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I picked up a job at a bar that recently opened in Sacramento, which allowed me to put in my two weeks at the fast casual place I'd been working the last year (on good terms,too). They tried to hire me with a fifty-cent pay cut, and thanks to a lot of the good advice in this thread, I sat down with the kitchen manager on my second day and explained to her - over the course of a bizarre forty five minutes - that I wasn't gonna stay with them if they couldn't at least match my old wage. And she agreed! She said no one had ever put her through that before, like she was genuinely taken aback. She kept saying stuff like "well, cooks get tipped out" (they don't) and "well, you'll get more hours" (i do), but since the CA minimum wage just got bumped to nine dollars I was sure as poo poo not gonna lose anymore of the small lead in base pay that I had on the front of house. Thank you all for the guidance. Those two weeks, though, in between me giving my notice and being free of the fast-casual place? I was working three kitchen jobs, and it was loving torture. By the end of it I was just being mean to everyone, all the time, for no reason. Once business picks up at the hotel and I start getting shifts again I'll be able to just work one job, that I love. What a time that will be
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Sep 3, 2014 09:35
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Squashy Nipples posted:I've been back a few times now, so I know the layout better. It's a brand new one, laid out exactly as you described. Again, good selections of meat and cheese, but there were a few things I was expecting to find and didn't. I guess I just wasn't expecting such a strong emphasis on take out supplies, which take up about half of the building. If they don't have something you need feel free to ask them if they can order it for you. Yeah they might not have a ton of speciality items but for everything a restaurant needs they have a good supply of the important stuff.
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Sep 3, 2014 19:11
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http://m.sfgate.com/business/article/Yelp-can-give-paying-clients-better-ratings-5731200.php Lol yelp.
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Sep 4, 2014 01:48
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MAKE NO BABBYS posted:http://m.sfgate.com/business/article/Yelp-can-give-paying-clients-better-ratings-5731200.php Are any of the online restaurant rating sites worth a drat?
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Sep 4, 2014 02:52
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Republicans posted:Are any of the online restaurant rating sites worth a drat? I use yelp to find the places then I rely on Google ratings and urban spoon for actual feedback.
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Sep 4, 2014 03:00
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I feel very sorry for everyone who doesn't go exploring and find rad restaurants. The best experience is generally not expecting the great experience that happens, at least in my opinion. Want to know best new spots in town? Go to your favorite spot and ask your favorite chef. But that implies caring about food and the people that make and their opinions. I'd be hosed if I relied on some wannabe-yippie poser-punk eating on their daddy's credit card posting on the internet about how his god drat tea is lukewarm and OMG he's not going back because his toast was the wrong shade of brown. I'm not going there for the god drat tea. Burn the loving toast if the omelet's that-loving-good, I'll still tip well, ya know? Think about how many towns and cities there are in every state and country. Then think about how every one of those towns and cities has at least a few restaurants and cafes. "The possibilities are endless"? Yep. Sometimes you'll get hosed, sometimes you'll find love. You'll never know unless you venture into the night (or the day if you're a weirdo.) Sometimes you gotta go alone but, hey, if I didn't go to some music shows alone I wouldn't have met friends I have to this day or seen bands that I'll never forget. Usually those music shows are at restaurants, or the home of someone who works at one. P.S. Don't burn the toast, it didn't do anything to you. Also no offense to anyone who really cares about tea. I was making a rhetorical point, not dissing tea.
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Sep 4, 2014 06:44
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First day open down and so far a pretty big success. Not sales wise but food wise everyone seemed happy and we got some really good positive feedback on the food. Although after putting in almost 40 hours in the past 3 days my feet are pretty sore.
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Sep 4, 2014 07:59
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So after having basically just waxed about how amazingly easy I have it as a hostess, one of my ex-coworkers who is now a bartender is asking if I'd be interested working at her place, "even once a week is okay," because she makes the schedules. Problem is that management there is poo poo and they need bartenders right now because three got fired in one go this past weekend (one of them started a fistfight with the others while on duty), and I also have no experience bartending/barbacking. I'm already racking somewhere from 35-41.25 hours a week (with overtime pay) as a host/cashier where I currently work because the school semester is starting and our cashiers are students, and I'm legitimately giving this offer some consideration because it would run concurrent to my current schedules. Bartenders/barbacks in this thread, please give me horror stories to temper my clearly masochistic tendencies.
