It Helps To....

       If you're going to work within the food industry it most certainly might help to know a thing or two before going into it. To really be successful, one must have patience. Patience to deal with and work with people, everywhere in the restaurant. Whether you're on the floor or behind the expo line, working in the kitchen, or on the floor there is a battle between what you want to say what you should say. It teaches you to be kind. So come onto the floor knowing that it is going to be harder than you think and you might get frustrated at times, but don't take it out on the people around you. It helps to be kind and remember you are all there for the same reason.

     If you're going to work in the food industry it most certainly might help to know a thing or two before going into it. To really be happy while at work, one must must go in prepared, in every way. 

The checklist always goes from bottom to top. Shoes, socks, pants, apron, undershirt, button up, tie, server card, hair ties aaaand of course, a server book. To be ready in this way sets you up for a more stress free night. You won't have managers coming up to you saying things like "nice shoes" when you don't have on the proper non slips. 

       Once you are prepared physically, you must be prepared mentally. On your way to work, no actually, once you wake up, know that you have work that day. You will have to constrain your day knowing fully well that at around 3 PM you will have to stop what you're doing and get in the car/BART/bike or however you get to work. This is okay. Accept your reality and move forward! Get up and get busy, or not. Stay in and sleep the day away. Whatever you are going to do just think and know “I have work today and that’s okay”. Don’t make plans for after work because you never know what time you’re going to get off. Even if the schedule says 10 PM, you still have side work to do. So just know going into it it’s going to be a long night.

      Overall, have a positive attitude. Even when things are totally insane. Even if your bar drinks are late, you have no serving trays and the food is not on the table or on the line. You don’t get upset with the people around you. I’m not saying to smile or take it if someone disrespects you, but try to come in willing to have a good night.

     

The Couple in Blue

       Now here is a story for you that is sadly a daily occurrence in the world of food service. When I first saw them, they blended right in with the crowd. I did not think anything of them. They were standing in the lobby with the rest of the fishes in the sea that is the Cheesecake Factory lobby. Waiting their turn to be seated just like everyone else. But wait, what is this? As I'm looping through the front of the restaurant, I notice this couple talking to, or more like yelling at one of the hostesses. Now this hostess, I know, does not take anyone's shit and is very good at her job.

     "Sir, you're going to have to wait just like the other parties. As soon as your table is ready you will be seated, I promise you," She said.

     "Well, you told me 45 minutes and it's bee-"

     "I have it on my screen here I quoted you an hour about 36 minutes ago, sir. Please, if you wouldn't mind stepping aside so I can seat the party behind you," She said with a smile. 

     "Fine. But If it takes any longer than...."

His voice trailed off as I briskly walked past them with a tray full of drinks. I really hoped they were not going to sit in my section. I always wondered if people feel better about themselves after yelling at someone else. Especially in this context. I mean, there was a 45+ year old man raising his voice at a twenty something year old girl about half his size! And she is on the clock! The audacity some people have, I say! So, thirty minutes of chaos later and I of course, guess who is seated in my section, menus down, frown on. 

     “Hello! Good evening my name is-“ I was cut short by

     “We aren’t ready yet. Just some waters for now.” The man stated without hesitation or looking up from his menu. 

     “Absolutely!” I said, with perhaps just a little too much enthusiasm and a huge smile across my face.

      When I brought their waters, the man ordered food, and again without looking up from his menu. When the food arrived, thankfully he had nothing to complain about, until right at the end when he had only a few bites left.

       “The mashed potatoes were too salty and my veggies were dry,” he stated as I approached him to offer dessert.

     “But sir, you’ve finished your meal,” I began.

     “Oh really? Let me speak with your manager!” he demanded.

That’s when my patience ran out. I spit in his face and screamed, 

     “You get the damn manager yourself, you piece of sh-“

No, no. I am only joking. There was no spitting involved. I was forced to get my manager and after some back and forth, we comped his entire dinner and bought him dessert. Of course, he left no tip.

