As we saw on last weeks show the ladies all met up at Einstien’s for dinner. I’ve discussed many times that the housewives never actually eat at dinner. Production seems overly concerned about editing a meal because they cut footage together and don’t want to have issues with continuity based on the plates being full, then empty, then half full again. The Atlanta production crew is the most anal about this. We have seen RHONJ and RHOBH actually eat at dinner, but RHOA rarely if ever do. This is also the reason for the red solo cups I like to freak out about. They use them because the cover the amount of wine in the glass so that it doesn’t show more wine, then less, then more, etc.
As an added bonus, it make the RHOA cranky because they are starving in a restaurant full of food they can’t eat. You will see this season that Phaedra and Porsha filmed dinner at The Palm in Atlanta. They ordered a ton of food and took it all to go to eat in peace without having to worry about eating on camera.
This week at Einstein’s Phaedra was showing bitterly complaining about every damn thing. The lack or water. The stale crackers. The slow service. She was a pill. 
Queerty found an Facebook entry from Corey Thompson, the poor guy who was stuck with the task of being their server. He is furious that he was made to look incompetent at his job, when production would not allow him to serve the ladies.
Here is how he describes the evening…
I was the server in this episode the ladies were very polite it was the producers they would not allow me to bring anything out to the table until they stopped filming I sat back by the bar holding cocktails and water that had to be remade 6 times because I wasnt allowed to bring them, who comes to a restaurant and orders crackers? By the time the ladies tried to order food the restaurant was closed if you watch closely when they first arrived the place was packed and by time the “stale” crackers arrived we were closed. This was a horrible experience for me. Its embarrassing to see how they made me look when it was out of my hands. The bravo producers and staff were horrible and had no idea what they were doing, it was unorganized and very classless. We at Einstein’s did what we could on such short notice. Next These Beautiful Ladies should let people ahead time instead of just popping up & Phadrea Thank You for the 4 dollar tip.
I’m not sure if that is dig at Phadrea for being a lousy tipper, or a compliment that she was the only person who left anything despite not getting to eat and being miserable.
Thank Micheal for sending me the link! xoxo
Seems like a definite dig to me.
Yeah, I agree. The tone is very, “Thanks for the $4.00. Now I can finally retire!” Plus, from what we know of Phaedra, no way is she going to be considerate or generous.
I’m not sure if that is a dig at her considering he says in his very first sentence that the ladies were all very polite. I’m assuming the ladies didn’t get to eat due to the kitchen being closed, but that Phaedra left a tip anyway for such an inconvenience.
Imo, if he truly appreciated the tip, he wouldn’t have posted the amount unless it was huge.
I agree it was a dig. I worked my way through college & grad school waiting tables. If he meant it as a compliment he wouldn’t have mentioned the amount. He would have written “thanks for the thoughtful tip” or “thanks for remembering to tip” and not mentioned the amount that was less than a dollar a head.
Well to be fair to the ladies, if all they got were drinks, then a $4 tip wouldn’t be too far off. I don’t know how much drinks are in Atlanta though, so please excuse my ignorance. What exactly did they end up receiving? Dinner after hours? It all depends.
Bottom line though is that we are the only country in the world that has the patrons pay a company’s employees like this. Since we aren’t allowed to post links, google “wait but why tipping” It’s a great read and one of my favorite blogs.
Nothing. No food, no water no drinks no nothing. Did you not READ the post?
On Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 5:27 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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I completely agree with this sentiment. I hate that I’m supposed to be the bad guy when I refuse to tip a shit LA wannabe actress server with an attitude.
And honestly I feel the same way about bar tenders, if I’m waiting a ridiculously long time for a drink, you don’t say a word to me, and the drink is watered down, then don’t give me the stare down when I don’t throw a few bucks your way.
However I will say that this isnt usually the norm, for the most part I have pretty good waiters that are personable and you can cut up with, and the drinks in weho are strong and they’ll usually get it to me ASAP.
There are thousands of other service orientated professions that don’t deal in tips. A tip is meant to be a reward for exemplary service.
They may not have eaten anything, however, they sat at at table, probably for hours which prevented a paying customer to sit there. That server didn’t make money on that particular table- for hours. Yes, they should have left him a tip and a good one at that.
