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Wroughtirony posted:Oh God I'm going to talk about the Pizza Shack. Ewww. Wow. Even my shittiest corporate gigs were cool about fountain drinks for staff and loving tap water. Glad to hear you're getting out of that mess.
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| # ? Nov 14, 2011 00:52 |
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| # ? May 25, 2013 06:53 |
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Wroughtirony posted:And our management is sufficiently delusional that cracking down on employee fountain drink usage makes more sense than enforcing "no ticket no sauce." You have to admit, the deck chairs do look nicer down by the stern.
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| # ? Nov 14, 2011 01:08 |
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So, need a sanity check. Thinking about picking up a few evening shifts a week in retail to get a bit more cash in pocket while still baking and delivering six overnights a week. Am I suicidal, or just poor?
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| # ? Nov 14, 2011 01:33 |
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Liquid Communism posted:So, need a sanity check. Thinking about picking up a few evening shifts a week in retail to get a bit more cash in pocket while still baking and delivering six overnights a week. You can be two things.
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| # ? Nov 14, 2011 01:37 |
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Liquid Communism posted:So, need a sanity check. Thinking about picking up a few evening shifts a week in retail to get a bit more cash in pocket while still baking and delivering six overnights a week. Cant you just stop smoking pot to cut costs?
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| # ? Nov 14, 2011 02:06 |
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Where I'm at now used to be a Buffalo Wild Wings that decided to go independent a few months back, and we're still on the same $.60 for an extra ranch/sauce/blue cheese model that we used before. Yesterday and today I (clocked in as a barback/foodrunner/busser) was a stickler about punching in the extra sauces before I'd get them. Other than the POS system needing some tweaking to make it easier/quicker to do there weren't any complaints. Also it brought in about $600 of extra food revenue this weekend. Not a big deal, but every little bit helps since we're still getting on our feet.
Fuzzy Pipe Wrench fucked around with this message at Nov 14, 2011 around 02:36 |
| # ? Nov 14, 2011 02:32 |
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Turkeybone posted:Cant you just stop smoking pot to cut costs? Funny story there, I'm actually allergic to pot. Makes me swell up. I quit smoking tobacco a couple years back, too. Gas just isn't getting any cheaper, and I'd kinda like to be able to afford some kind of health insurance before I end up in the hospital with another bout of gallstones.
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| # ? Nov 14, 2011 03:31 |
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Fuzzy Pipe Wrench posted:Where I'm at now used to be a Buffalo Wild Wings that decided to go independent a few months back, and we're still on the same $.60 for an extra ranch/sauce/blue cheese model that we used before. Yesterday and today I (clocked in as a barback/foodrunner/busser) was a stickler about punching in the extra sauces before I'd get them. Other than the POS system needing some tweaking to make it easier/quicker to do there weren't any complaints. Also it brought in about $600 of extra food revenue this weekend. Not a big deal, but every little bit helps since we're still getting on our feet. You rang in one thousand extra sauces in two days? It might make business sense for your establishment to raise prices on all items by a penny, fill the sprinkler system with ranch dressing and turn it on during business hours.
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| # ? Nov 14, 2011 05:59 |
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Wroughtirony posted:You rang in one thousand extra sauces in two days? It might make business sense for your establishment to raise prices on all items by a penny, fill the sprinkler system with ranch dressing and turn it on during business hours. Veteran's day weekend, lots of big games people want to see. It was slammed from noon until closing almost every day Thursday until today. So that number is a bit unusual, but yeah. That many people wanted more ranch/blue cheese/sauce.
