Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Forum administrators, Interface administrators, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
116,528
edits
m (categories and general cleanup) |
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (replace redirect) |
||
(35 intermediate revisions by 13 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
{{quote|''If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.''
|'''Sirius Black''', ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (novel)|Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]''}}
▲{{quote|''If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.''|'''Sirius Black''', ''[[Harry Potter (Franchise)/Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire|Harry Potter]]''}}
[[Escapism|For whatever reason]], heroes in fiction tend to be wealthier than average. If the work is set in a fantasy environment or in an era where [[Royal Blood|monarchies]] were the norm, authors will focus on the [[Blue Blood|aristocracy]]. And if it's a more modern setting, the main characters will probably be well-educated and work white collar jobs.
Line 13 ⟶ 11:
In situations of more importance, the good man will [[Think Nothing of It|disclaim credit for good work actually performed by subordinates]], while the bad one will hog it. Conversely, the bad man will shove off blame, while the good one [[It's All My Fault|will accept]], sometimes even when it is not really his fault (because he was in charge, or because their disparate status means his punishment will be less severe).
There's an interesting [[Real Life]] dynamic to this trope. It's become accepted wisdom that you can tell a lot about the man or woman you're dating by the way they treat the person waiting on you. This isn't bad advice, but it's become so well-worn that it's probably hard to trust that the person in question is really that
And don't forget self-interest. You can put yourself in a bad place by angering the [[Almighty Janitor]]. Fail to tip the guys at curbside check-in and you're likely to find yourself wondering how one of your bags ended up in Argentina while the other is in Zaire. Insult your waiter and you might end up with [[
This trope probably sprung up out of sympathy. Writing isn't known as a particularly lucrative career except for a very few skilled/lucky people, and [[Sturgeon's Law|this is for a good reason]], so until they get published a lot of writers have to work a "real"
A subtrope of [[Pet the Dog]] (or [[Kick the Dog]] when the person is rude to the waiter), often used to show [[Hidden Depths]].
See also [[We Have Reserves]] for a specific and military aversion, and [[The Dog Bites Back]] for why more villains should take this seriously. This often results in [[Laser-Guided Karma]] or [[I Ate What?]] From the point of view of the servants, this may lead to [[No Hero to His Valet]]. Somewhat related to [[What You Are in
{{examples}}
* In an interesting twist on this trope, {{spoiler|the Conductor (actually Claire Stanfield)}} in ''[[Baccano
▲== Anime/Manga ==
▲* In an interesting twist on this trope, {{spoiler|the Conductor (actually Claire Stanfield)}} in ''[[Baccano (Light Novel)|Baccano]]!'' {{spoiler|saves Miria and Isaac because they were good customers on board his train.}}
* Sanji from ''[[
▲* Kaibara from ''[[Oishinbo (Manga)|Oishinbo]]'' needs to learn this.
* ''[[
▲* Sanji from ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]]'' effectively demonstrates exactly why one should be polite to waiters to Lieutenant Fullbody.
* [[Yu-Gi-Oh (
▲* ''[[Black Butler (Manga)|Black Butler]]'''s Ciel Phantomhive treats his house staff rather well, despite the fact the majority of them are useless (or so we think). Alois from the anime's second second however... couldn't be further from this trope.
* In ''[[
▲* [[Yu-Gi-Oh (Anime)|Seto Kaiba]] is an interesting variant in that he treats the people who work at his company with cold, polite professionalism. By his standards, this is being downright civil, as he's a complete and total [[Jerkass]] to everyone else except his [[Morality Pet|little brother Mokuba]].
* One chapter of the ''[[
▲* In ''[[Nana (Manga)|Nana]]'', when Sachiko learns that Shouji's girlfriend Nana (nicknamed Hachi) is at the restaurant they both work at, she drops the plate she was carrying. Hachi, who wasn't even at the table Sachiko was serving, gives her a handkerchief since she cut herself. Sachiko is heartbroken {{spoiler|because Shouji is cheating on Hachi with her and nearly breaks up with him because of how guilty she feels. Instead, Shouji breaks up with Hachi}}.
▲* One chapter of the ''[[Ouran High School Host Club (Manga)|Ouran High School Host Club]]'' manga has Tamaki scandalized when he sees a patron of a restaurant demand that a waiter be fired for dropping food on her. He is about to complain when his father stops him, telling him it's not his place. Being [[Uncle Pennybags|the kind of guy he is]], though, Tamaki's father personally sees to it later that the waiter doesn't lose his job.
== Comic Books ==
* [[Batman
** This is especially obvious in one issue towards the end of the ''Murderer/Fugitive'' arc which covers Bruce reintegrating himself with his day-to-day life after an extended period away. He knows the names of every employee (even the mail boy who he reminds of Wayne Enterprises college programs) and every employee treats him as a genuinely liked, [[The Wonka|if eccentric and slightly dim, employer]].
** Most of the Bat Family are also like this, except for Damian, towards Alfred. Everyone tends to treat him like a friend doing them a favor whereas Damian keeps their relationship to master and servant, calling him Pennyworth and giving orders rather than making requests. He's not mean, he just keeps the relationship professional.
