Top Of The Table

Caroline Barden

Dec. 15, 2001

Do you know how to work? If you said yes, would you please get a job at my restaurant! Can I tell you that I am sick to death of slackers? If it seems like I am going to vent a bit here, you're damn straight I am. It's the holidays; we've got parties up the ying yang and a new staff of people for which work is a dirty little four-letter word. And the worst part is that the slackers out there who may be reading this will not recognize themselves in this piece, so why am I wasting my time with this? Because all you good hard workers out there need to get a little recognition for your efforts. And not feel like such schmucks to boot.

It's bad enough that there aren't enough well trained people out there anymore, so anyone who has two arms and two legs can get a good restaurant job. But now they walk in and think they own the place after two days on the job. Take the other night for example; I get called in on a party, which I split with one of the new girls. We had one bus boy for the whole restaurant, and this new slacker informs me that she does not bus tables. She will tip out plenty but this girl will not pick up a dirty dish. So guess who bussed the entire party of 26 people? That's right, this old broad right here. If we had waited for the bus boy, we wouldn't have gotten out til midnight because he was busy in the dining room. I wanted to get the work done and go home, so finally she gets the hint and sets a few places once I've cleaned everything. Who thinks she should have tipped me out, raise your hand!

We have another gal who could have one table and be in the weeds. She's been at this restaurant for three years and people like her, but her coworkers think she's a pain. She doesn't ask you to do things for her, she tells you what she needs in a way you can't say no. She's very needy too and this guy I work with just commented on that the other night. We were making desserts together and he says,
"How come the rest of us just do our own work and Kristen always needs help?"
Dunno, but it is starting to really get on my nerves. Can anyone else relate to this?!?

So what am I really trying to say here? Go to work and do whatever you need to do to get the job done. In restaurants, there shouldn't be any such thing as "that's not my job". We can all bus tables, run food, even help out in the kitchen if necessary. Anything so that the customers are taken care of. The only thing I will say is that customers can tell the lazy servers from the hard workers and will show it in their tips. Many a time I have gotten a great tip because the customer just saw me working my little fanny off. Don't think you can fool anybody these days. There is no substitute for good old-fashioned hard work and that's what this business is all about. But remember, slackers tend to be good schmoozers and will baffle the boss with their BS. So don't be surprised if they get away with murder, for the time being at least.

On a brighter note, has anyone tried any of the sales techniques I've suggested? Have they worked? Let me know and just remember that sometimes it takes a little practice to make it work so don't give up too quickly. This is a great time of the year to sell desserts; people will indulge around the holidays. One thing that I do is just bring the dessert menu to every table and set it down. Sometimes if you ask people if they want to see it they'll say no, but if you just bring it over and their curiosity will get the better of them. Again it's the natural tendency to say no, so make it easy for them to say yes. And have some fun with it, okay kids?

Are you a manager who is a little frustrated with your staff? Okay very frustrated! Why not try calling in a consultant? We are those quirky people who can focus on what needs fixing and then proceed to make you look really good to your boss. We have ways of helping your staff work better together so they make more money for themselves and for your establishment. They also tell us things they wouldn’t dare tell you! For a free consultation you can contact me at this web site, I would be happy to troubleshoot with you. Let’s all raise the standards in this industry together!

Caroline Barden Restaurant Consultant.