers are not white. In fact of the 7 biggest tips in my career, only 1 came from a white person.

So hang out here for a while. I'll certainly offend every other group out there at some point. I'm an equal opportunity offender.

Lobster Boy

vshihada said...

I do not know you nor have i seen you. Wow, I do not care what you are as a race. But you are without a doubt, a RACIST! Maybe before you go and say that you do not like their world view, maybe you should know what their world view is. You are so blatently ignorant and pathetic and sad! I am not saying that they may be bad tippers, because yes as a waitress I do know about the stereotypical bad tippers. But to insult their culture and beliefs when i am positive that you know absolutely NOTHING about it, is just plain rude. Yeah it is rude that they do not tip, but they do not judge you. you must open your eyes because you have become exactly what America wants. We are all being conditioned to view Muslims (this is the correct spelling by the way)as these crazy terrorists. That could not be farther from the truth. I completely agree with you when you said that if you do not have the money to tip then you do not have the money for the food. I AGREE. But you must look beyond the tip. yeah maybe they are bad tippers but that does not mean that they are bad people. i know that if you actually took the time to learn about their world views, you would learn that their views are quite similar to yours. please open you mind.

Lobster Boy said...

Ms. V,
I appreciate your ignorant assumptions about me. I’m not sure what past you are trying to atone for, but my blog isn’t probably the best place to show your own ignorance.

For starters, I would bet you have never read the Qur’an. I would suspect you haven’t even held a copy in your hands, English or Arabic.

I on the other hand, have gone the distance. I have read the Qur’an (The Holy Qur'an/English/Arabic (Hardcover) by Maulana Muhammad Ali). I formed my opinion of Islam in the early to mid 1990’s, not recently in a post-9/11 world where fanatics are making a mess for the rest of the Muslim world. I read the Qur’an with a Muslim co-worker answering my questions along the way. I’ve walked a mile in those shoes already, an they are ill fitting shoes to tell you the truth.

But if it make you feel like you made a difference in the world by blog hopping and ignorantly throwing around the word RACIST, then I’m glad to be of service. But if I may just for a moment point out that being a Muslim has nothing to do with race.

Back to your ranting…

Lobster Boy

vshihada said...

Actually I am Palestinian! I have read the Quran before. Basically my whole family in Muslim. I have a Muslim last name which means, there is only one God and Mohammad is the prophet. I speak arabic as well thank you very much! I am FAR from ignorant. I am wel traveled and well cultured and for these reasons, I would never have such prejudice thoughts towards ANY group. I have walked thousands of miles on Middle East soil. I go there every summer! So if you think that you are calling an ignorant person out, you are sadly mistaken. I was not trying to feel like I made a difference. If you have read it then good for you. But your letter did not sound like you have. It also sounded like you do have a very strong negative opinion about them and it is extremely crucial that people do not voice these opinions to most Americans because they take it along with the terrorist bullshit. And that is the TRUTH! This group is so negatively targeted and it makes me sick. In your most recent letter it made you sound like you do not hate them. But in your first one it did. I can undertsnad hating endless shrimp because of the shitty tips and rude diners. But you sounded very offensive towards Muslims in your letter. That is all I am saying! Have a great day!