Before I serve ya the delicious entree that is this episode of These American Servers™ , I'm going to drop off an appetizer of a disclaimer at the computer that is metaphorically your table. It concerns the fact that I've been kind of slack about creating new episodes of my little internet column here. When I was a young boy, my grandmother always used to say, "If yer gonna have a server blog, you need to post something on it from time to time." She said that a lot and she never said anything else. I'm pretty sure it's what ultimately got her sent to "the home." That and the fact that it was 1979 and we had no idea what the fuck she was talking about. Anyway, looking back I realize that her tedious prattling contained some prescient wisdom and I promise to seriously consider the possibility of maybe trying to post something on here a little more often if I can get around to it.
For almost a year and up until recently I worked nights at an eatery I dubbed the weediest restaurant in America. The company was kind of struggling and they were way too focused on costs. Plus they issued a buttload of coupons, which probably drove traffic some but mostly attracted the cheap-ass contingent in droves. When they added a "Handy Tip Guide" (March, 2012), with fucked-up gratuity per-centages suggested, to the bottom of the guest checks, I knew it was time to bail, so I did.
I think the concept behind the weediest restaurant in America is fairly strong. Corporate's just way too concerned with not spending any money and it'll be their fault, not that of the cooks, servers, hostesses or managers, if the chain goes under, which is very likely to happen soon as far as I'm concerned. We mostly had pretty good managers at my store, a couple of them were real good and I don't blame them much for the shittiness. I accuse the entire culture of the organization, fostered by the brain trust over at corporate headquarters.
There were some good things about the weediest restaurant in America too. One being that I got along with the managers and they all seemed to be at least pretty OK with having me on the team. Dale, the assistant manager in charge of servers, a good manager and a good guy, had this to say, and I quote verbatim, as I cashed out on my last shift of my two weeks' notice there: "Joe, you're an awesome guy. We'll miss ya and you can come back anytime." Not trying to brag, but that's the kind of thing I'm used to at my various jobs. That's why, at the new place, it's a little disconcerting to have a manager there that fucking hates my guts.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Here Are Some Suggestions by Laura Marvin
This episode is a guest post.
Anyone who has worked as a server will know that it can be taxing but lucrative work. Whether you are working within fast food outlets, cafes, swanky restaurants or hotel catering, the tips you receive can often eclipse your hourly wage. But it is important to remember that customers will only reward you generously when the service you provide is of a high standard. There is etiquette to serving and waiting so here are some tips on how to do it well and ensure that at the end of the week your tip jar is overflowing:
Be Accurate
Being accurate and well informed is the best way to put customers at ease and convey a professional image of yourself and your establishment. Learn the menu so that if customers ask questions you can have a quick and definite answer. Also take the time to clarify any orders or requests that you take – messing up an order is a sure fire way to ruin a customers dining experience. If you aren’t sure about something, don’t lie or bluff. And if asked to recommend any dishes then give accurate and truthful descriptions rather than simply picking the most expensive thing on the menu – you don’t want your customers to be underwhelmed by your suggestions.
Be Friendly (but not overbearing)
Knowing your boundaries is important in serving, although the level of your friendliness and style of serving will depend greatly on the type of establishment that you work in. Sometimes it is best to let the customer define the boundaries of their contact with you. Some people will want to chat with you whereas others prefer to be left alone. Similarly, some will want speedy service where others will want a slower, more relaxed service and ask you to explain everything. Either way, one of the greatest faux pas within serving is being invasive so you should try and maintain a professional relationship with the customer by avoiding physical contact, over familiar conversation and pestering them – a quick check on their table is important but after that let them signal if they need you.
Be Alert
Using your peripheral vision is key in serving. Sometimes customers will want to attract your attention with a simple nod or wave of the hand. Scanning the room regularly will help you pick up on these signals and avoid the irritation of customers having you rush by when they need your service. You should also make regular circuits of the room to give customers the opportunity to stop you should they need to. Being focused and alert will also avoid any mistakes with orders so in short, do not turn up for work overly tired or hungover!
Be Professional
Knowing the etiquette of dining is important. You should remove used plates, glasses and cutlery after they are finished with as it is unpleasant for customers to be surrounded by dirty dishes for long periods of time. But be aware that you should wait until everyone on the table has finished before removing these. It is considered bad etiquette to remove them sooner as the remaining diners may feel pressured to hurry their meals. If there is food left on the plate but the person looks like they have finished, always ask before attempting to take their dishes away. At the end of the meal always ask if there is anything else you can get for the table before offering the check; you don’t want to look like you are rushing the customers out so that you can get the next party in. Remember, never ask the customer is they want change – just give them it and let them choose if/how much they want to tip you.
