There's Very Little Meat in These Gym Mats: The Restaurant Industry Thread

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > There's Very Little Meat in These Gym Mats: The Restaurant Industry Thread

breadingbutter: Dec 28, 2013; by Ralp

I started my first real restaurant job in June of 2013:

Downtown Seattle, upscale neighborhood, working dinner on Christmas Eve and NYE as a dishwasher and when asking the suate cook if I could get her anything she immediately said "a lobotomy"

Now I know why that sous chef told me to "get out while you still can" when asked for advice. (Nice guy, we have 2 sous' living together :allears:

)

Every one of the brutal dinner services running saute pans and politely asking the managers to have the bussers clear glass and flatware from my back station is an excellent reminder to study harder.

I like berserking in the dish pit: cooks love it because it keeps them from double-duty as my backup, and servers don't gently caress with you as much because they don't know if you really are crazy or what is going on in your head.

After 6 months and a holiday season - I do enjoy the fast pace and the rush of a balls-to-the-wall service (not to mention something in my mind about a girl sprinting in a t-shirt and yoga pants)
, but is too exhausting and... the look on the girl's face when she said that to me still kinda makes me wanna cry. I'm not considering it as a long-term career choice, though it is something I'd like to have some skill with for parties and storytelling purposes.

# ¿ Jan 5, 2014 04:18

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# ¿ Jun 2, 2024 13:50

breadingbutter: Dec 28, 2013; by Ralp

Wroughtirony posted:

If you're a chump, it's also the #1 way to make sure you never get promoted out of the dishpit.

I noticed that: the guy who was an rear end in a top hat and complained and basically didn't do poo poo got promoted (and failed out of his promotion (but kept his pay before quitting :argh:

)).
I have a dilemna where I'm busting my rear end AND training new recruits AND adjusting my schedule so kid can go to school, but I'm so damned lucky that I'm being paid a decent wage (also hotel = benefits) and working close to where I live...

My 6-month review is up... I've been kicking rear end in the dish pit (first time a prep cook had to help me was New Year's Day), I do prep work when people ask me to (not perfect, but I learn).

My big question is: HOW should I introduce the idea of a raise? I was thinking a mention during the review interview, or maybe a note on the super-official review form.

OR should I demand a raise tbd seek work elsewhere.

e: on re-read, I'm happy with my dishwasher position. I still want a raise, though.

breadingbutter fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Jan 5, 2014

# ¿ Jan 5, 2014 20:29

breadingbutter: Dec 28, 2013; by Ralp

Naelyan posted:

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons With Spoons > It's Not, It's poo poo All the Way Up: The Industry Thread

looks like somebody is blessed with a happy dishwasher.

# ¿ Jan 6, 2014 13:26

breadingbutter: Dec 28, 2013; by Ralp

Liquid Communism posted:

I am however advocating that you contact your state labor board right loving now, determine if repeatedly bounced paychecks are considered constructive dismissal, and if you can walk and soak his dumb rear end for unemployment for it.

# ¿ Jan 11, 2014 00:25

breadingbutter: Dec 28, 2013; by Ralp

Liquid Communism posted:

My boss just informed me that he's pretty close to closing on a contract that'll triple our overnight production and delivery numbers.

My liver nearly quit in protest.

NOW i'm serious DEMAND MORE PAY NOW THIS IT THE TIME PLEASE DO IT OR BABY JESUS WILL CRY.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2014 12:25

breadingbutter: Dec 28, 2013; by Ralp

welp - still washing dishes after 6 months: but it's with a hot downtown restaurant so they treat their dishwasher alright (got a very slightly burnt leg of lamb for dinner, holy poo poo!)

anyways about an hour into a packed dining room, chef got a saute pan of smoking hot oil dropped straight into his clog.

i was clearing the 2-rack dish machine (thank god for the mercy of a second dishy on weekends) and tidying up the utensils and spice rack - it sounded like this:

(saute cook): HOT PANS PLEASE
*CLANG*
(chef):[size="large"]gently caress!!![/size]

I don't think much of it (actually thought it was our resident rear end in a top hat server loving with the line), but when I swoop over, chef's foot is in the sink and people are staring.

he said "keep working!" - I was tempted to say "what, you never seen a guy with his foot in a sink before?" haha noobs...

anyways it was pretty bad - i'm guessing that it took about two seconds for his brain to register that his foot was in serious distress, and another 3 to get to the sink, his sock off, and the water flowing. he's out for a week, the sous who was 30 seconds from home and got called in for a double shift (and working tomorrow morning) was not pleased to say the least.

