TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

It's the constant worry of working mothers everywhere: What's Junior up to when I'm not around? But not for Erica Lucero, who came up with a brilliant solution. She just brings her teens to work with her, and has them bus her tables while they're there.

But before anyone places a concerned call to Child Protective Services, Lucero's 16-year-old daughter assures us that it's by choice that she and her brother are at Mom's side weekends at Milt's Coffee Shop. And being a co-worker has given Justice Lucero the unique perspective of witnessing her mother on the job. Her takeaway? Mom is a great waitress but an even better person.

"We all know that serving is not a glamorous job filled with perks and excitement, but my mom loves her job," wrote Justice in the nomination of her mother as best server in Bakersfield. "She is more than just a waitress at a little coffee shop in Oildale."

Take, for instance, the time that Lucero saw a woman and a young girl sitting in the restaurant for hours, looking lost and in need of help.

"One of the other customers bought their lunch," Lucero remembered. "The lady said she was stuck there and trying to get a bus ticket home to Oregon or Washington, to get her granddaughter home."

Concerned, Lucero discovered the pair had come to Bakersfield -- their clothes crammed into a Vons shopping bag -- for a court date for the woman's son, who was subsequently taken into custody. They had driven down in a truck, but it had been impounded.

"When I went to call my husband to ask him if we could pay for this woman's ticket, I just started crying."

Lucero dug deep and came up with $40 to $50, and with the help of another tender-hearted server, they were able to get the pair on a bus bound for home.

"I feel really blessed in life. On a couple of different incidents, if someone comes in and they're hungry and if I have extra money, me and the other girls will chip in and buy someone's food."

You get the sense from Lucero that the crispy chicken-fried steak isn't Milt's only specialty. There's plenty of kindness at the coffee shop as well, and Lucero is quick to point out that it starts at the top, with owner Mark Huggs, and his dad, Milt, the restaurant's namesake. It's a family operation, which extends to the staff.

"Mark and Milt and my manager, Denise, know who Erica is. At a corporate store, you're just a Social Security number."

And Lucero would know, having worked at a few chains in her 16 years waiting tables. In fact, it was at a Denny's in Barstow where she met her eventual husband, Frank, a cook. She was waiting tables and he was cranking out plates of Moons Over My Hammy. At some point, under the heat lamp, they fell in love.

"We moved out here after we were married," said Lucero, 36. "I really like Bakersfield and my husband likes Bakersfield, so we bought a house and raised our kids here."

After a stint driving a GET bus, Lucero walked into Milt's one day eight years ago and has been there ever since, expanding her family to include her co-workers and regulars.

"We go to (customers') weddings and baby showers because we see them every day. Milt's has been a good thing for me, and I hope I've been a good thing for Milt's."

So what's the secret to being so beloved? Lucero knows her limits. She's never been one of those server savants who can remember complicated orders without jotting anything down.

"I've seen a server be able to do that, a party of six with no paper, and I'm like, 'Good for you.' It's pretty impressive, I'm not going to lie."

But the most invaluable lesson Lucero has learned is how to remain chipper in the face of a grumpy taskmaster.

"I have to tell you that sometimes when people have a crappy attitude you can take it two ways: You can be, 'Oh, my God' or you can kill them with kindness. You have it within your power how you're going to take it.

"If someone is really crappy and you want to strangle them, you have to turn around and say, 'You know what? That's somebody's grandparent.' But if you walk up with a bad attitude, that's how you're going to be received."

As for her favorite customers, Lucero won't name names, but she knows the type she prefers.

"They have to be funny. A big tipper? That helps.

"But sometimes you'd rather have a laugh than a buck in your pocket."