Everyday work...

I just had to share this video, it's great!  

Today we had too many servers on the floor. It was surprisingly slow this morning so two of our servers got sent home.  Though one was on her way in and wasn't called to be told she was gonna be turned around and kicked out.  She was pissed about that, as I would be too!  If you're going to send someone home, fine.  However you should at least let them know if they're not there yet!

I stuck to my guns today and held onto a good section today.  Made some decent money. Only had one table mad at me!  It was completely my fault.  I forgot my section had grown because someone went home.  I had sat them at the table and told them I would get their server, then sitting other tables and attending the tables that I had.  They flagged me down and told me that no one had come and served them.  "I'm so sorry!  I'll go see what happened!"  Going back to the seating chart to find that it's my table!  "Well, I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I will be happy to serve you!" *Phew* Saved my butt!  I thought.

Someone else ran the food to that table and left part of it in the window.  So when it all got out to them I went over and appologised, once again.  The ladie's response was: "We've heard enough apologies, I just want to speak with a manager."  He ended up comping the whole table.  I guess she blamed it on the manager for not knowing what was going on in the restaurant. She told me she expected a manager to be walking around and checking all the tables to make sure they were okay and "knowing what was going on in the restaurant," what ever that was supposed to mean.  

Honestly, I don't think that any of our guests know how much work we do.  Most of that work goes toward pleasing them, and their not even grateful for it!  Making us aware of the problems I'm fine with, it's the attitude and expecting of free food that I have a problem with.  That's why they get so upset, so they can talk to a manager, put everyone down and make them feel worthless so that they can get free shit.  

Back to the managers we have at this restaurant: One of my favorites is leaving.  That's the rudest thing I've heard all week!!  When I was hired on, he gave me my first interview.  Then he got me all excited and pumped for the job because we were gonna make a difference and turn this restaurant around.  But I suppose he's found bigger and grander adventures to pursue.  I'll just have to enjoy this last week of working with him.

Ugh, and then, there was the dinner rush.  We had a full restaurant, no clean tables, a five table long wait list, and we were starting to run out of everything!  I was cut, off the floor right before they all came in.  So I was running around stocking things, writing the wait list, bussing tables, making kid packs, cashing people out for two hours after I was cut.   

During this stressful moment I went back up to the host stand where I had written the wait list and found another server up there.  I informed her that there was a wait list and she gave me this snide remark about she knew and she knew how to read.  I wanted to punch her in the face.  Instead.  I walked away, it was not easy.  What got me about it was that it was in front of all the customers waiting to be sat, and she spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.  One of the guests made a comment about it.  Just frustrating.  

One last thing before I hit the sack tonight: How come I am always the last to leave?   I'm not literally because we have a twenty-four hour store so it never closes and there is always someone there (I'm surprised I don't literally live there yet!)  But what I mean is that I could be cut at the same time as two other servers, and they would both leave before me.  I don't slack on getting work done, I want to get outta there as much as the next person, but I don't want to leave anyone hanging either!  I can't walk out during a rush knowing they don't have kid's pack stocked, knowing they only have one clean rack of cups left and dish pit is a mess.  I have a really hard time leaving when i know I didn't get a chance to sweep or mop anything because there were so many people coming in.... I don't see how people can just leave when there's so much to be done?   Knowing that if it doesn't get done someone else is going to pay.   

Maybe I'm just a different brand of "server"

Yeah, that's it: I'm Special!  ;)

Cracking the whip

Mandatory meeting today! But first: Angry customer had to wait too long for meal, then it came out WRONG.  What the guest did about it.  Up next: what is expected of us servers: too much for such a little price, plus, no free food!  Then it's back to work for all you low lifes, working to pay bills. Ha!
(I said that in a news caster's voice in my head: "These are the announcements for today!")

So, first off, yesterday I had a guest get very upset with me.  I took her order, answered questions, etc. the normal with any customer.  I put her order in and brought her drinks out.  when her food came up the burger had been made wrong.  I sent it back to the kitchen to fix.

