Room for Imrovement

this may or may not become an ongoing feature of the site, but i think "Beneath the Service" can use a counterpoint.

There is certainly a tense dynamic between service staff and customers that is at the heart of "Beneath the Service" and other industry insider "manisfestos," but, in discussion with a fellow restaurant worker, we agreed that what often starts out as airing grievances, in some cases, can rapidly degrade into a rant excusing one's own shitty service skills. that is never what i want "Beneath the Service" to become, and part of avoiding that is being able to turn a critical eye inward, to ourselves and our practices as industry workers.

Additionally, there is something of a tense relationship between industry workers performing different duties -- the rivalry between the kitchen (the back of the house) and floor staff (the front of the house) is age old. similarly, rivalries exist amongst the host and the servers, servers and bussers, servers and bartenders. well, between servers and everyone, really. within the last week or so alone i've heard industry workers spitting stereotypes about the other stations: " servers don't do enough sidework," "servers don't care about the food, just about money," "bartenders are lazy," etc. etc.

the sad thing is, these wouldn't be stereotypes if they weren't earned in some capacity.

the following is a list of areas in which i've noticed we have room for improvement.

The Stupid Things We Bitch About:

I am usually on the side of my fellow restaurant and service industry workers when it comes to complaints about customers but I have to draw the line at a few complaints that make us seem petty and whiny. Everyone's life would get better if we could work up some self control, and quit inviting the criticism we often deserve.


1)"I can't believe that they just came in 10 minutes before we close!"

I have absolutely been guilty of this. But operating hours are operating hours. The key words in the sentence are "before we close." Before means we are not closed. Not closed means open. Open means there to do business and serve people and put some more money in the register (as well as your pocket). If the sign on your door says open until 10, you should be ready to seat people until 10. Period and end of story. If you don't want to serve folks at 9:50, then change the sign on your door to say "We close at 9:50." The places that I know that have the biggest problem in getting business (and staying open for business) all have/had consistency problems in their hours. Any server or cook worth their salt knows that we depend on the customers for our income and that we never get out of work when the sign on the door says closed. Your job, whatever station you work in a restaurant, is to service the customer. This is what we've signed up for, and what is possible for us to do in order to make customers happy is what should be done. That can mean different things at different times, but in the time between open and close, it is our job. Stop bitching and feed the guest so they can leave and tell everyone how great it was that you "took care of them so well so late in the night." All they want to do is eat and drink and to give you money. Make it happen and stop whining.


2)"Separate checks...really?" Yes, really.

I've also been guilty of this one. Most of the places we work in these days have very easy to use computer systems that make getting orders to the kitchen and bar and getting checks to the tables much easier than in some of the places I've worked, with handwritten checks and calculators. If we ring in things properly (usually by using seat numbers to differentiate where everything on the table will go), it is a very simple task to divide the check up properly. Again, give the guest what he/she wants and make them happy. That is your job, first and foremost.


3)"Canadians/Blacks/Asians/Foreigners/Teachers/Old Women/Insert Generic People that don't look like me or look like they are not rich here do not tip."

Ok. Not proud of it, but guilty as charged. And, yet again, bullshit. Some people tip more than others. Some people have more money than others. Some people are more demanding than others. It is easy to stereotype people by the above categories but, for whatever reason, some people just don't tip well. When you get that "bad tip," move on. If we go into a situation thinking that something is going to happen, we often subconsciously do things that make it so. If we treat everyone with an equal amount of courtesy and respect, no matter their ethnic or other identifiers, they will tip us the highest amount that they would ever tip for service. For some people that highest amount might be 10% and for others it might be 50%. I can't control what that percentage is but I can control whether or not a guest will give me more than they usually would. If I make them happy I will ensure this and I will make a consistent 20% to 30% on the floor or bar every shift that I work after tip out. If I do that, I will make more money than most other servers and bartenders and I will not be bitter about my tip. Do I want to make money? Absolutely. The best way to do that is to do the job well. Control what you can -- your attitude, your level of service, how you treat people -- and quit worrying that this type of person or that type of person isn't going to leave you the tip you think you deserve. Try it for a month and tell me you did not make more money than you ever did....


...and finally

4)"I am only doing this until I get a real job."