My quandary is, if I am a housewife, I am at work when I am sitting at that table talking to bitches I don’t even want to be talking to, being denied food or even water for hours. How is it my problem that the server needs tipping.
In the situation where Phaedra and Porsha filmed at the Palm, they actually ordered food (but didn’t really eat it and took it to go) it didn’t cost them anything and Phaedra left a very nice tip.
I don’t think I would tip in scenario A. The server losing income on the table is not my problem and above my paygrade. All of that should be worked out between production, the restaurant and the server. Frankly I think the server’s main complaint was not the lack of tip by the blatant disrespect from Phaedra.
In the second scenario where they ACTUALLY GOT FOOD, I would leave a large tip for the server.
On Thu, Dec 11, 2014 at 11:59 AM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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It sounds like he was their server who had to make drinks and stuff for them. I think we can agree some HWs are super stingy (like when you’re supposed to match a charitable donation!), but these ladies make good money. I don’t have tons of extra money, but if I went to a restaurant with a group of people and for some reason never ordered anything, I’d certainly leave a $20, and I bet I’m not the only one. They could have the class to leave a tip, if for nothing else but all the disruption they have to know they cause. I know some people hate tipping, but I guess that’s why you hope within a group there’s one or two classy people. Or better yet, one or two who waited tables before and know tips are a significant portion of servers’ income!
The HWs were there FILMING. If your job was to go sit in a restaurant and argue with people and you were never served anything, it’s not your responsibility to tip the server. That is something that should be worked out between the film crew and the restaurant and the employee.
In this situation, I don’t think any of them should have tipped.
On Sat, Dec 13, 2014 at 5:20 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote: > >
Well quite frankly, if there was no service, then there shouldn’t be a tip. They essentially went to the restaurant to TALK. Maybe the owner should know better to allow some ratchet reality tv show come film.
Phaedra giving the server anything is gracious imho.
$4.00 is a tip you would leave at Popeyes!
Thanks to Michael also. As a former wait person, I knew the waiter wasn’t being portrayed fairly. Who’d loaf off on tv? Small $4 tip,, big sarcastic dig. lmbo
Yeah, the $4 tip is possibly more insulting than no tip.
Come on, “high-powered attorney to the stars”! Can’t part with any more of Apollo’s dirty money?
It is incredibly unprofessional and unethical for bravo to chose to portray the server as incompetent. Not cool, some people have to work for a living, and portraying them in a disparaging light is not going to make any difference to the show, only an unnecessary cruel difference to the individuals life.
No, that was a dig, because why mention the amount at all? I don’t think the editing made him look bad per se, but it did make Phaedra look classless and rude.
Its beyond dumb to not allow them to eat while filming at a restaurant. Why would they even need to film the plates? Tighten the frame up, and eliminate the plate from the frame.
As for the red solo cups, couldn’t the get some of those opaque colored wine glasses?
And anyways, it’s not like we’re not all wise to Bravo’s splicing and dicing to make things look a certain way. Is there *really* anyone out there that actually thinks the timeline of events is accurately shown?
Amen, buy them all a set of tasteful glasses, Everybody knows red solo cups are for pig roast, crawfish boils, and games of cornhole. Also you must write your name in marker. (better if you can write a smartass nickname) Heathens
Also no wonder Atlanta is the cast with the expanding waist line (nene, Phaedra, Kandi, Porsha) they probably binge eat after long shoots, I know if I let myself get to hungry I often over eat
Did you see Porsha on the Talk? Did you see how big she was compared to the rest of the ladies? I’m not talking about her height either. Porsha’s a big bitch.
Maybe it’s because we actually EAT here in the South. I think the Atlanta women are the most attractive out of all the Housewife franchises. Some of them look downright anorexic…
Um, they don’t just look it, there are some very obvious straight up anorexics. Taylor Armstrong?
If I was the waiter, I would be furious if the Bravo producers didn’t leave a huge tip for wasting my time all evening! Sounds like all he did that evening was wait on this one table when he could of been making tips at other tables! Not sure about the dig, after all Kandi did the inviting wouldn’t she be the one to pay the bill and tip?
That is my take too. Shouldn’t the producers be tipping the staff? Or at least the restaurant who assumedly had a deal with production (free food for free advertising) should be tipping the staff with a small bonus for working under the conditions of being filmed.
They are not charged for anything in exchange for promotional consideration.
On Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 2:52 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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I was a waitress/ bartender for 14yrs and the main way to make your money was to quickly turn tables and of coarse polite and efficient service. So let me just say that if a group of people were to come in and sit at one of your tables for an extended period of time(which I’m sure they were since they were filming) whether you eat or drink or not you should compensate said server not only for the ammt of check bare minimum of 20 percent but also for taking up that table which could be seating other guests actually interested in eating. That being said I doubt seriously that it was meant as a compliment on your tipping prowess to leave $4 after you sat at his section and gabbed and complained about things that were out of his controll. You might expect the average family who sits and eats to leave you such a tip but a group of women who are known for flaunting their considerable means around certainly could throw this poor kid a bone. His comment to me highly suggests that the shitty tip phadrae left might have been all he got so also a dig at all the others ladies for nothing or less than what phadrae left. I’m sure as a woman who worked for tips before nene would certainly have scoffed at $4 for an hour on the pole just saying
They were there for several hours, long after the kitchen closed and never got food because production would not allow it until filming concluded. At the beginning of filming the place is packed. At the end it was empty.
When I was in college, right after the dinosaurs died, my husband-to-be left an unbelievable small tip. Thank goodness I wasn’t with him. The waitress ran from the restaurant and returned it to him saying, “Sir, you forgot this.” Cured his stingy butt.
When I was around 20 I ran away from home. I returned shortly thereafter but as the youngest child of accident parents I felt like I could NEVER move because one or the other was always in a health crisis. One day I just said fuck it. My parents watched me load my trunk and drive away. It was all very anticlimactic. Because they knew I had about as much chance as the ten year old kid with a stick and a bandana …lol. I was on a break from college. Anyway.
I went on a $99 day cruise from Lauderdale to the Bahamas. I won a few hundred dollars in coins and had a big bucket full of quarters and went to eat. I HATED eating on that cruise. You had to sit with strangers. the wait staff did NOTHING except tell you who you HAD to eat with, and top off your drinks. I was pissed I was sat with a family with kids. I left NO TIP. They did nothing but top off a tea and make me sit with miscreants.
The waiter RAN after me and asked for my tip coupon. Which I guess was something that people in large groups had. I did not. I also did not dip into my giant bucket of quarters for the asshole.
I have no regrets.
On Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 7:46 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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@ tt
The scene I have of you carting that Big bucket of coins, all over that cruise ship is beyond comical and down right hilarious. Ouch ouch my tummy hurts so…
More funny, is you guarding that darn bucket, while you were eating, in front of a group of strangers…what more kids!! hahaha
It’s no big deal I just so happened to stumble across the article whilst searching for por…political journalism articles. 😀
I’m surprised more waiters don’t speak up about the housewife scenes filmed at their place of employment. Maybe due to NDAs.
I would agree for the NY and NJ locations, but it doesn’t surprise me that we don’t hear about it for BH or OC.
Fair disclosure, I don’t live in either locale – I live in the Valley. From when I have been out in those areas, dealing with high-maintenance customers seems to be par for the course for wait staff, regardless if the customer is ingesting food and/or being filmed or not.
There are no NDA’s but the thing is that the production crews come in hours and hours before filming. I had housewives (of the NYC and NJ varietals) as well as MDL Singles Project and Heels cast members come into my establishments in NYC for filming and the crews were there in the AM, basically working out of my private dining rooms and setting up lighting underneath the tables (ever noticed the special uplighting?) and boom mics while the cast members show up much later . For the restos that have blatant promotional shots, there is no pay. There are others who get a stipend from production and generally wont have much identifying shots.
That all being said… I understand where this kid is coming from, but ANY comments made about guests tipping would warrant disciplinary action. I have a very strict zero-tolerance policy for hearing staff comment about tips (good or bad) on the floor, and if I ever saw a receipt on instagram/facebook/twitter, they would face consequences. Its a social contract you enter into with a restaurant when you dine there, and there needs to be trust that they are not going to embarrass you publicly (warranted or not). I do, however believe this kid was heavily screwed over by the ladies, Bravo or his management, or a combination of all three! If I subjected my staff to basically babysitting a table like that for hours and not being on the floor making money, it would be on ME to make sure hes taken care of – whether from my company or from Bravo. I do think the server has every right to defend himself from the shitty ending thing, but the dig, THAT DIG.. ouch.