I totally could have been like "hey bro, full pant leg and laced leather shoes" just to rib him (since he was vicious on my 6-month review) but i'm really not petty like that.

gnarly looking burn, too. i'd say about 30 square centimeters (i dunno geometric in inches, maybe 12 square inches?). mostly second-degree, likely subdermal 3rd degree on a few spots.

the moral of this story is to wear long pants when people are slinging 500' oil around at high speed near your feet.

also talk nice about your badass dishwasher - because that may or may not have been a factor.

# ¿ Feb 1, 2014 10:46

breadingbutter: Dec 28, 2013; by Ralp

tomkash posted:

Hey thread, I've been following these for the past couple of years I think. Trying to convince myself not to enter/stay in the industry.. anyway I've been in for one and a half years now, six months as a kitchen hand and prep the rest on the line.

I've got a bit of a dillema at the moment I was wondering how best to handle it. So I'm salaried and have been for six months or so, the typical 40 hours paid but 56 worked kind of thing. Anyway I was ok with that since I was learning a shitload working with very talented chefs, the head chef however went on a six week break two weeks ago and the guy they got to replace him was terrible. No communication with the rest of us only him so of course it starts going to poo poo. I pick up the pieces and start managing the kitchen and because of the pay situation I also asked to be paid more weekly in lue of the unpaid overtime and now extra workload.

The manager asked me to work six days this week if I wanted because the head chef couldn't hack it and quit. So I said I would. I asked them last week and then once this morning how much id be paid exactly and no figure so I angrily asked again to be told before I work the hours. I get a rant explaining the owners friend has died yesterday and a mention of how I bitched about the poo poo head chef to "everyone" (two bar staff that asked me about it) and he was the help so basically shut up. So now I know the figure but the treatment the last week just for trying to get confirmation on any payrise and telling the manager that the head chef was wrong about food costings for his new menu has made me want to walk out of here ASAP.

Basically... What should I do? Give in two weeks notice keep the kitchen from going to poo poo despite being understaffed and underpaid until they get new chefs or just not turn up to work tomorrow? This is where I have the majority of my cooking experience so I'm just really worried about future jobs

Sorry for the rambling I'm currently 8 hours into today's 12 hour shift, a public holiday in which we stayed open all day and they canceled the kitchen hand's shift. Would just appreciate advice from industry vets before I screw myself one way or another. In Australia if it matters!

just saw this and my answer is to deliver an ultimatum: "pay me more or i walk, no i won't work as your lead chef"

# ¿ Feb 1, 2014 10:53

breadingbutter: Dec 28, 2013; by Ralp

been rocking the dish pit at a high-volume restaurant for over 6 months now. i want to move up but my (highly-competant) head chef says my skill level is not high enough. dish crew tonight was "perfect". i love working with BoH and FoH but man those cooks egos just pour over however hard you work (the guy who trained me basically gave me an extra buttload of work but i slammed vitamins and took that up in stride.)

also for the thread: "this bacon is square."

edit: the cooks give me a hard time about how fast they get things back and how i don't flow with them, but hey i'm setting records with the hottest company in town (which is now 9 years old). clearing 1200 meals in 20 hours along with prep dishes is a damned nightmare, i won't be doing it again.

----------------
This thread brought to you by a tremendous dickhead!

breadingbutter fucked around with this message at 11:43 on Feb 22, 2014

# ¿ Feb 22, 2014 11:36

breadingbutter: Dec 28, 2013; by Ralp

Well I worked 6 months as a dishwasher and now i'm really really good at that (600+ breakfast covers on top of line dump and prep dishes, also powering plates up to the bussers (which i know i shouldn't do but drat if they listen to me, and that metro rack can only hold so much weight...)

after quite a bit of thought (easy - nobody to talk to back there) i emailed hr telling them to advance me to busser at another restaurant or increase my pay(with more responsibility, i've already been training the new dishwashers and putting stock on ice, fetching this and that, made the lamb stock, etc).
i worked tonight (friday night) and was feeling a bit indignent when one of the cooks came back to yell at me about picking up the saute drop pan when i was busy clearing glassware and sorting silverware (really? you can come back to bully me but you can't drop the pans yourself when i'm busy and there are no tickets up?), so that was a 5-minute break for a cig while the dishpit piled up.