At this point I'm sure you're not surprised -- I've been guilty of all of these faux pas. But this one can be particularly offensive to a service industry worker that treats what they do with the respect it deserves. This IS a real job. Be professional; give a shit. You can make a great living in this business, especially in a town like Buffalo, and it is a business that is almost recession-proof. I know that you are working on your Masters or you are just waiting for that Bank job to open up and when it does, I wish you well. Until then, be a professional. Make people happy. Show up to work on time and help your fellow staff members with their jobs. You might not want to do this forever, but this is what you do NOW. You are getting paid -- by your employer and your customer -- so earn it. Make some money and enjoy the ride.


Until next time, have a pleasant night!

gristy grist -- Tabree's old Elmwood location to be filled?

for being a professional eavesdropper, sometimes my hearing isn't so good.

so when i overheard whisperings about the future plans for Tabree's former Elmwood location, i guzzled my beer, inched on over, and with the natural, covert, black-ops sneaking tactics i was gifted with and have put to general misuse, i learned a little more.

the whispers were from Jill Forster, whose plan is to open a cheese emporium in the intimate space that caps the opposite end of the building which also now houses Epic Lounge.

here's the run down:

the name - not sure if this is a substantiated conclusion, but her business card says Nickel City Cheese & Mercantile

projected date of opening - as soon as january/possibly not until mid-march/who knows

the product - cheese, of course. although it sounds like there will be some cafe style service there, including sandwiches, and...nachos!  the store will be carrying pates, and possibly the customary fruits/vegetables that like to keep cheese from getting lonely (i specifically heard olives mentioned).  there is also talk of Mac & Cheese being a menu item as well.

additionally, Jill mentioned that we should be on the look out very soon for an olive oil shop to be opening about four storefronts down from her future shop, with which it sounded like she would be developing a professional relationship with once she opened Nickel City Cheese.

anyhow, sounds like fun.
thank God i'm not lactose intolerant.

lastly, as a point of interest only to me, i had to chuckle when i overheard a unanimous trashing of a former employer's flagship Mac & Cheese dish.  sometimes palate does win over ego.

**************** update from Jill herself ************************

" Most of what you say is true, but no nachos or cafe! There will be cheese classes on the patio, hopes for beer & wine & specialty groceries & cured meats from my favorite chef, Steve Gedra. Mac & Cheese will change weekly, but none with seafood!"

thanks for clearing up my confusion Jill, and best of luck.

the Rumor's Mill, #2

hello, readers.

there seem to be more of you now since the last time i've posted, and for that i have to give credit to the twitter plugs from both BuffaloEats and BuffaloDotCom, and an interview with BuffaloSpree.com.

i hope i can both validate and sustain the interest.

onto some news:

Cantina Loco - why isn't this place open yet? the projected opening was supposed to be in September was it not? a quick trip to the Allen Street Bar and Grill last night shows that future Loco manager Drew Love is still working in his current position as bartender. One contact of mine speculates that the hold up is possibly due to the contractors and their poorly paced outfitting of the kitchen's ventilation equipment. Another source tells me Cantina Loco's delay in opening is due to the even more poorly paced process it takes to get that little slip of paper from the State Liquor Authority. Is there any Buffalo restaurant that's opened in the last two years that these guys haven't screwed over?

********************************************** update *****************************************************
Mike Andrzejewski (proprietor, Cantina Loco, SeaBar) was kind enough to give us an update on Cantina Loco's delays"

"Hola- Cantina Loco..You are on the right track, Alot of Building ,Construction,Electrical,Plumbing etc ended up being done, as well as refrigeration etc. Kitchen exhaust contractors actually did a great job even though they had to go up 5 stories with the vent. Liqour license is still working and was as much our mistakes as NY>. Take Out will be available soon , then followed by Dining/Bar. Kitchen is practicing at Seabar so were getting closer..... Mike A"


