The one who got away

After the night of bottled anger, the following morning the manager decided to give every single staff member a talk that pushed aside everything we had done right and revealed the only things we did wrong.  It was my turn to get chewed out and I’ll bullet point some of the things that I was criticized about.

• Lack of motivation; Apparently in their eyes, I lacked motivation on doing plenty of things, and this includes the side-jobs, my lack of good service to those that don’t look worthy of it, and generally my all around laziness.
• Customer service; I’m not gonna say that I shine amongst the rest though I can indeed say that I’ve gotten quite a steady amount of regulars and they do tend to pay for my bills so when it comes to new people who don’t necessarily look that they’d spend any money I don’t even bother.

I’d put those two at the most important ones.

Enough about me because this wasn’t necessarily the saddest thing that happened, it was with another staff member.  It ended in tears and with two servers talking to each other about how the one who got away wasn’t given any credit.  For anything.

Remember Ms. Phoebe?  I talked about her once and sad to say, it was a short lived relationship.  She was with us for no more than a month and it was a fantastic month, she decided to leave after being verbally abused by the owners and chefs.  The sad thing was that she was hired on a whim due to lack of servers.  She memorized the menu as hard as she can and she even decided to dedicate enough time to getting to know everyone, only for “everyone” to tell her that she was lazy.  She wasn’t as efficient as Adan though I would say that they we’re at the same level when he first started and they didn’t terminate his employment as soon as they did Phoebe’s.  Had they given her enough time to adapt she would’ve been as good as any of us, additionally too was that she was a woman.

Now I’ve talked about something along the lines of these before, we fire people as soon as we hire them and servers try not to get close to new employees until they break the point of familiarity.  I feel bad for breaking the rule that I spoke though I feel worse for her being treated unfairly.

Sincerely,

Your waiter today.

Anger.

Often times we find ourselves in positions that induce anger or rage and in a situation like this, we stop and stare at ourselves only to see a bottle filled with hatred within ourselves.  Tonight at the restaurant happened to be one of the days that I dread ever since the restaurant had opened for the first time.  A chaotic Friday, much more crazy than the past Fridays before, enough to merit a long waiting list and both kitchens getting their ass handed to them by the sheer volume of people ordering.  For what it seemed, the restaurant was falling into shambles and it was not due to the servers or the hostesses but rather it was lack of competency from both kitchens, Sushi and the Back kitchen.

Food was taking so long come out and it was so bad that I had a table walk out because their meals we’re taking so long and it took roughly 45 Minutes till their first courses came out and so did they.  The manager was doing his best to help and it was much appreciated though everyone knew that he was going to bitch at everyone at the end of the service.  Sure enough towards the end of the service he decides to cut the servers and take every table for himself to apparently “teach” everyone a lesson.  This made me so mad because it was very unreasonable and in all honesty everyone in the restaurant was doing their best and to be called out on the lack of performance does actually hurt.

I’ve never wanted to quit the restaurant and that thought had never even crossed my mind until today.  At the end of the shift we we’re given a little talk, apparently we weren’t up to his standards and we got called out on every single thing we had.  I’m frustrated right now, exhausted and actually fairly inebriated so I’ll go ahead and lay down, I’ll probably write the rest of what was on my mind.

Sincerely,

Your waiter today.

An apology and reasons.

I haven’t been able to write very much due to the fact that I’ve been supremely busy, though this not a reasonable excuse for my lack of tracking my days and keeping a public diary.  Now I’m not necessarily blaming it all on waiting tables, having a fast paced life, sleeping in plenty and the gin-tonics I’ve consumed; it’s mostly just me not having enough energy or motivation to write.  There’s been some pretty big events in the restaurant, getting fired, hired, regulars, reviews, rants and so much more.  Now I’m planning to do a crash-course on what has happened to the restaurant and everything else relating it so I’d suggest putting on a helmet, grabbing some popcorn and beer or your favorite glass of chardonnay or cabernet.

 

Fired.