Be Positive
Even if you don’t feel it, maintaining a happy, positive attitude and smart appearance is important in serving. Nobody wants to be served by a surly faced waiter/waitress with a bad attitude. If you look like you’re having a great time then there’s a higher chance they will too. Never fight over tables with other waiting staff and leave any bad moods or personal issues at the door. If you find that business is slow and you don’t have many people to wait on then find something else to do – there are always dishes to clean! Being productive will not only make your shift go quickly but will show your employer that you can use your initiative and are eager to work.
Anyone who has worked as a server will know that it can be taxing but lucrative work. Whether you are working within fast food outlets, cafes, swanky restaurants or hotel catering, the tips you receive can often eclipse your hourly wage. But it is important to remember that customers will only reward you generously when the service you provide is of a high standard. There is etiquette to serving and waiting so here are some tips on how to do it well and ensure that at the end of the week your tip jar is overflowing:
Be Accurate
Being accurate and well informed is the best way to put customers at ease and convey a professional image of yourself and your establishment. Learn the menu so that if customers ask questions you can have a quick and definite answer. Also take the time to clarify any orders or requests that you take – messing up an order is a sure fire way to ruin a customers dining experience. If you aren’t sure about something, don’t lie or bluff. And if asked to recommend any dishes then give accurate and truthful descriptions rather than simply picking the most expensive thing on the menu – you don’t want your customers to be underwhelmed by your suggestions.
Be Friendly (but not overbearing)
Knowing your boundaries is important in serving, although the level of your friendliness and style of serving will depend greatly on the type of establishment that you work in. Sometimes it is best to let the customer define the boundaries of their contact with you. Some people will want to chat with you whereas others prefer to be left alone. Similarly, some will want speedy service where others will want a slower, more relaxed service and ask you to explain everything. Either way, one of the greatest faux pas within serving is being invasive so you should try and maintain a professional relationship with the customer by avoiding physical contact, over familiar conversation and pestering them – a quick check on their table is important but after that let them signal if they need you.
Be Alert
Using your peripheral vision is key in serving. Sometimes customers will want to attract your attention with a simple nod or wave of the hand. Scanning the room regularly will help you pick up on these signals and avoid the irritation of customers having you rush by when they need your service. You should also make regular circuits of the room to give customers the opportunity to stop you should they need to. Being focused and alert will also avoid any mistakes with orders so in short, do not turn up for work overly tired or hungover!
Be Professional
Knowing the etiquette of dining is important. You should remove used plates, glasses and cutlery after they are finished with as it is unpleasant for customers to be surrounded by dirty dishes for long periods of time. But be aware that you should wait until everyone on the table has finished before removing these. It is considered bad etiquette to remove them sooner as the remaining diners may feel pressured to hurry their meals. If there is food left on the plate but the person looks like they have finished, always ask before attempting to take their dishes away. At the end of the meal always ask if there is anything else you can get for the table before offering the check; you don’t want to look like you are rushing the customers out so that you can get the next party in. Remember, never ask the customer is they want change – just give them it and let them choose if/how much they want to tip you.
Be Positive
Even if you don’t feel it, maintaining a happy, positive attitude and smart appearance is important in serving. Nobody wants to be served by a surly faced waiter/waitress with a bad attitude. If you look like you’re having a great time then there’s a higher chance they will too. Never fight over tables with other waiting staff and leave any bad moods or personal issues at the door. If you find that business is slow and you don’t have many people to wait on then find something else to do – there are always dishes to clean! Being productive will not only make your shift go quickly but will show your employer that you can use your initiative and are eager to work.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Testosterone Replenishment Theory ©2012 by Joe Sixtop all rights reserved
I'm going to start off by telling you that everything seems to still work OK, you know, down there. I'm a very privacy-minded individual and I'm only including this disclaimer to quench any prurient curiosity that might have been piqued by the title of today's episode, the reason for which I'll probably meander my way to here in a minute. That's all I'll be serving up about my sex life for now. If you want more on that subject you'll just have to peruse These American Servers After Dark™, my spicy new adult restaurant-centric internet column, set to begin beta testing in late July, 2014. For now, I'll coutinue honoring my pledge to you: that this, the original These American Servers™, remains the most wholesome, family-friendly server blog on the entire motherfucking web!