Now, the rest is partly my fault.  I was not keeping close enough tabs on time. My other table's food came out at the same time as the mistake.  I ran the food to my other table (all the other tables around them had come in after her) and stopped by her table to let her know that there had been a mistake and I sent it back to be remade.  Her response: "Okay, just bring something out."

The food to all the other tables around her came out and her food was not coming up.  The mistake food that had been put out before was gone.  I had to bug the kitchen to get it out.  One of our senior servers went back and dressed it for me, but she put everything on there that they didn't want.  I hadn't checked it because she knows what she's doing and I thought it was dressed how I wrote it, again, my fault.  When I served it and asked if everything looked like they ordered it they said yeah.  Of course it wasn't and she was not happy.  :/   Of course I would be pretty disappointed to...


On to the mandatory meeting.  Pretty much: do your job!  Us servers need to work together as a team.  We need to do our side work and keep the restaurant clean.  We need to follow the steps of service and know our mission and vision statements.  All simple things, but things we need to work on.

Also: all food must be paid for before we eat it.  That includes food from the back, shakes, and all drinks.  -.-

What really bugged me about this meeting was that it was so damn early (yes I know I was late!  I'm sorry I thought it was a 1/2 hour later.  But at least I came!)  And the there were some exempt servers and servers who did not come, not exactly what mandatory means....  

Of course the exempt servers were the ones that had been there the longest and "knew what they were doing."  However, they never do their side work.  They never wipe under the caddies.  They never put their dishes away. They never mop. They don't even sweep!  Great, they've been there for some odd years - there's always room for improvement.

Then there were the ones who simply didn't show up.  The other ones that really needed this meeting.  The other ones that don't do any of their side work, that like to tell the rest of us what to do, and really don't take this job seriously.  *sigh*


Well, tonight went pretty well, in the restaurant.  There was a crash outside that could be seen through our windows.  Flashing lights were there my whole 6/7 hour shift!  I found out later that it was a fatal crash for one and left two in the hospital.  Three cars were involved.

And to think some lady came in tonight and got mad that she didn't have silverware before she had her food.  She was livid! When she was sat she gave her order to the person that sat her then I came over with her drink and told her I would be her server if she needed anything (I did forget to bring silverware then.)  Someone else ran her food out, and when I came by to see how everything was she snapped at me about not being able to eat without silverware.  Who eats burgers with a fork and knife?  Apparently this lady.

Awe, but to make my night I found this cute drawing left behind on a table by a sweet little girl :)

Feeling sick

Ugh, today went by in a haze.  I felt like my head was a balloon trying to float away all day.  It was pretty slow and I got a good section though.

I hate it when people walk in already mad at you.  One of my guests walked in today bat shit crazy mad.  Every time I talked to the table she had one word answers, she had a very unfriendly demeanor, I think if she smiled her face would crack into a million peices and fall off!  I brought them drinks with a smile.  I brought out their burgers and asked then if everything looked okay when I served them.  Then when I came by to see how they liked their burgers our conversation went like this:

Me (M): How has everything turned out ladies!?

Mad woman (W): I didn't want bacon.

...

M: uh... I'm sorry. I don't believe I rang in a bacon burger for you *checking check* I certainly didn't charge you for it.

W: I will eat it.  I don't want to wait any longer.

M: You sure I can't do something for you?

W: *continues conversation with table, ignoring my presence*

I wasn't sure how I was supposed to react... did she want me to push the issue?  Did she want me to just leave and ignore the table for the rest of the time they were there?  That's what I felt like doing after that conversation, if you can call it a conversation?  

Really: "whatevs"  That is some petty angry lady.  Not worth another thought!  Haha, I'm so glad that was the biggest problem I had today!

Just one of those days...

Last night was just another night at work, nothing too exciting happened.  All my guests were nice and I had a good team to work with.

...

Aaand then the night team came in: including Two newbies.

One of these newbies just grind on my pet peeves.  This is her first job, her first serving job, and she started maybe a month ago.   Yet, she seems to think she knows it all.  (My biggest pet peeve:) she interrupts me everytime I talk to her or try to help her.  I can barely stand this when guests do this, and now I have to take it from her!?  She's got so much attitude.

