I was scheduled off Saturday night, but I need money so I picked up. The guy I covered for had scored ducats to something and really wanted to lose the shift. He feels like I did him a favor and I don't think I'll disabuse him of that perception. He usually closes, so I closed. It was my first weekend night closing here.
I rolled in a couple of minutes before five. The shift change had been approved, but of course it hadn't been put in the computer so it was kind of a big ordeal to get me clocked in and able to ring stuff up.
After I got that out of the way, I was ready to get sat. In my station. Not somewhere way on the other side of the building. But the hosting professional had seated a ninetop of women way on the other side of the building. In a station assigned to a server who hadn't arrived yet, wasn't even scheduled 'til 5:30.
My hostess started explaining to me how things work and why she "had" to seat them there. I already know how things work and I don't give a fuck why she had to seat them there. I'm all about taking care of business. I hate rudeness, but I cut off her dissertation mid-sentence. "What do you need me to do?"
I picked up the nine. The hosting professional said she'd try to not seat my actual station while I had the party if she could help it. My ladies were nice, and surprisingly low-maintenance, so when their food had been delivered and I'd done a checkback, I told the door whore that I could handle a duece or two in my real station if she needed me to. She sat me three twotops in rapid succession.
That was a little more than I'd volunteered for, but I managed to hang in with it OK. I gave my nine ladies their six separate checks. Cool. I almost had them out of the way and would be able to give my full attention to my actual station. On my way to the register to run the credit cards, I glanced at my station and saw that my sixtop had been sat. FUCK!
Couldn't the seating coördinator have consulted me? Couldn't the customers have been held off for five minutes? I asked my "zone buddy" to greet the table and get a drink order. She did. I dropped the vouchers and some inkpens for my ladies, made the bevies for table 28 and was finally caught up.
About as caught up as possible at this place anyway. Working here is a lot like having a server nightmare while you're awake. I waited on lots of people that night and they all seemed to be at least reasonably happy.
Everybody tipped pretty well. My last table of the evening was a sixtop of young guys, average age about 19. They were pretty nice, so I wasn't expecting real shitty tips from them, but I wasn't anticipating more than 15% either. But they tipped great! I must of gotten at least seven dollars apiece from them. Then I had a lot of closing stuff and cleaning up to do.
We close at eleven on Saturdays. I clocked out at 12:30 or so. My sales were around $600. I walked with about $110 after tipout. It's the first, and so far only, time I've broken a benjamin at this place. I've worked here about two months.
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If anybody has any comments, feel free to leave 'em. I'd especially like to know how your Saturday night was, and/or if you think I should of capitalized the word "benjamin." Have a good one everybody!
Nice job Joe - before tipout that is 20 percent. Sweet.
ReplyDeleteI swear I laughed out loud at "door whore." All those years in the business and I have never heard it. Very funny. :)