i stayed on, though. i've been hulking out on dish and they'd be pretty sore if i dropped the ball on them (i'm a nice guy like that) plus walking out on my customers (the line) would be a pretty poor image to give of myself when under scrutiny for that busser position. been clearing "perfectly" every night (and a few mornings) which of course worked against me, so the ultimatum (holding my job hostage basically) seemed the best option for me.

also my gatorade mix is 1:1 sprite:tonic on ice from the bar gun :black101:

PS (man food costs are getting wicked bad lately :saddowns:

)

e: i told the sous about the pay increase and he gave me a line about "hiring freeze, company wide, no pay increases blah blah"
so i was like "i checked the website, the email is already sent" the look on his face was worth it :owned:

, i understand now what his job is like so i don't hold any bad feelings against him for it.

breadingbutter fucked around with this message at 09:43 on Mar 1, 2014

# ¿ Mar 1, 2014 09:38

breadingbutter: Dec 28, 2013; by Ralp

kaitline posted:

Have any of you ever been taken off the schedule after attempting to put notice in? I haven't put in my notice yet, but I'm very concerned.

I have been an assistant manager on salary for a year, and worked as a server/bartender/shift manager for 2 years prior to that. When I was made rear end-man a new GM was appointed and I have loathed her from day 1. She delegates all of her duties away,is extremely unprofessional, makes all decisions based on feelings, and takes everything personally. The owner spent some time as the GM before that, and used to be very involved in the day to day operations. After the new GM was appointed, he never showed his face much. I had weekly meetings with the owner and gave him honest feedback on the GM, and he urged me to try to get along with her, learn how to "manage" her, convince her that my ideas are hers,etc.

Although she hand picked me, she starts complaining about my performance, mainly because I butt heads with her. For example, she "banned" me from the bar, because I was comfortable there. Not drinking at the bar or hanging out there, but spending time during my management shifts assisting or talking to the bartenders.I was also banned from talking to regulars. She told me that she only wants me speaking to people in the restaurant for the first time. I find out later she has asked other employees for details on regulars so that she can lie to the owner and act as if she speaks to guests at the restaurant. I have seen her speak to a guest about 3 times in the year I have worked with her, she avoids it at all cost.

My restaurant is a >100 seat farm-to-table concept, but the restaurant group is expanding, with two new restaurants opening at the end of the year. The owner makes it clear that he considers it automatic that I will be a GM, and even asks me which restaurant I want. This gets to the GM and makes her feel threatened, and I believe she starts to make up stories of me being incompetent or weak. One day she is yelling at me, and as usual I'm not reacting much. I think back to the owner telling me to do what it takes to get along with her, so I give her what she wants: I begin to cry. I think of dead pets, getting broken up with, whatever it takes until I feel tears strolling down my cheeks. I start to blubber something about my parents never being there for me or some bullshit. She has a weakness for young people with bad parents, if you give her a parent story any lateness or rule breaking usually gets hand-waved. Its well known and the staff makes jokes about it. I also blubbered out that I didn't want to be a GM. And it was true! I missed bartending, I missed making money and having fun with guests and only working 40 hours a week.

Ever since that day, her attitude completely changed towards me. I could bend rules and she doted on me. She decided that I needed time to work on training(including for the restaurants that are not open yet) and started scheduling me for 2-3 "office" shifts a week. However it is made clear that I am no longer being set up for a GM position, but "Training Manager". No pay raise. For a few months it reignited my interest in my job, but that quickly waned. I told her about my passion for the bar aspect of restaurants, and how I wanted to start studying for some sort of somm certification. I was told that was a waste of time because the restaurant group would have a beverage director. I am off schedule with my training goals because she keeps asking me to test over more information. A vegetable test, a coffee test, a non alcoholic beverage test,etc.. There are so many tests I would have to give three or four tests each day of training. I have tried it out on some new servers, and it is too much for anyone.

My former GM at a previous restaurant has been coming in to visit me at work and is telling me about the really cool coffeeshop/bar he is building downtown. Eventually I realize he is trying to poach me without asking outright. I have a series of meetings with all the owners, and they hire me on. They know it will be ready to open soon, but can't guarantee a date. The end of march is the ideal, but I have been told that there is no way it will take longer than the end of April.

