There is a moment during nearly every restaurant meal when you realize the Gen Z waiter has been trained in the art of “Of Course.”
“Can I have some water?” you ask.
“Of course!” he says.
“Where is the restroom?”
“In the back to the left,” he says.
“Thank you,” you say.
“Of course.”
What used to be a simple give-and-take of common courtesy (thank you/you’re welcome) has become something else.
It’s hard not to view it as slightly patronizing.
Consider that sometime over the last two years, the Of Course movement began. It’s as if the Zoomers went to a global restaurant convention and took the same, er, Zoom class. Now we’re left with the outcome: the restaurant version of spirit fingers.
A swirling flair of feigned sincerity.
Obsequiousness run amuck.
A point-counterpoint of passive-aggressiveness.
“I will have the chef’s salad.”
“Of course.”
Wait, does that mean you can tell I’m on a diet and need the salad?
If you haven’t already experienced it (many times), you will.
Gone is “no worries” or “no problem” or “perfect.”
It’s all about “of course.”
How I long for a simple, “you’re welcome.”
A clean, clear, common-sense approach to communication.
Maybe they are forced to say it but I don’t think so. It happens too often, and it’s not just restaurants. I’ve heard it in clothing stores, coffee shops and movie theaters.
But never from someone over 25.
If all of this is true, then perhaps there is a silver lining.
During a mediocre meal, we finally have an answer to the question, “Is everything here outstanding?”
“Of course.”
