Dear Editor:I must, first of all, disagree with the title of this article “Customers show respect for servers, bartenders with tips.” I have been a bartender for four years, and as a bar manager and chief wine steward of a five-star restaurant, I believe customers do not show respect by leaving a tip. Instead, I feel they show appreciation for quality food and service with their tips.
They show respect by the manner in which they treat their bartender or server, and, as the old saying goes, “You must give respect to get respect.”
Yes, Steffey, there are customers who can be quite difficult and demanding, even rude to servers and other customers. However, in reality these truly difficult customers are rare.
We are all human and we all have bad days. We all have pressures on us from outside sources such as school, caring for our children, invalid parents or spouses and also from many other sources.
The customers have these pressures as well.
In most instances of customer rudeness, the customer soon realizes how rude they were and, if they don’t apologize, they will usually back off a bit and calm down. Only a very rare few are interminably rude and disrespectful.
Now, to get down to the real problems I have with this article (and most of your other articles as well): Your article read like the script to a Jerry Springer show. They are all noise with no real content or skill in delivery.
Sure they cause a temporary stir or debate, but they leave no lasting impression with your readers except, perhaps, an impression of your lack of imagination, experience and basic writing skills. I can sum this up with four points:
1. Thesaurus (do you own one, let alone use one?)
2. Dictionary (do you own one, let alone use one?)
3. Don’t rant and rave and don’t preach. Instead, try to persuade, lead or impress.
4. Don’t contradict yourself. For example, at the beginning of the article in question you say, “[.] the work is hard, long, seldom satisfying [.],” yet near the end you say, “The job [.] is very rewarding for the most part.” Well, which is it?
Do you read what you’ve written? Do you write of subjects you have little or no knowledge or understanding of? Do you wish to pursue a career in which you express your views to readers in a hopefully literate and professional manner? (If so, see points 1 and 2 above.)
I sincerely hope you take this as well-meant, constructive criticism. That is how I intended this letter to be.
I feel strongly about many of the same things you do. I agree that the cost of continuing an education past the high school level is daunting, but ETSU has done quite a fair job of keeping this cost acceptable and manageable (not counting the new fees for the Digital Design classes which is another animal altogether!)
I agree that on campus crime is a serious issue that should always be at the front of the administration’s thoughts. I agree with many of your other points. I’m just discouraged by your lack of writing skills and command of your native language. Please learn while you’re here.
I have had two separate writing classes in my short time at ETSU and both instructors have displayed great knowledge and understanding of the writing process and the use of the English language.

Jonathan M. Goins

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