* Similarly, [[Iron Man
** This one goes back and forth depending on the writer, the era and whether Tony is in one of his periodic Jerkass phases.
*** It should also be noted that when Tony blows his top and yells at an employee, he usually has a very good reason. Tony once regretted berating the head of his legal department and resolved to apologize, but that was because the guy was doing such a crappy job as the head of Stark Enterprises' legal team. He was fired a couple of issues later after Tony became fed up with his incompetence.
** In [[Iron Man (
*** Not always a noble man, at least in a recent retcon. ''Iron Man: The Iron Age'' has pre-armor Tony as a huge [[Jerkass]], even giving Pepper Potts an unwanted slap on the ass.
* All ''[[The Avengers (Comic Book)|The Avengers]]'' have great respect for their butler Jarvis (another Stark employee, by the way), naming him an honorary Avenger. We most often see this with [[Captain America (comics)]].
** Another Cap example: there is a story told bit by bit to some [[
*** Another Cap one, from the beginning of the ''Civil War'' arc. Cap breaks out of SHIELD's helicarrier by commandeering a jet fighter (including pilot) through the simple expedient of clinging on to the cockpit. Being Cap, he orders the pilot to set down in a not-in-use football stadium and takes the pilot for a burger.
* In Marvel's New York City, restaurant and hotel owners and staff know that Hercules is a [[Large Ham| loud, demanding]], and at times, [[Life of the Party| overly flamboyant customer]], but they don't care; he's also a ''huge'' tipper.
* Subverted in ''[[Lex Luthor
** Lex is actually a very complex character when it comes to this trope. Lex appreciates honest, hard work, since he himself comes from a working-class background, and as much of a villain as he is, he's not lying when he says that he has the [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|ultimate well-being of humanity in mind]]. Of course, HE should be the one in charge, but as long as he has that, he does try to make those under him live better lives. Not to mention that Lex has a good understanding of how economics work, so he knows that his financial empire is supported by average joes working blue-collar jobs.
** In a good showing of Lex's complex portrayal in this comic, he's very respectful and thankful to one of the scientists working under him on a critical project, but is still willing to sacrifice him in his latest plot to kill Superman (although he does seem regretful about it).
== Film ==
* Used in ''[[Look
* Alex O'Connell from the most recent ''[[The Mummy Trilogy
* In ''The Whole Ten Yards'', [[Bruce Willis
** Of course, in the previous movie ''The Whole Nine Yards'', he threatened to violently murder the waitress who took his hamburger order down wrong. This might have gone to show he'd [[Character Development|become a more decent person]] in the interim.
* Subverted in ''[[
* In ''[[Mortal Kombat (
{{quote|
* Subverted in ''[[A Few Good Men]]'', where total bastard Colonel Jessep is shown taking time out of holding court at a lunch table (and preparing to humiliate the Navy lawyers who've come to investigate his base) to thank the waiter and tell him the meal was delicious.
* Patrick Bateman and all of his Yuppie friends in ''[[American Psycho]]'' are absolutely horrid to the waiters at the various expense restaurants they go to, which just highlights how they're not good people.
* In the biopic of ''[[
* In ''[[The Princess and
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Clueless]]'', Cher tells her family's maid, Lucy, that she doesn't speak "Mexican," angering the native Salvadorian into storming off. While seemingly a rude and disrespectful thing to say, in context it's made clear that Cher was [[Dumb Blonde|guilty of]] [[Book Dumb|simple ignorance]] and frustration with her own problems rather than any actual malice towards the maid. Throughout the movie she speaks with Lucy as an equal rather than a servant, and apologizes to her later after realizing her mistake.
* In the film of ''[[The Voyage of the Dawn Treader]]'', the heroes are appalled to find that the people of the island they land on are being kept as slaves. One of the reasons they are driven to stop the evil island is because they find out that a number of said slaves were being dumped there as sacrifices. At the end of the film, Caspian admits to being tempted to visit Aslan's country but refuses, on the grounds that he won't abandon his subjects.
* Subverted in ''[[
* In ''[[
* In ''[[The Cable Guy]]'', the main character's estranged girlfriend goes on a date with a jerk played by Owen Wilson, who immediately kicks the dog by being a condescending asshole to the waiter. This makes his impending beatdown seem a bit deserved, thereby keeping the Cable Guy from reaching the depths of his villainy quite so early in the film.
* A prominent part of ''[[The Help]]''.
Line 75 ⟶ 72:
== Literature ==
* ''[[Duumvirate]]'' uses this trope constantly. Being on good terms with your servants is a mark of competence as a master. The titular characters even use it to {{spoiler|decide who to let live}} at the end of the book.
* ''[[
* In [[
* This trope is ubiquitous in all of [[
** Subverted by the Rogue of Port Caynn, Pearl, in ''[[Tortall Universe|Bloodhound]]'', who [[Pet the Dog|likes dogs]] and [[Even Evil Has Standards|threatens people who hurt them]]. Bekka knows she has [[Complete Monster|no other redeeming characteristics]], but this still makes it harder than it was before.
