"A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person." See this clip, item number 13. Apparently Dave Barry didn't make it up.

Both my daughters were worked waitress jobs Enbar, and, as a result of their experiences, our family has always been respectful toward the profession.

I used to wait tables too (and bus them, and work room service in a business hotel), so I'm with you on this one. Still though, if a waiter spilled an entire glass of red wine on something I was wearing, I'd have a really hard time being quite as forgiving as the lady in the story.

And a related scenario can be seen when working with kids: a person who is nice to you, but rude or mean to children, is not a nice person. Usually the rude practices are not publicly observed, but the children, of course, know. When I worked in education I was always privy to the character of adults on staff by tapping into students' feelings and observations.

Interesting comment, Bbri7. Thanks -- I wouldn't have made that connection myself, but it makes perfect sense.