I recently received a soft offer for a server position that I interviewed for. It's not official because it has to be ratified by the owners. I probably was honest enough to lose it, though, because I'm able to follow a stupid rule but I won't pretend to be brainwashed by it.
So, this place is fine dining. The manager said they don't consider it to be, but if you're spending $100+ per person, it's fine dining. They have patronizing rules for how employees are to behave during service, things like you can only approach the table from this side, you can only hand someone a drink with this hand, you can only bus tables this way, etc, etc. The manager told me “not to lean” because I had my hand on a chair while listening to another server going over their process. If something has actual utility, I'm for it, but these behaviors are a way to make the employees seem “respectful” around rich people. It's all optics and watered down respectability politics.
I had mentioned being frustrated by that type of service at my last job and when the manager emailed me to give the soft offer they gave this long diatribe on how that type of service would be the expectation. They then concluded that these were skills that could be useful even for people that don't stay in the service industry. What bullshit.
I emailed back that I was interested in joining their team and that I understood the reasons companies have these rules. Also saying that I could comply by the rules even though I have a perspective that is contrary to theirs. I also added something to the effect of “these rules are a professional boundary and I don't have to agree with the reasons for the boundaries to respect them.”
I'm agreeing to the offer because the tip out is $25 – $30 an hour and only four days a week. That's enough that I can play along with their bs. But, I'm not going to pretend that I agree with them, even though I'll comply. That probably pissed them off. You're not supposed to acknowledge this kind of farce. Sooooo, guess I'll see what they decide after the manager meets with the owners tomorrow.