ANYWAY, now that we've established what I'm not stressed about, I'll tell ya what does have me majorly worried, and that's up here. I've been scatterbraining at work a lot more than I'm accustomed to here lately and frankly, I'm a little scared. For most of my life now I've yearned for a way to get out of the restaurant business yet still have money. Now I just want to retain enough mental acuity to be able to hang onto my tenuous foothold in the industry.
Some of y'all might know that at my day job I primarily work Curveside™ To-Go, where clients phone in orders that I bring out to their vehicles. I've been working that position for years, gradually replacing my wait, bar and host shifts with Curveside and, while far from perfect, I've got evidence that I'm pretty good at it. I bust my ass to make sure that my clients get their orders on time and correctly. We get a call or two a week from malcontents who are unhappy with the character of their purchases but that's on the kitchen or the company itself. Several months and sometimes literally years go by between called in complaints about shit that's my fault.
One day last week I put a Bruschetta Chicken Rigatoni in a bag when it should have been a Southwest Grilled Chicken. The other two-thirds of the order was right. I remember the pair of young, junior executive-type guys who picked it up. We never heard back from them. Perhaps the fuck-up went unnoticed or they didn't care; our rigatoni is real good.
Then a dude called in two burgers and a sweet tea. He got his proper order but I gave him someone else's similar check for seven dollars more than he should have been charged. I told my boss about it after I realized my error. I volunteered to make up the difference out of my own pocket if she could fix Jones's credit card charge. She tried real hard but couldn't make it happen, which I think is some bullshit on the part of the damn National Cash Register® company. I feel bad about the situation but don't know what else can be done.
I put the wrong dessert in the sack of chow that I sold to a regular customer who's kind of persnickity but pretty nice and a good tipper. I have her phone number and called it when I realized what had happened and left a voicemail but we haven't heard back from her. I'm mad at myself for screwing up and hope I haven't cost the company a few hundred dollars in annual sales and me some nice tips.
There've been a few more little brain farts here recently but I can't remember what they were right now, and no, that's not a lame attempt at humor (although I guess it is a little funny). Oh yeah. Now I remember. Three times in the last month my drawer has come up short, each time to the tune of about five or six bucks. My drawers never come up short. If that sounds like a lame pick-up line, well it is, but right now I'm talking about cash handling. Most of my Reaganesque behavior has happened at my day job but early this month at night I was taking care of my three tables I had when my fourth got sat right under my nose and I didn't realize it for several minutes until a co-worker called it to my attention. I blamed the door whores—sorry about that but ya gotta do what ya gotta do—and won the clients over and got a nice tip and all was well but uh-oh!
ANYHOW, "What's all this got to do with male hormones?" might be the question posed by anyone whose eyes haven't glazed over or wisely clicked the link to Life on a Cocktail Napkin. OK, I'm a kind of regular listener to a late-evening talk radio show called Coast to Coast AM®. The program runs all night and they advertise all kinds of crazy shit on there. Several of their sponsors are currently flogging testosterone like it was a new flavor of Pepsi®. It's not really testosterone, of course. It's some kind of "proprietary blend" that allegedly increases testoserone production in the bodies of men who consume it. The ads mostly claim to boost sexual capabilities and to a lesser extent weight loss but they also promise to increase mental strength and that's right in my wheelhouse just now. It's possible that I got a year's worth of fucking up done in less than a month and that my recent difficulties are just a statistical anomoly. But if they turn out not to be, I might call an 800 number soon and make a purchase. I hope it doesn't come to that, for several reasons, not the least being that right now I can't seem to find my credit card.
If you're a guy in your 40's (or, really, anybody) and you have some words of wisdom on this subject or want some sympathetic eyes to glom your own forgetful foibles, I'd love to hear from you.
ANYWAY, now that we've established what I'm not stressed about, I'll tell ya what does have me majorly worried, and that's up here. I've been scatterbraining at work a lot more than I'm accustomed to here lately and frankly, I'm a little scared. For most of my life now I've yearned for a way to get out of the restaurant business yet still have money. Now I just want to retain enough mental acuity to be able to hang onto my tenuous foothold in the industry.
