Hi, How Are You?

by Katy Franklin

Anyone who has ever been a server will tell you that waiting tables has its highs and lows. But waiting tables at a New York City Times Square tourist trap has its extreme highs and lows. "Hi, How Are You?" chronicles one young woman's point of view as she moves to the Big Apple and secures her dream job...as a waitress. Join Katy as she makes friends and enemies, meets outrageous, demanding and sometimes inappropriate customers and even enters into the ultimate taboo relationship...with her boss. "Hi, How Are You?" is an insightful, delectable and ultimately, humorous foray into the restaurant industry's crazy world.

280 pages, Paperback

First published May 11, 2010

Reviews

[Grace Gottschalk · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25 stars

i’m confused was this an autobiography?? bc the author and the mc have the same first and last name?? i kinda wanna go to bubba gump to see if all of this is true??!

and it was not bad and some of the stories were kinda interesting. but the mc was so like 😃😃😃 like the whole nick debacle was so dumb bc like why are we getting surprised and mad at everyone when the whole thing fumbled… EVERYONE TOLD U IT WAS GONNA FUMBLE😭 WBK THIS!!! server struggles so real tho.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel a bit conflicted about "Hi, How Are You?" It was certainly interesting to read about behind-the-scenes life at Bubba Gump's in Times Square, especially because I've been there many times and also because I have close friends who have worked as servers at similar restaurants. However, I found the main character (Katy) to be very immature and not too bright, and it was hard for me to relate to her or feel sympathetic when things went wrong.

I also was confused. Apparently, Ms. Franklin really did work as a server at Bubba Gump's, and I assumed when I bought this book that it was a memoir of sorts. However, it clearly states on the back of the book (and elsewhere) that it's fiction. The main character's name is the same as Ms. Franklin, so I'm not sure what the reader is supposed to think, and I found that a bit annoying.

I think I would have enjoyed this book more if Katy was more likeable. She constantly complained about being treated unfairly, but most of the time she brought the problems on herself. Sneaking out of work during a busy time is a foolish thing to do, yet she was outraged when her manager caught her and wrote her up. Incidents like that, along with her high opinion of herself, kept me from enjoying what could have been an interesting story and a cute book. (I hope this isn't insulting to Katy Franklin, the author. I don't know if she is Katy in the book or not!)