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Sep 4, 2014 09:07
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well i left my job at a high-profile restaurant because F*** THAT (seriously you want me on as dishwasher for 2 more years while you promote some slackass kids what kinda funnyjoint you smoking?) helped open up 2 pizza restaurants (both successful), worked as a warehouse temp to pay bills (F that), filled in as a low-paid dishwasher for a month while finding a job... it's been a ride in this metropolis and THIS THREAD offered stellar advice that i wouldn't have been able to get any other way. every time i sharpen my hanzo steel i will think of the steallar goons in this thread handing out the knowledge like it's some parade candy or some poo poo. btw, kids: drugs are very dangerous and you should have a trusted supplier.
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Sep 4, 2014 10:29
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seriously i hope that if you ever get to eat my food it will improve your life.
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Sep 4, 2014 10:32
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Kimitsu posted:So after having basically just waxed about how amazingly easy I have it as a hostess, one of my ex-coworkers who is now a bartender is asking if I'd be interested working at her place, "even once a week is okay," because she makes the schedules. Problem is that management there is poo poo and they need bartenders right now because three got fired in one go this past weekend (one of them started a fistfight with the others while on duty), and I also have no experience bartending/barbacking. Do not attempt to bartend if you have no experience and are currently only a hostess, you will be everyone's goddamned nightmare. Any place that would bring you on to do so is incredibly poorly run and has very low standards.
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Sep 4, 2014 11:03
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Kimitsu posted:So after having basically just waxed about how amazingly easy I have it as a hostess, one of my ex-coworkers who is now a bartender is asking if I'd be interested working at her place, "even once a week is okay," because she makes the schedules. Problem is that management there is poo poo and they need bartenders right now because three got fired in one go this past weekend (one of them started a fistfight with the others while on duty), and I also have no experience bartending/barbacking. you will make so much more money as a bartender if this other place is even moderately busy/not frequented by cheap shitheads (students) that said you're going to have a real rough time of it if you have no experience. See if they're going to train you at all, see what your friend thinks about your experience level.
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Sep 4, 2014 15:38
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Rather have somebody with no prior knowledge than somebody who has been doing it for three/four years in dives/sports bars. At least someone who knows how little they know is trainable without correction. Somebody who thinks they know how it's done and has bad habits is a real pain in the fuckin' rear end.
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Sep 4, 2014 17:29
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old prep cook comes in halfway through a job, pulls out a head of lettuce the other guy threw out from the half-full garbage can, the garbage can, the literal trash bin, "what, theres nothing wrong with this" and puts it with the clean ones. today was my last shift and this will be my last post here as i am going to go lift things for pay. fare well industry thread keep on doing your thing the loving garbage can
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Sep 4, 2014 19:37
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Simoom posted:the loving garbage can Godspeed, sweet prince.
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Sep 4, 2014 20:28
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Vegetable Melange posted:Rather have somebody with no prior knowledge than somebody who has been doing it for three/four years in dives/sports bars. At least someone who knows how little they know is trainable without correction. Somebody who thinks they know how it's done and has bad habits is a real pain in the fuckin' rear end. It's all in their attitude; I much prefer to hire someone with a few years of lovely experience that wants to learn than someone who currently works as a HOSTESS and knows nothing. Even of the hostess is eager to learn they are starting from scratch. Of course someone with bad habits is difficult to teach, that's why I don't hire people who went to "bartending school" or those who think 6 months at Joes bar is the pinnacle of bartending.
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Sep 4, 2014 21:30
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MAKE NO BABBYS posted:Do not attempt to bartend if you have no experience and are currently only a hostess, you will be everyone's goddamned nightmare. Any place that would bring you on to do so is incredibly poorly run and has very low standards. JawKnee posted:that said you're going to have a real rough time of it if you have no experience. See if they're going to train you at all, see what your friend thinks about your experience level. Perhaps bartender was the wrong term to use, I'd be a barback while learning. My ex-coworker who brought it up to me knows I'd be starting from scratch, but she was basically in my position (host, knew zip about bartending before taking that job and learned from the people before her) and would be training me. Hell, have to develop that experience somewhere if I do it. Of course, the fact that they lost three bartenders in one night probably says a lot about the place.
