It’s Not Quite A Pancake Walk

I’m a cook. A customer comes in and, as it’s a slow night, he starts chatting with me. At first, it’s the usual small talk until he asks if I like being a cook.

Me: “Oh, I love it. It has its challenges sometimes but can be very rewarding.”

Customer: “Ha! Challenges?! I make dinner for my family once a month! It’s the same thing.”

Me: “Well, when you’re cooking for your family, generally, you make one thing, maybe a few sides, but everyone still eats one meal. Here, someone could order pancakes and someone else might get steak.”

Customer: “It’s still the same thing.”

Me: “Pancakes don’t take very long to cook while steak can take a long time. I have to know how long everything takes to make sure it all comes out at once.”

Customer: “Okay, you do have a point, but still, anyone could do your job.”

Me: “Another thing is, when you get steak, you would normally cook it the way you like, right? I have to cook it — and everything else — exactly how the customers want it. If you make a mistake while cooking dinner for your family, they’ll usually be nice about it. Some customers are nice about it but some aren’t. I can’t make any mistakes, or I could get in trouble or even accidentally give someone food poisoning.”

Customer: “Ugh, fine. Whatever.” *Stalks off*