Some of y'all might know that at my day job I primarily work Curveside™ To-Go, where clients phone in orders that I bring out to their vehicles. I've been working that position for years, gradually replacing my wait, bar and host shifts with Curveside and, while far from perfect, I've got evidence that I'm pretty good at it. I bust my ass to make sure that my clients get their orders on time and correctly. We get a call or two a week from malcontents who are unhappy with the character of their purchases but that's on the kitchen or the company itself. Several months and sometimes literally years go by between called in complaints about shit that's my fault.
One day last week I put a Bruschetta Chicken Rigatoni in a bag when it should have been a Southwest Grilled Chicken. The other two-thirds of the order was right. I remember the pair of young, junior executive-type guys who picked it up. We never heard back from them. Perhaps the fuck-up went unnoticed or they didn't care; our rigatoni is real good.
Then a dude called in two burgers and a sweet tea. He got his proper order but I gave him someone else's similar check for seven dollars more than he should have been charged. I told my boss about it after I realized my error. I volunteered to make up the difference out of my own pocket if she could fix Jones's credit card charge. She tried real hard but couldn't make it happen, which I think is some bullshit on the part of the damn National Cash Register® company. I feel bad about the situation but don't know what else can be done.
I put the wrong dessert in the sack of chow that I sold to a regular customer who's kind of persnickity but pretty nice and a good tipper. I have her phone number and called it when I realized what had happened and left a voicemail but we haven't heard back from her. I'm mad at myself for screwing up and hope I haven't cost the company a few hundred dollars in annual sales and me some nice tips.
There've been a few more little brain farts here recently but I can't remember what they were right now, and no, that's not a lame attempt at humor (although I guess it is a little funny). Oh yeah. Now I remember. Three times in the last month my drawer has come up short, each time to the tune of about five or six bucks. My drawers never come up short. If that sounds like a lame pick-up line, well it is, but right now I'm talking about cash handling. Most of my Reaganesque behavior has happened at my day job but early this month at night I was taking care of my three tables I had when my fourth got sat right under my nose and I didn't realize it for several minutes until a co-worker called it to my attention. I blamed the door whores—sorry about that but ya gotta do what ya gotta do—and won the clients over and got a nice tip and all was well but uh-oh!
ANYHOW, "What's all this got to do with male hormones?" might be the question posed by anyone whose eyes haven't glazed over or wisely clicked the link to Life on a Cocktail Napkin. OK, I'm a kind of regular listener to a late-evening talk radio show called Coast to Coast AM®. The program runs all night and they advertise all kinds of crazy shit on there. Several of their sponsors are currently flogging testosterone like it was a new flavor of Pepsi®. It's not really testosterone, of course. It's some kind of "proprietary blend" that allegedly increases testoserone production in the bodies of men who consume it. The ads mostly claim to boost sexual capabilities and to a lesser extent weight loss but they also promise to increase mental strength and that's right in my wheelhouse just now. It's possible that I got a year's worth of fucking up done in less than a month and that my recent difficulties are just a statistical anomoly. But if they turn out not to be, I might call an 800 number soon and make a purchase. I hope it doesn't come to that, for several reasons, not the least being that right now I can't seem to find my credit card.
If you're a guy in your 40's (or, really, anybody) and you have some words of wisdom on this subject or want some sympathetic eyes to glom your own forgetful foibles, I'd love to hear from you.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Oh! Those Woes of Joe's ©2012 by Joe Sixtop all rights reserved
First off, I want to let y’all know that at about a quarter after eleven tonight, when I silently wished the Los Angeles Clippers’ plane would crash on its way back to Cali , I immediately unwished it. I certainly want that to not happen. The only misfortune I want them to suffer is that they lose their next four games, starting Wednesday. That deeply felt but only momentarily yearned-for thought was just that: a thought that popped into my mind after a very disappointing loss in a playoff game by one of the only two teams I’m truly emotionally invested in. I couldn’t help it! My hoops heroes had a huge lead which they proceeded to start blowing right after I got home and tuned in about halfway through the fourth quarter. That’s probably the worst of my recent woes but it ain’t the only one.
