Many a deep, heated, intelectual conversation takes place after sunset at Perkin’s, Denny’s and other 24/7 restraunts nationwide. The question many uninvolved people ask is: Why? Why spend hours on end in a restraunt?
THe simple answer, I must say, is quite obvious. Where else is there to go at 3AM on a rainy wednesday? The days of late night movies and all-night coffee houses are well behind us now. I few rotten apples have spoiled the proverbial cider. The main customers of such establishments have always been young adults and teenagers, and with society’s negative view of today’s youth, business men and women have invested their money elsewhere.
And where exactly does that leave those young people? At Denny’s… or Perkins. Though not all management is appreciative, it has it’s perks. Who can complain about having a warm, dry place away from home where the coffee supply is endless for just $1.29?
True, the financial status of many of these coffee vamps is often limited. There are times between jobs when a night out may require breaking out the piggy bank or even scrounging under the couch cusions or seats of the car. Sure they’ve got their own personal jar of pseudo-sanka at home, but it’s just not the same.
Many managers complain that tables of young people hurt their numbers, disturb their customers, lower turnoever rates, and rarely tip.
Reality? Smart servers love us. It’s not a rare occurance for a full table of coffee drinkers to leave anywhere from $10-$25 in tips for a night of conversation and caffeine. So many servers look at us, think heathen, give us a refill or two and whine that those “punk kids never tip.”
Brad, a Denny’s regular, has some insight: “It’s usually the middle age and older servers that have a problem with our group. The ones that don’t have kids of their own think that body piercing makes us bad and gaming is satanic. They don’t understand that there aren’t many places for people our age to hang out and just talk. There is more intelligence in Denny’s 3rd shift than there is aat any other social gathering I’ve ever been to. We talk about everything, not just the stupid stuff you hear all the time. It’s thought provoking. I learn a lot.”
We don’t overwork the servers either! Dan, a former Ashtabula Perkins “patron” says “It’s the closest thing to a self-serve restraunt.” Thrifty third shift managers have found the perfect way to make sure we don’t monopolize the server’s time. It’s common for us “regulars” to not only get our own coffee pot for our refills, but also to take care of anyone else who may be left in the dining room. (”Regulars” isn’t the proper term for most of the patrons of the patrons in that establishment.” Dan added.) Bussing tables, rolling silverware, doing dishes, we do it all! Cheaper than paying real employees, and we’re more reliable too!
Being a regular has it’s downfalls too though. Even with more people becoming accepting of the coffee drinkers, we’re still the first ones ignored when it gets busy. Also, if we have any sort of complaint, it’s ignored unless we go to the higher ups. And though we’ve got our “trained staff of enlightened ones,” from time to time we still get stuck with a grumpy serverwho feels equally stuck with us.
All in all, though, it’s a nice second home, and as Dan says, “They put methadone in the coffee to keep us coming back.”