** Inversion: The Emperor of Carthak had Daine, the most famous wild-mage in Tortall, travel to his palace ''just to heal his pet birds''
* A subversion of sorts from Thomas Dixon's ''Fall of a Nation'': The heroine's family servant thinks the [[Big Bad]] is a swell fellow because he tips generously. As it turns out, this is all part of the [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] 's plan to become a [[Villain
* ''[[
** Eddard Stark is always polite and respectful with his servants. He regularly invites one peasant to dine with him for a night to better understand the needs of his smallfolk.
** Catelyn Stark also treats the commoners well. After promising a ship's crew a bonus if they made good time, she paid each oarsman personally rather than give the money to their captain who would have kept it all for himself.
** Edmure Tully was the only noble to allow his peasants to take refuge in his castle during the war, a move which the others saw as foolish and soft-hearted.
** Danaerys Targaryen frees all of her slaves, treats her servants with respect, and thinks of all of her followers as her children.
* In [[Dorothy L. Sayers]]' ''[[Lord Peter Wimsey|Have His Carcass]]'', Harriet Vane is cleared of suspicion because the police asked her charwoman about her associates; they have found this a reliable way of finding them out.
** Also, part of the signal that the murder victim in ''Whose Body?'' is a good guy is that he was well-liked by his servants, not just because of this, but also in a more classist way, because he was a "natural gentleman" despite being a [[Self-Made Man]]- one point in solving the mystery was that he would always neatly fold his clothing before going to bed.
* Sirius Black
** The context makes it even more ironic: Sirius is commenting on Crouch's bad treatment of his house-elf Winky at the beginning of ''[[
** And Kreacher doesn't get off scott-free either in ''[[
***
** Dumbledore warns Harry at one point that wizards and witches are being too greedy when it comes to "inferior" species (goblins, house elves, centaurs, etc), and warns him that if they don't start to treat them as equals, it will end badly. In ''Deathly Hallows'', {{spoiler|Griphook is surprised that Harry rescues him along with the other wizards in Malfoy's manor}}.
** Interestingly, the last book implies that Mrs. Black and {{spoiler|Sirius's younger brother}} were both kind to Kreacher. As Hermione points out, House Elves take to and parrot the beliefs of those who are kind to them. When Harry listens to Kreacher's tale and is genuinely respectful, Kreacher begins to follow Harry's beliefs instead.
** If Sirius subverts this trope, Hermione and Harry play it straight. And Ron earns [[First Kiss|something special]] from Hermione when he finally figures it out in ''Deathly Hallows''.
** While we don't see Dumbledore interacting with the Hogwarts House Elves, the fact that he allowed Dobby to work as hired help rather than the usual no pay and no holiday arrangements (which other wizards and witches wouldn't even consider) and even suggested that Dobby insult him in private shows that he treats them well.
* In one of [[
{{quote|
** In another one, the [[Denouement]] hinges on the fact that Father Brown talks to the secretary, whereas the employer knows nothing about him besides his name.
** In yet another one, the villain's deception only works because his victims don't pay any attention to the waiters serving them. G K Chesterton was slightly fond of this trope.
* In [[Dan Abnett]]'s ''[[
{{quote|
* In the historical novel ''Betsy and the Emperor'', a British teenager is surprised to note that Napoleon Bonaparte, who is, as far as she's concerned, the scourge of Europe, is fair and decent towards slaves, allowing them to take a rest break before a noble prisoner is allowed the same privilege.
* In [[Dan Abnett]]'s ''[[Warhammer
* In [[
** Similiarly, Bertie realizes that Florence Craye truly is a [[Rich Bitch]] when he learns how mean she is to servants. According to Jeeves, her downstairs nickname is "Lady [[The Caligula|Caligula]]".
** Pretty much all of Bertie's friends respect Jeeves' competence and intelligence: Bingo Little regularly relies on Jeeves for help with his romantic problems, and Bertie's Aunt Dahlia invites Bertie to stay just to have access to Jeeves for her schemes. Bertie is (usually) the first to recommend Jeeves' advice & opinion, openly admitting that Jeeves is the brains of the pair - "the man practically lives on fish!"
* In [[Sandy Mitchell]]'s ''[[Warhammer
* In [[
** The Pevensies in general, considering that they're kings and queens and treat all of the other beings with respect.
** In ''[[The Horse and His Boy]]'', when Shasta and Bree find Hwin and Aravis, Bree and Hwin talk. Aravis demands to know why he's talking to her horse, not her. Bree points out that as Talking Horse, Hwin has as much right to speak of Aravis as her human. Aravis finds this unsettling.
Line 114 ⟶ 111:
** Various Calormene nobles are unpleasant to the lower classes, starting with the one who wants to [[Made a Slave|buy Shasta]]. Archland's and Narnia's nobles and royalty do much better.
** It's worth noting that Frank, the first king of Narnia, treated his horse as if it were a close friend. When Aslan made the horse intelligent and able to talk, Frank was thrilled, seeing it as proof that the horse was as smart (and well-bred) as he thought.
