Episode 141 · The GaS Digital / Ray Kump Era
The Big Booth (with Devan Costa)
with Devan Costa
Mar 31, 2019 · 1:26:28 · 18 segments, 157 moments indexed
- 2 min
Cold Open: The Service Industry Is the Service Industry
#Tim lays out his philosophy that the service industry exists to serve customers, drawing on his own years as an unreliable double-decker bus tour guide in New York where he refused to give tours and got punched by a Russian woman.
3moments
- 0:55The service industry is literally called the service industry—the definition of 'serve' doesn't leave room for interpretation.
- 1:18Tim worked as a tour guide on a double-decker bus in New York and would just play the automated recording instead of giving the tour himself.
- 1:50A Russian woman punched Tim in the stomach once during his time as a tour guide.
- 4 min
Tim introduces guest Devin Costa and guest producer Ben tells the story of Tim demanding the big corner booth at an empty Swingers diner, getting refused, and berating the waiter before storming out, leaving Ben to pay and apologize.
8moments
- 2:10Devin Costa is introduced as a funny guy with a YouTube channel.
- 2:28Tim explains how he's making new friends in Los Angeles as interim people until bigger things develop.
- 2:41Tim insists he and Louis J. Gomez want people to be their best, sometimes requiring a stern talking to.
- 3:01Ben, a Lyft driver, gets offended when Tim lashes out at people in the service industry.
- 3:45Tim and the group go to Swingers in West Hollywood, a shithole restaurant with empty tables.
- 4:06Tim requests the corner booth because he's a big guy and doesn't want to be cramped.
- 4:58Ben initially found Tim's behavior hilarious in the moment but now revises the story when telling others.
- 5:26They're now banned from the West Hollywood Swingers location but still go to the Santa Monica one.
- 4 min
Tim defends his outburst at Swingers by recounting his own history of being told he sucked at bad jobs, then tells a story about lecturing a frozen yogurt employee about not letting her job take her soul when she limited his sample cups.
9moments
- 5:40Tim walks into the diner and immediately complains the booth is too small for the three of them.
- 6:10Leo's mother supposedly told Tim she's proud her son is a role model like him.
- 6:48The diner host tells Tim he can't sit in that booth because it's reserved for parties of six or bigger.
- 7:10Tim tells the host "we're leaving" and orders Ben to get up from the booth.
- 7:21As they leave, Tim tells the host he'll be "working at a fucking diner when you're 40, you fucking loser."
- 7:44The confused diner host asks if Tim has Tourette's syndrome.
- 8:18Ben defends himself against listeners who might be angry or disappointed with how he handled the incident.
- 8:30Tim has had shitty jobs his whole life and people have regularly told him he's a fucking loser, so why should the diner staff expect better treatment.
- 9:05The diner was empty and Ben was going to spend a lot of money as a fat guy ordering for six people with good tips.
- 2 min
Tim connects his hatred of arbitrary rule-following to a broader philosophy about independence versus conformity, then tells stories about his gay uncle Stan who carries a fake seeing-eye dog with forged papers just to torment restaurant staff who ban him.
4moments
- 9:19Tim explains his philosophy on abusing people: only when he wants something from them and they won't help.
- 9:46Frozen yogurt shop incident where Tim was sampling multiple flavors and a worker told him he'd maxed out his sample cups.
- 10:36Tim tells the worker not to let the job take her soul and not to become a corporate enforcer of fascist policy.
- 10:53The sample cup limit is a fascist policy from 16 Handles, according to Tim.
- 2 min
Tim's mother calls mid-podcast from what is implied to be a mental institution, leading to a bit about her not understanding what podcasting is and a riff about Long Island comics performing shows there.
7moments
- 11:04Tim describes the pre-9/11 mentality where nobody cared—you could ride the Long Island Railroad without a ticket and no one would stop you.
- 11:22Tim explains his philosophy: he tips well, compensates people fairly, and just wants help getting what he wants without being treated like an animal.
- 11:40His uncle Stan has been banned from multiple restaurants and still goes places anyway.
- 11:57Stan is an eighty-year-old man who doesn't seem eighty and still works in his garden constantly.
- 12:11Stan uses the fake service dog papers to tell people they can't make him leave—his way of having power over places that would reject him.
- 12:36Stan brings the fake service dog into restaurants just because he likes having the dog with him.