The radio in my car went out. See ya later, George Noory, it looks like I won’t be listening to Coast to Coast AM® on the way home when I get cut after midnight for awhile. Good-bye, (to local alterna-rock DJ) Craven Moorehead (yeah, really). Now when I’m rolling I only have the choice of listening to compact discs or my own thoughts and if you read the previous paragraph you can probably guess which is the better option. But I can only listen to a CD straight through. The broken Sony® product won’t let me skip around like I like to——a big reason I fell in love with the compact disc format all those years ago——I have to listen from the first track to the last. It’s lucky that I had the volume in a good place when the shit broke ‘cause I can’t adjust it. If I turn off the car with a disc playing, the music will resume where I left off but if I take the CD out or anything, it’s start all over again. So I have to bring records with me that are good all the way through. Yesterday I dug out Nothing’s Shocking by 90’s rockers Jane’s Addiction. It’s one of the first digital discs I ever bought and it’s a hell of a good album. Except right smack in the middle of it is the tediously shitty (to me) “Summertime Rolls,” that I’d forgotten about. It was either seven minutes of that crap or make another listening decision. I chose the second option. This almost-dead stereo has heretofore been pretty good and lasted almost six years. I plan to get a new system soon and I’ll consider a Sony product from Best Buy® again. It’s not the end of the world and could be worse. I’m well aware how fortunate I am; a lot of people are riding the bus and listening to nothing or, like, that shitty Joe Walsh cover by Godsmack or something. Still, it sucks..
Last night, my first table was teenage daughter, who was cute and nice, and middle-aged mom, who wasn’t. Their bill was $36 and change. I dropped the check and said, “I’ll take that for ya whenever you‘re ready,” Mom immediately started digging in her purse so I smiled and added, “That can be now if you want,’” ‘cause it sure looked like she wanted to negotiate things right away but she gave me a look that I felt was overly stern by a good margin (what the fuck?) and hissed at me that they weren’t ready yet. So I checked back about two minutes later, just in time to see a pair of twenties being inserted into the server book.. “I’ll be right back with your change!” I grinned, thinking surely I’d be informed that wouldn’t be necessary. I’ve gotten shitty tips before, no biggie.
But no. Mom said, “OK,” so I took the check presenter out of their eyeshot and put the $3.30 in it and dropped It at the table. They thanked me, the daughter pleasantly, the mom a little grudgingly, and left. Shortly after, I looked to see that I’d been left a whole dollar. I’m extremely skeptical about Karma existing but if it does, Ms. Lady might have just purchased herself a nice chunk of it.
The new restaurant is right next to a large mall. There’s also a pretty big hotel and a “business campus” (whatever the fuck that is) there. The mall and the other ordeal both had something going on last week on Saturday. On Friday, we were told to park at the mile-away school and ride the employee shuttle that the mall allegedly provides because it was going to be very difficult to get into our parking lot and that mall security would very likely turn area workers away in favor of customers. I went to the school, getting there 30 minutes before my scheduled clock-in time, figuring that’d be plenty of time to get the promised shuttle and be at work a little early, like I like to be. There was exactly ONE other car in the parking lot when I arrived. I didn’t know what to do. I thought for a minute and decided to hoof it. I didn’t want trying to drive over there to cause me any problems. It was a nice day and I could see my destination from where I was. I know how to get to work fine but otherwise don’t know that area of town real well. I got across the interstate OK but the “business campus” I had to cut through was cock-blocking like it was trying to win the Vezina Trophy or something, with a lot of fences and “DO NOT ENTER” signs and shit like that.. I felt like I was in a large maze. I didn’t run, ‘cause fuck that, but I started walking pretty fast. I made it on time but it was hella close. And when I got to work, I saw that the lot was full but not anywhere near totally full. All of my co-workers just parked like usual. I asked a couple of them and they all just drove over to work when they saw the school’s empty parking lot. I mentioned the situation to a manager and got a story about how they were just telling us what the property’s owners had said to them and a mumbled apology that I felt lacked sufficient sincerity. Then after working a pretty grueling waitshift, I had to walk the mile or so back to my whip
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Bartenders Beware! ©2012 by Joe Sixtop all rights reserved
Bartenders beware! There’s this new computer program out that’s linked to your POS register and the beer kegs at your establishment. It lets bosses know every time you pour and/or ring up a draft beer. That’s not good, but it’s their product and I can’t blame them too much for tracking it, especially being as how some beertenders do seem to be a little overly generous with a product that really isn’t theirs and has heretofore been pretty easy to pull some shenanigans with. The real sinister part of it to me is that this thing alerts the powers-that-be—all else being done to spec—if you pour a beer first and then ring it up afterwards, even if the second action follows the first in the mere blink of an eye, as it usually does.