Now remember that bartender?  The one who was an obvious alcoholic and seems to be facing a relapse every moment that she’s serving drinks?  Yes, Ms. Lindsay.  A bartender who has some obvious drinking problems, to the point of keeping drinks to herself while “making” new ones to serve to the owners.  It was an obvious downward spiral, and it was damn near depressing to watch.  Now enter mid February, around the 16th and she misses the shift which she was scheduled for, two hours pass by and the phone rings and un-surprisingly it was from the devil herself.  Lindsay gives a tone of emergency, a sense of panic and lets the owner know that she won’t be able to get to work for that day and not for a solid month.  She informs the owners that her family had checked her in a rehab for her problems, and for what seemed as a twenty minute conversation it all boiled down to her being terminated from her position as a bar tender.  Good riddance as a way of saying “enjoy your life”.  The restaurant has been operating much smoother and it feels so good not to have a crazy go up to you and bitch about her life that no one really cares about.

Hired.

Restaurants hire people as fast as we fire them, it’s nothing new and we’ve hired a new server.  Enter Phoebe, a strange woman whose sense of humour was as strange as eating a hotdog without ketchup and mustard.  She isn’t exactly new to waiting tables though she is to the world of sushi.  Not much is known about this stranger other than the obvious things, she barely knows the menu, she’s actually fun to be around with and everyone seems to enjoy being around her so I’ll try and update this whenever we learn more about her.  The crew goes to play pool and share a couple drinks every Monday and she’s joined us twice, hopefully this number doesn’t get cut short.  Two days ago we hired a new bar tender, server hybrid since our bar tender has to pick up the slack left behind by Ms. Lindsay.  Rob joins the staff and he is now in training, and hopefully faces the same fate as what we hope for Phoebe.

Now I’ve decided to find a new addiction, it involves Neil Patrick Harris and How I Met Your Mother. I blame not writing actually on this show… now I am hooked and find every way possible to watch it, from Netflix on my iPhone  to me sitting at home and this has taken quite an effect on me writing… So I apologize to you, the person who cares enough to read stories of a waiter, someone who’s mildly entertained if at all by the strange stories I tell.  Thank you if you still happen to come across my little restaurant, I appreciate your patronage and would love to see you more, hell even sending it to some people you know or hate.

Thank you so much dear reader, I do appreciate you.

Sincerely,

Your waiter today.

Dreaded 10%

It’s never a good night when by the time you check out, you realize that most of the tips you earned for the night don’t even amount to 20% of your sales, generally 18% and above is a good thing but when you start seeing the tips on the bills only nearing 10%, it makes one wonder why this happens.  Quality of food doesn’t constitute a bad tip, generally if the food is mediocre, that is looked at as good enough and would merit another visit but when the service is terrible, no matter how good the food is, you’ll always find yourself in a tough predicament.

I don’t necessarily have much room to say because I feel that the way I was treating my tables was very sub-par and I’m not completely upset, I mean I made a decent amount of money and I was just expecting more.  No regulars of mine came today, I was stuck with people who worship Happy Hour as a deity and treated that little menu as a bible.  I’m hoping to make good money because I still have to take my girl out on Valentines day(for us Valentines day is not on the 14th), the tackiest holiday ever and I’ll be so busy during that day.  I’m looking forward to the rush that will pound the restaurant, I’m looking forward to the chaos that’s gonna run rampant and truly, I am looking forward to that money.  Hey, after all, I do need it.

Today wasn’t a bad day, nor was it good.  I just really dislike getting that dreaded 10%.

Sincerely,

Your waiter today.

Surprises

Today was somewhat a special day for me, not because it was MLK Jr. Day but because it is actually my birthday.  Now I come in to my restaurant thinking that no one even knows about it and upon arriving no one greeted me a single happy birthday.  I mean I wasn’t expecting it so it wasn’t bothering me at all, I tend to spend my birthdays either working or sleeping at home and getting plastered the day after so to me being at the restaurant on my birthday was nothing new, plus I didn’t want to take another day off specially since I took a week off to travel and also because I need the money…

The day was rather slow and it seemed that no money was to be made and this continues till dinner is served and I look to count how much I made and I’ve summed a little under $100, not bad but not too good neither.  I was called by the owner and it gave me the idea that I had fucked up somewhere, somehow.  He told me that I’ve made some mistakes but he refuses to tell me what they we’re and instead just sends me out of the office.  I go back to where I was originally sitting and see Freshwater Eel on a layer of rice and a carrot in the shape of a rose with a candle on top, my heart skipped a beat.  The reason I got Eel Steak as my meal was because the very first meal I had at the restaurant was that very kind of eel, it made me wanna tear up because I felt that they actually knew but acted so coldly about it, it was surprising to me.  After I finish my steak, the next course comes out, a cookies and cream ice cream cake; this was astounding not only because they went over the top and got me my favorite kind of cake flavor, just knowing that they paid attention to the little conversations us servers have.