- 12:56Stan talks to waiters about their sex lives, calls them losers, and genuinely makes people hate his guts.
StanHomeland SecurityLong Island Rail RoadBridget Bardot
- 4 min
Tim reads a lengthy Facebook post he wrote about his proudest high school moment: dining and dashing on a rude waitress at TGI Fridays and running an elaborate fantasy about her redemption arc into a successful real estate agent.
6moments
- 13:13Devin explains growing up in LA around his father's aspiring screenwriter friends and how that shaped his view of what success meant.
- 14:22Tim's mother calls during the recording, asking about people from her mental institution.
- 15:21Tim complains about his mother's refusal to understand that podcasting is important and worth her not interrupting.
- 16:00Discussion of Long Island comics performing at state-run mental institutions because that's where their careers are at.
- 16:38Tim explains being seated by the kitchen in fancy restaurants as Long Island trash, getting hit by kitchen doors while eating expensive food and drinking martinis.
- 17:25Tim concludes that having the shittiest table in the nicest restaurant is a better place to be in life than other alternatives.
- 7 min
Devin and Ben push back on Tim, arguing he displays entitlement by expecting service at empty restaurants, leading to a debate about whether Tim's anger at the Swingers waiter was justified and whether expecting more from the world makes you give more.
12moments
- 17:33Tim's philosophy: be at the worst table in the best restaurant, not the best table in the worst one.
- 18:20There's an unspoken agreement between customer and server that requires independence and breaking arbitrary rules.
- 18:36Tim compares blind rule-following by service workers to historical atrocities, equating a table policy to genocide.
- 19:08He's not abusing people in lower stations—he's abusing the idea of conformity and the lack of genuine human relationships.
- 19:20Louis J. Gomez gets angry at workers because he wants them to succeed; most people out here don't care.
- 19:47Abuse Tim took in shitty jobs actually helped him; he shouldn't blame his circumstances on others.
- 20:21In 11th grade, Tim and friends orchestrated a dine-and-dash at TGI Friday's to punish a rude waitress.
- 21:17Tim hopes the waitress learned that the world doesn't bend to accommodate you and became better because of it.
- 23:04When you walk into a restaurant and spend money, you deserve a level of service—why is that entitlement?
- 24:17Tim asks his guest if he's accomplished anything besides quitting drinking, then suggests expecting more from the world leads to giving more.
- 24:45When Tim's set is 85% good but a joke or two don't land, he's angry because the audience paid and he feels he let them down.
- 24:56Even when people tell him they had a great time, he's upset they didn't have the even greater time they should have had.
Louis Jay GomezFriday'sApplebee'sRuby Tuesday's
- 5 min
Tim argues that voicing disapproval is better than silently never returning to a business, drawing on his uncle's philosophy about complaints versus quiet abandonment, and reflects on why he never just accepts what's given to him in life.
8moments
- 25:59Tim's uncle, a major figure in New York restaurants, says he'd rather customers complain and return than silently walk out never to come back.
- 26:30Tim questions who benefits from silently walking away instead of voicing disapproval.
- 27:00Tim argues that being told he sucked at comedy was essential to his improvement, and he's grateful for the critical feedback.
- 27:39If nobody had told him he was failing, he wouldn't have gotten better—indifference now means failure.
- 28:16Tim refuses to just accept whatever he's given; he wants what he wants and is willing to work for it.
- 28:57Without a vision for what you want something to be, you're just living someone else's life.
- 29:13Devin points out Tim skipped the arguing part and immediately attacked the waiter instead of asking why they couldn't sit in a bigger booth.
- 29:48Tim notes the restaurant was nearly empty at an off time, with one customer way in the back and multiple large booths available.
- 5 min
The group dissects the confused waiter's reaction (asking if Tim has Tourette's), whether Ben reads as gay, and Tim insists his outburst wasn't about feeling superior to the working-class waiter but about refusing arbitrary rules.
9moments
- 30:00Tim realizes the waiter was probably just having a rough day too.
- 30:34The waiter asked if Tim has Tourette's after being snapped at.
- 31:20Michelle later returned to the diner and the waiter told her a customer had flipped out on him for no clear reason.
- 31:42Tim's companion apparently gets mistaken for gay by most people they meet.
- 32:19Tim explains his actual reason for engaging with the waiter: he doesn't feel superior to him.
- 32:42Tim says he talks to Uber drivers and doesn't feel above any human being on earth.
