It didn't really make sense to me.

It seemed like they needed the help during the lunch and dinner rush.

There were those few times they showed rushes where it made sense to have them all three there, but overall, no. It was indeed too small for three of them to do waitressing.

I noticed that 2

I always wondered how that little dive made any money at all! :lol:

I can understand having three waitresses to rotate during an entire week. I mean, they need a day off here and there, but to have all three working at the same time seemed pointless. (Well, at least for sitcom purposes it wasn't)

I always wondered how that little dive made any money at all! :lol:
It was Mel's famous chili...not to mention Flo and her "goodie package".;) :lol:

Plus Waitress pay was very low in the 70's. So Mel couldn't have been paying
them much. You made most of your money in tips. But having 3 of them there
most of the time didn't make much sense.

Plus Waitress pay was very low in the 70's. So Mel couldn't have been paying
them much. You made most of your money in tips. But having 3 of them there
most of the time didn't make much sense.


Waitress pay is still low in 2007-lol

With all the customers in Mel's Diner, I'm surprized Mel was the only one working in the kitchen.

With all the customers in Mel's Diner, I'm surprized Mel was the only one working in the kitchen.


Well they had a HUGE GRILL and he was able to take care of multiple orders at once. Kind of reminds me of a place i go to on my way to work. On the grill he has a mountain of home fries, susage, and eggs so whenever someone makes an order he can just SCOOP up and pt on the plate

I agree, 80% of the time, the diner was half empty. But if I am not mistaken, wasn't the diner closed on Sunday?

Yeah, Mel mentioned that he closed the Diner on Sunday because the town was almost entirely deserted on Sundays.

I think it's a good number. Each waitress had a station that was rotated around every now and then: the bar, the tables, and the booths. Mel only paid them $2.90 an hour too, so I don't think there was much of a problem.

Ok, there were how many booths? three. How many stools? 4-5

There was no bar in Mel's Diner. There were also two tables.

Ok, there were how many booths? three. How many stools? 4-5

There was no bar in Mel's Diner. There were also two tables.
There were booths by all of the windows, and there were like three or four tables. The stools were at the bar (or counter, depending on what you call it).

Ok, last night's episode, I checked it out. They had 6 stools, two tables and three booths. That is not so much that all three waitresses are required to be there every single day. I can see a lunch rush or some other time when they get real hectic, but not every day they don't need to be there, all day long.

Also, most of the time, the booths are occupied by ONE person, not three or four as you would expect.

So yeah Brian, you are right, no need for them three to always be there. For example, last night's episode, Alice was in charge of the place and she was cooking, so that leaves the other two, however, Mel came back into the diner and he mentioned how dead it was. So why even have the two waitresses there? All those payroll hours, no wonder Mel was so cheap. :lol:

I think they MAY have worked different schedules at times. In the episode "The Odd Couple" when Flo moves in with Alice and is staying up all night, Alice says she has to be in early, and Flo mentions "I don't have to be in 'til 10." I guess occasionally they had varied schedules.

I think they MAY have worked different schedules at times. In the episode "The Odd Couple" when Flo moves in with Alice and is staying up all night, Alice says she has to be in early, and Flo mentions "I don't have to be in 'til 10." I guess occasionally they had varied schedules.
Yes, at times they did have different schedules. There were also many moments where all three of them seemed to have come in at the same time and left when it closed.

Ok, last night's episode, I checked it out. They had 6 stools, two tables and three booths. That is not so much that all three waitresses are required to be there every single day.

You also have to keep in mind that there is the "4th wall" in TV sitcoms, so there might have been more tables in the foreground that the home audience never saw.

;)

And remember, when Vera was setting the tap dancing record, we get to see the 4th wall- curtains, as she dances in the diner, past the payphone on the wall. You would think the producers would have insisted they build the set out a little further and not show the studio curtains.