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| # ? Nov 14, 2011 06:11 |
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Wroughtirony posted:You rang in one thousand extra sauces in two days? It might make business sense for your establishment to raise prices on all items by a penny, fill the sprinkler system with ranch dressing and turn it on during business hours. I've personally been pushing for a ranch fountain in the centre of the dining room so that patrons can bathe themselves in it. Anyhoo, I agree with the whole "adjust prices for menu items" argument, but those of us who are in a franchise gig don't have that option as someone we will never meet nor talk to decides that for us. I have some flexibility, and charging for sauces would be viable via the POS but I have to answer to other people. What I'm trying to say is, my hands are tied, but if you have options use them. EvilRobot fucked around with this message at Nov 14, 2011 around 10:23 |
| # ? Nov 14, 2011 10:20 |
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I know foh are a minority here, but I just interviewed for a head bartender and beverage director position at an Italian steakhouse in new York city...anybody have an idea what I should be pushing for in terms of compensation? Looks like the job is mine to lose, but my hands are still shaking a bit.
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| # ? Nov 16, 2011 19:45 |
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I picture you in that job, screaming at a bottle of orange Faygo because its performance wasn't moving enough
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| # ? Nov 16, 2011 21:10 |
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Vegetable Melange posted:I know foh are a minority here, but I just interviewed for a head bartender and beverage director position at an Italian steakhouse in new York city...anybody have an idea what I should be pushing for in terms of compensation? Looks like the job is mine to lose, but my hands are still shaking a bit. a manager at tamarind makes ~55k. dunno if that helps at all but
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| # ? Nov 16, 2011 23:01 |
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Vegetable Melange posted:I know foh are a minority here, but I just interviewed for a head bartender and beverage director position at an Italian steakhouse in new York city...anybody have an idea what I should be pushing for in terms of compensation? Looks like the job is mine to lose, but my hands are still shaking a bit. Are you going to be hourly + tips or salary?
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| # ? Nov 17, 2011 12:06 |
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Shooting Blanks posted:Are you going to be hourly + tips or salary? Probably hourly plus tips, I would be working some shifts solo and salary can't legally accept tips.
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| # ? Nov 17, 2011 13:32 |
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Vegetable Melange posted:Probably hourly plus tips, I would be working some shifts solo and salary can't legally accept tips. NYC tip wage was just bumped to 5.00$/h. They can no longer pay shift pay in NYC and everything has to be regulated in terms of hourly compensation. You should figure out your hourly split between time making tips and time not making them. Legally as long as your overall statement reaches NY state min wage (7.25$), they don't have to compensate above the minimum tip wage of 5.00$ I would go for salary if you don't plan on actually being at the bar and more of a background management. I would say 40~50k would be reasonable to ask for if you have the right experience. Keep in mind you could probably earn 60~70k as a full time bartender though, depending on volume. heyfresh888 fucked around with this message at Nov 17, 2011 around 18:20 |
| # ? Nov 17, 2011 18:17 |
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heyfresh888 posted:NYC tip wage was just bumped to 5.00$/h. They can no longer pay shift pay in NYC and everything has to be regulated in terms of hourly compensation. More or less my thoughts exactly; my current management gig pays me a higher hourly so I can accept tips as I bartend while I manage. The tips are counted against the hours I work just as a bartender. It's a sweetheart deal, and I'm not sure I can replicate it while pulling in enough money to make 50+ hours work without having tips burn the hours away. I found out today that a buddy of mine who runs the beverages in a west village gastropub you know well is moving out of town, and when I suggested he put my name in the hat, said he already had. So, fingers crossed.
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| # ? Nov 17, 2011 23:19 |
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Just got a second raise in as many months, I love the French.
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| # ? Nov 18, 2011 01:48 |
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I'm working as a FoH manager at the moment, though I have many GM responsibilities. I'm curious about what experience that you owners/GMs have with employee theft. What kind of liberties have you found people taking most often, and under what circumstances? My question stems from the fact that I'm managing a lot of people who have been around for much longer than I have, and I'm still unfamiliar with our POS system. I'm learning quickly, but I've taken on a lot of responsibility in a short time. Many of our employees are aware of this fact, and while they are (for the most part) fantastic people, and hard-working employees, I want to be a step ahead.
