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TAKE A TIP: WAITRESS JOYCE VICTORY WILL MAKE YOUR DAY
Gerald Ensley
Tallahassee Democrat
Published: June 18, 1990
It happened several years ago, when Joyce Victory was a breakfast waitress at the Parkway Holiday Inn. A group of men came in, and Victory approached them for their order.
"I consider myself an outgoing person. So I went up and sang out, 'Good morning,'" Victory recalled. "One of the men looked up at me and said kind of grumpy, 'What makes you think it's a good morning?'
"I said to him, 'Well, I didn't say that because I wanted you to have a good morning. I said that because they pay me 42 cents an hour to say it.'
"Well, that just broke them up, and when they left they said, 'Joyce, you made our day.'"
Victory, 55 has been making people's day for all of her 38 years as a waitress. Her special blend of personality and professionalism has delighted everyone from governors to groundskeepers, earning her the unofficial title of Tallahassee's most popular waitress.
"She's got more regular customers than anyone I've ever known," said Bill Kalfas, owner of the Silver Slipper restaurant where Victory has worked the past 17 years. "And the reason is because she takes care of people."
That's because Victory loves her work.
"This is my profession, and I want to do well at it," said Victory. "I tried a few other jobs. But this is what I enjoy."
"I've often wondered what other business could I have gone into that would have allowed me to meet so many wonderful people, and have as many wonderful friends."
Victory took her first full-time waitressing job at 17 shortly after graduation from Leon High. From that hob at the old Seven Seas Restaurant, Victory went on to serve at the Elks Club, Holiday Inn, Capitol Inn, Trawlers and Spartan Room restaurants.
Almost since the beginning, she has worked two shifts a day, six days a week, for a total of about 70 hours a week. Currently, she works lunches at the Spartan Room, then dinners at the Silver Slipper.
Most of her regulars -- who have included a Who's Who of Florida legislators, lobbyists and other politicians -- wouldn't dream of it.
"Joyce is one of the dearest people I know," said Buddy McCue, vice president of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents and a Victory customer for more than 15 years. "No matter how tired she may be, she never lets anything interfere with helping her customers."
"There's a waitress-customer relationship, just like there's a doctor-client relationship."
--Joyce Victory, waitress
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Victory also has an incredible memory. Customers and employers rave about how she remembers customers' favorite drinks, salad dressings and the way they like their meat cooked, as well as knowing the names, ages and birthdays of their children and friends.
"If you tell me something once, it sticks," Victory said. "I think having a good memory is part of being a good waitress."
So, too, said Victory is knowing a little something about people.
"Sometimes, a customer wants to joke a little bit. Sometimes, they want to be left alone," Victory said. "To be a good waitress, you need to be able to feel people out.
"There's a waitress-customer relationship just like there's a doctor-client relationship."
Victory admitted that the Tallahassee restaurant business has changed somewhat over the years. Legislators used to come to town once a year, live in hotels and eat out daily. Now, many have homes here and bring their families to Tallahassee.
Waitresses have changed, too.
"There used to be a lot of them like me, women who made a career out of this," she said. "Now, we have a lot of college girls who are just working until they get another career."
But Victory is in waitressing for the duration.
She said she is blessed with good health, and the ability to get by on just a few hours' sleep. Divorced three times, she is the mother of two and the grandmother of six -- with whom she spends most of her free time.
"I work real hard for my grandchildren. Spending time with them is a lot of my life," she said. "I'm not getting any younger. But I sure don't have any plans to retire."
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