|
Black August posted:It's also about who you know, not what. I got a fellow busser who does it for shits and exercise from his day office job. Told me if I can blow the $100 for a few days of bartending school, he'll hook me up to be a bartender with a friend who owns like 3 places. So that's my next move, and I gotta be fast with winter setting in. Anywhere that asks for a Bartending school as a credential is full of poo poo and not somewhere you want to bartend. Barback and learn the trade, not eight variations on shooters and how to waste away at an Applebee's wannabe.
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 06:25
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 14:40 |
|
|
Heyfresh: Awwww, is your quail getting married? And by that I mean "those plates look/sound fantastic- I just have a thing about inedible garnishes." Best of luck on working with family. I get out to your neck of the woods every few years, I will make it a point to look you up. Bartending school might get you enough skill to lie on your resume and say you have bartending experience. Otherwise, it's a waste of money. Don't ever put it on your resume or tell anyone you went. That's actualy how, um, a friend of mine got a foot in the industry door in New Orleans. Yeah. A friend....
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 17:10
|
|
|
Since the topic came up, I've heard several times that people with bar tending classes are less desirable to hire than people with no bar / serving experience. That's got to be an exaggeration, right?
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 17:46
|
|
|
Arnold of Soissons posted:Since the topic came up, I've heard several times that people with bar tending classes are less desirable to hire than people with no bar / serving experience. That's got to be an exaggeration, right? Not really. I'd take no experience over no experience + bartending school. All you learn there are stupid tricks that don't belong in a real bar, and a bunch of drinks nobody orders.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 17:55
|
|
|
Agreed, bartending school is a negative in my book. But then, I also haven't been in the industry for a few years now, so what do I know.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 19:17
|
|
|
I can train larger breeds of dog to make cocktails and serve graciously, but I'd rather not break bad habits at the same time. Barback. Seriously. It's analogous to getting your start as a dish bitch or prep cook.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 20:43
|
|
|
When I see the job listings for Barbacks on Craigslist they always say you need like 2 years of experience 
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 20:49
|
|
|
Welp, crossed that off my list of schooling on my resume if I ever try to slide back into the buisness. Then again, 9 months on the line looks ok on my resume anyways, and if they ask me why I left, I can be honest about it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 20:50
|
|
|
Also I'd hire BoH anyway to barback. Skills translate well, including the after shift binge drinking, carrying heavy poo poo up slippery steps, and constant lower back pain.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 21:03
|
|
|
Wroughtirony posted:Heyfresh: Awwww, is your quail getting married? And by that I mean "those plates look/sound fantastic- I just have a thing about inedible garnishes." Best of luck on working with family. I get out to your neck of the woods every few years, I will make it a point to look you up. That is just a traditional fancy. That presentation is so it's placed table side and carved. You wouldn't just be eating an entire quail. That portion is for 2. I would never put something on a plate that cannot be consumed. It's traditional for presentation. Lamb from my previous job.  edit: I should point out I'm the only cook/chef/porter/etc! gently caress yeah to being your own boss. heyfresh888 fucked around with this message at 23:57 on Sep 29, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 23:22
|
|
|
I've had a few chef's over the years tell me they'd rather hire someone with almost no experience over someone with years of experience simply because it makes training the person easier along the way. I kind of wish I'd known that when I was living in the city because I would of aimed for better restaurants rather than the crappy cafes I ended up in constantly
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 00:25
|
|
|
Black August posted:It's also about who you know, not what. I got a fellow busser who does it for shits and exercise from his day office job. Told me if I can blow the $100 for a few days of bartending school, he'll hook me up to be a bartender with a friend who owns like 3 places. So that's my next move, and I gotta be fast with winter setting in. Bartending school is a scam and I would literally never hire anyone who listed it on their resume, I have done hiring for high end restaurants and the premiere bar group in the SF Bay area. I was voted Best Bartender In The Bay in a local weekly. Don't go to bartending school you dummy.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 00:47
|
|
|
Ok ok I won't go, I was told by a co-worker that he knew a guy who'd hire if I had that as a baseline experience, that's all. I'll just keep aiming for a waitstaff job somewhere else starting tomorrow, hopefully I can get in somewhere before the holidays.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 00:52
|
|
|
Black August posted:Ok ok I won't go, I was told by a co-worker that he knew a guy who'd hire if I had that as a baseline experience, that's all. I'll just keep aiming for a waitstaff job somewhere else starting tomorrow, hopefully I can get in somewhere before the holidays. If you trust the guy, it might be worth the $100 to get the job. Just don't ever tell anyone after you get hired that you went to bartending school.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 00:58
|
|
|
Naelyan posted:If you trust the guy, it might be worth the $100 to get the job. Just don't ever tell anyone after you get hired that you went to bartending school. I mostly trust him. More than anyone else at that sinking ship. I figured I wouldn't mind eating the $100 cost to make some better money and then bounce. I didn't plan to mention bartending school ever, no.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 01:03