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| # ? Nov 18, 2011 10:42 |
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Oh dear. I knew if anyone could help me, it would be someone in this thread. I just got a call and tomorrow, apparently, I will have an interview and have to cook something at a very wine-oriented bistro which is opening downtown. This isn't going to be a head- or even a sous-chef position, as I understand it; just a line-cook type deal. I've got all my basic mother-sauces down, pretty much, just from practice. Bechamel without lumps and all of that. My knife skills are decent. The problem lies in this: I haven't cooked in months. I'm exhilarated and excited and everything but I'm also incredibly nervous. Has anyone here ever had to do something like this (that's such a dumb loving question oh my god)? What should I even expect? The guy I spoke to on the phone just said,"We're gonna have you cook a couple things and see if you don't burn them." I've never burnt a thing in my life as far as I can remember, but oh my god my brain feels like it's going to melt from panic!!
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| # ? Nov 18, 2011 15:43 |
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telekitty posted:Oh dear. I knew if anyone could help me, it would be someone in this thread. I just got a call and tomorrow, apparently, I will have an interview and have to cook something at a very wine-oriented bistro which is opening downtown. This isn't going to be a head- or even a sous-chef position, as I understand it; just a line-cook type deal. I am still new to the game, only 3 years in total, but the most I have had to cook is at stages where they will have me do something simple like the brulee and pot de creme, mousse, mayonnaise, or something that shows some basics. Never with someone standing over me though, that is what would make me nervous. Good luck.
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| # ? Nov 18, 2011 17:56 |
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Ballpark posted:I'm working as a FoH manager at the moment, though I have many GM responsibilities. I'm curious about what experience that you owners/GMs have with employee theft. What kind of liberties have you found people taking most often, and under what circumstances? Define "Theft". What's your policy? Do they get anything for free at all? Drinks? A meal if they work 8+ hours? A periodic "thank you" drink from the bar (with the GM's permission)? Are they just taking stuff? Are they sitting at the bar and drinking for free? Are they walking out the back door with cases of poo poo?
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| # ? Nov 18, 2011 18:09 |
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NosmoKing posted:Define "Theft". A proper inventory control system (which requires time and an Excel spreadsheet) can eliminate a lot of shrinkage problems, but yeah, a lot of this is simply policy bound. What is expected, what is tolerable, what is worthy of termination?
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| # ? Nov 18, 2011 18:28 |
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NosmoKing posted:Define "Theft". You can utilize some best practices when you deal with employee theft: 1. Make theft difficult. 2. Enact zero tolerance. 3. Create a culture where employee's wouldn't want to steal even if they could. Easy to put into a list, but a bit tougher to enact. 1. Make theft difficult - The people who are going to steal no matter what, are going to steal no matter what. Strong internal controls will keep anyone on the fence on the right side of the fence. For example, if you lock expensive stuff in cages/walkins overnight, people will be less likely to steal them. 2. Enact zero tolerance - If you bend the rules, people are going to abuse your leniency. You don't have to be a dick about it, you can feel very sorry that you're writing someone up for making a sandwich or whatever, but theft is theft is theft. I just read a pretty good article in the HBR, and while it's not about theft it certainly applies here: "It's easier to do something 100% of the time than to do something 98% of the time." If you have zero tolerance, you don't ever have to worry about the slippery slope. 3. Create a no-theft culture. Obviously this is the toughest one, but if you show your employees humility and generosity when it's deserved, hopefully those fence-sitters won't think about theft, and maybe they'd even admonish/rat out people who did steal. Give employees shift drinks, give employees decent food or allowances for food, offer frequent wine tastings and give healthy pours; when you are generous, be overly so, but when you are tight-fisted, be overly so.