     That man will never know how utterly terrible he is as a person. He will live the rest of his life going out to eat and forcing himself to have a bad time. And you know what? Let him. Let him live his sad, lonely life being an asshole to the people that serve him food. If there is one thing being a server has taught me, it is that karma is real. So, don't be a terrible human, and always tip twenty percent. 

If you're the one coming in to sit, know this.

  When you think of a pleasurable working environment, one might think…the beach, somewhere warm or maybe in a quiet setting. Others might say somewhere loud like a concert hall if they enjoy music or a kitchen if they enjoy the wonders of making food. But, what you probably won’t say is somewhere without air conditioning, wearing a button up shirt and a long back apron that acts like a blanket…in a setting where you might get yelled at for forgetting something or asked to do multiple things for people you have never met in your life and never again will meet. Sounds like hell to me. Well, on a shitty night, it is. So, why is it then, that so many thousands of people chose to serve food as one their main or only sources of income. It is not for their health, I assure you that. No one wants to get up or leave what their doing just to go to a place where you are under appreciate by your boss and the people you bring food to. No one wants to leave the comfort of their home to drive an hour and a half in traffic then rush up 8 flights to hit the ground running quite literally once clocked in. 
       This is what people maybe do not realize: that people do not chose serving as a career job because it is so appealing. It is chosen because, just like every person in this world, we want money. Why? To feed ourselves and our loved ones. To keep the roof over our heads and our beds warm at night. It is so simple. Servers do not serve you because they love their environment. They do not serve you because they love to watch you enjoy your food knowing they delivered it to you. They do not serve you because they cannot wait to see if you’ll order more food next. They serve food for WORK, and just like you, when you go to that shitty box of an office or shitty nine to five everyday, you don’t want people to be shitty to you in this already shitty situation. So, turn that frown upside down, pull out your twenty dollar bills, and get ready to leave twenty percent, because this blog is going to be the connection between them and us. The guests and the servers. 
       Cheers! To treating each other with respect. 

To Begin

  Ah yes, the joy of food. The joy of eating it. From the moment we are born until right at this moment as you read this until the time that we die, eating is something all people have in common. Some people prefer spicy, some bland, some people eat bugs and others only eat fruit that has fallen freshly from the tree without causing harm to anyone or anything. Some people only eat meat, while others fight against it. No matter what you're eating, where, when or how, I am sure you are enjoying it. But today we are not quite looking into why food is so great but more, why people enjoy dining out and where that sort of experience started. It is no wonder as to why people like food, but, since when have people left their homes to eat out and be served by another person. 
       Let us delve into where these traditions of eating outside of the home, and being waited on, came from. Not only that, but the different serving styles that exist all around the world. In China, your server comes to your table once at the beginning of the meal and then another time right at the end. In Russia, food service is quick and elegant, just like French food service. Depending on where you are from, you would be used to a different kind of server/service. This is crucial to keep in mind when working at a restaurant of any kind, but specifically, one where there might be a lot of tourists. According to food timeline.org, "Food historians generally place the beginning of the evolution in dawning decades of the 19th century".  But menus date back all the way Before Christ, as a list of meals prepared for the Gods. So since the beginning of time people have been serving other people food. They haven’t always been getting paid for it of course but, it has always been a position of work. To bring people food, refill their waters and tend to their needs no matter how ridiculous, is to be treated like a God. To be waited on hand and foot, to have food brought to your table in a speedy manner, like hell is that a right! It is a PRIVILEGE! 
       So, let’s remember that eating out and being served is something that everyone enjoys doing, but it is a not a robot bringing you your needs, it is a living breathing human being. Yes, they should do their jobs because after all, they ‘signed up for this’, but, let’s remember, the joy of eating can and should go both ways. Servers shouldn’t hate their jobs, and the guests they serve, shouldn’t be the reason why. Food is about bringing happiness to people. Let us remember that moving forward….