Always Tell The Supervisor

Three nights ago I had this table of 10. Some arrived early and ordered some drinks that was followed shortly thereafter by the rest of the crowd.

The first few brought a cake for the girl with the seventeenth birthday. Oh joy!

So I put it in the fridge as it was her favourite cake and this was going to be her surprise at the end of the meal. The meal progresses along and I am doing the table checks , refilling sodas and getting drinks for the adults. Everything is a thumbs up it appears. The food is good etc..

Then upon clearing I notice that the birthday girl has left quite a bit on the plate and starts complaining that the food was cold and the steak wasn't cooked for her at the proper temperature. Boyfriend beside her starts complaining of the same thing.

I mention to her that I did do the table check and was around the table so why did she not let me know. I take the plates away and start getting the cake in the back ready with a candle , knife , plates and forks.

I wanted to get the cake out quickly so I could move the meal forward , get the coffees or whatever else they needed and get them out of there. But when I got back her mother who was sitting at the other end of the table mentions to me about her daughter's steak so now I realize this is a big deal. I get the supervisor over to talk to her.

It is not that I was going to ignore her complaint but when someone complains and they have had that plate in front of them for 45 minutes , well I figured the issue was a dead one. I did offer to get it redone though. Shortly thereafter the supervisor makes his way over and she gets her discount.

Her mother meanwhile is still a bit upset at apparently the way I treated her daughter by seemingly ignoring her when I cleared her plate. Appearing indifferent I suppose.

I tell her I informed the supervisor and that he has already spoken with her. She then calls the daughter at the other end of the table over and ask if this is true. The daughter says yes and that some of her meal will be taken care of. Oh her mother says , I didn't know that why didn't you tell me ? Her mother then says to me that her daughter thought I was a little ignorant of her complaint. Then I chimed in , oh were you upset with me??

Then I added this beauty , I said when there is a complaint like that I don't get involved because it disrupts the service. I just call the supervisor over to handle it.

You know if some 17 year old is going to complain 45 minutes after being served and now her mother is ganging up on me I take it off my hands. The situation is hopeless for me to correct.

Well when I told her this her and everyone else at the table was commenting on how excellent the service was and how they loved the meal. I looked like a real star now instead of the insensitive waiter I was a minute ago.

What I do now especially working for a corporate chain is when the situation is beyond my capability to fix I just call the supervisor. Even if the person refuses to allow me to fix the problem I get the supervisor over. I just take it off my hands and let the supervisors deal with it. My job is to serve and if someone is going to give me a hard time I wash my hands.

Never try to fix a hopeless case. Concentrate on serving the others. Let the supervisors deal with the impossible ones. That is what they want to do anyway. It will save a lot of e-mail complaints to corporate afterwards.

Monday's Job History

For the last few months I have been recapping my job history in the hospitality industry from when I started in 1979 to where I left off last week at the year 2000.

This is where it ends. Yes folks the next few years both work wise and financially were not great. A litany of job changes and a bankruptcy in 2003 ensued. Just conjuring up those years would just be painful and I don't want anyone's sympathy. We all go through stuff in our life.

You know coulda , woulda , shoulda. My successful years in this industry took place elsewhere , not here in Canada. Looking back my wife and I woulda worked a couple more contracts on the ship together and saved a whack of money and moved to Iceland where my wife is from and where her family is. I liked Europe a lot. I shoulda learned Icelandic and worked in a restaurant there where if you start a family at least there is some retirement money put aside for you and you get some benefits. Perhaps as well I could have put some knowledge that I had to good use , rather than let it sit dormat.

For instance , last night I needed a dessert and a few cooks had already been let go for the night and here I was at 10:45 punching in a dessert. A real simple one. When I asked the cook if he had got the order he said oh yeah here it is and then proceeded to continue with his cleanup. I said are you going to make it or what?! He says I don't know how and I shook my head in disbelief. No one taught him. Well find the fuck out how to make it!!!!! But instead of asking ,two of us waiters were showing him how to do it.

Here the industry is a joke! Unless the government intervenes and makes employers treat service personnel in their establishment as something more than piecemeal or hired slaves until no longer useful , it is only going to get worse. Pay a less than minimum wage and that is predominantly what you will get most of the time is people passing through.

Some of you who are in the profession who are reading this are having fun in your single years but there is no advantages when you are married with kids. In fact , my next plan is when both my kids are going to school full time is to find a day job where my evenings are free and only work a couple of nights waitering , so I can see my kids instead. It is a 3 day long weekend here and I have 2 kids who want to do something so the only free time we had , my wife and I , is this afternoon and the kids are climbing the wall. We are going out this afternoon to get some air and sunshine.