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| # ? Nov 18, 2011 18:59 |
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Last time I was in a management position, my subordinates robbed me (personally) and the restaurant loving blind. Granted, the two ringleaders were later arrested- one for stealing tens of thousands in cash and credit card numbers from her last two bosses, and one for drug charges and grand theft (stole from her mom to buy oxy.) So maybe the guy who hired them didn't do his due diligence. But I digress. I did learn a few things from the experience. This is by no means a comprehensive list of what to do to keep people from stealing, just my hard-won knowledge. 1. It's nice to trust the people you work with, but don't create an environment where you have no choice but to do so. Provide lockers if you can, especially if you're in an area where it would be a bad idea to keep your purse in your car. Create accountability for all cash and all keys at all times. One person per drawer, key logs with witnesses. Yes it's a pain in the rear end, but it's worth it when something comes up short and you can say for sure whose mistake it was. Suspicion is deadly. 2. Keep an eye on the trash. You should be doing this as a chef anyway- who hasn't had the experience as a prep cook of your chef digging through your trashcan and yelling at you about waste? But trash is a great way for your employees to steal large amounts of food. Double bag fifty steaks and toss them on top of the dishpit trash. Roll it right out the back door and into your trunk. 3. Surveillance. I hate it, I hate the idea of it, but it works. It also (sort of) protected me as a patron at my friend's bar. Long story short, I absentmindedly left my purse on a barstool, and it was stolen by a familiar semi-transient dude. It was caught on tape, and we got an ID, which we passed on to the police. The cops found him about a week later and he spent the night in jail, but there wasn't enough evidence to make anything stick. However, he was informed that his picture was being circulated among downtown businesses and he was never seen again. 4. Stay on top of inventory and sales. Self-explanatory. You can't crack down on thefts that you don't know about.
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| # ? Nov 19, 2011 00:12 |
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For me it all starts with hiring. It isn't hard to pick out who is going to be trouble in one way or another, stealing included. I had stuff start disappearing a couple months ago, and when I went through recent hires I found my kitchen manager had hired some dude who got fired from Wendy's for stealing. Magically after I fired him the next day things stopped being missing. Ended up firing the Kitchen Manager as well. It sucks, but at the end of the day you just cannot have an environment of paranoia no one wants to work in that.
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| # ? Nov 20, 2011 03:48 |
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My guys keep on breaking poo poo. Our third digital scale this year is fritzing out now. Any recommendations for a solid, not too expensive scale? Taylor TE-22s don't seem to cut it.
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| # ? Nov 20, 2011 07:52 |
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Goon posted:My guys keep on breaking poo poo. Our third digital scale this year is fritzing out now. Any recommendations for a solid, not too expensive scale? Taylor TE-22s don't seem to cut it. There really arent any choices for cheap digital scales that I've ever been able to find. It's pretty much the couple ones from Escali and that's it. All those Edlund scales cost a fortune. I always keep a coke scale around in my locker for weighing out sensitive stuff like hydrocolloids or whatever.
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| # ? Nov 20, 2011 08:32 |
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In my experience with managing a rather transient staff (which wasn't in a kitchen, so take it for what you will), a zero tolerance policy really is the only way to go. We had a couple of employees who stole from other staff members, we had people trying to scam the system etc etc. It was hard enough keeping any sort of cohesion without incidents like that, so zero tolerance was all I figured I could do. The whole place went to hell when the owner went over my head and rehired the guy I'd sacked for stealing from the staff locker (of course I quit after that).
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| # ? Nov 20, 2011 12:42 |
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I just got fired. who wants to give me a job in California, preferably in the central coast? reasons for firing me include: "you are too smart for a job in cooking"
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| # ? Nov 21, 2011 04:22 |
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pile of brown posted:I just got fired. who wants to give me a job in California, preferably in the central coast? reasons for firing me include: "you are too smart for a job in cooking" Sounds a lot like "We wanted to figure out a way to gently caress you over but you saw through them all, so we fired you." to me but je suis le Noob.