- 33:07The reason the conflict happened: if the waiter had explained his manager's rules like a human being, Tim would have accepted it.
- 33:53Tim describes what the waiter should have said instead: honest acknowledgment that his manager was the real problem.
- 34:15The waiter gleefully enforced an arbitrary rule like the Nazis did, rather than relating to Tim as a person.
- 8 min
Devin describes his miserable graveyard-shift bakery delivery job under a militant boss, which launches Tim into a rant about trust-fund socialists who despise work and family, contrasted with immigrants who make good money doing home health aide work.
13moments
- 34:29Tim worked the graveyard shift at a bakery in L.A., packing and delivering bread from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. for two years.
- 34:53The job destroyed his health due to stress and strict time constraints; he quit after his Israeli boss turned out to be a militant psychopath.
- 35:27Tim believes people should be treated with basic humanity and explained why, not dismissed outright.
- 35:59Stealing money from a mean waitress in 11th grade was absolutely the right thing to do, and he'd do it again tomorrow.
- 36:48Tim insists he believes in people's greatness, even when they disappoint him at places like Fridays.
- 37:12Applebee's Friday's has soft, garlicky breadsticks, an amazing three-for-all meal, and once had the Jack Daniel sandwich as a top fast-casual option.
- 37:47Friday's was founded by someone now running his uncle's restaurant group and invented cocktail hour—it's a legendary spot, not Denny's.
- 38:47His girlfriend, a waitress at Hillstone Houston's, cons her tables by making them feel like her best friend to take them for all they're worth.
- 39:47Socialists whose parents are multimillionaires loathe work and workers because every job and boss they've had was horrible.
- 40:33There's a way out of shitty jobs for many people; attitude and perspective determine whether your life is good or ruined.
- 41:31Tim challenges socialists to explain what exactly they want to spend their lives doing if they hate work, family, and hierarchies.
- 42:09Rich kids whose parents finance their lives don't understand the pride of figuring something out on your own—that's what gives life meaning.
- 42:25Without the ability to achieve things through your own effort, what is the point of anything or any reason to try at all?
- 6 min
Tim rants about people who took on student debt for degrees with no value and now demand a custom-designed dream job, citing John Mulaney's House Hunters joke and quoting economist Thomas Sowell on trade-offs versus solutions.
10moments
- 43:21Tim on college debt: nobody told you to take out a loan and study gender for four years at Wesleyan.
- 44:02West Indian immigrants made money by becoming home health aides, wiping elderly people's asses and earning $70-80k a year.
- 44:46Tim argues wiping someone's ass does more good than any BuzzFeed quiz, tweet, or Sanders rally speech.
- 45:39Plumbers and electricians Tim knows made far more money than friends waiting for dream jobs in stimulating environments.
- 45:59College is a fucking scam; people $150k in debt for useless degrees take their rage out on everybody else.
- 46:24Tim lost a house on a sham mortgage and did cocaine, but doesn't walk around blaming everyone else for his stupid decision.
- 46:38Student loans with worthless degrees are equivalent to subprime mortgages.
- 46:55Everyone wants a custom job that checks all their boxes instead of accepting reality.
- 47:28Thomas Sowell quote: there are no solutions, only trade-offs in life and policy.
- 48:06Raising taxes to help people may stifle innovation, but it's a trade-off you might have to make anyway.
Thomas Sowellcollegestudent debtBuzzFeedWesleyan
- 4 min
Tim and Devin mock the trend of comedians opening sets by listing their anxiety and depression meds, contrasting genuinely mentally ill comics like Maria Bamford with well-off performers using confessional trauma as a persona.
11moments
- 48:21Tim argues America is so good that people expect everything delivered without effort.
- 48:43Tim asks whether sociopaths are demeaned in this country.
- 48:56Tim admits he has sociopathic tendencies and people constantly tell him that's bad.
- 49:20Every comic now opens their set by rattling off their medication list.
- 49:43Tim describes a comic making four thousand dollars a week at a show no one watches, then complaining about anxiety and depression on stage.
- 50:13If someone took a list of top comics seriously and went to see him, he'd get on stage to tell them how anxious and depressed he is.
- 50:31Tim says he would immediately suppress those feelings if he had that kind of money coming in.
- 51:05How many regular people throughout the country can relate to a comic's therapy talk?
- 51:26Tim suspects white comedians without real stories use mental illness to claim victimhood.