A trainer I know from the New England area told me about it. Apparently the draft beer costs at her store were off the chain so management implemented this system. I hear that their draft costs have dropped precipitously, coupled with an alarming rise in product shrinkage on the liquor side of things. We don’t have this system at my store and, unless your registers and draft apparatus are less than three years old, you don’t have it at yours either. I have it on good authority that no stores in our franchise groups have it, even the newest ones.
In case you’re wondering, there’re reasons for the ring-before-you-pour rule. Mostly, it’s to keep even the integritous (as I believe most ‘stauranties are) from pouring something, without bad intentions, and then becoming distracted and honestly forgetting to charge for it and that’s who I’m warning here. If you’re one of those who consistently give 2-4-1 when it isn’t Happy Hour or “refresh” the half-finished suds of your regulars, I want you to stop that shit right now or at least immediately after I get through drinking at your bar. When you do underhanded shit like that and I work after you do, most of the more fucktarded clients, instead of being cool like they should be under the circumstances, get all johnsonskulled and entitled-acting about it and see me as a bad guy and I don’t like it!
I try and follow the rules. Pretty much, anyway. And usually I ring before I pour, as I’m supposed to. But the rich white college boys who’ve never actually, you know, worked in a restaurant that are behind this brewski surveillance have gone too far. Sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. While everyone strives to keep it to a minimum, sometimes a trustable server (this program works on all sides of the taps, including the service bar) will desperately cry out for a draft they really need before it’s rung up, for whatever reason, and promise to ring it up ASAP with the “NO MAKE” modifier tacked on and who am I to shut them out? If everything gets properly paid for and the clientele is happy, then we’ve done our jobs and should have nothing to fear.
But there’s a slight silver lining to this cloud of bovine cabins. As a trainer, I’m supposed to make sure that everyone I’m showing the proverbial ropes to always hits “REVIEW” after they’ve rung in their orders but before sending them. I stress this to them because I’m supposed to and because I think it’s a good practice. I usually do it on my own orders and occasionally catch a mistake. Most of my co-workers don’t use the “SUMMARY” (or whatever) key. I don’t say anything, I’m not their boss and pretty much they know what they’re doing. But today this newbie that I didn’t train, not even one shift, had a couple of questions about something he was trying to ring in. I talked him through it and he sent his order. I noticed that he didn’t “OVERVIEW” his efforts before hitting “SEND.” He had mostly trained with one of our many lovely Amandas, who’s a real good waitress and can pretty much get by OK with skipping that step and usually does skip it—I’m sure this is how Jones developed his bad habit—this rookie dude needs to always read the “SUMMARY” before tuning in his orders, for a lot of reasons, and I told him so. He promised he would from now on but I didn’t believe him, even though he was probably sincere at the time. So I made up a lie, inspired by the beer-spying program. I told him that the register knows when anyone doesn’t hit the “REVIEW” button and that if it happens enough times, it’s a write-up. I also said that if he doesn’t send his orders properly and something’s fucked up and product goes to waste, he’ll get in more trouble than he would have had he just played the game. Come to think of it, our computers are from NCR®, a company with a horrible reputation for getting way all up in folks’ business, so maybe what I told dude was actually true.
If you have any thoughts &/or experiences with these subjects I'd love it if you'd share them with me. And do ya like new (I think) words 'strauranties and johnskulled and do you think I spelled them right?
A trainer I know from the New England area told me about it. Apparently the draft beer costs at her store were off the chain so management implemented this system. I hear that their draft costs have dropped precipitously, coupled with an alarming rise in product shrinkage on the liquor side of things. We don’t have this system at my store and, unless your registers and draft apparatus are less than three years old, you don’t have it at yours either. I have it on good authority that no stores in our franchise groups have it, even the newest ones.
In case you’re wondering, there’re reasons for the ring-before-you-pour rule. Mostly, it’s to keep even the integritous (as I believe most ‘stauranties are) from pouring something, without bad intentions, and then becoming distracted and honestly forgetting to charge for it and that’s who I’m warning here. If you’re one of those who consistently give 2-4-1 when it isn’t Happy Hour or “refresh” the half-finished suds of your regulars, I want you to stop that shit right now or at least immediately after I get through drinking at your bar. When you do underhanded shit like that and I work after you do, most of the more fucktarded clients, instead of being cool like they should be under the circumstances, get all johnsonskulled and entitled-acting about it and see me as a bad guy and I don’t like it!