Lagniappes (French Quarter Cafe)/Lucky Dogs - while some of this has been discussed already over twitter, between myself and BuffaloEats, it is ground worth retreading. Its been some time since either of these establishments have had lights on. After a question about whether or not I had any idea if the close was permanent, I checked it out with a former employee of the French Quarter Cafe. My contact said that the close was intended to be temporary -- a "vacation" -- and that Chef Chris Silverstein was looking for a financial partner to help keep the establishments afloat. the request for bar help at the French Quarter was brought to my attention by several friends, but my contact made a point to tell me that the liquor license has been coming "next week" for about six months. The SLA strikes again, eh? None the less, Lagniappe's most recent status updates seem to confirm that they have secured a beer and wine license, and the lights in both establishments should be back on very soon. Hopefully this will turn things around for French Quarter and Lucky Dogs

Truffle Dinners - has anybody noticed there are two of these going down in November? Sunday, November 13th SeaBar is hosting a Truffle Dinner event thrown by Chef Steven Gedra and the folks at Bistro Europa. November 14th, Dinner with Danger is promoting a Truffle Dinner to be held at Torches -- undercutting the ticket price of the Europa/SeaBar dinner by $50. It seems clear this signifies a parting of ways between Bistro Europa and Michael 'Danger' Bernhardt, who had partnered up for the Truffle Dinner last year, but the cause for the falling out is unclear. Murmurs suggest the folks at Europa disagreed with the promoter, over the parameters of his promotional duties and privileges. The conflict seems as much about personalities as it is about demands, but it seems certain that Europa and company are done with Danger. Rumor suggests there is no love lost between Europa and Torches, which makes the latter's partnership with Danger in a Truffle Dinner intended to rival, in every sense of the word, Bistro Europa, seem antagonistic at best.

Rue Franklin - I received a tip off from a contact that the Rue had been sold by its owners, Joel and DeeDee Lippes, and that they had been spotted dining at an Elmwood restaurant with the new buyers. As my contact seemed to have quite a bit of information, including figures about the sale, I decided on a whim to see if that information could offer me any leverage in a conversation with anyone at the Rue, so I went to the source. At the time of the discussion between myself and long time Rue Franklin Chef, Corey Kley, the Rue had been operating under his ownership for about ten days. Chef Kley was quick to insist that Joel and DeeDee are not retiring, but moving on from restaurant work to follow other pursuits. They will, however, function as consultants to the restaurant and its new ownership. Chef Kley intends for very little change in the establishment -- the staff, decor, and direction of the menu will be retained in much the same fashion as it has under its former ownership. While Chef Kley refused to talk numbers, my contact claimed that the Rue, building and business, was for sale at an estimated 2.5 million, and that the figure for the business alone hovered around $500,000. Chef Kley did confirm that the ownership of the building itself remains with the Lippes. Whether or not the contents of the wine cellar is included in the estimated sale price is unclear, but it has been rumored to be appraised at around $40,000 in and of itself.

all right folks.
that's all for now.

thanks for reading. stay tuned for some upcoming features -- i'm hoping to make a "whatever happened to" post soon, and...i may or may not have a surprise up my sleeve, i should know in a few days.

caio caio

-DR

Beneath the Service, #1

I've been contemplating this blog feature for some time, now. in fact, before i ever knew i'd be doing a service industry blog, somewhere deep down i knew i'd be writing about all of the annoying things customers do, immortalizing it in digital format on the infallible interwebs rather than just simply bitching about it in the dark, dirty corners of restaurant service alleys with my co-workers.

the problem with finally beginning to write about topic of customer faux pas (...'s. es. 'ses?) is that there are so damn many to choose from. i don't know where to begin. for starters, everything in the movie 'Waiting...' is true. not all the time and not for every restaurant, but i've seen a version of everything in that movie happen in real life.

this feature isn't meant to be a threat. like if you make a mis-step as a customer, we're going to punish you. it isn't meant to be a tutorial, either. what it IS meant to be is an explanation of what is going on in a restaurant beyond the bubble of your table. and, more than anything else, it is meant to be funny. as angry as i might sound, keep that in mind. (angry people are funny, right?)

for this post, the scale that i'm using to gauge the customer annoyingness factor is the SAR scale, or Server Annoyance Rating, which is represented by a place setting:

this set up, here, is a server's dream: simple napkin roll-up, filled with silverware, on top of a bread plate (pumpkin optional). Easy, not a lot of stress involved, not at all confusing. This image equals you, as a table: easygoing, friendly, and not demanding or overbearing. You treat us like people, working a job and doing the best we can.

we'll get to what the other stuff looks like in a minute. first, let's air some grievances.