- 51:37Maria Bamford is a genius because she has real mental illness.
- 51:47Comics claiming anxiety probably shouldn't be on stage at all.
- 3 min
Tim riffs on comedians treating sets as therapy versus real adversity, then pivots to a new study showing a sharp rise in young people not having sex, floating porn and abortion-as-personality as causes.
8moments
- 52:34Tim argues that new comedians shouldn't do confessional material—comedy should be about making the crowd happy, not working through your own shit on stage.
- 53:04Tim imagines trying to explain an open mic to someone in a bombed-out Syrian hospital, comparing comedians complaining about bombing to real adversity.
- 53:29Some people get paid a lot of money to share their thoughts and they're still not happy.
- 53:50Tim says he doesn't have kids because he thought a family would get in the way of his career.
- 54:06A new study shows a massive decline in people under 30 having sex, possibly lower than any previous time measured.
- 54:56Tim identifies porn as a major factor in the sex recession, and discusses other reasons young people aren't having relationships.
- 55:17Tim jokes that comedians now open with 'I'm on antidepressants' and close with 'but I killed a baby.'
- 55:38Tim clarifies he's pro-choice and believes abortion should be legal, but he's not comparing it to flushing a toilet.
- 6 min
Devin discusses being warped by childhood exposure to internet porn and how curated Instagram images make people hold out for an unattainable 'perfect' partner instead of dating real humans, with a detour into gay dating norms and body modification.
11moments
- 55:48It's easier to be distracted nowadays; fucking used to be the goal, now it's cooler to think about than do it.
- 56:14Study shows 23% of people aged 18-29 reported no sex in the past year, doubling from 2008 to 2018.
- 56:41Online culture and internet communities are replacing in-person social interaction and sexuality.
- 57:08Podcasts function as friendship simulators—you get a friend whenever you want, paused or rewound, with no risk of being exposed as a fraud or idiot.
- 57:42He couldn't do emotionless sex; even casual Tinder hookups felt gross because he'd already dislike the girl before finishing.
- 58:11Internet porn was everywhere as a kid—watching bukkake scenes at eleven ruins any chance of a normal sexual life.
- 58:26Tim and a friend stole a Chasey Lane VHS in sixth or seventh grade and would watch it occasionally.
- 58:56Instagram models and perfect images everywhere make people hold out for an idealized person instead of dating actual humans.
- 59:38In the gay world, emotionless sex is more normalized and all kinds of arrangements are acceptable.
- 1:00:29Tim realized his brain was wired by porn to obsess over physical features—big tits, hair, lips—while ignoring the cute girl in the corner.
- 1:01:04He started jerking off to music videos as a kid, couldn't separate sexuality from manufactured images.
Instagram modelsChasey Lane
- 8 min
At a Beverly Hills restaurant, Tim watches two American Idol/The Voice alumni harmonizing pop songs over smoking shellfish towers, and his friend Michelle nearly interrupts them by pretending to be triggered as a rape survivor.
11moments
- 1:01:20At a Beverly Hills restaurant, two guys are singing top 40 pop while harmonizing during dinner service.
- 1:01:34Beverly Hills is a mausoleum where everybody looks embalmed from plastic surgery.
- 1:02:16Tim's friend asks the waiter how long the entertainment portion will last.
- 1:03:04The waiter reveals both singers appeared on The Voice and American Idol, which is presented as deeply tragic.
- 1:04:06Ocean Prime uses dry ice on their shellfish tower so it smokes like a Harry Potter potion when served.
- 1:05:03The singers harmonize while plumes of dry ice smoke pass them as diners shove lobster in their faces.
- 1:06:01Michelle suggests walking up to the singers and claiming she was raped to interrupt their performance.
- 1:06:47Tim stops Michelle from doing the bit because he frequents the restaurant and didn't want to burn the place.
- 1:07:20The singers would expect a compliment but instead would hear Michelle say she was brutally raped while Michael Jackson songs triggered her.
- 1:08:24Tim reflects on people telling him certain comedy topics shouldn't be joked about and whether it ever changes a comedian's mind.
- 1:08:58Tim had a friend who got an inoperable tumor at 27 and died seven months later, and they all laughed about it at the time.
Ocean PrimeBeverly HillsThe VoiceAmerican IdolAaron CarterMichael JacksonJesse McCartneyJonas Brothers
- 5 min
Devin explains how he started making parody videos after Joe Rogan retweeted his first one, and Tim praises him for making genuinely funny sketch content instead of chasing the goofy, low-effort YouTube/Vine kid-influencer formula.
