Saturday Nights in the City

There is a reason I prefer not to work on the weekend and I realized this once again after the night from hell I had last night.

I had one of my favorite sections. It is a row of three circle booths along the kitchen wall that can fit up to 6 people in along with a table in the corner that can also flip up to fit 6. This section can be great money and it is near the kitchen so it can be very easy as well. Last night, however, it was neither of these two things.

I had 2 tables in the first hour or so I was there which were both fairly easy. Both had kids at them so the checks were relatively low, but nothing too bad and they weren't super needy. Once both of these tables finished it got crazy. I got sat with a 6 top, followed by another 6 top about 5 min later, followed by a double seating of a 4 and a 5 top within 10 min after that. Now normally even just 5 or 10 min in between is enough time to space out my tables so everything runs smoothly, but not tonight. Of course every single table only ordered drinks from the bar so I couldn't simply grab their sodas for them quickly, I had to wait for the bartenders to mix lemonades and martinis. I usually prefer these drinks obviously because its an up-sell from soda, however not when the bartenders take their sweet ass time to make the drinks and rather chat with their bar customers. One of my drinks ticket times was 15 minutes. Yea...

So this makes all my tables run into each other with timing things. Drinks were slow to be made and thus, slow to get to them. Which of course is my fault in their eyes even when I try to explain that the bar is backed up. Everything after that just happened so fast. Every table had multiple courses and needed multiple extra things. They ordered multiple rounds of drinks, but not all together, one person after another. It was all just a mess.

On the bright side, no food came out badly except one lady just did not like her lobster tail but that was towards the end of this chaos anyway. Management of course was no where to be found all night. I literally search for 20 minutes at one point for a manager. On a Saturday night at 8pm. Because, ya know being on the floor isn't like their job or anything.

What really frustrated me about this night was that I was running like crazy doing everything I could do. I was never standing around goofing off or anything. I was always running with a smile on my face and my tables must have been blind not to notice that at all, since they were all right next to each other. And yet, one of my 6 tops, a family mind you, tipped me 10% and wrote on the heck "Bad service!!!" Wow... Now this was the table with the 15 minute drinks. They also orders like 4 courses. No complaints about food. The only real problem was the slow drinks and not everything was bussed IMMEDIATELY after they finished eating, although they were hardly sitting for extended amounts of time with dirty dishes. They were also eating right in the middle of our dinner rush on a Saturday night in the city. I'm not sure what was so horrible about the service that the grandpa felt the need to write me the lovely little note but I wish they would say something to me rather than act nice and let me look like an idiot being all chatty and smiley when really they're apparently pretty pissed. That bothered me a lot.

I received 10% from a few other tables too. A bunch of 20/30 ish year old girls all dressed up and needy as hell that didn't tell me until I dropped the check that they want it split and half of them don't even tip on their portions.

And after this rush of tables from hell, my manager tells me and another server "you guys are cut" and I go thank God, because although I made no money, I was so done. So I rolled my napkins, did all my sidework, cashed out and as I was getting my sidework and everything signed out, a server tells me I'm not cut and the two tables that were sat in my section are in fact mine. I was so confused. My manager then says "I never said you were cut." What???? So I didn't want to argue at all beause I was too exhausted and I did need the money, so I took the tables and made and extra $50 which was good but still. I was stunded. Management in this place is extremely lacking.

Sorry for the disorganization of this post, it was more of a rant that I do not care to go back now and edit...

I want everything I can get for as cheap as I can get...

So my lovely restaurant runs this ridiculous happy hour. It's a corporate thing done at every chain but it is still insane. Well, customers over it, servers on the other hand, not so much. Basically Monday-Friday from 3:30-6:30 we feature a happy hour menu with insanely cheap food. I'm taking the food ranges from $1.95-$4.95. You can get a half pound cheeseburger AND fries from $2.95, and it's the same burger on our regular menu, no rip-offs or anything. That's cheaper than the McDonald's down the street! Well this inevitably leads to people coming in and thinking it is McDonalds, which is never a good thing. The only clause to this happy hour is that there is a drink minimum per person, but since we can't force people to buy alcohol, it can be a soda, just not free water.

Well, I worked this happy hour for a good five months straight and despised it. I cocktail waitress in the New Jersey location, but it's a whole different ballgame here and I hated it. I was never hired to cocktail waitress here either, they just stuck me in against my will when someone else was fired. Well after five months of waiting I had a lovely chat with human resource to clear that all up, however, I still find myself stuck helping out working cocktail shifts when they need someone because I am just oh so great of a team player. Yeah right....

So a few nights ago, I was stuck working a cocktail shift. It was a weird night. I had a big party in there that actually ordered a lot of dinner food, which is extremely rare for happy hour, but even though that was good because it was a large check, it threw off my swing of things. (I usually have managing that section down to a science, oh and mind you this is one waitress running an 11 table section alone.)