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| # ? Nov 21, 2011 04:26 |
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Vegetable Melange posted:I know foh are a minority here, but I just interviewed for a head bartender and beverage director position at an Italian steakhouse in new York city...anybody have an idea what I should be pushing for in terms of compensation? Looks like the job is mine to lose, but my hands are still shaking a bit. No idea about the dollars but i'm a venue manager of a bar nightclub & late night thai restaurant and occasional function cook. There are a few foh types about.
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| # ? Nov 21, 2011 06:35 |
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pile of brown posted:I just got fired. who wants to give me a job in California, preferably in the central coast? reasons for firing me include: "you are too smart for a job in cooking" Was there anything substantial? hit them up with some loving unemployment
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| # ? Nov 21, 2011 07:15 |
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Turkeybone posted:Was there anything substantial? hit them up with some loving unemployment Eh, good luck. I tried that for the place that fired me for "thinking I was worth more than I am" (i.e. asking for a raise above min wage) and they just fired back with "terminated with cause" and that was that.
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| # ? Nov 21, 2011 07:26 |
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Wroughtirony posted:Eh, good luck. I tried that for the place that fired me for "thinking I was worth more than I am" (i.e. asking for a raise above min wage) and they just fired back with "terminated with cause" and that was that. I'd suggest the other way- As in: always, always, always file for unemployment. It's half an hour on the internet in most states now. Definitely worth the time even if it is denied. And in my experience, the time I was fired for a legitimate reason I received unemployment. The time I was let go because I refused to date my boss it was denied. (I didn't have any proof or witnesses.)
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| # ? Nov 21, 2011 07:35 |
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Turkeybone posted:Was there anything substantial? hit them up with some loving unemployment no, and I plan to, but unemployment won't cover my bills because working two jobs barely did edit: the last time I applied for unemployment I found a new job in the several weeks it took to process my (online) claim pile of brown fucked around with this message at Nov 21, 2011 around 10:29 |
| # ? Nov 21, 2011 10:24 |
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pile of brown posted:I just got fired. who wants to give me a job in California, preferably in the central coast? reasons for firing me include: "you are too smart for a job in cooking" I grew up in Atascadero. Job market there is DEAD. Even SLO is a poo poo hole for jobs.
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| # ? Nov 21, 2011 19:42 |
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I live in SLO, was commuting to Paso. I'm feeling ready to move but I have 6 more months on my current lease and 8 more months of felony probation in this county. I actually have a couple lines on things but it still sucks because I had these offers before and was not interested at all in leaving my old job for them :/ pile of brown fucked around with this message at Nov 21, 2011 around 21:29 |
| # ? Nov 21, 2011 21:26 |
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pile of brown posted:I live in SLO, was commuting to Paso. I'm feeling ready to move but I have 6 more months on my current lease and 8 more months of felony probation in this county. Well I know that the neon carrot brings people on for catering events. Other than that not much out there.
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| # ? Nov 22, 2011 03:42 |
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| # ? May 25, 2013 06:53 |
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So I recently graduated culinary school (July), and got hired on at the place I did my internship with through the end of summer, starting out as pantry, but towards the end was working both that and saute, and a little bit of grill to cross train me (the chef was awesome, and was good friends with my instructor). Right before that gig ended, I got a job over in Portland (from SW Washington), where I'm at now. I hate it. It's a line cook gig at a semi well known local chain, but it's awful. I'm not trying to even pretend I'm some hot shot, but it's not challenging (other than not yelling at terrible servers or bad preppers), the pay isn't good, and the hours suck (as in, not enough. I'm here to be your whore, abuse me, but compensate me for it.) I've been there a month and a half and feel as though I've outgrown it, but they DO offer benefits after being there 6+ months. My question: Is it worth sticking around and attempting to surprise sex their benefits in 5 months? I've been told by other employees that this place doesn't look too great on a resume when trying to go elsewhere, which sucks because my culinary resume is extremely small, and working here was (I thought), a way to build it. Any advice?
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| # ? Nov 22, 2011 10:03 |
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