Cooks who refuse to learn new stations

I'm hoping I got the right prefix with this one but it's something that is really bothering me.

We have three cooks on one station, the lunch and it is by far the slowest on the line and the cooks on there simply refuse to learn the rest of the line. It's incredibly frustrating from my standpoint as I know all of the stations on the line and I just don't get how someone could not want to learn more about their job.

What makes me laugh is they are the first ones to complain when a seemingly easy order for them comes in and the board caller will go ask them to go back to their station to make the order. Their response is... can't someone else do it?.. yet when they get an order for say bacon and eggs over easy.. they run to one of us to do it.

Yes learning new stations is is challenging and yes you are going to eff things up but that's the way it goes and it's all about learning. I have been on egg station for the most part since we opened and I still eff up eggs.. yolks break, shells get in them and I can't get them out so I have to junk them.. crap happens and you just deal with it and well.. good thing the customers don't memorize the menu because I know I have left out or added things in omelettes too back when I was learning. So it happens and food is forgiving. A crappy omelette flip can usually be saved and if it's an open faced one, cheese is our hero because it will cover the glaring mistakes that can happen on a crappy flip.

These three just don't see it that way. Today the KM and I were run off of our feet while the lunch cook stood and watched. And I mean WATCHED. She even had her hand on one hip and was leaning on the low boy with the other. The KM had to ask her to help me with plating as my grill was full and I was doing the meat and potatoes for my plates... so she wanders down (after being asked 2x) and asks me what I need so I told her for garnishes and I said... once the garnish is done let me know and I will tell you the meats I need along with potatoes... well she garnished, left the plates on my board and high tailed it into the walkin... I think to avoid the challenge (??) of putting meat and potatoes onto the plates.

The KM is aware that something needs to be done about that station and I think it will be a change that will take some time. The old KM didn't consider them part of the line so I think that's how they managed to get away with this for so long. The new KM has a much different view and she does consider them part of the line so like it or lump it they are going to have to pull up their socks and do more.

This has turned into a rant (sorry) apparently I needed to vent.

So after all that .. have you had any experiences with cooks doing just what I described above? And how did you handle it?

It has gotten a little better with them in the last couple of weeks. The one person who hardly worked all summer impressed me the other day. Whenever she had downtime she was looking at the recipe book trying to teach herself how to make all of the dishes. I've bever seen the other two do that at all.

Exactly and isn't cooking all about learning and a good cook/chef is also someone who is a lifelong learner I think...

I'm going to be in a new section the fruit for two shifts week and I'm looking forward to it. I know the cuts for the bibi cups and I can do some plates as well.. I'm looking forward to learning the section

The KM we have now is making a consistent effort with them to stop the standing around and she isn't shy to tell them to do something if they're just standing there. The one that I mentioned in my original post is no longer with us and the other two are getting better for sure.
It is hard to learn a new station but it can be done and it can be done well. It's a risk and I think some people don't like taking risks.

Well management is aware of the issue and I think they're really aware after yesterday. We had a busy day and it was hectic for me. I am the only one in the kitchen besides the KM who knows all of the stations (save for fruit but after tomorrow I'll know it too) and that really showed yesterday. I told the KS (kitchen supervisor) that we needed to make crepes ahead for paninis and make small crepes for specials so we didn't get weeded when the stuff hit the fan. Did he listen... not at all. Sure I don't have the 20+ years of kitchen experience that he has but I have this behind me.. I WAS the kitchen at my last job and I had to make sure that I had everything on board at all times because it's one thing to get weeded when you have help to get you out of the weeds but when you're the only one.. you want to stay as far away from the weeds as you can and I made sure I did that. We got slammed and he was mr stress.. and for me it was frustrating because he really does not have a working knowlege of all of the stations and I had to tell him how to make alot of the dishes, right down to where the meats go. This is mean but if he had paid attention during his training he'd know as much about the plates as I do. I found when we were training that the seasoned pros really didn't pay much attention and the newbies like me were there like sponges absorbing everything and you know.. there are many ways to fry an egg but when you work at a chain you have to do it their way and not your way.
Sorry this turned into a rant.. anyway like I mentioned management is more aware and they're going to talk to me and the KM tomorrow about some more cross training for everyone.

LOL average for the industry I guess! I think you'd have one nasty commute though!

I think we both share the same work ethic. I have always felt that if I am being paid to work then I need to work and not sit around and really.. isn't there always something to do in a kitchen? I had someone tell me once "if you have time to lean you have time to clean" and that's so true.

It's slowly getting better... well not really but I've just resigned myself to the knowledge that not everyone has the same work ethic as I do and I've just got to suck it up and do what has to be done at times. It was frustrating today.. I was on a different station (actually I was bouncing around as we were shorthanded by two) and I had to help the guy on the eggs because he was majorly in the weeds (most of it was his own doing because the orders he had weren't that big of a deal) and OMG some of the stuff he was selling looked like sh*t!!! He was sooo lucky the KM was not on expo or his a** would have been grass for sure! I actually looked at him and said... you can't sell it that side up.. and he started giving me attitude (he is one who does not take input well) and I told him to just flip it onto the plate and sell it that way. Truthfully if it had been me on that station I would have junked it and remade it because in my eyes it really did look like crap. Maybe it was because I spent two weeks under the microscope of the head office trainers on that station that I am so fussy but honestly even when I was at the last place I cooked I only sold plates if I was happy with the way they looked and if I could look at it and say.. yes I would pay money for that. If I couldn't say that then the plate got fixed up or remade if need be.