It sounds like I am painting a bleak picture but really this industry is great either working part time or when you are paying for your school expenses and just having a beer after work before heading home. Nothing more. If you are a supervisor it is like running a freakin' daycare!

Okay that is enough for today. My sons want my attention and tomorrow we are back to the quiz.

So Why Should You Stay in Hell's Kitchen?

I know some of you out there have seen Hell's Kitchen with chef Gordon Ramsay asking that question to two people chosen by their respective teams to be booted off that night.

It is a fair question to ask. In fact , it is the only question a prospective employer should be asking someone who is aspiring to be a top chef in a beautiful restaurant to be paid a huge salary. But let's look at why he is asking this question because wouldn't it be easier just to look at one's cooking skills on the show to pick who would most likely succeed in such a position?

When the two give their answer he is looking for one thing and that is conviction from the person who is answering. He is looking for a fighter , not just someone who can cook. He is looking for someone who is tough enough and believes in themself and their ability so much that they can overcome setbacks and continue on with the job. He is looking for a leader with passion. Someone he can count on.

This is what brings me to this post. When you are being interviewed for any position , you have to communicate to the prospective employer why he or she should hire you. When I was in sales a short while I learned you can never say a feature without adding a benefit and the same goes when applying for the job. A lot of people say a lot in the interview of what they can do but never add the benefit. They talk features only.

For instance if I was to say I have over 25 years experience as a waiter to someone , that means nothing to them , until I add , so that you can depend on me to be highly organized and able to handle a very busy section when called upon. So the prospective employer now knows that my experience will help out him or her in that way.

Whenever you are being interviewed learn how you can match the features you have and tie them with the benefits the prospective employer is looking for. Be excited and clear about it.

If you are leader of a brigade whether it be in the kitchen , dining room , or anywhere else for that matter find out what motivates your team. If you know what motivates someone then you can use that to work for you. For example , someone needs to work late and is not quite up to it you could probably remind him or her that if they do , then the discipline they learn now by putting in an extra couple of hours will stand well when they have their own restaurant , if that is indeed what they want. Or like me the other night when someone ask if I wanted to leave early I replied back with a no because I want to make extra to buy a patio set we need for the porch.

Really all interviews basically should be , " why do you want to work here?" Just be ready for the answer when asked in the interview and if not bring it up yourself and list 2-3 features and benefits. You will soar above the other applicants.

I think all Ramsay wants to hear from someone rather than the babbling that spews from these contestant's mouths is ," Chef Ramsay , just give me the ball one more time so that I can prove to you I have what it takes to run a fantastic five diamond restaurant." "You will not regret giving me that opportunity."

What thoughts do you have on what motivates the employer and employee?

The Two Most Important Times of the Day Someone in Charge Has to Be In the Restaurant

Okay maybe it's just me but there is some places that everyone has worked at where the restaurant serves breakfast , lunch , and dinner like the inn where my wife works.

There is perhaps a Restaurant Manager and 3 Supervisors. When my wife opens for breakfast there is always the problem that the night crew has not set up things properly , or done the silver , etc... This causes a great deal of stress for her in the morning. This only happens when no one is present to supervise closing duties to ensure things are done right for the morning shift.

My wife is responsible for setting up the breakfast buffet and other breakfast opening duties. The supervisor saunters in around 8 or 9AM when it would be too late to fix anything or see what hasn't been done the night before. So if someone shows up late or there is problems with getting the food out for the buffet on time etc... it is generally all left up to her to handle. Whereas having a supervisor would be helpful to facilitate things.

I really believe if a dining room is to work the first hour and the last hour has to have a supervisor present at all times. This is when the most things happen. Maybe a guest is becoming a bit obnoxious after too much to drink at the end of the night or in the morning a group is coming in and no one the night before did a proper set up and they changed their time of arrival creating havoc amongst the service staff with no leader present.

Too many places I have seen the managers and supervisors beg off early in the evening or arrive later in the morning only to hear what happened after an event occurred rather than being their at the time it happened to fix the problem. Managers have a tendancy to delegate their job over to others who are inadequate. My wife is more than adequate but she is not a supervisor.

So in my view my suggestion to all supervisors and managers is have someone in charge during the pre-opening and the closing of a restaurant. You will find it to be a much smoother operation and a happy bunch doing the work.