Imagine these streams of time and motion as co-occurring and related but not synchronous. Any given customer may hem and
haw over an order, or want a refill while the waitress is occupied, or send an item back. The cook may deliver a waitress’s hot dish while she is in the middle of taking an order and is being summoned by two other customers. Tables may be filled with variously contented customers while the manager feels the press of new customers gathering inside the door.
One more observation about this environment. No matter how efficiently designed the physical layout of the restaurant—let’s sa that coffeepots, water, soft drinks, cups, glasses, and ice are all located in the same area—the waitress’s motion will be punctuated by the continual but irregular demands made of her. For example, all requests for coffee do not come at the same time or in regular intervals. So one request comes during an order, and another as she’s rushing back to get extra mayonnaise, and another as she’s clearing a table. The waitress must learn how to move efficiently through a vibrant environment that, for all its structural regularities, is dynamically irregular. A basic goal, then, is to manage irregularity and create an economy of movement. And she does this through effective use of body and mind. The work calls for strength and stamina; for memory capacity and strategy; for heightened attention, both to overall layout and to specific areas and items; for the ability to take stock, prioritize tasks, cluster them, and make decisions on the fly. I’ll consider each of these qualities in further detail, beginning with physical prowess.