The next time you visit a restaurant, you may want to consider your server as more than a waiter or waitress. Many service people are more than meets the eye!
Take Brett McCloe, a server at Scranton’s Ground Round Restaurant at the Steamtown Mall on Lackawanna Avenue. A personable and excellent server, Brett is a man of real depth and a firm believer in the fact that service persons should approach their jobs with a professional attitude and should expect professional courtesy in return.
A native of Scranton’s hill section, he has been at Ground Round for 7 years and had previously been engaged at Disneyland’s Grand Floridian in Orlando, Florida, for 4 years. He and his spouse, Patti, have been together for 18 years and are the proud parents of 4 children, ranging in age from 3 to 15 years old. He also has another son, from a prior relationship, Logan, 25, who is opening his own establishment.
Brett’s philosophy, and he is a deep thinker, is that good servers are professionals and should approach their jobs in that manner. “I got my start after attending Central High and Tech,” he says. “In the ‘80’s, there were no real jobs in Scranton, and today, Scranton has the reputation of being a restaurant town, bursting at the seams with good places to eat. The service profession is a wonderful and rewarding career for those who are dedicated. For those who treat it as merely a job will fall by the wayside in no time at all.”
Brett adds, “People should learn to expect professionalism from their servers and should treat them accordingly. Proper behavior of servers and guests is what makes a restaurant a true dining place. We get a lot of local traffic as well as visitors and we are becoming “the place” for mall shoppers who want a sit-down dining experience.”
The Ground Round is one of many dining establishments and gets a “balanced representation of Scranton among its clientele”, he adds.” If anyone wants to know Scranton, I mean really know it, they need to visit the restaurants in this town. “
A philosopher by nature, Brett says he really likes people and that’s why he stays at his job. ”I like people, but I do have other interests as well,” he claims.
A computer buff, he says he loves dabbling in architecture and home building, and has a great interest in politics and local government. “I do attend as many council meetings as possible, and I try to maintain an open mind, but I do see many things that are lacking in our present leadership. I’d really like to sit down and talk to these folks, one on one, and try to determine what they are really thinking. That’s I dream I have and I’m working on fulfilling it,” he concludes.
In the interim, Brett enjoys his children and family and still has found time to write his first book. His soon to be published book, “The Art of Zen Waiting”, he believes, is something that every server in the country should read. “It will give service people an opportunity to learn just what it takes to be a professional server and how to benefit from the give and take between the server and guest. I hope every server in the country will read the book and will become a better server because of it,” he says.
“The dining industry is here to stay” he says, “and Scranton is going to be a great community for good servers. The service jobs in this town are only growing, and every businessperson wants good servers. The better prepared, and the more positive a server is, the bigger the rewards they will reap.”
“I believe in Scranton and I intend to stay here, and at my job, as long as I am wanted. I have a lot of hopes and dreams, but I’m satisfied that my profession has afforded me the chance to pursue them and hopefully, bring them to reality,” Brett concludes.
Brett does have a possible political run in mind and is seeking to learn as much as he can about politics, political office, and Scranton’s future.
Though nothing is definite, he does believe that Scranton will emerge from it’s present problems and is optimistic about it’s future. He does believe that he can make a difference, and is dedicated to bringing the community together.
Meantime, we strongly suggest you consider your server for what they really are, professionals working to serve you and your needs. If you get respect, return it in kind, and remember, “servers are people too”, and there may be more than meets the eye.
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