* In [[Graham McNeill]]'s ''[[Warhammer
** In [[James Swallow]]'s ''The Flight of the Eisenstein'', other Death Guards, having [[Good Is Old-Fashioned|jeered at Garro]] for [[Good Old Ways|following the old custom that preserved Kaleb's life]] as [[Old Retainer|his equerry]]
** In [[Graham McNeill]]'s ''Fulgrim'', Braxton is enraged that the primarch keeps him waiting, because keeping people waiting is what he does to other people, to demonstrate his superior status.
* In [[James Swallow]]'s ''[[Warhammer
* This is lampshaded in the ''[[Warhammer
* In [[James Swallow]]'s ''[[Warhammer
* In the Eric Flint novel ''[[1632|1633]]'', it's pointed out that, despite having previously been a very negatively portrayed [[Straw Character]], John Simpson and his wife are greatly respected by the working class people of Magdeburg because of their treatment of their underlings. Despite being a bit of a snob, Mary Simpson is commonly referred to as "The American Lady" because she is unfailingly courteous to her servants, where most 17th century nobles would ignore them completely.
** Likewise, in the beginning of the same novel, Cardinal Richelieu is noted to be very polite to his servants, repaying loyalty ''from'' them with loyalty in return.
* In the ''[[Vorkosigan Saga]]'' story ''Memory'', Miles chats with his servants and guards amiably. At one time he and a guard get a chance to exchange war stories(though Miles can only tell so much) and amuse themselves at impressing the guard's inexperienced brother like all veterans do to [[New Meat]]. In the course of the conversation Miles finds out that their mother is a [[Supreme Chef]] and hires her.
** In the [[Belisarius Series]], weapons designer John of Rhodes is noted as being the sort of man who's only rude to his social equals or superiors. There's also Kungas, whose character is revealed to Raghunath Rao when he walks into a room, swiftly assesses where he'll need to post guards, curtly gives his soldiers the orders to post those guards, and then leads them ''slowly'' and carefully across the room so they won't scuff the floor a servant was polishing just then.▼
**Ivan Vorpatril ends up ''marrying'' a store clerk. Of course that is not all she is but he did not know that when he first met her.
*** When Eon is being evaluated for the position of Emperor by the Axumite chiefs and warriors one of the most important things they ask is how he treated the servant girls. They all knew he was a notorious ladies man and didn't mind terribly; but what they wanted to know is if he had abused them or unduly pressured them because that was considered a sign of how he would treat his people. Eon passed with flying colors; he was intemperate with his servants but not unkind and that was what they wanted to know.▼
▲
* [[Geoffrey Chaucer (Creator)|Geoffrey Chaucer]] describes his knight as never having spoken rudely to anyone.▼
▲
* In [[Edgar Rice Burroughs (Creator)|Edgar Rice Burroughs]]'s ''[[John Carter of Mars|A Fighting Man of Mars]]'', Tan Hadron pledges to defend a slave who saw a kidnapping and says that what he has to say will not please someone prominent.▼
**Most of the good characters are more or less nice to the waiter and do various deeds showing it. Khusrau the Persian Emperor does this from long distance by not complaining when Roman soldiers tear up his palace looking for treasure-because they followed that promptly by tearing up an army invading the Persian Empire. One of the most notable incidents of niceness to lower status people is when Rajiv Sanga risks his life to give the low-status and unsoldierly gate guards a chance to surrender before his father's wrathful Rajput's come charging into the city.
**Bad guys of course are universally ''mean'' to the waiter. The tellingly named Venandekatra the Vile would be the least likable character if his evilness was not so [[Black Humor|grotesquely amusing.]] He absolutely insists that the most important thing in the world is for his servants to carry his sedan chair and if they fail that-even if they have to go fight a battle-they have demonstrated their utter wickedness and incompetence and must be impaled. He has enough wealth and power to entertain his lust with the best courtesans in India but what he really likes is grabbing dozens of village girls along the way and raping them until they are insane to please his own sadism. In the meantime he is an absolute coward and is frightened when he comes across anyone with status enough to not be frightened of him.
***Anyone on the bad guy side who is ever nice to the waiter in this series will sooner or later [[Defector From Decadence|defect.]]
▲* [[
▲* In [[
** In ''The Mad King'', the regent and his [[Mooks]] discuss how Von der Tann might have found out:
{{quote|
* In [[
** It's noticeable that Ridcully tends to be a lot nicer to the serving staff than he is to his fellow professors, possibly related to him growing up on the street himself.
*** It's probably also a commentary on the fact that he was originally appointed Archchancellor because after he finished school he went to live in the country, and they were expecting a bucolic halfwit who wouldn't make waves; he has shown a tendency to repay respect in kind, on both sides of the scale.
** Taken in an interesting direction with the Duchess in ''[[
** Subverted in ''[[
* In ''[[The Secret Garden]]'', Mary's mother wanted her out of the way, and the servants would just try to keep Mary quiet. As a consequence, she quickly learned tantrums and hitting to get what she wanted. Her uncle's servants do not treat her with deference, which helps in her [[Character Development]] from [[Spoiled Brat]].
