Please stop stealing my pens.....

I realize that a pen is not a big ticket item…but it is a necessary item, both for me and the customer. I obviously need it to write down your order (because there’s no way I can remember everything you said, especially when you rewrite the menu) and if you are charging your meal, then you need it to sign the charge slip. The pen is a tool of my trade, and when you are signing your charge slip, the pen is on loan. It is not a gift. It is not part of any promotion going on, like “Buy two dinners, get a free pen.”


I used to buy the really cheap pens, you know, 10 for a $1.59, the kind that have the caps. But it gets to be a hassle to dig the cap out of your pocket every time and put it back on the pen, after all, we are all about efficiency. Besides that, if you don’t put the cap back on, or forget to, sooner or later you’re going to reach into your pocket and get a handful of ink. I lost 8 of those pens in one night, to a table of Japanese businessmen who were here for the auto show. Really, you’re here for a meal, not to pilfer souvenirs.

So, after the ink all over the hand incident, I started buying pens that clip to your pocket and click shut. I get them at the dollar store, a three pack for $1.00.

As you can see they’re not expensive, but they are a necessity and a convenience. If I’m down to one pen by the end of the evening, you need to sign a charge and I need to take an order, it would very tacky (but necessary) for me to hover over you while you sign said charge slip. But not as tacky as stealing my pens.

I like shopping at the dollar store, but I don’t want to be the sole reason they stay in business.