So, how do I put my notice in? I want to be professional and give a month of notice, but I also don't want to be treated like the enemy, or just taken off the schedule. One of the main reasons I'm leaving is how people get treated. People that leave are usually treated as traitors and taken off the schedule as soon as possible.
I do also want to meet with the owner and tell him of a few behaviors I think he would like to know:
1. Her niece works as a hostess and is above the law. She spends most of her shift in the kitchen harrassing the cooks to give her free snacks. When she is late the GM usually calls in on her behalf. When another hostess goes out to a bar with her an mentions having a crush on the same server, the poor hostess's hours get cut suspiciously..
2. Once she taunted a former sous by showing him that one of the buss boys made more tips than the sous's salary.
3. Servers and bartenders get on her "poo poo list" for little to no reason and are passively aggressively punished. Once a bartender did not reply when the GM walked in and said hello. It was brunch and the bartender was making about 12 bloody marys at once. All day I have to hear, "Does she know who I am? I'm the GM, I could FIRE her for that!" and for weeks afterward the bartender is accused of being a weak link, getting drunk all the time, coming in to work "looking like poo poo". Needless to say, none of this was true.
4. Sometimes the best servers get on the "poo poo list" and I am forced to either put someone weak in a hard section, or to get pulled off the floor and get a lecture for up to an hour(during peak business!) about how server X is a piece of poo poo and does not deserve to make money. Sometimes she then also insinuates that she thinks they are a drug addict. One of the frequent victims of this claim is a smart,perky mother of a nursing baby.
5. She refused to help me get former employees their W2s that did not make it to them. She told me, "I don't care if they get to do their taxes, they left the company and are a drug addict." I secretly visited the company accountant who actually helped me, and said, "You didn't need to come all the way to my office, I told GM exactly what to do with these days ago."
Also other things, but this post is getting too long. Sorry for being so longwinded, most people I know have been telling me to quit this job for months and don't want to hear about it anymore. Thanks for listenening.

ok i read this and obviously: whatever you do, make sure the problem manager is out of the loop. file a report with HR (since the company is expanding I assume that they have a central office to handle hire-status'). talk with your owner about moving on, what your goals are, and what the problem is , and if you put in an ultimatum ("i'll be leaving the company in 2 weeks") with chance to move or rehire. this will get her noticed and if your leaving helps the company by leaving a strike against her, would that be the right thing to do?

it sounds like you're in a fairly new company, so hire-load shouldn't be too much of a problem for a competant office. just remember to be patient, think things through, and remember that you have value and options. i hope everything works out for you, stranger

# ¿ Mar 6, 2014 11:51

breadingbutter: Dec 28, 2013; by Ralp

personal update - well i ran a few computer simulations and found out how to boost my productivity in the dishpit substantially. i know i'm making the house money, and i've kept my mouth shut for these months, listening to the cooks mouth off and biding my time. new restaurants have been casting lines, looking for this talented dishwasher (more skills are more important to me than a $1/hour raise).
almost 2 months after my 6-month review (no advancement) i am left with no choice but to offer a notice of self-termination of employed status. i have already applied for transfer or rehire. i am being as kind as possible and doing this during a slow season and offering to train a replacement.

at best i will be working pantry during the summer and increasing my skills, at worst i'll be drawing unemployment.

a pretty wordy "eff you" but an "eff you" nonetheless.

# ¿ Mar 6, 2014 12:13

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# ¿ Jun 2, 2024 13:50

breadingbutter: Dec 28, 2013; by Ralp

Crazy Larry posted:

No offense, but if this is true then you're way too goddamn serious about being a dishwasher.

Honestly, reading your posts, if your attitude in them is showing itself at work then that might be what's keeping you from getting ahead any. I mean, it's all well and good to take pride in being good at your job, but in pretty much every restaurant I've been in you're at the bottom of the totem pole as a dishwasher and really have to earn the right not to act like it.

huh. do you think i would fit better as front of house? i try to just be good at my job and smile at people, try and make friendly conversation. maybe i'm in the wrong industry? should i be indignent when they ask me to do prep stuff? i don't know.

the simulation thing was kind of a joke, btw i was very bored.

# ¿ Mar 7, 2014 10:59

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > There's Very Little Meat in These Gym Mats: The Restaurant Industry Thread