** Mary also quickly takes a liking to Martha, Dickon, and their family, along with the gardener. Mostly this is because those are the people who are consistently around, while her uncle is never there. Even when she befriends Colin, she chooses to spend the day with Dickon instead of him at one point.
** Conversely Sara Crewe, heroine of the same author's ''[[A Little Princess]]'', treats the servants at Miss Minchin's with courtesy. When she's the school's "show pupil", she is kind to scullery maid Becky, realizing out loud, "We are just the same -- I am only a little girl like you. It's just an accident that I am not you, and you are not me." And later when she's relegated to the status of servant herself, even when the other servants verbally abuse her she responds with "a quaint civility":
{{quote|
** In one of the adaptations, even when she's a servant and starving, Sara gives her last bit of food to a starving family.
** In the Cuaron adaptation, Sara also promises to return and rescue Becky when she escapes from the boarding house.
* One of the Millers' most scandalous crimes in ''[[Daisy Miller]]'' is that they ''* gasp* '' actually treat their servant Eugenio like a human being instead of a piece of furniture! How could anyone be so ''vulgar?!''
* In [[
{{quote|
"Here's some water, drink this!" Uggug bellowed, emptying a jug of water over his head.
"Well done, my boy!" cried the Vice-Warden.'' }}
** [[Sylvie and Bruno]] chase after him to give him Bruno's
** And, in Carroll's ''[[
** This is taken to extremes in ''Through the Looking Glass'', where the White and Red Queen expect the newly-queened Alice to be so polite as to formally introduce herself to the dishes at her coronation banquet. She obliges for the first few, but eventually refuses on the grounds that they won't let her eat anything she knows personally and she's very hungry.
* Part of [[Ace Pilot|Wedge Antilles]]' [[Establishing Character Moment]] in ''[[X Wing Series|Rogue Squadron]]'' is his conscientiousness to his mechanic; he smiles and tells the mechanic that his X-Wing looks good as new if not better, putting aside private unease. The mechanic is a Verpine, and there are stories about Verpine mechanics tinkering with craft and forgetting that most pilots don't count in base six or have vision that lets them see microscopic detail. But none of the stories are substantiated. He's also sympathetic to his new astromech when it tells him that its [[Embarrassing Nickname|nickname]] is "Mynock" because a previous pilot said it screamed like one in combat, which was a slander.
** Played with amusingly in ''Wraith Squadron'', when Wedge shows up in a rather similar scene to look over twelve [[Shiny-Looking Spaceships|shiny new X-Wings]], and this time he's not the viewpoint character. This mechanic [[Blatant Lies|lies blatantly]], saying that these are the worst new ships he's ever seen - factory-new ships tend to have all kinds of untested irregularities - and unless he can pull off a miracle with the extruder valve, they won't be flight-ready for a couple of days. Wedge blinks and gives him those days, apparently completely ignorant of the fact that X-Wings have no extruder valve. He wanders around for a bit, making the mechanics uneasy and meaning that they can't go on break for fear of being written up; they retaliate by loudly telling each other about catastrophic mechanical failures in X-Wings and the resultant loss of life. After he finally leaves, they fix the minor problems and play sabacc. Overestimating the time makes them look good.
* In Aaron Dembski-Bowden's ''[[Warhammer
* In [[Patricia
* Mr. Weston doesn't treat Agnes like she's invisible just because she's a governess in ''[[
* In [[Robert E. Howard
** In "[[
** In "[[
* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[
* In "The Secret Sin of Septimus Brope," by Saki, there is the following exchange:
{{quote|
"Her name is Florinda."
"What an extraordinary name to give a maid!"
"I did not give it to her; she arrived in my service already christened."
"What I mean is," said Mrs. Riversedge, "that when I get maids with unsuitable names [[My Name Is Not Durwood|I call them Jane]]; they soon get used to it."
"An excellent plan," said the aunt of Clovis coldly; "unfortunately I have got used to being called Jane myself. It happens to be my name." }}
* In [[Josepha Sherman]]'s ''[[The Shining Falcon]]'', Ljuba is quite frustrated at how Finist is so concerned with the welfare of the peasants and other commoners.
* In ''[[The Courtship of Princess Leia]]'', Luke's adherence to this trope upsets and disturbs Prince Isolder.
{{quote|
'''Luke''': "What do you mean?"
'''Isolder''': "You--you're treating those beasts as equals. You show my mother, the Ta'a Chume of the Hapes empire, the same degree of cordiality as you give a droid!"
'''Luke''': "This droid, these beasts, all have a similar measure of the Force within them. If I sense the Force, how can I not respect them, just as I respect Ta'a Chume?" }}
* Amy Thomson's ''Through Alien Eyes'' has the ultra-wealthy Xaviera family require that all of their children work as servants for three days a week in part to foster this.
* In ''The Problem of Thor Bridge'', [[Sherlock Holmes]] benefits from this trope when one of his wealthy client's employees comes at the outset to warn him about the client's vindictive nature. Holmes even [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] it when he points out the insights one can get into a man's character when you see what his employees think of him.