SEATING:

most people who walk into a restaurant, dine, pay, and leave, have little to no understanding of the mechanisms at work in the restaurant. and every restaurant is different, so the ONE restaurant you worked in for a summer during college isn't going to give you special insight either.

here's what's happening.

if you walk into a restaurant and a host or hostess asks you if you have a reservation, just relax. it does not mean you NEED a reservation, and in fact in many places you don't. what the host is trying to figure out is if you are one of the names on the seating chart, and he or she can mark you as having arrived. we just want to know what's going on in our restaurant so we can be prepared. no one's implying you screwed up by not making a reservation. unless they're implying that, and you did. like, if its Valentine's Day.

this isn't generally annoying enough to register as a blip on the SAR...

...but i've seen people look bewildered and indignant because they were asked if they were expected or not.

your table:
if you have a reservation, that's excellent! it shows forethought and consideration, and it helps the restaurant work that much more efficiently, now that we know to expect you.

if you don't, don't sweat it! we didn't know you were coming, but we're glad you're here now.

either way, you are getting seated at your particular table for a reason. we've planned out the whole dining room, for the whole evening, reservation by reservation. the general rule of thumb is that it takes a table of two approximately 45 minutes to dine; for three or more, we allow for about an hour and a half.

if a restaurant starts serving at 5pm and you show up at 5:01 to an empty dining room, that does not mean you have your choice of seats. usually it is not much of a problem to do some finagling, especially if it's early enough, but don't expect to waltz into any place you choose, pick out some other table other than the one we give you, and expect the phrase "the customer is always right" to be a good enough argument. it isn't. because, soon, this dining room will be full of other customers, and one of them is supposed to be sitting and eating at the table you sat yourself at, and guess what? when he comes in and he doesn't have a table because we "gave it away" to you, he's going to be pissed. he's going to throw a fit, because he made a reservation! he should have a table! why? because "the customer is always right!"

you can't both be right.
but that other guy is more right than you are.
so, please, sit where we seat you.
if you ask to be seated at a different table, don't act like you're entitled to it. recognize that if we are able to, we'll do it, and if we aren't, then there's a good reason why we can't. all of this apart from server rotation schemes.

"but, i don't want to be near the (fill in the blank)"

ok, maybe its too cold/hot under the air vent, and you're a brittle, 80 year old woman. maybe you don't like being next to the bar/doorway/kitchen because its noisy, or people are walking by all of the time, or the bartender is effing ugly. whatever, i don't know. while these are slightly more legitimate excuses for relocating to another table, the biggest problem with these seats you want to get out of so badly is you. other people sit in them after you, and other people sat in them before you got there. they're fine seats.

most of the time it isn't that the seats are bad, its that someone was envisioning some other spot in the dining room they had sat in before -- you are perfectly welcome to request the dark corner or the booth when you make a reservation. but if that's where you want to sit and you don't tell anybody...well....you're SOL.

but if you don't mind waiting at the bar, that table should be ready in about 45 minutes to a half hour...

SALLY ALBRIGHT

when you modify menu items, only billy crystal thinks you're cute.

ok, here's the deal.
everyone has something they like, don't like, prefer not to eat, or are allergic to, and that is a sliding scale for some people, and for others it doesn't budge.

i've modified menu items before, i get it. sometimes blue cheese just sounds better than american cheese on that burger you haven't tasted yet.

most of the time, mods are not that annoying. understand that items appear on the menu because someone created, tested, and approved that menu, and if they're a chef worth their salt at all, its a good idea to at least give their recipe a shot. I realize you're laying down your hard earned money, and you want to enjoy your selection, but every now and again, just as a favor to ol' Dining Rumor, try that dish with the okra in it. LEAVE the tomatoes on there, maybe. be daring and try it WITH the sauce this time. usually the guys in the kitchen know what they're doing, so try to trust them.

but you really need to modify it, huh? ok. no problem. we're pros, here. in most cases, that's not an issue. if you want to modify a salad, i'm going to tell you that 99.9% of the time, it can be done. salads are literally thrown together. anything we have in our kitchen we can usually add to it (we're going to charge you...), and anything you don't want in it is easily left out. the only problem is if it comes with, say, an avocado-ranch dressing, and you don't like avacado. chances are you wouldn't notice anyway, but we can't take the avocado out. if we have regular ranch, we can give that to you, but we might only have avocado ranch. otherwise, i advise a different dressing.

