Canteen Dragon

"You can't come in here to eat" said the Canteen 'Policewoman' at the site where I'm training, to one of the students on my course. And I thought that class segregation was out of the window ...

Lunch, 12:15 to 13:00. I've been given a canteen pass for 12:20 to 12:40 and that's when I may enter. One of the trainees I was with has the same timed passed and he's fine and allowed to eat with me. The other who was forming part of the group - asked if he could (shock, horror) eat with us even though he has only a "low season" pass to eat from 13:00 to 13:20.

I recall training at a company in Cheltenham about 10 years ago where they had at least 4 different lunch areas in one of their buildings - directors (served by formally uniformed staff), managers (served by less formally dressed staff), white collar (self service, but with table cloths and staff who cleared table) and blue collar (self service, formica topped tables, clear-it-yourself). And I recall hearing about the resentment that aspects of this system caused, especially at the setting and working of the rules for "boundary cases".

Talking with my host, I described what I'd seen in the past. "Oh" he said "until recently we had a waitress section in here too, and there was (rumour has it - still is) a manager's restaurant on the 25th floor - complete with a Maitre d'hotel to show you to your table. Formal dress required ...."

(written 2005-02-09, updated 2012-11-04)

Commentator	says ...
Bruce James:	Nineteen eighty four! (comment added 2005-02-09 09:40:01)
Bruce James:	Oh, and the other less conspiratorial/totalitarian reason is that probably it's a large compay with lots of workers and a small canteen so they stagger the lunchtimes. (In the former case). The latter cases remind me of 'Are you being served'. There you go, innuendo-sitcom and George Orwell on the same day! (comment added 2005-02-09 09:43:38)
Graham:	Oh - I'm sure that they do stagger the lunches to avoid overcrowding ... but you would think that - with everyone on a course together - that there would be some leeway where they could actually eat together. I was remembering Ester Ranzen and her "jobsworth" hat as I wrote this - but then perhaps I'm showing my age un-neccesarily! (comment added 2005-02-12 10:32:06)

233d

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2162

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