Does anybody who read this blog remember Sheila Van Cleef? She was a widow whose husband, M. Van Cleef (world-renowned jewelry designer) passed sometime in the 1990s and she retained his club membership. She comes in, always in black, always in mourning, for decades, and orders hot water with lemon. I don’t know how this… Read More »
And the twenty-somethings are just the teens a few years later and they’re difficult for a whole different reason. They are difficult because they understand how the game works, they’ve learned not to respect service staff, they want to stunt for their friends, and they presume to have the kind of clout that they say their dads have… Read More »
There are two challenging groups at the club, besides obviously the elderly wealthy people. But you come to expect a certain kind of behavior from elderly wealthy people – have you seen the news lately?! But the TEENS are one of the two most challenging groups. Teenagers are moody, snotty, malcontent for the sake of it,… Read More »
Pool Days in the summer are mostly made up for school-aged kids with their nannies. Because the nannies are usually the help but suddenly find themselves considering us the help, they are consistently the most demanding and least appreciative customers. They’re not technically club members but they are put on the guest list for members,… Read More »
I don’t mind the NO CASH ON PREMISES tipping policy logistically. I make $15/hour as a waitress compared to many of my friends who make, literally, $2.35/hour and have to depend otherwise on tips. And I don’t miss handling cash. Every transaction at the club comes down to running a bill and simply having the… Read More »
Ok here we go, another 4th of July at the club. It could be worse, of course, working at an Applebees or TGI Fridays on a holiday is definitely worse. We come in early in the morning to set up the lawn spots for member reservations: a blanket, a picnic basket per their order, drinks,… Read More »
Oh I know, your first question, “which Mrs. Applebaum?” The Applebaums are a legacy family with four generations running around this club. Mamie has been drinking hot water with lemon here since the club opened, her father was one of the founders. She married Mort and they had two kids. That’s, for Arlington purposes, as… Read More »