Now I know people will say that this happens to them quite often, but I believe that the people I work for really do care about their employees.  There comes a time when employees become more than your slave workers, they become a vital part of the restaurant, they become family.  When you pass the level of employee, the work flow becomes easier to handle, less problems come up, time moves by in the blink of an eye and most importantly money just comes to you.  I’m not saying that when you become close to the people you work for, life suddenly does a complete 180.  It doesn’t, your outlook becomes significantly better and you become more of an optimist.

The fact that they would spend money outside the restaurant for one of their easily replaced servers is beyond me and that just shows that you aren’t working solely for the tips, you are also working because you want to help the family succeed.  Surprises come in such strange ways, the shape of an eel and the taste of a cake.

If you we’re to ever read this my employer.  I hope you know that it is an honor to work for you and I would do to the best of my ability all I can to make sure that we both prosper.

Sincerely,

Your waiter today.

 

-Also, here’s a cellphone picture of the Eel Steak!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks good doesn’t it?

Causing a scene

I just got back home and before unpacking anything got a message saying that I have to work the following day and today was that day.  After being out of the loop of the restaurant some things have changed such as a server suddenly being trained to be a sushi chef, a hostess being pregnant and a whole schmuck of other things.  To top that off I was jet lagged like no other and had a stuffed nose and can barely breathe.  I was a man destined for failure today yet I somehow found it comforting to be back in the interior walls of my restaurant, it felt warm, it felt nice, it felt like home.

Barely able to operate I march to my table, with the intent to serve, so vicious that it’ll drop them dead and sure enough I nailed that first table.  I got a 50% tip as a starting point, I mean sure $15 on a $30 isn’t much but the fact that it was my first table made it all the sweeter.  The day progresses and we found ourselves in the middle of dinner service.  Restaurant packed with people and everyone speaking in a tone of liquor and raw fish, it was almost intoxicating even to the servers.  Everyone was so happy and out of the seven tables I was juggling around, four of them we’re my regulars, this night is one of the nights all servers wish to get.  Money is going great, my sales hitting a peak and the only problem I have is one table that is still waiting on their food.  This is where the night takes a turn.

A British man with his wife we’re waiting on an entree.  The woman’s meal had already been taken to her and so did some side dishes for the mans meal.  As I was grabbing the woman’s meal, I saw what I assumed was my dish being almost done.  I rush the meal to the woman and for what it seemed, all was fine.  Fifteen minutes later the meal still wasn’t ready so I apologize to the man and immediately find my way in the kitchen to grab the mans food.  The manager following me with the other things that came with his meal, we act with haste only to be halted by the man saying, “I do not want this, take it back”, “This is the worst experience I’ve ever had” and among other things causing quite a commotion over something so menial, all while his wife finishes off her meal(I know, how classy).  Now don’t get me wrong, I know that 15 minutes is quite some time but I don’t think he took care of the situation gracefully.  Had he not been a jackass he would’ve got taken care of like a king but instead he decides to be a child and actually raise his voice in a dining room full of people.

There are better ways of taking care of a situation like this, and let me tell you, it isn’t to be a fuckin asshole.  I ended up giving them all they had for free, just so I could get them to leave quietly.  No tip, no nothing, just a table that needs to be cleaned and a attitude of bitterness and resentment.  If you ever get in a position like this, please have some decency to act like a human, chances are you’d get free food, alcohol and we both don’t end up hating each other.  Nothing is gained by causing a scene, only loss of respect.

Please take my word on this.  Give us the respect you’d give your wife, mother or loved one and we promise that your stay with us will be as good.

