August 24, 2004 12:12 PM

Tricks of the trade
Posted by at 12:12 PM

Matthew Baldwin a.k.a. Defective Yeti gets his readers to reveal the secrets of their profession.

For every occupation, there is a catalog of secrets only its employees are aware of—such as how waiters with heavy platters know to look straight ahead, and never down. Armed with a bag of reader mail, Matthew Baldwin unfurls a whole lot more true insider knowledge.

Here's a pick...Waitress: When you realize you have forgotten to submit an order to the kitchen, go to the table and mournfully say, "Did you just hear that crash?" Nine times out of 10, the customers not only will say "yes," but actually will believe they just heard a noise of some sort. You can then sigh sadly, and say, "Unfortunately, that was the chef dropping your food," and then scurry back to the kitchen to hand in the neglected order.

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