I try and follow the rules. Pretty much, anyway. And usually I ring before I pour, as I’m supposed to. But the rich white college boys who’ve never actually, you know, worked in a restaurant that are behind this brewski surveillance have gone too far. Sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. While everyone strives to keep it to a minimum, sometimes a trustable server (this program works on all sides of the taps, including the service bar) will desperately cry out for a draft they really need before it’s rung up, for whatever reason, and promise to ring it up ASAP with the “NO MAKE” modifier tacked on and who am I to shut them out? If everything gets properly paid for and the clientele is happy, then we’ve done our jobs and should have nothing to fear.
But there’s a slight silver lining to this cloud of bovine cabins. As a trainer, I’m supposed to make sure that everyone I’m showing the proverbial ropes to always hits “REVIEW” after they’ve rung in their orders but before sending them. I stress this to them because I’m supposed to and because I think it’s a good practice. I usually do it on my own orders and occasionally catch a mistake. Most of my co-workers don’t use the “SUMMARY” (or whatever) key. I don’t say anything, I’m not their boss and pretty much they know what they’re doing. But today this newbie that I didn’t train, not even one shift, had a couple of questions about something he was trying to ring in. I talked him through it and he sent his order. I noticed that he didn’t “OVERVIEW” his efforts before hitting “SEND.” He had mostly trained with one of our many lovely Amandas, who’s a real good waitress and can pretty much get by OK with skipping that step and usually does skip it—I’m sure this is how Jones developed his bad habit—this rookie dude needs to always read the “SUMMARY” before tuning in his orders, for a lot of reasons, and I told him so. He promised he would from now on but I didn’t believe him, even though he was probably sincere at the time. So I made up a lie, inspired by the beer-spying program. I told him that the register knows when anyone doesn’t hit the “REVIEW” button and that if it happens enough times, it’s a write-up. I also said that if he doesn’t send his orders properly and something’s fucked up and product goes to waste, he’ll get in more trouble than he would have had he just played the game. Come to think of it, our computers are from NCR®, a company with a horrible reputation for getting way all up in folks’ business, so maybe what I told dude was actually true.
If you have any thoughts &/or experiences with these subjects I'd love it if you'd share them with me. And do ya like new (I think) words 'strauranties and johnskulled and do you think I spelled them right?
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Really Good Work Shoes ©2012 by Joe Sixtop all rights reserved
Every restaurant I’ve worked at - and I’ve worked at a lot of them over the last several years - has had its uniform standards. Some have been kind of lax, some real strict. The standards have always included rules about footwear.
About 2004 or so, restaurants began requiring their employees to wear slip-resistant shoes at work. At first I was like, “Great. Here’s another rule,” but now I can’t believe I ever went to work shod in anything else. I’ve bought several pairs of slip-resistant shoes over the years, the character of which have run the quality gamut from “pretty good” to “lousy.” But I don’t have to worry about that anymore. I’ve found where I’ll be getting my footwear from now on: SR Max Slip Resistant Shoes.
The SR Max website is well-designed and easy to navigate to find and order the shoes you’re seeking. There are plenty of styles, colors, brands and sizes to choose from. At both of my jobs, conservative, black, dress-type shoes are mandated, so after careful consideration, I chose the Manhattan model, although there are certainly lots of other good options available. My kicks were delivered in a very timely manner by United Parcel Service. SR Max has a sensible and very generous return policy that I believe is the best in the business. The policy is posted on their website and you’ll get a printed copy of it with your order. They also throw in a prepaid UPS label, for use in the unlikely event that you have any issues. I didn’t need any of that though. My shoes look great and fit even better! My new kicks are hella comfortable and obviously very well-made. Nobody else at work has shoes that look as sharp as mine and I’ve gotten several compliments on them. Their cost was very reasonable. In fact, I’d expect to pay more for shoes like this that didn’t have slip-resistance.
My experience has been so positive that I plan on buying more shoes from SR Max real soon. They’ve got some black Skechers that I want for when I go back to beer vending at the football stadium in September. Slip-resistant shoes can be worn in any environment where shoes can be worn, not just work. SR Max has shoes for grocers, nurses, retail employees, warehouse workers, as well as servers. While no shoes are slip-proof, merely slip-resistant, my Manhattans have noticeably better slip resistance than any other footwear I’ve ever tried. SR Max shoes are safer, better looking, more well-made and a better value than what you’re wearing now. Do yourself a favor and check them out!
BONUS: Just as a side note, SR Max is offering my loyal These American Servers™ readers an extra discount on their shoes. Just enter the promo code “SIXTOP” at checkout to knock a few dollars off of your next work shoe purchase.