Sincerely,

Your waiter today.

(Though the man reminded me so much of Gordon Ramsay, because he was British and had nothing good to say about my restaurant…)

 

Vacations

Now don’t be surprised if at all but I’m currently on vacation and it kind of hinders my ability to write.  Since servers don’t make any money from days off, I can just imagine you seeing that I’m not making anything on a vacation.  Originally my plan was to go travel to New York for the Eve of the new year but things came up and I found myself coming back to the first place I went to in the United States.

I came in the US with my family, with little money and enough English to find out where the bathroom is.  We lived in a not so good neighborhood, for lack of better words, I lived in the ghetto.  It has been at the very least 12 years since I last step foot in this hell hole, I mean I moved out of there as soon as I can and so did my family.  After both my flights we’re delayed and I was forced to sleep in the airport overnight, I finally get to my destination.

This city is so dead, so empty with barely anything to do and this came off as a complete shock to me.  No restaurants, no bars and more than anything, nothing to do.  I met up with some friends that I haven’t seen in quite some time, both we’re almost identical as when I left, it was bizarre.  One was now a drug dealer while the other worked as a manager in a convenience store.  Immediately I asked to eat at some of the places I used to eat at when we we’re younger.  Growing up, I came to enjoy ethnic food a lot and when I saw that most of the places I ate at are still live and kicking I was excited.

Food just tastes so much better when it has been quite some time since you’ve touched them and the food that cost no more than $7 was probably as good as the NY Strip Reserve that I ate at my restaurant.  Glorious.

Second day came and I found myself in the shopping district, I decided to buy myself some clothes since I came rather unprepared.  Spent quite some money and decided to take my friend to a sushi restaurant, as he was my host I decided that the very least I could do was to feed him and being well versed in fish, this was perfect.  We ordered nothing but Sashimi and Nigiri, two rolls came as an exception.  The restaurant was a little hole in the wall but surprisingly it had quite a lot of reviews on Yelp! and they we’re extremely short staffed(at least when we came in).  One sushi chef and one server, they didn’t have a back kitchen with Hispanics helping out, it was a two person effort.

The fish was fairly fresh and my friend was able to try out Sea Urchin, and he wasn’t completely appalled by the taste and texture and actually quite enjoyed it(unless he was lying off course).  All in all it was quite a delicious meal, I spoke to them in Japanese and they seemed to enjoy it.  The bill came to a total of $80, not bad and off-course I tipped generously.  Nothing hurts more than the Restaurant Gods not bringing me any luck.

I apologize for the lack of posts this past week, I’m planning on writing more during this vacation, as much as I can.  Hopefully you haven’t forgotten about me.

Sincerely,

Your waiter today.

Flirting

Flirting is a gesture done to get ones attention and hopefully getting to know them better, this includes a date to a movie or even dinner.  To a server flirting is nothing but a weapon, a tool used to get what we need and it isn’t rare that we use this.  Women might have the upper hand in this competition but us guys aren’t too far off.  Today was different because I wasn’t flirting with a woman, not today but instead I was flirting with two men.

A couple walks in with the poise of a runway model, the charisma of a spokesman and the fashion sense of a metro sexual Asian man.  I appreciate good taste in fashion so I immediately thought that this table wouldn’t be bad at all.  I approached them asking what they’d like to drink and they answered me with the need for the most “girly” drinks we had on the menu, now I knew that these men was actually a couple.  I enjoy waiting on gay guys solely because they carry good conversation and they tip very well also, both things that make up a perfect customer.

We chatted and I enjoyed their company and for what it looked like, they enjoyed mine.  I immediately noticed upon their arrival that they we’re both wearing watches that I actually contemplated on buying, a watch from Michael Kors and a watch from Kenneth Cole, man they rocked it so well and I just had to talk with them about it.  They actually even recognized my watch and I was flattered(talk about them doing my job.).  They weren’t from town and they we’re here just to visit and they happened to come across my restaurant so they decided to check it out.

I’m quite sad that I won’t be seeing them often, not only because of the money that they give but for their company.  I enjoy people who like to talk, and actually converse with me(their server).  If in any case you two are reading this, I want you to know that I truly did enjoy your company and I hope to see you again.  I’ll buy you both a drink next time, on me.