and that's really the problem with mods right there: if its already prepped, its hard to change. we can't take carrots out of the stew, the stew's already made. we can't take the wasabi out of the wasabi mashed potatoes, because we mashed the wasabi right into the potatoes. please don't be upset with us when we are unable to perform the alchemy it would require to remove the garlic from the red sauce, the butter from the butter poached salmon, the whatever-it-is that makes your pee smell funny from your asparagus. some things are just not doable outside of hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry.

the other thing? working in a restaurant is an incredibly high-stress experience, especially as a member of the service staff, and here's why -- not only are we dealing with the public, which bends us to points at which we thought we'd break, but we also deal with the kitchen. some kitchens are great. efficient, responsive, just pumping out food, because, hey, we're all in this together. some kitchens suck, some cooks are cranky, some chefs are absurdly egomaniacal. when you ask for a stupid modification like "can i get the special salad as my side salad," (and there are reasons why that is stupid) and i bring that question back to a cranky kitchen, now i've got them pissed at ME. and when i come back to tell you "no" without all of the choice expletives the kitchen staff inevitably attach to it, then i've got you pissed at me too. juggling pissed off patrons in the front and a cranky kitchen in the back is no picnic.

in any other line of work or social interaction, it's considered bad form to shoot the messenger, but we walk around with targets on our backs and we're often getting shot at from both sides of the fence.

don't mistake this for me complaining, or telling you not to ask for what you want to ask for. it is, after all, my job to be put out on account of other people's wishes. that's what i am paid to do.

you are welcome to ask for anything. ask away! but sometimes, no really is just a no. we're not being withholding. we're not keeping all the good ingredients for the special customers. essentially, i am paid to tell you things you don't want to hear as politely as possible. because without me, you'd have to have this conversation with the folks in the back, and they don't bite their tongues as well as i do, i promise you that...

at any rate, if you have a list of ridiculous and insisted-upon modifications, you better plan on faking an orgasm in the middle of the restaurant just to make all the trouble worth it.

ok, one more

WHY TEA IS ANNOYING

its the end of dinner. everyone wants to fill up the corners with a hot post-dining beverage, and some dessert. yum. excellent, great, that's at least an extra ten to fifteen dollars onto the check.

everyone else at the table gets coffee; you order tea.
why is that such a big deal?
simply because of how out of proportion the labor is for the product. coffee? easy. even decaf is easy. we brew it in quantity. in comparison, tea is like nurturing a caterpillar into a butterfly.

coffee -- i can do this several ways. but the best way, if there's a lot of folks at the table, is to stack a tray full of cups, saucers, spoons, cream and sugar, set the table from the tray, and then pour the coffee from a carafe.

x number of coffees and 1 tea -- apart from setting up coffee for everyone else, bringing regular and decaf carafes to the table, you, tea drinker, get your very own little kettle of hot water. which means a third trip back to the table -- inefficient, a little annoying. this goes on a saucer lined with a napkin, quite apart from the cup and saucer -- with lemon? sure...(now i have to cut lemon and go back to your table)...this all while your tea water is cooling and we hope you don't ask for more hot water, as we're juggling some other inevitably more important aspect of a meal at someone else's table. oh, sure -- we have honey.....i'll be right back...with that...for you. in some joints, they'll bring a tea box from which patrons may select their own tea. this excuses the staff from memorizing and rattling off what teas they offer if they have a selection beyond Lipton's black tea, but on occasion it gets a server pinned to a wall. if someone's too old to see, you show them the teas and they ask you what you have anyway. or they can't decide. or don't bother to read whether or not that tea is decaf. or ask if you have any other kinds. or all of the above. lady, its tea. just pick one. someone, somewhere in the dining room is starving because you can't manage to pick out a tea. table 12's food is dying in the window, and whether or not they enjoy their experience at this restaurant, tip well or come back at all is riding on you picking out a tea that's closest to your favorite Celestial Seasonings bullshit flavored tea you stock in your dusty old cupboard at home. pick a goddamn tea!

the worst is going through that process as a banquet server. asking for tea during coffee service at a banquet is like tripping a runner at the finish line of a marathon. so, so close to being done...and then TEA. baaaahhhh!