|
|
|
I'm not sure if there are too many UK goons that check out this thread, but if any of you are London based my work is looking for a head chef atm. It's a Japanese place, so some experience with that is preferable, but I don't think it's really make or break. If anyone's interested PM me or leave an email address in the thread and I can send more details.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 10:18
|
|
|
heyfresh888 posted:
Cool! I did not know that. In other news, I lost the job and saved the marriage. These are both good things! I outlasted all but one of the past 6 GMs, but he drank on the job so he doesn't count. I learned a TON, and hopefully made most of my 'new manager' mistakes. So I'll be ahead of the curve for my next gig. I'm actually really happy to walk away from that job when I did- I was being asked to compromise some principles I didn't want to compromise. Staying longer would have meant becoming part of the dysfunction, instead of being a force for positive change. I also want to get a time machine and go back and punch myself in the face when I was an overachieving server. Please, for the love of Pork, get right to the loving point when you are asking your manager for something. The length of your buildup is inversely proportional to my desire to grant your time off request. There won't be a new thread for awhile- I'm sidelined due to my respiratory tract being one huge Rube Goldberg machine of disease and dysfunction, plus dealing with domestic stuff.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 16:40
|
|
|
WELP.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 16:50
|
|
|
Hooray! Good news on the Marriage, and good news on the leaving lovely job before it kills you! Been there done the second!
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 17:19
|
|
|
Turkeybone posted:WELP. Your turn to make the new thread, TB.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 17:26
|
|
|
Before this thread closes, can a newbie to it get a more detailed explanation? How many jobs has Wrought switched from, and how did the new thread thing start?
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 17:31
|
|
|
Wroughtirony is dead. Long live Wroughtirony!
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 18:00
|
|
|
bunnyofdoom posted:Before this thread closes, can a newbie to it get a more detailed explanation? How many jobs has Wrought switched from, and how did the new thread thing start? All of them, every single job.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 18:26
|
|
|
Manuel Calavera posted:All of them, every single job. This. I think it was two or three threads ago that someone suggested switching threads every time Wrought gets a new job; it's pretty frequent. In the original thread before the rule was put into place I think she went through three jobs? I've just been lurking for a while. You guys give me reason to appreciate the staff at the restaurants I do go too and make sure to treat them extra nice. Wrought, huzzah on saving the marriage and on getting out of the current before it got worse!
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 19:24
|
|
|
Wrought - Yay on the marriage, I guess yay on the job?
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 20:19
|
|
|
Thanks. I believe the rule is we get a new thread every time I get a new job, so it will be awhile. For those of you just joining us, I have rotten luck, I tend to see the best in people even when I shouldn't and I prefer independently-owned restaurants. Add to that the fact that I'm a military spouse so I move across the country about every three years, not always to places with a great food scene... Plus I have the extreme luxury of not "having to" work to make ends meet. So I've taken some strange gigs that I knew were unstable in order to put a bullet point on my shitshow of a resume or to learn a skill. The plan now is to cozy up to a big hotel chain or maybe Darden and get on their FOH/Food and Bev management ladder and start climbing.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 21:04
|
|
|
Work for an Omni. Best hotel chain IMO.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 22:16
|
|
|
Would you all say it's most worthwhile to pursue a career in the hotel side of things, then? I see that said a lot in the thread, and it makes me wonder if I should focus mainly on hotels for seeking out a server or bartender position.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 22:55
|
|
|
Black August posted:Would you all say it's most worthwhile to pursue a career in the hotel side of things, then? I see that said a lot in the thread, and it makes me wonder if I should focus mainly on hotels for seeking out a server or bartender position. They're way harder to get into, but that's because they offer benefits, better money, stable hours, an luxuries like paid time off and sick days. They'll always pay you for your overtime. Basically you just don't get dicked over like you do in some places.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 23:29
|
|
|
Wrought getting divorced: "Man, gently caress that douche" Wrought saving her marriage: "I am ecstatic you and your wonderful husband were able to work things out. (gently caress that job, I guess)" More than anything, I'm glad I'm no longer going to feel the need to come out of "retirement" and come work FOH for you to help you out of your lovely job situation. Have you thought about trying to work for Kimpton? Great benefits, and they have hotels everywhere so transfers may not be that big of a problem. My friend tells me switching locations is easy, too.
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2013 00:59
|
|
|
Tweek posted:Wrought getting divorced: "Man, gently caress that douche" I find that not getting too personally invested in making sense of my personal life is the best way to keep it from driving me crazy. That advice goes double for people who don't know all the boring and confusing details. :-) Kimpton is pretty high on my list. We're going to be in the DC area for another few years and it will be awhile I'm healthy enough to work again, so I have plenty of time to go on interviews.