* In the first book of the ''[[Villain Dot Net|Villain.net]]'' series, [[Villain Protagonist|Jake]] at one point gives up his chair to an older henchman of his [[Evil Mentor]] Basilisk's, helping solidify his status as an [[Anti-Villain]].
* Interestingly conversed and partially averted in [[
* In Sara Paretsky's ''Fire Sale'', readers are clued in fairly early that Billy, the youngest of the family that turns out to be the [[Big Bad]] (they own a Walmart-like corporation), is different from the rest of his family by how he treats the workers kindly and they all are happy to see him.
* In ''[[Beastly]]'', one of the signs that Kyle is becoming a better person is that he sees his maid and his tutor as his best friends. Also, the girl he falls in love with worked the ticket booth at prom at the beginning of the book (though he didn't think well of her at the time).
* In [[
* There is actually a heroic inversion in [[The Winds of War and War and Remembrance|''The Winds of War''.]] The hero, Victor Henry, is an American naval attache in Berlin when Warsaw falls to the Wehrmacht. The German flag is raised to celebrate the victory and everyone stands up for it except the Americans. They remain seated because they are neutral and do not wish to look like easy marks. The waiter serving them sees this and does his job in a slovenly manner. At which point, Victor bawls the waiter out, in [[Drill Sergeant Nasty|properly authoritarian naval fashion.]] The reason is that America's right not to celebrate a German victory. It is also America's right to have it's diplomatic personal served well assuming they pay for service. And Victor is not about to let them think he does not take [[Honor Before Reason|his country's dignity]] seriously.
== Live Action TV ==
* In the TV show ''[[Heat Of The Sun]]'', set in colonial Kenya, the hero (played by Trevor Eve), a detective, stands up for the indigenous Africans, shakes hands with black servants, etc., while his boss, a colonialist jerk, looks down on them.
* Subverted in ''[[Sex and
* George Costanza of ''[[
** Played with in another episode where Jerry, George, and Kramer visit LA. Jerry and George run into a guy who favors giving huge tips to the help, but he doesn't turn out to be such a good guy in the end. He's actually a serial killer.
* Played straight in an episode of the British sitcom ''[[
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMeJb6YbXsM "Sack him.... Why? Because we're very, very rich, that's why!"]
* Played with in an episode of ''[[3rd Rock
** Even better, he added a small amount of money to the tip after something went right, amongst all the times he took away from it.
** In another episode, the aliens attend a murder mystery dinner and, of course, think it's real. When they get the idea that [[The Butler Did It]], Tommy gets worried that he'll be the next victim because he was rude to the butler earlier.
* In ''[[
* ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'', while ''giving a eulogy at his father's funeral'' professes his belief that the test of a man's character is how he treats those whom he has total power over. He notes his complete lack of surprise that all the military officers present are his father's rank or higher, and tells the audience that his father failed the test, and that maybe if he had been a better father, House would have been a better son.
* One of the reasons for President Jed Bartlet's popularity with viewers of ''[[
** This is also true of all of his senior staff with the notable exception of Toby, who hates working with anybody who can't write up to his standards or annoys him in the slightest, and wants everyone to know it. He is, however, very protective of the ones who manage to stick it out. And interestingly, most of the baddies on the show seem to have very loyal staffs of their own.
* ''[[
* Like Sara in ''[[A Little Princess]]'', the Japanese drama ''[[
* [[The White Prince|Prince Arthur]] from ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' flip-flops with this in regard to Merlin. While he clearly assumes he's the superior and constantly insults and berates Merlin while Merlin's trying to do his job, he has shown that he cares about the common people and occasionally shows Merlin some measure of affection and respect. He's also willing to risk his life to protect or save Merlin without a second's thought.
* On ''[[Ghost Whisperer]]'', Delia declines a second date with a guy who completely freaks out and berates a waiter for spilling something on Delia (far more than the poor guy deserves). The date was otherwise perfect, but she explains that her mother always told her never to date a man who was rude to waiters.
* An episode of ''[[
** Previously, Will mentions playing the "Be Nice To Waiters" game. He says, "If you win, you get to not go to hell."
* In ''[[Doctor Who]]'', the Doctor usually goes out of his way to find the names of and be kind to the random people he meets on his travels. His companions are pretty good about this as well. In the second episode of the new series, Rose is thanked by an employee on a space satellite, because the former gave the latter permission to speak. Inversely we see that in an alternate universe, Jackie Tyler dismisses Rose's attempts to repair her failing marriage because "You're just staff!" Of course, given that Jackie and Rose had been getting along well previously, it could have been that she was embarrassed that a strange waitress was giving her marriage advice.
** And when it ''doesn't'' happen, it's noteworthy enough to be called out: see the late 10th Doctor episode "Midnight" and the stewardess of the tour shuttle he and several strangers are on.
* In the "[[
* In ''[[
* In the premier episode of ''[[Law and Order: Criminal Intent]]'', a criminal gives an insultingly small tip (measured in spare change) to a skycap when he picks an associate up at the airport. This comes back to bite him later when the cops come around and the skycap remembers him.
