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Day cook makes me Irate

2K views 12 replies 12 participants last post by  alaminute 
#1 ·
So I recently started at a local place, 2 locations and soon a third.

The menu is super basic no problems there,

the pay is decent, hourly plus tipout

the waitresses while still being on the brink of incompetence are usually atleast tolerable.

However....

the day cook before me ( i work evenings ) is absolutely jarring for how angry he makes me. This is a list of my grievances;

LAZY! Cannot be bothered to restock anything ever, even though its on his list and he signs for it.

DISRESPECTFUL! Makes innuendos towards waitresses all the time, refers to the owner (the guy who signs his checks) as dipsht.

FAT! I have to nightclub grind him just to get by him on the line

STUPID! Asked me not to wrap entire container in plastic wrap because he cannot figure out how to open them.

ANNOYING! Sings scooby doo theme, does yogi bear impressions, says 'naw what ah mean merve?' at the end end of atleast 1/4 of all sentences, labels stuff in annoying ways (chicken breast becomes chicken boobs, he also has names for pulled pork shaved beef and sausages)

Everything has to be a sex joke with him/said with an accent/done in a way that is lazy (grabbing stuff out of the coolers with tongs because he is far too rotund to bend down and get it)

He burns everything. Never wears gloves (even when making salads and his hands are covered in hotsauce from fingering someones wings) WILL NEVER EVER SHUT UP FOR ANY REASON, INSISTS ON CONSTANTLY TALKING ABOUT NOTHING

I swear this man took his identity from Doug Heffernan from king of Queens (coincidentally his name is also Doug)

I can deal with the annoying and the fat and the stupid, maybe even the disrespectful. But when he is wasting food and not prepping before he leaves so I have to (which I dont care about bc I have to do it, I care bc that makes me late on my other sidework and I end up leaving 30 mins later than I should) that is when I get mad because it makes me look bad.

When I was interviewed the fact that I had no recent kitchen exp came up. I assured my now boss I could do it, he wanted to make sure so he made me work doorman for 2 weeks first to 'evaluate my work ethic'. I passed his evaluation with flying colors only to be paired with this lazy POS (not a touchscreen sales terminal)

I find it highly disrespectful and demotivating to be told I am working too hard and be called a tryhard for wearing gloves and having a sanibucket (I asked him to get me one ready for the next day to see if he even knew how to make one up and I was presented with a bucket of hot water with degreaser added)  not to mention my work ethic was called into question and he is the LAZIEST person I have ever worked with.

He is definitively 'that f%$*#$&ing guy' to everyone at work. HE WADDLES HE CANT EVEN WALK RIGHT FFS!

This dude is 43 years old and acts like he is 10. I explained the issue with prep to the manager and he even said himself Doug is not very reliable for sidework. But he is always on time, never calls off, and surprisingly can push out a rush. But I can do all of those things, plus prep, plus keep my mouth shut, plus not be a nuisance to everyone around me.

Lately I have been trying to outclass him, to great success until he started upping his game a bit. Now I need to up mine. I am going to...god forbid...clean the fume hoods which is on his weekly checklist but by the looks of them hasn't been done in months. I am also going to scrub the grout, get the stainless actually shining again, get the layer of filth off the fryers/ anywhere his fat fingers cant reach (anywhere less than 4 feet off the ground or higher than 7 feet) I am going to steal all of his hours, work 70 a week just to put him in the poorhouse so he has to find a new job I hate him I hate him I hate him so much he is everything I hate about uneducated worthless bumpkin white trash.

/rant
 
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#2 ·
hahaha, well it may be somewhat passive aggressive but with the extra cleaning at least the kitchen will be clean. I've done that, cleaned various areas of the kitchen that weren't exactly my responsibility. In my case, I stuck with a routine and naturally others have adopted it, which is awesome. 
 
#3 ·
Please dont hold back, tell us how your really feeling. Kidding aside, just keep plowing on with your work. At some point management will notice, as it seems he has, and you'll get some reconisition. If not then its time to move along. Lazy is everywhere, to get away from it you really need a good work ethic and a tremendous slice of luck. Having you own place helps too.
 
#4 ·
Well let me say one thing first. This is funny! however, as a mgr. you get the job done via others. You must delegate not dictate and most of all you cannot show your frustrations. that will be picked up quickly by your peers. Doug knows what ratles your feathers but also knows what he needs to do to impress the guy who signs his check which he does already said hes reliable , comes in on time and pushes out the rush with know problems and still getting a pay check and not getting stressed over it however you are. What am saying is that in this industry you deal with many of different personalities and each one must be handled differently you must utilize their strong points and work with them on their week ones. Sure its annoying but this guy sees you getting nuts and hes enjoying it after all you did say hes a joker. well tats the personality yo must deal with yo shouldn't joke with this guy you do need to set examples like you said with the clening and be firm. Sooner or later hell get the picture. If not your be burning yourself out and hell be home watching Jay Leno laghing at you.
 