Every franchise has a different production crew. This kid said the Einstein show was very last minute. It was probably because they pissed off the original place they were going to film. Atlanta production crew is …. a mess.
They don’t have NDAs. I’ve talked to several people who work in the industry. Most don’t talk publically because their employers will get pissed off. I know a person or two who works in Vegas at several celebrity heavy locations… They tell me things with the caveat that they not be able to be identified in any way.
On Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 3:23 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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Bravo really made the restaurant look bad. What restaurant in their right mind will allow RHOA to film inside it now?
Glad you wrote about this as I couldnt understand the dumb ass cracker situation. It was ob ious they were hungry.and a fewof those women do seem the type that wouldl be low tippers
Especially phaedea.
Drinking this early? 😉
So what’s the reasoning for Bravo’s inconsistent policy of on whether the talent can eat during a fight.
Probably comes down to every franchise having a different production company. Sirens in NJ, etc. It looked pretty stupid to me that they were at a restaurant and obviously hungry yet not eating. Dumber than it would have looked if a wine glass is half empty one moment then full, then empty again.
Each franchise has as different production team. On RHOBH we have actually seen people eat a salad. And on RHONJ’s add on scenes all Jac and Kathy did was eat.
I did a story about this in 2011 here http://s17948.p858.sites.pressdns.com/2011/11/07/rhoa-odds-and-ends/
Skip down to the blue parts about halfway down. I totally had no idea what I was doing as a blogger at the time. Still learning but that is some crazy layout. lol.
On Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 5:27 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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It’s interesting that RH photographers ANYWHERE permitted whichever housewives to eat, because there is not a single scene, pose, photo in which someone eatting looks attractive.
The affect of putting food in one’s mouth, chewing and/or swallowing on a face is NEVER good. Since the ‘mechanics’ involved with eating do distort facial structures, and it ain’t purdy … at all.
HWs looking unattractive? Oh, eating is the least of their worries!
It now makes sense why Kandi voraciously stuffs her face with bread when they’re having “dinner.”
An amazing tip for service should be expected. Who does BRAVO think they are? Lol . . .
Great tip about the “solo cups”. Makes sense.
Best blogger ever..thank you for all your hard work for us!!
I love Einsteins and that trash won’t keep me away!
I could never live in Atlanta. Because bad behavior and crappy tipping is pretty common. Production or not, these women are nasty, rude and cheap. So then the servers get surly — those who aren’t already of the rude, nasty ilk. A decent person has little chance of a nice experience.
You know decent people?
On Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 6:48 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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Sounds like you would have a great experience then.
LOL. I love the sound of those three descriptors together – “nasty, rude, and cheap” — especially as they apply to Teecee.
I’ve never lived in Atlanta, but I have had to go there three or four times a year on business and I have enjoyed it. I’ve never encountered anyone with bad behavior nor been served by waiters who were other than very cordial and attentive. I’ve always found it to be a positive experience.
teecee66……” A decent person has little chance of a nice experience”. What the fuck? They DO NOT represent Atlanta……..stop being an ignorant ass.
They certainly do. It’s a shitty area. No one in their right mind would go there willingly. Unless you like that type of behavior. I’m going to assume that everyone who responded enjoys shitty people being shitty to each other. Not surprising
Well… I guess I can throw in my 2 cents on this whole thing. I too work at Einsteins and was the one that took each one of the ladies back to their seats. I initially was excited to see myself, my friend Corey, and our place of employment on this episode, but the way they twisted everything around is really sickening. At work, I’m already dealing with guests coming in and joking about “Don’t take too long with my water”, and “So tell me about those crackers”… With RHOA being one of my favorite shows, I really wish things didn’t turn out the way they did…
Side note: Rice crackers, which we have, will taste differently than regular saltine crackers. So though they might’ve tasted “stale”, I also see everyone continued to eat them so….
Oooh Thanks for the tea, Bri! I’m sorry they caused such a rough time for the employees.
Those dumb ladies have probably never had a rice cracker before! Duh! Rice crackers have a “stale” texture naturally. I’m sorry you had a swarm of idiots descend upon your workplace.
I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about the RHOA production staff that runs me the wrong way.
I know Georgia has weird labor laws that dont at all protect employees (such as the right to fire), but I’m not sure if they are supposed to give employees a break to eat during shifts over 5 hrs, like most states. If not, it would reinforce the difference between the franchises.
