*An excerpt from a new story called The Call-out that features in the book.

Before working in hospitality I never understood fish and chip shops who, instead of calling your name, gave out black discs that buzz when your meal is ready. They always seemed over the top, given the aim is to notify you, not the entire restaurant.

I’d like to know the person who thought the solution to getting customers attention should involve a model-sized UFO disc that violently flashes and vibrates. On the other hand I wouldn’t be surprised if the buzzer was never intended for cafes but as an early model of the smoke alarm. Then a hospo-worker came along and said, “Do you know where this will also work?”

The other problem is the alarm has no gradual lead up. There’s silence one second and bedlam the next which always inspires an unwelcome fright. The tortuous clamour is unrelenting too, so there’s always a mad rush to the counter. Often I forget about collecting the food all-together. I just ditch the buzzer at the server and shout, “Make it stop. Please, make it stop!”

But now I know the difficulty of getting customers’ attention, I see the disc as a necessary evil. Customers are often lost in a dream of digital distraction and you need something offensively loud and persistent to jolt them back into reality.

. . .

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