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Sep 4, 2014 22:08
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We usually have meat orders going out around opening time every day; the system we use is a sheet with time slots on it, and everything is written at 30 minutes before the designated pickup/catering leave time so we can always be ahead even if someone is a few minutes early. Today the opening manager put all 40 pounds to be picked up at 1030 in the 1030 slot, which would mean it was for 11 so I got a nice surprise when three people walked in right behind each other wanting their orders the minute we opened. Then the caterer showed up and had a last-minute add-on to their order and half of it was still on the smoker. On the list of ways to know it's time to bail: When you ask your boss if you'll still be employed and full-time after the incoming trainee is up and going and he can't make eye contact when assuring you that they don't intend to replace you. My PT job scheduler asked if I was open to working doubles Fridays, I said I'd prefer not to because I'm already working a ton as is. He said no worries, check the new schedule today and guess who works a double next Friday and training a new guy. On the other hand, I've been there less than two months and they already approve of my performance enough to have me training someone and working shifts alone, so there is that. My only worry is I am not comfortable on expo. I can do it unless we're weekend night bombed, but when the kitchen fucks up an order for the third time and I'm (as mandated by my bosses) calling that the lead ticket is at 25 minutes (11 is max acceptable) and I really really need that tofu to sell I can see the rage building in the KM's eyes. And I know that rage because I feel the same exact thing at my other job when the expo is repeating the same call they made thirty seconds before. So I'm trying to balance communicating what I have to without getting chewed out by my bosses with not overcommunicating and stressing a KM who spends half his time fixing messes made by people he pays to not make messes. Any advice from you all, FoH and BoH, on being an awesome FOH expo would be greatly appreciated. Vorenus fucked around with this message at 22:17 on Sep 4, 2014 |
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Sep 4, 2014 22:10
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Simoom posted:old prep cook comes in halfway through a job, pulls out a head of lettuce the other guy threw out from the half-full garbage can, the garbage can, the literal trash bin, "what, theres nothing wrong with this" and puts it with the clean ones. today was my last shift and this will be my last post here as i am going to go lift things for pay. fare well industry thread keep on doing your thing One time my boss pulled a bunch of lamb scraps out of the garbage (to be fair it was an otherwise-clean bag) and asked one of the cooks to grind it up and make a burger out of it for him to eat. Even after picking off what meat he could, and I'm pretty good at trimming lamb legs at this point so there wasn't much, the resulting patty had to have been well over 50% fat. He loved it and said we should sell it for about, oh, twenty minutes before the diarrhea kicked in.
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Sep 5, 2014 08:03
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Republicans posted:One time my boss pulled a bunch of lamb scraps out of the garbage (to be fair it was an otherwise-clean bag) and asked one of the cooks to grind it up and make a burger out of it for him to eat. Even after picking off what meat he could, and I'm pretty good at trimming lamb legs at this point so there wasn't much, the resulting patty had to have been well over 50% fat. He loved it and said we should sell it for about, oh, twenty minutes before the diarrhea kicked in. While there was no garbage can involved, I had a bartender that would walk through the prep area every once in a while (if he smelled pork) and ask for a strip of fat cap off of our braised pork shoulders. Dude would just eat like 8oz of fat, multiple times a week. He was still skinny and played a mean game of rugby. English people are hosed.
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Sep 5, 2014 08:56
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Naelyan posted:While there was no garbage can involved, I had a bartender that would walk through the prep area every once in a while (if he smelled pork) and ask for a strip of fat cap off of our braised pork shoulders. Dude would just eat like 8oz of fat, multiple times a week. He was still skinny and played a mean game of rugby. English people are hosed. Well, pork fat I can understand.
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Sep 5, 2014 15:35
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I love charred ribeye fat. Over 2½ pounds I start to feel ill though.
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Sep 5, 2014 19:23
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Got a call out of the blue from a James Beard awarded chef asking me if I'd trail for a lead line position at her secondary restaurant. No idea wether she got my resume or phone number. I think my ship might finally be coming in. It's a two hour bus ride each way but a bit more money and a poo poo ton more hours, but I'm tired of being the best at mediocrity.
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Sep 5, 2014 23:49
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Nevermind sorry guys my exit is false as a verrrrry prominent chef says i like your style, you have a great haircut, come in and do a stage for the garde station! it pays more than lifting boxes by quite a bit and so I have not escaped unless I gently caress this up which is very possible. Whatever. To the above poster I would definitely get into meditation as I have done very long commutes before by transit and it can be very stressful! Also there is nothing to do on a bus if you get kind of queasy reading while in motion. The ride home is sort of nice though as it gives you plenty of time to reflect on a job well done! And public transit is pretty empty at night so you can really sprawl out and not be inconsiderate! Enjoy and good luck!