I'm a horrible person for thinking this, but I just can't wait for her to fail, to be overwhelmed by the amount of tables she gets, for the guest to make her cry, or for her to be fired because she simply can't do the job.  Yes, I know, I'm a horrible person.  I can see it coming though.  She's going to get so overwhelmed that she quits or she's going to get fired because she tries to handle it all herself while she's overwhelmed.

No Bra :P

The DM came in the other day and was fucking stuff up and pissing people off.  I don't get why when the higher ups come in to change things they can't fix things that actually need fixed.  Instead they come in and rag on people unnecessarily.

The shake guy got really upset, made him put the strawberries in the freezer, which made them impossible to mix into the shakes.  Then he told a manager to tell me that I couldn't wear the bra I was wearing.  He couldn't even tell me himself.

Apparently my blue sports bra can be seen through our white uniform shirts so I have to wear a nude or white colored bra to work now.  Which I don't have.  I asked the manager if they were paying for a new bra for me?  Bras are expensive.  Of course the answer was no.  So fuck it. I don't usually wear a bra except at work anyways, so I just won't wear a bra to work either.  Then no one will be able to see my bra!

My second to last table tonight was a sweet elderly couple.  I got to make a real connection with them. I talked with them for a little while about their grandkids and future possibilities.  It was nice and something that I don't get to do a lot at this restaurant.  My last restaurant that was part of the job, almost, to sit and talk with our guests.  That's what I love about serving!


However, I don't think I want to make serving my life career.  After talking with the couple and listening to their story about their granddaughter, and every time I talk to a guest, it makes me feel like I'm in a transition period of life.  Most people who start here it's their first job, or their going to school, or it's a second job.

I would love to be a full time mom at some point, but I don't have a child, and I don't know that I want to raise a child on a server's wage.  Maybe I could land a job at a daycare?  I do have a degree in psychology after all.  Though I feel like I would get burnt out on that after a few years.  Though I could use that to transition into a position helping those with special needs. Even that I could see myself getting burnt out on though.

My husband runs his own business, he's a photographer.  It would be nice to work more with him and maybe just be business partners, but I feel like that wouldn't be very financially stable.  If for some reason, god forbid, the business went under, we would both be out of a job.  I would love to be artistic though, I've wanted to be an artist for as long as I can remember.

I just don't know where I want to go from here.  I don't know what the best choice is...

$100

Last night I made a pretty penny for it being so slow.  Several servers got called up to not come in and at least three got sent home.  We got one little pop, but that was it!

One guest I cashed out said his experience was horrible.  We're supposed to ask the guest how everything was before we take the payment, when he said it was horrible I continued the conversation.  He explained that the food had come out cold, something was wrong with every meal they ordered, and the server took a while to wait on them. Their check was about $30. I looked at it and asked him to wait just a little longer so that I could see what I could do about the bill: $30 is a lot for horrible.  He told me that he would make a bigger fuss about it, but they had just waited half an hour at another restaurant just for drinks.

We comped the meals for him and he was very happy about it.  He left me (just the cashier) $5 for helping him out.

Words of Encouragement

Yesterday I got so overwhelmed.

I got sat a needy table and then a four top.  I was trying to get the four top their drinks and already gotten their order in, so time was ticking and I was feeling the time crunch.  I had a tray on the counter that I was setting up cups on and had the list of drinks I needed.  I had asked someone else to grab waters that the needy table had asked for and they forgot about them.  One of the newbies asked me where to get kids cups, I had just ran them through wash so I ran to get them.  They were gone and I was asking where they were on  the way back to get my drinks out.  The tray I was setting up was gone, I had even less time to get the drinks out, and my table was now looking around for their waters and probably wanted something else.

I started to cry.  I felt so stupid, there was no reason to cry over that stuff.  I think it was just because I got up early to see my husband off to work and didn't have enough sleep.  On of the servers brought me to the back to calm down and give me food, and went and caught me up on the tables.  The GM came back and asked me if I wanted to talk about it.  I was so surprised, she told me that I was one of the best servers she had and she was really glad that I was there.  It was nice to feel wanted.

Tonight was so slow though!  I was there for three hours and had a total of four tables.  I made almost twenty dollars only because one of the other servers paid me five to roll their silverware.