About 2004 or so, restaurants began requiring their employees to wear slip-resistant shoes at work. At first I was like, “Great. Here’s another rule,” but now I can’t believe I ever went to work shod in anything else. I’ve bought several pairs of slip-resistant shoes over the years, the character of which have run the quality gamut from “pretty good” to “lousy.” But I don’t have to worry about that anymore. I’ve found where I’ll be getting my footwear from now on: SR Max Slip Resistant Shoes.
The SR Max website is well-designed and easy to navigate to find and order the shoes you’re seeking. There are plenty of styles, colors, brands and sizes to choose from. At both of my jobs, conservative, black, dress-type shoes are mandated, so after careful consideration, I chose the Manhattan model, although there are certainly lots of other good options available. My kicks were delivered in a very timely manner by United Parcel Service. SR Max has a sensible and very generous return policy that I believe is the best in the business. The policy is posted on their website and you’ll get a printed copy of it with your order. They also throw in a prepaid UPS label, for use in the unlikely event that you have any issues. I didn’t need any of that though. My shoes look great and fit even better! My new kicks are hella comfortable and obviously very well-made. Nobody else at work has shoes that look as sharp as mine and I’ve gotten several compliments on them. Their cost was very reasonable. In fact, I’d expect to pay more for shoes like this that didn’t have slip-resistance.
My experience has been so positive that I plan on buying more shoes from SR Max real soon. They’ve got some black Skechers that I want for when I go back to beer vending at the football stadium in September. Slip-resistant shoes can be worn in any environment where shoes can be worn, not just work. SR Max has shoes for grocers, nurses, retail employees, warehouse workers, as well as servers. While no shoes are slip-proof, merely slip-resistant, my Manhattans have noticeably better slip resistance than any other footwear I’ve ever tried. SR Max shoes are safer, better looking, more well-made and a better value than what you’re wearing now. Do yourself a favor and check them out!
BONUS: Just as a side note, SR Max is offering my loyal These American Servers™ readers an extra discount on their shoes. Just enter the promo code “SIXTOP” at checkout to knock a few dollars off of your next work shoe purchase.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Handy Tip Guide ©2012 by Joe Sixtop all rights reserved
One night a few years ago I waited on these two nice Scottish ladies. They’d just been to Graceland™ and were on their way to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame™ , or maybe it was the other way around. It was toward the end of the shift, they’d shared a bottle of wine and, while far from drunk, the Blackstone® Merlot had made them kind of loquacious and I got a lot of America-related questions from them. They were nice and I didn’t mind talking to them. They wanted to know about a lot of stuff and I was glad I could help out a little. At some point they asked about the North American custom of tipping.
They knew they were expected to tip something, but that was about all. They were really confused and wanted me to clear some things up for them. I showed them the ticket they’d already run up, it was about 50 bucks. I told them to get out one of their $100 American Express® Traveler’s Cheques™, fill in the name of the restaurant and sign it in my presence. Then all they had to do was hand it over to yours truly, smile, thank me ever so much and insist I keep the change.
I didn’t really do that. I wasn’t fishing for any tips; they’d brought it up. I thought about other servers that might wait on them here in America
They weren’t stupid or wasted, but for some reason they had a hard time with that. So I talked about ten percent. It took me a minute but I got them to agree that it was pretty easy to cipher out ten percent of any financial amount, be it pounds or dollars or euros or whatever. Then I asked if they could figure out half of that amount and add it to the ten percent already arrived at. Bingo! They finally understood.
One of them had heard somewhere that you only tip on the amount the bill would be if there was no sales tax. I put a slightly stern look on my face at that one and said whoever had told them that was lying. Whatever percent someone tips, that gratuity should be calculated based on the total ticket. “Besides,” I appealed to their math-phobia, “just look at the bottom line and tip based on that. Make it easy on yourselves and don’t worry about the different sales tax ordeals you’ll run into in various American jurisdictions.”
The ladies shared a dessert and got their check. They gave me the presenter and told me they didn’t need any change. I thanked them very much and wished them a good trip. I left the server book on the table for awhile and did something else. When I returned, their bill for just under $50 was in there, along with three crisp American twenty-dollar bills.
That’s a very minor incident that I haven’t thought of in years. What brought it to mind was something that’s going on at the weediest restaurant in America America
Have you ever heard of anything like this and how do you feel about it?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)