If you stay in the hospitality business long enough, you will eventually meet someone who has managed to become bigger than the job. Nobody officially gives them that authority, and there is usually no announcement that they now operate under a different set of rules. It happens slowly. They become experienced, useful, popular, difficult to replace, or some combination of all four, and before long management begins making exceptions. One exception becomes another, and eventually everyone in the building understands that this particular employee lives in a different world from the rest of the staff.

At one of the first restaurants I was assigned to help open, that person was a waitress named Dottie.

Dottie was the head waitress, at least according to Dottie. I cannot remember anyone formally giving her the title, but she had claimed the position with such confidence that eventually management more or less accepted it. She carried herself as though she had been appointed by the board of directors, even though the rest of us had apparently missed the meeting. Dottie had a way of turning her opinion into policy simply by repeating it often enough and acting surprised whenever anyone questioned her.

To the customers, she was wonderful. She remembered names, favorite tables, drink preferences, and all the little details that make regular guests feel important. She understood that people like to be recognized when they walk into a restaurant, and she was very good at providing that recognition. Her regulars asked for her, waited for her section, and filled out glowing comment cards explaining how much they enjoyed being served by Dottie.