CORPORATE BULLSHIT

I think it's safe to say that the turnover rate in the restaurant business is, for the most part rather high. It's rare that you find a well-run restaurant with good staff members and a management tem that treats you right and makes you want to stay. Usually, but not always, this type of environment will be a privately owned place.

So, the other day I felt sick to my stomach when one of my co-workers told me a story that happened at her second job. I had been there once, while waiting for her to get out of work. The bartender was a little older then myself and he kept me company while I was waiting for Sandy to finish her shift.

Apperantly, the restaurant had been secret-shopped. (Someone is payed to pose as a guest and then report on the service, in other words, a spy) There were a couple of regulars coming in, and the bartender I had met gave them a drink on the house. I can't think of any bar that I go to on a regular basis that doesn't do this. People return again and again because of gestures like this. In this case however, the "spy" reported it to the management and the bartender, as well as another employee were fired the following day.

They had both been working at the restaurant for 7 years. This is something I have come to expect from the corporate world of layoffs and terminations. It's a sad day when this business is becoming just as corporate and cold hearted.