(pumpkins...not optional)


its fine.
really.
i get it, i like tea as well.
i often drink the kind i like to buy for myself.
in the comfort of my own home.
out of my favorite mug.
alone.
yessirree, that's when tea is best.

really, though. get the tea. but let's both make it as painless as possible, hm?

...a bit of grist, and a letter of intent

not sure if anyone caught Just Vino's most recent Facebook status update, but if you haven't, you can go look at it here.

According to a customer of mine who lives in the area, Just Vino's "long overdue maintenance" consists mainly of a slightly overdue renewal of their liquor license. Apparently the license, which was thought to run out at the end of October, had actually run out in September, in the sneaky way that liquor licenses are prone to do.

It is my understanding that the paperwork has been filed and "fast tracked" (...does the SLA have one of those? and how do you get on it?), and the owners hope to be back in the game in a matter of weeks.

here's hoping, and cheers to you fellas.

in non-news, i've been considering some ideas for a set of running features for this blog -- as the hearsay i come across isn't always as dramatic or newsworthy as some of the recent stuff (slow news days happen, right?). a few things i hope to incorporate into this in the near future are as follows:

a "beneath the service" feature -- wherein DiningRumor airs the grievances common to all industry workers -- customers, we love you, you help us pay our bills -- but sometimes you drive us crazy. come, commiserate. or learn how to piss off your least favorite industry worker. its up to you.

an "industry spotlight" -- some of you have places you go because you love the people that work there. what makes them good at what they do? we'll take a look.

"whatever happened to...?" -- some restaurants succeed. some don't. with the rash of closings, openings, moves and remodels, its apparent that it's tough business to keep up with. what are the factors that shut down a restaurant? this is kind of a labor intensive idea -- investigative, really -- so it will probably take more time to get a post like this together. but sit tight.

anyhow, that's all for now.

follow me on facebook and twitter for mini-updates!

the Rumor's Mill

being in the service industry, i come by all sorts of information, but it isn't always viable. it's sometimes hard to tell the difference between something that's really happening, and what a business owner wants you to think is happening. for all the uncertainty in the restaurant business, you don't often catch restaurant owners using words like "maybe," "hopefully," or "if." when i hear news and it doesn't pan out, i think of that line that Samuel L. Jackson has in Pulp Fiction when explaining how TV pilots work: "some of 'em get picked up, and become shows. some of 'em become nothin."

apply that sentiment to the following rumors -- some of them will pan out. some of them become nothing.

The Eights -- Over the last couple months, the owner was in talks with Kevin O'Connell, Jr., chef at O'Connell's restaurant and son of the local TV personality, to sell him the establishment. The impression of a former co-worker of mine after a visit was that if the Eights had been for sale, the Nussbaumer faction had no idea, and it appears the deal was intended to be a behind-the-scenes transaction. Since then, the bottom has apparently dropped out of the deal -- but whether the Eights is "for sale" is unclear.

NoNoo Ramen -- Just announced this week on their Facebook page that they'll be opening the last week of October, although their full liquor license is not expected to kick in for a couple months yet. In the meantime Van Every's apparently keeping busy in the kitchen at Vera...speaking of....

Vera -- "pre-prohibition era" cocktails? that's nothing. word on the street is that they're about to lay down their own barrel aged cocktails -- a manhattan, and a negroni. this is the sort of thing they do in real cities -- thanks for bringing a bit of cutting edge to buffalo, gentlemen.


The Whole Hog -- Is the City of Buffalo too hard on foodtruckers? I don't think anyone would agree more than Kathleed Haggerty, especially after having gotten the boot from the Bidwell Farmer's Market on Saturday. Could that be why she's been thinking of selling The Whole Hog to Merge's Kate Elliot? who knows. but rumor has it that Kate is looking to put a food truck on the road come spring, and she's been in talks with Chef Haggerty herself.

Michael "Danger" Bernhardt -- "Danger's" got a new project in the works. all the evidence suggests a possible foodie website or a...Buffalo Food Blog? we're all waiting with baited breath...