MEMO TO BOSS

Usually, when most servers quit their jobs it's not to join the Peace Corps. It's not to become a part owner in a new start up website. I find that most people who leave are in search of that restaurant that is actually well-run. Usually the sentence that follows when asked why you're quitting is "I'm tired of this bullshit." So it got me to thinking, is there such thing as this perfect Holy Grail restaurant out there? Would you actually have servers sticking around, and caring about their job if there was? And what do most employers do wrong that forces employees to leave? I've come up with a partial list of reasons that stop a restaurant from being successful.
This is my memo to every boss I've had.

Respect your workers. It's hard to care about your job when they don't care about you. This means not scheduling someone to work until 4am, and then have them come in to open the following morning to work a double. It means taking things into consideration. When someone requests a religious holiday off, don't make them work it because "it's only a request, not a guarantee." Don't talk down to us. There's nothing worse than a manager who makes themselves seem so much better than their workers.

Rotate the schedule, and keep in mind seniority. New kids always get screwed. That's how it works. Better sections and schedules go to the people who have been there the longest. But even workers with seniority are going to have to take a shit shift once and a while, otherwise you wont get new people to stick around. The best sections should go to the hardest workers, as a reward an incentive to keep it up. Know who your good workers are. You should be aware when someone just can't hack it. Don't put this person in the busiest section and your best server in the worst. Common sense.

It is required by law to give us breaks! It's amazing to me how many jobs I have worked in this industry where the managers completely ignore the law. I've worked 6 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours, doubles, overnights, and never gotten a break! (ok I'm kidding about the overnights) No break=angry workers.

Know how to prepare for service. No one likes to have to tell their customers (and they are customers NOT GUESTS) that they have run out of the the special of the day. Customers take it out on servers tips, especially if you are out of several items. Have your delivery truck come in on a Wednesday. You'll be able to make it through the busiest weekends then, and come Sunday you wont be out of every item on the menu.

Staff the floor appropriately. If it's dead send people home. Don't waste our time. Servers go crazy when there are 10 people on the floor at there only needs to be 3. If by some off chance it gets busy after the floor is cut, help out for a minute. That's what a boss is there for. Going along with that, just because you are helping your servers doesn't mean you get to dip your hands into our tip pool. It's illegal.

Staff the kitchen appropriately. When you're paying servers pocket change, there is always an abundance of them. It's no surprise that since the kitchen is making an hourly wage, there are never enough of them. This makes them angry, and ticket times slow, which makes customers angry and tips go down.

Servers are not custodians. You need to hire someone to scrub the floors, clean the toilets, the sinks, the windows, the walk in, the freezer and anything else you try and classify as "side work." If you try to force us to do this after we are closed, when we are only making 3.85 an hour, we will do it half -assed. Side work and closing duties only go so far, then you need to start paying us more.

More to come. What do you guys think? What are some reasons why you quit your server job? Has anyone ever worked somewhere that was really running smoothly? Bigger question, if so how long did that actually last for?

BITTERSWEET

So far, the new job is alright. Not fabulous, not terrible, just alright. It's a well-run sports bar in midtown where I can be more relaxed with customers. I don't have to remember pivot points and who is "supposed" to order first. There's no need to open bottles of wine because everyone drinks beer, and I can swear at customers, just as long as it's friendly swearing. I can watch the football games, I get a long break when I work doubles, and for the first time in years I have Sundays off. I like my boss. She's respectful, helpful, and understanding.

It is, however, the same old thing. It's difficult being the new kid, and to top it off this is one of those places where some of the waitresses are on power trips. They won't except help no matter how slammed they are, and if you're taking too long at the computer they tap their pen angrily when they are waiting behind you. A few are very friendly, but I must say a majority of girls that work there are just downright bitchy.

I miss my friends from my old job. Although the company treated us poorly, the crew I used to work with was amazing. It made work feel a little more like hanging out with your friends, and made it easier to put the fake smile on when someone sent their steak back to the kitchen for the fourth time.

On a lighter note, anyone who knows me and reads this blog knows that I'm obsessed with traveling. I recently found the perfect part time but unpaid gig at a travel website. It's keeping me going when someone leaves a pile of change on the table as my tip.

CROSSROADS

Ever since our restaurant closed suddenly for a few weeks, I’ve been stressing. I need to find a new apartment, I have no cash, and my gut instinct has been telling me to find another job. I try hard to listen to my instincts, but I find that it becomes difficult because your reason gets in the way.

Today instinct and reason collided. I was on my way to our sister store, whose manager had asked me if I would like to pick up a food running shift because they knew I was in a tight spot since our store’s temporary closing. They had made it sound like they were doing me a favor, and even though I knew the pay for food running was shit compared to serving, I agreed. After the shift, I was told that I had been put on the schedule every day for the next week.

Not asked if I could work, but told by the same company that failed to inform me until the day of that I would be out of a job for a few weeks with no form of compensation. The same company who I have worked hard for, 40-50 hours each week.

Here I was, on my way to my first scheduled shift this morning. A shift which I had learned was only available because their permanent food runner was gone for a few weeks, and they didn’t want to hire someone new. So I was filling in. Whose doing who a favor in all of this?

I reached the intersection between Central Park and the restaurant. Every step I took past the park and closer to the job was slowly killing me. People were laying outside on the grass, sitting on benches, enjoying the last few days of summer. I was about to give in, and allow someone to walk all over me. I stopped, and called a couple friends to ask for advice.

“You can’t just not go in, you need the money. Since it’s the sister store, if you quit there, when your store does open up your out of a job.” I realized their reasoning was right. I have a couple hundred dollars to my name right now. I can’t quit this job, I need to survive. So I walked in the store, down the stairs, stopped suddenly, and looked around.

I turned around and walked right back out.

I had no idea what I was going to do. My common sense was screaming at me how incredibly stupid I was for quitting, but my instincts were smiling. And so was I. At this crossroads in my life, between 5th avenue and 61st street, instinct has won the battle against reason.

I wandered around the city a bit and found myself a new serving job two hours after quitting. No resume, no application, no calls to an old manager for references. My new boss hired me based on her gut feeling.

"I can't believe how easy this was!" she said.
Neither could I.

WITHOUT WARNING

I've been in Hawaii.

That is my excuse for the lack of postings and I think it's a pretty damn good one. Although, I probably could have hooked the laptop up in the hotel room, seeing that I was in a tropical paradise, I just didn't feel like it. I stayed on Oahu, but visited the island of Kauai. Oahu was loaded with tourists, so naturally I preferred Kauai. We rented a convertible and took off looking for waterfalls, beautiful beaches, and hot surfers.

I met Dog the bounty hunter (don't ask). I went skydiving over the mountains, visited the grand canyon of the pacific, went surfing, hiking, drinking and ate way too much food. Life was good. Flying back into New York was like returning to hell. I received a message from a co-worker while I was away that the restaurant would be closing for 2 weeks in order to fix some issues in the kitchen. (Awesome timing). I move into a new apartment this month, just spent too much money on vacation, and now I am out of a job. I don't think I will be returning to the restaurant after the closing period. It doesn't seem right that they can close just like that, without warning.

It often seems that OSHA forgot all about the restaurant industry......