Hearthside

I mutter about being woefully out of practice as a waitress, but he's already on to the uniform: I'm to show up tomorrow wearing black slacks and black shoes; he'll provide the rust-colored polo shirt with "Hearthside," as we'll call the place, embroidered on it, though I might want to wear my own shirt to get to work, ha ha.

Nickel and Dimed Ehrenreich, Barbara 2001

Dinner is at the Hearthside, which offers its employees a choice of BIT, fish sandwich, or hamburger for only $2.

Nickel and Dimed Ehrenreich, Barbara 2001

Management at Jerry's is generally calmer and more "professional" than at the Hearthside, with two exceptions.

Nickel and Dimed Ehrenreich, Barbara 2001

On my first Friday at Hearthside there is a "mandatory meeting for all restaurant employees," which I attend, eager for insight into our overall marketing strategy and the niche (your basic Ohio cuisine with a tropical twist?) we aim to inhabit.

Nickel and Dimed Ehrenreich, Barbara 2001

Tina, another server, and her husband are paying $60 a night for a room in the Days Inn. This is because they have no car and the Days Inn.is in walking distance of the Hearthside.

Nickel and Dimed Ehrenreich, Barbara 2001

The prospect is both exciting and terrifying because, with about the same number of tables and counter seats, Jerry's attracts three or four times the volume of customers as the gloomy old Hearthside.

Nickel and Dimed Ehrenreich, Barbara 2001

With the Hearthside offering benefits like that, how could anyone think of leaving?

Nickel and Dimed Ehrenreich, Barbara 2001

I have gone from craft work straight into the factory, from the air-conditioned morgue of the Hearthside directly into the flames.

Nickel and Dimed Ehrenreich, Barbara 2001

Why didn't they just leave for a better-paying job, as I did when I moved from the Hearthside to Jerry's?

Nickel and Dimed Ehrenreich, Barbara 2001

I start out with the beautiful, heroic idea of handling the two jobs at once, and for two days I almost do it: working the breakfast/lunch shift at Jerry's from 8: 00 till 2: 00, arriving at the Hearthside a few minutes late, at 2: 10, and attempting to hold out until 10: 00.

Nickel and Dimed Ehrenreich, Barbara 2001