killing waitstaff

Building to our busiest weekend of the year, I am myself ready to pre-shift interrogate every one of the servers in my house on their working menu knowlege (or lack thereof). I, a lowly sous-chef myself, expereince regularly this inexplicable desire to fire all of them and run the floor alone, biting off my nose to spite my face, I suppose. Where is the line when we have trained our BOH staff to the standard yet the ball gets dropped up front? I can't start at the servers, I need to believe it is slack management, with their undeserved salaries and 30-hour work weeks.

[Nick.Shu]

hehe. i had a wee run in with the rest.manager today.

as per usual, his desire to make up his own dishes for us to make during our very limited prep time overrides our need to get things done.

needless to say i got just little cranky with all of this (not to mention that he had the hide to say that we didnt make his meal right) especially over the fact that rather than write it down on a docket (not that ive asked/told him to daily over the last 4 mths to do so) he tells us and we sometimes forget.

Not only that, if someone not authorised asks him for information of a confidential nature on another employee i.e. pay amounts etc, he tells them.

Now im starting to get more than a little p***ed at this guy. Im ready to go another level and move it up a notch. I dont have anything personal against this person, but when i feel that a foreign influence is starting to create a divisive atmosphere in MY KITCHEN, then i feel it is a good time to keep things in check.

The sooner he goes, the longer i shall stay.

Nick,
Start sending faxes in the name of some job seekers name thanking the owner for the interview for the managers position.

[Nick.Shu]

not necessary now, this matter has been dealt with.

As for staff meal, I just never eat it. It's usually hog swill and made from stuff that chef couldn't sell.
And after I read that article about staff meal at ontherail.com by Anthony Bourdain, I'll never touch it again!
He says he does some pretty evil tricks for staff meal.

I went and saw that ontherail.com article. Did you read the thing on the front page about hazing? VERY funy, even D Ginsberg's stuff about managers.....some good ideas there

i totally understand. my staff is pretty good about listening. they show a tremendous interest because they know it will benefit them. yet, there still are a few who are only doing the foh because they are killing time. are there any books on the market about improving the front of the house staff? i encourage all of my cook staff to read the one minute manager. it is pretty cool. help.

[This message has been edited by katz (edited 12-08-2000).]

When the servers start bugging me about orders, I just want to turn around and say look this isn't Mcdonalds, if it takes more than five minutes too bad. Has anyone ever tried to put out a bill with a large nachos, poached softed eggs benny, well done steak and a grilled cheese sandwich as well as trying to knock off about a dozen other bills with an average of 3 covers on each, and do it in under 15 minutes ?

[Live_to_cook]

I sure haven't, never having cooked professionally. But from the sound of it maybe genetically altered kitchen staff is the wave of the future. Think of what you could do with six arms.

Wow, this is great! Makes me feel like Im not as impatient with the wait staff as I thought.

what I hate most about where I am now is the lack of professionalism.

I was doing 2 parties at once (Im a pastry chef at a country club) At one party they wanted assorted desserts on a cart. The other was one dessert my choice. I asked to speak to the wait staff for both.

1st party: I told them to really sell one item because it is wonderful and we have alot of it. I said that they could try it if they wanted so that they could tell the customers what they thought. They said: "Im not hungry, We cant really suggest or push anything. I said: Surely you could just say "The pear/almond tart is wonderful" Or "...its the chef's special" or "...its the chefs favorite dessert" etc. "No"

2nd party: I told the staff I wanted to talk to them about the dessert that I was serving. they said what about it. I said we need to inform them what they are getting. They said: but aren't they all getting the same thing? I said yes. they said: then it doesnt matter. I said YES IT DOES. You cant just put something in front of people and not tell them what it is. They rolled their eyes at me.

Nick---How about when your boss who know nothing about food comes in and tells you how to do it. "I have found that if I whip eggwhites while they're very cold that they whip much better. And dont use cream of tartar it really isn't necessary"

sigh What is the pecking order? Doesn't the kitchen generally have the say in how the food is served?

eeyore

[Nick.Shu]

oh eeyore, thats a easy one:

"Im sorry, owning a establishment without a technical cooking background obviously negates a completed apprenticeship, 5 years + of commercial cookery classes and 6 years + of practical experience. You definitely know best. Your assumed wisdom far outweighs a refined school system which is taught as a standard."

After that and further ado, i should probably be looking for a job.

I look at all of this, and I really DO understand. I am not a Chef, although I wish I was. It all boils down to a simple philosophy; "love your neighbor as yourself". If it's a one way street the shame is on the other person (IF you're RIGHT) but if it's a two way then there is room for 'talk' and reconsile.

[Nick.Shu]

thats a interesting thought. However, the saying "dont bite the hand that feeds you" should include "bite your tongue instead" - yowwch.

And i have, indeed.

[the_seraphim]

lol... my FOH manager was a chef for 13 years.... so hes sweet with the waitstaff... hes an annoyance though because he sticks with company standards which arent great at best... so when i do something nice while its quiet using extra stock that is short of life anyway so wont last the nightly chuck out of SOL stock he goes completely insane... never mind the fact that my meals usually get great remarks... even the guy who moans about everymeal he had i saw him on the way in to start a shift and i said "oh another meal you wont enjoy? what do you want this time you whiny git" (were cool so he took it light hearted) he told me what he wanted and i said laughing "yeah yeah ill do it how i think your gonna like it... if you dont ill make you one how you like it for free... deal?"


end of story he likes it and doesnt tell me every detail anymore....

waitstaff that re-write the menu with the "with x no Y extra Z" options on the till really nark me... and "see waiter" without any call or messenger...

i love it when i have to take food out myself in my whites... i was a waiter before i became a chef and i took and still do take pride in doing it high-end level... so its really fun showing up the other waitstaff "if i can bring it out and get good comments from customers AND cook the food too... why cant you even take it out right?"

[cheflayne]

The more I expect other people (FOH/BOH) to change, the crazier I will become. I can explain my point of view and reasons behind it. After that, my work is done, the resulting behavior is up to the people involved. The defintion of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If I expect over and over for people to change, I am setting myself up for insanity. I don't give up hope that they will change, but I don't expect it. If they do, great and wonderful, if they don't, I am not going to allow them to make me crazy, because then I lose. I can put a saddle on a slug, but I will never win the Kentucky Derby. I just hope for caterpillars, instead of slugs.