* Played with on ''[[Gilmore Girls]]''
* ''[[
* Happens in an episode of ''[[
* Used in ''[[
** Seemingly accidentally used with the main cast as well. [[Jerkass Facade|Barney]] is shown to usually be nice to his servers (he inevitably learns the names of his cabbies and converses with them like friends), while [[Bitch in Sheep's Clothing|Lily]] isn't (referring to a server by the wrong name after he told her his correct name, for example)
* Subverted in ''[[
* In ''[[
* In an episode of ''[[
* In ''[[Hustle]]'', the marks are invariably rude to waiters, the hired help, their own employees and anyone else lower than them on the social pecking order.
* Completely subverted in ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'' when it's revealed that Lucille has never even ''looked'' at a waiter in her life. This means that she doesn't notice when her own son is pretending to be a waiter at the restaurant she goes to.
** Not sure if that counts as a subversion for [[Manipulative Bastard|Lucille]].
* ''[[Downton Abbey]]''. Pretty much every person of nobility is considered decent if they treat their servants well.
* Played with in ''[[
* This trope is part of what made Ted Hoffman a good character on ''[[Murder One]]''. He never fails to be good to his staff at the firm, giving them generous bonuses at Christmas, paid vacation time and always making Them feel appreciated for Their work (Especially his assistant Louis). They in return are unflinchingly loyal and committed to him and look up to Him as a mentor and father figure (Which made Justine's betrayal more heartbreaking and Their reconciliation more uplifting).
* In ''[[
** Tywin Lannister has a few [[Pet the Dog]] moments with Arya Stark and treats her with a surprising amount of respect, though he does warn her to "be careful" when she steps over the line.
** Daenerys Targaryen treats her servants with a great deal of respect.
* Spectacularly inverted in the ''[[Hornblower (TV series)|Hornblower]]'' episode "The Wrong War". A French Royalist officer press-gangs a schoolmarm into waiting tables for him while making comments in her presence about how absolutely contemptible her lack of noble birth makes her, assuming the guests will consider it part of the entertainment. The British officers are [[Officer and a Gentleman|obviously disgusted]]: Hornblower, blurts out his indignation, while the more mission-sensitive Edrington contents himself with saying he is glad he is born noble, or in other words that he is glad he doesn't have to endure such things.
== Music ==
* There's a David Wilcox song called
* The Spoon song "The Underdog" addresses someone who pays no attention to their social inferiors, something that will lead to that person's downfall.
== Theater ==
* ''[[
* In ''[[
== Video Games ==
* This trope is used interestingly in ''[[Dragon Age:
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* ''[[
{{quote|
** And Zola admits that Gil treated her nicely even when she seemed just a chorus girl to him.
** In the [[The Film of the Book|Novel of the Comic]] Gil also treats Wooster, his valet/assistant, less formally than he should, such as giving him a cup of tea instead of expecting him to serve and stand back. He also shows genuine affection for Zoing, a construct servant. Gil in general treats subordinates better than one would expect [[Overlord, Jr.|the son of the dictator of Europe]] would.
** In contrast, the Jägergenerals relate how the Heterodynes always earned the trust of the Jägermonsters, hence their loyalty; Lucrezia, however, is shown to be very rude to the Jägers, who only serve her for Bill's sake. So when Lucrezia {{spoiler|turns out to be the Other}}, there's no fear that the Jägermonsters will join her.
** Also, it turns out {{spoiler|the librarians}} [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20160201 prefer Tarvek]. And in the world run by mad scientists, "knowledge is power" applies in more direct ways than usual.
* ''[[
* In ''[[
* In ''[[No Rest for The Wicked (
== Web Original ==
* In at least a couple of the [[Whateley Universe
** Ayla also has a good reason for it. If you aren't nice to the help, you'll end up without any help. And good work deserves good pay. It's just good business.
== Western Animation ==
* It is usually played straight with popular kids and Timmy in ''[[The Fairly
* ''[[
** Further driven home in the third season, where we see Zuko and Azula interacting with their respective servants. Zuko is unfailingly polite to his servants and they seem happy to work for him. Azula's servants are terrified of her (rightfully so) and she ''banishes one of them for leaving a pit in her cherries.''
*** In all fairness, [[What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?|she could have choked on the day of her coronation]].
* In "The Terrible Trio," an episode of ''[[Batman: The
* In ''[[
* Exaggerated and played for laughs in ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' episode "Mother Simpsons". The reason Homer thought his mother was dead for ''decades'' was because her weekly care packages were never delivered, on account of the fact that he didn't tip the mail carrier at christmas.
== Real Life ==
* CEOs call this the [http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2006-04-14-ceos-waiter-rule_x.htm Waiter Rule]. Humor columnist [[Dave Barry]] once wrote "A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person. This is exactly the form that Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson wrote it in his booklet ''Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management''. Swanson says that the Waiter Rule is the only one that never fails.
* Journalism schools teach their students to butter up secretaries, as they tend to be the gatekeepers for important people.
* Whether or not he's nice to them consistently isn't known, but [[
** One thing it would seem to illustrate is G.K. Chesterton's contention that those who are most extreme in their opinions are commonly the most pleasant in personal relationships. During their tenure, the two U.S. Senators with the best reputation for treating staff well were Teddy Kennedy and Jesse Helms.