#5 · (Edited)
He sounds like a real pos.

Unfortunately, management already knows but because you're willing to deal with him, why should they care? they're not the ones who have to work side by side with him. I have seen guys like him last in a kitchen for yeeears. don't ask me how..

I can't stand Doug Herffernan, I can't even watch any movies with him in them because I can't stand that immature "dude" mentality.

I really feel for you. It would take every ounce in me not to simultaneously stab him in the temples.
 
#6 ·
Take a breath lol.

I think you are on the right track. My advice is to keep doing his job for him. I know that sounds counter intuitive, but it has a chance of shaming him into working harder. Guys like that will try and bring you down to their level--like, if YOU are ok with the hoods never being cleaned, then he won't ever clean them. He just won't do them and hope that you never say or do anything so that he has to do them. He's lazy, he's burnt out, he wants to do the minimal amount possible to keep getting paid. He's 43, and a line cook. Nothing wrong with that, per se, but it might speak volumes that he's not higher up the ladder at this point. 

You have YOUR standards. Make sure that he knows you do not reciprocate or acknowledge his way of doing things. Outclass him. Outwork him. Shit, prep HIS f**kin station for him. Make him feel small, useless, beta. Don't let him help you. You start scrubbing the hoods. He jumps in to help--"NO! F-You! I got this...you go stand in the corner and make dick jokes." 

He's like that for a variety of reasons, probably. Mostly, it is because other people have let him get away with it. There are a LOT of lazy, uninspired, corner cutting people in the BoH, your job is to not become one of them, no matter how much they try to weigh you down. 
 
#7 ·
Do your job to the best of your ability. Any time you spend focusing on what he is doing or not doing is taking time away from your efforts to do your best. Don't let him affect your performance by allowing his work ethics and habits to dilute yours.
 
#9 ·
well tonite is rush night where he usually helps me, im going to show up to work early, prep everything for the rush, then take the grill (his usual station) and make him work fryer. He is suposed to be training me, but I have yet to work the grill in a rush so ill start there and not burn things like he does and see whats up. After the rush I will restock everything for saturday and go from there. Thanks for the advice!
 
 
#10 ·
well tonite is rush night where he usually helps me, im going to show up to work early, prep everything for the rush, then take the grill (his usual station) and make him work fryer. He is suposed to be training me, but I have yet to work the grill in a rush so ill start there and not burn things like he does and see whats up. After the rush I will restock everything for saturday and go from there. Thanks for the advice!
lol apparently I already had an account on here through facebook. oh well to work I go!
 
#11 ·
I feel you! I've been there and been there. I'm there now!! 

Chefs need "bodies", sometimes, and don't have the will to hire and train a new cook. If the dude has chops on the line, then he probably offers some value to the operation from Chef's perspective. We have to respect that. I know that hating someone personally sometimes skews my view of the bigger picture.

Be careful not to burn yourself out. If you want to do all the extra stuff and get the hours and you have the energy for that, then more power to you, but be careful... Chefs don't necessarily hand out brownie points just for doing our job. I've run circles around dipshits like this guy, played fair, kicked ass, cleaned everything, then watched the object of my ire rise to Sous Chef.

Sometimes, if you're tactful, you can offer a complaint in the form of asking for Chef's advice. He's been through it. Believe it. "How have you dealt with this situation?" Be concise, don't offer details. I did that and got great advice. PLUS, I let chef know I was struggling with it so he was aware to watch my progress as I handled it gracefully. Too, it let my chef know that I respect him enough to ask for mentoring. 

Then there's always the question of the value of the job itself. I'm dealing with a situation with a dude I refuse to work with, so I'm quitting. Without him there, I would still be unhappy because my Chef is lacking in several departments including training his cook... Good luck! 
 
#12 ·
I know it can be very hard to work with some chefs. Do you have to work with him a lot?  I had to work with a chef that was recently sacked.  He was very arrogant. He actually said he was the best chef in the kitchen. He has worked in some nice places but he certainly wasn't the best.  Despite the fact that he was technically much better than me (he has been doing it much longer than me) virtually all the chefs would rather work with me.  Also he was unbelievably messy. So I know it is hard.
 
#13 ·
Paul Blart? My restaurant seems to have a similar strict no firing policy. We just push people to the limit, dump more responsibility than they can handle, and never give a cent of praise 'till they quit. So our morning crew is a similar b-squad stuck in a rut and going nowhere fast.
 
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