In Georgia, you do not have to provide a break to employees. Therefore, it is up to the company to determine the break policy for its employees. If the break is less than 20 minutes, employees are federally required to pay employees for the break. If it’s greater than 20 minutes, employers can make their employees clock out (“bona fide” meal period).
Brandi said on her latest podcast (so, uh, take with a grain of salt) that Kenya has it written in her contract that she can’t be shown eating. Apparently this stems from their time together on The CA. Kenya would eat away from everybody else. I know this is tangential but it DOES perhaps explain why so many RHOA scenes occur at restaurants without any eating taking place.
While I don’t put much stock in what Brandi says, particularly about someone else’s contract, but lots of movie actresses don’t want to be shown actually eating.
On CA, when you are stuck with a bunch of idiots all day, I would not eat with them either.
When I taught, particularly in my elementary school teaching days, I would eat alone in my room. This was considered “not being a team player” But on my lunchbreak I was not interested in all of the pregnancy conversations while I was trying to eat. SOMEONE is always pregnant in elementary school. I’d much rather read the news online and eat a leisurely lunch. We only had about 20 minutes to eat. So when possible, I would eat on my planning period, while faking up some lesson plans for the form loving administrators..
I’m sure that Brandi considered it “diva behavior” but call it what you will, but I call it, “eating my meal in peace.”
On Thu, Dec 11, 2014 at 12:48 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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Ha! I don’t blame you! It was definitely a negative spin on Kenya. Oh well… I like both of them.
She did mention that it might be an entire RHOA thing, because they aren’t, um, the most decorous of eaters. It’s worth a listen if you can stomach it (I bet not 🙂 )
I don’t see anything wrong in Not wanting to be filmed Nor photographed in an un-complimentary way. I guess Kenya learnt the hard way to be wiser in front of cameras, esp. the ones from Slime-ball Bravo.
I also don’t see anything wrong in wanting to eat your meal in peace and quiet.
No food? How in the hell did Kandi and Phaedra make it through the night we all know they love to eat and get very cranky when they can’t, how they managed to not explode with rage is a miracle lol, I would have went off on production! RHOA production needs to stop doing that let them eat damn it.
Since the girls know they can’t eat on camera…can’t they just eat alone right before they get to the restaurant? It’s not like they’ve never done this before!
Those scenes can go on for hours and hours and hours… Especially with everyone there. I’d guess they were there 6-8 hours at least. I’d want water and a snack too…
On Fri, Dec 12, 2014 at 5:25 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote: > >
Does Bravo think we dont know that they edit out of sequence? Just order apps and have colored wine glasses and constantly refill the water. It is ridiculous….
Stop being so hard on Phaedra…you all know she paid by saying a prayer for the waiter.
I had forgotten what a blessing that must be. It is like being blessed by the pope!
Please read the blog. The point of the article is that the women on RHOA never, as a matter of course, eat during their “luncheons” . This is due to production issues. So why should any of them have left a tip? The “tip” should have been handled in advance by the show’s producer. I look aghast at myself for even replying to anything about this sort of “reality” show. How many “real” housewives just sit around at home in evening gowns waiting to serially backstab their friends.
Are you “aghast” to be reading about this sort of show?
I’m commenting in my evening gown.
😉
I got a late start to blogging today because the glam squad had to come do my hair and makeup… lol.
Or there was some sort of kerfuffle in the hood that woke up me and the entire neighborhood of dogs who barked ominiously for hours. so I eventually went back to bed and slept in.
It was one of those things.
On Sat, Dec 13, 2014 at 5:41 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote: > >
A few seasons back, The Real Housewives of Atlanta filmed at Burkhart’s Pub, my place of employment. Well, the only people being filmed were Kenya and Miss Lawrence. Everybody, including the production crew, were extremely nice. I don’t understand where all this gossip about Kenya being an alcoholic comes from. The producers wanted them to have a drink, but neither of them wanted to. When the cameras were on, they ordered mojitos. In reality, while the cameras were off, they specifically asked me to make the drinks look like mojitos, but without the alcohol. It was actually Kenya’s first season on the show. She was really sweet and she looks so much more beautiful in person. Miss Lawrence was pretty cool, too. They ended up tipping like $40. No complaints here.