In this case, the column I labored with writing was one in which I would
explore certain words used by employees in casinos and card clubs. It
bothered me to hear customers, patrons, and players being talked to in
a manner which I thought was inappropriate. I was disturbed by what I
perceived as "unprofessional language" in our business.
I realize that most of the personnel working in the poker world really
had no training in language skills, or if they did it was when they were
first hired and by now they had totally forgotten these skills. I am
certainly not trying to imply that any of the staff that I have come in
contact with in the poker world use rude or derogatory language toward
their customers. That is not the case. It is more of the fact that they use
names that are much too familiar, or names which seem to me, less than
respectful.
I have been confronted by chip runners (someone who takes your
money and brings you back chips) who have called me "chief", "pal",
"partner", plus a variety of other names that they apparently thought
were okay to use. They probably even thought they were being friendly.
Some floor men were not much better. They in many cases know the
name of the person they are dealing with so it certainly is okay to say,
"Hi John, what game do you want?" But there too, I saw cases of
someone unknown to them being addressed and asked, "Hi Partner,
what game you looking for?" Wouldn't just a slightly different greeting
like,"Good evening sir, what game would you like?" be better?
If you have actually been paying attention and you're the least bit
intuitive, you probably realized that sooner or later I would be coming to
the dealers. When I realized this column would come to fruition, I began
jotting down things that dealers said that I thought were unprofessional.
"Buddy", "Partner", "Pal", "Boss" and "Guy" are a few of the names I
witnessed dealers calling the players. For instance, I jotted down some
of the things that were said in various situations. "Partner, it's your big
blind." "Two bets to you, chief." "You're stuck with the pot." "Don't throw
your hand away, pal." And the one that really floored me was said to an
all-male table playing Omaha Hi-Lo Split. When it was time to show the
hands, our loquacious dealer announces, "Okay, let's see what you got,
girls."
It seems the ladies who frequent the poker rooms don't suffer from
being called the same set of names as us guys. Theirs are maybe even
more familiar and inappropriate. More often than not, they get called
"honey", "sweetheart", or "sweetie".
Once again, I repeat: I know the employees who use these names are
possibly only trying to be friendly and have no ill intent in mind.
Remember when I said that after several months I had finally found the
hook for this column--the something, which hopefully, would make the
whole column make sense? I found it last November, the day I boarded
the M.S. Elation, on a poker cruise ship bound for the Mexican Rivera for
a week.
You see what I noticed from the moment I embarked on the ship was
that I was "Sir" and my wife was "Mam." Now I don't mean that we were
called that for the first day or two or only by our cabin boy, waiter, or
busboy. Every single one of the employees on the ship called us that, for
the entire time we were on the ship. There were no exceptions--not one
time during the whole trip. It made my wife and me happy to be called sir
and mam. We both took it as a sign of respect. It translated to us, that
we were not only being pampered, but being pampered with respect. I
gathered that the ship personnel's attitude had not been a result of a
one or two hour training course in language skills. They obviously had
been trained extensively in how to use simple, respectful language
toward the cruisers.
A few days after we left the ship, I realized that the real world mirrored
more the "poker world" than the "cruise ship world". A few places that I
went to, usually nicer restaurants, would address me in the formal
manner, but most places were a lot more casual. It all came back to me.
I once again was "Man", "Dad", and once even "Dude". It's been a long
time since I thought of myself as a dude.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is, maybe the people who have
poker schools or train casino personnel should go on a cruise and pay
close attention and maybe take some notes.
Maybe there are reasons why management allows such informality and
perhaps I am being too old fashioned, but I think if I were to assume a
top job in a casino or card club, the first thing I would do was have a
class for every employee. All my customers would be "Sir" or "Mam" or
maybe when an employee got to know a customer it could be "Mr.
Burgio", or better yet, "Mr. Burgio, Sir".
Winding down, I am left with the thought of how we continue to
admonish the players for unprofessional behavior. Maybe, just maybe, if
every player was treated with the utmost respect in so far as how he or
she was addressed, it might start a chain reaction. Maybe players would
act more like sirs and mams, instead of pals and partners.