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2013 01:25
|
|
|
Wroughtirony posted:I find that not getting too personally invested in making sense of my personal life is the best way to keep it from driving me crazy. That advice goes double for people who don't know all the boring and confusing details. :-) I'm basically saying I'll be on your side regardless of details, so you can ergo take my support for the little it's actually worth. :p
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2013 01:54
|
|
|
Wait, what do you mean, 'healthy enough to work again'? How exactly did this job fall apart? 
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2013 03:25
|
|
|
Sometimes a stressful restaurant job and a shaky marriage combine to do things like completely destroy your mental health for months afterwards. I mean, that's how I ended up leaving the industry. Wrought, glad to hear that you dropped the stressful job instead of the marriage. I was in a similar position, though not quite so far along the divorce path, and I'm real glad I ended up dropping the industry and not the husband. Good luck getting one of those sweet, sweet hotel jobs!
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2013 10:29
|
|
|
Splizwarf posted:Wait, what do you mean, 'healthy enough to work again'? How exactly did this job fall apart? Me getting sick and losing the job happened at the same time, but it wasn't exactly cause and effect. I'm sick with the flu plus hosed up lungs and sinuses, plus my head isn't exactly in the game, as Skinny King Pimp pointed out. I'm loaded up with all the steroids, inhalers and expectorants modern medicine can throw at me, but it will be a few weeks at least before I can sit through a job interview without having a coughing fit. Also, Thanks, Tweek- sorry I took you the wrong way. :-)
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2013 17:30
|
|
|
Skinny King Pimp posted:Good luck getting one of those sweet, sweet hotel jobs! What could go wrong? 
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2013 18:03
|
|
|
So the past year and some change I've been the pastry chef/head baker at work. I supply two restaurants and a third on Sundays. Just this week we open a retail bakery and chef/owner decides that all pastry/bread prep needs to come out of our kitchen. Hello tripled workload and 17 hour days. Did some math, making a dollar below minimum wage. Hoo boy.
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2013 01:45
|
|
|
breakfall87 posted:So the past year and some change I've been the pastry chef/head baker at work. I supply two restaurants and a third on Sundays. Just this week we open a retail bakery and chef/owner decides that all pastry/bread prep needs to come out of our kitchen. Hello tripled workload and 17 hour days. Did some math, making a dollar below minimum wage. Hoo boy. Along with that decision, did they not decide to hire some loving help? Goddam.
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2013 05:04
|
|
|
Tonight I had a man who looked a bit like Mitt Romney ask me to bring the table 6 "Surfers on Acid" shots, and if we couldn't make that, 6 shots of chilled Patron. We are an upscale pan-American restaurant. A Surfer on Acid is Jager, coconut rum, and pineapple juice. We don't stock Jager or coconut rum. This is after they sent back 2 bottles of Malbec for "not tasting right." I brought 6 chilled shots of Siete Leguas repo, and they ended up giving me one because one of their party had left. It was a weird night.
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2013 10:19
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 14:40 |
|
|
Kenning posted:Tonight I had a man who looked a bit like Mitt Romney ask me to bring the table 6 "Surfers on Acid" shots, and if we couldn't make that, 6 shots of chilled Patron. We are an upscale pan-American restaurant. A Surfer on Acid is Jager, coconut rum, and pineapple juice. We don't stock Jager or coconut rum. This is after they sent back 2 bottles of Malbec for "not tasting right." While the customer is always right, they are often always a boner as well. Two different malbecs? Not corked, I assume. Also, what is it about chef/owners that makes them impervious to reason when it comes to things they don't understand? They can do menus, yes, and usually have a working knowledge of wine. I also get the kind of mind and behaviors that are needed to keep a kitchen functioning at a profit, so there's that, however once you move into FoH it's like they want to stab everything that they can't control. I have experiences I don't want to detail because I'm not nearly as anonymous as I'd like to think and my community is shockingly small, but right now I'm working at a restaurant with an excellent cocktail program, and the head bartender is stepping off this month. I decided to go with him because he's a friend and I am going to start working a different program by the time I come back from Portland Cocktail Week mid-month. Chef-owner asks me if I wouldn't mind doing a little consulting after the dust settles, see if I can't tighten down liquor costs and streamline some parts of the menu. He quotes a few figures, most of which I think are costs since opening and not month by month, I say I'll think about it. Next day I call my homie, who is shocked that he's getting the rug pulled out, and quotes me a different, much more reasonable set of data re: costs and P/L. My experience with chef/owners screams "he wants to kill what he doesn't understand, run!" while my inner whore says to take the money and see if we can't get a revamped menu in the press for winter. I'll wait to see where and how my mans end game goes before I do anything, of course, because I'm not a buddy-fucker.
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2013 16:57
|
|