Missing Teaspoons

At work last night and probably for the 1000th time in the past 30 years there is a certain point in the service when you are getting a dessert or coffee , of which we use the same spoon for each where I work , and someone blurts out , " where are the spoons??" " There is never enough spoons in this place!" To which I remarked back , " You have to wash your own."

It seems like either the bussers cannot keep up or there is a serious shortage of spoons. I even think it is the utensil of choice that people walk away with in their pocket. Methinks it is a combination of all three. I have gotten so use to the habit of checking for spoons in the dishpit and doing my own washing and polishing that I do not think twice about it.

I will explain why it is like that for me. During one of my contracts on the ship we had a real serious shortage of teaspoons and unlike when you are on dry land you just cannot run ashore and buy a teaspoon. The order has to be placed through Fort Lauderdale first , then they get it and send it to you at some distant port. It could take weeks.

For 114 passengers we probably only had about 35 teaspoons. We would manage somehow throughout the week to provide them with a teaspoon because they wouldn't be arriving all at once for breakfast. But on disembarkation day they would all come at once to get their last breakfast.

So every Saturday we would put the 35 teaspoons on the most popular seats and quickly as soon as they would leave which use to be pretty fast on this morning we would take that teaspoon and run it through and get it out to the next person who was about to have their coffee or tea. Now sometimes we had to use the dessert spoon when we couldn't do it. But the funny thing was even though we knew it was a pain in the butt we had to do it. Everyone got pretty used of it.

Well we finally did get more teaspoons on that ship. Also later last night I noticed more spoons being taken out of their packages so that trips to the dish pit should cease at least for now. A good thing indeed.

Does anyone agree that it appears the utensil that most restaurants run short of is the teaspoon or is it just my experience only? I have never worked in a restaurant that did not have enough of forks and knives yet....