* [[Adolf Hitler]]'s secretary, Traudl Junge (while admitting that Hitler was evil) said that he was "a pleasant boss and a fatherly friend". Since there are few -- if any -- [[Card-Carrying Villain
* Subversion: [[Winston Churchill]]. He is generally agreed to be a great leader, but he was ''[[Good Is Not Nice|terrible]]'' to his secretarial staff. On the other hand, he was genuinely affectionate to his childhood nanny.
** He should be, she practically ''[[Lonely Rich Kid|raised him.]]''
* The 2005 MTV show ''Boiling Point'', secretly set up people to see how long they could remain civil to people who were being unreasonable with them.
** An episode tested which of three college-age customers could remain at least civil with
* Prince Albert, husband of [[
* Caused a minor scandal during the 2004 US Presidential election when John Kerry called one of his Secret Service detail a SOB after the latter ran him over while they were snowboarding.
* [[Theodore Roosevelt]] - [[Memetic Badass|Roosevelt]] knew all the White House servants by name and when he visited the White House during Taft's term he looked up the servants who had worked for him and spent time catching up with them.
* [http://www.mentalhealthce.com/courses/contentCR/secCR16.html The "Waitress Test"] is used as one of the warning signs to see if someone is in an abusive relationship. The idea is that when a person starts dating an abuser, said abuser will treat the waitress, store clerks, and other such people the way that they will treat the person in six month's time.
** It's even more basic than that. Go on any website listing common dating dealbreakers, whether silly or serious in nature, and "was a dick to the waiter" will, without fail, be one of them.
* The biggest bunch of flowers at [[David Niven
* "Queen of Mean" Leona Helmsley was well known for her bitchiness to employees. She once refused to pay a thirteen thousand dollar bill to a contractor with six children, claiming that "If he kept his pants on, he wouldn't need the money" and making a waiter beg for his job after a drop fell on a cup saucer
* Burt Lancaster, although a [[Nice Guy]], tried something on his sets. He would complain about everything, sometimes very loudly and yet people still loved him and hated to see him go. He never understood it
Line 282 ⟶ 287:
* Former UK PM [[Margaret Thatcher]] (AKA "The Iron Lady"), while widely hated for her policies and attitudes, and feared by her colleagues and opponents, was apparently unfailingly and instinctively nice to the help, even once blurting out a "sorry" to a waitress who dropped a tray.
* It is a general rule held by many to be nice to the people who serve food. If they handle what you eat, [[Beware the Nice Ones|it's not a good idea to make them mad.]]
* On a similar note, if your pizza delivery guy is prompt and polite, tip him more than 50 cents. Delivery drivers tend to move even
* [[George Clooney]] has a reputation of being very good to the crews on his sets, to the point where he once got into a physical scuffle with a director who was being verbally abusive to a worker.
* Similarly, [[Keanu Reeves]] is known as an incredibly friendly person towards crew members. Stories have arisen of his incredible generosity, such as giving the stunt performers Harley Davidson motorbikes during the shoot of ''[[
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130921170244/http://notalwaysright.com/navy-seals-fate-is-sealed/8575 This] little interaction between a Navy Lieutenant and the waiting staff at a restaurant. Never has [[Laser-Guided Karma]] been so sweet to hear about.
* Uwe Boll, of all people, is apparently a surprisingly pleasant and undemanding guy to work for on set.
* Gangster [[Gonk|Lou]] "[[Ironic Nickname|Pretty]]" [[Affably Evil|Amberg]] was very nice to those who served him, often tipping one hundred dollars.
* Similar to the above example, [[Frank Sinatra]] was famous for tipping valets and porters in excess of 100 dollars. Keep in mind that this was at a time when someone working a job like that might make that much in a couple of WEEKS.
* [[George W. Bush]] is extremely personable and gracious to staff, as many wait staff in the DFW can attest. He likely learned it from [[George
* Historian E.H. Cookridge tells of a zig-zag by the Maharajah of Cooch Behar, a client monarch of [[The Raj]]. He was traveling on the [[Orient Express]] to a political conference in London. Along the route he behaved like a true [[Royal Brat]], straining the service with his obnoxious demands for luxury. But when he got to the end he gave the train captain a handful of treasure and told him,"Please give one of these gems to each of the good men who have obliged me and keep the rest..."
**What really impressed the Maharajah was the return journey where they ran out of lamb for his distinguished palette, and the train crew and stationmaster had to race to scrounge up a local butcher. Such ingenuity more then deserved a big tip.
* In the slightly obscure documentary series ''Secrets of War'' the season three episode ''British Secret Intelligence in World War II'' tells how a party of [[SOE]] infiltrators sneaked into a heavy-water factory and tied up a local Norwegian [[Les Collaborateurs|guard]] before wiring up their charge. The unfortunate sentry said in effect,"I can't stop you, but could you chill for a moment to get my glasses as glasses are kind of hard to get in Norway these days." So the raider stopped, found the guard's glasses, and after that lit off the charge.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]
[[Category:Morality Tropes]]
[[Category:
|