Friday, October 28, 2011

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!

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