7moments
- 1:10:01Devin started making videos as a parody of Joe Rogan's podcast a year out of high school, and Rogan retweeted his first one.
- 1:10:42Tim distinguishes Devin from typical YouTube content creators who chase views with goofy, low-effort material aimed at kids.
- 1:11:28Devin explains he wanted to make the best thing he could rather than optimizing for the YouTube algorithm's preference for quantity.
- 1:12:08Tim notes that Devin's multi-minute sketches are genuinely funny, which is rare in a medium that rewards constant low-effort posting.
- 1:12:39Social media culture rewards appearing not to try, using lowercase letters and janky production values that feel more authentic than polished work.
- 1:13:17Tim missed the window when Andy Samberg and Kyle Mooney were getting views on YouTube with quality comedy before the platform shifted toward cartoon content and attractive kids jumping on beds.
- 1:13:40Tim discusses the Bieber phenomenon and YouTube creators trading on their looks, though some successful ones aren't even conventionally attractive.
YouTubeJoe RoganAndy SambergKyle MooneyCameron Dallas
- 9 min
Tim contrasts unboxing-video influencer culture with true jaw-dropping talent like Tina Turner and Sebastian Maniscalco, lamenting that audiences no longer feel awe and instead only respect people who 'figured out' marketing and algorithms.
12moments
- 1:14:13Tim on the toxic positivity angle of modern creators: 'believe in yourself, be happy, I care about you, I would hug you if I could legally do it.'
- 1:14:40How bad is it out there that people spend their time watching other people unbox gadgets and open gifts?
- 1:15:24Tim's love of live albums—Springsteen, Tina Turner, Rolling Stones, Phil Collins—and the energy they capture in a stadium setting.
- 1:16:02Tina Turner as an alien: the level of talent so extraordinary that even Mick Jagger watched her to understand what greatness looks like.
- 1:17:05At a Tina Turner concert, nobody in the audience believes they could do what she does; she exists in a different category of human.
- 1:18:14Modern obsession with relatability: audiences want to feel like the artists they consume, not be in awe of something untouchable.
- 1:19:06Broadway and theater in New York versus LA: in New York, you see genuinely talented people dying unknown in apartments; in LA, you see millionaires helicoptering in.
- 1:20:06People are now intimidated by genuine talent; they don't want to be challenged or think about why someone might be better than them.
- 1:20:31Modern TV writing has disappeared entirely—an episode now is just 'we wanted to go to the park but it rained, so we're not going out.'
- 1:21:18There's no awe anymore; if you stand back amazed by something, people treat you like a loser instead of someone having a religious experience.
- 1:21:43When people recommend someone now, they explain the marketing strategy instead of describing the actual talent or experience.
- 1:22:18'He figured it out' has replaced actual talent as the descriptor; people mistake successful marketing for genuine ability.
Tina TurnerBruce SpringsteenSebastian ManiscalcoB.B. KingMick JaggerPhil CollinsThe Rolling Stonestalent and artistry+4 more
- 3 min
Tim gives Devin's YouTube and social handles, plugs his own tour dates, Gas Digital subscription, and asks listeners to rate and review before closing out the episode.
8moments
- 1:23:33Devin's social media handles: YouTube and Twitter at Devin Costa, Instagram as Devin Trill Costa.
- 1:24:02Tim directs listeners to subscribe to Tim Dillon's Going to Hell on YouTube and rate the podcast on iTunes.
- 1:24:18Tour dates announced: Roar Comedy Club in Springfield, Laugh Boston, Dead Girl Comedy Club in Wilmington, Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, Stress Factory in New Jersey, and Side Splitters in Tampa.
- 1:24:43Local New York and LA dates are primarily posted on social media as last-minute bookings rather than on the website.
- 1:24:58Patreon subscription at Gas Digital provides two years of show archives, Legion of Skanks, and Part of the Problem for six to seven dollars a month.
- 1:25:20This episode is audio-only because Tim is in LA working on video capability for future shows.
- 1:25:47Tim's Instagram and Twitter handle is TimJDillon, and he encourages listeners to tweet at him about the podcast.
- 1:26:09Tim acknowledges that promoting the podcast through retweets and social media engagement is part of living in hell, but asks listeners to share it because it's funny.