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Sep 6, 2014 00:49
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Zosologist posted:I think my ship might finally be coming in. It's a two hour ride each way Your ship is a zeppelin.
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Sep 6, 2014 01:24
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Zosologist posted:It's a two hour bus ride each way but a bit more money and a poo poo ton more hours, but I'm tired of being the best at mediocrity. Move.
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Sep 6, 2014 01:25
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maaaaybe see if you like/have the job first
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Sep 6, 2014 01:30
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Oh come now I did a 2 hour commute for a few months and I am just fine this is the first week in 5 months that I have not had a night terror! its the small victories that feel best! go for it, friend!
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Sep 6, 2014 01:59
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Serious-post: I've been doing 60 miles one-way up I95 to the edge of Washington DC for about a year and a half; it's ideally just under an hour but usually between 2 and 3 hours. Yesterday it was 5 hours coming home with no AC and leather seats in 90/90 heat/humidity.  You get used to it, probably the same way a mule does (ie fantasizing about kicking the guy behind you in the head).Stay where you are and commute until you are sure it's the right job. However, eventually you will need to move to preserve any shreds of life outside of work. I haven't yet; I really miss cooking and loving, about equally.
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Sep 6, 2014 03:24
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I work at an east coast chain that rhymes with Barry's chubs. For the past 2 years been doing 50 hours on average each week cooking and sometimes delivering.for the most part everyone here is awesome. I'm the only American cook at my location and even still not every girl i see wants to have it off with me instantly. Just talked my way down to about 30 hours so i can focus on music. I think I'm gonna work here till I'm fluent in Spanish then move to Argentina and play punk for a couple years.
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Sep 6, 2014 21:16
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Splizwarf posted:Serious-post: I've been doing 60 miles one-way up I95 to the edge of Washington DC for about a year and a half; it's ideally just under an hour but usually between 2 and 3 hours. Yesterday it was 5 hours coming home with no AC and leather seats in 90/90 heat/humidity. This is complete truth. I have no restaurant experience (IT guy)...but I do also have experience riding DC-area public transit 5 days a week for 6 years (moved a few years ago), 1 hour+ each way - i'm pretty sure doubling that would have made me lose any trace of sanity I have left. Unless you live somewhere with a system that is vastly quieter, less crowded, and better maintained, it will absolutely crush your spirit eventually.
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Sep 7, 2014 03:05
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Splizwarf posted:it's ideally just under an hour VA drivers on I-95 are unable to drive past an exit without slowing to a crawl and creating another jam. And there are exits every few miles.
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Sep 7, 2014 20:56
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Apparently I'm the only one that reads labels, or probably cares. Because... I just...  
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Sep 8, 2014 00:12
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Korthal posted:Apparently I'm the only one that reads labels, or probably cares. I don't know what that is or which awful thing you're referring to, but yeah, you probably shouldn't eat that.
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Sep 8, 2014 00:28
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Naelyan posted:I don't know what that is or which awful thing you're referring to, but yeah, you probably shouldn't eat that. Probably the sodium content?
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Sep 8, 2014 00:47
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Well, it appears to be some kind of brined and/or cured meat product, so yeah, it's going to have a lot of salt in it. How is that news?
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Sep 8, 2014 02:28
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Liquid Communism posted:Well, it appears to be some kind of brined and/or cured meat product, so yeah, it's going to have a lot of salt in it. How is that news? The question is, is it gluten-free too?
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Sep 8, 2014 02:36
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bunnyofdoom posted:The question is, is it gluten-free too? The other night I had a server come back and tell me a customer wanted a gluten free ribeye. He was checking to make sure we could do that.
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Sep 8, 2014 02:39
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Mithross posted:The other night I had a server come back and tell me a customer wanted a gluten free ribeye. He was checking to make sure we could do that. I would sprinkle breadcrumbs on it outta spite. So glad I don't actually work in a kitchen anymore.
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Sep 8, 2014 02:42
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There's precisely one person in my life who I know has issues with gluten (and a host of other things that makes him a pain to cook for and also a real cave man when it comes to food). There are many, many more who demonize gluten or sugar or animal products or whatever the food demon of the week is. I think I reached the end of the rope when someone asked me if my cookies were vegan, because she'd just started the whole vegan thing because, "I'm a sucker for documentaries." 
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Sep 8, 2014 02:54
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