Well a family of 6 decided to squeeze themselves into one of the booths in the corner that really only sits 4. We are stuck with Dad sitting on the end of the booth in my walking path (which is technically a fire hazard for us) and Mom squeezed in with the two children (under 5 years old) and Grandma and Grandpa on the other side. Well I came over got their drink orders and some food orders and put it all right in along with a few other orders I just took. It was about 5:30 so this is when everyone starts coming in all at once. So after a few minutes, somewhere between 5 and 10 probably (mind you this is a packed happy hour, so the bar is running about 10 minutes on all bar drinks as it is) I deliver the drinks and they decided to put in an order for cheeseburgers. First they want some without cheese, which isn't a big deal so I say alright, but then they ask for the fries to be extra crispy. Now in the dining room, I would obviously say sure not a problem, but this is happy hour. You are paying less than $3 for your cheeseburger and it says on the menu no substitutions. I very kindly tell the Grandfather that unfortunately we really can't modify food for happy hour. (Because there are about 20+ other burgers being cooked at the same time that don't want extra crispy fries and to try to make another batch n keep those burgers separate just would not happen in that kitchen during happy hour.) He quickly replies with a fine forgot it!

Whatever.

So I continue to run in circles to accommodate this large section and about 5 minutes later, I see the Grandfather yelling at my GM in the middle of the dining room (opposite side of the restaurant from cocktail, so he went and hunted him down). He's yelling about the music is too loud, he doesn't like the crowd and type of people that are there, it is too crowded, they don't have enough room, it is not acceptable for him to have his grandchildren in that, and I wouldn't accommodate that. SERIOUSLY?!?! It's happy hour in a bar, and you expect it to be an acceptable atmosphere for your very young grandchildren. How self absorbed is this guy??? He basically wanted the cheap cheeseburgers but in the fine dining atmosphere, NOT GONNA HAPPEN.

So my GM, of course, tells him we'll take care of it, tells another sever to take care of the table, makes their burgers how they want, and comps some of the check. WTF.

I love ending up as the one in the wrong when all I did was follow protocol.

Management

While the customers are the source of the majority of my annoyances, the management at the restaurant also frequently plays a hand in them as well. Everything in the restaurant seems to be run half-assed and backwards. Our GM is not qualified for his position and had only obtained it because another manager left and the company was stuck. He refuses to go and talk to tables when there are problems, he rather just void off the food. This means they always get what they want and make the server look like the idiot. This is just an example, but I digress....

What annoyed me is the scheduling manager. She's a trip in herself. I have been off for the past two weeks. I requested it off back in February when my family booked the vacation. (I may live on my own and support myself but I'm still encouraged to come on their vacations for free, heaven.) So giving me off should not have been any problem since my requests were put in so long ago, and it wasn't I checked the schedule before I left and it had all been taken care of. For once...

Well I am still on NJ and the restaurant is in DC. I don't plan on returning until my next shift because I want to spend as much time as I can with my family. Since I hate calling, for my own stupid reasons, I asked one of my server friends to check my schedule for next week and let me know it. Well it was not posted until Saturday. Mind you, our week starts on Sunday. Luckily I don't work weekends so I would have possibly been booking it down to DC at midnight last night. Yes, if I was concerned I may have to work I would have called early, but still why post it so late?? I could understand if she was still revising it but she also has it completed by Tuesday or Wednesday, just never posts until the weekend. Bullshit.

And then, magically! my being away seems to have caused my availability to change! Amazing! Ya know, the availability forms we fill out and they submit to CORPORATE saying what days we can and cannot work. For the past 2 years I have been there, I have NEVER had Saturday as an available day. I use that as a day for errands and other work, etc. It is also when I'll visit home and have other friends visit. This is never an issue because everyone else always wants to work Saturday. Let em! I guess it was ASSUMED that since I spent two weeks with my family I wouldn't be going home again this weekend, which I am not, but really, there shouldn't be any change to what my permanent availability schedule is. I know I could get it picked up if I needed but its more the fact of the matter....

Well I really should just make the money and be happy I at least have a lot of shifts this week and enjoy the last of my bittersweet days off before its back to hell on Tuesday morning.

Introductions

After countless frustrations and aggravations brought about by spending never-ending days and nights serving tables, I came across numerable blogs of other servers writing about the same frustrations. Over recent months, I have become silently addicted to these various blogs which have helped me keep my sanity in the restaurant. I decided, I can do that too! So here is my blog, filled with the fun and thrilling stories that my restaurant captures. Oh the joys!

I have been working at a "fine dining" restaurant in downtown Washington DC for two years now. It's a chain and I would hardly consider it fine dining, but we pretend. I have also worked for the same restaurant in New Jersey for almost two and a half years now, but only when I had been home on school breaks. I most likely will not be returning to that restaurant anytime soon since I just graduated college and moved into my own place in DC and only now return home for shorter visits.

So that is the basis of my restaurant, we will see where this goes from there! For now, I am going to enjoy my last night of vacation before a weekend of driving home and back to work come Tuesday.