For what it's worth ...
explore certain words used by employees in casinos and card clubs. It
bothered me to hear customers, patrons, and players being talked to in
a manner which I thought was inappropriate. I was disturbed by what I
perceived as "unprofessional language" in our business.
I realize that most of the personnel working in the poker world really
had no training in language skills, or if they did it was when they were
first hired and by now they had totally forgotten these skills. I am
certainly not trying to imply that any of the staff that I have come in
contact with in the poker world use rude or derogatory language toward
their customers. That is not the case. It is more of the fact that they use
names that are much too familiar, or names which seem to me, less than
respectful.
I have been confronted by chip runners (someone who takes your
money and brings you back chips) who have called me "chief", "pal",
"partner", plus a variety of other names that they apparently thought
were okay to use. They probably even thought they were being friendly.
Some floor men were not much better. They in many cases know the
name of the person they are dealing with so it certainly is okay to say,
"Hi John, what game do you want?" But there too, I saw cases of
someone unknown to them being addressed and asked, "Hi Partner,
what game you looking for?" Wouldn't just a slightly different greeting
like,"Good evening sir, what game would you like?" be better?
If you have actually been paying attention and you're the least bit
intuitive, you probably realized that sooner or later I would be coming to
the dealers. When I realized this column would come to fruition, I began
jotting down things that dealers said that I thought were unprofessional.
"Buddy", "Partner", "Pal", "Boss" and "Guy" are a few of the names I
witnessed dealers calling the players. For instance, I jotted down some
of the things that were said in various situations. "Partner, it's your big
blind." "Two bets to you, chief." "You're stuck with the pot." "Don't throw
your hand away, pal." And the one that really floored me was said to an
all-male table playing Omaha Hi-Lo Split. When it was time to show the
hands, our loquacious dealer announces, "Okay, let's see what you got,
girls."
It seems the ladies who frequent the poker rooms don't suffer from
being called the same set of names as us guys. Theirs are maybe even
more familiar and inappropriate. More often than not, they get called
"honey", "sweetheart", or "sweetie".
Once again, I repeat: I know the employees who use these names are
possibly only trying to be friendly and have no ill intent in mind.
Remember when I said that after several months I had finally found the
hook for this column--the something, which hopefully, would make the
whole column make sense? I found it last November, the day I boarded
the M.S. Elation, on a poker cruise ship bound for the Mexican Rivera for
a week.
You see what I noticed from the moment I embarked on the ship was
that I was "Sir" and my wife was "Mam." Now I don't mean that we were
called that for the first day or two or only by our cabin boy, waiter, or
busboy. Every single one of the employees on the ship called us that, for
the entire time we were on the ship. There were no exceptions--not one
time during the whole trip. It made my wife and me happy to be called sir
and mam. We both took it as a sign of respect. It translated to us, that
we were not only being pampered, but being pampered with respect. I
gathered that the ship personnel's attitude had not been a result of a
one or two hour training course in language skills. They obviously had
been trained extensively in how to use simple, respectful language
toward the cruisers.
A few days after we left the ship, I realized that the real world mirrored
more the "poker world" than the "cruise ship world". A few places that I
went to, usually nicer restaurants, would address me in the formal
manner, but most places were a lot more casual. It all came back to me.
I once again was "Man", "Dad", and once even "Dude". It's been a long
time since I thought of myself as a dude.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is, maybe the people who have
poker schools or train casino personnel should go on a cruise and pay
close attention and maybe take some notes.
Maybe there are reasons why management allows such informality and
perhaps I am being too old fashioned, but I think if I were to assume a
top job in a casino or card club, the first thing I would do was have a
class for every employee. All my customers would be "Sir" or "Mam" or
maybe when an employee got to know a customer it could be "Mr.
Burgio", or better yet, "Mr. Burgio, Sir".
Winding down, I am left with the thought of how we continue to
admonish the players for unprofessional behavior. Maybe, just maybe, if
every player was treated with the utmost respect in so far as how he or
she was addressed, it might start a chain reaction. Maybe players would
act more like sirs and mams, instead of pals and partners.
For what it's worth ...
Yes, Sir!
By Vince Burgio
By Vince Burgio
