Remember When???

So last night, I got into an interesting conversation with one of my co workers...

We've both been at the restaurant for WAY TOO many years, so between the two of us, we were able to remember some of the most interesting moments.

Remember when a certain waitress accidentally sat on a tub of grill cleaner that was left out of the closet and got burns on her behind? (Yeah, really toning that down - I know)
I hear she still has scars. She was out for almost two weeks. (Sorry, honey, yes, we laughed...)

Remember when the teenagers set off the fire alarms and we all had to go outside and wait in the rain for over an hour while they cleared the building?
Yep we were busy that night! And we still had to go back in to clean up the messes on the table. Too bad no one had to pay...or tip...

Remember when the power went out, and I was waiting on a party of 10 that would certainly have left a sweet tip - if I could have served them food?
Yes I do - and remember cleaning up the mess in the galley after waiting over 2 hours for the power to come on?

Remember when we got the alarm for the take out people to "wear" to the cars?
Remember how many times the restaurant lit up and the alarm rang through the dining room before they took it away???

Remember when Woburn had ecoli in their drinking water, and we caught people brushing their teeth in the bathroom?
And scrubbing their armpits?

Remember when a certain bartender chased a customer out the door because he left a crappy tip?
Yep - she got fired...

Remember when a certain waitress chased a customer out into the parking lot because they didn't pay? Then proceeded to scream at them even though the customer was twice her size?
I miss her...

There are a million more... and I'm sure we all have some...

Where did the Doorservers Go???

Don't get me wrong... I know that being a doorserver is not an easy job. I've done it. I hated it. I would do everything I can to avoid doing it again.

But the fact remains that a crappy doorserver car ruin your night. And don't think that only the new ones are the crappy ones....

So I have put together a little list of important points to remember, just in case anyone needs a little refresher course.

*Someone needs to stay at the door. There are 4 of you, you can't all walk off at the same time...

*You really need to know where the clean tables are before you start walking people into the dining room.

*Since there are 9 food servers, please follow the rotation set up by our corporate managers to make sure all servers get at least one table.

*Don't make elderly people walk through the entire restaurant for a back table.

*Don't skip me because you just sat me 10 minutes ago. I can handle it.

*Don't put people on a wait if I have 3 open tables.

*Don't forget about Station 9. I know it's in the back, but.....

*Don't give customers menus with teeth marks in them ~ or hot fudge on them.

*Don't seat dirty tables.

Anyting else??

Babysitting???

You know the night is off to a rough start whan the first three tables you wait on all have some sort of issue.

I'm working on the bar tonight, but I got to hear a wonderful story from one of the more animated waitresses.

Table number one ~ Read the wrong price when ordering and was upset by that extra $2 on the bill.

Table number two ~ "But the Medeteranean Chicken doesn't look like the picture..."

Table number three ~ Declined Credit Card. So what does he do??? Leave his kids at the table to run to the ATM. Ummm... ok, but there"s gonna be an extra charge for that...

Can We Put the Yankees on the Big TV?

"No"

I love bartending.

Notes from the meeting....

They let me leave the meeting 30 minutes early, so I feel a little bad about trash talking, but seriously, was it really that important?

First, they fed us Tootsie Rolls (At 8AM?) Ok
THEN - they told us that the person who took the most candy at our table had to stand up in front of everyone and share something personal about their life. Thank goodness I can't eat candy until after that second cup of coffee is down.

Next was the Award Ceremony - which for the first time went to someone who is not a huge show about how much she helps. Someone who actually DESERVED the award. I was already impressed.

Following the Award Ceremony, we took a look at out Customer Service scores. Almost impressive - we're near the top of the company. (Hmmmm - manager's scores are a little low, though...)

Next - and this is my favorite part - we got to ROLE PLAY being servers. Please tell me we weren't expected to take this seriously, because I need far more coffee to pull this one off.

Finally, we - Oh - 9:30 - Time for me to sneak out the back door!

So I arrived back around 5PM for my bartending shift. What a riot! Half the staff was on doubles, the entire bartending staff had been at work since 7:30 AM. We were too tired to pretend that we were anything but a bunch of laughing idiots. We had a blast.

Thank goodness for regulars. I simply told them about my day, and to keep their expectations low. They loved it. So did my tip jar.... Maybe I need to be tired more often.

Mandatory Meeting

Don't you love those???

One of the joys of working for a corporate company who thinks that the $2.63 an hour that they pay me entitiles them to impose on the rest of my life.

Oh Wait - that's right - they do provide me with the Opportunity to make more money.

Either way - there is a "mandatory" meeting tomorrow morning. 7:30- 10 AM.

Ok - so I show up a 7:30, leave early to go open my shop at 10, work at my shop until 3, then go BACK to this hole to bartend until 12:15.

And the best part - after paying for gas to drive back and forth, it will actually cost me to go to this meeting....

I'm irritated. Does it show?

I can post from work.....

Well that just added a whole new dimension to my blog. Usually I can sit and reflect before writing. I can find the words that show the emotions in a humourous light. I have time to cool down before writing something that would surely be no more than a rant.

Not now. Now I can share the honest truth behind being an overworked waitress.

New wait staff, pushy customers, angry cooks - beware...