Coral

A little off topic, but one thing I didn't think about until years after the show ended was that before Diane's arrival - Carla was the only waitress working at the bar (although I can't remember if they mentioned another waitress leaving before the show's timeline). And while Diane was employed, Carla complained to Sam a few times that Diane doesn't seem to do much waitressing (she usually just sat reading a book). But when Diane left, Carla was the lone waitress again. I think I remember them looking for a second waitress to replace Diane (and even hiring one temporarily that didn't work out), but that was the last we heard about it. Carla wound up being the lone waitress post-Diane.

Josh-da-man

That can probably be chalked up to Cheers being a half-hour sitcom. There wouldn't really be room in the show for more waitresses. Carla's primary function seemed to be to antagonize the rest of the cast (Cliff, mostly) and Diane was a romantic foil for Sam. When Diane left, Rebecca filled the romantic foil role in a different way. By that point, the main cast was already up to seven, so there really wasn't room for a second regular waitress.

I don't remember if they ever had extras waiting tables in the background or not, like the random patrons that sat at tables and never spoke.

Decker

Norm never paid his bar tab, at least until Rebecca's company bought the bar. How much did Norm stiff Carla on tips over the years? No wonder she hated him.

Fist of Doom Jr

Why would he tip Carla? He always bought his drinks at the bar.

milo bloom

Now I'm interested in rewatching the show to see how their floor operations work. Is it streaming anywhere?

Coral

They never did. I only remember Sam trying to hire a new waitress and Carla getting pissed off that Sam was trying to hire attractive ones. She wanted only qualified waitresses who Sam didn't get into a relationship with to avoid a repeat of Diane. And I think that's the last we heard of them trying to hire another waitress. I would think that would be a good thing for Carla - it would be a little more work, but she would get all the tips at least.

Yeah, Norm/Cliff had no reason to tip Carla - she never had to bring them drinks. Plus, I don't think Carla hated Norm (at least more than anyone else) - but she didn't like Cliff... but then again, no one really liked Cliff - they just put up with him.
Cliff was definitely a different character very early in the show.

movieguru

Assuming that a bar is open from 12pm to midnight and 2 am on weekends, that's 88 hours of labor you would need for each bartenders and waitresses if you needed those positions filled all the hours the bar was open not including any overlap. Sam and Woody/ Coach overlapped quite a bit just as Carla and Diane did.

Norm had a white collar, mostly 9 to 5 job with similar hours to Cliff as a mail man, but Cliff may have gone to work a little earlier and got off earlier as well as he was usually in the bar before Norm got there. So, most of what we saw on the show would have happened later in the evening on weekdays or on the weekends. Maybe what we saw happened during those hours and he had other bartenders and wait staff during the other hours that we just never saw. It's not possible for Carla to be working 88 hours a week, nor is it likely for Sam or the other bartenders. I feel like there were some other waitstaff in some of the other episodes that just didn't have speaking lines. I seem to recall during a few opening scenes, you could see Carla and another waitress waiting tables in the background while the camera panned towards Sam at the bar talking to one of the regulars.

So, it's possible they had other employees working there at times, they just weren't important to the plot so they were either not seen or didn't have any speaking parts. You could also assume that Cheers has another entrance, even if never shown, as there are several scenes that show wheelchair bound patrons in the bar who would have been unable to get down the steep stairs even with assistance. Also, fire laws would have required them to have a second point of egress in case of an emergency.

GoldenJCJ

It’s funny to think that there was another side of the week with a completely different staff at Cheers.

Maybe that’s a good idea for a sequel (side-quel) series. Cheers: The Waking Hours.

Troy Stiffler

Holy shit. Now do Night Court.

story

Some of you appear to think this is the Marvel Bullpen and you can earn yourself an 80s TV No-Prize!

Superman07

I think you mean Day Court!

I wasn’t an ardent Cheers viewer (too young), but recall seeing reruns. I really knew her from Star Trek II. I’m honestly not sure I knew Savik was supposed to be half Romulan. Interestingly, I always preferred Robin Curtis’ portrayal of the character.

Thos19

I've been taught that at the bar you tip a buck a drink if you pay as you go. 15-20% if you settle a tab at the end of the night.

Noonan

That would go to the bartender though, not a waiter/waitress.

Decker

You don't think Sam shared his tips with Carla?

Coral

He shared his tip with a lot of women, but I don't think he ever did with Carla.

Paff

Sam would only get tips the 2 and a half seasons he wasn't owner. You don't tip the owner of the establishment as they make money on every drink sold already.

Decker

So if you came to Cheers every day, drank beers he poured you all day, every day, you'd feel fine about paying your tab and not tipping anything? Because he owns the bar?
(BTW, Thread drifting from remembering Kristie Alley to discussing what to tip Carla and Sam is maybe my favorite DVD Talk tangent ever)

T-bone22

Norm was one of the few people that Carla did not hate.

T-bone22

There was an episode where Sam hires a waitress to replace Diane. She was the perfect waitress and had a hot daughter that Sam could not resist going after, despite Carla being pissed that it would probably end badly.

T-bone22

Sam would split the bar tips with Coach/Woody. Carla made her own tips at the tables.

movieguru

One thing to remember is that after Dianne left, Rebecca started working there. So, with Rebecca there managing the bar, there would still be four employees there at one time which is the same as when Dianne had worked there. Rebecca would have taken away some of the duties that Sam had performed previously so that would have freed up Woody or Sam to help with waiting tables if Rebecca didn't also assist with that as well.

On a side note, Cliff would have been in violation of postal regulations for consuming alcoholic beverages while wearing a postal uniform even if he was off duty at the time.

Michael Corvin

I just did a rewatch earlier in the year. Rebecca's first year was probably Cheer's roughest year. Wasn't a bad season, but was very uneven and easily the weakest. It's like they didn't know what to do with Rebecca & Sam. Fortunately they adapted and the show improved.

That aside it's a shame she went off the deep end the last few years.

movieguru

He also hired this waitress at one point......

Josh-da-man

Cheers was a half-hour sitcom. Thinking about things like how the bar was staffed are kind of pointless. It's a sitcom based around a core cast in a (mostly) bottled locale; when you're watching you're not supposed to think about what happens when the cameras aren't. Yeah, sometimes Woody will probably be the only bartender in there. There also might be another part-time bartender who works afternoons. And there are probably a lot of nights where Norm, Cliff, Paul, and Frasier just sit around drinking the beer and watching ballgames while Sam, Coach/Woody, and Carla serve them with nothing interesting happening.

And, speaking of other waitresses, I kind of remember an episode where Carla's daughter needed a job and Sam let her wait tables for tips only because they couldn't budget for another waitress.

story

Love all those deleted scenes of the dishwasher staff upstairs at Mellville's.