And Merry Christmas to you dear readers, I apologize for not having wrote anything on Christmas nor Christmas Eve…  Sorry.

Sincerely,

Your waiter today.

Human nature?

What drives someone to give?  Is it generosity or sympathy, I mean this whole Christmas thing is bringing up quite a confusion to me.  I expected the restaurant to have slow traffic during the holidays.  People need to spend their money on presents and generally people just have no time to stop and eat due to all the shopping and procrastination that they are doing.  So how is it that my restaurant is managing to stay afloat, hell even do better than before?  To me, it matters little because the more people coming in, the more money I’ll get, simple as that.  Today I had a total of 2 regulars come in, both are couples and both are generally generous tippers.  But for some reason, today seemed a little different.

Their order doesn’t really matter today, the only thing that does is their bill and the gratuity I was left.  A bill of $65 and I was left a $30 tip and a bill of $35 and a $20 tip.  Both are phenomenal amounts and I wonder if this is due to the holidays?  The first couple left with the man giving me a firm handshake and with a very merry greeting of Merry Christmas while the others gave me the tip and didn’t say anything regarding the holidays.  Is it pity that they left me this or genuine generosity?  I’m quite baffled because if I eat at a restaurant during a time like this, I’d definitely pity the poor sap who happens to be waiting my table because rather than spending time elsewhere he has to be at the restaurant reciting the specials as if they we’re some Christmas jingle.  I’d give them a generous tip, reflecting the spirit of the holidays and now I’m torn.  Either way works as long as I make my bills on time but the idea that I made this money through pity makes me feel more dirty than usual…

Christ, Christmas is near and I haven’t even done my shopping…  and this damn Christmas music is getting on my nerves.  I don’t want to be a Grinch but it seems to have rubbed on to me…

Sadly Sincerely,

Your waiter today.

Being too cheap.

It’s hard for me to call someone cheap mainly because I myself look for the best bargains in things.  I try not to buy anything in full retail price and I even shop at used clothes store so please understand that when I call you cheap, you are as cheap as my fake Nike running shoes from China town.

Enter four women, all dressed very nicely holding their gifts for each other.  So foolishly I assumed that they weren’t cheap, solely based on their clothing and their general vibe and attitude.  Now they glanced at the drinks menu and immediately put it down, looking through the Happy Hour menu instead they decided to get 2 glasses of Cabernet, 1 glass of Chardonnay, and a small happy hour draft beer.  Godamnit I thought, I do not understand why people do this instead of just getting a bottle, you are out with your close friends, having a gift exchange and you don’t even have the humility to just get a bottle for ALL of you.  Whatever I thought and they decided they we’re ready to order, these women didn’t order food that they could all share and instead decided to order only for themselves, their order came to what was 2 spicy tuna rolls and 2 avocado rolls.  This was mind blowing, how could you be so cheap?

As I carried their tray of cheap fish they seemed to be talking about their lavish lifestyles, voicing out where they and their husbands are planning on traveling to and all that what seemed to be BS to me.  “My husband and I are planning on going to Argentina, etc etc etc.  I was getting sick of it and all I could do was walk by and ask if everything was ok and if they’d like to order something else.  Only to be told that they didn’t wanna order anymore.

Now I understand that they could be full and therefore not wanting to order but when the time to pay comes along and I hand them their check and I get this written on the back of it with 4 of their credit cards in the slot, it crosses me as pathetic.

Rather than have one person or hell two people split the cost, they decided to only cover what they ate.  The bill doesn’t even cross $50 and still they decided to split it not evenly but only what they consumed.  This kind of thing pisses me off more than when you leave some mess on your table.  This kind of gesture shows me that you need the money more than I do.  So as they leave I tell them goodbye and to keep their selves warm.  I clean up their table and was expecting nothing, maybe $7 if I was lucky and I was lucky enough to get $7.

I don’t mind if you go and find a bargain with us, I’d probably do the same but when you pull this kind of crap with me, it just irritates me and I’m sure it does irritate other servers as well.  So I ask of you to refrain from doing this.

Sincerely,

Your waiter today.